A Texas deluge is coming; that is what Wunderground says.  I sure hope a deluge is coming in my creative life.

This month I'm writing a series called April Showers.  My goal is to write about stuff that waters creative ground.  It's April and inside me, this feels like it should be my time, but so far it has not panned out that way.

What is going on? Hey, I'm not lazing around over here. I write every day, and I'm the mother of four, wife of one, dishwasher, grocery shopper, lawn mower, cat snack feeder, book fan, doodle drawer... I get up early and work hard every day. For years, I've been doing the same thing. I've seen people who have struggled to find their creative way and who, after much effort, found it. I want to throw confetti. I'm so glad when someone's dream comes true. I know what it like to ache for success and not find it. I also have a psychedelic imagination and can imagine finding success after that bad trip. Who wouldn't throw confetti? I'm ready to have my party.

So here it is, my crazy dreaming artists. I'm mundane. The big news in my humdrum days is I saw a weird bug or thought the pink in my amaryllis was sublime. I've written 30+ books and 1000+ articles. $$$ have happened, enough for stacks of blue jeans. Good stuff but I want to rise above commonplace.  I am dreaming of a burst of growth that makes the desert blooming look lame.

Come rain!

I hope rain comes to all of us. I hope rain comes to us all! Thanks for dropping by. More April Showers to come!

I'm crossposting week. I am a guest at DREAMWALKS a blog by Janet Lee Carey.  We have a conversation about Art and the Crucible that may relate to you.  Please check it out and take advantage of an opportunity to win free signed books from me and Janet.

I'm continuing my series called April Showers, and my post connects with the crucible post.  Last week, I went to a writing conference, and when I got home, I found that youngest son had edged the entire yard. Good stuff, right? It wasn't until the next day that I realized that he had hacked down my almost ready to bloom Louisiana Irises in the backyard.  These flowers grow in a corner along the fence and are one of the big spring shows I look forward to each year.

A gold-green pile of hacked leaf blades and flowers stalks was all that remained. Louisiana Iris have significant meaning for me. My mother was a hybridizer and won national awards for her work.  I also had a stand of Louisiana Iris as a child and traveled yearly to Baton Rouge to international flower shows to compete with my hybrids. I won awards, and it was the corner of loveliness in my childhood.

I stared at the hacked flowers and headed to my bedroom for a good cry.

The crucible of life was heating up, and the pressure was building.  I wanted to rail at my son because he had destroyed something that meant so much to me.  My husband stepped in and let me know that the Jack had asked if he should hack down the green stuff along the fence, and Tim assumed he meant the brush on the other side of the yard.  How could these two guys be so thoughtless?  Have you ever shook inside with anger? That's what I was feeling.

I began to walk the age-old journey of forgiveness.  It works like this for me. The people are more important than all the things, no matter how much the things meant to me. The irises will come up next year. It's a setback, not an ending. Choose love, choose forgiveness, even if no one but God understands how much this hurt. Finally, remember, the stuff that hurts is the water for your work. This kind of crucible moment is the cauldron of story.

Those gold-green hacked leaf blades will inform a story I have yet to write.  I know it.

I hope that this journey helps you on yours. I hope you embrace the water that comes to your life. Let it make you grow. I will be back next week with more April Showers.

Here is a doodle for you: Louisiana Iris.

Hi folks, time for a new series! It's April. Time for water. Time for spring. Time for new beginnings. I will write about the water we need to burst with new life.

This week the post is really short but I hope helpful.  What is water to my creative soul?  Here is a simple list of stuff that makes me bloom.

1. A stroll on a sunny day.

2. A heartfelt conversation with a friend.

3. Kissing my sweetheart.

4. Hugging my purring cat.

5. Listening to an upbeat song.

6. Picking a bouquet of flowers.

7. Forgiving someone.

8. Seeing a need and meeting it.

9. Napping.

10. Stretching with breathing.

Ah, the best things in life are free.  Something to remember when seeking water.  I will be back next week with more water.

Here is a doodle.

Hi folks, ah, the end of March. Everything is blooming here. Bluebonnets, Evening Primrose, Winecups, Paintbrush, so many flowers. So beautiful. It looks like bright paints have been spilled on the prairie.

This is the end of the Lucky March series. The universe seems so vast. It seems unlikely that anything interesting would happen on my watch, yet life is full of surprises. Sometimes luck is surprising, odd, and wonderful. I call this luck, strange luck. My favorite kind. The oddball moments that lead us to now. Life might seem dull right now, but don't worry if you are stuck in a rut in the road. A bump is up ahead and who knows what it will lead to.

I thought I'd list three moments of strange luck that have come my way. I got into a cab once in New York and the driver was a brother of a friend from high school. We laughed about the long ago days when we were much younger and not so wise. The experience made the world seem smaller and more manageable. Another time, I was walking near a place I lived near dusk. I walked there daily, but this one day, I saw what I thought was a rabbit trail. I thought I be like Alice and follow the trail. It lead to a mysterious pond that I had never seen before (though I had lived nearby for years), and the full moon was reflecting in the pond. The moment sent chills down my spine and it inspired me to write an entire book based on the "what if..." of the moment.

Now a last moment of strange luck. When Maya Angelou died, I was pretty down about that. I had never met her, but her fervent spirit and wild words had set fires burning inside me. I was flying across country right after she died, and the man next to me and I struck up a conversation. He was struggling with the loss of a dear friend. Soon I learned that he had worked with Maya for years. He told me something of his grief at her loss. His words reflected exactly what I was feeling. We had a sacred moment of tears. Yes, I felt lucky, blessed, and with the angels. I had that big sense that everything and everyone is connected.  Like Maya said, "I know for sure that love saves me and that it is here to save us all."

This is Easter weekend, for Christians, a day of great celebration. He is risen! Here is a blessing for you from me. May you remember all the people that made your life possible. May you seek to live a life worthy of what you have received.

I will be back with next week with a new series. :)

Here is a doodle:

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Maya Angelou

Hi folks, I am feeling pretty lucky right now. I do what I love. I have a roof over my head. I'm the mom of four astonishing young people. I'm married to the love of my life. I have two cats. I have time to read and work in my yard.  And in happy news, I have been a busy writing bee for the last few months. Two big projects of mine have almost been brought together. Do you ever feel like you have sprouted wings and after some serious trial and error, wow, you are flying?

My work stuns me. I am an imperfect artist and writer. I'm messy. The edges of my work are always a little rough, primitive, if you will. I'm a folk artist in a time of slick, mass market production.  And yet these stacks of papers that I have produced bring tears to my eyes.  I find joy in the imperfection.  I hope that my scribbles and doodles will finally turn something up that will make some sense of this world for someone and bring some needed light and laughter into the dark the corners. Here is my promise: I will keep trying.

I had an awesome moment recently. I began querying last week and I have already received my first rejection.  I read the rejection (a classic form email), marked the rejection in my file, and moved back to what I was working on. Then I noticed the milestone! I HAVE ELEPHANT SKIN! I didn't even feel a twinge of discouragement. If you follow my blog, you might know this is a double triumph for me. I've been sort of crushed by a bout of depression for two years and the clouds have moved on. I feel lucky, blessed, favored, and among the angels, all rolled into one.

Finally, I saw my lucky charm today, the moon in the day sky. I always feel lucky when I see the moon in the day sky. The daytime moon is often called the children's moon because it's accessible to children when they are outside playing. Today's daytime moon, a pale half-round in the Texas blue sky, reminded me how lucky I am to write stories for children, to have never lost the sense of child-like wonder within, and to spend my life moving from conversation to conversation with like minded souls. Here's a question: What does the  children's moon say to you?

Glad you have dropped by. I hope good things, deep luck, and true dreams find you this week.  I will be back next with the end of Lucky March.  

Here is a doodle for you. Magic Carpet Ride.

Hi folks, I'm continuing my series called Lucky March. I'm about a quarter Irish, and this month I'm writing about about random circumstances that end up sending good fortune your way. This week I'm writing about those serendipitous moments that change everything. These lucky moments can come at any time and any place. Often they will come when you are least expecting them. 

Hi, folks! Welcome to the next series. I'm about one quarter Irish, hence the luck of the Irish is with me as a writer. ;) Luck is all about random circumstances that end up sending good fortune your ways. Do you want some luck of the Irish in your life?  Here is a sure fire plan.

The whole luck of Irish meme was started by miners in the gold fields back in the day. Those Irish miners kept finding gold. It's a good thing they didn't stay in Ireland. I've learned a thing or two like my Irish ancestors. Stay where you are, and things will never change.  Do things the same, and things will never change. Don't ask for help, and things will never change.

A few years back I took a novel revision class with Darcy Pattison. In this class Darcy offered an exercise, identify the weakest chapters in your book and then revise to make them awesome. As we all know, luck is really about dropping yourself in opportunity rich places and then reaping the benefits. I've made it a practice to choose the three weakest chapters of my book when I have a solid draft and revise them. I make the better. How?  I make better stuff happen. I dig into the emotional core. I cut the fat. Ooh, I was punching the sky when I finished my revision notes.

So whatever creative stuff you are doing, go to the gold fields.  If you are searching for gold, you know where those fields are. Gear up and prospect. First study the land. For you writers, read, read, read. Lose the dreams of get-rich-quick. Band together with other prospectors. You need writers who work hard and show up.  Dig in. Luck finds the tenacious. It does.

So there you have it, a road to the luck of the Irish. I will be back next week with more Lucky March.

Hi folks,  Did you grow up being called the weird one? Was the teasing because you were "a different" that was off the charts? Are you a member of the neurodiverse tribe?

Here's the deal. The neurodiverse outlier faces a tough world. She is labeled (lazy, procrastinator, excessive talker, disorganized, rebellious, poor listener, challenging), shamed (you don't try, you don't care, you're disrespectful, stupid, weirdo) and failed (F for you). I am speaking from experience here. Shake hands, I'm a member of the neurodiverse tribe.

Here is a picture of my life. I'm intelligent but you may be interested to know that I am minimal student. I've failed so many classes that I have lost count.  Note, just because I failed didn't always mean I didn't learn the subject. It generally means that I was stressed out about the tests and projects. I couldn't answer the questions fast enough, or I had a tough time managing my schedule again (i.e I'd forget I had that class until it was too late -- stupid rules). Note: I make As if I'm really crunching on a subject.

I find that it is best for me to learn one subject at a time, with school it is always five at a time or more. I avoid school because there is no place in the world will kick the confidence out of me like a school room. Now to make you laugh, I love to learn. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. I want to know stuff. I read like crazy. I'm always learning new stuff. I do Khan Academy lessons for fun. The internet is my friend. There is a picture, video, or blog for that. Beyond that I like to read books, attend lectures, and go to places. I am always tucking stuff inside me.

I have the same problem of all the neurodiverse: I lack this so called "self control." Let's be clear about self control -- I arrive late often. I have trouble keeping my sleeping schedule on 8 to 5 system. I tend to make As in subjects I like. I get super focused and tend to forget things. I burn up about one pan per month. The sink overflows sometimes. Note, I'm not lazy, I'm just not working according to the "rules" whatever they are. Yes, this makes people very angry: I'm traumatized like every neuro-diverse person on the planet.

Hi folks, I'm continuing my series on creativity. This is 3 of 4. I had a fun program at Covenant Presbyterian Church and thank every one who came out to participate.

Here is my official definition of creativity: out of the box thinking that defies norms, redefines the status quo, and stands the test of time.

So what is this box? And how do you get out of it? The box. This box is plain cardboard and it doesn't hold anything but uniformly-shaped items. The box is all about norms, status quo, and the fad thinking of the moment.

Do you ever challenge yourself? I mean it. How do you challenge yourself? Here is an experiment. Let go of a closely held belief and play the other side. You are a devout Christian. Let it go for a minute and put yourself in the shoes of someone who does not have this belief. What about a dyed in the-wool-Democrat? Let go of your thinking and inhabit the mind of Trump supporter for a minute. Your eyes will open wider and see more. You might find the creative answers to some troubling questions.

Do you ever pull up your tent stakes? Have you camped in your life. Life is a temporary situation. You are just passing through. Have you gotten comfortable? Regardless of how safe and sound you feel, you are dwelling in temporary housing that is very flimsy.  One way to get out of your nice safe box is to pull up your tent stakes.  Go somewhere. Open yourself up to new kinds of people. Go hang out with those tax collectors. Stop vilifying people who are not like you and hang out with them until you see their humanity.

Do something that will never fit in a box. Break some rules. Consider options that just don't fit you. Stretch yourself in new directions. If you are a mountain climber, take a evening and be a video game. Whatever is outside the box of your life, do that. Go somewhere unexpected. Make a friend that you would not in a million years be friends with. Cook something that just sounds weird. Volunteer in a way that makes you shake in your boots.  See what happens.

Yes. Get out of the box.  The choice will infuse your life with creativity. I hope you come back next week for the last of this Creativity series.

Here is a doodle for you.

Hi folks, I'm writing about creativity for the month of February. I have a speaking engagement coming up; deets at the end of this post. This week I'm debunking a myth about the creativity being a right-brained activity for manic artists and how poor left-brained people are basically OCD and dull as dogs.

I'm a creative person and I know that most creative people I know are some of the organized folks in existence.  I find that to truly be creative I have to systematic about my work and very well organized. Creativity does not happen in my life without my left-brain giving my right-brain some serious limits. As far as I can tell creativity needs my whole brain to work. I'm not a neuro-scientist, but I am freakishly observant. Imagination has to reined in. Day dreaming must lead to production, or it leads to nothing. Deep thoughts about the meaning of everything are basically useless if I don't make them actionable.

So here is the secret of creativity. Light up your whole brain. If you feel that lack creativity, your brain is out shape--kind of like you play video games all day and now have muffin tops on your muffin tops because your physical body is languishing. It took me a long time to admit that my left brain was seriously neglected, and that if I didn't give it some attention, I was never going to do a creative thing with my life.  So my journey into creativity started with this: I disciplined myself to make my bed every day. It seems like a small thing but it transformed my creative process.

I learned that making my bed was a small success for everyday that I could count on. Over time I appreciated that my life was filled with one complete success every day. Even the process of making the bed became important -- the economy of motion, the tightness of the sheets, and the arrangement of the pillows.  Routine in my everyday life, helped me establish routine in my creative endeavors. I have found greater balance and my work thanks me.

What!  I know this bed-making thing is counter-intuitive. Secret: You must be counter-intuitive as much as you are intuitive to do excellent creative work.  If you are right-brained person, seek left brain activities.  Don't go crazy, just mix some in.  If you are a left-brained person, you are annoying everyone with talk of your big imaginative endeavors and your lack of even doing one thing that will bring these endeavors to life.

So there you have it. Day-dreamers, make your bed.  Bed makers, take a cup of tea and stare out the window and dream.  I hope, my friends, that you find that innovation is flooding what ever you do.  Drop by next week for more on creativity. Need a creative jolt, come to my talk:

This creativity series is conjunction with a talk that I will be offering at Covenant Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, February 17, 2016 at 6:15. It's a weekly program they offer called Onederful Wednesday. I will lead a workshop called Divining Creativity. Here are a few of the things I will dig into -- What is holding you back? What will push you forward? What will make you leap? This should shake down the cobwebs and open all the windows. Come out if you are interested. It's free. P.S. There is a meal at 5:15 p.m. and it costs $5.00 person and $20 for families. Call this number to RSVP if you are interested: 979-694-7700.

Hi folks:

I'm out of town this week. Uh, I've crossed the urban sprawl of Houston to hear Chuck Sambuchino speak. I think it might have been easier to go to the moon.  Anyways, this is a publishing workshop, and I'm pretty jazzed.  So here is my first creativity lesson.  On a regular basis do something that is off the beaten track for you.

Get out of that rut and head off into the field.  Yes, you might get chiggers. You might step in a fire ant bed. You might get lost. You might waste your time. Stop listening to Robbie the Robot telling you, "Danger, Will Robinson!"  Creativity will spring out activity you can't predict.

Creative souls know the power of a good shake. It's about being uncomfortable in a good way.  If you want to form new and valuable stuff, if you want to make leaps to new ideas, new inventions, new art, consider trying something new this week, something you wouldn't normally do. Just do it.

This creativity series is conjunction with a talk that I will be offering at Covenant Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, February 17, 2016 at 6:15. It's a weekly program they offer called Onederful Wednesday. I will lead a workshop called Divining Creativity. Here are a few of the things I will dig into -- What is holding you back? What will push you forward? What will make you leap? This should shake down the cobwebs and open all the windows. Come out if you are interested. It's free.  P.S. There is a meal at 5:15 p.m. and it costs $5.00 person and $20 for families. Call this number to RSVP if you are interested: 979-694-7700.

Here is a doodle for you. We had a rainstorm last night.

Hi folks, this is the last in my series of Novel Craft.  This week I'm going to address floundering. For me, there is a time in every project when things sort of stall. It sucks. BIG TIME. I lose  my mojo for a project and find myself ready to move on before it is time to move on.

I had an interesting conversation with my friend and writer Avery White (Check out his sight www.thirdpersoncreative.com if you need some fire.)  My WIP is almost done, but not quite. I should be all jazzed but instead I feel wrung out and empty.  I need to pull together the last five chapters. The notes are written. The pages are critiqued. I've said my prayers. And yet, instead of just being on fire right now, I'm searching for excuses. Even my sock drawer is organized at this point.

The way of floundering is always the same for me. I think it is partly self-doubt. When I wrap this up, I will send it out and if you are a write you know that means boatloads of rejection and people writing you notes, "This is a really good first draft." Floundering is partly separation anxiety. I have lived in the book world for years. It is tough to move on to a new world. It's time to let go. How am I going to do that?

Here's my RX. Chat with someone on the creative journey. Avery reminded me that everything is done and now it is time to trust. So here I am, letting go of my floundering and instead embracing my little list of things to-do to finish up. I may have to rip this manuscript apart in the future. It may never be read by more than a handful of people. But I have written those words. I have contributed my verse.

All the good people who invested themselves in my life are with me now. All their energy is surrounding me. The good of the universe is lifting me up above the shambles. What a lovely thing.

Hope this resonates.

Next week I'll start a series about creativity. This is conjunction with a talk that I will be offering at Covenant Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, February 17, 2016 at 6:15. It's a weekly program they offer called Onederful Wednesday.  I will lead a workshop called Divining Creativity. Here are a few of the things I will dig into -- What is holding you back? What will push you forward? What will make you leap? This should shake down the cobwebs and open all the windows.  Come out if you are interested.  It's free.

P.S. Still cancer-free. Whew!

Here is a doodle.

Hi folks, I am spending the month of January chatting about Novel Craft. This week I'm digging into feels. Every books needs shivery moments, feels. The journey of mining your character's emotional core is tough. It takes days. It takes deep thought. If you are feeling sick at your stomach and have almost a migraine headache, chances are you are in your character's feel zone or you need to take a Tylenol.

Seriously, this emotional goop is essential to your storytelling. Let it flow through you.

Where do you get the goop? This week I went in for my yearly mammogram and before I reached home, I already had a call back for more tests. Feels came quick. Anger. I wanted to sit in my car and bang my steering wheel. Next up, hopefulness, this may be this is nothing, just a routine, let's-make-the-baseline-better call. Then despair slammed me. I just don't want to have cancer...again.  Cancer sucks. Your hair falls out. You feel so listless. Ah, my thoughts are turning to jello, a globby emotional smog monster. Not my favorite thing. As much as I don't want it, I'm in an emotional maelstrom. As much as I hate having to deal, I know that dealing is what makes me the best person.

In real life, emotions come in weird ripples. They make no sense. They are disorderly and inconsistent. It takes days to sort through all of it. In novels, emotions need to controlled, even the out of control ones. The best books reveal the essence of the emotional story. You get maybe a paragraph. Move past the surface and uncover the bones and bedrock of your characters.

Here is a little section from the emotional journey of my WIP Profit.

This was Sarai's story. She was going to die here. The cold curling around her was drawing her into its abyss. Her thoughts slowed.  She'd been so focused on her dream, she’d missed every moment and the truth nipping at her—you don’t get to choose your life. Life chooses you. If she hadn’t been so focused on herself, her dream, what she wanted, she might have seen another path and followed it. She might have found meaning in something else, but instead she’d embraced one vision and heard what she wanted to hear. 

Be present in what life chooses for you. Embrace that it is your journey. Embrace what you must feel. Don't try to get out of it. Go through it with as much meaning and dignity that you can. Then take the gold and sprinkle it your stories. Dealing makes you the best person. It makes for the best story.

Hope this connects with you. I will be back next week with more lessons.

A doodle for your heart.

Hi folks, I'm continuing my series called Novel Craft. I'm uncovering what has worked for me in the last year as I have moved forward with my novel writing. This is a way to make a stronger ending to your book. I found it very effective. It helped me untangle some weakness in my plot and gave me new energy toward a project I had grown frustrated with.

I asked myself  a simple question, what is a better ending to this story?

Yes, that is it. I'm not great with complicated solutions. This is the absolute truth. I love to make complicated plans, but I rarely enact them. Embarrassing but true. I have to find elegant, simple solutions to succeed, and my writer-sense (not be confused with Spidy-sense) let me know that my question was going to work.

My method to answer this question may seem weird, I talked to myself about while driving my umpteen errands. I suppose people looked at me and thought that is one crazy gal. Oh, well.
I chattered on bout the tried and true ending, poking at my ideas. I started by asking myself questions. How can I make this character suffer more? How can her darkest moment be darker? What would bring this character bigger change?

There was a little drama--like I don't know if this is going to work, and then, yay, ideas popped up. I continued to chatter on about the how these new ideas might be better than my old one.  I chattered for about a half hour. I'm pretty sure I'm not the first author who uses the the professional "chatterer" technique.

Finally in midst of my chattering, eureka, a better ending to the story popped in my head.  A way better end. I wrote that ending, and, yeah, I started chanting (while writing), "I've got this!"

Hint, hint, a simple questions, a conversation with yourself may help you improve your existence. Try it. Thanks for dropping by. I will return next week with more on this series.

Here is a doodle for you:

Hi folks, I'm spending the month of January chewing on novel craft. This week I'm going to talk about transitions. Transitions are about leaving one chapter behind and picking up the thread of the story in the next chapter. Chapters are a convention for ease of reading, but they are more for the novelist. Chapters help you present your story. It's a huge piece of how you keep your reader hooked and longing for more. The way writers keep readers engaged is by devising provocative transitions between chapters. These transitions grab readers attention, plunge them into new action, and ensure complete satisfaction during the reading experience. You might find that some of this transition talk helps you in transitions in your life.

Transitions are about how one chapter ends and the next one begins. Instead of trying to tie everything up in a chapter. You must think of a chapter transitions as a dynamic phase, smack dab in the middle of the action, the epiphany, and/or the relationships.  Transitions are not neat things all wrapped up in bows. A good end transition launches you toward the next chapter. Be prepare to leap in the middle of the mystery. Raise a big question and then just cut off the chapter. Journey toward something audacious but don't arrive, cut off just before that. Stop trying to end things in easy way, Complication, surprise, and turmoil? This is the true stuff of transition.

Now that you have ended the last chapter in a compelling way, it's time to turn the page to the next chapter. You have primed your reader if they had to put the book away until tomorrow. They will be thinking about the chapter all day. They must see that next page. So how do you get that next chapter going. Some transitions are easier than others. If the next chapter is in the same time frame. The next step is logical. It's usually about dialogue and a twist. It's the the transitions that require a jump that are harder, mainly because it causes the writer to leap. My recommendation, don't get bogged down with time, but launch immediately into the heart of what is important in your story. It might be musing from your main character. It might be at the next point in time that stuff is going down. The important thing is not being trapped in the minutia of time change, setting change, and interior thoughts. Cut to what is most interesting, upsetting, or exciting.

Last, it's important transitions build satisfaction, but that does not mean complacency. It's important that readers feel like they are on a journey. Transitions keep your story from being a series of episodes. They are glue for the overreaching arc. How? Stories need to going somewhere just like our lives need to be going somewhere. We are all looking for a point, even if the point is there is no point. Powerful transitions illuminate.They make the reader feel that this journey is worthwhile. Readers inhabit stories that are nimble, like a mountain goat leaping from one peak to the next--a glorious and amazing sight. Good transitions are fearless, seamless, thoughtful, and thrilling. They make for one satisfying read.

That's a teaspoon of transition chat. I hope something resonates with you. I will continue my novel craft series next week.

Here is a doodle. Veg.

Hi, folks! Welcome to a brand new year! This year I'm starting out with a series on novel craft. This week I hope I offer you some good advice about how to start your book. That's right, your book is like no other. Your start is like no other. A good novelist has come to trust her mojo. Books start in a myriad of ways: some with dialogue, some with backstory, some jump into the action, some blather on inside the main character's head, some start with character waking up, some begin with the sunrise.  Regardless, a good beginning will spill some of that writer magic on the page--the I've-got-this-attitude.

Where does this attitude come from? There is no magic formula but here are three practices that will infuse your beginnings with your mojo. First, write and write and write. Next learn how to take charge and be your own boss. Finally give yourself pep talks. I will chat about these three hallmarks of a great beginning. (A hallmark is an invisible stamp that shouts this is one authentic book.)

First, you must write, not think about, not talk about, not plan about writing, but actually write.  This involves at least a million words before you reach minimally competent. So whatever it takes begin to write. Type page after page. Fill journal after journal. Write failed story after failed story. You have found the road to a good beginning!  Kudos!

Next you must own your writing. If you are a writer, you should be receiving regular critiques of your work. That is awesome. Now you must learn to learn what to listen to and what to toss. This will take hundreds of critiques and hundreds of misses.  Take the big risks. Go to that craft workshop you've been thinking about. Read the competition and then compete. Own failure and define it is a stepping stone to success. The thing you must realize -- you are the Boss. Expose yourself on the page, take the risk. You may fail. You may go broke. Regardless, exercise your exclusive rights, own your writing. Ownership will infuse your beginnings with you.  Good stuff.

Finally, learn how to pep talk yourself.  Here's the deal, the awesomeness must come from within. This is where your voice is. The self talk needs to work like this: I can do something awesome. Why not? I will write something that will shake the foundations. This beginning will blow my own mind, and it will totally transform everyone's universe. I will make this better, faster, stronger. I'm going to totally six-million dollar man this! (Note: if you are not doing 1 and 2, and doing 3, you are not looking like a genius...)

Take a few minutes every day and give yourself the pep talk. Do not neglect this step. Don't try to get this juice from others. If you are like me, call on the grace of I AM. No, no, you don't deserve unmerited favor, but ask for it (somebody out there really loves you), and then give the glory to the Architect of all things.

I just dropped a teacup of useful stuff in your brain: Work hard, be the BOSS, and finally pep talk yourself. All this will build beginning inertia for you. Inertia is all about getting you in a tendency of writing AWESOME beginnings. If you tend to write awesome beginnings, you will continue to write awesome beginnings.  This is something you can trust.

I hope you come back next week for more Novel Craft.  If your resolution is to finally write your novel, follow the steps.  (P.S. this advice works for every creative endeavor.)  Good luck!

Here is a doodle.

I'm continuing my creative gifts series. This is all about writerly gifts that I've received from others on my journey. I'm extremely wealthy when it comes to receiving these gifts. This week I'm going to talk about Holly Cupala. Holly is someone who has been generous to me in so many ways I cannot count.  She is one of the most deeply empathetic people I know. She aware of the feelings of a wide range of people; she feels deeply what they are going through. She is a gift to us all.

I'm continuing my creative gifts series. This is all about writerly gifts that I've received from others on my journey. I'm extremely wealthy when it comes to receiving these gifts. This week I'm going to talk about Janet Lee Carey.She is a friend and a writing mentor, critique partner. She is also one of the best living fantasy writers. Through critiques, conversations, and reading her books. This week's gift is tapestry, everything is interconnected.

I've read many of Janet's books and love that her characters. They are always part in of this world and part of one another. Janet understands we are not just flesh and bone, there is an immaterial part of being human. STEALING DEATH. I still feel the weight of Kwaja, the sack of souls, main character Kipp has stolen. His family has died in a terrible fire and he stole Kwaja from a grim reaper type to stop death. He will never see another person die. Death disconnects us from whom we love. It must be stopped and yet death cannot be stopped. Pull one thread and the fabric unravels.

We all have these moments in life that transcend the drudgery of day to day living. The warp threads of tapestry are hidden, the stuff that backs everything up. The weft threads create the colorful picture. Janet's characters are not blinded by cold intellect but are lit with light of love. Her series The Wilde Island Chronicles: Dragron's Keep, Dragonswood, and  In the Time of Dragon Moon reveals her skill at broad canvas. Janet recreates the Pendragon myth with this series. Tapestry is especially important in the last book, where two hard to weave in threads find their place.

This is vast storytelling at it's best, but what is so important about it, is every thread is given attention. There are no blank spots on this tapestry.  Read her books reveal the value of tapestry in writing. You are welcome.

Finally, Janet was one of the precious people who put together their pennies and brought me to Washington State for a writing retreat earlier this year. I had a tough year. My poor noggin' let me down, and I spiraled into Depression. I am much much better now. But just like her characters in her books, she is interconnected to those around her.  When I was struggling to swim in the life's ocean with it's seasonal storms. She reached out and put my feet on the ground. She made sure my little warp thread continued to be a part of the tapestry of writing. (Yes, I was a hairbreadth away from never writing another word.) All of are co-creators together. No one is an island. We need all the voices.

I hope you continue your creative work. Weave your threads. I know it is hard work. Don't stop. Our life is so much richer if we create our tapestries of story.


Here are the covers of the Wilde Chronicles!.

I'm continuing my creative gifts series. This is all about writerly gifts that I've received from others on my journey. I'm extremely wealthy when it comes to receiving these gifts. This week I'm going to talk about Chris Eboch. I have had the opportunity to hear Chris speak many times. She is a friend and a writing mentor, and through critiques, conversations, and reading her books I've learned the importance of being audacious. This week's gift: audacity.

One of her books (that is not published) has had a huge effect on me as a writer. In this book, she offs the main character several times and then follows a new main character.  I can't tell you the shock I felt the first time I read her story, and the first main character died. It was an audacious move that has kicked at me for years. She did something I've never seen done in a book before. She was fearless. Her story demanded the death of her main character and she did not hesitate. This is the lesson, if you are hesitating you are not really sure of your story yet. Dig deeper.

So what exactly is audacity in writing. It's a very good thing for your plot. It's about going there in an original way. I think it has to do with the author getting out of all the muck of writing advice and serving the story. Can you march to your own beat? You are not going to make folks turn the page unless you are fearless. I mean moxie is where it is at. Chris is a soft-spoken person who climbs sheer rock faces for fun. A fast hike across the Grand Canyon, OK! She translates her own gutsiness into her characters, and readers are happy about that. Translating your daring spirit into your story will give it a mega-boost.  

 Be audacious. Scoop out the best of yourself and thread it into your work. Plots must turn with sharp, clean moves.  Don't be muddy or wishy-washy -- good advice for life too. Excellent writing should force the reader to test his or her own mettle. Yes, characters need to be dimensional to get a reader  that involved. Great stories need to get under a reader's skin. They need to demand the reader not just sit there but become involved; in the end the reader needs to changed--forever.  

Sounds hard? You bet, but totally worth it.  

This week be audacious. Write something irresistible. If you want help. I suggest you look at some of Chris's work. She writes as Chris Eboch for children and Kris Bock for adults (romantic suspense). Her books will shake you up.   You may also want to check out her writing books: ADVANCED PLOTTING too and YOU CAN WRITE FOR CHILDREN.   You are welcome!

More gifts next week. 

Here is the cover of one of Chris's (as Kris Bock)  romantic suspense books. It's so beautiful. 

You want to turn the world upside down?  

Here is a quote for your pocket.

Audacity, more audacity, always audacity. Georges Jacques Danton

Hi folks, I'm starting a new series. I'm sharing creative gifts that I've received from others in my journey. I'm extremely wealthy when it comes to receiving these gifts. This week I'm going to talk about Bonny Becker. I had the opportunity to hear Bonny speak many times when I lived in Washington State. I also took the time to really study her books and think about her writing.

I received a bag of creative gifts from her but one stands out. Bonny taught me the importance of  a light touch--tenderness--in storytelling.  (It works for life too, believe me.)  Tenderness is about making vulnerable characters. They may be armored up top, but turn them over and they are squishy and soft. The story journey really is about turning that prickly character over and letting them get a little sun on his or her belly.

As a storyteller, I want to pack in stuff, get the plot going. Bonny has shown me it's about not rushing forward, but instead being patient and letting things work out. It's about heart with flaws. It's about tiny and mighty against huge and timid. Tenderness is found in the intersection of these opposites. Bonny has taught me about the absolute power of awareness. Tucking the truth about one character into the pocket of another transforms a flat story into something amazing.

Finally,I learned this from Bonny: how tenderness brings the beauty of the lilies of the field to story. She offers not just vulnerable but fragile characters. Beauty springs up like Texas bluebonnets when you thread in devotion and affection. Tenderness brings gravitas to storytelling. If you write quiet stories, tenderness will infuse them with  the sunrise. It is so quiet before dawn, but the sun rises and glory!  The birds' cacophony amazes. The clouds burn. The sky eats the darkness. This is the power of tenderness. Add it to your work.

Bonny teaches at The Northwest Institute of Literary Arts.  Her newest picture books is just out: Cloud Country. This was done in collaboration with Noah Klocek. It is amazing.  Don't just take my word for it. Give this and all her books a peek. You are welcome.

No doodle this week. Here is the cover of Bonny's new book in collaboration with Noah Klocek:

Hi folks, this is the last in my Uplift series wherein I try to write words that will lift you up. We are at the end of a month, so this will be short, but overwhelming useful (hopefully).

My dad taught me this. Where you come from isn't important. Know who you are. Figure it out. Dad is an interesting person. As a young child he was totally cut off from his past, and set adrift without parents, family, anyone but himself.  He had to rely on the charity of strangers and carve a life for himself as a person with no past.

You might have a lion inside that is roaring at you!  You might be tied up with the stupid decisions of your past and the past of your family and friends.  You might be tied up with the stupid decisions of entire nations and races. Or you might be like my dad, a person with no past, no story, nothing. Where do you go from here?

The degradation you have suffered isn't important. The gaping holes in your past aren't important. What others think about you isn't important. What you think about yourself is the important thing. The next step is the future. If you are reading my blog, it is likely you are a creative soul. The things you create are always for the future. You focus on what count by adding value to future of others. Seriously, be the biggest investor you can possibly be.

Next week, a new series. Gifts.

A doodle for you!

Hi folks, I'm continuing my Uplift series. A short one this week but full of riches!

One way to cause your work to soar is to be thankful. We choke on our successes when we don't take the time to thank others for their helpfulness. Acknowledging others is a way of sharing your success; it's a trans-formative process. It acknowledges you did not create work in a vacuum. You are interconnected with all around you;  without the spokes to your wheel, you never go far.

Some keep a gratitude journal to remember all the great things that they wants to give thanks about. Others take time every day to be thankful. There is no best way. Thankfulness helps lift me from a depressed state and gives me hope. It helps me avoid stifling my imagination, choking my growth, and losing my joy. Being thankful makes the ties that bind to be much stronger.

Thankfulness is getting above the waves of life and surfing over a turbulent ocean. You will find your way, day by day. Complexity does not equal better. Thankfulness simplifies you and puts you in touch with the better parts of yourself. It sweetens hard work. It helps you approach work in a way is not "crazy making."

Giving thanks makes you strong, so difficult to knock over. It makes you a better person. The act of thankfulness leads you to right choices and will move you closer to wherever you want to be. A thankful heart is better than a pain reliever;  it can cure what ails you.

Finally, if you want your work to sing? Sing the praises of others. Giving honor and acknowledgement to those people who have helped you along the way. Enrich your life.
We live in troubled times; it's comforting to know that one simple act can do so much for everyone.

I will be back next week with more Uplift.

Here is the week's doodle, The Peace Monument, Bamako, Mali.

Hi folks, I'm continuing my series Uplift. Something I think we can all use right now. It is difficult to turn to a news site and see the troubles of our world. What can an artist do to alleviate any of it? How can an artist work in the midst of it? Is it possible to find uplift in this morass of suffering?

Here is a truth that has come to me. I write because I must. Words flood into me. My artistic endeavor is a gift to me first and to all after. It is something like I'm an artesian aquifer. Deep in us all is the ground water of human existence and it is seeking a place of release. We are animate matter: self-replicating, chemical factories, and electrical maps. We are fragile. I have a short span of days in light of the ancient universe, to share what the spark of life has revealed to me. Use you time wisely.

So much flows from human existence and not all is good. There is terror, murder, mayhem, profane, a list so long, but just the first few on the list places weight in my heart. Thankfully, there is good--mercy, hope, help, kindness. I am one voice among the many, but my voice counts. My choice how to use my voice counts. Like all artists, there is so much pushing up under me. I must allow this art a place, and hopefully, like a fine poet who was called to throw a stone at a giant, I will take down the enemies of my age.

Artists are outliers. I like to do the math. We have about 318 million people in our country. 2.5 million work in all the arts (I'm including the part-timers and unemployed). 7 in 1000 are artists. I'm a writer, and we are really rare birds: 4 in 10000 or so are writers. This is why you have friends all over the world, and you have a difficult time finding folks in the neighborhood who are working on their craft. Even if we are rare, we are mighty.

Art is mightier than any sword because it changes the minds of others without having to lift the sword. We keep hurling our bombs at each other in hopes that the other side will see our point of view. Really?  As a mother, I can tell you hurling rocks will never change the heart. You may defeat your enemies, causing them to hang their heads with bitterness but you will not change them. Non-violent change is true road for everyone, not just the oppressed.

Not everyone producing art is trying to pull the good water out of the human groundwater. Art can be full of good or not. It can laced with terror or laced with kindness. Don't be a con-artist. Regardless though, it's better to put your ideas on a page and think about them, than to force them down the throat of your neighbors at the point of a gun, sword, etc. Don't worry about stopping the foul wells. They don't bring life and people will leave them. We need water to live.

So here it is artist: Use your words. Use your pictures. Use your song. Use you dance. Use every way you can communicate an idea, but if you use your fists, your shouts, your better ways to throw rocks and fire, you will fail. You will always fail.  If you are a well-spring of art, know that you are the only one who is working in a way that will bring forth true change. We are the revolutionary who bring forth sudden, complete, and marked change! Yay!

Change the world for the better, folks. I will be back with more Uplift next week.

Here is a doodle for you: Open Door.

Hi folks, I am starting my new series about what gets me off the ground and in to the creative flow. I call this series UPLIFT. I hope this blog  helps you reach your stratosphere.

What does boldness look like in your work? First, trust your vision. You are the gal who driving the creative bus. Don't allow anyone  take that from you. Cling to your point of view. Boldness means letting people see your work and incorporating their feedback in ways that moves you toward your goals. Boldness means accepting that you may fail, but choosing not dwell on that. Boldness is about healthy, encouraging self-talk. Boldness is all about taking the hits but dwelling on what you learned from them. Boldness is about choosing action over fear. Do it.

I hope you are bold this week.  I will be back next week with more uplift.

Here is a doodle for your pocket. Primary and Secondary

Hi folks. I'm finishing my Chicken by Chicken series for the month of October.  I write about my real challenges in the series. This week: Soul Wrapped in Cake and Doughnuts. On top of depression, anxiety, partial, and dylexia, I suffer from obesity. It is a daily battle. I hope my journey helps you find your way.

Yes, my soul is wrapped in cake and doughnuts. I have suffered from obesity since the birth of my third child. Gosh, you have no idea how difficult this is for me to write about.  It's just a piece of cake. It's just a doughnut. Don't eat it. Ah, but that cake and doughnut is about that moment of pleasure in a life that has not had so many pleasures.  Yes, I struggle with eating for emotional comfort. Like any addict, I hope to drown my sorrows in momentary pleasure. Obesity is a treatable disease and I'm working on it.

I don't have my obesity under control right now, but I haven't given up hope. I long to be well from this need to eat sugar. I live in a world that values the young and so called "beautiful." Thankfully, I have this fantastic understanding of beauty that keeps my chin up. My understanding was a gift. A photographer called Emerald England opened my eyes to the beauty of everything.  I was at my highest weight of my life when I met her. I will tell you right now. I am the kind of person that everyone calls a beautiful heart.

I'd hired Emerald to take a headshot of me for my website. I apologized to her for asking her to use her incredible skills on someone like me.  She looked at me in surprise and asked why.  I told her my truth. I'm fat, dumpy,and gnome-like, and she takes pictures of beautiful people. She looked stunned and told me without hesitation, you are going to find out today that you are beautiful. I laughed and said OK. She took the shots and I went my way. When I received the pictures, I couldn't breathe.

Indeed, Emerald was right. I was beautiful, not just my heart, but the outside of me. Ever since that photography session, everyday, I stand in front of a mirror and speak the real truth to myself. You are beautiful, Molly.  You have a health problem with food. It's complicated, but it doesn't lessen your beauty. I have an illness that has to be treated.  This illness does not make less of a human being.  That is someone else's problem.

So my soul is wrapped in cake and doughnuts.  I'm working on it.  Obesity is a tough disease to live with, but it is not an ugly-maker. You have value, whoever you are. Your flaws are part of your beauty. (My contemporary romance, Plumb Crazy, is really inspired by my journey with obesity. The main character, beautiful Elva, was another gift to me.) Here s a secret. Your so-called flaws will inspire your work if you let them.

I will back next week with my November series, Uplift.

Here is a doodle for you!