A VERY long time has passed since I last logged onto LJ. I miss you all. I miss the way friendships were built here and am grateful for the ones that carried over into real life. I could not have survived this past decade (!!) without this once close-knit community and for that I am eternally grateful. With the advent of Facebook and Twitter and other blog platforms, we have all scattered on the winds of change. But I'm hopeful we will continue to connect elsewhere and in real life. I miss you LiveJournal community, but I fear it's time to close the doors here.

In scanning past posts - well, wow! I revealed a lot of personal stuff! Back then, the internet felt smaller, cozier, more private - although I suspect it wasn't true back then, and it certainly isn't true today.

Where to find me these days?
author web site (with blog)
reading blog
Twitter: @DebbiMichiko
Facebook

I'll keep this up for a short bit before deleting my account. It feels so....final, and yet, I've not been back here for years. I hope to find you all "out there" - somewhere.

I know. It's been awhile since I last posted and here I was vowing to post once a week on LJ. Sigh.

Ducks 1 - 4: The good news is that I've been busy and that's the only reason I've been away. I'm still meditating, I'm still taking yoga (two classes a week), I'm still working on my WIP (almost done), I'm still reading.

Duck 5: Last weekend I attended a novel writing retreat at the Vermont College of the Arts - for part 1 of my experience, click here. I'll post part 2 tomorrow. It was an incredible experience that reminded me of my early experiences as a newbie attending SCBWI conferences. I felt inspired, connected, giddy, and motivated! I met amazing people and made some new friends. I heard fabulous speakers (Julie Berry, Lauren Myracle, Cyn Leitich Smith, and editor Andrea Tompa)! I got to room with my WWa WWa, cfaughnan who for ten years has co-run this amazing retreat. And for the first time ever - I read my work out loud to a group of strangers! It was an incredible experience - I was nervous, but calm as I read 2-1/2 pages out loud. (I did not look up at the group, however.) There is nothing as amazing as having a group of 36 people listen and react (with laughter in appropriate places) to my words. Even better? I was able to hear everyone read their work out loud and I was very impressed with the quality of writing! A great weekend!

Duck 6: If all goes well, Bob, Trixie and I will be moving into our new home this week, but I don't want to say more for fear of jinxing it (we've been held "hostage" by Wells Fargo and their incompetence at trying to clear to close. It's a long hellish story and one I don't care to rehash).

Duck 7: While I miss Home in California - and I miss my friends and family and easy homelife tremendously, I'm really enjoying living in CT. It's almost like "coming home" because New England/the East Coast is where I pretty much started my children's writing career and got involved with SCBWI and the writing community. I'm so happy to reconnect with my writing group (jbknowles and cfaughnan) and all my friends on this coast!


(only 2 ducks here, but I assure you there are more and they are all in a row!)

Duck 8: Yesterday, I spent an awesome day in Boston where I met up with cynthialord and her wonderful daughter. We shopped, ate, browsed bookstores (yes, more than one!), talked, laughed, walked, and had amazing cupcakes at Georgetown Cupcake.



While walking, someone called us "Charlie's Angels" as we walked by! :) All in all a perfectly wonderful and WARM (47!) day!

Hope you have a ducky week!

I recently started reading Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change by Pema Chodron. I'm loving it. I love Pema's writing style, so compassionate. I have previously read two of her other books When Things Fall Apart and Start Where You Are. I gain insight with every word of hers that I read.

This week, I was surprised by this bit of research she shared (from brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor): an emotion like anger that's an automatic response lasts just ninety seconds from the moment it's triggered until it runs its course. That means, as Pema says, that any anger (or other emotion) that lasts longer than those ninety seconds remains because we choose to continue to kindle it. We replay the words that angered us, or the event that upset us - over and over, and we (particularly if we are fiction writers) tell the story over and over in many ways, expanding and growing the story until it's something it wasn't.

This fascinates me. And each time I've been triggered to anger or hurt or fear this week, I try to stay present with it for the ninety seconds and then I try to let it go. It's HARD! But I'm starting to see how it plays out, how by thinking about it, rehashing it, talking about it over and over, and by making up background stories or alternate realities, I continue to fan the flames of that emotion. Wow.

She's not talking about repressing your feelings, but to sit with them without judgement or storytelling. To try not to fix it, but to just recognize it. Try it. It's hard. But it's worth the work to be able to let go of anger, fear, hurt.

I do wonder, however, how this will affect my writing. Can I sink back into those emotions for my character's sake? For story's sake? Will I be able to feel those emotions deeper without being spun up? Will I be able to write better? Deeper? Freer? I guess I'll find out. It's a long process - that's why they call it a "practice." :) Happy Friday!

This morning as I sat down in my temporary office, I was blessed by the sight of a sky awash in blues and pinks. I wish I knew better how to use my camera because this photo doesn't properly capture the glorious scene that lay before me this morning. So inspired to photograph this, I ran outside in 20 degree temps in sock feet, yoga gear and no coat, snapping pic after pic. Yes, my hands were burning with cold, but I was invigorated. Some mornings are like that - I wake up refreshed and optimistic.

I went on a lovely 3 day writing retreat in PA to visit dear friend, Jen Groff, we wrote, we talked, we shared, we laughed, we ate, we drank, we explored. On one of our brisk (or as Jen described it - "like walking across the tundra) walks we saw this:

A mini book exchange! We opened the little door but nothing was inside. Jen promised to return and put in a book.

On days like yesterday, when I struggle with my revision, when I battle those doubts on whether or not I can complete this draft to any sort of satisfaction, when I wonder if I'm wasting my time, I remember those little moments of bliss - a sunrise, a surprise like the book drop created by some generous book lover, good friends - and I then remember that I chose this. I choose to write. I want to write. And I'm blessed to be able to have the time to write.

I am sending glorious sunrises your way and I hope you too are inspired by all the wonderful things in your life!

My commitment to my Year of Sanctuary remains strong and unwavering. I added a second yoga class to my week, one that's entitled BLISS. Isn't that lovely? My first class was last night and it was indeed lovely - I learned some new poses and was surrounded by new faces.

I discovered a great site for mindfulness here: Mindfulness.org chock full of interesting and inspiring articles on mindfulness. I was thrilled to come across an excerpt by Natalie Goldberg, from her memoir writing book Old Friend From Far Away. I've been searching for ways to dig deeper in my own writing. There is a novel in me that I want to write, but it will be challenging and difficult, and require me to truly dig deep. I think focusing on memoir writing exercises might help me get there. I really liked this bit:

In some ways writing is our attempt to grasp what went on. We want an answer. We want things to be black and white, to be obvious and ordered. Oh, the relief. But have you noticed, it doesn’t work that way? We live more in the mix of black and white, in the gray—or in the brilliant colors of the undefined moment.

Isn't that beautiful and true?

I think in a way, I'm on that clichéd journey to find myself - but I'm doing this mindfully, without the boy toy or convertible (or whatever the female equivalent is of that) or the escape to a villa in Tuscany (although that last one does sound nice). I am grateful for this move to CT because I feel like in a sense it's giving me a fresh look at life. Here's to the journey, the search, the discoveries, and the joy!

I've been blogging my writing journey for almost 9 years now (!!). It's been a long, bumpy, windy path and I'm still on it, plodding along.

As part of my Year of Sanctuary, I added an app to my phone that gives me daily readings and assignments. Today's states: You cannot know where you are along the path to awakening -- comparisons and judgements only hinder us.

This is true when it comes to being on the writing path, too. I had no idea that I would be blessed with an opportunity to write not one, but two, nonfiction children's books. It was never part of the plan, but there it was and it was a wonderful experience! And so, I must remind myself, as I revise this novel I've been working on for over a year now, that I can't know what will happen - and thinking about it or worrying about it or comparing myself to other writers I deem more successful doesn't help me at all. The best I can do is my best. I can control my own writing, my own path, my own focus.

Here's to staying on the path!

Oops! I vowed to myself that I'd post once a week here, and already missed last week. I had a good reason, though:


(PS - that's not Bob in the center - that's a friendly Hogwart's Express conductor.) ;)

I was in lovely, warm Orlando for a week. Over the weekend, we flew C out so that we could go to Universal's Harry Potter World. We had an amazing time! And then, the rest of the week, while Bob was busy with work, I hunkered down and did a 3-day revision retreat using Darcy Pattison's book revision book Novel Metamorphosis. I have read many revision/craft books and learned something new with each book, but I have to say that of all of them, Darcy's book provided me bright lights of comprehension and I have big hopes that this is what helps push my writing over the hump to make a sale.

Then, this weekend, I had the joy of hosting my writing group, the wonderful WWa WWas, Cindy Faughnan and Jo Knowles, for our annual writing retreat. This one was especially special because we missed getting together last year. We had, as usual, an amazing time - writing, talking, sharing, walking, and shopping! Jo brought Christmas Crackers - something I'd never heard of before - and we wore our crowns proudly!



We have fostered our friendship now for almost 9 years - meeting here on LJ and then gathering at a writing retreat at Jo's in 2005 before I moved to China. We had instant chemistry and respect for each other and our writing - and we worked hard to foster our friendship and writing group, through the years and distance. We communicate daily by email and phone, and work online together via email and Skype. We commiserate, we advise, we share, we laugh, we cry, and laugh some more. Now, after I've lived in China and California, I am finally back in close enough proximity to get together with them more than once a year! What a treat!

In my last LJ post of 2012 I shared that my theme for the year is Sanctuary - to encompass the past year plus of reading about and studying mindfulness, meditation, yoga; to continue to make writing a priority because writing soothes me, because writing IS me; to get to know myself better by spending more time with my thoughts, with myself.

kellyrfineman blogged about mindfulness and asked for book recommendations and after I responded, I thought maybe I'd share those books here on my blog, as well. jbknowles had a great post on living life NOW that had me thinking about mindfulness. I'm not professing to be any kind of expert. I've only started reading about mindfulness and meditating (October 2011), and I just recently started studying/practicing Svaroopa Yoga since moving here to CT in October. (And I absolutely love it!) Another goal I hope to accomplish during my Year of Sanctuary is to make meditation more of a daily practice. I've been lax about it since moving, mostly because I haven't yet gotten into a good routine and we're still in temporary living.

Since starting to learn about mindfulness and since I started to meditate, I've noticed a gradual change in my attitude and behavior. I'm calmer, and little things don't bother me as much as they used to. I've always been reactionary, impatient with a quick temper. Not that I'm perfect now - I'm far from. It's just that it's thrilling to have visible proof of the small changes in me. Both Bob and my daughter have noticed a difference. Again, I'm far from being changed - it's a process and it's an effort, but I definitely feel different inside - calmer, more peaceful, happier, even when things are hard.

So enough of that. ;) I could go on and on about this. Instead, here are some books I've read on the topic that I really liked.

BEYOND HAPPINESS: The Zen Way to True Contentment by Ezra Bayda
Shambhala/2011

Written by a long-time teacher and practitioner of Zen, the author instructs the reader how to attain inner contentment. He outlines the difference between external happiness and inner happiness, and teaches how to live in the present as a way of finding that happiness. He also shares meditation exercises. It’s clear that this is a long path, and that it will take many many attempts to get comfortable with this kind of thinking.

A GRADUAL AWAKENING by Stephen Levine
Anchor Press (Doubleday)/1979)

Outstanding book filled with Stephen Levine’s essays/lectures on meditation and his own insights. Must reread frequently! There are several types of meditations included.

PEACE IS IN EVERY STEP by Thich Nhat Hanh
Bantam/1991

An easy to read book with short sections, outlining ways to focus on mindfulness and peace in every day life.

LOVING-KINDNESS: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness by Sharon Salzberg
Shambhala Press/1995 Meditation/Zen

One of my favorite books so far on the topic of zen/mindfulness/meditation. While the journey seems long, it seems doable.

HAPPINESS IS AN INSIDE JOB: Practicing for a Joyful Life by Sylvia Boorstein
Ballantine Books/2007

A good read following up on Sharon Salzberg’s book – kind of like a adjunct.

MINDFULNESS FOR BEGINNERS by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Sounds True, Inc/2012

A great guide to what mindfulness is and isn’t, how to integrate it into your life, and meditation starters. Chapters are very short and easy to read and understand.

I'd love to hear if any of you have other book recommendations on the topic. Since I moved, I miss the East-West Book store in Mountain View where I got many of these books. It's harder to find new books on the topic when I can't browse the shelves. I have ThE ART OF HAPPINESS by the Dalai Lama next to read.

Here's to a mindful happy 2013!

I can't believe it's the end of 2012! (Possibly the end of forever if you believe all the hype!) A full Year of Writing! My goal was to get back into the rhythm of regular writing and while I had a short break during our cross-country move in September/October, I feel like I managed to do this successfully. I completed for submission a multi-cultural chapter book and wrote two drafts of a current WIP, while starting a couple of new ideas. Whew! And despite some frustrations and whining that I was going to "quit" - it never really happens. My "quitting" usually lasts all of 2 hours. ;) Let's face it, no matter what, I'm never going to quit writing - the stories are in me, the characters demand attention.

I'd love to know how you did with your writing this past year! And however much or little progress you feel you made, I'd like to congratulate you! Keep writing!

Next year my theme word is Sanctuary. This will involve me spending more time with myself - studying yoga and meditation (through the Svaroopa Vida Ashram), going on a retreat alone (as inspired by the lovely Julie Hedlund whose blog I read regularly), and attending some writing retreats, both formal and informal (some of which are already planned). This does not mean I'm cutting back on writing - I'm hoping that the momentum I built this past year will keep me going strong. And that my Sanctuary theme will help me grow both as a person and a writer. As a wise and kind friend recently said when I complained that I felt like I was standing still - I am standing still, but I'm growing deeper. Thanks, susanwrites!

While I know I haven't been present here much, I do plan to keep peeking in on you, and to blog my Sanctuary themed year. I hope we can keep in touch! Till 2013, Happy Holidays and Happy writing/illustrating! xo

I feel like I'm talking to myself here - and it's my fault for being so absent from LJ. I miss the old days, when we were an intimate community and we were all here. Now with Facebook and Twitter and Tumblr and other blogging platforms (I'm guilty of moving to WordPress), it's nearly impossible to stay connected here on LJ AND have a life. I miss you guys. All of you.

I'm sticking to my blogging of my Year of Writing - I'm nearing the final stretch. Wow. I am so very close to finishing this draft of my WIP (draft 6). My plan is to finish before my daughter arrives for the holiday break and then exchange mss with a writing partner for crits. Short break, but any time away between drafts is always good for objectivity. I plan to spend January revising yet again - this time I hope I can focus more on deepening, honing, polishing, and word choice. If this plot/arc still doesn't work, then I suppose I'll be doing yet another plot draft. Eep. Baby steps.

How are you doing? And maybe it's time to start thinking of writing goals for next year. Hmmmm.

You can believe that I'm not posting regularly because I'm fully immersed in my revision. This is draft 6 for my WIP - I've been struggling with plot and story arc, but I think this draft, I finally have it. I hope. I'm trying to finish this draft before my daughter arrives for the holiday break, so I've got my nose to the laptop screen and revising with great focus (or mediocre focus, depending on the day). I will be exchanging mss with a writing friend over the break and then I will dive back in yet again. I'm hoping that this next revision will be more of a deepening draft, focusing on character emotional growth. I feel like it takes me SO many drafts to get to the point I feel good about sharing with my agent. I think I can only focus on one or two main issues per draft. Anyway...here's hoping I have something to share with my agent early next year!

In the meantime, I have a new story idea that I'm dying to get started on. I am jotting notes, but will not allow myself to get too distracted so close to the home stretch.

How are you all doing? We're getting close to the end of the year. I feel like I could have been MORE focused on writing this year - but with the move across the country, I suppose I couldn't help but take a break during that. I do feel like I've been more focused on my writing than in previous years, at least.

Happy writing!

Post-Sandy, I'm trying to get back into a routine, once again. The routine I thought I was slowly getting into after moving here was waylaid by the superstorm and now I'm trying to focus again.

I'm officially back to work on the big WIP, having received feedback from my awesome writing group. It's overwhelming to dig back into this novel, but I feel like I'm finally getting closer to what I originally envisioned for this story, for these characters. This week is a "revision retreat" of sorts for me. I have very little scheduled this week, trying hard to just focus on the writing. And yet, here I am today, on a perfectly wonderful stormy gray day, wasting the morning surfing the web, emailing, doing laundry, and making countless cups of tea. I'm procrastinating!

So, here I am, announcing my intention to revise two chapters today. And to continue focusing on revising for the rest of the week. A good friend is coming this weekend to join me in revising. Greatly looking forward to that!

How goes your writing? Cheering you on!

Well! I hope all of you on the East coast here are safe, and dry, and with power! My first experience ever with a hurricane was better than I might have expected/anticipated. My husband who was traveling during the hurricane (I swear, does he have a deal with Mother Nature where she only pounds us if he's away? LOL) - made me a nice storm kit and booked a week long reservation at a nearby hotel for me and Trixie. Good thing, because the area where we live was issued a mandatory evacuation!

I'm safe and sound, and was without power and water at the hotel for 24 hours. (Felt like a very long 24 hours.) The house is fine - flooded basement and no more working furnace, but the storm did not damage the house or our belongings. The seawall has been destroyed, but other than that I should be able to get back to the house tomorrow. We now have power and water there, but no heat. I hope the landlady can get a new furnace for us quickly. With temps falling into the 30s this week, I don't know that this California Girl can withstand such frigid temps! (We have a fireplace but it's not meant to heat the entire house.)

So - YoW continues - pre-Sandy, I was able to revise six chapters of old YA WIP and felt pretty good about it. But I'm putting that aside yet again now that I'm back to work on current WIP after receiving crits from my wise writing group!

I cannot believe the year is drawing to an end! Despite major transition (moving across the country with very little notice), I feel like I'm managing to keep writing at the top of my list of priorities. How are you doing?

And Happy NaNo to those of you participating!

Still settling into our new home state - long wait at the DMV and house-hunting - but I'm now finding time for my writing again. That feels GOOD.

As I mentioned last week, I am revisiting an very old YA ms and trying to rewrite it anew. Using Scrivener's character sketch template, I delved into the main players of this novel. It was surprising to realize I know these characters VERY well - even though I haven't visited with them in well over four years. It made me realize that I don't yet know my characters from my current WIP that well. Something to work on, very soon.

I bought Darcy Pattison's Novel Metamorphsis book and it should be arriving this week. I look forward to diving in. I would love to take her workshop some day - I've heard very good things!

How are you all doing as we near the end of this year? Time flies!

Wow - really? Week 41? Where did the year go?

I'm still slowly settling into our new home and feeling pretty good about the progress. I am going house-hunting tomorrow (I know, I know - another move in our future but hopefully the last for awhile), but today is a writing day!

Tuesday, I went back to an old ms - one that made it to acquisitions but sadly did not pass to a sale. I have always loved this story, these characters. It's been over three years since I last looked at it and over 4 years since I worked on it. Surely I'm a better writer/reviser now than I was then? I re-read it in full and while I love the story, I can see now that the characters need deepening, the emotions need more depth. While I wait for feedback from my writing group on my WIP, I plan to spend some time with this story to see if I can revise and revive it.

Yesterday I indulged in fun time by taking the train to NYC to meet a very good friend, Daphne Bendis-Grab who has an incredible YA thriller coming out later this year. Look for Girl In The Wall later this year, and look for a give-away and interview on my reading blog DEBtastic Reads! in a little over a month! I had a blast with Daphne as always and she once again introduced me to fantastic chocolate and cookies. Chocolate at Jaques Torres and the most amazing cookies at Levaine Bakery Seriously - BEST COOKIES EVER! They are fat like little cookie cakes, and taste like the most delightful combination of cookie and cupcake - moist, chewy, full of flavor. I'm hooked! Plus, Daphne and I bought matching t-shirts and we love them. We forgot to take a pic of them together though, so that's for next time!

Okay, time to get to work! How are you all doing?

Boxes are unpacked and our things have found homes among the homeowner's things. I grow more curious each day what the meanings are behind the paintings and trinkets that decorate this house. Stories form in my head - stories to add to future stories I might write.

I am still dealing with transition/move stuff - need to get insurance today, my car emissions test, figure out why I haven't received any forwarded mail, etc. And I probably should start meeting up with our realtor to look at houses, but the thought of moving yet again, even though we will have to in 6 months (this is an off-season rental) makes me feel a little crazed. But each day, I try to write at least a little bit. Next week I hope to get settled back into a regular writing routine.

Whenever I take a break from writing, be it intentional or not, I start to feel off - crabby, blue, not quite myself. I need to write. So, here's to getting situated here so I can get back to writing!

In the meantime, I am taking plenty of walks and staring out the windows at the view to center myself.

Greetings from Groton, CT where we moved into our house this past weekend. We are renting off-season right on the water. I'm awed by smelling the salt as I walk along the shore every day. I'm lulled to sleep each night by the soothing melody of the waves.


This was during our first sunrise walk. I feel like I'll be greatly inspired to write while we're here over the next 6 months (and while we figure out our next living situation - another rental? Or maybe buy a house?).

Because this house is fully furnished, I have to make do with an office. I'm using one of the guest rooms that has a lovely view. This is my office:


And this is my view:


Right now I'm busy unpacking and finding places for our things. But I am getting some writing done here and there - not on anything specific, but just scenes for a future WIP.

One of the best things that's happened so far? Having a dear wonderful friend come for a visit:

That's Cindy Lord and me, lunching at Mystic Pizza. Yes, the same one from the movie. :) The pizza was delicious, but even better was the company!

I think I'm going to like it here!

Oops!!!! Yes, it's been a long while since I've posted an update on my Year of Writing. I promise to be more on top of it for the rest of the year!

I have not written at all for the last 4 weeks. I have been in manic move mode for the past month - with most of the craziness taking place these last 2 weeks. The move from my home state of California was hard on me, on my friends and family in CA but I'm at least grateful we have moved to an area we've lived before - New England. And I have friends (wave) who live in the area. We landed in CT on Sunday and Bob has hit the ground running at his new wonderful job. We are in a hotel until our things arrive and we can move into the lovely house on the water that we rented. I can't wait!

Prior to the move madness, I finished my revision of my WIP and sent it off to my wise writing partners for critique. And while I wait for their feedback, I plan to start playing with a new idea. Wish me luck! First drafts are both a blessing and a curse - I love the freedom of writing with the door closed (as Stephen King says in his book On Writing), but I also hate knowing how much hard work is ahead of me to get it into shape to share.

I promise to be more present here on LJ again. I've missed you all! Looking forward to catching up with your blogs!

So,...how goes YOUR writing?

I've been quiet. Sorry! But it's that I've been very busy preparing for a move. Again. We're heading back to New England (Congrats to Bob on a great new job!)! While I'm very sad to have to leave my CA home and friends and family behind - we'll be back in a few years! And I'm glad we're moving to a place that we called home, before. I look forward to reconnecting with New England/East Coast pals! Hope to see everyone again soon! Now I must get back to being insane and to packing up!

I know I've been relatively absent from LJ, but I do intend to make a full come back, very soon.

In the meantime - please check out my Spotlight Interview with Anne Marie Pace and her fab new picture book Vampirina Ballerina. I've known Anne Marie for years - met her here on LJ, and fully intend to meet her face-to-face soon! (She doesn't know this yet....!) ;) Plus you can enter to win a copy of her awesome book! Please stop by!

Oh! I know! I've been so absent from here and I'm truly sorry! I miss all of you and I miss this community! It's just so hard to keep up with three blogs, and revising, and reading, and Life! I promise an update on my Year of Writing soon - but in the meantime, I'd love to hear what your progress is!

Also, I'm seeking input on your favorite picture books: here. (If you comment here on LJ, it probably won't get included in the overall list, so I'd greatly appreciate your taking the extra time to click - thank you!)

Life is good! I hope all is well with you!

newport2newport asked if I could share what my scene cards looked like for my revision. My scene cards are not part of an outline - I found that I do not work well with outlines due to my tendency to be an extreme rule follower. I will stick to the outline at whatever cost, while if I write without an outline I feel freer to explore and make some discoveries with my story. So, these scene cards are written after I write a chapter, to help me stay on track for fixing my weaknesses. For this draft, I'm focusing on making sure something changes for my MC in each scene/chapter, and that there is an emotional value change from positive to negative or negative to positive in each chapter (see Story by Robert McKee). I've adapted the scene cards from Save The Cat by Blake Snyder. My scene card consists of:

Ch Title
brief description of chapter
Change? The thing that changes for MC
+/- The emotional value change
>< Conflict (what jeopardy is the MC in at the end of the chapter)

(Stupid LJ - it won't let me upload a picture now that I don't have a paid account! This is another reason I moved to WordPress!)

Here's an example:
A Bargain
C bargains with J
Change? C must audition for the part
+/- hopeful/nervous
>< if she doesn't get the part, she feels she'll let everyone down

Because I'm doing this after writing a chapter, I can discover immediately if I'm missing something and fix it right away. I'm sending thanks to my writing partners for helping me figure this all out!

Happy writing! Happy Friday!

I'm now officially back to work on my WIP - every day work, instead of sporadically when I can fit it in. I set small goals for myself last week - finishing my re-read and chapter-by-chapter notes of the previous draft, re-reading the crits from my writing partners, taking copious notes on my ideas for revision, and finally, on Friday, I wrote up three scene cards (adapted from Save The Cat by Blake Snyder), and wrote and rewrote and rewrote again an opening paragraph for the new chapter 1 (previously chapter 3). Whew.

For me, getting started on a revision is the hardest part. Thinking about it, taking notes, brainstorming solutions to the problems in plot/story/character - that's okay. When it comes to sitting down and starting another draft, oh boy! That's HARD! I spent most of Monday morning of this week gnashing my teeth, tearing at my hair, pacing in circles and moaning and groaning and whining! Thanks to supportive writer friends who cheered me on, threatened me, and one who set out to bribe me with a sweet reward - I got started and felt such a high the rest of the evening. I was giddy! Thrilled! Excited! Proud!

Until Tuesday morning when I sat down to work again and the gnashing-tearing-pacing cycle started all over again. Except I settled down faster and got to work faster. Whew.

Here's hoping you all are making progress without too much drama (or maybe we need the drama to fuel us). Whatever works! Cheering you on!

This week I'm inspired by the late Ray Bradbury. One of my favorite newsletters is Brain Pickings by writer and "interestingness hunter-gatherer" Maria Popova. The weekly newsletter is full of interesting information about creativity and more. A few weeks ago, there was a feature titled Remembering Ray Bradbury which included 11 great quotes and a video clip interview.

This week as I get back to the very hard work of revising my WIP - VERY hard work - I will be recalling how Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 in the basement of the UCLA library, using a typewriter he rented for ten cents an hour. I have the luxury of working in my own home office surrounded by things I love, books, and working in almost complete silence, with my dog Trixie snoozing at my feet (although she'd rather be on my lap, but I can't work with her on my lap).

I love this quote: Love what you do and do what you love. Don’t listen to anyone else who tells you not to do it. You do what you want, what you love. Imagination should be the center of your life. It reminds me how lucky I am - that I know what my passion is and that I get to do what I love every day.

So today as I tremble at the thought of the huge task ahead of me as I attempt to improve the story, the characters, my writing - I will also remember that I love this. I love writing stories, I love words, I love following my characters through trouble and joy.

I'm cheering you all on!

Hi! Welcome to weeks 25 and 26 in my Year of Writing! I'm just amazed that I've kept up keeping a record this long. ;) How are you all progressing with your writing projects? Can you believe we're halfway through the year? Eep!

I took much of June off to focus on family time while C was here. Short visit for her this summer because she has an opportunity to be overseas with a friend and friend's family - where she is for the rest of this month. She's having a blast! Even so, I managed to start taking chapter by chapter notes on my WIP, after receiving insightful feedback from my smart writing partners. I will be done with notes today, and spend tomorrow reviewing my revision ideas notes. I'm taking deep breaths.

While I was note-taking yesterday, I felt despair over the possibility of not being able to do justice to this piece. I told cfaughnan that I was considering just tossing the entire thing out and maybe just starting something new. She reminded me of two things: 1) That I always feel this way before I start a big revision and 2) that I usually feel this way about 3/4's of the way into my re-read. OMG. She was right! It's good to have someone who has been along for the ride for over seven years to point things like this out! So, I'm taking a deep breath and pushing forward.

I do think I'll feel better once I start the actual re-writing. Soon. Soon.

Love to hear how you're doing!