Finding Something Friday on Writing Awards and Tornado Tales

I'm sitting here, listening to birds outside my window. The sunlight throws a checkerboard pattern against the sheer curtains, and my spiderwort's dripping with indigo blooms. In short, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

It's hard to believe that many folks in my neighboring counties, in my neighboring states, aren't having such a beautiful day. The birds might be singing, but their notes may be closer to songs of distress at finding their treetop homes gone. The sun still shines through plaid shirts flapping from torn-in-two power line poles. And it always amazes me to see a flower bed, bursting with reds, blues and yellows, perfectly intact ten yards from a flattened house.

Nature is beautiful yet oh, so powerful, and my heart and prayers go out to all those affected by the recent tornadoes. I'm sure there are many stories, and perhaps one of these tales or essays will be told for the Whispering Prairie Press Writing Awards.

They're looking for poetry, flash fiction, and essays, and the entry fee is $5.00. Deadline's June 30, 2011. Maybe by then, it will be a beautiful day in the neighborhood for us all.

Tooting My Horn Tuesday for Flashlight Memories!

So we're driving home from church, and it being Easter Sunday, the all-grown-up Junior Halls were sitting in the back seat.

Now, it's not easy to get out of the parking lot on a regular Sunday, but for Easter, it's a real test of patience and Christian love. We waited...and waited...and waited. Suddenly, Juniorette Hall piped up from the back seat.

"What are you doing, John?"

"Do you mind?" he asked. "I'm reading our (wonderful and scathingly brilliant) mom's story in this book."

He was holding my copy of Flashlight Memories. I brought it along a week or so ago on an out-of-town trip (and read the stories). Somehow, it had migrated to the back seat and out of my mind. All I can say is thank goodness for (inquisitive) Junior Halls sitting in the back seat.

Flashlight Memories is such a delightful book! The (incredibly industrious) folks over at Silver Boomer Books gathered a ton of (charming) stories related to favorite reading memories, especially from those childhood days when the love of reading first takes root. I wrote about my favoritest little Golden Book, "A Pickle for a Nickel" by Lillian Moore. I sigh every time I think of that funny, little storybook.

And now, here's where you can order your own copy of Flashlight Memories and here's where you can read about the authors published therein (bet you'll recognize a couple names!).

So, that's the end of that story (never let it be said that the all-grown-up Junior Halls are good for nothing).

Amazon Reviews: The Long and Short of It

One of my writer friends entered her novel into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Competition and is now a quarter-finalist. Wheee! Tomorrow, she'll find out if her (excellent!) excerpt (Undisclosed)moves on to the list of 100 semi-finalists.

I have my fingers crossed, of course, but I also zipped over to her excerpt, gave it a read and a review. Every little bit helps, right?

The thing is, the writing of the book is just the beginning. After you've poured out all the blood, sweat and writing tears, you must move on to the selling blood, sweat and tears. And I'm beginning to think that the writing part is the easier of the two...

Anyway, you may not be able to help your writer friends come up with a dazzling query, snag an agent, or sell the book to a publisher. But you can help out if your writer friends finally get that book on the shelf, real or virtual. You can write a review.

I hear those Amazon rankings make a difference, and the reviews are part of the process. So if you've read a book that you really like, consider writing a brief review. If you win a book, say from a friend's blog, or a book blog tour, say "thank you" by writing a swell review.

And someday, when you've got your own book on the shelf, they'll do the same for you!

Finding Something (on a Good) Friday

When I was a kidder, Good Friday was...quiet. Around noon, a somberness would settle over the everyday activities, culminating in an evening service that left all spiritually bereft. Even children could sense the sadness of this sacred day.

These days, I'm not sure Good Friday is that much different from any other Friday. Kids have baseball games, adults have to work late into the evening, moms rush around with last minute shopping for Easter dinners. I mean, if aliens crash landed on Earth today, they might wonder why humans were making such a fuss about recycling (It's also Earth Day). But would they notice anything else?

Would they find the spiritual quiet of Good Friday?

Sisters of the Quill Unite!

As you may recall, I was recently awarded the illustrious Sisters of the Quill from the illustrious Donna, over at Donna's Book Pub. And if you do not recall the awarding of such, I'm here to remind you.

Apparently, I have been " deemed a quill-driver, a writer, a scribe, a schrivener, an author worthy of recognition." That's pretty swell, don't you think?

And furthermore, I am "welcome to share this award with deserving writer friends."

As you can imagine, I have a TON of deserving writer friends. But ever since I looked up The Highlander the other day, I've been on a "There can be only one" kick. Frankly, after perusing the pics of Adrian Paul (my favorite Highlander), I'm surprised I can think at all.

Bottom line: there shall be only one deserving writer, and she shall be...Tanya Valentine! Tanya is working on a couple of children's books and I'm sure that one day, we'll rush to grab her books off the the shelf. In the meantime, you can read her funny musings at her blog. She is one funny scribe.

And now, it is up to Tanya to pick up the Quill (Award, that is) and pass it on. All I ask is that you mention from whence it came before passing it on to the next deserving Sisters of the Quill (unite!).

There Can Be Only One (Winner)

I really enjoy the WOW! Blog Tours. I've read some wonderful books, and met some truly wonderful and generous writers. I love just about everything about the tours, except for...having to pick just one winner in the giveaways.

But as the Highlander would say, "There can be only one."And SALLY is the one who won The Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life!

As for the rest of y'all who stopped by, hoping to win, you know you can get this amazing book through your favorite bookseller. And honestly, you're all winning literary ladies to me. I often stop by your blogs, just to "meet" the folks who've dropped in here, and I'm always amazed at the fine writing I find.

Maybe your book will be cruising around on a WOW! Blog Tour someday and I'll host you! Thank goodness, there can be more than one (author).

Finding Something Friday: Books, Books, Books, Award!

When I typed in that post title, I thought of that childhood game "Duck, Duck, Goose." And in a way, I found a few spots all about books for you to zip over to, click on, and then run back to whatever it was that you were doing before you dropped in here. So off we go!

At first, I thought the Gwinnett Library's page over at Facebook wouldn't have much significance for anyone but us Gwinettians. But then I had one of those aha! moments when I realized that ALL of my friends, wherever they are, can like this page and help our library get over 1600 Dummies books.

I've picked up a few of the Dummies books for the not-so-scathingly-brilliant Halls so I know how helpful these books can be. (Okay, okay. I read the Dummies books, too. Brilliance like this doesn't grow on trees, you know.) And if your library is participating in the same promotion, let me know and I'll happily like your page, too. Dummies books for everyone!

Now, a quick reminder that you can still comment to win Nava Atlas' gem of a book, The Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life. I cannot guarantee that you will be a scathingly brilliant writer after reading this book, but I can say unequivocally that you will be the richer for the experience. Type your comment (with your fingers crossed) on this Hall of Fame post.

And now, for all of you poetry enthusiasts (and I'm including myself here), you still have time to dash over to Donna's Book Pub where she's giving away Tanka Moments: A Man's Journey by David Lee Kirkland. She's shared a few tanka (just in case you need a little refresher, and I'm including myself here, also, on what exactly a tanka is).

Speaking of the wise and witty Donna, she's bequeathed upon me one of the inaugural Sisters of the Quill Awards. As such, I have been recognized as a quill-driver, a writer, a scribe, and let's see...oh, yes! A schrivener and an author worthy of recognition. That's very humbling, isn't it? I had no idea I was all that. But on the other hand, who am I to argue with the wise and witty Donna? Stay tuned for whom I pass the award on to next.

As you can see, Gladys, my muse of a goose, popped in today because she thought we'd be playing games and talking about her. It's scathingly brilliant books, books, books, and an award, you silly goose. And now, isn't it time you dashed off yourself?

The Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life (Wheee!)

Ooooh! I’ve been excited about sharing The Literary Ladies from the moment I met them!

Technically, I’ve known the literary ladies from Nava Atlas’ wonderful book, The Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life, for many years. I met a few of them when I was just a gangly teenager with braces. Reading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice made me feel quite elegant, and curling up with Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre introduced me to gothic romance (so much more exciting than skinny, pimply boys falling off surfboards at the beach).

Still, I didn’t know the literary ladies like this, their writerly and not-so-writerly whys, and whats and hows of the women behind the books. Nava Atlas did her homework to bring us an inside look at The Literary Ladies, and I’m thrilled to be able to share some of her insights today at this, Nava’s last stop of her WOW! blog tour. So on to the questions!


With the perspectives of all these literary ladies, your book is unlike most guide-to-writing books, and yet it contains an abundance of advice and guidance! So which came first—choosing the literary ladies or finding all that brilliant writing wisdom?
It was definitely finding the wisdom first, then narrowing it down to the twelve authors. I was looking not only for wisdom, but for writings about the universal concerns and obstacles inherent in the writing life, viewed through the experiences of authors who eventually surmounted these difficulties.

It took several years of occasional delving into diaries, collections of letters, interviews, and memoirs to amass enough material for a full-length book. I’m quite a library geek so I loved having an excuse to bury myself in dusty volumes and archives.

As you researched, did you find women writers you hated to leave out? Who didn’t make the final cut, and why?
Above all, I hated to leave out Zora Neale Hurston (ca. 1891-1960). She was not only a literary pioneer with a distinctive voice (best known for Their Eyes Were Watching God), but studied anthropology in the 1920s at Barnard College, where she was the sole black student.

She seemed to be such an exuberant, courageous spirit, but her efforts were always undercut by money troubles. She died alone and forgotten, but then Alice Walker helped resurrect her legacy. Now her books have sold in droves and she is studied widely. However, I just couldn’t find enough about her writing life (other than her money woes pertaining to such) to weave through the chapters.

I almost used Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896-1953), author of the children’s classic The Yearling, as she did leave a fair amount of writings on her life as a writer, but there was some indefinable thing about her that somehow didn’t resonate with me; she often seemed to have some axe to grind. Ultimately I thought that twelve was a better number than thirteen, and not just due to superstition!


So many interesting and surprising tidbits of these writers’ lives are included that I’d love to share all the secrets! But since my book efforts are in children’s literature, I’ll go with Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women. Can you divulge a shocker or two about sweet Louisa?
Louisa May Alcott was a hard-working, strong woman. The biggest surprise for me was that she wrote lots of anonymous thrillers and gothics before her classic Little Women was published. She did them because she needed the money to support her mother and sisters. She thought of Little Women as just another job, cranking it out to make a quick buck. Both she and her publisher were surprised at its immediate success. One of the anonymous thrillers she wrote, A Long Fatal Love Chase, was republished just a few years ago with her real name. I read about 90% of it; sorry to say I didn’t think it was very good, and LMA may well have agreed with that assessment.

What I like about Alcott was her determination to earn a living from writing and not being wimpy about demanding her due. It took decades of slow but steady progress, but she did finally earn not just a living, but a tidy sum from Little Women and the books that followed. Unfortunately, she only lived to the age of 55, and was pretty well worn out by overwork and illness by then.

If you could sit down and have tea and a chat with any of these women, with whom would you choose to share an afternoon? (Goodness, reading this book has already improved my literary skills!)
I notice lately that some women with whom (see that?) I have been in touch have revived the word “whilst.” So maybe there is a trend toward better grammar and classic vocabulary!

It would be hard to choose, of course. I would have loved to meet them all and do the things they enjoyed doing—go to the opera with Willa Cather (though I found her to be a bit intimidating); stroll with Edith Wharton in Paris, visit with George Sand and all her famous literary and musical cohorts at her lovely estate in central France; and see how Edna Ferber went about transforming her novels into movies and Broadway shows.

I’ve been asked who I would like to meet if I could choose but one, and that would be Charlotte Brontë. Her use of the English language was so exquisite that I imagine she’d be a good conversationalist. She also seemed so tough and determined in persevering not only on her own behalf, but that of her literary sisters, Emily and Anne. She sometimes invoked her small stature, and as another very petite woman I would enjoy looking her in the eye!

I’m sure it’s hard to pick a favorite piece of writerly (Oops! Maybe I’m not as improved as I thought.) advice or inspiration from these literary ladies, so I’ll just ask you to leave us with the quote that resonates with you today.
You know, the word “writerly” (and even “writery”) has come up several times in conversations about this book. My word processing program doesn’t highlight it as an error, so I think we can safely use it; it’s a great word!

Since you’re interested in children’s literature, I’ll leave you with a quote by Madeleine L’Engle (1818-2007), best known for the YA classic A Wrinkle in Time. As both a writer and visual artist, I remind myself that it’s important to take risks, even though it feels like I’m constantly trying to reinvent the wheel:

“Risk is essential. It’s scary. Every time I sit down and start the first page of a novel I am risking failure … We are encouraged only to do that which we can be successful in. But things are accomplished only by our risk of failure. Writers will never do anything beyond the first thing unless they risk growing.”

—From Madeleine L’Engle Herself, 2001


You. Will. Love. This. Book. If you’re lucky, you’ll win the copy I’ve pored over. Leave me a comment about your favorite literary lady, or if you have a question for Nava, she’ll be checking in today with answers. On Monday, I’ll draw a name.

If you’re not so lucky here, don’t despair. Nava has assured me that there are plenty of copies available of The Literary Ladies Guide to the Writing Life. So either way, make room on your shelf for this wonderful book. Seriously, you'll whee for excitement, too.

Um, you know what I mean.

(P.S. Just heard from Nava that she'll be making another WOW! blog stop, so we'll ask her to leave details in the comments. But that doesn't mean you can slack off here. A wheee in the hand is worth two wheee's in the future blog.)

It Feels Good to Win (For Japan)

It's the final day of the Masters here in Georgia...the sky is a clear blue, the azaleas are a riot of pinks, whites and reds, and the grass is a carpet of emerald green. I suppose for a handful of golfers, the pressure's on. But for the rest of us, watching, it's a glorious, carefree afternoon.

The Masters is thousands of miles away from Japan...and a world away from their daily struggles. Life is still difficult for the Japanese people, but you can lend a hand in their time of need with just the click of a button.

Kidlit 4 Japan still has plenty of items open for bidding. You can grab a critique or some swell children's books, as well as a ton of book swag. Even if you're not a children's book reader, I'll bet you know a library that would love a few autographed books for their juvenile collection.

Oh! And I finally won a bid for a really cool bookmark! It's not exactly a green jacket, but I feel as good as if I'd won the Masters.

Finding Something Friday: Funny or Die

So I said to the Beneficent Mr. Hall, "OH MY GOSH THAT WAS THE FUNNIEST 4 MINUTE VIDEO I'VE EVER SEEN." (I'm given to hyperbole, I know, but honestly, it was pretty dang funny.) I was referring to the Billy Crystal spoof, "When Harry Met Sally 2" starring Billy Crystal and Helen Mirren and now playing over at Funny or Die. I explained all that to the mister, and he nodded and smiled--and that's when I realized he had no idea what I was talking about with Funny or Die. So just in case you don't know about Funny or Die, I thought I'd go find it for you today so you could take a watch at Billy Crystal and the gang. Because I'm not kidding, y'all. IT'S THE FUNNIEST 4 MINUTE VIDEO I'VE SEEN. (Lately.)

Tooting my Horn Tuesday for Fiction365 and a Trade for Treasure

You know how stories are like children?

You birth your ideas and mold 'em a bit, then fix them up all pretty and send them out in the world, hoping they'll succeed in some small measure.

Now, with my stories, as with the Junior Halls, I don't like to play favorites. I love them all the same. But sometimes, I like a story just a smidge more than the others. I don't like to say that too loudly, because I don't want the other stories to get their feelings hurt. Because really, I love all my stories (just in case any are listening).

Anyway, here's a little fable I wrote called "A Trade for Treasure" that's appearing today over at Fiction365. I'm not saying it's any more special than any other story. Not like it's a favorite or anything (Psssst. It is.)

Fiction365 is a website devoted to sharing a story a day, 365 days a year. It's a simple premise; a bold promise (I kinda borrowed that from the website), and I love dropping by each day to see what story's up. You can like them on Facebook, too, and then you'll see the day's story pop up when you're doing your socializing. And P.S. If you're looking for my story after April 5th, just click on the calendar and "A Trade for Treasure" will pop up.

I hope you'll like the story and the website. Maybe you'll even find a nice home for one of your (favorite) stories. (You might want to keep that "favorite" part on the down low. Because if your stories are anything like the Junior Halls, they can always tell if you're playing favorites.)

And More Writer's First Aid Goes To...

This always happens when I host a book giveaway. I read the comments and want to give the book to everybody. If I ever get a book published and do a book giveaway, I'm giving the book to everybody!

Um, maybe not everybody. Maybe ten lucky commenters. But what if I'm doing a blog tour? Okay, maybe five lucky commenters. Still, that could be like...100 books. What am I? Made of money? One book per giveaway, y'all. I think that's both generous and practical.

Well, I'm glad that's settled. My work here is done. Oh! I should probably tell you which lucky commenter won More Writer's First Aid by the generous (and practical) Kristi Holl: Gayle!

Now my work here is done. (And now, I should probably get cracking on that book I'm going to give away someday.)

Finding Something (On a Not-So Foolish) Friday: More Writer's First Aid

Once upon a time, there was a writer who sat about, bemoaning her writerly problems. “Oh, dear,” she said. “I’m stuck in a writer’s block!” Or, “Heavens to Betsy! How will I ever get any writing done with home, family and work responsibilities?” Until finally, she foolishly plopped down in the middle of the floor, putting off the whole writing thing altogether.




Fortunately, a wise friend (coincidentally, her name was Cathy) knew of Kristi Holl and her book, More Writer’s First Aid, a book jam-packed with answers to just about any writerly thing that ails you. She asked Kristi a few questions, to get her friend back on track. Let’s listen in, shall we?

So, Kristi, what’s the writing problem you most often hear about from struggling writers? And what’s one way to handle it?


The overall most common problem I hear about is how to juggle everything and still have time and/or energy for writing. Many new writers are starting at the same life stage that I began writing—with a houseful of small children. Your energy is low, your time to yourself is almost non-existent, yet you have this drive and burning desire to write stories and articles and books. (You wouldn’t mind some second income either.) Or your time/energy crunch might be for another reason: poor personal health, being a caregiver for an elderly relative, working a day job, marital problems or problems with teens that sap your energy, you name it. Lives today are so busy. This is why I started the “Rx for Writers” on the Institute of Children’s Literature website back in 1998, and why I wrote Writer’s First Aid and More Writer’s First Aid. My students—many of them very talented—weren’t quitting because they couldn’t figure out dialogue or description. They were quitting because life issues were sapping their energy and stealing their time.

One way to handle this? No matter what the issue, learn to write in tiny bits and pieces of time if you need to. Be ready, even if you only have ten minutes, to sit down and write. Have your story outlined so you know which piece to work on next. “Pre-write” or “pre-think” about the next part while doing those non-thinking activities (pushing kids on the swings, sweeping, pulling weeds, etc.) Then when you have ten or fifteen minutes free, dash to the keyboard (or keep a notebook and pen with you) and write like crazy. (I wrote my first five middle-grade novels this way.)


I know you’ve been writing for more than 30 years and published nearly 40 books! What do you know about writing and getting published that we don’t know?





Two things that experienced writers know that beginners usually don’t can make all the difference in whether you make it as a writer or not. (1) I know that persistence is more important than talent. That stick-to-it-iveness factor wins out every time. Talent is much more common, but talent won’t take you nearly as far as you might think. I’ve watched over the years which of my students went on to have books published by some of the biggest publishers. They were not the students I first predicted. Seldom were they the most talented, and occasionally I couldn’t see much hope in their work at all. But each of the students who went on to publish well—and repeatedly—simply didn’t give up. They studied and wrote and grew and wrote and read books and wrote and got critiqued and wrote and submitted and got rejected and kept writing. (2) The second bit of knowledge is this: every writer gets rejected, and the rejections don’t stop unless you stop submitting. Rejections are simply a part of the writing life. They’re a job hazard, like firemen who occasionally get burned. It just goes with the territory. If you don’t know this, you can erroneously believe your career is over when you get a string of rejections after several acceptances. Not true. Rejections happen to even the most famous writers—and they happen routinely and throughout your career. It won’t hurt that much after a while either—which is more good news!


What’s the writing obstacle that you most often deal with? And how do you deal with it?

It’s the same writing obstacle I’ve always had, I think. I have difficulty balancing everything and not feeling guilty about devoting so much time to writing and marketing and blogging. When my kids were little and I was writing, I was afraid I might neglect them. (They’re grown now, and they’ve turned out beautifully.) At this stage of my life, I’m afraid I’ll neglect my grandkids (they all live within ten minutes of me) and not give my grown daughters enough breaks. All my life it’s been a 90% needless worry. I’ve always been very involved with my kids and grandkids and some ministries at church. But sometimes I wish I could clone myself. One self would be the full-time writer who did nothing but write and read writing magazines and do writing exercises, etc. The other self would be on-call and involved full-time with family. I used to laugh that I prioritized according to guilt—but I was only half joking! One way I deal with it is to put things on the calendar and look ahead month by month. If it’s been longer than I like since I’ve seen the grandkids, I set up individual lunch dates with them or longer overnight stays. I don’t trust my memory.


Since this book is More Writer’s First Aid, there must have been a Writer’s First Aid. What’s the “more” in this book?

Some of the “more” is simply “more help” along the lines of the first book. Another “more” is more actual articles/short chapters (48 instead of 40). And the last “more” is because I’ve included a section this time on “Family Matters.” I think for most writers that juggling family and writing is a big issue, and it’s big whether you’re a single mom writer or a working dad writer or a grandma whose adult child and grandkids just moved back home and now “live” in her former writing office. Combining families and writing (successfully) is an ongoing challenge.


And finally, if you were a tree, what kind would you be? Hahaha! Just a little April Fool’s humor there. (Um, unless you really would like to be a tree…) But if you weren’t a tree, and you weren’t a writer, what do you think you’d be doing now?

If I were a tree, it would be a white pine Christmas tree—the kind with the long needles. When the kids were growing up, we grew our own white pines on the farm (in Iowa) and cut our own Christmas trees. Nothing ever smelled so good!

If I weren’t a tree or a writer, what would I be? I have no idea! It would have to be book related, I think…like work in a bookstore or library. But I might get fired the first week—once they found me curled up in a corner with a stack of books. I wouldn’t handle that kind of temptation well!


Thank goodness, Kristi is a wonderful writer. You can read her blog, Writer’s First Aid, for a daily dose of writing hope, and you can purchase her book for your Kindle, or get the paperback or the e-book. And because she’s extra swell (or maybe because I sorta begged), she’s giving away an e-book of More Writer’s First Aid for one of my lucky commenters. Make sure that I know where to get in touch with you, or Kristi won’t be able to send you the e-book!

So, friends, don’t make me write another story called “The Foolish Writer Who Plopped on the Floor and Turned Into a Big Giant Blob.” Because now there are no excuses—you know where to find all the answers to your writing problems—and coincidentally, I bet you’ll find your happy-ever-after writing ending, too!