Oh, Boy...

So the community education booklet for winter/spring showed up in the mail today. In it, in the adult class section was a one day class called 'how to get your book published'. It was $70, and you spend the day from 9:30-2:30 with some woman who is apparently an expert on the subject as she has published a book, and won an award.
I told Bob that when he gets old, he can just be a Community Ed instructor and do 'how to get a record deal'. With all of his accreditation I'm sure for $70 a pop there'd be hundreds of people wanting in.
Yeah, I think I'm in trouble....

The Uphill Battle

So, I've managed to work on writing for about 4 hours this past week. I'm proud of myself for this accomplishment, but I'm so scatterbrained, that I could only focus on one project for about an hour at a time. This means of course that I have about.... 25 projects going on right now, and I'm moving forward on two or three of them about a half a page a pop. YIKES. At this rate, it would take me like, 20 years of consistent work to get anything done. But I'm going to focus in on no more than two projects at a time, and my hope is that once I get far enough into one, I can take off on it.
This morning, Lillian took a shower with me, and looked up to me and said "Mom, when I was a grown up, I could reach all the way up to the sky!" Which of course prompted me to get out of the shower, and write about that. I wrote about 3/4 of a children's book about 'when I was a grown-up' and I think it's super cool... but what the hell am I going to do with THAT now?!!? Like I need more on my plate.
I started reading some of those how-to-publish-your-book websites today. One said 'everyone in LA has a screenplay, everyone in NY has a novel'.... while I'm sure it's true, it makes it a little disheartening for a little Minnesota mom like me with my dream. Will it ever happen? A big maybe that it won't. But my goal isn't to succeed in a famous or monetary sense. The accomplishment to me is in actually finishing the work, and handing it off to someone else to read it. Whether they will enjoy it or not.... maybe I'll just ask them not to tell me....

Happy New Year

This past decade has been referred to as The Decade From Hell for many legitimate reasons. So it was a bit rough around the edges. However, for myself, it is also considered as the decade that I got married, had my amazing daughter, and learned how to be a wife and a mother. While that sounds like a small accomplishment over an entire decade, it is my own life's work, and I'm proud of and love what I do.

I hope this coming decade will prove more fruitful to the human race at large, but also that we can all fondly remember and appreciate the years that we've spent, the lessons we've learned, and the joys we've shared. After all, no matter how those years have gone past, they are exactly that - in the past. Nobody can take back those years and relive them.



Here's to happy memories, and new beginnings.

The Christmas Letter

I had an in depth discussion the other morning at Lionel on my frustration with writing the loved and hated Christmas Letter. Ever since my kid was born, I've attempted to create the perfect Christmas Letter to send out to friends and family.
This year it would seem, I'm just doomed. I wrote the letter - hated it.
Rewrote it, and it was better.
Went to the store to buy holiday letterhead, and was informed that there was some sort of holiday letterhead shortage. Seriously? Yes. 5 stores later, I find some at WALMART that is at least tolerable, though not all-holiday friendly as it has fat little santas doing cartwheels across the bottom of the page. I can't even believe I went there, honestly. I avoid it like the plague, especially at this time of the year. It is done however, and that's that.
Print 'em, stuff 'em, and send 'em off to folks around the country that probably don't even read it. It's all for naught.
Still, I love this time of year for the fact that I GET them. I know that at least I read them when other people send them. I can't help but feel annoyed at people when they pick out a pretty card with tons of glitter on it, then just sign the inside and mail it off to 100+ people. I mean, you're going out of your way to spend the money on the cards, and the stamps - at least send a picture. That's good for about a thousand words, or so I'm told....

Meet Lionel

My biggest fan, Lionel, in profile

Ever since I was a small child, I was considered to be gifted in the way of articulation. Whether it was on paper, or by mouth, it was a talent I posessed. In the 8th grade, my english teacher told me that I had some of the smoothest writing he'd ever seen in a person my age. As I got older however, I didn't improve upon myself. I didn't graduate from mainstream school, I didn't go to college, and I never got a "real" job. I hopped around from one 'dream' to the next, never really finding fulfilment in any of it. I became a mother 3 years ago, which was a true calling for me, and I couldn't be happier. However, as the days pass, the whispering inside of me about writing again gets louder and louder. I have written hundreds of amazing books... in my head. When I put pen to paper, however, I'm stuck. I can see it, feel it, but I can't write it down how I read it in my mind's eye.
I discovered Lionel Ritchie in my shower when we remodeled our bathroom about 2 years ago. Am I crazy? Perhaps. But this is actually a little sliver of marble on my shower wall that absolutely looks like Lionel circa 1987. Moustache, hair, you name it. So I started talking to him. Running my thoughts by him, if you will. And it has gotten me to this point - I'm trying to get over a writer's block by starting my writer's blog. If it doesn't rekindle my ease of writing, maybe nothing else will. But this is me, dedicating myself to completing SOMETHING that I've started, and pursuing getting it published. I feel like it is something that I have to do.
So I'm pledging my goal here in my writer's blog....
I want to complete, and attempt to publish something by my 30th birthday. As I turned 28 six months ago, I'm definitely pressed for time. But it's now or never, and I want it to be the now. So wish me luck.