Kayeleen's Creation Corner

Nothing to see here

2012-01-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

Just a writing ninja....

Still Alive

2012-01-06T16:46:00.004-07:00

But not really kicking very hard.

Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and a new year have come and gone since last we spoke.

The allergy saga has deepened (thanks everyone for your kind thoughts). Boy #1 has allergies too. Wheat, soy, peanuts, dogs, horses, every seasonal/hay fever thing under the sun. So we are trying to be a wheat/soy/peanut/egg/milk free family right now. Challenging.

Everybody caught a really horrible cold bug around Christmas time. We traveled, visited, and coughed all over family. It was the first time in several years that all my siblings (with accompanying spouses and children) have been together in the same place.

Hubby and I took a kid free trip for Christmas/New Years. Overnight. To Salt Lake City. For fine dining and grown up entertainment. (Nothing of the weird or kinky sort. We went to museums and Temple Square and shopping at a mall.) Without the kids. It was blissful.

Other things are in the works or changing but I don't want to get into it right now. Maybe sometime soon when the mood strikes and things are more settled.

I just wanted to stop in and say thanks. And I appreciate you. And you are all great. And I wish you all the puppies. (Unless puppies aren't your thing. Then it can be book deals. Or something equally awesome.)

What have you been up to?

A tough time

2011-12-07T13:54:00.000-07:00

Well, sorry for the silence again. I'm just not that good at this right now. Between actually trying to write, working, and family stuff, the blog is pretty much the first to get the ax on any given day. And it's just gotten more complicated at our house.

Baby girl, who turns 1 year old tomorrow, is allergic to eggs. We found out a few days ago when she tried scrambled eggs for the first time. She's probably been allergic for a long time, but we didn't realize what it was until she had the egg on her face, so to speak. She broke out with a bright red rash and welts and got a little wheezy. The whole shebang. And now, it seems to make a lot of sense that she's had a diaper rash that just wouldn't go away.

The worst part? She's still a nursing baby and egg protein is one of those things that goes straight through. So, not only does she not get any egg in her diet, but neither do I. And egg proteins don't break down when you cook them. That means you can't have eggs in any products. Noodles, cookies, cake, bread. Yes, bread. I now have to read every label of everything we ever eat. And there's an awful lot that is on the no go list now. It's giving me a head ache. And a bit of the blues. And it is still so new that, every new item she can't eat (and by extension, me) just makes me sad.

So, yeah. Things are interesting at our house. Hopefully it will settle down again soon. And we'll have it all figured out.

In other news, my blog is having a birthday on December 22. It will be 2 years old. What should we do to celebrate?

Close, But No Cigar

2011-11-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a crazy and hectic month. With lots of family, friends, celebrating, working, playing, writing.

For any one who is interested, I didn't finish NaNoWriMo. I did, however, write close to 20,000 new words this month. And that's amazing. And I still love the story. And I'm going to finish it. Maybe next month.

Other than that, nothing really new to report. Things are moving along. Always more to do and less available time.

How are you all doing?

He's a Very Nice Prince

2011-11-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

Well, the Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone. It was a good one at our house. We mostly sat around and ate a lot of food. We shopped online instead of braving the 2 hour drive and crazy lines at the store. We ate more food. We played some board games. We went out to the local sand dunes and got really dirty. It was good.

I consider myself to be more of a sunshine and roses sort of person. It's just what I like. And I try to surround myself with it. I still recognize that there is a lot of unhappiness and angst out there. And I was confronted with some of it over the weekend. Two different friends talked to me about how their current relationships (one married, the other not) are really struggling. There are underlying problems (some financial, some family, some other) in both cases, but the fact that there is some talk about ending it makes me really sad.

All of this to say, I lucked out. I have a Prince Charming. Even when I'm frustrated (because, let's face it. I'm human.) Or when I'm having a depressed day. Or whatever. He's really amazing. And supportive. And compassionate. And I lucked out.

It brings to mind all those teen books out there that have amazing relationships. Everything just works out. And you know you have found your soulmate. And... the list goes on. It's really appealing to have that kind of relationship. It's what we all want. And that's why there are so many people writing about it. And why we keep reading them. For those of us who picked the grand prize in the relationship department, it reminds us of what we have. For those of us still searching, it reminds us of what we want.

So, friends, do you like a little romance in your reading? Do you write about the romance you have or want?

Thankful Day 3

2011-11-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

Well, friends, it's Thanksgiving week. I'll be taking off the rest of the week, but I did want to finish out my Thankful days. And it's my 200th post. What a great way to celebrate!

I'm thankful for you. The writing community at large. And all the friends I have made in this crazy journey. There are many of you. Some, I will never meet in person. Some, I have spent time with outside of the internet and hope to do so again. Some of you have gotten agents, sold books, self-published, given up, started again. And we're all in it together. What a great thing to have people who share our passion in life. We aren't alone in our journeys, even though writing is a solitary pursuit. And I'm glad that I found each of you. I'm looking forward to more great times shared with you. And I'm grateful that when times are hard for me, or for you, we're here for each other. Because we all need a little encouragement from time to time.

So, to you, and all of you, thanks. Thanks for being a part of my life. And have a very happy holiday full of feasting, family, and friends.

Thankful Day 2

2011-11-16T16:48:00.000-07:00

A little late, but once again, the oldest boy has some kind of virus, so lots of snuggling time for us.

Today, I'm thankful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or the Mormons). I'm a lifelong, practicing member. We've been in the news a lot lately with Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney running for president. And with any media exposure, there is controversy.

I'm one person who has a pretty deep spiritual foundation. It influences every aspect of my life. I wouldn't be the cool kid I am without having been a member of the LDS Church. But aside from that, I find great hope and peace in the teachings of the Church. It gives me a lot of strength when times are tough and joy for the good times. I don't want to get all religious preachy or anything like that, so I'm not going to lay out the entire belief system. If you have questions about what I believe or why I believe it, feel free to ask.

What are you thankful for today? Feel free to share a comment, or link to a blog post, if you have one!

Thankful Day 1

2011-11-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of Thanksgiving (next week! I can't how fast the time is going by!), I am going to make a series of posts about things I'm thankful for. I try to have a balanced life, so most of it won't be writing related. I hope you'll stick around any way, and maybe even share some of the things you are thankful for as well. If you do, please leave me a comment so that I can read it.

*************

Today, I'm thankful for my family. I really feel blessed in this department. I have great parents who always provide a lot of insight and inspiration. I have siblings that I enjoy spending time with. I lived with three of my sisters when we were all in college. Who does that? I do, because my siblings are amazing.

I have amazing in-laws. Hubby's parents have welcomed us into their home when we relocated for his work. They go out of their way to do nice things for me, to give me a break, let me take a nap, watch the kids for short (and sometimes long) periods of time. And hubby's sisters? So much fun to spend time with. I never feel like an outsider.

I have the cutest, best kids in the whole wide world. They make me laugh. They teach me all kinds of things about life and priorities and all kinds of things. All three of them love me, even when I'm grumpy and busy. And they make the world so much happier. An example (if you'll forgive my self-indulgence.) Middle boy just turned three. Oldest boy is four. I told middle boy I wanted to kiss his forehead. He said, "No, mommy. Brother has a four-head. I have a three-head." What a cutie.

And I have the most supportive, inspiring husband any girl could ask for. He first encouraged me to write. He is even writing a nanowrimo novel with me, so that we can do it together. He's smart and funny. He encourages me to give myself a break and to be my best self. And I love him like I couldn't imagine loving. I feel truly blessed.

Check back on Wednesday for Thankful Day 2!

Be Yourself!

2011-11-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

Okay. I know it's Thursday. And I don't normally post on Thursday. But I didn't post yesterday, so this totally counts.

Lots of people talk about social media. It's on tons of blogs. "Get involved in social media." Okay. I did that. I have a Facebook account. (I'm Kayeleen Jackson Hamblin, if you want to friend me.) I have this blog. I have a twitter account (@kayeleenhamblin). And I even sort of have a Google+ thing that I never really look at. You know what using all these social networks has taught me? Everybody is chasing the next best thing.

I looked at Twitter today for the first time in a few days. It has this new section called "Activity." Honestly, it looks like the new scrolling thing on Facebook that tells you who your friends are friends with and what they said on someone else's status. You don't know the people and probably don't care what your friend thinks about it, but there it is. And Facebook did it in response to Google+. So, Twitter is trying to be Facebook trying to be Google+. Doesn't that seem ridiculous? And Facebook is trying to be more stream of consciousness like Twitter. And it goes on and on and on.

But you know what? I use Facebook for something different than I use Twitter or Google+. I don't want them to all be the same as the other things. And this is the lesson. Just be what you are, people! It's worth it to be different. Whether it's what you write or your social media or whatever, just be you.

NaNo update!

2011-11-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

The posting is probably going to be scarce this month. Between working part time, cleaning the house, taking care of the kids, and all the other crazy stuff that is gong to happen, I'm choosing NaNo over blogging, so there you have it.

So far, everything else is winning out over word counts. I have written every day so far (except Sunday.) I just haven't hit the 2000 or so words each day that will bring me to 50,000 at the end of the month. I hope I can catch up! Wish me luck!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T11:26:00.000-06:00

Today, I plan to clean the house, eat chocolate until I get sick, and catch up on all the little things that need doing before NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow.

Hope you have a Happy Halloween!

It's here! Okay, almost!

2011-10-28T08:06:00.000-06:00

This week,I've outlined (but only a roughly.) I've talked the story over with several trusted people. I've put together a play list. I've warned the family that things will probably be falling apart for the next month. I think I might be ready for the mad frenzy that will be NaNoWriMo.

I don't know how I'll get everything done. There will still be the family, the job, the house. And I'm adding in close to 2000 words a day? I just don't know if I will make it, but I'm sure gong to try!

How about you, friends? Are you doing NaNo? What have you done to get ready? And as a bonus question for me, what songs take you back to high school or the emotions you felt back then?

Obvious to You, Amazing to Others

2011-10-25T23:04:00.002-06:00

One of my good friend, Krista at Mother, Write. Repeat., hosts a contest every once in a while, called An Agent's Inbox. The basic idea is that writers with complete, ready to submit manuscripts can post their query letter and first 250 words. The Agent reads the entries just as if it was in their inbox and responds accordingly. I like to read the entries and the commentary because it gives me things to look at for honing my own work.

This time, it left me feeling a little down. And it's kind of silly, and obvious, but here's why. The agent said that things that are similar to my idea (not in essentials, but in general themes) were really getting overdone. It's the "ordinary teenager discovers something amazing and unique about themselves and has to save the world" kind of thing. But also, different. I read comments about how frequently that theme is presented and it left me wondering what I had to offer. What is unique about my idea? How is it going to stand out in the midst of all the other similarly themed books?

I mentioned it to my husband. And he sent me this:

And I felt better. I hope it helps you, too.

More than the Sum of its Parts

2011-10-24T11:33:00.000-06:00

So, I have a job. It's a part-time, online job. Basically, there's this company that sells video clips to people. They hire contractors to assign search terms to the clips and write descriptions of what the clip is about. It stretches my writing mind to find just the right words to describe a 10 second segment of video. But that's not the point of this post. The point is, lots of different companies supply clips to the company I work for. Like Sony. And Paramount. And BBC. And Discovery. A lot of the time, the clips are just random, but sometimes, I recognize where they came from. Like today.

This morning, I worked on some clips from a very memorable popcorn summer disaster movie of 2009. And I could tell that the clips came from this movie. They were all chroma key. (There was a blue screen behind many of them to add special effects later.) There was even a couple of shots of a toy boat being capsized in a puddle. (Does that give it away? I probably shouldn't give it away.) All of these shots had been unimproved. They were completely raw, as they might have been sent to the editor. And I couldn't help but think of my writing.

What I saw this morning was pretty random. Unpolished. And if you added it together as it was, you wouldn't have much. But, with some polish and flash, a bit of editing and storyline, you end up with something that is so much more than just a collection of images. And that's what we are trying to do with our writing. We want to bring everything together, with some spit and polish. And then have the readers bring their experience and expectations to it. Together, we make our stories more than what they would have been.

Pushing through

2011-10-21T10:15:00.000-06:00

Last year, I had a story idea. It was beautiful. And different from everything else. And I tried to write it. And failed miserably. It was devastating. And in a way, it contributed to my lack of enthusiasm for writing for a long time. I lost some of my confidence. After having two great stories that I had finished drafts for and worked on revisions with, and loved to pieces, it was hard to have something that I felt had failed completely.

Well, a year has gone by. I've pulled out that idea and dusted it off. I've bounced it off some people. I've honed the concept. Switched it around to something more workable. And I still love it. I still want to tell that story. And that is what I will be doing during NaNoWriMo this year. I believe that I'll be able to get more accomplished on it this time. I think I might make it all the way. It should be really great.

What about you, friends? Have you ever lost your confidence in writing? Have you ever had to put aside an idea that you loved? How did you pick yourself up again?

For a friend

2011-10-19T10:47:00.001-06:00

There's nothing new from me today. All of the family has a horrible (and I mean horrible) cold. My brain is kind of absent because of it.

But, there is news in the blogosphere. One of my first blogging friends, Shannon O'Donnell, announced the best news today. She's got an agent! I love it when my friends succeed. Congrats, Shannon, and best of luck getting your book out there!

Go and congratulate her at http://shannonkodonnell.blogspot.com/2011/10/announcement.html

Gearing up

2011-10-17T11:59:00.000-06:00

We're at t - two weeks and counting down to Midnight, November 1st. So what, you say? It's the start of National Novel Writing Month! Are you signed up? I've been a participant twice now. I finished once, but was pregnant last year, and that interfered with my writing time. This, year, I want to do it or die!

I've got two weeks to prep for the onslaught. Plan out my daily schedule. Figure out where the story is going. Plot. Characters. Settings. You know. All that stuff that makes a good book.

So, here's my question for you, friends? How do you develop your stories? Do you use the character interview? The Snowflake method? Do you pants it? And do you have any suggestions for me?

Acceptance

2011-10-14T08:52:00.000-06:00

So, I have a problem. It's something that's been with me basically my entire life. It started when I heard my mom say, "Your sister has some amazing things ahead of her." I'm the oldest. I never heard my mom say anything like that about me. She swears she told everybody that I had amazing things ahead of me, too, but I don't remember it. I spent a lot of my teenage years resenting my sister and feeling like I wasn't good enough.

I talked to my sister about it recently. You know. That talk you have where you clear the air and move on. Don't get me wrong. I love my sister. We were roommates in college for four years. There was always this underlying thing. So we talked about it. Turns out, my sister resented the situation too, and hated feeling like there were huge expectations on her all the time.

I didn't realize how much this impacted my life until I looked at my own expectations of myself. I expect that I will always have my house clean. I will always hang up the laundry. I will always do the dishes. I will never yell at the kids. I will be a supportive wife. I will be active in my church. I will be productive and never waste time. I will use all my talents. The list goes on and on. And not only will I do all these things, I will be the best at them. It's really unreasonable.

And it stopped being a comparison between my sister and me and became a comparison between me and everyone else. Somebody got an agent with their first round of queries. Somebody has a huge number of blog followers. Somebody has an amazing book deal. Somebody has this other thing that I don't. And I'm not good enough or smart enough or whatever. I keep thinking I don't have to be what someone else is, but tell that to my 10 year old self. It's a habit that's been around for a long time.

And I'm breaking the habit. The cycle stops here. I'm giving myself permission to not being anything more than I am. I'm changing my criteria for success. I don't have to do what any one else is doing. I'm accepting me, faults, flaws, and foibles. Because somewhere under all the things I want more of, there's a whole lot that I'm not celebrating. And I'm worth it. I'm smart, strong, capable, and enough!

If you have felt this way, now's the time to join in the revolution. It's time for us all to accept ourselves and celebrate the person we are, instead of wishing we were somebody else. Who's with me?

An answer

2011-10-13T08:24:00.000-06:00

Thanks, every one for the input on prioritizing. As I thought about it, I have come up with a few ideas. And I'm sharing them today at the Dojo (http://www.alicross.com/). I'd love to hear what you have to say about it. I'll be back tomorrow with an awesome and inspiring post.

Priorities

2011-10-07T09:26:00.000-06:00

So, there's this thing where I go in circles. I want to be active in the blogging world. I want to be active on Twitter. I want to have a clean house. I want to play with my kids. I want to finish my rewrite. I want to. . . . . . . and the list goes on. Balancing everything gets really touch and go some days. Like when baby girl is teething and doesn't want to be put down at all. Or when oldest boy is at preschool for 2 hours and I can only choose one or two things for my relatively free time. Or . . . . You all know how it goes.

So, my question for you, friends, is what do you do to balance? To prioritize? What's your secret to success?

Being Happy

2011-10-03T09:27:00.000-06:00

Any time you have major changes, there's one of two possible outcomes. You can look back at where you were and be miserable that you aren't there any more. Or you can look ahead at the new possibilities and be excited for what's coming. In either case, you haven't avoided the change. You've only managed your perspective on it.

Never has this been more evident for me than right now. I'm at the end of a difficult and frustrating change. We left our first home, rented it out to someone we didn't know, and moved in with parents. At first, it felt like we were moving backward. We didn't have the ability to look after ourselves. We were dumb for getting into the situation in the first place. And I missed our home. Wanted to walk around my garden. Walk down the street to visit friends or family. I'd never lived any where that wasn't my home town for any really significant time. (Not counting my LDS mission. That's a whole different set of circumstances.) And I was pretty miserable thinking about what we'd given up.

And now, I've changed my perspective. There's been some really unexpected blessings. My kids getting to know their other grandparents. Having a solid plan in place for getting out of debt. See hubby working hard again and feeling productive. And then there's the more subtle things. Feeling independent. Feeling strong and capable. (I know. It's strange to feel those things in this situation, but I do.) And I feel hope. Hope that things can change. I've realized that while the things I have aren't HOW I wanted them, they are WHAT I wanted. And if I am getting what I wanted, the how stops mattering as much.

How does this apply to writing? I don't know. Something to incorporate into a character's arc, I suppose. If it's something I go through, it certainly would be realistic to expect a similar journey from someone I'm writing about. Something to think about, any way.

How about you, friends? What are you learning right now? What are your hidden blessings?

And we're off!

2011-09-23T16:26:00.000-06:00

Well, friends, thanks for all the input on my dilemma of the week. I'm pulling out all the notes from various readers so far and going over what I have with the notes. That's my goal for the weekend. Figure out where we are and what the next step is. I'm still really excited about the possibilities of this WIP, so I'm going to try to stay with it at least for now.

We had a really interesting couple of days. (This is the reason for the lateness of the Friday post.) The kids had dentist appointments and check-ups back in Cedar. That meant an overnight trip with all three of them, BY MYSELF! I wouldn't have thought about it as being a hassle, but all three of them have had colds and all three of them got car sick on the drive over. And middle boy fell of a chair and got a serious goose-egg ON HIS EAR! (I didn't know you get swell like that on an ear, but you can.) And there were other minor things that would have been less pleasant to deal with, but there you have it.

Here's the thing. We spent basically two days on our own with lots of difficult or horrible things going on, and it was okay. I didn't lose it. I didn't fall apart. I didn't even crack a little. And this is how I know I'm making progress in my life. Even just a few months ago, this would have been the end of the world. I would have been forlornly crying in the corner, unable to cope with all the stuff that went wrong over the course of our trip. But, I didn't. And I feel better about myself and my abilities.

The same thing happens in our writing, I think. We have to go through a bunch of junk. That's just the nature of it. There's negativity and criticism and critique and rejection. Over time, we learn to cope with it better. And when we're in the badlands, we can look back at what used to be the badlands and see how far we've come. Even though taking a break wasn't on the list at the time, I'll go back to the writing and be better at it, handle the negative better, and just rock it all over the place.

How about you, friends? Are you in the "rock it" place or the badlands? How have you seen progress in your life or writing?

Where do we go from here?

2011-09-21T09:53:00.000-06:00

Did anybody watch the movie version of Evita with Madonna and Antonio Banderas? Yeah. That's my favorite song from the show. (And if it's now stuck in your head, you're welcome.)

This is the position I find myself in. I was in the middle of a major redrafting/revision/rewrite of my WIP when we moved and got sick and general craziness ensued. Now, I'm going back to that major redraft/revision/rewrite. And I've lost my momentum. And a little of my direction. I'd put in a lot of time on the rewrite and made a lot of progress. So, now, where do I go from here? Do I start over? Do I try to recover from the time off and move forward from where I'm at?

So, friends, have any of you been in this position? What did you do? What would you recommend?

And we're back!

2011-09-19T14:33:00.000-06:00

So, it's been a while. I've missed the blogging world. And the writing world.

We've finally settled in to our new place. It's been better than I could have hoped. Things are going really well with hubby's job. The kids love living at Grandma's house. Oldest boy loves his preschool class. Little Girl started crawling. And I'm feeling like there is financial hope at the end of the tunnel. (Stupid economy.)

I'm still working on my daily schedule so that I can get back to writing. I was right in the middle of a draft that was looking pretty promising. I want to finish it in time to write a Nano-Novel. I've got some good new ideas to play with and I don't want to get into them until I've got Sleep out to betas.

In other news, I am reading. And not just reading, but reading new stuff. Usually, my reading material is almost exclusively YA or MG, with the occasional adult fantasy. I'm branching out. There's Memoirs of a Geisha, The Pelican Brief, Bourne Identity and maybe another one down the pipes. It's been good so far. I don't know that I will ever really love adult books. I'm just too big a kid at heart. I just want to be a little more diverse in my reading.

How about you, friends? What are you reading? What have you been up to since we last chatted? Hope to see you around!

Terry Tibke's Upgrader Blog Tour

2011-09-07T23:44:00.000-06:00

Hello again, every body. I promise to get back to regular blogging again soon. Before then, however, I'm participating in the blog tour for Terry Tibke. He's a writing ninja at the Dojo where I hone my writing skills and I am pleased to tell you about his book, Upgrader: Re-engineered.

A dimensional rift has opened, and now a headstrong young man must learn to use an ancient power before the Earth is enslaved.
Dylan Kent is exposed to a mysterious energy from another dimension! Transformed into an ever-changing warrior, Dylan must harness these new powers in order to keep our world free from intradimensional invaders. These invaders have come to our world in search of the power Dylan now possesses. If Dylan is unsuccessful in repelling them, not only will he die but our world will die with him!

This book was a fun, quick read. There's lots of action from the very first words. If you like graphic novels, the feel is very similar. There's interdimensional travel, tentacled creatures, and a sentient power source that could protect or destroy the world--depending on who gets their hands on it. Fortunately for us, average teenager Dylan finds it. He's got the usual concerns about being on the team and looking cool for his girlfriend. It just takes a little nudge to make him into an extraordinary hero, ready for a fight that will save the world.

I enjoyed Upgrader. Dylan is easy to relate to as a character. The story has a fast pace and is easy to follow. It would be enjoyable for middle grade readers, as well as the young adult market it was intended for. It's the perfect read for a reluctant reader. And, in the highest praise I can give a book, I'll be loaning my copy to my 14 year old brother. He'll have a good time with it.

You can check out more about Terry Tibke and his book by clicking on the button in the sidebar or by following the link.

What Moving Taught Me About Writing

2011-08-17T09:29:00.000-06:00

Well, friends, phase one of the move is complete. We have driven back and forth between our house and grandma's house a few times. Hubby had another kidney stone right in the middle of the process. We finally got the place completely empty and clean last night. And then we had the longest drive of our lives as baby girl protested being in the car for another 2 hour drive, while two boys fought and screamed and shrieked at each other. Clearly, it is time to be done and stay in the house for a few days.

As we were driving home last night, I thought about my story. The one that has been shelved for the past few weeks as we've dealt with the move and part-time job and other things that have come up. I realized that my move is a great source to draw from for writing purposes. So here's what I've learned.

1. Things happen quickly and you start right where the action is. For us, this move was a pretty sudden thing. We made the decision and moved in about two weeks. We had planned to move gradually, but that just wasn't the way things were going to work out. Most of the time in our writing, we have to put our characters right into the thick of things. We can't drag it out and leave them hanging around waiting for things to happen.

2. Things are going to go wrong. Kidney stones. Screaming kids. Multiple trips. Despite careful planning, things don't happen the way we expect them to. In a character's journey, they need to go through a few bumps. Things can't be smooth sailing the whole way.

3. Even when you get where you are going, things aren't going to be perfect. Because we moved two weeks early, the in-laws house wasn't quite ready for us. That means boxes are stacked in the living room. We are sleeping in the guest room. There's still some cleaning up of the little apartment we will be living in. And then things have to be moved into the attic for storage. With our characters, sometimes, the end of the journey isn't really the end. It's going to be the starting point of something even bigger.

4. There's a lot of clean-up and repair involved. We had to pack everything, but that wasn't the end. Once we were out of the house, we had to fix all the little things that we'd put off. Put up gutters. Patch the hole in the wall. Fix the leaky faucet. And then we had to clean it up. In writing, just when you think you are done, there's still going to be some clean-up involved. Tying up the loose ends. Making sure all the story is told. And going over it a few times to work out all the bugs. Do a little editing. It's going to need it and you'll only see it after everything else is done.

So there you have it, friends. What I learned about writing in the middle of my move. What have you learned about writing recently?

I swear, I'm crazy!

2011-08-08T08:33:00.000-06:00

Just checking in briefly. We had originally thought we would be moving at the end of the month, but now, it's more like moving at the end of the week. We want to rent out our house and most people want to be able to move in before school starts next week. So, I'm going to be a crazy person for the next few days. And it's going to be awesome!

Wish me luck, friends. Hope you all have a great week.

Changes are a brewin'

2011-08-01T13:51:00.000-06:00

So, things are changing again. Didn't someone once say, "The only thing you can count on is change?" (Ha ha. That's punny. 'Cause you count change. Ha ha.) (Okay. I think I'm funny. You don't have to agree.)

We've lived here in our own home for almost a year now. And we are moving. Hubby's job is requiring a relocation. To his hometown. So, we will be finding a renter for our house and moving in with his parents. I never in a million years pictured something like this, but meh. It is what it is. I actually really like my in-laws, so it's not as horrifying a prospect as you might think. The thing that I am saddest about is leaving my own house. And my garden. The garden is almost more sad than the house.

We have one month from today before we have to be all settled into our new situation. And there is a ton of stuff to do to get us there. We have to clean out the house. Clean out space in the in-laws house. Find a renter. Fix up some little stuff in the house that we've been putting off, like adding gutters. And still do all the other stuff that usually comes with our day. I feel like I'm swimming through deep waters without a scuba.

So, if things are spotty, or there is absolutely no writing news from me, that's why. I'll be here, staying afloat, just trying to get everything done. And it will be good. At some point.

What's challenging you today, friends?

Apologies

2011-07-29T19:05:00.000-06:00

The internet at my house crashed today. And now, I'm at the in-laws, making plans for a huge (HUGE) change in our lives coming sometime next month. More details when there's more to share.

Sorry for the lack of significant post today. Hope you are all well. Enjoy the weekend. Can you believe it's August already?

Midweek slump

2011-07-27T11:12:00.000-06:00

Okay. You caught me. It's the middle of the week and it feels like it should be Friday. I didn't clean the house yesterday, which always leaves me in a bad mood. I still haven't figured out my schedule for working/writing/wifing/mothering and that leaves me in a bad mood. I have to go to the store with the boys today and that leaves me in a bad mood. You may be getting the big picture.

Still, it could be worse. And I recognize that. It could be better, but at least it isn't worse. When I was a missionary for my church, 10 years ago, I went through slumps. I had a mantra for those times. "I can do anything for 1 day (or insert other time period.)" Strangely, it helped a lot to think in terms of a time limit. And it's really true. I can do anything that I have to do, as long as I know it's going to end at some point. So, today, I can get my house clean by the end of the day. I can work out my schedule by the end of the week. I can go to the store this morning. And I can get out of this slump before tomorrow.

So, friends, how do you deal with your slumps? What's your mantra?

Pioneer Day

2011-07-25T07:43:00.000-06:00

Here in Utah, July 24th is a state holiday. It's the day that the first pioneers meandered into the Salt Lake Valley after crossing the plains from Illinois. We don't actually celebrate our statehood day, like most states. We celebrate the day our state was discovered, so to speak. That day, so long ago, people with horrifying and tragic pasts stepped out into uncharted territory (literally) and hoped for a place that would give them peace and prosperity.

While there were trials ahead (and they were numerous--have you seen the deserts in Utah?), they had faith that the land around them would become home. That they would be able to rest for a season. That they would build families and lives of substance and meaning.

I look at those men and women, the early pioneers, and marvel at their sacrifices. They came in droves. An entire church and community moved from all over the world to the haven they wanted to build here in Utah. Some of them gave up everything they had, including the families they had grown up in, to walk more than 1200 miles. My own ancestors were members of an ill-fated handcart company that left too late in the summer and were stranded in deep snow in western Wyoming.

I think about about those men and women and what they did. What they sacrificed. The faith they had. And then, I look at my own life. There have been dark, horrible, and tragic moments. There have been moments of trial and testing. My family struggles with the economy and sickness and a dozen other things at different times. And I wonder if I am like them--those amazing people who took a step into the dark and set themselves up for greatness. Do I have the faith and courage to walk into the unknown, whatever that may be for me, and do something hard. Something new. Something beautiful.

How about you, friends? What lessons do you learn from the past? Have you made any leaps of faith?

Progress Report, Sir

2011-07-22T11:12:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been a while since I said anything about where I am. It's been a little scattered and hectic around here. I started a job a few weeks ago to get rid of a few bills. It's an online job with hours I can pick for myself, but figuring it all out has seriously cut into my writing time. I'd like to say that I had made some major progress on my writing, but I can't today. Maybe next week when I have a more regular schedule.

In other news, nothing much is going on. We've done all our traveling and vacationing and everything else, so we're home and having a good time just hanging out. I really like to be home. It's a funny thing because I always wanted to travel a lot, but having a house that's ours makes me want to stay here.

And that's about it for the day. How are you all doing, friends? Anything exciting right now?

Wednesday Want-ads

2011-07-20T06:23:00.000-06:00

WANTED

New clocks. Preferably with a few extra hours.

Not finding enough hours in the day.

SERVICE REQUESTED

Dell laptop overheats at

completely inconvenient and random times.

Would like to resolve this problem.

Knowledgeable parties may inquire below.

LIMITED TIME ONLY

Now offering napping services.

Can't get in your own nap?

Let my baby have your nap for you.

Flexible schedule. Will work with you.

(Any time that a nap results will be good.)

TRY IT NOW!!!

New and improved.

Self-cleaning houses.

Just coming to your market soon.

Free up all kinds of time in your busy day!

You may have noticed the theme today. I desperately want more time! What do you want today, friends?

Less Interesting

2011-07-18T08:31:00.000-06:00

Have you ever wondered the difference between interesting and less interesting? I know. A rhetorical question. And that's the death of things. Because rhetorical questions are less interesting, right? (I did it again.)

I've been thinking about this a lot recently as I've been reading books that aren't my normal fair. There's been a couple of contemporaries and some adult books thrown in the mix. And as great as they are, they just aren't as interesting to me.

I'm not going to name names because that isn't fair, but I wanted to make a general comparison. Usually, reading a dystopian/sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal/apocalyptic or similar YA book, I fly through it. It is usually a matter of days... sometimes hours to read through. These recent books? I stopped reading one. I've been going sporadically for a few weeks on another. Now that I'm thinking about it, it isn't just in YA books. I can read an adult fantasy in next to no time compared to a contemporary.

Don't get me wrong. There have been some contemporaries/memoirs/non-fiction that I just loved. And I haven't tried all the authors out there. I mean, everybody raves about Sarah Desen, but I haven't read one yet. So, I'm not giving up hope. I'm just saying that I'm less interested. Less interested in things that don't have that fantastical element to them. I'll still try the other stuff, but I gravitate to what I'm interested in.

What about you, friends? What are you interested in? What are you less interested in? Does it influence what you write?

A HUGE Contest

2011-07-16T09:06:00.001-06:00

My blogging friend, Ariel, at My Writers Craze is having a seriously huge contest. Not only is it a huge contest, but she's a great gal and you should be following her.

She's giving away books (Divergent), gift cards (Amazon anyone?) and critiques. What are you still doing here? Go check it out by clicking here!

Independence Day Flash Fiction blogfest

2011-07-15T08:01:00.000-06:00

If you are looking for my entry in the Poetry Schmoetry blogfest, it can be found here.

And now, I'm participating in another blogfest. This one is hosted by my good friend and fellow writing Ninja, Ali Cross. The information and participant list for this blogfest can be find by clicking here.

"The rules are deliciously simple. Post an original piece of flash fiction, 250 words or less along this theme (and, FYI, "independence day" can mean anything you'd like it to mean--don't feel you have to be restricted to the July 4th holiday!):

"It's Independence Day and something unexpected happens . . ."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The last traces of spark fizzed out on the end of Kathryn’s sparkler. Somehow, they had seemed so much more exciting when she was five. “There goes another lame holiday,” she said as she dropped the still glowing stick into the bucket of water on the sidewalk. “Why do we even celebrate anyway?”

Grandpa George smiled at her before holding out another sparkler to be lit. “That’s because you don’t remember. If you had been there, you’d want to celebrate, too.”

She took the sparkler and lit it, then watched the sparks fall harmlessly to the ground. Each spark lit up the grass like the disbelief in her heart. “Those are just stories. It couldn’t have been that bad.”

“Have I ever told you about Topaz?”

“Topaz? Like the rock?” Kathryn dropped the finished sparkler into the bucket and waved off the next one Grandpa George offered.

“It was the place they took all of us. They locked us up behind gates and barbed wire. They took away everything except for what we could carry. They made us work for our food. They watched over us with guns.” Grandpa George’s face grew distant and the wrinkles over his brow deepened.

“Isn’t that what we were fighting against? I didn’t think they would do that to their own people.”

“We were different. And they didn’t trust us.” Grandpa George sighed. “When we got out, we had to start over, in a new place. But we always remember our freedom on Independence Day.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

This snippet was inspired by a recent exposure to the Japanese-American relocation camps of World War II. It's sad and interesting stuff.

So, friends, what does independence mean to you?

Check it out!

2011-07-14T08:40:00.000-06:00

The lovely Chantele Sedgwick is interviewing me at her her blog today. You should totally drop by. And if you aren't following her, you should be. She's awesome!

Tipping Point

2011-07-13T08:30:00.000-06:00

Hubby and I have been watching the History Channel's miniseries documentary "America: the Story of Us" on Netflix. It's been interesting to see what has happened to make the USA what it is today. Two episodes in particular struck me as we were watching. One centered on the Bust Era that followed the Stock Market Crash in 1929 and the other was focused on WWII.

The thing about it that really stuck with me is that they told individual stories. Historians think that the bank run that tipped the scales was started by an unnamed man who was unhappy with the service he received at a bank and spread rumors about how he was treated. As people heard what he said, they all went to withdraw their money and the bank collapsed. It was a domino effect after that, but it started with this one man.

The construction of the Hoover Dam was the vision of one man who wanted a big bonus. He came up with innovative techniques, like using pipes full of freezing water to cool hot cement. He pushed through the biggest construction project of the time, giving thousands of men jobs and stability when the country was falling apart.

There are countless small stories that add up to big events. We never know what is going to be the tipping point that leads to something unexpected. The stories we write need the same kind of momentum. On some level, the things that happen need consequences that will tip the scales one way or the other. It might not be the beginning of a war or a stock market crash, but the choices our characters make need to be the beginning of something.

Finally, a winner!

2011-07-12T15:17:00.000-06:00

Okay. It's only taken me forever to get to this, but the winner of a special surprise from my first blogfest is....

Shelly Brown!!!!

You have won your choice of a book from Amazon.com or the Book Depository or you can choose a critique of your query or first 10 pages instead. Email me at kayejazz @ gmail dot com to claim your prize.

And to all and sundry who have been coming by the blog, commenting etc. I am a horrible person who struggles with responding to comments. I've tried many different methods and will continue to try and catch up. I read them all and don't want you to feel neglected.

Thanks everyone. You make my day!

Poetry Schmoetry Blogfest

2011-07-11T08:50:00.000-06:00

Today, Shelly Brown is hosting a blogfest.

There are lots of cool people participating and it's not too late to sign up. Just go to her blog or click the picture above. You can also find the list of other participants and the rules there.

I wanted to post a couple of poems today, so bear with me. It's kind of the evolution of poetry in my life, as you can probably tell after reading.

First: a high school poem.

ODE To a SMELL

What foul stench is this?

She cried in agony.

I cannot quite figure

Why this smell bothers me.

Why do I have to

Smell this all day?

Why can't this taste in my mouth

Go away?

There must be some reason

Behind this foul smell.

If I knew what it was,

Maybe you, I could tell.

This smell is invading my thoughts

Like some toy.

I figured it out.

This smell belongs to a boy.

Here's an entry from early college:

Moonrise

Peeking gracefully

from her bed of day,

she casts silvery fingers

across a chariot of clouds.

One by one,

the stars

align themselves

as horses to draw her

across her shadowy realm.

Like a swan,

she spreads her wings of light

through the blue-black

lake of the sky

and begins her

solitary journey

through the night.

And here's my most recent offering:

Fog

Today,

the sky was not content

to stare longingly

down at the earth.

Instead,

he reached down

with lingering tendrils

to silently caress her face.

Shrouded in his mystery,

she shivers until the sun

uncovers this tender moment,

erasing every trace

in a shining, sparkling explosion,

until only a memory is left.

And there you have it. There's tons of angsty teenage poetry that I could share, but really, who wants to read all that "love is awful", "I'm so lonely", "why don't I have friends" stuff any way? Except me. And I laugh a lot while I'm reading it.

So friends, do you have any poetry hiding around? What do you like (or maybe dislike) about poetry?

Catching up

2011-07-08T10:36:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was my anniversary. Hubby and I have been married 5 years now. We've had a college graduation, three kids, bought a house, started a business, managed apartments, and tons of other things. We've had firsts and lasts and in-betweens. It's been a good, hard 5 years. I'm looking forward to many more.

We're on the road again today. It's summer. We have to take advantage of the time. I'm writing and working and mothering and wifing. It's busy. I promise to have something more exciting to say next week. My thoughts have been long. And deep. Or at least deep for me.

Also, being on the road, I don't have a winner from the blogfest last week. Maybe tomorrow when I am home again. Have a great weekend, friends.

Thanks

2011-07-06T10:17:00.000-06:00

It occurred to me as I was watching my 4 year old play with sparklers without fear for the first time. I'm really thankful for my life. It's not an easy life. I've gone through lots of things that I didn't appreciate at the time. And I'm still surrounded by tough things. It doesn't get easier. But it's mine and I'm grateful for it.

I'm grateful for kids who are so cute they just make me giggle all the time. (It's hard to remember that when they dump the whole bottle of shampoo on their heads during bathtime.)

I'm grateful for a house that is mine. (This is especially true when I can come home to my house after being gone for a few days.)

I'm grateful for my talents. I write, sing, dance, and a few other things for good measure. And I can develop them. Like my writing. I am better now than I was when I started two years ago. And I know I will be better in two years when I look back again.

I'm grateful or the friends I've developed with this blog. I feel like I really know you. We share in hard times. When I'm celebrating, you come with me. When I'm sad or acing hard, personal things, you send love and prayers.

I'm grateful to live in a time that has so many conveniences and advantages. I've got freedoms that never existed years ago. And I can choose a lot do a lot of things for myself that my grandparents and great-grandparents never even considered.

What are you grateful for today, friends?

Happy Holiday!

2011-07-04T06:00:00.001-06:00

I know some of you aren't celebrating the 4th of July like I am, but I wanted to say happy holiday all the same. Or happy Monday. Whatever floats your boat. I'll be at a parade in the morning, eating ridiculously expensive street vendor food in the afternoon, and watching the small town fireworks show at my inlaws' house. Hope your day is as fun, friends!

Hodge Podge

2011-07-01T08:05:00.000-06:00

Whenever I heard "hodge podge" I always think of this crafting thing that's like glue and lacquer at the same time. I think it's called mod podge, but I am not a crafter, so I couldn't really say. Any way, it's not related to what I'm going to say right now, so, I don't know why I wrote it in the first place.

Just a few little tidbits before the weekend.

For any one who was interested in knowing, my grandpa had his surgery and has been recovering nicely. He ended up having three disks replaced in his neck. The description of it kind of reminded me of The Adoration of Jenna Fox. He know has a surgical gel supporting his vertebrae and preventing damage to his spinal cord. He will be okay, even though it was touch and go for a while there.

I'm writing more on a daily basis than I have in a while. It's nice. And I feel productive. And like I might actually finish this draft. Yay!

I have recently started training for a part time job. It's all online and since I spend a lot of time online any way, it's right up my alley. It'll help to pay down some of the debt that has piled up as my husband has been starting his own business. And still give me time to do the things that I have been doing any way. (At least, we hope.)

We're going out of town for the 4th of July. We might even stay away for the whole week. It's our 5 year anniversary next week. I can't believe we've been married 5 years. It's crazy!

And that's it for me, friends. I hope you all have a stellar weekend. Thanks to everyone who participated in the blogfest on Wednesday and check back sometime next week for the winner of the special surprise!

What are your plans for the 4th of July?

Why I Write, part the 1st

2011-06-29T06:00:00.004-06:00

And today's the day. My first blogfest. First, I want to thank everyone who has signed up to participate. I'm looking forward to reading what all of you have to say. There weren't any rules, so everyone should be just saying things like they are. I hope it was as meaningful for you as it is for me.

When I was in high school, I had a pretty awful view of myself. I grew up on the wrong side of town. Not that there is a "bad: ghetto" side of town in Cedar City, Utah, because there isn't really. I just grew up "in the valley." Where all the poorer people lived. I was also the oldest of 8 in a 1-salary family. Dad worked at the local university as staff. Not even a professor. I think the highest his salary ever got during my teen years was 35,000. And that just didn't stretch as far as we might have liked. I got two pairs of new shoes and maybe one or two new outfits in the fall before school started. Everything else was "new to me" but not new.

I looked at myself as the loner. I had one or two close friends, but I didn't really fit in with most groups. I was always super smart and kind of a know-it-all. I was also pretty nerdy. I could be really loud. I never needed the mic when I had a role in the school play. I was always the best friend and never the girlfriend. On top of all that, I was a goody two shoes. And that made me a downer sometimes when people wanted to have a little bit of "fun."

In retrospect, I was unfairly harsh to myself. Interesting how we sometimes see the worst in ourselves.
I wasn't nearly as obnoxious as I thought I was. Although, I was pretty fashion challenged. (Shopping at the DI and never having anything new didn't help that.) It wasn't that bad. I went vintage retro most of the time. And it was cool in college.

In all the people I've talked to, while the specifics of my experiences are different, the emotional content is the same. We've all had those moments of loneliness, fear, excitement, love. There's nothing better we can do with our lives than connect with people on that level. I want to explore those feelings and make them normal and safe. And that's why I write.

You can check out other people's reasons for writing by following the links below and one lucky participant is going to win a special surprise.

Lovin the language blogfest

2011-06-27T09:33:00.001-06:00

Jolene Perry at Been Writing is hosting the Lovin' the Language Blogfest today. She has some great news hidden in her post, so you should check it out. You can still sign up on the linky list at her blog, but your time is limited, so after you have read my post, go! Fight! Win! Okay. Not fight so much, but you get the idea.

HERE ARE THE RULES:

Pick any five lines or any five SHORT exerpts from one of your WIPs. If you're feeling shy, and don't want to share from your own work, share from something you LOVE.

I'm going to share a little bit from The Last Musician, which is the idea I started working on, but had to shelve for lack of time. By which I mean, I hadn't put in enough time to build the story. It's still growing in the back of my mind and will be the next project when I finish editing Sleep.

This snippet is from the very beginning of the story. The MC has met an old homeless guy in a rain storm and now is talking to his mom. It reminds me a lot of the conversations I had with my mom when I was irritated at the world.

**************************************

He took a big bite out of the sandwich to placate her and left the rest sitting on the plate in front of him. “I ran into a homeless guy on the street just as it started to rain or I would have been home a little earlier.”

“Oh, I see. And how did that make you feel?” she asked, intently staring at him.

“Wet, Mom. I felt wet. I need to go change my clothes, okay?”

***************************************

I love it because it feels so real to me. I was a bit of a sarcastic back-talker sometimes and the voice makes me feel something. I hope you enjoyed it!

And, friends, while you are here, sign up for my blogfest taking place on Wednesday. It's the "Why I Write" blogfest and you can get to it by clicking on this link or by clicking on the button in the sidebar. I'd love to have you join in!

What I Learned Watching Dora the Explorer

2011-06-24T09:00:00.000-06:00

So, I'm a mom. I have three kids. The two oldest are in that "watch things on repeat" stage. We go the rounds with several different shows. Dora the Explorer. Go, Diego, Go! Wonder Pets. Anything with computer animation. Several times in any given day. Usually, I try to tune it all out. After a while, it all bleeds together, any way. But, I recently paid attention in a way that I never had before. I looked at it like a writer. And here's what I found:

In every episode, *something* happens. Usually, it's a problem that needs a solution. For example, Boots the Monkey loses his favorite stuffed animal. Oh dear! The world as we know it is going to end if Boots can't get his stuffed animal back. (Okay. Not really. But, it is the inciting incident.)

In order to find Boots' stuffed animal, Dora and Boots go on a journey. They have three distinct places that they must go. At each location, there is a task to accomplish. There is almost always an appearance by Swiper the Fox, who tries to do something that will prevent Dora from getting where she needs to go with the things she needs to accomplish her goals. Sometimes, Dora stops Swiper. Sometimes she doesn't.

Each episode follows the same pattern. Incident. Three challenges. A few twists and new characters. Triumph at the end. And the writer in me saw something that hadn't occurred to me before. In my own writing, I can't just leave it simple. There needs to be something to pull the story forward. There has to be complications. You can't make it too easy on your character. It doesn't have to follow the Dora the Explorer pattern, but it does need to be more than just one big problem that gets solved at the end.

So, friends, have you learned things from an unexpected place? What do you think of the Dora principle?

Surprisingly fast

2011-06-23T13:24:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers for my family. I haven't heard how my grandfather is doing yet, but I expect to any time.

My mom is spending a week with my sister who just had a baby. This means that my siblings who are still at home (and live just around the corner) are spending time at my house a lot. It's strange to entertain teenagers instead of toddlers.

My computer has been fixed. Dell Tech Support actually sent a guy to my house with the parts and he fixed it in a few minutes at my computer table. I had been anticipating sending things places and being without the thing for days and days, but no. A day and half later, it's up and running with no problems. Yay for warranties.

I have a post for tomorrow that I have been thinking about for a while, but I probably won't be around the internets much still. Have a great weekend, friends, and thanks again for all your love and support.

Random

2011-06-22T11:01:00.000-06:00

I wanted to have something awesome and writerly to say today, but it just isn't happening. There's a lot of crazy going on in my world and t has left me kind of out of it. A random sampling:

1. My little sister had her 3rd baby Monday night. Her 3rd boy. Everything went well.
2. My mom's dad went to the doctor because he was having neck pain. He has two collapsed disks in his neck and needed emergency surgery. He could still end up paralyzed. I have no idea how things are going right now.
3. My kids destroyed my computer. Literally. Like, the warranty expires in a month and I'm lucky to be getting a new DVD drive, keyboard, case, and power cord.
4. Because of computer issues, family issues, and every day life, I'll be offline for a few days. I'll try to get online to update you all and hope to have everything resolved by Monday. I'll be writing by hand for the next few days.

Thanks, friends. I appreciate you all.

And so it begins....

2011-06-20T06:00:00.001-06:00

When I was a kid, summer seemed to stretch on and on, a forever day of sunshine and happiness. We played games until the sum went down, sometimes even after the stars came out. You know the kind. Steal the flag. Tag. Red rover. Kick the can. Ghost in the graveyard. Many more that have been forgotten or that we created to suit the day. We spent hours on the trampoline. Ran through sprinklers. Pulled weeds in the garden. (Okay. That last one isn't fun, but it was a big part of summer.) It seemed like school and fall were so distant that we would never see them again.

Now summer is full of different things. And the time seems to fly by. Will the peas grow before it gets too hot? Will the weeds get mowed down before they go to seed? Will the AC keep the house cool? Will we afford the electric bill if the AC keeps the house cool? Will I remember sunscreen for the kids before I shoo them out the door? Will they track dirt and mud through the house again because they play in the garden or on the patch where we are trying to grow a lawn? So many things to worry about that take up all the golden hours of the season.

My kids see things the way I used to. All shimmery and joyful and full of light. Today ends when the sun has gone to bed, but the next day will bring the same excitement and fun. Tomorrow, there will be hours spent throwing dirt up in the air and piling pebbles into little hills and running up and down the fence line as they chase the neighbor's dog. They will play with their "across the fence" friends--the little girls who never cross the fence into our yard, but pass toys back and forth. Their skin will be warm and glowing with sun kisses and they will fight bedtime because the sun hasn't said goodnight yet. And then, they will wake up and do it again.

Nothing writerly to say today, friends. Just a reminder that our time is precious and we can make of it whatever we choose.

On the run

2011-06-17T16:12:00.000-06:00

I don't have time today. It's the family reunion this week and I'm in charge of it. That makes for crazy Kayeleen. So, no post as such.

I do want to put in a plug for my blogfest on June 29th. It's the "Why I Write" fest and you can click on the little button in the sidebar to sign up.

And that's it! Have a great weekend and happy Father's Day.

Writing is Like...

2011-06-15T06:00:00.002-06:00

I was tagged for this meme by Ashley and the point is to come up with a metaphor for what writing is like. Here's what I came up with.

For me, writing is a symphony. Not just music. Music is something like that thing on the radio with the same four chords that repeat over and over. There's probably a steady bass and sometimes, the lyrics are pretty good.

No. Not just music. A symphony. Have you ever been to a concert? Or watched one on PBS? Something like the London Philharmonic or Boston Pops. They play the New World Symphony by Dvorak and Symphonie fantastique by Berlioz and Symphony #9 by Beethoven. They are powerful and moving pieces. There's an ebb and flow. An emotional response. Something bigger than just the music.

Have you ever looked at a musical score? Not just the sheet music that a particular instrument plays from, but the score. The thing that the conductor leads the orchestra from. There's layers and layers and pages and pages.

image taken from http://composertools.com/Dictionary/MusicWords.htm

Each line is for a different instrument. There's the oboe, violin, piano, harp, cello, bass, drums, viola, clarinet, flute, timpani, the list goes on and on. And every one of those instruments has several measures on one page of the conductor's score. He can see everything that should be happening at any given moment in any section of the orchestra.

And here's where the metaphor comes in. In our writing, there is an ebb and flow. An emotional response. A connection to the words that is more than just the manuscript. There is a composer (us, the writer). He holds a score. And there are layers upon layers of instruments at his disposal. He might have one line that marks out dialogue. One for setting. One for pacing. One for description. One for simile and metaphor. One for all the other tools of the writing trade. That writer is the only one who has the full score. Only we can see how everything fits together. At what moment the cymbals crash and the action pushes on and the tension rises.

We could try to play just one instrument in our manuscript. We could build a book out of passive voice and metaphor. The reader would get pretty tired of the same thing over and over again. It's only when each element combines that the music of our writing becomes more than just words on the page. And hopefully, as we turn each page in our score filled with lines, the music that we play reaches the souls of the reader like listening to a symphony.

I'm supposed to tag three people to share their own metaphors of what writing is like. I choose:

Kristi Chestnutt at Random Daily Thoughts
Aurora Smith at Read My Book, Lose Ten Pounds
Jess at Falling Leaflets

So, friends, what is writing like for you?

My first Blogfest!!!!

2011-06-13T08:02:00.006-06:00

Update: If you have been directed to this page from someone else's blog, please click through to my post that can be found here.

So, I was talking to Krista at Mother. Write. Repeat. and the topic of why I write came up. I had what felt like a pretty authentic, good reason to write. And not just to write, but to write the things I do. It got me to thinking. Why do other people write? What inspired them? All of which leads to this:

I want to hear why you write. Let's all talk about it on Wednesday, June 29. Sign up in the list below, grab the widget from my sidebar and post it on your blog and share it with your friends. At the end of the blogfest, I'll choose a random winner from the participants for a special prize! What are you waiting for, friends? (if you are reading in a reader, you'll probably have to click through to sign up. Sorry about that.)

Miscellany

2011-06-10T10:34:00.000-06:00

I have lots of blog things planned for next week. I have been tagged in the "Writing is Like" Meme that will be posted next week. I also will be announcing my first blogfest to celebrate 100 followers. There may or may not be prizes awarded to random participants, so make sure to check back for the fun on Monday.

Today, I'm meeting some blogging friends for the first time, Krista at Mother. Write. Repeat. and Kelly Bryson at Book Readress. I haven't ever met any of my blogging friends in person, so I'm excited and slightly nervous. It's going to be a lot of fun.

Tomorrow, Gramma and Paca are coming to visit. (That's Grandma and Grandpa for the uninitiated.) The boys are so excited to be having a visit from their favorite people.

Sunday, I get to start a new position in my church. I'm the new head of the choir music. It's a baptism by fire sort of thing. I got asked to take the calling a week ago and we are performing for the first time this week. Ah! Good thing I'm musically inclined.

In the writing world, I'm still plugging away. I've got a new approach for the rewrite I've been doing and hopefully, it will make a difference in how fast things go. I have decided that I want to be done with this draft by the end of August. Hold me to it, okay?

And that's me, friends. What's going on in your world today?

Rocking POSSESSION to the Top Bloghop

2011-06-07T06:00:00.003-06:00

Guess what today is, friends. It's the book birthday of one of the greatest blogging friends out there. That's right, friends. It's Elana Johnson's debut, POSSESSION.

This book is on its way to my house right now. If you haven't heard about it, or Elana, go check her out.

This bloghop is sponsored by Ali, Windy, and Nichole to help spread the word about the awesomeness that is this book. In Possession, there are lots of rules that have to be kept. The object of this bloghop is to talk about a time when I broke the rules, just like Vi, the main character in Possession, does.

My parents were pretty protective of me when I was in high school. I was the oldest. I had a lot of rules. (Many of which have since been redacted for my younger siblings. For the most part, in high school, I was a good girl and followed all the rules. I broke curfew a few times, but nothing really serious. I didn't date anybody seriously. I didn't hang out with the wrong crowd. I was pretty obedient. (And probably boring.)

After I graduated from high school, I didn't move out of the house for college because I went to the local university. I expected the rules to change. But they didn't. I thought this was pretty unfair. None of my college friends had curfews or dating rules, etc. Things kind of built up over several months.

I finally decided that I needed to move out. I told my parents I was going to look for an apartment and moved out within the week. My parents weren't terribly happy about it, but I wasn't interested in staying home any more. I borrowed the car and took everything I owned to an apartment. Then I went to the house of the boy I liked. I stayed and stayed and stayed. He kissed me. I liked it. I ended up staying at his house all night long. 6:00 rolled around and he said, "I don't know about you, but I'm sleepy. I'm going to bed." He went in his room and locked the door. I slept on the couch. Nothing happened. We're both good Mormon kids. But it was the first time I really broke the rules. (So, I was in my own apartment. It was a huge deal to me.)

So, friends, have you ever broken the rules? Are you going to read Possession?

And check here for the link list for the other bloghop entries!

Yin and Yang

2011-06-06T10:23:00.001-06:00

I know there have been a lot of posts around the internets responding to the Wall Street Journal article that decries the darkness of the YA world. Many of them are more interesting and eloquent than what I will write, but I have many thoughts that deserve to be written down somewhere.

I'm a YA writer. I'm also a YA reader. I've read some books that had edgy, dark, and sometimes horrifying content. The Wake trilogy. The Hunger Games Trilogy. There are others, but they don't come immediately to mind. I've read reviews of other books and chosen not to read them because of the content. Some things I am comfortable reading. Others I am not. And it is my choice.

This is the thought that I have found running through my head. For every Hunger Games there is a Matched. For every dark and distressing topic, there is a book of sunshine and rainbows. (Not that Matched is sunshine and rainbows. It is dystopian, after all. It's just light on questionable content.) I'm a sunshine and rainbows writer. I know that there are others out there who write fairy tale retellings that turn them into something dark, but I'm always going to be a sunshine and rainbows writer.

Does this mean that I think the dark and edgy has no place and should never be read? No. The books I read in high school, while not strictly YA had lots of dark themes. 1984. Scarlet Letter. Lord of the Flies. Bless the Beasts and the Children. No One Promised You a Rose Garden. Brave New World. The Giver. My sister just read Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak as part of her junior English class.

There is a place for these stories. They are the yang to my rainbows and sunshine story's yin. I don't think I would appreciate the happy without understanding that things could be much different. I don't necessarily need to read the dark to know that I prefer the light, but I do need to know that I have a choice. and that's the way I see it. The dark stuff is not always going to be the right choice for everybody, but I'm also not going to make anybody read "and they all lived happily ever after" if they don't want to.

So, friends. Where do you stand on this?

To Be Strong

2011-06-03T09:40:00.000-06:00

This post is inspired by Stephanie McGee's post from May 27th. Thanks for making me think, Stephanie.

I write books where the main character is a girl. Not only is she a girl, but a teen girl. And the word on the street is that teen girl characters have to be strong. But what does that mean? As I've been thinking about this, especially in relation to the rewrite I'm currently working through, I've come to a few conclusions that I wanted to share with you.

I have thought about some examples of what I consider to be strong female characters. You may be surprised by what I came up with. There's the obvious answer of Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games books. Strong and edgy and capable of doing whatever it takes. Was she always that way? Yes, she was used to doing whatever she needed to do to survive, but I don't think she became that way by chance. She developed the hardness over time. And that is the first thing I've learned. There is an arc of development that a character goes through. They don't have to start out strong. The best journey is the one where you end up strong.

Nest example. Anne of Green Gables. I know. She's as old-fashioned as they come. The exact opposite of what they mean when they say strong and independent. Except that she isn't. She didn't depend on anyone else to determine her fate. She was creative and capable of taking care of herself. When she finally did marry Gilbert, she went through some really tragic things. The loss of a child. The loss of friends. A war. Yes, she lived with high expectations and was pretty happy all the time. And that's the next thing about strength. Strength is situational. I think it takes more strength to be happy in bad times. To be creative and capable when it would be easier to let someone else take over.

The last example. Harry Crewe from Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword. (If you haven't read this book, you should. I read it at least once a year. One of my very favorites.) She was thrust into an unfamiliar situation, kidnapped, then had to learn a whole new culture and way of life. She could have been a "poor me, I'm the victim here" girl. And no one would have thought twice about it. Instead, she refused to give up. She went from pampered life to unwilling hero. To get to the hero, she had a teacher and a friend to lean on. And this is lesson number three. Strong doesn't mean you never need help. In fact, it takes more strength to know when you need help. Just blundering around and trying to do it on your own can be pretty foolish.

So, to sum up, if you want to know if your female character is strong, ask yourself a few questions. What is her situation? How does she develop strength? Is she able to ask for help or does she do everything herself?

What do you think, friends? What makes a strong female character?

I'm grateful

2011-06-01T12:22:00.000-06:00

It's been a hard couple of days at my house on several levels. a few highlights include losing a major chunk of my rewrite in some kind of freak computer glitch, a little boy who nearly got pneumonia (curse you RSV), and a few other unexpected setbacks. I have to admit to a very bad attitude. Okay. I was pretty much despondent for a day or so. I didn't know how to get out of my little funk. In talking to my mother, she said, "Maybe you should think about what you are grateful for instead of what is going wrong." She's a smart woman sometimes. So, in no particular order, a few things I'm grateful for.

1. My husband. What a trouper. He deals with me in my bad moods and that's no easy task. And he works hard to help my family. Even when he doesn't want to.

2. My kids. All three of them. Even when it means I am short on sleep or cleaning up the living room for the 6th time today, I'm happy to be a mom. They are cute. They smile and the world is better.

3. My talents. There are a lot of them. Mus32qic. Writing. Dancing. Just to name a few.

4. My house. It's my house. We bought it. I can paint the walls or plant trees or whatever. It's mine.

5. My education. I'm really lucky to have finished college. And have a lot of things to contribute to the world because I've learned so many cool things.

That's it for now, but next time I'm feeling blue, I'm going to think about what I have to be grateful for.

How about you, friends. What are you grateful for today?

Nothing, Nothing... Tra la la

2011-05-30T09:25:00.000-06:00

It's a holiday. Memorial day. I'm taking the day off. I'm even writing this on Friday so that I don't have to open up Blogger on Monday. (Ha ha I cheated!)

In other news, I have 100 followers! Thank you, friends. There will be something to celebrate as soon as I figure it out.

Have a great day.

The Only Thing We Have to Fear...

2011-05-27T06:00:00.001-06:00

...Is fear itself. The first time I heard that quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt, I was in a stage production of "Annie." I was 11. It didn't mean much to me at the time. I wasn't afraid of much. Swimming pools. (I had nearly drown during swim lessons once.) Spiders. (I slept in the basement. The window well of my room always had a few.) Nothing else really frightened me.

I grew up a little. Things started to scare me. I watched that movie "Tremors." You know. The one where there's weird creatures that live under ground and attack things on the surface? I ran across any open ground for days and avoided going outside.

I grew up a little more. I was old enough to date, but no one asked me out. I started to worry that I was ugly or stupid or something because I was such a pariah. I was afraid no one would ever like me.

I grew up again. I had some pretty awful dating experiences. I didn't have a serious relationship for 5 years. And I kept attracting weird (weird doesn't go far enough) guys. I dropped out of college after a year and a half. I was afraid that I would never make something of my life. I'd never go back. I'd never finish. I'd be lonely for the rest of my life. Funny how the more grown up I became, the more intellectual the fears were.

Now, I have a whole new set of fears. And it is the strangest set of fears yet. I'm afraid I will actually succeed. I have such big hopes and dreams for myself. What will I do if I get there? If I find an agent. If I get published. If I write books that people love. How do I move on from that? What kind of big dream can fill the spot after I'm living my current dream?

I realized that I had this fear as I sat in front of my current project. I'm better than I used to be. I have a greater grasp of what I need to do to improve. And it seems like it's finally happening. Things are finally starting to come together in my head. It could be amazing. And I'm afraid of it. And I stopped cold for a moment. Then I remembered. The only thing I should be afraid of is my fear. Letting that fear take over is going to keep me from doing the amazing things that I know I can. And I am not going to let that happen.

Fear is the little death. (Brownie points to any who know that quote.) Live with courage, friends, and give up your fear. Who's with me?

Letters to My Future Self

2011-05-25T09:43:00.000-06:00

Today is Kristin Creative's first blogfest. She's celebrating 300 followers with this fun idea. Click on the picture and hop over to her blog to see the rest of the entries!

Dear Future Self,

Today is starting much the same way every other day starts. You slept in. The kids are going crazy. The laundry has piled up again. You forgot to start the dishwasher before you went to bed so the kids had to eat their cereal in a cup.You've got allergies and oldest boy is still coughing from last week. It doesn't feel like there is enough time in the day to keep the house clean, maintain the yard, write in your blog, and still find time to work on your stories. And sometimes, it's really (really, really, really) hard to appreciate the life you have right now.

I'm guessing that in the future, you will have persevered through all this stuff. The kids will be in school. You'll have the house to yourself during the day. They'll be old enough to pick up their own messes, help with laundry and dishes, and take care of themselves for the most part. You'll have time to write during the day for solid chunks of time, instead of whenever you aren't holding the baby or trying to catch up on everything else. You're going to keep working on your craft and be better than you are right now. Maybe you'll have a few books published. Even if you don't, it's still something you will be working for. Because you're like that. You don't give up on things that are important to you.

When you look back on this time and remember how hard it was, I hope you also remember how fulfilling it was. Yeah, you had bad days. (Okay. There are a lot of bad days. You aren't as patient as you want to be and that postpartum depression is a really big deal sometimes.) But you also had good days. Days when you had a clean house, even for just an hour before bed. Days when you were able to sit down and pound out the words. Days when you took the kids to the park. Days when you were happy with yourself and what you were doing. Those are the important things to remember. And hopefully, those are the things that will still be important to you.

No matter what, look back on this time and remember that everything you are today is what you were before, for good or bad. You've never lived with regrets before, so make sure you aren't living with regrets now. And when things seem bad, because we both know that bad is part of life, look really hard for the good. It's always going to be there. Good luck!

Kayeleen

So, friends, what would you tell your future selves?

More Me

2011-05-23T06:54:00.000-06:00

I find myself in a strange position. As more people find and follow the blog, I find myself wanting to be more profound. More meaningful. More insightful. More... you know. Something. It didn't seem to matter what I said before because no one was "listening" to what I had to say. But now, there are so many of you. And a lot of you are people that I interact with in several different mediums. Like Twitter. And the pressure to be starts to feel a little more... pressing. Okay. Not that insightful or meaningful. Just something that is.

It really emphasizes to me that I have to be more me. I mean, if I actually met you, I would want you to have a pretty good idea of who I was and what I was like. You all hang out and read what I have to say because it me talking. Not someone else. And not me trying to be something I'm not.

We're at my in-laws for the day. Just a short day trip, really. We decided to drive the two hours on a whim last night. My brother-in-law and one of hubby's cousins are also writers. The brother-in-law was published by a small press two years ago. I married into a creative family. We were talking about writing and having writing blogs and all the things that go with it. And I realized again that I am my own brand of writer. My way of doing things and my take on what's going on around me is unique. And that's what I want to share with people.

Just like nobody else can write the stories I have to tell, no one else sees this writing journey in exactly the same way I do. I don't have to be any more insightful or meaningful or anything else than I already am. I just need to be more me. And really, that's good enough.

So friends, what makes you you? Do you ever feel that pressure to be more? What do you do about it?

The Circle Of Life

2011-05-20T11:42:00.000-06:00

We've lived in our "new house" for over 6 months now. My kids have seen the seasons changing and what that means. And for the first time, they are getting it. They are seeing life change around them. This spring, the boys were walking around the yard with Daddy. Oldest boy gets really excited and starts pointing into one of the trees. "Daddy, daddy, there's a nest in the tree!" Sure enough, a couple of robins had decided to build their nest in the crook of one of our trees. They watched it for a few weeks and then, miracle!

There were eggs in that nest. The mommy bird sat on the nest and sat on the nest and then sat some more. When Grandpa came to till under all the weeds in the yard, the boys worried that the mommy bird wouldn't come back to her nest. But she did. Then, after a little while, there was this:

The eggs hatched! And made little birds! And they were ugly cute. The boys were so excited. They wanted to go out and look at the babies, but mommy bird was very protective of her little birds. She wouldn't get up to show them off.

A few mornings ago, Hubby looked out the window and said, "OH NO!" Everyone ran to the window and looked out, just in time for a hawk to jump out of the nest. Poor mommy and daddy robin flew around in obvious distress as two of their little chicks disappeared forever. Hubby went out to look at the nest and there was one sad, lonely little chick. The hawk came back later and finished what he had started.

You may wonder why I'm telling you this story. It could have been some sort of attempt to talk about the futility of things or how it feels to be critiqued or some such rot. But I actually wanted to share something positive with you.

First, not everything works out the way we plan. But. We don't give up! I really admired the parents in this situation. They were much smaller and less ferocious. Did this stop them? No. They flew around trying to distract the hawk. They did everything in their power to make things turn out well. That didn't mean they were successful, but they didn't give up. Mommy bird even came back after her other babies were gone to help that last little chick.

Second, sometimes, all you can do is not enough. And here's the really hard, but important thing. Yes, those robins lost their chicks. They will probably desert the nest and go somewhere else, but they will build another nest and lay more eggs. They will start over again. It is built into them to just keep trying until it does work out.

All of us are going to have times when it seems like we aren't good enough, we haven't done enough, and fate is conspiring against us. Be a robin. Fight as hard as you can to pull through, make a change and make it work. If, after you have done your very best, you still can't get what you want, start again. Rebuild. Don't ever give up.

*Edit--This post had pictures, but wouldn't publish properly, so I have taken them out to see if that was the problem.

Blogger Hates Me!

2011-05-20T11:28:00.000-06:00

I had a beautiful post today that I want to share with everyone. It didn't show up on the dashboard or in google reader, so I've taken it down for the time being. If I can figure out the weird technical difficulties, I'll put it back up, but this bit of loveliness may be lost forever. I hope not. I am brilliant, after all. Okay. Return to your regularly scheduled lives. Happy Friday, all.

The Horror

2011-05-18T08:30:00.002-06:00

Hello new followers! Nice to meet you.

Today's post will be some things that I have recently come across that bring on that feeling of "Oh dear, what have I done!" Be prepared to shudder and groan along with me.

!. I've gotten into Twitter more. I used to think I would never leave the happy community of people I already knew at Facebook, but no. Twitter is taking all the time that I used to spend scrolling through people's status updates. It's a strange thing because I actually know all of the people who are my friends on Facebook. In Real Life. And I would rather spend time interacting with people who are writers. That I've never met. Am I crazy? Probably. But at least you all get my crazy. I'm not saying I'll give up on Facebook completely, but man. It's lost a lot of its appeal.

2. Speaking of Twitter, I can't believe how awkward I am sometimes. You can send messages to any body! I mean, any body. As long as they have that little @ in front of their names, you can talk to them. This is both cool and terrifying. Especially when you follow people who are influential and highly placed in the field of your choice. Like agents. And published authors. And, you know. People! And, like I mentioned before, they don't actually know me. They can't hear my tone of voice when I try to be funny. (I try to be funny all the time. It just falls horribly flat in most situations where I'm writing with 140 characters.) I did this the other day with an agent. And a second agent. Then, just for fun, I added a third agent. Yup. I felt pretty dumb afterwards, but what can you do?

3. I just discovered the joy that is Google Reader. Wow. I keep following new blogs (hello again, new folk!), but there is only so much time in the day. I love to read what every one is doing and I used to spend hours clicking through from blogger to each and every post and leaving comments and interacting and all that fun stuff that we start a blog for. But it was seriously killing my writing time. (I have a blog addiction. I love to get out there and read you all.) And now, I can still read what you are doing. And, strangely, I feel like I'm cheating on you somehow. I mean, it's easy to just read your post and then move on and never comment or interact with you or anything beyond that screen in Google Reader. But if I commented on every blog, every time, I would never do anything else! How do people do it! I just don't know.

So, friends, these are the horrors I have recently encountered in my life. What do I do with them? What's a horror for you?

Laughter, The best Medicine -May 16

2011-05-16T00:30:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the "Laughter is the Best Medicine" Blogfest, hosted by Kydia Kang at The World is my Oyster and Leigh T Moore at That's Write.

Things I never thought I would say, (until I became a mom)

1. Get down off the trash can.
2. Please stop licking the floor/couch, blanket/other inanimate object.
3. Will you just eat the candy instead of carrying it around?
4. Toilet water is not for drinking.
5. Can't my house stay clean for more than 10 minutes at a time?
6. When do I get to sleep?

Things I never thought I would hear until I became a mom:

1. Oldest boy trying to whistle. He says "Woo hoo." In the tone of a whistle.
2. Oldest boy says, "My bum had a big burp" any time he needs to pass gas.
3. 2nd son telling me very matter of factly, "You are my mommy." Yes, son. I am. Thank you for noticing.
4. 2nd son, after going to the fridge and pulling out a container of juice. "I love juice." He then gives it a hug, so the juice feels loved.
5. Oldest boy comes in crying: "Mom, I can't reach the little mirror." (There's a small mirror close to the top of the fridge.) "My arms are too little."
5. 2nd son: Mommy, I need a tissue. Mommy: Why do you need a tissue? 2nd son: I need to get the booger off my finger. *wipes finger in tissue* This is my booger. *beams with pride*
6. My boys love the game "Plants vs. Zombies." They call it the Brain Game (because the zombies say "brains") or the Brain Game Goes to Church (because the Zombies are wearing ties.)
7. Oldest boy, talking to himself: J: "Thank you for helping." J: "Your welcome." J: "Thank you for welcoming."

There's always something to laugh about. And for more to laugh about, check out the other fine blogs in the blogfest. Click here for the linky list.

What are you laughing about today, friends?

Oh well....

2011-05-13T10:51:00.000-06:00

I had something really insightful and awesome to share with you all today, but that was yesterday before the "Big Blogger Crash of 05/11." If it comes back to me, maybe you'll be able to read it next week.

Instead, you can read all about how I finally got my rewrite underway. I've been planning and hoping and outlining and hoping, and stressing and had a few false starts, but this time, it's really going. I've written close to 5000 words so far this week and that's amazing! It means I will be able to send things off to beta-readers soon. (Speaking of beta-readers, any volunteers?)

And really, that's all I've got today. How about you, friends? What did you do with your enforced blogger free time?