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My hope is more folks will stop by and read my posts. I believe I have much to share about writing, reading, and life's musings.

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Blessings to all that wander in this safe place and to those who stay awhile.

Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic

I loved reading and writing, but hated the arithmetic part. Learning that it was important to study those basics in grade school(I must admit, I use arithmetic in every day life), I’d like to touch upon on how reading helps me with my writing.

I read books on the craft of writing, and have for 14 years. When I decided I wanted to learn how to write, I took a trip to the library. When I came back home, my stack of "How To" books on writing piled up over two feet high on my coffee table. Recently, I purchased the book SAVE THE CAT by Blake Snyder. Even though it’s about how to write a screenplay, it is excellent advice on how to write stories, also.

Another way reading helps me as a writer? I must read the age group books I am currently writing for. It helps me to see why a story works. It helps me to figure out the tone of a story and how that works. It helps me understand better the age of the main character, how she feels, thinks, and sees the world. Just in case I've forgotten.

Recently, I learned that my work-in-progress of over ten years is for ages 9-12. So what am I doing? Reading books for around that age group. It helps. You simply have to read to be a writer.

The One Sentence Blurb

I've promised myself and anyone who may be reading my blog, that I would add my one sentence blurb of TALKING MAMA HOME. I will add to that one sentence blurb in future blogs with a three sentence blurb, a paragraph, and then my query that caught several agents attention.

For now, here's the one sentence blurb: TALKING MAMA HOME is about a twelve year-old girl's determination to keep her tight-knit family together and the friend that helps her.

That's it in a humming bird's egg shell. Until next time . . .

A Time To Write

Moving, unpacking, canning, and winterizing. This is what preoccupied my time for three months. Am I ready to tear into the words of my novel-in-progress, Talking Mama Home? You better believe it. Actually, I’ve been extra cranky, moody, and down right growly. My heart aches, even, and I knew early on that I was suffering from writer’s inactivity. I tried getting up early like is my habit, but this old body needed that extra sleep after months of being uprooted and landing in a new place. I kept telling myself there is a time and a season for everything. But, toward the end, it didn’t stop me from being a grumpy mama bear out of hibernation.

Now that the rains have come and our main living space is unpacked and orderly, I can rewrite. Just yesterday, my husband and I unpacked his computer and rearranged the office to give us better working space. The view from my desk? A mountain full of fir trees with some scattered shades of gold to announce it’s autumn.

My itchy fingers dove into taking notes from all the collected suggestions over the past year: Agents wrote personal letters after reading my queries, partials, and full manuscript. My critique group's (a great bunch of writers and friends) suggestions from last December on how to make Talking Mama Home the best story I am able to write. And to give the story a rest until I can compare notes from the experts. Up until then, we weren’t sure of the age group. This past June, I wrote in a cover letter my story was for ages 9-12, the agent agreed. After thinking it was for young adults for nine years, but then doubting that for over a year, this was confirmation. It feels right.

I’m a happy writer once again, taking a-time-to-write seriously. And cheers for being on a roll!