Three Thing Thursday

ALERT! MARK THE DATE!

 

We’re having a WIFYR kickoff  January 15, 2016, Friday. 6-9 pm. !!!!!!!!!!!!!

At this point I’m not exactly sure where we will be, but . . . this event is for all writers, published and almost-published and thinking about writing.

This will be ticketed, meaning you’ll need a number to get in the door, as there’s a limited space.

We’ll share a fantastic potluck celebration and, if you’d like, you may bring a new or gently-used book that will be donated to a library in need of books.

We’ll have a guest speaker (TBA), a few writing prompts (bring writing material), a chance to share a best line or two and a quick pitch session (just with each other!).

This kickoff is supported by SCBWI UT/ID chapter. We’re excited to work with Travis and Sherry in making UT the producer of the finest children’s lit ever.

 

FYI

For those who are interested, Steve Fraser, an agent at Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency will be here in UT on February 24 and 25 for a day + workshop.

PM me on Facebook or email me and I can give you details.

Limited number for this event, too.

 

CHERYL

I admit, I haven’t been writing. 

But I have been reading. Not just fun reading, but critical reading. Deciphering what works, what doesn’t, what should have been.

And I’ve been thinking. It sounds like a cop-out, I know, but my process has always been to work things out in my mind first and then just transcribe it onto the page. By the time I physically write anything down it’s already on the third draft.

My big problem in my novel is the science. No matter what I do, I can’t make the science work in my favor. I need to make friends with some scientists. In another novel, it’s too short and too cliche. It needs a dose of reality, and I have no idea how to inject it.

But I haven’t given up. Someday something completely unrelated will happen in real life, and everything will click into place.

I can’t wait.

BRENDA

Carol wrote on the 7th about what the writing world had opened up for her: basically, a whole new world.  This after just having survived (like several of us, no doubt) NaNoWriMo, November, Thanksgiving.  And now we’re knee-deep in getting ready for Christmas.  Or, at least, getting ready to get ready.  I’m with Carol: time seems to speed up these days.

I refer back to the book I recommended last week and the week before: “TimeShifting”.  Try to hang on to the here, to the now.  Let the person who ignored you at the ward party go.  She probably was having problems of her own.

Let the family member (you know the one: the one who MUST have everyone’s attention) and stoops to coming “fashionably late” or fails to show up at all for a family gathering.  The guy who dominates all the conversation so that “significant others” belonging to this or that family member stumble through the evening trying to greet people they don’t even know, while the conversation has been hijacked by some needy friend or family member, and can’t stop railing about his/her misfortunes.

Concentrate instead on the attention paid to arranging the serving table.  Listen . . . REALLY Listen to the music playing softly in the background without calling attention to itself, even though it was carefully thought through and chosen by someone there.  Find that someone and give a thank you for the thoughtfulness of that gift of calming sound.  Talk to one of the small children whose parents are busy talking to other grownups.  REALLY BE THERE for any function you attend.  Look forward to it.  PLAN what you will do within the milling crowd of family, friends, and the occasional stranger.  Welcome that stranger by listening to him or her before moving on to others.

And thus create your OWN Merry Christmas Celebration, within the context of places you “MUST” be this holiday season:

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT ! ! !