Tooting My Horn about an Awesome Bookmark!

Now that I think about it, I really didn't have anything to do with the making of this awesome bookmark. I suppose, technically, I'm tooting Book Bling's horn.

Anyway, the point is, you're going to hear the story I call, "The Tale of the Goose Charm" or "Good Things Come to Those Who Wait-and Win Auctions."

So, once upon a time, I made the highest bid on an auction item to benefit the kids in Japan. Before long, Joan Stradling of Jots & Tittles contacted me and asked what charm I'd like on my bookmark (the auction item), and I said I find Gladys the Goose pretty charming, not to mention a-"muse"-ing (That sounded better in my head), and could she put a goose on a bookmark? Oh, and by the way, could she use gold thread 'cause I need a golden egg right now (as opposed to the rotten eggs I keep laying)?

A few weeks passed, and then I received word that no, goose charms are simply not available but perhaps I'd like this special charm made from Gladys the Goose's likeness?

Oh, yes, I said, I certainly would! And then today, I found this utterly charming goose bookmark in the mail. And I'm quite sure that I shall write happily ever after!

Gladys shall hang about, inspiring me because, technically, she can't write. (Silly goose!)

Finding Something Friday on Memorial Day and The Internets

When I opened Precious the Laptop this morning, everything seemed fine. Seemed being the operative word here. But what I found was that all was not well with Precious. All was, in fact, unwell, to put it politely.

For every time I punched the little icon to open my World to The Internets, a bizarre message came up. Something like "What, are you crazy? You're not getting into the Internet. No way. No how."

It may have been more technical than that. But I got the picture. I was this close to a major hissy fit. See, I remembered yesterday that a strange security message popped up (which I ignored because the last time I clicked on a security message, Precious got infected). And then last night, when still another security message popped up, the Beneficent Mr. Hall clicked on it anyway, and fooled around awhile, until presto! Precious seemed fine and dandy again.

Now, I think we've already established the meaning of the word "seemed" here. So, anyway, I was about to yell for the Beneficent Mr. Hall for a little "discussion" when I realized he'd left to run errands. Suddenly, I had a brilliant idea! I'd use "System Restore" to get whatever bug out of Precious, then run my Cleaner to wipe out anything else lurking.

I really hate to use the Cleaner; it takes me a month to get everything back the way I like it. But a writer has to do what a writer has to do to get into The Internets. And wonder of wonders, it worked!

Next, I had to dash to a meeting, but on the way there, I can tell you that I was thinking some pretty "unwell" thoughts concerning the Beneficent Mr. Hall and whatever he'd done to Precious, and that when I returned we'd get back to that "discussion." And then I remembered Memorial Day.

I thought of all those verterans who've sacrificed life and limbs and warm beds and hot meals and evenings at home with spouses and kids...so I can have the freedom to open my laptop, and surf to just about anywhere I want in The World of the Internets.

And I cannot tell a lie, friends. It may have been a beautiful Finding Something Friday, but I found myself sorely ashamed.

What Not To Do Wednesday on Over-Doing Social Doings (or Pardon Me, There's A Media Monkey on Your Back)

I watched one of those packaged specials on the news last night about people spending too much time on Facebook. Something like "Facebook Addiction--Where Will it Lead?" The piece had a rather ominous tone, I must say.

I suppose there are folks out there who can't do without their Facebook fix. Or Twitter tips, or listening in on LinkedIn, or connecting with any of a dozen other social media messaging. Whereas I can walk away anytime I want.

Sort of.

Here's the thing, grasshopper. From a business standpoint, social media has value. I think Twitter might be better for massive marketing, but I like Facebook for blogging connections. And I like Facebook for personal connections, too. So I want to stay social media savvy. But when I jump into Facebook or Twitter, or even blog surfing, I can easily use up hours.

HOURS. And though I come across tons of informative posts (because seriously, there are a ton of brilliant folks out there, sharing their expertise), I may get a teensy bit carried away, reading one post, zipping to another...then another...then another.

Until I look up and dang. It's lunchtime and I haven't written a single word (unless you count scathingly brilliant comments here and there. Which I'm counting. So there.).

But pithy comments do not a manuscript, essay, or short story make. And so I'm forced to face the ugly truth: I may...okay, okay, I have a social media problem. I usually deal with it by going cold turkey for a week or so. And then I ease back in, using moderation.

So don't over-do the social doings, grasshopper, at the expense of your writing. Write FIRST. Or if you need a little warm-up, set a limit for how much time you'll spend, media socializing. Then stick to it.

Because when you think about it, it's your brilliant writing that you're trying to promote and sell. Pour hours into that, grasshopper, and then use social media to tell the world.

(We shall discuss the proper way to exploit one's self, using humility, dignified grace, and monkey-mad media marketing skills at a later date.)

Monday Morning Winning

First, I'd like to thank everyone who dropped by for Linda Hubalek's blog book tour, Trail of Thread. What an intrepid group of journalers you are!

I've never had much success with journaling...my journals start with a bang (of super awesome events) and end with a whimper (of what we had for dinner that night). But perhaps, I shall take up pen once again. Some future Hall may be fascinated by my description of hot dogs topped with cole slaw and onions.

Oh! I forgot to name the winner of the ebook! It's Sally Apokedak! Which seems only fitting since she's a mad journaler herself!

(Um, I mean super awesome journaler, Sally. Not crazy as a bedbug/angsty angry journaler. You knew that, right?)

Finding Something (Fun) Friday: Better Book Titles

Dan Wilbur is my new best friend. He doesn't exactly know it, but whatever. His blog, BETTER BOOK TITLES is genius. Simple concept, brilliantly funny execution.

He takes well-known books and re-titles them so that you, the over-worked reader, don't have to actually read the whole book to get the gist of things. What a time-saver! Because I, for one, do not have time to read Jane Eyre again. But a simple glance at Dan's better book title, and I'm good.




Basically, I've found a way to fit in at those get-togethers where everyone's talking about the lastest best-seller (or classic) that I haven't got 'round to reading yet (implying that someday, I might actually read these best-sellers/classics).


And now you can be cool and well-read, too! But I've got dibs on Dan Wilbur if he shows up.

On the WOW!Blog Tour with Linda Hubalek and Trail of Thread

A few years ago, I watched a program where modern families lived as pioneers on the prairie--and I was fascinated, entranced, and absolutely riveted. So I jumped at the chance to host pioneer writer, Linda Hubalek and her book, Trail of Thread.

Linda has always loved the prairie--she graduated with an Agriculture/Horticulture degree from Kansas State University--but never so much as when she moved away from her beloved Kansas. She started writing then, about her home and the pioneer women who tilled the soil. She's since moved back to Kansas, where she keeps bison(!)and once again farms.


Trail of Thread is her first book in a series, told in letter form, from the women who not only survived but thrived out there on the prairie, women who were, in fact, Linda's ancestors, tilling the Kansas farmlands. I asked Linda to share with us her thoughts on writing for our descendants. Because maybe there's a riveting book in your family!

What will inspire my descendants?

My mother gave me a page-a-day diary for Christmas the year before I got married. She thought that I could record the planning of my August wedding in this little hard bound book.

I started on January 1st, my fiancé’s birthday, telling of what we did for his special day. And I continued to write short bits of my daily life, besides the intended lists of preparations for our wedding.

Thirty-five years later I’m still writing in a page-a-day book. I sometimes get behind and don’t write for a week or two, but the majority of my life is recorded the 35 books that are stacked in a file cabinet.

The neat thing is I can go back to any given day in any of those years to see what I did, or what the weather was like. I can go back to remember a special person’s birth or death, and be drawn into the same feeling I had that exact day.

My family knows I’ve written down my life—and theirs— through the years. I haven’t written down anything that will embarrass anyone, but I think the entries will give the next generations a good glimpse of their ancestor’s lives, and the times we’ve lived in.

Will that inspire them to keep their own diaries? I really doubt it, although it would be great if someone was motivated to write and pass down more of the family history.

What I hope my diary entries would do is to inspire descendants to remember family members as I mention their birthdays, to learn the history of the family pieces they inherited, and to give them a sense of whom their family was— and did during their lifetimes. My Trail of Thread series, written in the form of letters to other family members, gives the reader a sense of the character’s lives and the history that was happening at that very moment.

Please read the books, and then think how you could pass on your life story to your descendants. How will you inspire them? It’s up to you….

Linda's giving away an ebook of Trail of Thread to one lucky commenter (and remember, you can download a FREE Kindle reader at Amazon if you don't have a Kindle!). Oh! And if you're a quilter, you'll love that Linda includes quilting patterns in each book, including Trail of Thread!

Find out more about this pioneer series at Linda's website. And she's on Facebook, too, so you can keep up with her and her books over there. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I'll be reading Trail of Thread. (Comments will stay open through the weekend for your chance to win a copy!)

Writing A Pitch: As Easy as 1-2-3 (Okay, There's a 4, 5, Maybe Up to 10)

Whilst catching up with emails and such, I came across an issue of Writing World that I hadn't quite perused yet. I think that's where I happened upon this delightful link to Kathy Carmichael's Story Pitch Generator.

(Is it just me, or am I talking a bit fancy? That's what happens when I read proper writing like I findest in Writing World.)

Anyway, yes, it's a simple generator. But here's what I love, love, love about this funny, little tool. It forces you to whittle away till you get to the essence of your novel. If you can't fill in the blanks quickly and easily, then you don't know yet what your novel's about. And how can you pitch something you haven't got a handle on yet?

It's enough to make you want to pitch your manuscript out the window! Instead, take a deep breath and think about the simple questions. Really thinkest.

Bet you'll find that pitch, after all. (Better go get your manuscript out of the bushes while you're at it.)

National Doodle Day--Who Knew?

Well, I, for one, did not know that today is National Doodle Day. (That's Neil Gaiman's Doodle. Looks remarkably like something a Junior Hall drew in the 4th grade. )

But I kinda like this doodle idea.

I know most of us think of doodling as drawing little squiggles or curves, making silly little pictures on a piece of paper. We doodle in a class when the teacher gets boring. We doodle at a conference when the speaker gets repetitive. We doodle at church when the sermon drags.

Or maybe that's just me. The point is, most of the time, we doodle when our mind's not completely occupied. But have you ever let your mind doodle? When you're occupied with some boring chore, like pulling weeds, or painting outside furniture, or scrubbing a tub, haven't you let your mind wander? Sort of like a mental doodle?

I doodle out a plot problem while I'm planting a row of pansies. I doodle out an idea for a column while I'm washing my hair. I doodle a character's traits while I'm unloading the dishwasher. When I mentally doodle, thoughts ramble about here and there. I may not have a substantive solution, but I will have a starting point, or perhaps a couple of points to develop.

The problem with mentally doodling is that, if you're not careful, your wonderful doodle will go poof! Unlike your squiggles from your 10th grade notebook (Cathy + Tommy 4ever), thoughts and ideas may not stick around unless you take a moment to write them out.

Although, honestly, I have a couple doodled notes that make absolutely no sense to me now. Sort of like Tommy 4ever. I have NO idea who Tommy was.

Piddling and Pondering

So I've absolutely, positively finished the last of the edits on my YA manuscript. I've even started a new Middle Grade idea, and fleshed out where I want the story to go. I really, really need to get cracking on that agent query and put words on paper for the MG manuscript. And yet...I seem to be stuck in piddling mode.


You know what I mean by piddling? It's that frittering away of time on little tasks that kinda, sorta should be done but honestly, you could let go. That chair you painted five years ago that could use a second coat? You've let it go all this time, but suddenly, you piddle around, looking for that can of paint...and do you have a brush? Maybe you could just dash to the store and pick up another one. And before you know it, you've piddled around the entire day and all you have to show for it (maybe) is a freshly painted chair.


Pondering on my piddling has led me to the inevitable conclusion: Piddling is keeping me from facing that agent-querying task. It's ever so hard to put one's heart and soul out there, even if you've had years of practice. But now I'm declaring this a No Piddle Zone. It's GO time on that query!

Um, but before I go, I have to share what Juniorette Hall brought to my attention yesterday on a shoe-shopping expedition. "Look at this," she said, pointing to the little silica gel packet. "Do not eat" was printed on it. The quotation marks are theirs, not mine.

Which of course, made me think of the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks. I mean, why would you put Do Not Eat in quotation marks on this packet? Maybe, really, it's okay to eat silica gel. Or maybe...oh, shoot. See?

There I go, piddling again.

Finding Something Friday: W is for Writer. Er, Writing. Um, Whatever.

Holy download, Batman! I may just have to spend a few of my hard-earned bucks for this program called WriteItNow that I found today.

After spending the last thirty minutes or so, fiddling with the free demo download, I'm beginning to see a definite value in this story-writing program. On the other hand, the demo story has to do with Native Americans and shamans and a mystery. I mean, I totally got sucked in with the story. But then there's the super-impressive software sucking me in, too...

I'd love to hear if any of my writing buds have tried it. What was your experience? Or if you try the download and decide to buy WriteItNow, let me know all about it. Because it has just occurred to me that Mother's Day is this weekend.

I'm pretty sure that Mother's Day had something to do with the Writer Mama Every-Day-in-May-Book Giveaway. I don't think it matters whether you are a mom or not; as long as you enjoy a good read, and enjoy winning a good book, then you're eligible. Still, it's a good idea to read "Da Rules."

So zip over to Christina Katz' site to find today's giveaway. Meanwhile, I have some writing to do. Something along the lines of...

Dear Junior Halls,

I know you've been racking your brains, trying to figure out what to give your dear, sweet mother. It just so happens, I've got a couple brilliant ideas...

Tuesday Tips (And Okay, a Little Horn-Tooting, Too)

Here's a simple tip that I live by (or write by, as the case may be):

There's usually room for improvement. (I used to say "always
room for improvement" but I've mellowed with age.)

And sometimes, that improvement can make all the difference. Take a poem I wrote a few years back called, "Taking Out The Trash."

It was a good poem (she said, modestly). It won an Honorable Mention in a Bylines Poetry contest. Bylines (no longer published) would get quite a slew of entries for their contests, so I felt pretty good about that win.

Time passed, and another poetry contest came along. I pulled out "Taking Out The Trash" and figured I'd send it off. But in reading the poem, I thought the meter was not quite right. I tweaked it, changing a word here, adding a word there, improving it, see? I think it garnered another Honorable Mention.

This year, the North Carolina Poetry Society had a Humorous Verse category in their poetry contest. So back I went to "Taking Out the Trash." But in reading the poem this time, (the meter was perfect, by the way, she said modestly) I realized that I could make the imagery a bit more vivid. I tweaked it again, trying first one word, then another, working to punch up the humor in the poem.

Did I improve it? Please see the Katherine Kennedy McIntyre Award (she said, modestly).

Every time I read through my YA manuscript, I find a spot that can be improved. Whenever I find a contest where an older work of mine will fit, I almost always find a word, a sentence, perhaps even a paragraph that needs a bit of work. To be honest, I'm usually surprised that I missed that spot, that word or sentence or paragraph the first time. But I think that's because the harder I work at my craft, the more I improve. I'm able to recognize mistakes that I simply didn't have the skill and experience to catch the first time, or the second time, or heck, even the 37th time around.

I'm pretty sure that "Taking Out the Trash" has seen its last contest. But then again, a year from now, I might give it another go--and improve that poem yet again.

P.S. I almost forgot my other Tip! You can win a $25.00 Amazon gift card over at Diamonds and Toads, just by answering a simple question. Diamonds and Toads is a sister site to Enchanted Conversation; both sites have wonderful fairy-tale inspired poetry, stories and art. And I'm not just saying that because you'll find my poetry and stories over there (she said, modestly).

On Being All Right On This, My First Post in May

This is my first post in May, and generally, what with May being all about Spring, and school days winding down, and my bare little toesies poking out of flip-flops, my thoughts turn to merriment and such.

However, I would be remiss if I did not address certain events which have recently transpired, namely the (sorta) sudden demise of Osama bin Laden.

Frankly, I'm not sure when the man died, as news reports vary on that fact. And if I'm being perfectly honest, I'm a tad confused as to why most networks spell it "Osama" and yet another network spells it "Usama." What I am certain about is that the person who orchestrated a heinous terrorist attack upon thousands of innocent American people has been stopped. And for that, I'm grateful. In fact, I'd like to thank every courageous man and woman in our military and varied services who show up for work each day to fight the good fight.



I show up for work almost every day, and I fight, too, if you count arguing with Sally the Crazy Dog. Somehow, it doesn't seem quite as...well, courageous. But still, I get to sit here at my desk, with my bare toesies wiggling, and laughing at Steve Martin's hilarious essay "Writing is Easy!" (from his book, Pure Drivel) until the Beneficent Mr. Hall comes upstairs to find out if I'm all right.

Yes, Mr. Hall, I'm all right. I'm better than all right on this, my first post in May. Because I live in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.

(Thanks to isafmedia for the photo!)