W is for Workshop

As you progress in your writing, you might be asked to share your expertise! And YAY for you, if you are! Whether it's a school group, a group of neighborhood kids, a round table panel at a conference, or your crit group, it's all about sharing your knowledge.

I've got a list of resources on my banner--lots of good stuff there that I've collected over the years.

As far as workshops go, I'm building my repertoire. I'll be working with kids in Littleton, Massachusetts this summer in a kids writing club, presenting at the Chelmsford Public Library about nonfiction on July 18 at 10:30 a.m., and doing a workshop for adults who want to turn their writing hobby into a career on August 16 in Devens, Massachusetts at 6 p.m.

If you need more information about any of those, please let me know!

Reflecting on A-Z

I'm so glad I participated in this challenge! I'm happy to say I successfully completed--even being on vacation away from my computer for a week. And to think I signed up only a couple of days before it started. And didn't realize at first that the posts had to actually be in A-Z order (true, my first few scheduled posts had to be retitled to reflect the appropriate letter. duh.)

I'll admit that I didn't comment as heartily on others blogs as the month progressed, but I did "meet" some great bloggers through this event.

Welcome to all my new followers! I'll be having a contest soon to celebrate hitting 200--stay tuned.

Thanks to Elizabeth Mueller for creating this award.

This is a blog hop. Consider visiting other participants as they reflect on the challenge:

Z is for Zest

According to dictionary.com, the definition of Zest is:

–noun

1. keen relish; hearty enjoyment; gusto.

2. an agreeable or piquant flavor imparted to something.

3. anything added to impart flavor, enhance one's appreciation, etc.

I've watched cooking shows where they add lemon zest--they have a fancy little grater and can just a bit of the zest from the skin of the lemon.

With this final (ish) round of revisions, it's all about the Zest. Just a sprinkle added, to enhance the flavor.

 And I am enjoying making these final adjustments with the heartiest of Zest!

And with that, my friends, I submit my final post for the A-Z Challenge! Whoo-hoo!

Y is for Your Favorite Four on Friday

Four favorite T.V. Shows:

1. X-Files
2. American Idol.
3. Warehouse 13
4. Cake Challenge--okay, I just love watching bakers make art out of cake for money.

This is a weird list. I'm weird. I still miss X-Files.

What are YOUR favorites?

U is for Meet Up

If you're in the Central Massachusetts area, please join us at the Westford Grille in Westford, MA on Tuesday, April 26 at 7 p.m.

Authors (published or unpublished), Illustrators, Agents, Editors, Publishers, Librarians, Booksellers. We'd love to see you there.

At our last Meet up in February, we had a lovely time chatting about our work, our writing, our joys and successes. It was a cold night and I hope this time we'll have warmer weather!

T is for Travel

I've had a great week with family this week--I drove to Richmond, Virginia and then back via Newburgh, New York. I'm glad to be home, but we've had a lovely trip.

I've only had a wee bit of withdrawal from my laptop and my writing. :) I know I'm behind on blog commenting, and I've got a new project to outline. So it's good to be home.

 At Tredeger Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia. These are the cupolas that used to be atop the Virginia State Penitentiary.

Tulips at the Louis Ginter Botanical Gardens.

A happy cookie.

Did everyone else have a good week?

S is for Silly Favorite Four on Friday

Four favorite foods (with a bonus fifth):

1. Ice Cream, hands down. Preferably from Kimball's Ice Cream.
2. Chicken Pad Thai
3. Enchiladas with beans and rice
4. Crab Rangoon
5.  Cheeseburger with Steak Fries, medium well-done.

Nothing healthy. Darn.

R is for Revision

I've been working on agent revisions for my novel the last few weeks. It's been wonderful, exciting, terrifying, scary, and unbelievable--all at the same time. My novel is 20 times better than it was two months ago. I'm forever grateful to Vickie Motter for her enthusiasm and her suggestions for some necessary additions.

One thing I found really helpful during this round was creating a scene inventory. Organized person, I am not--have I mentioned that before? Sitting down and tracking each chapter, the characters in each chapter, what happens, and the date on which it happens, has been something I've avoided like the plague.

But guess what? Making a scene inventory helped. It helped me add some things into my timeline that needed to be added. It helped me stretch out some drama that needed to be stretched out. It helped me see where I needed to go with several difficult scenes.

I went bare bones--just used an excel spread sheet. But I bet you could get fancy if you needed to. :)

Q is for Quiet

You know the saying slow and steady wins the race?

My motto is go Quietly. But keep going. And going. And going.

Kind of like the energizer bunny. But quieter.

My personality has always been that of the optimist. Glass half-full. Something knocks you down, you pick yourself back up, dust off, and move on. But at the same time, fly under the radar. Quietly.

A-Z Challenge. Wow, Q was hard.

P is for Pitching

My agent, Vickie Motter, posted something about pitching agents a few weeks ago -- read it here.

To me, doing a live pitch, sounds terrifying. And I made a flip comment on her post. But here's the thing, as Vickie describes it, several comments later:

Though you've bypassed the pitching, you might want to prepare yourself for what comes after. Every time someone asks "What is your book about," THAT'S a pitch. So writers, whether or not you plan to pitch in person to agents or editors, make sure you have a one line pitch ready. Just in case.

Oh. Right.

This happens to me all the time. And I almost always say, well, it's about a girl who plays golf...blah blah blah boring. Holy Cow, I've got to come up with a pitch that I can rattle off--this is the beginning of my marketing! I need to be able to tell people what my book is about. I need a pitch!

I have a log line that I used in my query. But it's a little cumbersome to roll off the tongue. But I need to practice for NESCBWI, because sure as sugar someone will ask me what my book is about...and I'm the best one to tell them.

O is for Odd Man Out

I have this great character in my book who started out as very secondary. In fact, he almost got cut. But in golf, you need a foursome. So he needed to stay.

He's kind of a nerd, and he's definitely the odd man out. But you know what? He rocks the book. And I'm so glad I didn't cut him.

I think I read somewhere that JK Rowling almost killed Arthur Weasley during book five. Ack! I LOVE Arthur Weasley. Arthur dying would have changed the last three books.

Anyone have a character who almost bit the bullet, but ended up kicking butt?

N is for Nothing

I'm cruising on this A-Z Challenge thing. And now I need to be away from blogger for a week. Hmm. Methinks this challenge might falter this week. Don't worry, I've got all my posts scheduled, but my comments might be lean.

Happy Saturday!

M is for My Favorite on Friday

Four classic favorite books:

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
2. The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle
3. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
4. Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

Five newer favorites:

1. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
2. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
3. The Time Travelers by Linda Buckley Archer
4. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
5. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher


What are your favorites?

L is for Linus

Our Brownies loved making blankets for babies this year. We made No Sew Fleece Blankets and donated them to our local Project Linus chapter.

My local rep accepted the blankets and told me the ones we made would be on their way to Japan. I was bawling by the time I made it back to my car. You see, we finished the blankets weeks ago (okay, maybe months), well before the earthquake. I've felt terrible that I haven't had time to drop them off. But now I know they were meant to go to Japan.

It's a great project for little fingers just learning how to tie. Disclaimer: this picture is not one of the ones we made.

K is for Kris (what else?)

This is a candid from my 8th grade yearbook. I remember them taking it. Writing in class. And annoyed to be interrupted. And how the heck did it get into the yearbook?

This picture was taken 30 years ago. In 1981. Holy Cow do I feel old.

True facts:

I was always a serious student.
My favorite books from that age were Anne of Green Gables, The Black Stallion and Nancy Drew.
I played the flute from the fourth grade to the ninth grade.
But I loved being in chorus more.
I took the bus every day to school until I graduated from high school
I was on my high school yearbook staff my junior and senior years.
The only sport I ever played seriously was golf. I tried out for the boys' golf team my junior year of high school--I didn't make it.

J is for Juggling

Confession: I'm totally recycling this post from March 14. I've updated it a bit, but still. Don't judge.

***

I can't actually juggle. I've always envied people who could have three balls in the air at the same time. I'm not even all that good juggling on Wii Fit.

But juggling projects? I'm not half-bad.

I'm juggling two non-fiction projects. Really cool topic. The deadlines for both second drafts are on the horizon. I'm also working on agent-revisions for my novel. Juggling fiction and non-fiction isn't as hard as it sounds (or so I keep telling myself.)

The fiction deadline is getting more immediate even thought I have control over it--I want to get the revisions finished so Vickie can start sending Kate and Scott out into the world. And there's always the daily juggle of life.


How do you juggle everything without looking like an uncoordinated clown?

I is for...Inspiration

Sometimes you research. Sometimes you make it up from scratch. Sometimes you might get inspiration from the most mundane things.

When I was writing THE SWEET SPOT, I mostly relied on my memory for the setting. I remembered the touch and feel of the building and the grounds. The smell of the golf course in the morning. The intangibles. Things I loved and things I hated about growing up on a small golf course in central Massachusetts. I hope I've been able to translate those sensations into words, so my readers will feel like they're there. At my golf course. A golf course that only exists in my memory. The golf course my parents operated when I was a teenager is still there, but it's been completely remodeled and no longer exists in the same way. That big tree on the right? Not there anymore.

When I was working on the final (and I use final loosely here) draft, I came across an old score card dating back to the early 1980s. It gave me the idea to use golf terms for my chapter titles.  And it reminded me of the old building. Just reminiscing here folks. What do you use for inspiration?

H is for Hiding

One of the things we love to do in Disney World is look for Hidden Mickey's. On napkins, in flower beds, on bathroom tiles, in food. Mickey Mouse is everywhere.

It makes me smile to think of the detail that goes into the planning of hiding Mickey somewhere in a shrubbery, or building, or painting.

There are some inside jokes hidden in my novel. Placed in plain site for a handful of people. Only visible if you know what you're looking for or looking in the right place at the right time.

What do you hide in your writing?

G is for Guest Blogger on A Still and Quiet Madness

Thanks to Anita Howard for having me on her new blog! It's all about people who've had success using QueryTracker.net.

Hop over here to read my guest post.

F is for Fun things Make Me Smile

Just a fun post. What makes you smile?

1. The first warm day of spring...I think golf is in the air.
2. Random farting by my child and husband--and the way they laugh at each other (don't tell, I'm good at feigning disgust.)
3. The thought of a nice glass of wine (or a warm cup of good coffee) with a friend. And knowing we have time to chat.
4. Talking about writing with my crit group.
5. The feeling of hitting a word count goal.
6. Saturday Night Fever by the BeeGees (c'mon, you have to smile when you hear that song. It's physically impossible NOT to).
7. Chocolate. And this time of year, Cadbury Cream Eggs. Yum.
8. Seeing my daughter play with her cousins.
9. Scratching my mother's kitten's belly.
10. Reading my follower's comments--I love you guys!