The Write Perspective

Institute of Children's Literature

2011-01-19T06:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I took the plunge! I decided that it was time that I stopped hippity-hopping all over the known universe and to make a very serious, concentrated effort to polish the fine craft of writing to better my efforts and chances at/for publication. I applied to and was accepted by the Institute of Children's Literature. I have my own personal tutor! Assignment 1 has been submitted and I am doing some of the suggested things that are in the manual while waiting for my tutor's comments, suggestions, etc. I am very excited about this journey. It should take about a year. After that, I should feel more secure in my writing endeavors and should also feel much better prepared to write to submit.
It IS a journey! Title? "Journey to the Center of MY Universe." :-)

A Rainy December Day...

2010-12-13T09:29:00.000-08:00

Redundant? It's not a typo. It really is December and it is, in fact, raining. The river is the highest that I have seen it. The flip camera got a workout as I walked around the perimeter of the property. The entire floodplain is submerged and the water is flowing like it does in the riverbed itself. I shudder to think what-all debris will be dropped as it recedes. It's actually frightening to walk near the flood level. It's deep. It's dark. It's cold. Plus it's moving at an amazing speed. Huge trunks of fallen trees are moving by effortlessly. Ice chunks seem to glance up at me menacingly as they move on by. The whole thing is awe-inspiring, but really really scary.

Anyway...writing...
I was accepted by the Institute of Children's Literature for their children's and young adult's program of learning. I am totally pumped. (Did I just "date" myself?). I will have my own personal tutor, who is a published author herself as well as having been trained by the Institute. I will be starting in January. It is affordable and certainly feels like the prospects for me are full of promise. It has been a long time since I have felt this heartened.

I am entering some of my poetry into four different contests. One deadline is this week. I hate myself for having left it until the last minute. That is a no-no, but "it's too late to turn back now." There are two that are due at the end of the month and the final one is in February. Hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Every time that I do this, I think to myself, "Hey, you probably won't win." Now, is that self-sabotaging or what! I know all about "the power of positive thinking" and "manifesting," but it's difficult to stop those wheels after this many years. I have to get stuff out there that I think is pretty good. Even if I am rejected, it means that I am trying. It means honing the craft for an ever changing market while trying to be true to ones self. It's a compromise, at best.

So, that's that about that.

Until next post...

A Rainy November Day...

2010-11-17T08:40:00.000-08:00

Hey...Today's title is better than "It was a dark and stormy night..." right?!

I received news from a dear childhood friend that one of my high school classmates just passed away. It has been reverberating throughout my being ever since. "I knew him when." He left behind a wife and daughter and many many friends. I would say it was unexpected. First of all, I am so sorry that he left. Secondly, since we are/were the same age, it tends to beg the obvious question. I am so not ready. I am guessing that neither was he.

Is this all just a random sequence of events or is it pre-planned? I have spent the better part of my adult life searching for those types of answers. From metaphysics to quantum physics; from questioning (nearly all) religious beliefs via sorting and sifting; bouncing from one class to another in search mode; reading, reading, reading; researching, researching, researching; asking those tough questions. I am no closer to definitive answers now than I was when I began. I have not had a "being" appear out of seemingly nowhere to announce to me that there is life after life. Add to that, the said "being" has not led me on a learning expedition to show me that we have karma to work through and soul contracts. Are we or are we not in control of our own destinies? Is it a simple fact that "shit happens?" I have book shelf after book shelf filled with tomes that speak to these very issues. Not one of them tells me that "shit happens." They are all filled with testimonies and promises that this lifetime is one of many; we are here to learn; we have free will and often goof up, but we can right the wrongs. There's so much more, but this is where my head, heart and (hopefully) soul are spinning thoughts around the passing of my high school classmate. I really hope that he is able to watch over his family and gets to watch all of his friends at the celebration of his life. I have no idea what his beliefs were (are?) but I have a feeling that he is, in fact, with them.

Happy Trails, Tommy.

August Blues

2010-08-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

Here it is...the end of Cindy's and Nadia's stay. They are moving back to VA on the 15th, when their "new" house will be ready for them. Ryan got back safe and sound, spent a couple of weeks here with us, and then headed back to base and back to work. Peter and I will be driving a U-Haul while Cindy drives our car (Ryan took hers back). Somehow, in the meantime, we will need to pick up the U-Haul, fill it full of boxes (many of which have yet to be packed) and then head out, with six dogs, one cat, a seven year old child and memories. The memories will fill whichever vehicle I end up in. I am guessing that I'll take turns.
Barbra S's song, "Memories" just popped into my head...
"Memories....light the corners of my mind..." I guess I can't write any more without crying.
It has been a really good year. We have all grown tremendously.
Peter will stay for a bit, and then head back. I will stay and see Nadia into her first day or two of Grade 2. Then I will fly back...to a home without my girls and dogs. I will be a mess. At the same time, I need to use that energy to write. Huge emotional shifts make for good writing.

Speaking of writing...I have been a bad, bad writer. Nary a word. I have two YA mss in the works and need to polish a short story and two children's stories. This time, I will treat it like a job. No more "dinking around" and doing the "I'll get to it later" stuff. I need to hunker down and do it to it!!!!!

We'll see.

Whoosh times 100

2010-07-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

My poor blogsite has gathered layer upon layer of virtual dust. Oh dear. May I offer a plethora of lame excuses? No? I agree...no excuses needed or even heeded. Soooo, I will enter yet another entry that will float along the edges of the cosmos, unread by eyes other than my own.

Suffice it to say that I have been clawing my way out a personal black hole. The gravity continues to pull and my energy continues to wane. My writing? A bit here and a bit there. I have suffered a few critical hits that have managed to dampen my enthusiasm to create. I will rally. I always do. One of these days...really...

Do I believe in "send a thought out there and it will manifest?" I hope that it isn't totally true, especially when I see anger and hear angry comments. Ouch. However, I want to believe that if one projects with an intent that is honorable, that perhaps, just perhaps, it will manifest. "As A Man Thinketh," by James Allen copyright 1903 includes a lot to consider. The notion has been around for a loooong time.

I am taking an ecourse that I am behind in. I have two more weeks, so will need to do some serious sitting, thinking, working, etc to do it and myself justice.

I will write. That is a promise to me. I will submit. That is another promise to me. I won't give up if I suffer rejection. That is yet another promise to me.

I also need to be more faithful in my blogging.

April PAD Challenge

2010-04-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

I have neglected my blog. It became more of a diary/journal than a writing journal. I am now going to use it to write. Robert Brewer of Writers Digest fame runs a poetry "marathon" two times a year; November and April. He had dubbed it the PAD Challenge, for a Poem A Day. He gives us a theme and a poem ("Here's my attempt") each day of the month. This will be my third year doing the April challenge. This is also his first "deal" with those of us who participate to write out poems on our blogs rather than his website, where they become possible "published" work and no longer viable to use as publishable...tricky stuff.

This is my entry to explain what I will be doing for awhile. After this entry, I will write a poem a day here on my blogsite.

October, November, December...Oh My!

2009-12-16T08:57:00.000-08:00

Zip! Zoom! Bang! Crash! Sob! Sigh! I guess a bit of onomatopoeia pretty much covers my writing life in the past few months. I have gotten some done. Actually, I did a lot of poetry. Poet Robert Brewer runs a poetry marathon twice a year (November and April) and I make every effort to participate. This past month's effort was mostly done on paper. I did post about ten poems on the website, which is a failure in terms of my wishes to do it up. However, I did write to all but two or three of the prompts and have some handwritten still and some typed and saved in word. I did pull several out to put into book form and sent it to him, hopefully following his specs to the tee. So that is an accomplishment for me, when I think of what this past two or three months has had in store for me/us.

My six-year old granddaughter, Nadia, has been making efforts to adjust to a new set of everything. Her dad is in Iraq and Nadia and her mom moved in with my husband and me. Along with them came a plethora of dogs and a cat. My daughter, Cindy, is enrolled in UMA, trying to finish up a degree. There was also a litter of five AKC Registered Maltese pups born to her female and they have all been placed. What an ordeal! In the meantime, she was on her way home on Black Friday, in the rain, having delivered a pup to a client, when a car zoomed across the middle of the road going 55+ MPH and hit her almost head on. Both cars were totalled. Cindy was taken to the hospital and thank God, is now home and ok-ish. Her body took one hell of a beating, but all-in-all, she is alive and well and that's really all that matters. The driver of the other car was taken home by her husband who was driving behind her in another vehicle. That's a long story in itself. However, trying to deal with insurance, rental, and getting another car has consumed all of us.

Now it is nearly Christmas. I am so NOT ready and it's next week. I don't want to talk about it!

In the meantime, I am going to try and get back in the fiction and non-fiction writing groove after the holiday passes us by. I am pretty happy with my poetry efforts. I want to enter a non-fiction contest and I am needing to clear off the dust from two manuscripts...one a chapter book for reluctant readers, which I want to make into a series and the other my so very dusty YA SCI-FI MS.

Over and out...

End of October

2009-10-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

Once again, the time has whooshed by me. I guess that has to be my mantra. Whatever the case, the time has been well spent making memories with my daughter and granddaughter. I have written little, which is a shame, but there are only X-number of hours in a day. Between laundry, dishes and just trying to cut my way through the busy clutter and hectic schedules, it's amazing to me that I am still upright. I do, however, feel the need to check in to my blog, which has turned into more of a journal than anything else, and write something. There are virtually no followers, so I am writing to me. Maybe one day...

I recently received a beautiful tome, "The Path," with my poem in it, entitled "Summer Child." The publishers are Silver Boomers Press and they did a wonderful job with it all. I am very proud of it and plan on getting several copies for family and friends. :-)

On November 21st, I will be attending a writers' bootcamp in Shapleigh, Maine, hosted by Brenda Sturgis. I just sent out a ms that I am in love with to be critiqued by Lisa Wheeler, who is the author who is going to do the workshop. I have entitled it, "How do you Hide a Dragon?" (book one of the series, "The Adventures of Annie and Blaze").

Rather than carry on, (blah blah blah), I will end and save this entry. Even though I have no followers, maybe one day I will. I need to be true to my blog!

Mid-September

2009-09-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

Time really does seem to be speeding "up." Since time apparently does not exist, I find it difficult to put that together. So, what is, in fact, speeding up? Something is!

I have had little time for writing. However, I have gotten some more done on my ya sci-fi ms. It's coming along. I sent in a poem to Horticulture Magazine. That's a wait and see, as all submissions are. I will be attending a bootcamp in Shapleigh, Maine in November, where my cb ms will be critiqued (for a fee). Actually, I am sending it to the presenter ahead of time for her critiquing. It should be an interesting day. I am nervous about finding not only the place where the workshop is being held, but Shapleigh itself! That's about "it" for my writing of late.

Our small dwelling has swelled with energy and activity. My daughter's husband in now in Iraq. My daughter, granddaughter, three small dogs and one cat (one got runover, which was traumatic for all of us) are all here "with bells on!" I will adjust. I haven't yet, completely, but I am getting there. I'm not so sure about my poor husband, who is overwhelmed by it all. Once we are in a routine, with household jobs better delegated, things will smooth out. Yes, they will. Seriously. They will! Please!!!!

I really want to get my ya ms completed. I am having such fun with it.

September? No Way!

2009-09-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

Since this format is writing only, one cannot see my red face. What has happened to me?! I honestly feel as though I am in the presence of the as yet to be fully imagined gravitational pull of a black hole! All things are zinging by me in a blur and try as I might, I can't seem to grasp anything on my way in to slow the momentum, let alone stop it. Is this what it is like to become elderly? If so, it sucks. If not, then "what the....!"

August? You mean it's gone? I vaguely remember intense heat and humidity to the point of wishing myself away. I guess it worked. During that month, my daughter Cindy, granddaughter, Nadia, three dogs and two cats arrived for a long term "visit." Husband/Daddy deployed to Iraq. It's been a serious adjustment. During that time, daddy left and one kitty, Rajah got run over. It has been a series of traumas for the little Nadia. Mommy has been using her energy to try and keep the Nadia person emotionally upright. Me? I managed to create a poem to submit to Horticulture Magazine. I really liked it. I hope that they do as well. Other than that, I have thought about my ya sci-fi ms and actually read it again and added a bit. I like that one as well, but it has a long way to go. I have a couple of pb ms's that are ready for critiquing. There's a day-long workshop in Shapleigh, ME in November that I have signed up for. It's extra money for critiquing, but I am going to go for it. I just need to find out where the heck Shapleigh is...

Nadia started grade 1 yesterday. She was so very nervous. She met her new teacher, Mrs. DeCarolis, along with her classmates, outside on the veranda of the school in the morning. The teacher then escorted the children to her classroom. Nadia looked so beautiful in her little purple dress that daddy got for her. She also looked terrified. Her grandfather, Peter (she calls him "Gah") took her hand and walked with her. It was beautiful. She had an amazing day and couldn't wait to go back this morning. The people who work at Crescent Park School are angels in human form. I should know. I worked with most of them for many many years as a classroom teacher. They will all look out for this child. Life is good.

I really hope to do more with this blog. It would make a big difference if anyone were to visit it! Let's see what September brings!

...end of July

2009-07-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

June flashed by me and I guess July did as well. It has been a busy summer, despite the drizzly, rainy, humid, depressing weather. The big event has been the arrival of my daughter, granddaughter, three dogs and two cats. Husband/Daddy will be deploying to Iraq for a year during the first week in August. The girls and furry family members will be staying here with me, my husband, one dog, four cats and a rattie. It will be a potentially life-altering set of circumstances. It should give me a plethora of ideas for children's stories, however! I just hope that I have time to write them!!!!

That's "it" for the moment. Over and Out.

It's July! June got rained out...

2009-07-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

I have been a bad, bad blogger. I am so sorry that I have let my huge numbers of followers down by not posting! serious wink here

It has not been at all productive, in terms of writing. My mind has spun out a few, but never to be captured on paper or epaper. I like that word...epaper. :-) I haven't heard from anyone else whom I sent things out to. I guess I should at least jiggle a chain or two. My promise to me is that I will get back at it as soon as I complete some tasks that need to be done on the physical plane. The mental will have to wait.

My daughter and granddaughter will be moving in with us for 12-15 months while husband/daddy deploys to Iraq. He has been told that his company's mission will be to work on rebuilding the city and they shouldn't see any combat. I have noticed that the violence is escalating in Iraq as our combat troops move out. That is not good. We will worry about him and pray for his safe return. In the meantime, the girls will stay here, along with three small dogs and two cats. We have one large dog, four cats and a rattie. So, my energy has gone into culling and organizing and cleaning and basically wearing myself out. It has been raining here in Maine "forever." It is unreal. The rain has kept me inside, doing my hard physical labor. However, the lack of sun has made things all dreary, damp, dank, and depressing. How's that for a bit of alliteration?

I felt the urge to get a post in, as I made a promise to myself that I would try to make this a blogsite. It has turned into a journal, but I guess it is what it is. I'll never get a following if I don't seriously break into print. I'll never seriously break into print if I don't write!

Sigh! Over and out.

Ta-Da!

2009-05-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

OMG! I am about to become a published poet! On my son's birthday, no less, I got a message from Silver Boomer Books about a poem, "Child of Summer," that I submitted ages and ages ago. They want to include it in their upcoming anthology. I am going to link their blog to this blogsite as soon as I figure out how. I can include the URL, and that's what I will do now... www.silverboomerbooks.com

I got a REAL contract and even though I am but one piece in the book, this is a real "MOMENT" for me. I am thrilled!

A "lesson" is forming itself in my brain even as I write this. The biggest expenditure of my creative energy goes into writing fiction and/or non-fiction for kids. I belong to GROUPS, I READ, I STUDY, I LEARN how-to's and not how-to's, and I SUBMIT! I get rejections. Now, my poetry? That comes from WITHIN. The lesson is continuing to form itself. Right now, it is misty and wispy. You see, I DO need to know the industry, in terms of writing prose. Really. But I am trying so hard to do it RIGHT. Am I leaving myself out of the formula in the process? I need to really chew on this one!

In the meantime, I have to say that I feel so happy today. Linda, the Poet! OMG.

May 20th

2009-05-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

Today is my son's 40th birthday. I feel blessed that he has been in my life. He is special and I love him dearly. I won't get to be with him, except in "spirit," because we live four hours apart. Sigh.

I have just decided that a good part of my energy needs to be devoted to setting up a space someplace that is MY writing space...an office, if you will. My stuff is scattered all over the place; boxes, folders, different rooms, etc. Now, that is just not working for me. Will it make me a better writer? I doubt it. However, it will make me a more organized writer. In the long run, it will help. Now, this all begs the question..."where?" I have no immediate answer. I do know, however, that it has to happen.

I'll keep my endeavor posted in this blog. Sigh. Hello? Is anyone out there? Does anyone "shiv a git?" I do, so I'll keep plugging away at his blog.

Happy Birthday, my Sweet Son. I love you with all of my heart.

Rainy May Day...

2009-05-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

Guess what? Nobody reads my blog! I have it attached to the end of my primary email acct, yet nobody bothers to come here to check it out. Owie! I feel INVISIBLE!

Speaking of invisible, I am now at the seventh day of the NaPiBoWriWee and did not succeed, in terms of cranking out seven rough drafts of picture books. HOWEVER, AND this is a biggy for me...I DID come to the finish line with ONE that I really like. I do have six others that I am going to go back to. I have also learned something about myself. I cannot start and stop and then come back and continue where I left off. If I start and finish in one sitting, then I can do a really rough first copy. If I leave off (and I always do, with the exception of much of my poetry) and then come back, I have to read the beginning to get back in the groove of where I was headed when I stopped. I AM NOT able to just whip through and continue. I find my areas that can be tightened up and/or changed altogether and get mired in the re-write before I get to that place to continue. Thus, time passes and my forward momentum is lost. Heavy Sigh, here. So, in terms of the challenge I failed. In terms of getting a picture book almost done, I succeeded. I would not have done even one without the challenge. So, thank you, Paula Woo. You have inspired me! www.paulawoo.com

Day 7 is not over yet. I am going to go and finish that PB. Its title is "How Do You Hide A Dragon?" I am having so much fun with it! Now, where is my notebook..............

Oh My...It's May!

2009-05-04T06:25:00.001-07:00

My "Word!" March whipped by me and then April evaporated. Now it's May. I love May. The buds on the trees and bushes are ready to burst open. It will very quickly go from the promise of spring to full blown spring...bugs and all! Yes, giant mosquitoes have landed on my arms already and I have my first blackfly bite. That part of spring most certainly "sucks," but I live in the state of Maine and those pesky insects come along as part of the experience.

I have to pat myself on the back as having completed Robert Lee Brewer's PAD (Poem A Day) Challenge for the month of April. I wrote thirty poems and submitted them. Robert gave us (approx 1500 poets participated!) a prompt each day which gave us a focus and a common start and finish line. I reacted to many of the prompts with "whatever will I do with this one?!" and with others, my mind and pen flew. I am very happy with some of my poems. Robert and his wife, Tammy will be choosing a small number of their favs to send along to some other poets to help him decide which ones will go in an ebook. I'm not holding my breath. It's all very subjective. This is my third PAD Challenge and each time I have done all thirty. It's great for my muses and it gives me a feeling of having accomplished some serious writing. I am happy with that and that's a good thing. Some of the poems that others wrote are truly amazing and it makes me realize how many of us love to write.

Now I am in Day 4 of another challenge. Children's writer, Paula Yoo offered a challenge that she calls "NaPiBoWriWee," which stands for National Picture Book Writing Week. SOOO, I am now buried in pages of picture book beginnings. I have one nearly done and will need to do some furious writing to get caught up. Now, understand this...a good, quality children's book is VERY DIFFICULT to complete. Trust me on that one. I will make every effort to cross that finish line with seven very ROUGH DRAFTS! My ideas are jotted down and I just need to allow the mind and imagination to shift from poetry to prose. Yes, I can do poetry for kids' books, but it is my understanding that many editors/publishers are shying away from that form at the present time. I try to keep my fingers on the pulse of what's shakin' out there, and get conflicting feedback at times, but the rhyming thing seems to keep bubbling up to the surface. It will pass and I will be ready! In the meantime, I need to stop writing here and start writing there!

March Marched!

2009-04-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

Oh My! March came and went. Lion? Lamb? I couldn't say, really. I got all caught up in a new (to me) healing adventure around the use of sound. I KNOW it's been around for a long, really long time. It would seem that it found me when it was supposed to. Anyway, I spent the better part of the month reading, researching, discussing and trying to learn about some of its facets. I got so excited that I set up a new...yes NEW...blogsite using Word Press. I got it started... I left it. I will return to it. This site took a hit. Nobody reads it anyway...heavy sigh. Then there's my Livejournal site! Good heavens. I guess all of that kind of makes a clear pic of how I operate. I have so many interests, which leads to too many irons in the fires, which ends up with my spinning all kinds of wheels, going nowhere quite quickly!

I am excited to have jumped onto Robert Brewer's Poem a Day Challenge for April. Ah yes, add another iron to my fire. It's day 6, and I have managed to get one in...yes, you (I) read it correctly...ONE!

So, I feel as though I need to try and get caught up somewhat with that. My YA, Sci-Fi MS has gathered dust. I have submitted a few things...gotten a handful of rejections and now need to write some of my favorite ed pubs a reminder that I sent things in. That, of course, could go either way...one scenario is around the fact that my reminder could arrive on a "bad day" and it could further piss them off, so the form rejection letter gets sent to shut me up, or the other scenario might be that it gets to them on a day when positive vibes are floating around like free radicals and they look at my stuff again and love it! Hey, this is my blog. I can succeed if I want to!

So, off to finish washing the stove and getting another load of laundry in. I also need to get a pile of crap out to the compost pile and get my doggy out for a romp before it "rains heavily at times with high winds," as promised. Ah yes, after THAT, I will write. Oh yes, I really need to vack the kitchen floor! THEN I will write. A nap? Maybe. THEN AFTER THAT I will write.

Once upon a time, there was a writer wannabe...she tried and tried...life often got in the way, but she just couldn't give it up...then one day, a letter came in the mail from a publisher whom she had sent a manuscript to months ago. Hands shaking, heart pounding, eyes watering, she opened the envelope...

I just don't know...

2009-03-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

I guess this is more of a journal entry than anything else. I just this morning got an email from the company that I sent in my most recent work to. It was rejected. My feeling right now is that maybe I am in the wrong industry. I want to blame it on the economy. I want to blame it on my timing. I want to blame it on all of those *$#*@ variables that come into play in this business. Maybe it's time that I look inwardly far more closely and admit that maybe, just maybe, I do not have what it takes.

March Meanderings

2009-03-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

The snow is melting! Yayyyy! Yes, it's becoming mud, and there is still a ton of the white (ish) stuff out there, but it really is beginning to feel like spring might be trying to make an appearance. I am so very ready.
What am I doing about my writing, you ask? Actually, quite a bit! I just sent in a cb ms that's science oriented. That one is one that I've been working on for quite some time. I liked it and felt hopeful as I sent it off. Let's see, I have sent out six submissions to "regular" markets and have gotten two rejections. That leaves me a chance, still! I have also sent out seven packets to educational publishers and have gotten one rejection and one "your resume is on file" so that leaves me with with five hopefuls and one "maybe someday." So, I am not tearing my hair out in desperation and despair, but I am also realistic in terms of the market and the economy. In addtion to the above, I am ready to dust off my "Stephanie" science fiction, ya novel and breathe life back into it. I also had a dream recently that left me "knowing" that it was the basis for another ya ms. I am excited about writing, and even though I am "Miss Moneypenniless" (do you remember James Bond and Miss Moneypenny?) I feel blessed to have this time to follow not only this passion, but another, and that's my quest for being an instrument of healing that isn't under the auspices of mainstream western medicine. But that's another blog. Until next time...

End of February, 2009

2009-02-26T07:35:00.000-08:00

Once again, I sit in front of the monitor, fingers dancing on the keyboard, wondering why the heck I am doing this. I am my only reader. This blog that I had dreams of becoming a writing blog with people visiting and leaving bits of input here and there has turned into a journal. I guess that's ok. If at some point I am able to connect with others who have a passion for writing I will then be able to set up a blog that gathers appropriate traffic.

I sent out a pb ms to ABC Picture Book Competition. I sent out another to Dragonfly Publishers for another competition. I heard back from Enslow Publishers and they didn't show any interest in hiring me to write non-fiction books for them. Sigh. Since I sent out two to them; one for K-3 and the other for Middle Levels; I count that as two of my seven. So at this juncture, I have heard back from three of the seven. These last two sure sounded like rejections. The first one said that my resume was on file. I sent an article to a kids magazine and they rejected it. So for 2009, it looks like I am not really in great demand. Heavy sigh.

Will I give up? Not a chance. Something is driving me to write. It's a force greater than I am. I just haven't found my niche. I hear it calling me. It just won't properly identify itself. I am working on a pb to send out to Sylvan Dell and I feel pretty good about it. They are such a class act. They "marry" fiction and non-ficion and it's really fun to write. That's what is in the works at the moment. After that, I'll resurrect my ya sci-fi ms and breathe new life into that one.

May the force stay with me!

Frosty February Findings

2009-02-06T07:14:00.000-08:00

Right off the bat, here, "THE" groundhog saw his shadow. Now, let me tell you this...that is dreadful news; at least for me. I love the sun. I love to go outside in the fresh air and do my hooking up with nature thing. I do not like the bitter cold and the deep snow and if we have that many more weeks of it, then my depression will only worsen. Since I try to look on the bright side (I said TRY...I don't always succeed), it can mean more time to write. Right? Right! Write!

Since my focus for this blog is writing, then I need to stay focused here. I have had three rejections so far this month. It's early, so it's possible that more may darken my days. Then again, perhaps that acceptance that I KNOW is coming my way will do just that. In the meantime, I have gotten myself in deep with so many ideas that I am scattered like snowflakes over the field. The flake part of that bit is more true than I want to even admit...I guess I just did.

I have my sci-fi ya ms that I have left on simmer; I have a cb contest that I am writing for; a well known greeting card company has just sent out an sos (in general...not to me personally...sigh); I have recently gotten amazing glimpses into a part of my father-in-law's role in WWII and really want to write his story...it's so amazing; I want to submit to one of my fav cb science houses and have so many science ideas that I zip all over the place and can't seem to settle down; and there are several poems that I have percolating in various parts of my brain...gee I wish they'd get it together and stay put! I know that I need to focus on ONE project, see it to its finish and submit. I know that. Really. Maybe I should write about ADD! I do have it. Obviously.

There are two words that keep surfacing as I read my writing mags, list serve entries and such. They are as follows; "Smart Writing." Man is that giving me a run. I get the writing part of it, but SMART. It has so many outfits. So, who do I write to...the kids or the editor/publishers?! Both? Cripey. That's a tough sell for an unknown (that would be me, in case you don't know). In an effort to perhaps get a taste of what is selling, I went to Amazon and ordered too many newly released novels for kids, including this year's Newbery Winner. I'll devour them once they get here and then sit back and wonder if I had just experienced "Smart Writing" or palatable writing for those pubs. I will say this much...it's all overwhelming. I'll stay the course, and may very well eventually say to hell with it, I have my own voice and if they don't like it...well...then...I really don't know. That is then. This is now. I must post this, do some chores and write.

yet another post...

2009-01-22T12:09:00.000-08:00

I really should dedicate a post to Barak Obama and will at some point, but he is basically "covered," don't you think? I don't think that I could add any new insights. I will say that I am really relieved that he is at the helm now. The entire planet is blanketed with optimism and that is a good thing!

Since I last wrote, I have gotten caught up in several new ventures...adventures! The one downer, and I will get that right out of the way here, is that I got a form letter from an ed pub company with no name (dear author) and no signature...it was basically "we got your 'stuff' and don't need it now and if you wrote a resume it's on file..." it blew me out of the water bc it was in response to my packet...my baby...my blood, sweat and tears! I have been visiting my writer friends at guppy pond and although they were empathic, they all said that this is basically what you get from many of them. Now, I can take rejection (where IS that noose, anyway?) but I can't take lack of respect. I put a professional effort into my work and consider myself a writer...make that Writer. Now, these companies, even if they are overburdened with all sorts of things, can take a few extra minutes and include a name! AND, "if you included a resume..." Holy Cow! Yes! Among other things! Nicely, carefully crafted things. I am proud of my work things! So, anyway, that was the only one that I have heard from.

Now, on to more uplifting thoughts. I sent in a book of poems to Robert Brewer recently. It was the end result of his November PAD (poem a day) Challenge. I felt good about getting something finished. My focus was the elderly and I entitled the book "The Forgotten Ones." So, one down and a ba-zillion left. I have been working on a YA Sci-Fi MS but have gotten stuck. I LOVE my idea and my MC is a sweetie and is in deep "stuff" right now and I have left her there far too long! Poor thing! But I have hit a wall. I will be calling on all available muses soon to get me out of the ditch. I have a PB MS that is in limbo. I finished it a year ago and it's kind of waiting to get born. It's looking for the right mom at the moment. I also have several ideas floating around that I need to put on paper.

I have been complaining about too many websites and not enough time, right? Well, I have found four or five MORE and they just keep coming out of the woodwork! Each of them, dealt with correctly, take a lot of time. Add them all together and the day is basically shot! Now, I need to do something about it, but don't know what, yet. I really do need to put more time into my writing. Never mind the vacuum cleaner! Let the Swiffer wet mop dry up!! Allow the laundry to take over the downstairs!!! Let the litter pans fill to the brim!!!! The dishes can be thrown away and I'll get new ones...never mind washing them!!!!! And exercise? HA!!!!!! If I write as much as I need to, my fingers will be skinny and rest of me...well...never mind. If I didn't need to sleep, I might get caught up...eventually.

So, January is near its end and the days are getting longer...well, you know what I mean...more daylight. That's always a good thing. I love the light!

Bring It On!

2009-01-14T07:17:00.000-08:00

It's 2009! Who doesn't love new beginnings? I adore them. They bring with them fresh energy for my busy neuro-transmittors and gets them ready to rock!

This year I will fulfill some of my promises to me. I have completed a wee ten-page poetry book and submitted it to Robert Brewer for his PAD challenge for November. I have rejoined SCBWI and NESCBWI and will visit those sites often. I have a PB MS ready for submission. I am four chapters into a YA Sci-Fi MS and will finish that this year. I do need a critique group for that one and that is on my to-do list. Bascially, I will look at this writing thing as my job and I will make it work! I have never been more certain of anything. It is what I am supposed to be doing and my muses are kicking my butt on a daily basis. "I hear and I obey!"

Stay tuned...

Last day of 2008!

2008-12-31T08:14:00.001-08:00

We all say, "out with the old and in with the new" and I am really working on feeling like that. A new year...a new beginning...I am up for it. My glass NEEDS to remain half full!
Good-bye, 2008.
"Light, light...more light!" -Goethe

Winter Blues

2008-12-21T15:32:00.000-08:00

It's Winter Solstice today...the shortest amount of daylight in 24 hours in the Northern Hemisphere! It's a time to celebrate those things that we associate with the dark. It's a time of relishing the rest and a time of rebirth. Think of the female black bear as she hibernates during these long winter months, quietly getting ready to give birth to new cubs when spring arrives. She will rest, body and spirit waiting for the long daylight hours after the long winter darkness. In Maine, it is a long winter. The long hours of darkness take their toll on many of us, myself included. I am feeling depressed, sluggish and wishing that I lived in a warmer climate. This is a tough time and it's important to adjust the attitude to "hey, it's always like this...it gets better...buck up!" However, we have had one serious winter storm after another and it just seems to be never-ending! Add the fact that my daughter and granddaughter have been trying to fly to Maine from Virginia since Friday and their flights keep getting canceled! It's Sunday and there is no end in sight. My heart is broken that they aren't here. I do believe that she is going to drive up! That doesn't make me feel happy at all, because it will be such an ordeal...heavy sigh...
After the Christmas and New Year celebrations, I will take advantage of the hours that I cannot be outside and I will write. I have not heard from any of the seven educational publishers that I sent packets to. It has been less than a month, so I am not feeling too discouraged yet. Some other writers that I have been in touch with sent out packets as well and some of them have actually gotten some news. Nobody has yet gotten an assignment, but one or two have gotten the good news that their work is appreciated and even though the company isn't hiring at this time, their work will go on file for future assignments. I mustn't despair, however. The economy is in a shambles, and for perhaps the first time in "forever" both educational and trade publishers are feeling the pinch and cutting back...another heavy sigh...
As I see it, I need to work on this SAD and try and get myself back in working order!
I predict that my poetry will be dark...

"If it could happen to me..." by Kristen Landon

2008-12-10T07:11:00.000-08:00

I get The Writer, among other magazines, to assist me with the craft. The very last page of the Jan, 2009 issue has an interview with Kristen Landon, who writes Science-Fiction. I was glued to her every word. Science- Fiction is my favorite genre to write, in terms of fiction. I adore the notion of creating vast, as yet to be realized settings; believable, compelling, seemingly insurmountable obstacles for the very human characters that my imagination gives birth to; checking in with the laws of Quantum Physics to see which ones I can adhere to or need to override; the excitement that boils up in every cell of my body as the writing makes all of this take shape. My heroes are of course, Albert, who is the ultimate in having made sense of what doesn't, as well as Stephen Hawking, who is also brilliant beyond numbers, and Michio Kaku, whose books are at my side as I weave my way though parallel universes, and such. He's so amazing that it hurts!
Anyway, at the end of the interview, Landon gives advice. "Take chances. Work hard... Grab the luck... ...if your heart isn't in it, don't write it. Find the issues that spark your passion and build your stories around them. If this is really what you want - if you're telling your stories - then you've got a chance. If it could happen to me..."
Whoa. I'm there. I'm not published, but I am there. I found my passion many years ago. Now, I need to make it happen! And, I will.

A Recent Angel Encounter

2008-12-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

Let me get it right out there. I believe in Angels. Period. End of discussion. They are as real as you and I. I am a WRITER, but I am so much more. You are as well. Many of us know that. Many of us do not. Anyway, here is the first of my angel encounter series. Please understand that it is not the first of my encounters. It is, however, the beginning of my writings about those experiences.

I keep a calendar. It's one of those pocket-sized planners that slip easily into ones purse or pocket. It's essentially, my memory. I write everything in it. Otherwise, I would not know which end might be up. It helps keep me centered and on track. Well, I lost it. Had I moved items from it to my large "hanging in the kitchen by the phone" calendar? Surely you jest. That would be a resounding "no." After several days of searching, panic began to set in. There was no proverbial stone that had not gone unturned. My planner was gone. I was about to give up, when a fleeting reminder to ask for help stopped me in my tracks. I closed my eyes, took a few deep, cleansing breaths and asked my angels for help in finding it. From there, my feet took me to a box that I had looked in at least a half dozen times. I pulled it out, and there was my calendar.
Of course, I thanked them (once again!).
Now, a calendar/planner might seem like a silly thing to ask angels for. It might seem like a silly thing to stress over. Maybe. But not to me. The angels are there for the big things, but they are also there for the not so big. In other words, they are there.

If...

2008-12-02T07:12:00.000-08:00

If I had nothing else to do, I'd have this blogsite and my Livejournal site all spiffed up and reader ready! If lots of people read my blogs, I'd do it anyway. If I never had to sleep, eat, clean, (etc times 100), I could have my sci fi fiction ms all ready to commit to market. If I could find my way out of a paper bag, I would have traveled to places of inspiration for my poetry. If life didn't interfere with what I would like to accomplish, I'd be "all caught up." Wait a minute....isn't life what I write about? As insignificant as these interruptions seem to be, they seem to be snippets of life. If I didn't have my life, I wouldn't be typing these words on this page, now, would I?
If I can find more time, I will make every effort to stay up-to-date on my blogsites while at the same time finding even more time to write. The rest of the time, life can have at me!

Packets

2008-11-29T06:52:00.000-08:00

After what seems like an eternity to me, I have gathered, organized, honed, redone, tweaked, and prepared the contents for packets to send out to a small handful of carefully chosen publishing companies whose sole purpose is to sell non-fiction to schools and libraries. These packets look like large paper envelopes. These large paper envelopes contain yet more papers with writing on them. However, that could not be farther from the truth. These packets actually contain glimpses of who I am as a writer of non-fiction. These seemingly innocuous packets could make the difference in my future as a writer of non-fiction. I am putting myself out there, as it were, to toss and turn as the waves of a battered economy take charge of the directions that these packets may take. My writing samples need to find their ways to editorial directors who are looking for just what I have to offer. The slush piles are greedy. They can't wait to claim yet another soul of a writer. The truth of the matter is clear. There are many of us. MANY. The market is flooded as the waves continue to do what they do best, depending on the weather conditions. My packets could easily get lost in the storm. OR, they could get washed ashore, gently, like a message in a bottle, to be found by just the eyes who are looking for them. So, I'll send them off, with a prayer for them to find a home. Do wish me luck.

November's End

2008-11-18T09:45:00.000-08:00

E-Gad! Well, I have recently read that when blogging, one doesn't apologize for not having kept up with ones blog! So, I won't apologize for not having kept up with my blog. OK? Having said that, I do wish to explain my apparent absence. For the past month+ I have been immersed in an online course, as explained in a previous entry. It was rich! At this point, I am 99.9% ready to send out "packets" to a handful of educational publishers. The beginning of December is a good time to get yourself out there as they are beginning to think ahead to their spring catalogs. Here's the thing; it's all about timing. Well, I suppose one needs to be able to handle the craft of writing non-fiction as well...that would help. So, when I go to the post office to deliver my paper children to the unknown and sometimes fickle hands of fate, I shall offer them up as a blessing, not unlike an ancient Mayan priest who is about to offer up his youngest daughter to the hands of the gods as he makes every effort to NOT look into the bowels of the volcano! (Yes, I realize that I came very close to a run-on sentence there!) After that, I will wait for the gods to smile upon me with news at some point in the not too distant future that one or more of the ed pubs would love to offer me a contract!

October's End

2008-10-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

I have to spend more time on this. It's essential that I stay in tune with my objectives for this site. It's about writing. It's about who I am as a writer. It's about who I am becoming. Each day brings with it more opportunities to deal with the craft, even if it's no more than a fleeting thought that I grab from the ethers to think about later for my use. It is an energy that surrounds me, runs through me, and tickles my imagination. I am trying so hard to direct that energy from there to my fingertips so that I can do what I so desperately want to do. Write. It requires a discipline that is akin to an athlete who is training for the Olympics. I had no idea it would be so difficult. My small world is full of distractions and being ADD (diagnosed and I believe it!) it takes all of my will to stay in one place long enough to get those words either on paper or in Word or Clarisworks, depending on which machine I am using at the time. I can do this. It niggles at the back of my brain during all of my waking hours. It even surfaces while I sleep, because I often recall dreams where I have been doing something that is writing related. I know that I am supposed to be doing this, because I am driven. As the saying goes, "it is written."
I will be finished with my online course with Laura Salas re: writing non-fiction for educational publishers in another couple of weeks. It has been intense, but she is good. I am learning so much. I feel good about it and it was no mistake that it happened to grab my attention. My first love is fiction, but this is very satisfying as well. I would love to create some works of truth that kids actually enjoy reading, whether it's for research or just pleasure.
I am currently working on an article to submit to the group for critiquing. It's about the box jelly that is found in Australia. Kids would love it because the critter's venom is strong enough to kill humans and rather quickly at that. The thing would give me nightmares if I lived there!
That's all for now. I am promising myself to be more faithful to this blog after I finish the course.
Over and out...

Educational Publishers

2008-09-21T06:57:00.000-07:00

I am going to start on online class re: writing for educational publishers on September 29th. Laura Salas is teaching it and it really sounds and feels like a direction that might very well work for me. I adore writing fiction. I love writing poetry. However, I taught fourth and fifth graders for nearly forty years. It makes sense to me to marry my teaching experiences with writing for educational markets. I am really excited to begin. Hey..."nothing ventured, nothing gained," right?

in the beginning...

2008-08-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

My writing career began when I learned to read. I fell in love with books from a very early age. In fact, I am relatively certain that this affair with the written word began many lifetimes ago. At any rate, although I remember little about my childhood, I do remember the excited feeling that I would get when we went to the library or had a chance to write stories. The other bit that I am able to recall from my childhood is around visiting my best friend's house and recording stories that I would tell. I always began with "Once upon a time," and the rest would be made up as I would go along. When I was in high school, I was part of a small group of storytellers that would go to the local library and tell stories to small groups of elementary aged children. From there I went to college and was told by my creative writing teacher that I had talent. After I graduated from college I was fortunate to land my first teaching job. From there, life took over. I got married, had two children, and taught school for the next thirty-nine years, earning my masters, national board certification, and the presidential award in excellence in elementary science for my state (Maine) as I zoomed through my life's story. I am presently sixty-one years old and have yet to fulfill my dream to write to publish. I have much to offer and have worked at honing my skills and continue to work. It's an ongoing and never-ending process. Having said all of that, I am anxious to begin. Do wish me luck.

positive attitude

2008-08-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

It's the end of August. I am actually not sad to see summer's end. It's been hot, humid and wet most of the summer and the mosquitoes have run rampant. Perhaps the fall will bring with it the gift of sunny days without biting insects. One can hope.
This is my first entry on Blogger/Blogspot. I have a blog set up on livejournal (http://lindakuzyk.livejournal.com) that I have used to capture my thinking and I will keep it alive. I will use this one for writing in general. My livejournal blog is for writing as well, but this one will have a different flavor. I am making a promise to myself to write every day and the positive attitude will come about as I keep my promise to myself.
I hope to meet other writers and in the process, learn from them and hopefully have them learn from me.