My mother-in-law said something to me yesterday that got me thinking. She said, "Don't get so caught up in the waiting for something to happen that you don't enjoy today."
I know I often get trapped in the mindset of thinking that things will be great when I have an agent or things will be great when I'm published. When I start thinking that way, I don't let myself enjoy the things that are great today because there are many great things about today.
It's so easy to look ahead and wish for other--an ostensibly better--times. I'm not an expert, but it seems like one of the keys to happiness is to let yourself enjoy the now.
What about you? Is there anything you are enjoying today that you'd like to share?
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Conference Tips
I had a wonderful time last weekend at LTUE. Right now I'm feeling pretty rejuvenated and ready to start writing again (unlike a week ago when I slammed my laptop shut and announced that I was quitting). Also, I didn't embarrass myself nearly as much as I did at LDStorymakers last spring in my ill-fated boot-stalking incident. Since I have a history of embarrassing conference incidents, maybe I should make a list of things I recommend trying if you want to make sure that you humiliate yourself, if only in some small measure. The list would go something like this:
1. Stalk authors/agents/editors. And make sure you're very nervous when you talk to them. It also helps if you have a migraine too. Migraines and nervousness will ensure that you have an encounter that you can look back on and cringe forever at.
2. If you should be so lucky as to go out to lunch with an editor that you want to submit to, make sure that you can't eat anything in the restaurant. Pulling out a box of crackers always makes you feel professional. (But, seriously, a restaurant that doesn't have anything without cheese or dairy products? What's up with that?)
3. Bring a baby to the conference and then let them scream--as hard as they can--for at least 10 minutes before taking them out. (Did you know that babies' screams are pitched just at the right level to make adults crazy? I learned that in my human development classes in college and they were reaffirmed on Saturday. I nearly had to leave the session and the baby wasn't even mine.)
4. Always sit in the middle of a long row. That way if you start feeling ill or bored or whatever and have to leave, you have lots of people to climb over and by the time you finally make it out of the room, everyone is staring at you.
But it might be more helpful to share some of the things I've learned that have made my conference experience better. Also, since I tend to be a pessimist, it might be best if I focus on the positive instead of the embarrassing.
1. Talk to people, and not just to the published authors and editors. Talk to the person who sneaks in late and sits beside you. Not only will it make the conference more enjoyable, but you never know what will come from it. I ended up sitting by a girl on Saturday who invited me to attend the next class with her. I hadn't planned on going to anything that hour and that class that I attended with her was the best class that I attended. It might not have been so great for others, but for me, it was exactly what I needed to hear and I'm so glad that I went to it instead of sitting in the halls and pretending to write.
2. Make sure to drink enough water and take time to eat, and eat something besides sugar. Seriously.
3. If you're like me and have a tendency to get migraines at conferences, be proactive about it and take pain medication before you're ready to pass out.
4. Bring a light jacket. Some rooms are cold and some are hot. I don't know what makes the difference, but it seems to always be that way. Especially in the summer when the rooms are sometimes over air-conditioned.
5. Be optimistic. Expect to learn something and to have fun. And if someone doesn't have time to talk to you in the halls, don't assume that they hate you. (Unless, of course, you're stalking them and in that case, you should probably back off.)
Well, now, who's ready for the next conference? I won't be attending any until Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers in June. It's a great conference and if you write for children, I highly recommend it.
1. Stalk authors/agents/editors. And make sure you're very nervous when you talk to them. It also helps if you have a migraine too. Migraines and nervousness will ensure that you have an encounter that you can look back on and cringe forever at.
2. If you should be so lucky as to go out to lunch with an editor that you want to submit to, make sure that you can't eat anything in the restaurant. Pulling out a box of crackers always makes you feel professional. (But, seriously, a restaurant that doesn't have anything without cheese or dairy products? What's up with that?)
3. Bring a baby to the conference and then let them scream--as hard as they can--for at least 10 minutes before taking them out. (Did you know that babies' screams are pitched just at the right level to make adults crazy? I learned that in my human development classes in college and they were reaffirmed on Saturday. I nearly had to leave the session and the baby wasn't even mine.)
4. Always sit in the middle of a long row. That way if you start feeling ill or bored or whatever and have to leave, you have lots of people to climb over and by the time you finally make it out of the room, everyone is staring at you.
But it might be more helpful to share some of the things I've learned that have made my conference experience better. Also, since I tend to be a pessimist, it might be best if I focus on the positive instead of the embarrassing.
1. Talk to people, and not just to the published authors and editors. Talk to the person who sneaks in late and sits beside you. Not only will it make the conference more enjoyable, but you never know what will come from it. I ended up sitting by a girl on Saturday who invited me to attend the next class with her. I hadn't planned on going to anything that hour and that class that I attended with her was the best class that I attended. It might not have been so great for others, but for me, it was exactly what I needed to hear and I'm so glad that I went to it instead of sitting in the halls and pretending to write.
2. Make sure to drink enough water and take time to eat, and eat something besides sugar. Seriously.
3. If you're like me and have a tendency to get migraines at conferences, be proactive about it and take pain medication before you're ready to pass out.
4. Bring a light jacket. Some rooms are cold and some are hot. I don't know what makes the difference, but it seems to always be that way. Especially in the summer when the rooms are sometimes over air-conditioned.
5. Be optimistic. Expect to learn something and to have fun. And if someone doesn't have time to talk to you in the halls, don't assume that they hate you. (Unless, of course, you're stalking them and in that case, you should probably back off.)
Well, now, who's ready for the next conference? I won't be attending any until Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers in June. It's a great conference and if you write for children, I highly recommend it.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Life, the Universe, and Everything
Today, tomorrow, and Saturday, I'm attending a science fiction/fantasy conference called Life, the Universe, and Everything. I'm pretty excited because I didn't think I would be able to make it. We were supposed to be moving out of our house today, but since we survived the crazy move two weeks ago, I don't have actually have to move today. Hooray!
The first panel I went to talked about the best and the worst writing advice that people were given. My favorite thing that was said (besides James Dashner jokingly tell us all to work on our jealousy) was Mette Ivie Harrison making the comment that the very best advice for one person might well be the very worst advice for another person. She used herself as an example and said that outlines do not work for her, but they work wonderfully for other people. I love that recognition that we are all different. We all like different books and we all work differently. We should try different advice and, if it doesn't work for us, don't do it.
Anyway, this is a great conference and if you happen to be here, do come and say hi. Have a happy weekend!
The first panel I went to talked about the best and the worst writing advice that people were given. My favorite thing that was said (besides James Dashner jokingly tell us all to work on our jealousy) was Mette Ivie Harrison making the comment that the very best advice for one person might well be the very worst advice for another person. She used herself as an example and said that outlines do not work for her, but they work wonderfully for other people. I love that recognition that we are all different. We all like different books and we all work differently. We should try different advice and, if it doesn't work for us, don't do it.
Anyway, this is a great conference and if you happen to be here, do come and say hi. Have a happy weekend!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The Perils of Journal Writing
I've decided that my journal is possessed. Possibly not by a malevolent spirit, but something definitely mischievous. It might be my fault, though, since I bought the journal for my husband after he expressed a mild interest in writing in a journal. When he didn't write anything in it for several months, I stole it.
And now I'm being punished for it.
See, it all started about six months ago when I wrote my first journal entry on Friday the 13th. I made the passing comment that I hoped it wasn't going to be bad luck starting it on that date. Now, I'm not a very superstitious person--it was merely an idle, passing thought and I didn't think anything would come of it. After all, my husband had just had his appendix removed, so what else could go majorly wrong?
Two weeks later, my husband's boss shut down his branch of the company. And on it has gone.
But this isn't going to be a list of what's wrong in my life. This is what is wrong with my journal.
I've been noticing a trend lately. After we accepted the offer on our house, I started panicking about all we had to do and, to calm myself down, I wrote in my journal that it would be okay because we were moving nearby and, if we needed to, we could get everything moved out in two days. This turned out to be overly optimistic, of course, but a few days later, our closing date was moved up until two days away. Not only that, but I found another entry where I'd expressed my frustration that we still had a couple weeks to wait before we closed and I just wanted to get it over with.
So, yes, my journal is being devious and playing games with me. I don't know what to do about it. The journal isn't being purely evil (like Tom Riddle's), so I can't just stab it with a basilisk fang. Assuming, of course, that I had one. Which I don't. Strangely, even with all our junk, we don't have a basilisk fang. Weird, that.
It would be cool if I could convince my strangely influential journal to, say, get me an agent and a 7-figure book deal and a house completely impervious to zombie attacks, but I'm not sure how to manipulate it and if I tried, I'd likely end up with something I didn't really want. Like a million zombie-agents attacking me in a house.
So, does anyone have any suggestions for dealing with a possessed journal? Before I try something silly and end up triggering the zombie apocalypse?
And now I'm being punished for it.
See, it all started about six months ago when I wrote my first journal entry on Friday the 13th. I made the passing comment that I hoped it wasn't going to be bad luck starting it on that date. Now, I'm not a very superstitious person--it was merely an idle, passing thought and I didn't think anything would come of it. After all, my husband had just had his appendix removed, so what else could go majorly wrong?
Two weeks later, my husband's boss shut down his branch of the company. And on it has gone.
But this isn't going to be a list of what's wrong in my life. This is what is wrong with my journal.
I've been noticing a trend lately. After we accepted the offer on our house, I started panicking about all we had to do and, to calm myself down, I wrote in my journal that it would be okay because we were moving nearby and, if we needed to, we could get everything moved out in two days. This turned out to be overly optimistic, of course, but a few days later, our closing date was moved up until two days away. Not only that, but I found another entry where I'd expressed my frustration that we still had a couple weeks to wait before we closed and I just wanted to get it over with.
So, yes, my journal is being devious and playing games with me. I don't know what to do about it. The journal isn't being purely evil (like Tom Riddle's), so I can't just stab it with a basilisk fang. Assuming, of course, that I had one. Which I don't. Strangely, even with all our junk, we don't have a basilisk fang. Weird, that.
It would be cool if I could convince my strangely influential journal to, say, get me an agent and a 7-figure book deal and a house completely impervious to zombie attacks, but I'm not sure how to manipulate it and if I tried, I'd likely end up with something I didn't really want. Like a million zombie-agents attacking me in a house.
So, does anyone have any suggestions for dealing with a possessed journal? Before I try something silly and end up triggering the zombie apocalypse?
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Making Changes
I know I promised to blog on Tuesday and I didn't. My apologies. I apparently had an overly optimistic view of how much time it would take to pack and move our things.
Who knew we had so much stuff???
As we moved, I thought about some of the similarities between major changes in life (like moving) and making major changes during a revision. I don't know about you, but major changes of any kind are not my favorite things. In fact, I try to avoid them. But sometimes major changes are inevitable, particularly when you know that they're the best decision for you or for your story.
But knowing it's the best thing does not make the actual doing part any easier. Both are still a lot of work and stress and sometimes even involve blood, sweat, and tears.
Some things I learned moving that can apply to writing:
1. Give yourself plenty of time because it will probably take longer than you expect. And, for some reason, when you panic and start to run around screaming, it doesn't actually help anything. Not that I did that.
2. Divide it into manageable tasks. I can't tell you how many times I walked into a room and stopped in dismay because there was no way that I could get it organized and packed up. It was impossible and, quite frankly, paralyzing. But if I said I was just going to pack the shoes in that room or something like that, I could actually get it done. It's the same with revisions. If I tell myself that all I have to do is fix one of the scenes, I can usually do that and more, but tackling the whole thing at once is overwhelming.
3. Focus on what you're doing. Since it was my house, anyone who came to help asked me what to do, which would completely derail my train of thought. I couldn't remember what I was doing. This was a small price to pay for moving help and I'm very, VERY grateful for everyone who helped to pack, move, clean, or watch my kids! It doesn't work so well for revisions, though, and tends to waste time as I try to remember just what it was that I wanted to fix. The thing that works the best for me is to make a list as I'm writing and revising of changes I need to make instead of going back and changing them repeatedly.
4. Give yourself some time away. We probably could have moved a little bit faster, but we didn't have to and by giving ourselves a break in the evening (when it was freezing, dark, and often snowing), we had more strength in the morning. Same with writing. If I try to revise straight through the day, I often get burnt out and am less productive the next day. Plus, I've found that some of my best ideas for revising come during the times when I'm not writing or thinking about writing.
5. Get rid of stuff. All those things/scenes that you've been keeping because you might need them or because of supposed sentimental value. Yeah. Get rid of those because you really don't want to be lugging them around. I know because I'm really bad about throwing things away. I kept Valentines cards from elementary school for years. Sure, there was some sentimental value attached those, but not nearly as much as the table runner embroidered by my great-grandmother. The important thing is to decide what is really necessary and valuable.
There are, of course, some differences between moving and revising. Like revising doesn't usually involve me losing all my pants. Oops. Fortunately, my husband found them or else that would have been really embarrassing.
In any case, I'm hoping for a much more relaxing weekend than the last one was. What about you? Do you have any fun plans? Like that one holiday on Monday that I completely forgot about until yesterday?
Who knew we had so much stuff???
As we moved, I thought about some of the similarities between major changes in life (like moving) and making major changes during a revision. I don't know about you, but major changes of any kind are not my favorite things. In fact, I try to avoid them. But sometimes major changes are inevitable, particularly when you know that they're the best decision for you or for your story.
But knowing it's the best thing does not make the actual doing part any easier. Both are still a lot of work and stress and sometimes even involve blood, sweat, and tears.
Some things I learned moving that can apply to writing:
1. Give yourself plenty of time because it will probably take longer than you expect. And, for some reason, when you panic and start to run around screaming, it doesn't actually help anything. Not that I did that.
2. Divide it into manageable tasks. I can't tell you how many times I walked into a room and stopped in dismay because there was no way that I could get it organized and packed up. It was impossible and, quite frankly, paralyzing. But if I said I was just going to pack the shoes in that room or something like that, I could actually get it done. It's the same with revisions. If I tell myself that all I have to do is fix one of the scenes, I can usually do that and more, but tackling the whole thing at once is overwhelming.
3. Focus on what you're doing. Since it was my house, anyone who came to help asked me what to do, which would completely derail my train of thought. I couldn't remember what I was doing. This was a small price to pay for moving help and I'm very, VERY grateful for everyone who helped to pack, move, clean, or watch my kids! It doesn't work so well for revisions, though, and tends to waste time as I try to remember just what it was that I wanted to fix. The thing that works the best for me is to make a list as I'm writing and revising of changes I need to make instead of going back and changing them repeatedly.
4. Give yourself some time away. We probably could have moved a little bit faster, but we didn't have to and by giving ourselves a break in the evening (when it was freezing, dark, and often snowing), we had more strength in the morning. Same with writing. If I try to revise straight through the day, I often get burnt out and am less productive the next day. Plus, I've found that some of my best ideas for revising come during the times when I'm not writing or thinking about writing.
5. Get rid of stuff. All those things/scenes that you've been keeping because you might need them or because of supposed sentimental value. Yeah. Get rid of those because you really don't want to be lugging them around. I know because I'm really bad about throwing things away. I kept Valentines cards from elementary school for years. Sure, there was some sentimental value attached those, but not nearly as much as the table runner embroidered by my great-grandmother. The important thing is to decide what is really necessary and valuable.
There are, of course, some differences between moving and revising. Like revising doesn't usually involve me losing all my pants. Oops. Fortunately, my husband found them or else that would have been really embarrassing.
In any case, I'm hoping for a much more relaxing weekend than the last one was. What about you? Do you have any fun plans? Like that one holiday on Monday that I completely forgot about until yesterday?
Thursday, February 3, 2011
It's Thursday...
I made a goal to blog consistently on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Well, it's Thursday and I can't quite think straight. We found out yesterday that our buyers wanted to close on the house tomorrow. So we're frantically trying to pack and move. I'm sure it relates somehow to writing, but I'm too busy sneezing at all the dust and trying to figure out how to keep my kids from unpacking all the boxes. I'll be back next week though.
Have a happy weekend!
Have a happy weekend!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Conferences and Pay It Forward Contest
First of all, it's February and that means that Life, the Universe, and Everything is right around the corner. LTUE is a fun, inexpensive sci fi/fantasy conference at BYU. This year, it's February 17-19th. Which is kind of a problem for me because we're selling our house and close on the 18th. I doubt that I'll be able to move and go to a conference at the same time. I'm not very good at multitasking. To anyone else who is local, I would definitely recommend this conference if you write in those genres.
Registration is also open now for another of my favorite conferences, Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers. The conference is geared toward authors writing anything from picture books to YA. It also has classes for beginning writers and advanced classes. This conference has been one of the best things I've done for my writing. Not only has it helped me by becoming a better writer, but I've met some of my best friends and critique partners at this conference.
Right now, Shelli at Market My Words is hosting a "Pay It Forward" contest on her blog with an amazing prize. Part of that contest is to recognize someone for giving back and I would like to recognize Chersti Nieveen. She was the assistant in my class the first year I attended WIFYR and we became friends. She is one of the most supportive, encouraging people I know. She's always been there for me when I needed help brainstorming or something critiqued. She never even complained when I sent her the billionth draft of my appallingly awful query letter. She's always enthusiastic and encourages me to keep trying when I'm on the verge of giving up completely. What makes her even more impressive is that I know that I'm not the only person she goes the extra mile for. Chersti is absolutely incredible!
Is there someone who's been there for you and helped you? If so, go enter the Pay It Forward Contest and thank them for what they've done!
Happy Tuesday!
Registration is also open now for another of my favorite conferences, Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers. The conference is geared toward authors writing anything from picture books to YA. It also has classes for beginning writers and advanced classes. This conference has been one of the best things I've done for my writing. Not only has it helped me by becoming a better writer, but I've met some of my best friends and critique partners at this conference.
Right now, Shelli at Market My Words is hosting a "Pay It Forward" contest on her blog with an amazing prize. Part of that contest is to recognize someone for giving back and I would like to recognize Chersti Nieveen. She was the assistant in my class the first year I attended WIFYR and we became friends. She is one of the most supportive, encouraging people I know. She's always been there for me when I needed help brainstorming or something critiqued. She never even complained when I sent her the billionth draft of my appallingly awful query letter. She's always enthusiastic and encourages me to keep trying when I'm on the verge of giving up completely. What makes her even more impressive is that I know that I'm not the only person she goes the extra mile for. Chersti is absolutely incredible!
Is there someone who's been there for you and helped you? If so, go enter the Pay It Forward Contest and thank them for what they've done!
Happy Tuesday!
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