I've done more writing in the last week than I have in the last month or two, but hardly any of it has been toward finishing my novel.
It's just that I went to the League of Utah Writers Round-Up conference a week ago and I was so inspired with so many great ideas, I couldn't help getting a bunch of things down on paper. I wrote some poetry, I started a new children's picture book, I worked on re-writing a picture book I've been collecting rejection slips for, and I started another novel that will probably end up being a YA fantasy.
Now my biggest problem is deciding which project to work on. Do I tough it out and finish my LDS Women's novel even though I'm not all that excited about that project at the moment? I really want to be able to say I finished a novel. I really want to get it sent in to Deseret Book and see if I can get published. I believe it's a good book. But it's so much hard work. Even though I'm closing in on finishing the first draft, there's still so much hard work to be done before I'll be ready to send it off.
Right now, I'm feeling like I should plug ahead with the novel and leave the other projects alone now that I've got the basic idea for each one down on paper. But I'm conflicted because I'm just not that excited about doing all the hard work. On the other hand, I know that there will come a point in each of my other projects where it quits being fun and turns into hard work, too, and then I'll just have two novels that aren't finished instead of one. :D
Anyone have advice or opinions for me? What should I focus my energy on?
#12 - Tagged
I was tagged again, this time by Andi so here are my answers . . .
4 jobs I've had...
Newspaper Delivery Girl
Dairy Queen Counter Person and Ice Cream Maker
Village Inn Hostess
Icing Decorator at a Candy Factory
4 movies I could watch over and over...
Ever After with Drew Barrymore
Singin' In The Rain
Back to the Future
Somewhere In Time
4 places I have lived...
Orem, Utah
Provo, Utah
American Fork, Utah
Lehi, Utah
Wow, that makes for a boring list. Sorry! :D
4 favorite television shows...
Reba
Everybody Loves Raymond
Clean Sweep
Dr. Phil
4 places I've been...
The Nauvoo Temple
Victoria, B.C.
Friday Harbor (on an island off the Washington Coast)
On a road trip from Utah County, Utah, all the way across the country to North Carolina and West Virginia, and back again
4 favorite foods...
Chocolate
Lasagna
Ice Cream
Sweet & Sour Chicken
4 websites I check often...
Half.com
Local library catalogs
My kids' school website
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/ for the recipes
4 hobbies...
Writing
Reading
Painting
Playing the Piano
4 people I tag...
I'm going to break from convention and tag no one! I have no idea how many people have been tagged on this particular one and I'm too tired to think about it right now. :P
4 jobs I've had...
Newspaper Delivery Girl
Dairy Queen Counter Person and Ice Cream Maker
Village Inn Hostess
Icing Decorator at a Candy Factory
4 movies I could watch over and over...
Ever After with Drew Barrymore
Singin' In The Rain
Back to the Future
Somewhere In Time
4 places I have lived...
Orem, Utah
Provo, Utah
American Fork, Utah
Lehi, Utah
Wow, that makes for a boring list. Sorry! :D
4 favorite television shows...
Reba
Everybody Loves Raymond
Clean Sweep
Dr. Phil
4 places I've been...
The Nauvoo Temple
Victoria, B.C.
Friday Harbor (on an island off the Washington Coast)
On a road trip from Utah County, Utah, all the way across the country to North Carolina and West Virginia, and back again
4 favorite foods...
Chocolate
Lasagna
Ice Cream
Sweet & Sour Chicken
4 websites I check often...
Half.com
Local library catalogs
My kids' school website
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/ for the recipes
4 hobbies...
Writing
Reading
Painting
Playing the Piano
4 people I tag...
I'm going to break from convention and tag no one! I have no idea how many people have been tagged on this particular one and I'm too tired to think about it right now. :P
#11 - New Favorite Color
I don't really believe in astrological signs or fortunes or anything superstitious. Really, I don't. Really.
But when I saw this test on Karen's blog and took it, I couldn't believe how closely it fit me. I'm considering changing my favorite color to lilac after this.
No, I'm not. I would never do anything so important and serious over a test so silly. I promise. I take favorite colors very seriously. :D
But when I saw this test on Karen's blog and took it, I couldn't believe how closely it fit me. I'm considering changing my favorite color to lilac after this.
No, I'm not. I would never do anything so important and serious over a test so silly. I promise. I take favorite colors very seriously. :D
Your Birthdate: May 24 |
 You understand people well and are a natural born therapist. A peacemaker, people always seem to get along when you are around. You tend to be a father or mother figure to friends, even to those older than you. You enjoy your role, and you find that you are close to many people. Your strength: Your devotion Your weakness: Reliance on others for happiness Your power color: Lilac Your power symbol: Heart Your power month: June |
#10 - Taking a Break
I am taking a brief break from writing in order to hopefully come back stronger and more ready to go than ever.
A while back I posted a comment on Shanna's blog about my messy desk and how it hinders my ability to write consistently. (It was on June 26 if you're the kind of person who wants to go and see what I'm talking about)
Since that time, the situation with my desk hasn't changed. If anything, it's worse than ever. And it's not just my desk. It's my whole life that's out of control.
As you can see from my last confession, I have a lot of junk in my life. One thing that I haven't confronted very well yet is paperwork. I have 5 filing drawers that are all stuffed to the gills, and I have boxes of papers that have been shoved and stuffed in there to deal with "later". Then I have mounds and piles of papers everywhere on and around and under my desk.
I have been getting a kink in my back trying to write lately because I have to bend over all the junk in an awkward position to get to my keyboard. In fact, I feel it coming on right now, so I'll be brief.
I need to get control of my life before I can be effective and inspired as a writer. I feel strong and ready to confront the problem and I can't wait to step into the rest of my much-less-cluttered life.
Wish me luck!
A while back I posted a comment on Shanna's blog about my messy desk and how it hinders my ability to write consistently. (It was on June 26 if you're the kind of person who wants to go and see what I'm talking about)
Since that time, the situation with my desk hasn't changed. If anything, it's worse than ever. And it's not just my desk. It's my whole life that's out of control.
As you can see from my last confession, I have a lot of junk in my life. One thing that I haven't confronted very well yet is paperwork. I have 5 filing drawers that are all stuffed to the gills, and I have boxes of papers that have been shoved and stuffed in there to deal with "later". Then I have mounds and piles of papers everywhere on and around and under my desk.
I have been getting a kink in my back trying to write lately because I have to bend over all the junk in an awkward position to get to my keyboard. In fact, I feel it coming on right now, so I'll be brief.
I need to get control of my life before I can be effective and inspired as a writer. I feel strong and ready to confront the problem and I can't wait to step into the rest of my much-less-cluttered life.
Wish me luck!
#9 - Collector of Junk
I'm a collector.
No, it's not porcelain dolls stacked neatly in a curio cabinet. It's not seashells placed nicely on a shelf. It's not stamps put into an organized little book.
It's junk.
Really, just lots and lots of junk. When it piles up on every horizontal surface in the house and spills out of every junk drawer I have, I start boxing it up and putting it in the basement. Then when the boxes start piling up, we buy more gorilla racks to stack them on. And when that gets to be too much, we start talking about renting a storage shed.
I've been confronting my problem lately and this blog is part of that confrontation. I need your help and ideas and encouragement. I'll tell you what I've done so far and you can help me figure out where to go from here.
First, I bought some of those cool storage boxes with the dividers in them. I've been organizing all the buttons and safety pins and screws from the junk drawer so I actually have a place to put things when I come across them instead of just throwing them into a junk drawer. I've been organizing larger things like the kids' toys into larger bins and boxes.
Second, I've been loading up bags and boxes with stuff to take to D.I. and throwing away things that are broken or no longer have all the parts.
Third, I've decided we need to have a garage sale. Somehow, the thought that we could even get back pennies on the dollar makes it seem easier to give up some of the things we have collected.
Fourth, I'm trying to get rid of some of our baby things even though I'm not positive we're done having babies yet. Some of this stuff we've had for nine years and if we were to have another baby in the future, it'd be nice to have new things anyway.
The culmination of all this work is that when we pare our stuff down enough, we'll be able to hire a company to come in and finish the basement. I can't wait for that project to get underway, so I'm right in the thick of paring down right now. It's nice to see a lot of junk go out the door and to know I'll never have to look at it and decide what to do with it again. On the other hand, it's hard to part with those things. I'm still not sure why.
No, it's not porcelain dolls stacked neatly in a curio cabinet. It's not seashells placed nicely on a shelf. It's not stamps put into an organized little book.
It's junk.
Really, just lots and lots of junk. When it piles up on every horizontal surface in the house and spills out of every junk drawer I have, I start boxing it up and putting it in the basement. Then when the boxes start piling up, we buy more gorilla racks to stack them on. And when that gets to be too much, we start talking about renting a storage shed.
I've been confronting my problem lately and this blog is part of that confrontation. I need your help and ideas and encouragement. I'll tell you what I've done so far and you can help me figure out where to go from here.
First, I bought some of those cool storage boxes with the dividers in them. I've been organizing all the buttons and safety pins and screws from the junk drawer so I actually have a place to put things when I come across them instead of just throwing them into a junk drawer. I've been organizing larger things like the kids' toys into larger bins and boxes.
Second, I've been loading up bags and boxes with stuff to take to D.I. and throwing away things that are broken or no longer have all the parts.
Third, I've decided we need to have a garage sale. Somehow, the thought that we could even get back pennies on the dollar makes it seem easier to give up some of the things we have collected.
Fourth, I'm trying to get rid of some of our baby things even though I'm not positive we're done having babies yet. Some of this stuff we've had for nine years and if we were to have another baby in the future, it'd be nice to have new things anyway.
The culmination of all this work is that when we pare our stuff down enough, we'll be able to hire a company to come in and finish the basement. I can't wait for that project to get underway, so I'm right in the thick of paring down right now. It's nice to see a lot of junk go out the door and to know I'll never have to look at it and decide what to do with it again. On the other hand, it's hard to part with those things. I'm still not sure why.
#8 - A Brag
I'm going to use this blog for other purposes than confessing my shortcomings. For instance, today I'm going to brag.
I sent one of my children's books manuscripts off to 7 publishers today.
One of the agents I sent this to actually replied with a personalized rejection, stating that on the one hand my work had merit (hooray!!!) but on the other hand, it wasn't "fresh" enough and I needed to find a way to make the rhyming work without torturing the English language. (ouch!)
It's gone through several re-writes and I'm very happy with it the way it is right now. I'm crossing my fingers hoping at least one of them sees the merit now that the English language is a little less tortured.
Let's hope some future Confession will be a celebration of my soon-to-be-published picture book. :)
I sent one of my children's books manuscripts off to 7 publishers today.
One of the agents I sent this to actually replied with a personalized rejection, stating that on the one hand my work had merit (hooray!!!) but on the other hand, it wasn't "fresh" enough and I needed to find a way to make the rhyming work without torturing the English language. (ouch!)
It's gone through several re-writes and I'm very happy with it the way it is right now. I'm crossing my fingers hoping at least one of them sees the merit now that the English language is a little less tortured.
Let's hope some future Confession will be a celebration of my soon-to-be-published picture book. :)
#7 - Not Submitting
I haven't sent any manuscripts out in months.
I have a children's book I sent out to almost a dozen agents and I've watched their rejection letters trickle back in over several months. I kept saying that I would send it to book publishers if I didn't get anything going with an agent, but there's still one rejection slip that never came back.
I should just get on with sending my manuscript out to some of the book publishers I had in mind. I'd like to get that done soon.
Besides that, I haven't done much writing lately either. I haven't worked on my book at all in the last few weeks, although I have started a new book for children and I've written some poetry and song lyrics.
To tell the truth, I've discovered lately that there are more important things than my writing. As important as it is to me, my health and the health of my family are much more important. I need to remember to keep everything in its proper place in my life. Then I think my writing will really flourish.
I have a children's book I sent out to almost a dozen agents and I've watched their rejection letters trickle back in over several months. I kept saying that I would send it to book publishers if I didn't get anything going with an agent, but there's still one rejection slip that never came back.
I should just get on with sending my manuscript out to some of the book publishers I had in mind. I'd like to get that done soon.
Besides that, I haven't done much writing lately either. I haven't worked on my book at all in the last few weeks, although I have started a new book for children and I've written some poetry and song lyrics.
To tell the truth, I've discovered lately that there are more important things than my writing. As important as it is to me, my health and the health of my family are much more important. I need to remember to keep everything in its proper place in my life. Then I think my writing will really flourish.
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