Patry Francis Day

If you're a writer and a blogger, then you may already know that today is Patry Francis Day. But if you're one of my friends who stops by every once in awhile to see what I'm up to, then I should explain.

Patry Francis is the author of the book, The Liar's Diary, which came out last year and is soon to be released in paperback. She's also been recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer that's left her too weak to do all that schlepping about a writer must do in order to promote her book.

I have not read her book. But I took a look at her blog and sometimes, you just know. Patry Francis is a gifted writer. And today, all her writer friends who blog are spreading the word: Buy her book. Buy her Amazon short (I just did! Can't wait to read it.) Support Patry and her writing. Because we all know that money talks, especially in the publishing business.

I'm not a friend of Patry's. But I kinda wish I was after reading her blog. Maybe you will, too, if you take a look here. And think about buying The Liar's Diary. Something tells me you won't be disappointed.

Dear New Yorker: Thank you!

It arrived! It arrived! It finally arrived!

Those beneficent folks over at the New Yorker sent Mr. Hall their wonderfully splendiferous and the totally best all-around year planner in the world!

When January came around and my New Yorker planner hadn't come in the mail yet, I was forced to buy another planner. I felt just like Goldilocks (with shorter hair): This planner is too small; this planner is too big; this planner doesn't have enough space, etc., etc. I picked out a planner that was lovely, I'm sure, but it wasn't the same.





Now, my New Yorker planner has arrived (despite all of Mr. Hall's talk to the contrary). I can keep up with all my writerly goals so much better. I have lots of room for all of my writerly notes. I can enjoy a laugh when I read all the New Yorker cartoons. Can there be any doubt that my Fame and Fortune shall pick up now?

And all because, dear New Yorker planner, you are just right!

Finding Something Friday...Quotations

I love synchronicity.

So when I realized that the two things I wanted to share on Finding Something Friday were totally related to each other, I may have commented in a sudden and loud manner. Whereupon Mr. Hall, who is underfoot on Fridays, said, "What happened?" or "What's wrong?" or maybe it was just "What *******?" Whatever. Anyway, on to the synchronistically fantastic finds:

First found is a new little widget from Goodreads. (I've already extolled the virtues of Goodreads. Come to think of it, I've extolled the virtues of widgets, too. I'm still waiting for someone to extol my virtues.) Now Goodreads has added a "Favorite Quotes" widget that will scroll all of your (get ready for it!) favorite quotes! I've added it to my blog because A. I'm one of those people who collect quotes like pennies and B. I'm a sucker for little widgets. Best of both worlds, huh?

Second found is The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks. Which is seriously hilarious. And not just to geeky punctuation nerds like me. It's not something that one can explain in words (even if one is a "so called" writer). To fully appreciate "unnecessary" quotation marks, you must see them in the samples regularly posted on this blog. Check it out here and hold your sides.

Quotes, quotation marks. It just doesn't get any more synchronous than that. Unless I could somehow tie in Fame or Fortune or the Road to Publication. "The desire for fame tempts even noble minds." Saint Augustine said that. (But I think he was talking about Cathy C. Hall.)

What Not to Do Wednesday: All Work and No Play

Makes Cathy C. Hall a dull girl. And a dull writer, too. But maybe I should explain that part.

Remember the last time when you were typity, typity, typing away and then suddenly wham! You hit the brick wall. Or technically, the block. As in a writer's block. Maybe it was a phrase that you fiddled with, tweaked, or picked at but try as you might it just wouldn't come out right. (Ooh! I made a little rhyme!) Maybe it was a whole section of your stunning short story that you suddenly realized stunk. So you moved this, scratched this out, added a little here, took away a little there, and before you knew it, you had the same old stink.

Instead of fixing the problem, you sat there, agonizing over the stinkiness, and sabotaging any future Fortune. What you could have done instead is take a little break. Given your mind a rest so you could come back, intellectually renewed with vim and vigor! Pumped a little fresh air into the old grey cells. But what to do? How do you take a break when you're stuck?

Maybe you'd like to listen to my old buddy, Bill, and his daily podcast here. He's funny and free. You can't beat that. Or maybe try a game here. I LOVE those tiny little Nitrome freakazoids. Or take a shower. (Don't ask me why this works. All I know is that whenever I'm stuck, I take a little dip and voila! Not only do I have a great idea but as a bonus, I also smell nice and clean!). Maybe you have your own ideas about the perfect break. I'm all ears, if you want to pass it on.

Whatever you do, little grasshopper, don't sit there banging your head against the keyboard. Talk about your breaks---

Good News, Bad News in the South

So what's the good news, you ask?

Snow! Wheeee! Wonderful, whimsical, wintery snow! Isn't it grand to sit inside, all cozy and warm, with a hot cuppa. Ideas seem to percolate along too, and so the keyboard was buzzing all weekend with my latest story for the Highlights Fiction contest. You can check out the website here to get all the details. Don't wait too long. Contest entries must be postmarked by January 31st.

It's too bad I haven't finished my first assignment with the Children's lit course I'm taking. That could have been mighty helpful. But I have read some of the materials and I did pick up one little pointer. Wouldn't it be funny if I won that contest now that I've spent all that money? Well, maybe not funny "ha-ha."

And now you ask, "Hey, Cathy C. Hall, what's the bad news?"

Snow. Frozen toes, frozen nose, stuck in the bleepin' house on a holiday, snow. How's a girl ever gonna get on the Road to Publication when she's snowed in? And can't think straight 'cause she's so brrrrrr cold.

A little bit of snow goes a long way in the South. Even a dog knows that. (Sally went down the steps, but she absolutely would not go back up!)

Finding Something Friday...A Tax Deduction

This week, I found out that a contest entry fee could be counted as an expense, and thus used as a deduction at tax time.

That got me thinking (which admittedly is dangerous territory for my kind, so wish me luck!). What's the difference between submitting to a contest and submitting to anything else?

Consider the contest process: a. submit story, essay, or poem b. wait around for x number of weeks c. receive compensation if entry wins; receive nothing if entry loses.

Now consider the typical submission process: a. submit story, essay, poem or book to market b. wait around for xxx number of weeks c. receive compensation if submission is accepted; receive nothing (except perhaps one of those "thanks, but no thanks" emails or letters) if submission is rejected.

It's competition any way you look at it. Except that one could argue that there is an entry fee with some contests. But I could say that all the blood, sweat, and tears that went into creating that lovely market submission could just as easily be called an entry fee. Unfortunately, you can't deduct a writer's bodily fluids.

But if I can deduct a contest fee, I think it's high time I added a few more. What have I got to lose (other than the contest)?

What Not to Do Wednesday: Mind your Grammar

Mind Your Grammar (Sung to the tune of Home on the Range)

"Oh, give me a home, where the grammar books roam,
And the commas and periods play.
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
So the skies are just peachy all day."

If only I had listened to that song. Alas, that other song, "Bigshot" comes to mind when I think of one of my first stories submitted.

"You had to be a Bigshot, didn't you?
Had to write without the rules.
You had to have the last word, last night.
Now the judge took you to school."

A-hem. It could have happened to anyone. Anyone, that is, who neglected those little grammar rules. Anyone who forgot to check minor details. Like how to write conversation with the proper formatting.

Because unless you're someone famous like Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cormac McCarthy of No Country For Old Men fame who can write (and sell) books flouting the rules of punctuation, you must mind your grammar. Proofread your work carefully. Double-check those guidelines for manuscript formatting. Keep a reference book close by, even if you think you'll never need it.

Soon enough, little grasshopper, you will have learned your (grammar) lesson. And some peachy day, Fame will say, "Go ahead, Bigshot, you can write pages and pages of conversation without so much as a quotation mark...and here's a movie deal to go with it!"

It's Easy to be Green

I think I've mentioned before that I'm a goal-oriented writer. I don't necessarily achieve my goals on the Road to Publication, but I'm very big on having them.


So when I came across Premium Green on the WOW!Women on Writing e-zine, I remembered my goal about an online writing support group. Before you could say "Sign me up, Scotty!" I'd received my first email, welcoming me to the group. And I've been green ever since. (I think the Green idea has something to do with growing...but isn't that about the coolest logo ever?)





Not that I'm forsaking my real-live Centerville Writers. What I get from my down-the-road compatriots, I can't get anywhere else. But Premium Green's market guide and network appealed to me as a freelancer trying to grow a different branch in her writing (By Jove, I think I've got this whole Green concept down!)


I've already learned a new thing or two. And not just how to put that logo on my blog. Check out Premium Green here at WOW!. I may also enter WOW!'s Winter Flash Fiction Contest. Hey, I can check off another goal (but only if I win...).

I'll take Fortune Wherever I Can Get It

Say, isn't that the beneficent Mr. Hall hiding behind Wine-opoly? The game of cork-popping fun?

What, you may ask, does Wine-opoly, the game of cork-popping fun have to do with Fame? Or Fortune? Or the Road to Publication?

So glad you asked. I won a Fortune from you-know-who. And the cards were really, really well-written.

Semi-Exciting Day at the Hall Ranch

It was a semi-exciting day here on the Cathy C. Hall Road to Publication. "Semi-" because nothing's actually been published. But exciting because it's on the Road to Publication, sooner or later.

Bright and early this morning, I interviewed Diana DeGarmo. Diana was the runner-up to Fantasia on the third season of American Idol. Just for the record, I was not a big Fantasia fan. On the other hand, Diana was a charming, hometown girl. And, it turns out, she's just as hometown charming as ever.

So when I called her to get some info for Our Town Magazine's feature story, she was quite obliging. She was bubbling over with the scoop on Gone Country, a new show on CMT that will have seven artists competing for a record contract produced by John Rich, the country super-star big-wig. Now, calm down. I don't have any top-secret details (like who'll be releasing that coveted single) but c'mon, Diana can sing country. And she's competing against let's see, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister fame...Maureen McCormack of Marcia, Marcia, Marcia fame...Julio Iglesias Jr. of Dad-was-a-hot-Latin-singer fame...Bobby Brown of rap/Whitney Houston fame...how many is that? Oh yeah, and Carnie Wilson of Brian Wilson fame.

All terrific artists. Sort of. But my money's on Diana. And not just 'cause she was so gosh darn cute and polite.


But that's not all. I also received in the mail my first assignment for the Institute of Children's Literature Writing for Children and Teenagers course. Wow. That's a mouthful, huh? This is the year for me and my children's writing to sink or swim. So I decided to plunge in, pay the money and take the class. Something tells me you'll be hearing more about this experience as the year and assignments go along.


But not now. I've got a feature article to re-read and an assignment to start. That Road to Publication ain't gonna write itself, you know.

Finding Something Friday...Writing Clean-up Day

I've been waiting all day to find something. But now that I take a look around, if something were here, would I find it?




Cleaning up my files, folders, desk and drawers is not on my fun "To Do" list. Before I can file a paper, I have to remember which notebook binder to file it in. And before I can file a manuscript in the binder, I'll have to find the clear sheet protectors. Then when I find the clear sheet protectors, I'll probably find a note with mysterious scribbles on it. I'll suddenly remember what the scribbles mean, which will lead to a Google search.

It's all too If You Give A Mouse A Cookie complicated for me. The only good part of Writer Clean Up Day is the end, when everything's organized and I can find things once again.

Well, whadda y'know? I found something, after all. Here's a market I submitted to last year with no luck: ByLines Calendar. It's a desk top calendar designed for writers (Byline, get it?). Maybe I'll try again for a little Fame and Fortune.

I could write about "The Importance of Organization in a Writer's Life: Cathy C. Hall style." Now, if I can just find my notes...

What Not to Do Wednesday Re: Rejection

I could write a book about rejection...and not just of the type on The Road to Publication.

But it's Wednesday, so that means I'm here to instruct, not whine. Herewith my suggestions for those who may be tempted to cheer up a loved one in the face of writerly rejection. (Though I think saying-wise, 1 and 2 are universal, rejection-wise.)


1. Do not say something like, "It's all for the best." It's not. Unless you've written a scorching, scandal-mongering tell-all book about somebody who can either a.) beat you up or b.) hire someone to beat you up. Then it probably is all for the best.

2. Do not say, "All you can do is keep trying." That's not all you can do. You can slap a well-meaning loved one upside the head after a comment like that, for instance.


3. Do not say, "(Insert name of famous writer here) was rejected 427 times before he published his famous book, (insert title here)." Nobody cares about (insert name of famous writer here) or his stinkin' book, (insert title here). Except maybe (insert name of famous writer's agent here).

I could go on but I think you get the point, grasshopper. Besides, I'm saving the best stuff for my book (insert title here).

Waves of Thought for 2008

During the holidays, I had lunch at a restaurant on Tybee Island with this great view.

The sea, I thought, is worth a reflection as I put thoughts to paper in 2008. It occurs to me that my writing career is much like the ocean...it ebbs and flows.


So I'll work on relaxing when it comes to my writing this year. Take the ebb knowing the flow will follow. I'll lay back and let the sea hold me.