Contemplating Contests

So I'm in the middle of revisions on one non-fiction project, just starting another, and I really really want to submit my fiction wip to a SCBWI grant this year. Of course it's due the same day as my current project.

I think I actually have something worth submitting this year - the prize is $1500.00 toward helping you improve your craft. So, I'm thinking national conference, intensive workshop, or something like that. Not that I'll win...

I've got to put together a package as complete as if I were querying the novel to an agent or editor...because actually, I will be. The judges are professionals in the field. What do I have to lose?

Seeing the Sun

My friend Laura has inspired me to try to do a better job keeping my blog up-to-date. She's a children's writer - and she has a funny blog relating life to her writing. Very cool. Check her out -- Laura Pauling.

So, here's my question of the day. Is it possible to write and be inspired by a subject that you can't see? How much can you capture the spirit of a subject through research?

It's kind of a loaded question. I'm definitely feeling some seasonal depression because of the horrid weather we're having in the Northeast. And I'm writing a non-fiction for middle grades about the Sun. And I haven't seen the sun in what feels like weeks. Now of course there is a lot of research out there on the Sun. Of course I can write about it. But, I wonder if my manuscript would have been more inspired if I could have seen the darn thing this week.

Next project is the Stars. I'm going to make an effort to borrow a telescope so that I can do some observing. I want to see the Stars - more than just looking up in the sky - really see the stars as I'm writing this one.

And then back to revisions on my novel. My poor characters are waiting [patiently] for me to finish their story.

Carl Sagan quote...

Thanks to my friend Jen B. for posting this on her facebook page. This might be my new favorite quote (from Carl Sagan). In light of my recent subject matter (space, specifically the Sun and the Stars), this is particularly poignant for me.

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every 'superstar,' every 'supreme leader,' every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there — on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

You can hear Carl Sagan say it here:

http://youtu.be/nl5dlbCh8lY

Kinship Writers In-Session

Thank you to Lauren MacLeod of the Strothman Agency for devoting her morning to working w/ a roomful of authors honing their craft. And thanks to Jessica and Erin of Kinship Writers Association for bringing us together.

It is fascinating to meet the writers behind the words! I enjoyed meeting everyone, and appreciate the feedback I received on my first 15 pages. I have so much work to do! But, it's exciting work that I can't wait to tackle. I really enjoyed reading all the work - so much talent and creativity out there! It's humbling.

Vacation and back to work

A week in Disney World...that's what I need. Oh, yeah, I just got back. Seems like ages ago, but we've been back a whole week. It was wonderful, warm, awesome! And, at home, it's cold. Really cold.

But, I need to buckle down and get to work. I put off some of my personal deadlines before the trip, telling myself I was too distracted by packing. Deadlines looming, now I need to focus. Why do visions of Mickey Mouse, and Cinderella keep dancing through my head??

So, I'm throwing on my grunge mix (Genius for ITunes is pretty cool!), and setting up my laptop. I am a writer, after all, I need to write!

Next week, a writer's workshop with seven other very talented writers (very exciting, and humbling) - and then looking forward to the New England SCBWI conference in May.

Hey, there goes Mickey again...