Thank You Everyone

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I want to take some time to say thank you to all who visited my humble little weblog this year. Though I have other writing I worked hard to accomplish, one goal for 2008 was to further build my presence as a writer online [both here and at Soul Echoes~Quill of the Heart], and to keep this blog active and up to date.

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My health issues kept me from completing a great deal of what I'd set out to do, but I'm learning from this experience. The Draft Folder still holds tidbits that have yet to see the digital light of virtual day. I've also mentioned a time or three, I continue to maintain a word.doc file for blog pending entries. And, I remain hopeful that I'm not merely talking to myself.

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I view this blog as my journey as a writer. And I can only trust that one day, someone else may find some inspiration in my efforts; some humor to brighten their day; wisdom or source of information they may otherwise not have found. Not everyone ventures to leave a comment, and others will never return. But to those who do or will, I say thank you for finding your way to my thoughts, my words, my rants and ramblings, and to my echoes.

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Though there is much strife in the world today, may those who found their way here know much peace and joy in the coming year.

You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough. You must want it with an exuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world.

~Sheila Graham

Many blessings to you all

It's a Wrap!

What a week! Though the Muse Online Writers Conference is over and done with, I've kept busy with a few of the goals I established during organizational forums with Cheryl Malandrinos and Susanne Rose.

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One goal for this week was to enter TWRP's Mini Halloween Romance contest. My goal was to submit an excerpt of Walks with the Moon. A piece I titled: Undeclared Love. Earlier this week I reworked another scene to submit in its stead. Yesterday I submitted Surrender. The winner will be announced on October 31st. If I don't win, I'll post it here and give you a little taste of the storyline.

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Another goal between now and November first is to get everything organized for NaNoWriMo. To help with that I'm going to read through Devon Ellington's 30 Tips for 30 Days. [Look the link on the side bar~after Writing Tip of the Day] I've read through Part One ~ Preparation. I like the idea of a creativity alter, and have the perfect spot in the far corner of my studio. One tip served to remind me of the music and CDs that I need to get in order. It's not just notes and files. There's an atomsphere that needs to be set as well.

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I also need to get another update posted to my Quill of the Heart blog, i.e., How Would You Live. That's a goal I committed to accomplishing this week. But, I have several entries sitting either in the blogspot draft folder, or hibernating in a Word.doc file. Not doing a bit of good sitting in either place. I need to get them moving. That's a goal for next year; regular updates.

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Claudia Suzanne's Before Copyediting forum truly opened my eyes. I will never look at editing the same way again. Charting the structure of a piece, whether fiction or non-fiction, was new ground for me. Before I take on the next major editing session I need to switch over, completely, to left brain logic. Editing is not necessarily a right brain function. Her sessions gave new meaning to the old addage, 'put it away for a few days to a month and look at it with fresh eyes.'

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Devon Ellington's lessons in Dialogue were invaluable, and Lea Schzias Short Story forum -- well, though I got a considerable amount of work done on my Beginning, Middle, and Ending [for Walks with the Moon], let's just say I came away with only half a hook! Not her fault. I believe I struggle most with what not to relay. Needless to say--it's just one more writing goal for 2009. I was in and out of many more forums, all of which I will talk about at later dates. But-- I already registered for Muse 2009. Lots to do between now and then.

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Oh! Here's the banner I did for NaNoWriMo:

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That's it for now. More soon,

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Expectations of the Apprentice

Writing Tip of the Day: March 25, 2008

Rarely does anyone skyrocket to the bestseller list.
Most writers persevere, learn the craft of writing and expect to apprentice.

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I acknowledged my stubborn perseverance in The Quality and Value of One's Work. So, for this post I'll focus on apprenticeship; on the craft of writing.

Earlier this month I edited a piece down to a specific word count and into what I feel is a final draft. I focused on construction, tense, and unnecessary words. I kept my ‘ing’ and ‘ly’ words to a minimum. I feel it's ready to submit for publication. My first attempt in many years.

I purchased the 2008 Writer's Market. I also found magazines.com, because the Writer's Market is not the be all and end all of listed publications. Mainstays such as, Family Circle, Women's Day, and Martha Steward Living are not listed in the General Index. So, the Public Library and/or local newsstand is next as my research continues, throughout the rest of the week.

As the list of potential magazines grows, so does the requests for submission guidelines. And, while I wait for those to fill up my mailbox [some publications provide them online] I'll draft out a query or cover letter; whichever they require.

I've heard and read the numerous stories of the countless rejections many writers suffer prior to finding the editor that eventually said, "Yes." I met an editor and book doctor at the annual Columbus Writers Conference, a few years back, Patrick LoBrutto, if I'm remembering correctly [I'll have to pull my notes and tapes] , who turned down The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's a key point in his seminar. He uses it as regards the retrospective folly of one's ways; that even editors make mistakes.

I expect to collect my share of rejection letters. And, while I'm not sure whether I'll slip them one by one into a file or use them to proudly decorate my walls, I will persevere and continue to learn. I'll use this blog as part of my apprenticeship. And who knows, one day I may just ride a rocket tail all the way to the top of that best sellers list.

What Shapes a Writer?

Many writers write to inform and serve society well. Others do not. There's a vast amount of misinformation out there and we've suffered a fair share of historians that mislead or rewrote the truth. It would not be unreasonable to want to question the slant of ancient writings; along with anything written up to the 21st century. Strong and oft-times biased convictions shaped their words, as did interpretations made by unfamiliar tongues. But that's a whole other topic of discussion; with many implications.

The following questions and comments posed here focus on the imaginative, creative writer. Though I can truly speak only for myself, I believe what one experiences in life--one's needs, desires, or the lack thereof--shapes the words and dialogs of those who feel so inclined to capture and share them. But what drives the desire to share them? What shapes the minds of those who create breathtaking, yet imaginary vistas and/or faraway worlds?

My thoughts are shaped by my experiences, or again, the lack thereof. I'm shaped first how I grew up in the family dynamic. This is where we're told what to do or better believe. I'm shaped secondly by what I chose to read and decided to believe. Though my larger work-in-progress involves time displacement, others worlds, dimensions, and that which cannot be seen by the physical three dimensional human eye, it also offers my perspective on life; as we know or understand it to be.

It's based on peoples' endless questions, throughout equally endless time, of where do we come from and where do we go after death? Who am I? Who is God? Is God dead? Is there life on other planets or are we alone? Does the Big Bang Theory really explain it all? How did the dinosaurs really die? These are just the questions off the top of my head. I remember there being more, but-- I wondered simply whether we're asking the wrong questions. I believe the real question should be, why don't we know?

With all that posed, why am I so inclined to write it all down? And what even constitutes a writer? Is it merely putting pen to page or fingers to a keyboard? Does keeping a diary or journal make one a writer. That may well depend on the contents, and whether the owner intends them for eyes other than their own. I would argue that shopping lists don't count.
Does it require a concerted effort to capture and organize one's thoughts in order to share a story, regardless whether it's ever published? It is solely a desire to see oneself published? If there's a novel or screenplay in the works, then I'd say there's a writer behind it the effort.

The rule of thumb seems to be: anyone who writes is a writer. But he or she cannot claim to author until their work is either published or read by other people. I believe what's most important to consider is whether any given individual views themselves as a writer. And what ultimately shapes a writer, is the discovery of self, and a little to do with the want of being heard.
As for me? I remember a point, sometime while or after reading The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Earthsea Trilogy, the Dragonriders of Pern, and the Foundation series, when I said to myself, "I can do this!"

I bought a package of notebook paper and began to shape my thoughts; all written by hand. Varton is the main character. But when I couldn't figure out, after going into a land from whence no one ever returned, how he would communicate with those left behind, I boxed up all the files an literally put it on a shelf. Though I have since figured it out, I moved on and have spent years fleshing out my Forbidden World Chronicles; a storyline some might think consumes me.

They're wrong. It merely lives in and to some degree, has helped to shape me.