A great gift for a wanna be author is this mug I got from my Other for my birthday. A favorite on my Etsy list, now I own. If you want or you know someone who would like fun mugs like this one you should check out LennyMud. All ready it is keeping me company while I try and type all my novel ideas. I am nervous about my clumsy ways but I have promised to use it. Not let it sit up on a shelf as if untouched equals protected.
I don’t think I will be posting next week since I will be on vacation and I don’t know if the wifi is free where I’m going. Also, I have a belief vacation is to get away from it all and not be working. Also, vacation reminds me how much I love staying off social networks and being away from the stresses of the everyday grind.
New York City had a primary two days ago. I worked the polls. It was a long 15 hour day but I liked it. I learned a few people were thrown off with what a Primary was. Republicans wanted vote for Democrats. Soon I was trying to make them understand that this is a vote for who they want to be the voice their party. Some cursed when they remembered, while others still stared at me blankly. Party doesn’t matter. Right? They can vote for whoever they want. I explained that was true in November on election day but not for a primary. I was mostly met with, “I wouldn’t have come in if I knew.”
I was surprised to see the age of people asking me questions. These were the wiser generation which had the better education. But there I was explaining the rules. For New York City the Democrats had a lot of decisions to make. In this Primary there was ten Mayoral, five Public Advocate, two Comptrollers, two Borough Presidents, and even a few (forgot how many) City Counsel candidates. The Republicans had three Mayoral candidates. So, Republicans would come out of the booth asking why they had so little. I would explain the Republican party most likely know who will be the voice for the party. If you weren’t part of the Democratic or Republican party you couldn’t vote in this primary. There was a hand full of people who left the building with voting card in hand ready to change there party so they could participate in the next primary.
I must say I was happy to see the turn out. For a primary I was told it wouldn’t be busy and true I probably don’t know what busy is but I was proud to see so many voting. But if you’re reading this I hope you now know the difference between Primary (who will represent your party’s voice in an election) and Election Day (vote for whoever you think best to represent everyone). I probably could have explained this more clear then this but that day I was trying to give the best possible answer everyone would understand.
I find query letters frustrating. They seem so simple until the writing begins. So many tips out there but only one real template. I don’t want it to sound like very other but queries seem to have such specific sound. Over the years I have submitted a few short stories to writing contests and I have been rejected but none of them needed a query letter to enter.
This is my first query letter. I wrote a children’s picture book (without art). I have found a few places to send the book. The agent/publishing research is easy. It’s the writing. There are not a lot of examples or templates for writing children’s picture book query letters. I don’t think I’m worried about rejection. I expect it. My writing and or story may not be everyone’s cup of tea. I don’t want a bad query letter holding back my book from a future. Most likely this concern and frustration is all from my focus on detail, which I will have to learn to overcome.
I’ve been trying to write and edit a few novels and I have come across a useful tool to help visualize characters, places, and things. What I was normally doing for my character’s description was trying to write everything I envisioned down in a notebook. Each character would get a page. The page would list physical appearances, personality, and motive. It wasn’t until I saw a post by blogger Shannon A. Thompson called, “Writing Tips: Picture Book” I realized how much detail I was missing by not using this useful tool. Pictures.
I never thought of using pictures to help inspire and build images of characters, places, or objects. I’ve had a Pinterest account for years. When I first signed up I used it a few times but it wasn’t long that I left it having found no use for it. Now I can’t help but think, here was a writing instrument at my fingertips and I have left it idle. Well, no longer, I have started to use it to help with my novel’s vision. Pinterest has an a great number of pictures, easy access for pinning from other websites, and a board privacy setting (so the world doesn’t have to know what you’re planning). Also, saves on paper and ink, which helps me, keep my limited budget from going over. Also, it adds a bit more of creative fun to the process. I find creating a character board or looking at a few photos can be all the pop I need for a shot of inspiration. Even on days writing is slow I can get a daily writing exercise from a few pinned pictures.
If there is anyone out there who is struggling to write a novel, I hope this helps. It has sure has helped me. If you would like to see Shannon A. Thomas’s examples I have linked to her website and her “Picture Book” blog above.
I’ve been trying to keep up with a blog schedule but it is proving to be a hard task. I try to post every Tuesday but I didn’t post anything yesterday because I have nothing to write about. For a bit I thought I’d post a creative writing piece but that ended with my brain going quiet at the site of the blinking curser. I was thinking about trying different days even though I know creative flow has nothing to do with a certain days of the week. Lately, I read a lot and was thinking of writing book reviews to fill up some blog space.
How do you keep your topic creative juices flowing? Have you had a blogger’s block? (Like writer’s block but with blogs?)
I just finished reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. It was a story that built up slowly then all of a sudden I was submerged. When it ended I couldn’t remember how to breathe. Then I sighed. The story really was like stepping into an ocean. With each step you get deeper and deeper and then there’s that sharp drop. But you’re not startled or afraid. It feels weird. I liked the strangeness.
Some of my favorite quotes:
“That’s the trouble with living things. Don’t last very long.”
“Nobody actually looks like what they really are on the inside. You don’t. I don’t. People are much more complicated than that. It’s true of everybody.”
“Different people remember things differently, and you’ll not get any two people to remember anything the same, whether they were there or not. You stand two of you lot next to each other, and you could be continents away for all it means anything.”
“You don’t pass or fail and being a person, dear.”
“Books were safer than other people anyway.”
“Grown-ups don’t look like grown-ups on the inside, either. Outside, they’re big and thoughtless and they always know what they’re doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. The truth is, there aren’t any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world.”
How am I supposed to show enthusiasm for every job I apply to if I am losing optimism in all my efforts? I have written so many cover letters. Long and short. Showing my excitement, maybe showing too much excitement. There are the sites that only allow one cover letter even if you are applying to multiple similar jobs with different requirements. A company has contacted me! I figured they must have seen something they like. I tried not to get my hopes up and send what they ask. One week, no reply. Send nice follow up letter. One more week, “we went in a different direction”. Friends have sent me job applications, still turned down. Then there are the companies that don’t get back to you not even with a generic email to say you suck. (I understand why they don’t send emails). And worst the companies that will give you a job but only if they don’t have to pay you. Would you like to build up your resume with our internship? How about a few more articles? We have over a million readers coming to our site daily. Don’t forget to flood your social feeds with your articles and did you ask you friends to like our page.
Tomorrow I’ll be fine. Write new cover letters, sent out a few more resumes, and maybe write a few 100 words towards a story. Today is the day to let out the frustration.
Last night I went to a Neil Gaiman book signing. It was at the Symphony Space theater in NYC. He was interviewed by Erin Morgenstern, the author of The Night Circus. She asked great questions but it appeared Neil Gaiman is an easy man to interview. He is very funny, informative, and inspirational. As a wanna be published writer (one day) I found his stories and his writing talk helpful. What’s great is his writing talk sounds it can go for any creative job, like art, or programing. As Mr. Gaiman said the author is the architect and building the story.
He read a few pages from his recent book, The Ocean At The End of The Lane. It’s interesting to learn how other creative people work on their art. Gaiman said he didn’t outline. The characters were always there waiting patiently in his head. He used Doctorow’s quote, “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” as an example except he said writing this novel was like driving down a dark country road, in the misty fog, with one head light. He always seemed to have a foggy idea where is was heading with the story. Also, I loved he described his story growing and almost creating itself starting out as a short story and growing into a novella than a novel.
My ticket included a personally signed copy of the book. Plus, he would signed one other book for all fans. Mr. Gaiman is an amazing author and he stayed until every last person had a signed copy. Waiting around I met wonderful people and we talked books, tv, and movies to pass the time. I was seated in row Q so he signed my copy a little after 11:30pm. I couldn’t help thinking while heading home that he was still there signing.
Erin Morgenstein was signing copies of her book. She ran out of copies of her book but continued to sign for fans. She was nice enough to sign the inside cover of my kindle. She jump started my new goal. I had Mr. Gaiman sign the inside of my kindle cover as well. I have always loved cracking a book and now I love opening my kindle cover with these two authors signers. I hope to get more author signers on this cover and when it’s full maybe I will put this in a frame on my wall and start another cover. I wasn’t the only one with new, on our feet, signing ideas. Another women had her signing the back of her nook and one other her iPad. It was an amazing, fantastic, and enlightening experience. Of course, meeting both authors, I said maybe two word to each of them. AHHHH! I was less then a foot away from real authors. (Jump up and down with nervous, exciting energy). Nevertheless, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Neil Gaiman Signing The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
I planted the seeds. So begins the growing. Now comes the waiting. Can’t wait to plant these containers in the garden. Excited to see the seeds sprout leaves and stems that will soon bear fruit and vegetables. Can’t wait to smell and pick the flowers these stems will bud.
On the bottom of this post is a picture of what I planted.
The big stems at the bottom of the photo are Hawaiian Plumeria.
Now the top of the photo. I’ll go from right to left.
First row of two pots are Sweet Basil.
Next row of three containers are Endive. It is a leaf vegetable.
The next two rows, according to the Great Britain English translation on the seed package, are Tomato Peppers.
It’s a seed package from Romania. The package reads Ardei Gogosar and the Google translation is just Bell Pepper. I’m guessing this is a type of red bell pepper. If you are wondering why the first three have a stick and the next row of three don’t its more a marker for me later on. The first three are dried from actual peppers. The next three pots are from the seed package. I received the Endive and Tomato Pepper seeds from my Other’s Grandma. Yes, they are from Romania hence the hazy translations. Plus, it’s my first time growing from dried seeds so I liked to see if there is a difference (like a stronger plant or better tasting peppers). According to my Other’s Grandma, there is and I don’t mess with Grandmas!
I’ll continue to post more about the ongoing process of the garden in the weeks to follow.
That is everything from my Tumblr blog. My past. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to receive all the new followers, likes, and comments. I have a renewed view on my writing. I mean, it is one thing to hear “that’s a great piece” or “you have some real skill,” etc. but to see feedback as little as a like, it’s a big deal. At least to me.
I promise your reader feed will not be flooded with post from me. From here on I will try to post on a schedule. Weekly at least. So until then.
Random Thoughts 
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