Amazing Retreat!

I spent last weekend at a Novel Revision Retreat and it was incredible! My head is still buzzing with ideas -- for both the novel I'm revising and my wip. D'Anne Love, Deborah Noyes Wayshak and Jamie Weiss Chilton (need I say more?) all had such concrete and valuable advice and were friendly and helpful all weekend long. Saturday night we had First Pages and they were the BEST ones I'd ever seen at a conference! And Deborah and Jamie were able to offer suggestions and comments reading them cold. That was impressive. The whole atmosphere was cozy, supportive and enthusiastic. I feel good about the revisions I need to do, and positive about the direction the wip is going. Remind me I said that when I am banging my head on my desk at some point in the future! The retreat was just the boost I needed to dive back into my writing. Let's hope I can keep that momentum going!

Pondering POV

Good news -- got a detailed revision letter from my editor for my mg novel! All her comments were reasonable and will make the story stronger -- IF I can make the changes. (that's the scary part!) She did suggest I try writing this story in third person instead of first person, and that's really got me thinking about POV. It's weird, my pbs are written in third person but when I write for older readers I switch to first person. I guess I like to make personal, funny (to me, at least!) remarks in first person. But, it would probably be easier to show the MC's emotions and how he changes if I wrote in third person. Oh, the decisions! I did rewrite the first chapter in third person and well, it seemed flat to me. Part of the problem is I've rewritten the first 3 chapters at least a zillion times and it's hard to get excited about them anymore. But, I was surprised that I started thinking about this story from different angles and directions. I came up with a new beginning. I always worry about being funny but this time I want to concentrate on the STORY and then see where the humorous bits fit. In my mind, the story could be deeper and richer -- I'm just not sure I can pull it off. We'll see. But I'm kind of excited about the story again and I'll need that to get me through the revisions. Instead of going over the manuscript line by line, I'm setting it aside and just opening a new file and writing the story in third person. I have no idea if it will work -- could be successful or could be a train wreck. Is there such a thing as a successful train wreck? Off I go, diving into the unknown!

Just for fun? What a concept!

My husband and I play in a pool league with another couple. He also plays on a different night in a serious league with serious players -- getting ready for the State Pool Tournament. Last time the two guys decided that OUR pool night was just for fun. We all sang to the jukebox (even though only one of us should be allowed to sing in public!) and we laughed and ate and oh, played some pool. Thursday pool nights are "just for fun pool." It got me thinking about how stressed I've been about my writing lately. I lost sight of the fact that it should be FUN! I need to lighten up and forget about editors and publishers and focus on story telling. Focus on how my characters do interesting and surprising things. How they say things that make me laugh out loud. If I focus on the story itself, I think writing will be fun again. And that would be a wonderful thing!

Super-Duper School Visit!

I had a marvelous time at Corse Elementary School in Burlington, IA on Wednesday! They were celebrating Constitution Day and they did it in style. They created a Hall of Honor which had photos of service men and women related to the students -- it was wonderful to hear them telling others about their military member! They also made a flag of handprints -- every student's hand is part of the flag -- very impressive! The students were so well behaved, attentive and full of questions I never wanted to leave.

Questions ranged from EASY: Where did you get your boots?
MEDIUM: How much does the Statue of Liberty weigh?
HARD: Why were we at war with England?

After my presentations and some quick (but fun!) visits with the kindergarten classes I attended their Constitution Day assembly. Wow. Fifth graders recited the preamble to the constitution and it gave me goosebumps. They also sang "American Anthem." The Principal played the guitar and led everyone in a sing-along of "This Land is Your Land!" There was a veteran sitting across from me and he was struggling not to cry listening to all those voices singing along...

Corse Elementary ROCKS! The students, the staff, everybody there was fantastic! One of the fifth grade classes went back to their room and wrote me letters so I got to bring them home with me -- Oh, they're wonderful! Thank you Mrs. Woods students!!!!

On the long drive home I just kept thinking of all those fabulous, curious and adorable students and said to myself "This is why I write for children."

And now I am pumped up to get back to my writing! Nothing gives you a boost like
spending the day with kids...

And if that wasn't enough, a reporter from the HawkEye came -- here's the link to an article about the day!

http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/constitution-day-091808

Road Trip!

I'm off to Burlington, IA for a school visit at Coarse Elementary School tomorrow for their Constitution Day -- and I can't wait! WOO-HOO! More details when I get back home...

Rain is a pain

I used to love to fall asleep listening to the gentle, lullaby sound of rain pitter-pattering on the roof. No more. Not after this summer's devastating flood. Instead, hearing rain during the night makes me nervous. I keep wondering when it will stop and if the river is rising. It's been 3 months since the flood and people are STILL mucking out buildings. And some of those that want to renovate and rebuild can't even though they've removed everything down to the bare beams. Because the beams are still wet! There are 3 plans to "redo" the riverbank and protect us from future floods -- all cost millions of $$$$$ and will take years. But, at least the city is moving in the right direction and working on recovering and rebuilding. No matter what plan is used, we'll never forget. And will probably all be nervous when it starts to rain.

Wonderful Wildlife

Ah, I was gazing out my office window when four deer ambled by, nibbling on the grass. Such a wonderful sight! Wildlife in all its glory! What could be more beautiful that those graceful creatures? And then one lifted his tail and proceeded to "relieve" himself in the yard. Totally ruined the picture postcard moment. When you gotta' go, you gotta' go. But couldn't he have waited until he was out of the front yard? I'm just saying...