Blogger Bits and Blessings

I really enjoyed the input from the past two days. Many of you confirmed to me the big need out there for meaningful relationships.

Good news about it! Five ladies contacted me about meeting and becoming an encourager to each other and to those in our church and beyond. Please be praying how God will put all this together and make it effective for Him.

I've also been blessed to become part of a critique group this week. I'm excited to share work back and forth. Hopefully, this group will challenge each other to improve our work and get more of it out there.

Finally, I've broken down and begun the edits on my latest WIP. It is slow going but I want it to be good.

I'll be popping around to everyone's blogs over the next couple of days. I hope I read some really good news about all of you.

How have you been blessed this week?

The Stranger Beside You

Despite being a Realtor for years, I was required to attend a new member orientation yesterday. As I sat in the room full of people, I found myself looking around and wondering who looked the most approachable.

My husband attended the same meeting a few months ago and when I asked him what he thought of as he sat there, he said he was thinking about how boring it was and how long before he could get out of the room.

When I wrote the post yesterday, forgive me if it came across about me. I didn't mean it to. I was questioning how best to reach out to others as a ministry. What amazed me were some of the comments. I hope you had a chance to read them.

Here's what struck me:

It isn't about the activities. It isn't about the busyness. It isn't about having your husband and kids and enough friends already.

My daughter moved to Seattle three years ago. She attends a large church with her in-laws. She is outgoing and passionate about life, yet is unable to make those close friendships like she had back home. It isn't about the age or her having a child, I've discovered.

It's about what we've allowed to happen.

How does all this tie into writing? Consider how it is to write a short fiction piece. You can write it between eating dinner and watching American Idol. It doesn't take much effort and it doesn't mess with your own life too much.

But then you decide to write something deeper--a novel, perhaps. Here's where the effort comes in. Here's where it takes time, and maybe a critique group and a little more work. But the payoff when it's done is so much better.

Like sticking your neck out to have better relationships with those around you who just might need it--even if you don't.

I think most of the people who visit this blog are Christians. It broke my heart to read about the same story happening all across the country. One person has been in a new community for two years and doesn't know anyone well enough to call them up to go out for coffee.

We are busy people but the day might come for each of us when we have to move to a new city, or our children who keep us so busy grow up and move away, or our family dies off. Who will we be surrounded with at the end of our lives? Who do you want to say you encouraged along the way besides yourself?

Who is the stranger sitting next to you?

Looking for the Encouragers

I'm looking for inspiration and ideas today. Mostly from the ladies or anyone who has sat in a sea of strangers and felt utterly alone.

I attend a large church in a metropolitan community. You wave at your neighbors. You shake hands with your fellow Christian. That about sums up the fellowship for many of the people who attend my Sunday School class. We've known each other for years. We occasionally attend a Christmas party together. We say hello in the hallways. But when one of us disappears to worship at another church, we rarely notice until weeks and weeks have gone by and then it is too late to reach out.

I used to go to a smaller church in a smaller town. I knew my friends well. Since moving to Florida, I've struggled with finding consistent Christian friends. I ask everyone I know--is it my age? Is it that I no longer have a child at home? Is it the community?

And now I'm asking: What can I do about it? I know there are other women who feel as I do. Our church does have a women's group but the numbers are large and it is mostly about activities. I've not looking to do crafts.I can't afford to go shopping at the malls now. I can't even afford to go to a luncheon. But then if I could, would I really really connect with the other 50 or more ladies who also go?

I'm not sure. So here's where you come in. I want to reach out and create an opportunity for ladies in my church to talk and share and relate. Not as couples. Not through outings. Not with food. (You know how women get when they have to outprepare someone.)

I want these ladies to feel loved, remembered, cared about and then want to do the same for others who come into our midst.

I've got some ideas but I know out there--someone has done this before. Or someone is saying," I need that kind of relationship in my life but . . . " I want to hear the buts too.

I hope I'm not the only one!

Reading the Fine Print

My husband and I rarely read a book together --I hate how he places his bookmark--if I accidentally move it, I never hear the end of it. (Why is it I can find my place easily but he needs the last line and paragraph he read practically highlighted?)

But when I saw Put Your Dream to the Test but John Maxwell, I figured I could overcome a little adversity.Maxwell is my husband's favorite author and since I believe that discovering your dream should be a person's top priority in life, I jumped.

My personal dream is to become the best writer I can and hopefully make a difference in other's lives by doing it. On top of that, I'd love to learn to be a speaker where I can share with others how they can accomplish their dreams to write too.

Big order I know.

Something Maxwell wrote struck me:

If you want to achieve your dream, you need to read the find print.

The journey will take longer than you hoped.
The obstacles will be more numerous that you believed.
The disappontments will be greater than you expected.
The lows will be lower than you imagined.
The price will be higher than you anticipated.

Wow.

I've been on this journey for more than four years already. I've experienced my share of rejections and disappointment from publishers and agents. I've been unable to attend some conferences due to cost, and I've had to step out of my box to start a writers group I really needed. The fine print is starting to make sense. But where's the good news?

But then Maxwell goes on to say that if we are to achieve our dreams, we need to be realistic about them.

Did I ever think the first manuscript I sent in to a publisher would be accepted?

A nod. Of course I did. That's part of my dreaming. But then I need to consider reality.

Did I really submit my best? Did I learn about the mechanics of writing? Did I learn about editing techniques? Did I proofread it all again or have someone else critique it for me? Was I open to learning?

Where are you today in your dream? First, have you figured out what it is? And if you have, are you prepared for the steps you might have to take to get thereto take the steps to get there?

Your dream should be bigger than you, but like anything we do in life, it will take hard work. Are you prepared for the fine print?

Barbour, Page breaks and More Questions we might be too shy to ask

When I was in third grade, I would raise my hand when I needed to go to the restroom. I'd wave it and wave it and my teacher never seemed to see me. One day, I could no longer hold it and wet my pants there in my chair.

Now this post is not about my embarrassment. (That's another story.) It's about being comfortable enough to ask the important questions when you need to. I was too shy back then to speak up and say, "Please can I be excused?"

I'm not so shy anymore.

So here they are. Questions that might make me less of a sloppy writer. Hopefully someone in blog land will be able to help me.

1. How do you make page breaks and do I need them in my manuscript to keep the Chapter headings from sliding all over when I edit. Plus, how many spaces go between the Chapter heading and the first line in the chapter?

2.VERY important. How detailed is a chapter synopsis? I want to submit to Barbour Books and they require that with the query. Has anyone ever done one
before? How should they be set up?

3. What does it mean when Explorer says it can't open a blog site? I so want to visit some of my new followers and can't.

4. How long are your chapters? I keep mine any where from 1200--2000 words. Can you have as many chapters as you want in a book?

5.When a publisher asks for a query letter and the first three chapters and a bio, do you put it all on one document? I had to do that for an agent once and felt so stupid because I had them separate. Is that the usual?

Ok--those are my questions for now. Do you have some of your own? If you want me to post them, just ask!

Contest Results

I wanted to share today about my first venture of submitting for the contest at ACFW. I don't do alot with the group, and probably should do more. But this year I wanted to try the Genesis contest.

I sent in the required pages from the second book I wrote, an inspirational romance. And then I forgot about it. But this week, after finding out I didn't place(didn't expect to!) they sent out the scores from the three judges.

It was money well spent. Each judge scored my entry from 1-5. They added detailed comments about story, characterization, conflict, dialogue and my strengths and weaknesses. Plus, they went through the story and added comments there as well.

I've mentioned before how inadequate I feel in the area of fiction. After getting back my results, all I can say is thank you to them for their abundance of encouragement and wonderful feedback. I think maybe they saved me from giving up on fiction.

I may not have made the cut but I received something even better--renewed hope that someday one of my books will be published:)

If you are debating whether or not to join ACFW, consider doing it for the Genesis contest alone if nothing else. I plan to submit again next year, and will hopefully have a cleaner, better manuscript to share.

Group Writing

When I turned seven years old, I joined the local Brownie troop. We made snow globes, visited local dairies and earned our badges together. I formed a tight group of friends with whom I went on to join the Girl Scouts.

In high school, I joined the band dancers—allowing me to attend all the football games, cheer on my team and learn intricate routines with my team members.

More of the same group joining in college—volley teams, clubs and more.
Each time I’m a member of a group, I grow as a person. I interact with the personalities around me. I learn new skills.

Now I’m a part of a group of writers in my town where I’m the facilitator. We share, we grow together, and we learn our craft. I’m also a part of online writers where I learn even more because of the instant availability of information at the stroke of a key.

Recently, I’ve taken to writing fiction more seriously. I do alright with my particular niche of nonfiction, but I feel a little like a new swimmer testing the cold water with my big toe when it comes to writing great readable fiction.

I’m getting it, but slowly.

What I’m lacking is a good critique group.

Here’s my question for you—how did you find your critique group, do you recommend being part of one—and if you use one, how has your writing improved?

Writing can be a lonely practice—but I don’t think it’s meant to be. Reach out today and join a group of fellow writers!

Confessions of a Lazy Writer

Last February, I entered a contest while I was lying in bed sick. When I discovered I had only a day or two to submit to this particular one, I slapped together my required word count and shot it off.

A few days ago, I could have thrown up when I looked up my submission and discovered what I'd sent. A not-very-well-put-together-unread-version of something that should have been edited better.

Lazy is the best word I can use to describe myself in those kind of situations. It makes me want to throw up when I think about what I did. It isn't the first time either.

So here's my advice to help you not do what I did.

How to Avoid being a Lazy Writer

(or how to keep your work from ending up in the toilet)

1. Take the time to read and reread anything you send out for all errors. I forgot to change every name in the piece as I trusted the computer to do it for me.

2. Lay it out in an acceptable way--spacing and page breaks and indentation. It does matter to an editor how it looks.

3. Pass on a submission opportunity if you don't have the time to send your best--do it another time when you do.

PS --Yes, that was my office in the picture yesterday but it's only clean cause of the house being for sale!

Pass me the Cookies, Please

I'm trying. I really am trying to take a break from my WIP and wait a week or so to edit. Yesterday I even wrote a short story and submitted it to Chicken Soup.

I have a stack of information to learn for my broker's course that waits for me like a lion in front of a den.

But my story calls. How long is long enough to put that distance from it so I can look at it with a critical fresh eye?

How long before I decide the story really does stink and why waste my time even doing it?

So okay, I'm refocused. I'm going to force myself to wait a little longer. Even if I have to eat an entire box of Nilla wafers to get through.

So what are you waiting on today?

The End

I did it. At least I think I did. Last night I finished my rough draft. But why I say I think I finished it is because I am short a few thousand words. But the ending came and that was that.

So now I set it aside and breathe. But you know what happened? I'm sure many of you do.

I grieved. Over writing a book.

I'm already missing Lizzy, and Ryan and Paul and thinking about the next chapter and crying with them over some tragedy in their lives.

I'm thinking it is hitting me harder this time because I wrote this one straight through in about eight weeks plus weeks (Probably more like 12). I've been living this one more than the others before.

So I'm setting it aside to let it cool--then I will jump into the edits. In the meantime, I will try my hand at some short nonfiction to submit.

What do you all do when you come to the end?

A page turner

It was his first ride on the board. It wasn't his last, I'm sure. Once he got that wind in his face and that thrill in his heart--he was hooked.

I had an hour to kill last Saturday as I waited for a friend. We agreed to meet in a local Barnes and Nobles. She got held up on I4 so I strolled the aisles checking out the new books. What better place to have to wait.

Finally, I decided to do an experiment. Quite a few titles graced the new release section. I proceeded to pick up every one and read the first few sentences of the first paragraph. I typically do that when I buy a book.

What did I find? Some books I immediately dropped back on the shelf. Others I found myself reading a little more. But one, I decided to buy. And that's unusual for me because I rarely buy books now--I borrow them from friends or the library.

But like my grandson above--the book hooked me. I experienced that thrill of wanting more.

Will your story hook your reader from word one? Will it make him want to turn the page for more?

I doubt I will ever join Gavyn on a long board--that's for his braver Dad. But I hope I'll kick up my next WIP a notch so it makes someone else climb aboard.

Are You Making the Most of Today?

I went to the dentist yesterday to get a much-needed tooth filled. Before I left home, I thought about the front receptionist. I hadn't seen her on my last visit. We always swapped grandchildren stories and it made me feel comfortable sort of knowing someone there--did I mention I hate dentists?

When I arrived, I saw a sign on the counter with dates about her.

She had died a year ago.

Diane had suffered a major heart attack in front of her TV. No real warning signs. She was my age, healthy and energetic.

My thoughts wrangled with her death all through my procedure.

They are still wrangling.I question if I've done enough. If my husband and I have followed our dreams. If we've embraced wrong priorities and not done what it takes to live.

I miss this stranger who I only knew through my twice-a-year check-ups. She made an impact on my life through her warm smiles and chatter making my dental visits less stressful.

Her untimely death also encouraged me to move forward with my plans and dreams. We are only promised today--not tomorrow. Are you making the most of it?

Did I Not Get It?

Oh my gosh!! A new follower told me she went back and read my first post. So of course, I had to go back there too--July of 2006. A long time ago. ( I need to have a blog party this summer.)

So I started reading and reading and then I started checking comments and you know what?

There really weren't any for nearly a year and a half. I wrote for only myself for that long! What on earth was I thinking about? Didn't I even know to check other blogs?

Apparently not. So there's a lesson here--if you want to be heard--you have to listen as well.

Hope you had a great Mother's Day. Looking forward to a productive week for all of us!

I had really good intentions yesterday. I actually wrote more on my wip and if you veer your eyes to the right and my counter--you can see I made my weekly goal for 60000. That means I should be done by next week.

Maybe.

My day got messed up because of Virgina Kate. I'm talking about Kathryn Magendie's main character in her first novel, Tender Graces.

I've been reading her book in small bits--trying to make it last--but you know you're reading a good book when suddenly, you can't put it down. When I hit about page 243, I couldn't stop. I didn't want to stop. I read and read and as I type this I'm working on the last few pages.

So I had good intentions to get my house cleaned and cleared even more to put the For Sale sign up in the yard this next week. But Virginia Kate called and I had to answer . . .

Don't you wish our writing would make someone want to give up a perfectly planned day?

Stealing the Mood

So this week has not been what I would call an ideal writer's week. Have you ever noticed how our mood changes the whole tone of what we are writing?

Mine certainly does.

I'm working on the ending of my WIP now. (Yay!) But I'm at a funeral scene. Now--that was fine when I was so depressed about life on Monday. I could write about coffins and tears and grief. But now that I am feeling somewhat encouraged again--it's hard to tackle that same sad scene. I don't want it to pull me down.

My characters seem to go the way I go. And that isn't always the best for them. When I'm feeling really happy or excited, I want my characters to be happy too. Even when they aren't supposed to be.

So I'm writing in small bites until I get through this part of the book. How about you? What do you do when your mood tries to steal your storyline?

Thank you

I don't know how to say thank you enough for all the prayers I know went out for my husband and I yesterday and today. Thank you so much---you have blessed me beyond measure.

I feel awkward and uncomfortable asking for prayer from strangers. Even though I know what the Bible says about it, I think most of us feel like we need to do life on our own. That if we try hard enough, everything will work out. We pray and ask for help in the big things and when our faith is really tested--we expect the pain to go away quickly. At least that's how it's always been for Curt and I.

Well, I've learned that isn't always the case. For the past year and a half, we've tried everything and anything to get our life back to some sort of normalcy--but nothing has worked. I'm starting to wonder if this is the new normal for us--despite how I feel about the uncertainty that goes along with it. And then I wonder if everything we are doing is what He wants us to do to get us where we should be.

I just know that I want to be where God would have me. Whether it's in Florida or not--I'm okay about it. But what I've discovered from yesterday's many responses is this--not matter where I end up--I've got some wonderful friends to meet. Thank you again.

A little Help from friends

I don't usually do what I'm going to do now. But I think I've reached the place where I need to. I try to keep most my posts upbeat and encouraging. Today I need to ask for some of that encouragement directly.

Quite a few prayer warriors visit my blog. I'd like to call on you today to pray specifically for my husband and I about our situation. I've shared some of it in pieces. Without going into boring detail, it's enough to say that we are in the middle of the unemployment in Florida and feel like we are drowning and barely keeping our feet on solid ground.

The competition to find work in Florida is awful--double digit unemployment. We've started a construction company and activated our Real Estate licenses--both of which are pretty much worthless for another few years. I apply for work for both of us every day.

We know God has a plan for us but really, it's getting harder and harder to figure it out. It's harder and harder to face each day wondering which direction to go in.

This week we have decided to ready our home to put on the market. I know it won't sell for what we need right now but we would have to do it eventually so thought we would go for it now.

What I'm asking for this Monday morning, is that you pray for a clear cut direction for our lives. That God would show us what we should do, where we should go, how we should survive and that He would give us that strength to then do it.

I know when God's people pray, He hears and I know He then moves. I just need a little help from my friends because we are getting mighty weary here alone.

Thank you for letting me interrupt my blog with this prayer need.

May Day Memories

When I was in fourth grade, my teacher called me to her desk. She asked if I wanted to be one of the princesses in the court who rode in the May Day festival our schools put on each year.

I ran home and burst into the kitchen to tell my mother. The invitation was the biggest thing to ever happen to me.

She quickly hired a seamstress to sew me a light blue gown complete with a hoop in the bottom. The evening of the event, I rode in the back of an open convertible that paraded around the football field. The stands were packed with parents and the lights twinkled across the colorful Maypoles. I waved and smiled till my teeth hurt.

But my most vivid memory that spring night was of the Maypole Queen. She offered me her soft white stole to wrap around my shoulders when it got cooler. I remember thinking how nice this Senior was to me--a little fourth grader.

I never forgot her kindness.

I also will never forget the kindness of so many more experienced writers who have offered me great advice or a word of encouragement or places to submit during this writing ride.

So today I'd like to say thank you everyone for being the Kings and Queens in my court. Happy May Day!