Over Time, I've Learned A Thing or Two

How has your writing evolved? When I was a teen, I wrote terrible poetry recording my feelings for the high school junior who was brave enough to ask me out and who is still with me after all these years. As a mom with young children, I wrote short stories. I sent a few off. When they came back accompanied by rejection slips, I thought that meant I couldn't write. When my kids were teens I went to a writers' workshop and learned that rejection of manuscripts are common, and the way to get published is to keep learning, polishing, and sending manuscripts out. As a result of that workshop, I found a writers' group in our area and attended meetings.

I shared poetry for critique. Like many unpublished writers, I wasn't very sure of my writing ability yet. I'll always be grateful for the kind, encouraging remarks members had. I self-published small booklets and gave them away. I decided to try my hand at devotionals for the challenge of completing a story with a "take-away" in 150-200 words. I had several devotionals published and in the process learned to write.

I found out about writing opportunities through contacts I'd made in the writers group and through conferences and had inspirational stories published as a result. At one point a friend and I met every week to critique each other's work in progress. We went to the post office together one year on her birthday to send our manuscripts off. Mine, a children's book, came back in four months with a rejection slip; her Christian romance took a year to find its way back to her. She sent her novel out once more and got it back. It's such a great story. Her characters are so real I used to look for the house where her "family" had 4th of July celebrations when I'd drive down a certain road in our county. I know the church where her fictional characters attend. I know their pastor. He used to be our neighbor. I'd like to see her novel published.

After my children's book came back, I asked a friend to read my 126 page manuscript to see if she could make suggestions before I sent it out again. My friend is an avid reader. I gave her my manuscript over two years ago. The fact that she hasn't finished reading it tells you a lot about what a page-turner the story is. My husband, a tough editor, thought the story was funny, poignant and brilliant, but then, he loves me. My friend loves me, too, but she's been really busy. ;-) I understand because I still have a copy of someone else's manuscript in my possession. I read it through it once, then the task of trying to track repetitions and make suggestions seemed overwhelming.

Whether the book I wrote ever gets published--and I do have to say here that I understand the correlation between sending a manuscript out and the chance for publication--I enjoyed the process of writing--the late nights up with the "baby." I didn't enjoy the dozens of times through, bleary-eyed, and the editing/re-editing. I loved the characters. They made me laugh and cry and rejoice at their victories. I felt for them deeply. Since I never could determine what I needed to do to "fix" the manuscript before sending it out again, I started another novel with the same characters, only setting the story a few years later. I used the novel I'd completed as back story -- their history to help me as I wrote about Sara at 14 rather than 11. A lot happened to that girl in the three years between stories. I learned a valuable lesson while writing the second novel. Always back up your work. You never know when lightening might strike and cause you to lose everything on your computer.

About that time I got busy with my Dad who lived alone in Texas when he fell and broke his arm. I live in Delaware. I'd make trips back and forth to stay with him during different hospitalizations and to take care of his house. We moved him to Delaware when he recovered. I made more trips to Texas to get his house ready to put on the market. Then my Dad died and I had to take care of "business" and got sidetracked from writing. But I know the community in Oklahoma where my characters are, and I wish them well. But I don't know if I'll ever tell their story again in writing. I might if I had a working copy.

If you're not in a writers group, let me encourage you to find one. Attend. Listen. Learn. Make friends. Go to workshops if you can afford to, but don't make a career of it. Read. Write. Polish. Submit. Encourage. Celebrate. Find a critique partner. And if you get discouraged along the way or bogged down by life, try it again. Just because you've been on the sideline for a year or two or decade or more, you've still got it. You are a writer. Write. Submit, submit, and submit again until you're published. And don't forget to backup your work. (Note to self.)

Identifying the Writer Within (Your Purse)

I'm afraid this post might seem a little sexist. I don't have a clue how to identify men who write. But women? Ahh.

When Life Happens

Thursday, November 13 was my last post. I know what you're thinking. I set out to climb Mount Everest and got stranded. (See "Inside Out Strategy" below). You probably thought I was buried in a landslide of debris and hopefully I had food and water with me while someone came to dig me out since it's been over a week. Hey, I live in a family so used to my stacks they wouldn't think to dig. Besides, where is that shovel?

You know how it is--you make your plans and God directs your steps. Life happens. Friday, Saturday and Sunday I was . . . Then Tuesday . . . On Wednesday, I . . . Thursday afternoon. . . Friday, Diana and I . . . Then yesterday. . . .

Okay. So I had a few things to do, but I obviously wasn't using my time most wisely. Surely I had five minutes to sit down and write. I got distracted. That happens sometimes to us stackers. I did find time to read a novel I really enjoyed, so my free time wasn't totally wasted. Some of it was wasted. I did manage to find the remote.

A new day is a new opportunity to do what I want until responsibility or love calls. No need for guilt. Life happens to all of us, and sometimes we can write about it.

Inside Out Strategy

Do you have stacks in your house that look like this?

Or this?

Or this? (Photo missing. Please note I do have some pride left and am not admitting to bigger messes.)

Set the timer for ten or fifteen minutes. Tackle one or two stacks, then come back to the computer. You might write about your experience. You know, "How I Climbed Mount Everest."

Writing to Fill a Need

Need reason to write? Though writing for pre-teens may not be your ideal, consider reading the following New York Times blog by Tara Parker-Pope about the Beacon Street Girls series. I had to read several reader responses to find comments from parents of girls who have actually read the series (comments 27, 31, 32). The reviews were positive. Comment #36 was from a young woman lamenting the fact she's found nothing suitable about health for the 17-19 age range.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/books-for-girls-with-a-health-message/

A Special Day for Writing

I want to introduce you to some real encouragers. One of them is John Riddle, founder of I Love to Write Day.

Do you love to write? You probably do, or you wouldn't be here. Grab a pencil and circle a date on your calendar. November 15, I Love to Write Day, is officially recognized by nine state governors and more than 20,000 schools across the United States -- and all this from the influence of one writer promoting his craft.

Only ten more days! Let's get a plan. On your calendar, jot down your writing goal for that day. John Riddle encourages people of all ages to spend time November 15 writing. "They can write a poem, a love letter, a greeting card, an essay, a short story, start a novel, finish a novel…the possibilities are endless. I want people to take the time to put their thoughts down on paper. They will be amazed at the results," Riddle says.

For suggestions and ideas on how to hold special I Love to Write Day activities in your community, visit http://www.ilovetowriteday.org/. John also asks us to register on his web site so he can get an idea of how many people are participating.

A Lesson Remembered, A Card To Be Mailed

This morning I thought we could brainstorm reasons why we aren't writing notes to friends, letters to editors, essays, articles, anything personal. Here's my list. I'm still working on writing notes.

What if I say it wrong?
What if I am wrong?
What if I'm misunderstood?
What if I'm rejected?
What if . . .

Wait. I see a pattern here, so let me change hats from writer to self-editor. If I go back and cut out the repetitious "what if" and question marks, then I can see more clearly. Sometimes I say it wrong. On rare occasion, perhaps, possibly, maybe, I am wrong. I have been misunderstood. And yes, (sniff, sniff) I know the pain of rejection.

Well, how about that? No need to fear being human and part of the human race. Now, if I can change hats just one more time and move from self-editor to teacher, let's conjugate some verbs. Remember conjugation?

I will say it wrong.
You will say it wrong.
He will say it wrong.
We will say it wrong.
You will say it wrong.
They will say it wrong.

See the universality of our phobias? Let's do another one.

I will be wrong on occasion.
You will be wrong on occasion.
She will be wrong on occasion.
We will be wrong on occasion.
You will be wrong on occasion.
They will be wrong on occasion.

I will be, you will be, he will be, she will be, we will be, they will be misunderstood, rejected. So if you've been feeling all alone in your misery, welcome to my world.

So what is holding you back from actually putting pen to paper (or seat to computer chair) today and writing, then placing what you've written in envelope or hitting "send"? You don't have time, you say? Oh. We can talk about that another day. Right now I'm, ah, out the door.

But first, just a quick report: I did mail two cards yesterday. I agonized over one, still on the dashboard of my car. I have another card to write today (and three letters that are nagging). Now that I've remembered how to conjugate verbs, I'm encouraged. I'll go ahead and mail that sympathy card. If I said it wrong, then I'll have to trust the family receiving the card is good at reading between the lines and will understand I care. I am so sorry for their loss, I'm speechless -- or feel that way.

Hug someone. We all need love.

Why Writers Advance?

Many of us have been stuck for a very long time. We want to write. We think about writing. We talk about writing with our writer friends. But actually putting pen to paper or seat to computer chair seems too difficult. All the old fears come up, so rather than write, we busy ourselves alphabetizing the fears by name. Fear of Rejection goes behind Fear of Failure but in front of Fear of Success. We are so neat and tidy, so organized.

Let's not pull back any more. Let's advance. We're writers. Our voices in print are important. We don't have to write the next best seller for our words to be effective. Maybe someone is waiting to hear from us.

So today, if you don't have a pressing deadline for an editor, I invite you to write with me. I need to send out a sympathy card, a thinking-of-you card, a how-about-that-grandbaby note. I need to come up with maybe three or four sentences per card. For me, that's hard. Maybe you've been thinking about sending out a thank-you note or about writing your congressman or that letter to the editor.

If you are in the middle of a novel, go ahead. Write. But if you are a writer who is not writing, I challenge you to twelve sentences, more or less. Your written words are important.

Welcome to the Beach!

For a long time I've wanted a place at the beach. I've finally found it right here on blogger -- my own piece of real estate. I want to invite you to join me.

What are your concerns, your hopes, your dreams? Write about it.