It's been a long, long time.

Hello, friends! I bet you thought I was long gone. But I'm not. Still here. And still kicking.

I'm going to be picking up my writing again. I go on these breaks and then I come back, but I am going to get back on the wagon again. I hope you'll come along with me.

Here's my goals for the coming year.

1. Write at least 500 words a day. And not just any random words, like on a blog post or in my journal. 500 quality novel-writing words. If more happens, that's awesome, but at least 500.

2. Get an agent. This means having a finished draft, ready to query before the end of the year. This means actually querying before the end of the year. This means writing. (In my wildest dreams, this means a major publishing deal, but we'll start small with get an agent.)

3. Write a writing related blog post at least once a week, even if it's just a "here's how I did this week" post. I need to be accountable to someone and it might as well be me.

 And that's actually it for writing goals. I do want to lose another 10 pounds or so to be at my ideal weight and keep my house mostly clean, but that's not really relevant to this blog.

I want this year to be my writing year. I've put it off and delayed it and derailed it and I have lots of great ideas in me. I waste way too much time doing stuff that isn't really important (hello, facebook.)

So, see you next week, with at least 3500 words written and another blog post!

Writing groups

Since I moved in January, I've had a hard time getting back into writing. I have to find time in a new routine. I don't have built in baby sitting like I used to. I am much more on the go with driving kids to and from and trying to keep kids active and involved.

All this to say, writing hasn't really happened. Sometimes, I find myself wondering if writing will ever happen again. Or if I'm really a writer at all, since I'm not actively writing.

But, I'm part of a writing group again. And hopefully, that will motivate me to get back on the writing horse.

What have you done to be more active in writing after a long break?

Rejection

As in, my first! I should be sad, but I'm not. Back story, since I haven't been writing much on the blog lately:

Cedar Fort books recently had a Christmas writing contest. I had several ideas for a book and/or short story, but it was right over the period of time that we moved. (Did I mention that we moved? We moved. From small town, back country, Southern Utah to big city Las Vegas. It's been a bit of an adjustment getting used to.) Any way. I was packing, moving, unpacking, getting settled, etc. during the time that I would have been writing the longer story, so I went with the short.

It was a pretty fine piece of work, I think. Based loosely on a personal experience. And lovely. (Also, very short. Only 1200 words or so.)

I submitted it. And waited. And waited. This morning, I got the response. "Unfortunately, you were not chosen as the winner at this time."

It's a rejection, from an actual publisher. I stepped out onto the cliff and hit send. And even though I ultimately wasn't chosen as the winner, it feels good. I mean, there could only be one person who won and I have no idea how many people submitted in the category I tried.

The really nice thing is that they included a note at the end to say they would love to see any full-length manuscripts I might have. (It could be a form letter, but still.)

So that's the news. I am moving slow steps forward in writing. Submitting a short story to an actual publisher is a huge deal, even if it got a pass this time. I just have to work some more and polish some more and do something new.

Until next time, how's your writing going?

Amazing and wonderful

There's something strange that happens sometimes when you are brainstorming ideas. True story, this happened to me yesterday.

I asked hubby to help me think of ideas for a Christmas story. He's pretty creative and threw things out that were almost verging on the ridiculous. Like:

a renegade cop

a robot renegade cop

at christmastime

learns the true meaning of christmas

with plucky sidekick

But one of the ideas he shot out really grabbed my attention. It was "a pioneer Christmas story." Nothing more. But then I thought about my ancestor who was a little girl in the Willie Handcart Company. It was in the winter, just before Christmas, which means her first Christmas in the states would have been after being rescued. What a great idea! I felt really strongly that it was a story that needs to be told.

So, I started to research my ancestor and was led to a wealth of information in an unexpected place. It was like Heaven had reached out and said, "Here. Get it done."

Now, I'm contemplating my first ever historical piece. And a story about an 11 year old girl. Firsts all over the place! I'm still thick in editing and writing for NaNoWriMo, but I know that I'll be writing this story, as soon as I have enough of a direction to go in.

Still here... working on things....

I'm thick in edits. And family. And hubby's new business. But I'm still here, plugging away. With new ideas and great directions for old stories. It's a great life to be a writer.

Seeing things through the eyes of Time

I used to think I was this amazing writer. Back when I had first started. You know, when the rosy glow colored everything with sparkles and glitter. I think every body thinks that. We aren't objective about it.

It's been more than 4 years since I first sat down to write. and I picked up that first story again. I still love it, but as I read from then, it feels so pretentious. So verbose. So PURPLE!

I was pretty naive about writing. I thought all it took was just putting words on a page and then someone loves it and puts it into a book and then people buy it! And I wasn't even close to being ready.

Now, editing this book, I'm seeing all the rookie mistakes and the things I thought were so beautiful crafted. And some of it really is beautiful writing, but it doesn't go anywhere in the story. It doesn't tell anything about the character or further the story arc or anything really important. And, for the first time, I can really see myself cutting out huge chunks and replacing them with better, more important, pieces.

It's surprising and nice. I'm happily murdering my little darlings and leaving them on the editing room floor. (Which, by the way, happens to be the rug in the living room, but we digress.)

So to all of you who are like me, take some time away from that book and let yourself grow in your writing. you'll be surprised what you see when you come back to it.

LDS Writer blogfest

If you've followed the blog for a while, you might know that one of the constants around here each spring is the LDS Writers Blogfest. Four years ago Krista Van Dolzer kicked off the first blogfest, joined by many LDS writers around the blogosphere. It's a great opportunity to talk about LDS beliefs and how that impacts our lives as writers.

For me, being LDS (a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) is the primary aspect of my life and everything else I do is impacted by it. My family has been LDS for generations. It shapes my choices and what I want out of life. As I've become a writer, I have seen how that informs what I write and why I write it.

One of our scriptures in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:25, says: "Men are, that they might have joy." This is something that has always struck me as important. I've always been a happy-endings sort of person. When I write, it's rarely something dark and gritty. There are twists, yes, but it's going to be something light, often humorous, with a happily ever after. As a "Mormon", I've grown up with the idea that life is a happy thing.

Even the start of my writing career is surrounded by that idea of finding joy in life. I have a real tendency toward post-partum depression. It's been a really difficult thing for someone who wants to be happy to find themselves buried in depression from time to time. I was starting down the black hole of sadness shortly after my 2nd son was born. I was up late at night and feeling unfilled by my life. (Not that I didn't have great things, but, you know. Depression.) At the suggestion of my husband, I started to write my first book. It was amazing how much that lifted my spirits! I was doing something creative, something that had always been a secret goal of mine. I loved the outlet and the feeling of accomplishment. It was amazing to write the last word and look back at this amazing thing that I had just done. And it still feels that way when I write.

 We live in a world of darkness. Horrible things keep happening. We have school shootings and natural disasters and crime sprees and economic downturns and all kinds of things that constantly weigh on us. We could be bogged down in all of it. But we don't have to be. Our current prophet, Thomas S. Monson, spoke in a General Conference of the church in 2009. He said, "Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us."

Even though writing is a source of great comfort and joy to me, the teachings of the LDS Church give me hope and peace and a feeling of love for God and those around me. I've learned that even when things are dark, I can feel joy because of the trust I have gained in Jesus Christ.

Many other bloggers are participating in the blogfest today. Hop around to their posts and see what they have to say. If you would like to participate, it's not too late to sign up! Just add your name and link to the list below. And if you have any questions about the LDS church, what we believe, or how I feel about either of those things, feel free to ask.