How's that for a suspicious title? ;) Here's the deal. I'm over at NA Alley today and tomorrow, handling the Blog Me Maybe prompts. If you join me, I can promise you three things:
That's right! 'So, You're a Writer...' started one year ago in May. (Seems longer, doesn't it?) To celebrate, I'm having a giveaway with three winners!
But first, a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me in the past year. I love you guys to death, and you're all rock stars. Seriously, I consider each and every one of you a blessing. Here's to another year of sharing our highs, lows, and everything in between!
Prizes:
Custom Blog Header
Custom Blog/Promo Button
20 Page Critique
Want to see examples of the design work I've done around the blogosphere in the past year? Click here. :)
← Looking for the First Loves Blogfest? You can find my posthere. ← ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
People are awesome...
You know that right? (Okay, maybe not all people, but today is about focusing on the good.)It just so happens that our writing community isfull of awesome people. More encouraging than a Hallmark card, more supportive than a Wonderbra, more... well, you get the picture. Take a second to think about writers you know, like the critique partner who works with you to improve your manuscript. The writing friend who listens, supports, and keeps you strong when times are tough. The author who generously offers council, advice, and inspiration when asked.
So many people take the time to make us feel special, don't they? They comment on our blogs, re-tweet our posts, chat with us on forums. and wish us Happy Birthday on Facebook.
Kindness ROCKS!
To commemorate the release of their book, The
Emotion Thesaurus, Becca and Angela at The Bookshelf Muse are hosting a TITANIC Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ! Because I think KINDNESS is contagious (and I deeply respect both women), I'm participating too!
If you want to find the spirit of the writing community, look no further. This woman is encouraging, helpful, and offers the very best advice. Seriously, if she didn't live 2,536 miles away, I'd take her to lunch.
For now, I'm going to go with the one thing I can offer: a blog header! No pressure to use this, Joylene. I just thought it would be fun to play around with one of your gorgeous photos. :)
Doesn't everyone want to visit Cluculz Lake now? I do!
I would love it if you guys bombarded Joylene with greetings and follows today. (Like a big ol' chain of kindness!) You can find her hanging around these places:
Do you know someone special that you'd like to randomly acknowledge? Don't be shy--come join us and celebrate! Send them an email, give them a shout-out, or show your appreciation in another way. Kindness makes the world go round.
And you thought it was momentum...
Becca and Angela have a special RAOK gift waiting for you, too. Hop on over to The Bookshelf Muse to pick it up. :) Seriously, go now. How fun is this?
Question of the week: Have you ever participated in or been the recipient of a Random Act Of Kindness?
You may hate Mondays, but you'll love this blogfest:
Host:Alex J. Cavanaugh Instructions:"On May 14, post your first loves – first movie, first song/band, first book, and first person. Four loves, one blogfest!"
Sounds simple enough! Here we go...
First movie I loved:C'mon you guys know this one...
Short Circuit! Followed by Ghostbusters, Karate Kid II, *Batteries Not Included, etc. ;)
First song/band I loved:That’s easy. “Color Blind” from
Michael W. Smith’s Change Your World
album. I wore out two cassette tapes, listening to that song. Aside
from a great message, it had this contagious energy to it. After school,
I’d come home and pop in my sister’s VHS tape of the tour. I can’t tell you how many
hours of my life were spent dancing around my living room, pretending I was on
that stage. :)
(Song starts at 1:34)
First book I loved:Puppy
Peek-a-boo by Lisa McCue. It was one of those hard books with little lift flaps and cut-outs. Hours of fun, I tell you. Hours!
First person people I loved:Why my family, of course. ♥
Sorry, all of
my boyfriends have been complete and utter a-hats. ;)
Your turn! Tell us about your first loves. :)
(And if you have time, please check out the other posts in the 'fest!)
I was going to skip this one, but I’m secretly afraid of
Emily's pregnant wrath--so here we go!
The Rules:
1. Post pictures of your high school dances.
2. Share
with us your funniest high school dance story. I don’t have anything particularly funny, so I’m
going to do what I do best: ramble!
3. That's it!
...Ugh, pictures. Okay, here's one from my senior prom. (I cropped out whoever I was posing with to protect the
innocent.) Two things here:
Don't even get me started on those bangs.
I don’t know why I chose pink. I'm not a pink person at all.
Truthfully, most of that night is an apathetic blur. What do I
remember? Leaving glitter in my date’s car. Seriously, I felt bad for the
guy. He vac’d it out multiple times, and it never came out. I think he said it
was still there when he sold the thing years later.
Um… oops.
Death. Grip.
Here's a quick breakdown of my high school proms:
Freshman Year - I was dating an upperclassman dbag, so I got invited to this one. The theme was "Frozen in Time". Kind of morbid, right? I wore a red dress. 'Nuff said.
Sophomore Year - Still dating the upperclassman dbag. This time, the theme was... uh, something about a red carpet. Maybe Hollywood? I wore a black dress with intricate silver beading down the back.
Man, I loved that dress. I wonder if I still have it. I could wear it to, you know, check the mail and stuff...
Junior Year - I spent this one in the hospital, after shredding the ligaments in my knee for the millionth time. My classmates' theme was Hawaiian; Mine was Vicodin.
Senior Year - By this point, the cheating upperclassman dbag was history. I went to prom with a guy I've known since Kindergarten. The theme was something about Paris, and I wore the sparkly pink dress from the photos. (The second is brighter/lighter, because it was taken outside during promenade.) The end.
Phew! Memories are exhausting. Let's end this with a silly video Michael Buckley put up a few weeks ago:
Thanks for the fun, Emilyand Kelley! Now let's hear from the rest of you. ;)
What do you remember about your high school dances?
If you’re looking for my entry in The Writer’s Voice, you
can find it here. Actually, that brings me to this week’s topic. Do any of you remember the movie Short Circuit?
It was a sci-fi comedy during the Guttenberg era—a cheesy
story about a sentient robot named Johnny 5. Let me tell you something: I love that film. Like, wore-out-my-VHS-and-had-to-buy-it-on-DVD love it. I'm pretty sure it's responsible for the way I handle feedback:
Whenever I get a critique back, I go into scan mode. I skim the
pages until I get a general idea of how the person felt, and then go back for
the details. It's addicting. Have you ever noticed that? For a
few minutes, you get to see your story through someone else’s
eyes. Detached, unbiased. Mmm...
After I take notes (and before I make any serious revisions), I seek out another perspective. “More
input!” as Johnny would say. The more opinions I get, the easier it is for
me to see where they overlap. That’s what I hone in on.
“If you've gotten multiple critiques and all of them are [negative/discouraging],
then it's you. But if you've gotten 4 or more critiques and this is the
only one that is like that, then you probably have nothing to worry about.
Here's why.
Not everyone gets it.”
My magic number for Strength
was ten. Seven critters (CPs) and three betas. That’s how much feedback it took
for me to feel comfortable sending my brave little MS into the world. If you’re
not comfy yet, you might consider channeling your inner-robot. ;)
►I'm curious... ◄
1) How many CPs/betas do you typically use? 2) What's your favorite '80s movie? 3) Did you see the supermoon this weekend? :D
This section has been deleted due to finding it elsewhere without my permission. If you'd like to know more about STRENGTH, please check out my website. :)
FIRST 250:
I plastered myself flat against the wall, straining
to distinguish footsteps from heart palpitations. He was close now; he had to
be. My shoes gave a little squeak as rubber met linoleum, and I inched toward
the corner. Come on...
For the millionth time since I’d gotten to the
seventh floor, I had to wonder if coming up here was worth it. I mean, I hadn’t
even been back on campus for twenty-four hours, and here I was—caught in a game
of hide-and-seek with the madman. What did that say about my sanity?
I threw a quick glance over my shoulder.
Okay, so maybe this wasn’t the best time to consider
it. Whether I liked it or not, I was halfway to his suite and I needed to stay
under the radar. “All right, Madman,” I muttered, peering around the edge.
“Ready or not…”
It took two quick scans of the hallway for me to
finally drop my shoulders and let out the breath I’d been holding. Thank God. Brave face or not, I would’ve
shit my Vicki-Secrets had he actually been standing there. The guy gave me the
creeps, and we’d never even met.
It wasn’t like I needed to see him to know his type.
He was probably some scrawny little recluse in pedo-glasses, lurking around
the dorm in one of those throwback tees from the ‘80s. A perfect match to his
reputation.
See, word got around last semester that muffled
screams and thuds were coming from this guy Wallace’s room every night.
How's that for a suspicious title? ;) Here's the deal. I'm over at NA Alley today and tomorrow, handling the Blog Me Maybe prompts. If you join me, I can promise you three things:
