Fifth Graders and Fairies

For a dog that drives me crazy, he's pretty photogenic. But don't let the photo fool you - he is ALL terrier! And terriers like to dig, and yap at the birds, and do all sorts of annoying things. But he's my daughter's dog and so we love him. Luke. My husband named him.

So, I went outside on this cold and blustery April afternoon to take a picture of my daughters' fairy house. Last summer they fell in love with this book called Fairy Island with real photos of fairy houses. So they wanted to make their own fairy house to attract fairies to our garden. Now it has become a spring ritual to set it up and make it nice for the fairies (who migrate by the way) for their spring return. But the wind blew it into a messy pile. So I will have to photograph it another time.

The reason for that photo still exists in my mind though and I would like to share that with you anyway, sans the photo... As writers it is important we know our target audience - and what they think, believe, aspire to, etc. As adults we kind of lose some of our imagination, but as writers, we need to engage it, hold on to it, and connect with our market as much as we possibly can.

My 5th grader says she doesn't believe in fairies, but I know she still wants to believe they are real. Whereas my 3rd grader will out right tell you fairies exist. So if I was writing to a 3rd grader, I would need to keep that in mind. This age group might not need proof or convincing. But, if I was writing to a 5th grade crowd, I would need to be very convincing in my story that this could be true and present it in such a way that a 5th grader would believe me. And once on board, that 5th grader might even believe me more than a 3rd grader.

So who is your audience? And how do you stay in touch with their beliefs, values, struggles, interests... Let's share...

Let's do a Spin on the Book Meme Game

So, I thought, since we are all writers... what if we do a fun little spin on the Book Meme Game. What if we give a sample from our very own books we have written?

So here are the rules...

1. Choose anyone of YOUR OWN manuscripts. It can be a picture book, MG novel, an adult novel... It makes no difference.
2. Turn to page 30 of your novel or page 3 if it is a PB
3. Find the 5th sentence.
4. Post the next 5 sentences of text.
5. Then tag 5 writer friends to do the same.
6. See if you can visit Your Tagged Friends and the Person who Tagged You to read their short excepts.

Sounds fun? I hope so. So here is mine. Oh and be sure to include the genre of your book. Mine is a middle grade novel reality-based fantasy...

Pg 30 Sentence 5: Mama’s face fell soft again.

The next 5 sentences of text: She reached out and placed my right hand in hers. She looked at my fingers and then let my hand go. Then she grabbed my left hand. Was she looking for something, I thought. Then she found what she’d been searching for, her ring glowing on my finger, giving away my secret.

Now I tag...

Chris

PJ

Dannette

Leeza

Rachel

I can't wait to read your short excerpts!

Sheri

I Interrupt This Blog to Bring You a Book Meme

Rachel tagged me to play a blogger tag. Here's what you have to do.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and post a comment to Rachel once you've posted your 3 sentences.

OK, so here goes mine. The book I chose is The Giver by Lois Lowry. She won a Newberry for this novel BTW.

The 5th sentence is: They hugged one another.

The next three sentences are: The small child went and sat on the lap of the old woman, and she rocked him and rubbed her cheek against his. Jonas opened his eyes and lay contentedly on the bed, still luxuriating in the warm and comforting memory. It had all been there, all the things he had learned to treasure.

TAG! You're IT!:

Sarah Hina

PJ Hoover

Dawn Buthorn

Rebecca's Writing Journey

Jeanne - Still a Dreamer

I think it would be cool if we did our own meme from our own personal books since we are all writers. Maybe not page 123, because we might not all have 123 pages in our books. But maybe we can do one say pg 30 (pg 3 for PBs), lines 6, 7, and 8. Anyone game for that?

Rejection Letters, Editors, and Agents, Oh My!

Hey, if you want to give a writing exercise a try, visit my other blog. As I think you all know, I also run a writer's group, The Hunterdon County Children's Writer's Group.

Weekly, I am inspired by a fellow blogger I think most of you are very familiar with; Christine Elden. So, I decided to inspire the writers in my group by providing them with a writing exercise.

You don't have to be a children's writer to participate and it can be for whatever audience you want. No pressure. Just have fun. If you want to give it a try, the deadline in May 1, but I would be thrilled to read your entry after that date as well, so it's not completely black and white.

Now onto other news... I heard back from the editor who has had my first four chapters of my MG novel. She wrote the nicest rejection letter I've ever received. It was long and filled with encouragement and constructive feedback and basically said she loves my "lyrical writing style," but the reality-based fantasy doesn't work for her. So, it was more a personal taste thing than an issue of talent and that feels great believe it or not. She did say she would welcome any other material I have for consideration. So, again, I think it was the nicest rejection letter I have ever received.

Lately, two thoughts have been motivating me... FINISH MY NOVEL and find an agent; in this order. I feel very driven that I must stop flitting about perfecting my early chapters and just get to that elusive last word of the last sentence on the last page! Then, I want an agent. I know. I know. Who doesn't. But what do you all feel? Agent? Or no agent? that is the question for today's posting. Do you think novelists MUST have an agent in order to land that oh-so-wanted book deal? Let's hear what you think...

Sheri

Springtime and Excerpt Number 5

It's Thursday and sunny and 70* gorgeous degrees! Spring has sprung. All the forsythias are a burst of yellow, my irises are pushing their way up, daffodils are in bloom, and the song birds are singing.

Ahhhhh the springtime. It is no wonder how poets of long ago, and even today, became inspired by the earth's annual rebirth. It is hope in green tender shoots of grass. It is energy in the buds waiting to POP open on the branches of trees. It is music to be in the midst of all the wild life and children at play. Ahhhh springtime.

So in honor of springtime, here is excerpt number 5 from my middle grade novel. It is about hope, and energy, rebirth, and the music of the relationships in our lives - especially the broken ones needing repair and renewal.



It’s not that he finally warmed up to me. He didn’t wrap his arms around me and tell me he loved me. It’s not that he even said another word to me, or that we spoke volumes to one another. But we did do something together, side-by-side. He pushed. I pulled. I placed. He moved. And together, we put the living room back. Piece by piece. To the way it was before.

When we were done, we plopped down on opposite ends of the couch, looking straight ahead. Not a single word was spoken, but I knew he was thinking the same thing – she’s gone. She’s really gone. And now it looks as though she was never here.

I guess I’d have to wait to bury my hair, because as long as Papa was willing to sit there, I was willing to sit there, until we watched the sun and moon trade places in the sky.

I thought, sometimes a living room’s just a living room, and a tree’s just a tree. Sometimes Mamas die and leave little girls alone. And sometimes Papas and Mamas get lost, even if they’re right beside you, in a store or sitting on a flowered couch

Excerpt 4 Kind of/Sort of... "We're Not Alone"

Below is a short scene written for Christine Elden's blog where she tempted all of us to write a scene involving (perhaps) a cave and something skittering across your MC's imagination. This was what I wrote...

___________________________________________________________
Tristan knew she was safe, but the forest was a different place at night. In the dark, the once friendly trees turned to black, foreboding shadows with long, crooked fingers ready to snatch at her.

Somewhere from behind, Tristan heard a snap. She looked at Joe. He was sound asleep. She watched him jealously wishing she, too, could dream.

SNAP

There it was again. Closer. The hair on the back of Tristan’s neck tingled. Tristan steadied her breathing forcing her ears to open wider, taking in more sound.

SNAP. CRUNCH!

“Joe,” she whispered shaking off his dream. “We’re not alone.”

“Hrm,” Joe mumbled.

SNAP. SNAP. SNAP!

“Did you hear that?” Now Tristan was on her feet, her heart pounding. Joe was right beside her.

“It’s coming from over there,” Joe pointed to a dark, dank cave.

Why hadn’t they seen it in the light of day? If they had, Tristan would have felt brave with the sun on her side. But in the dark, who knows what was lurking there under the cover of night.
___________________________________________________________
What I learned - It is very hard to tell a story, even just a scene, in 150 words! I am not a "short" writer. I like words. No. I love words and so I do not use them sparingly, but I hope I use them in a controlled way. When I originally wrote this scene is was almost 250 words. I don't feel cutting it to 172 words (I was still 22 words over) helped the scene. I actually think it hurt the scene. I lost a lot of the suspense and build-up.

I think writing something in 150 words is a good challenge and definitely has it's place. I just don't think it's place belongs in most scenes within a novel. That is NOT to say, there aren't always words to cut and paragraphs to tighten. There are! I cut words and tighten paragraphs and cut pages from chapters. You can just feel when a chapter is running too long and you can see when dialogue or a sentence is too long.

I'm up for a challenge and am not saying that we shouldn't all strive to write, short and concisely. But, I think it is also important to know when slashing a scene has turned it into a scene devoid of emotion, tension, props, build-up, motive, a small feeling of resolution, and that oh-so-important feeling of "On no, what's to come next" so your reader can't wait to turn the page.

Obviously, Christine's intention with exercises like this one is not to do the above in 150 words. Writing in 150 words does teach you to respect words, to be mindful of how many words you are using, and not to over-do it. It makes you ask yourself, "Is there another way I can say this in less words?" Like I saidm it is a challenge and I am grateful for it, because it opened my eyes to an emotion my novel is lacking - fear!

So keep 'em coming Christine! These exercises do for writers what scales and arpeggios do for musicians! They sharpen and hone.

Happy Writing Everyone!

Sheri ks, ks

Ebb and Flow

Relationships flow like water in and out of my soul.

The dynamics rise and fall like the ebb and flow of the ocean tide

The surface seems calm while the currents churn up the ugly depth as the undertow pulls you in deeper and deeper still

Unable to resist, you surrender to its predictable tide you read, like the clock on the kitchen wall, whose round face mocks out its minutes, for whom the bells tolls.

You and I fully know.

Excerpt 3

I totally forgot to post my next excerpt on Sunday! Sorry. My mind has been on other things.

Today, I am off for an MRI. My Grandma was a breast cancer survivor. My mother, not so lucky. But she died from another type of cancer. Did you know some cancers travel together. Like cancer cohorts in crime. So colon, breast and uterine travel together. What that means is, once two of these show up in your family history, you are just as susceptible to the third cancer even if no one in your family has had it. So, I am regularly checked for all three. And today it's time. So into the scary, loud tunnel I go.

For those of you whom have never had the wonderful opportunity of experiencing an MRI... It is like being in a coffin while restless Natives are doing some kind of loud drum ceremony. OK maybe that is a result once again of having a writer's brain. But nonetheless I am terrified of that machine and it is what I have to do today. So, I exhale deeply, and leave you with this excerpt from my middle grade novel.

Because of my non-working brain on Sunday, I am posting Thursday's post early to make up for it. Hope you like it...

Excerpt 3...
True, he clenched his jaw tight, and didn’t say anything, not even the common muttered reply he gave everyone else. But he did look up at Uncle Billy. And true too, it was through a furrowed brow. But the two of them locked eyes. As a matter of fact, they looked at each other for maybe a whole minute. Then Uncle Billy turned and positioned himself in an opposite corner of the room beside Mr. Laramie – who was eating a pastrami sandwich and wearing Russian dressing in the left corner of his mouth. I wanted to give him a napkin, but I couldn’t move from where my feet were firmly planted in the flower patterned rug in the center of Grandma May’s living room.

Habits and Taxes

I think this post got buried, so I wanted to post it again because I think it has a lot of useful and important information. So here it is...

Today I wanted to post about two kind of disjointed topics, and yet, can be connected if you squint and tilt your head to the left... First habits... I read this article recently about habits and willpower. The study said that people are unsuccessful in changing their ways, even those facing death, when they try to change their ways alone and based on sheer willpower. And I started to think about my own life... trying to lose those stubborn 10 – 15 pounds... I was never successful at this. Except for one time when I joined a gym with a very pushy friend who wouldn't take no for an answer.

Well, sure enough when I went back to reading, the article said, real success in change comes from seeing someone you admire make that same change and you think, "If she can do it, then so can I."

And then I thought about my writing... and about my writing group... And I thought, yes, this is why it is successful! See, about a year ago, I constantly complained that there wasn't enough time to write, that I didn't have enough energy, that I didn't have enough stick-to-it-ness. And yet I said I wanted to be a writer. But I barely put in the consistent time. Then I met my friend Leeza. Anyone who knows her knows she is full of energy! She gets so much done you can't help but catch it when you are with her. She really inspired me to dig deeper, to make a commitment once and for all, no excuses.

Then I started the Hunterdon County Children's Writer's Group, where I've made such special connections and friendships. And suddenly, BAM! I am writing every day (unless I have a "percolation period" I will never call it a writer's block again - too negative a connotation). Once I surrounded myself with writers, I truly became a writer. I write every day. I read every day. I have a job where I am paid to write. It is incredible!

The study is true. If you want to change a habit, surround yourself with people who are living the way you want to live, and before you know it, you will barely remember your old and tired ways.

Now what about taxes... Well, incase you have been living under a rock - It's tax time boys and girls and our government can be very kind to us artists. So, if you haven't spoken to your tax guy (or gal) about legitimate write-offs, maybe you should! As writers, we are allowed to claim a loss until we get published! I did not know that until today. I mean I knew we could claim a loss for a couple years, but not until we get published. I don't claim a loss because I am paid as a freelancer (not much, but... it's not a loss).

You can also write off dues to professional organizations, like SCBWI, and any workshops or conferences you attend. The purchase of the Writer's Market, or other such necessary books, postage for submissions. Paper. Ink. Office supplies. I even learned today, if you need daycare or childcare because of your writer/artist ways, you can write a portion of that off too. You needed a new printer, computer... write-off.

But be careful.

Find a tax accountant who really knows the law for us creative folks. Don't do anything shady and save, save, save those receipts. You can NEVER be too careful. Every little bit helps when you are in a profession where you may never see a substantial paycheck.

This is where habits tie in... you should make it a habit of collecting your business receipts and reporting miles. I have a folder I keep on my desk labeled 2008 Expenses. Every time I need to purchase something writing related, it goes right in the folder. Then before I meet the tax guy, I total them all up and put them on an excel spread sheet.

It doesn't take much to organize your expenses this way, but the benefits can be huge. So habits and taxes can go a long way.
Sheri ks, ks

We Interrupt this Dream and Excerpt Number II

The winds were howling last night as I sat in bed reading Harry Potter 4. I finally turned out my light to go to bed at around 12:30 am. At around 3:00 am I was suddenly very awake for no apparent reason. But as I sat there, listening to the wind, I heard my main character speaking to me. Don’t worry I am not psychotic. It’s a job hazards of being a writer. Right???

So I laid there in the dark listening and it was revolutionary. My main character was telling me about her father and uncle in the story and why they hated each other. I thought I knew why they hated one another, but as I listened, I learned there was much more to it then I realized. Afraid I would never remember all of this in the morning, I went downstairs, bleary eyed, toned down the brightness of my computer screen and got right to work.

I was done around 6 am. The house was still and dark and I was finally sleepy again. I had written a whole undiscovered chapter to my novel just like that. The experience was so surreal. I really don’t think I had anything to do with the words that flowed through me. I felt like a conduit for my main character. I have heard of this sort of thing happening to other writers. I have always hoped it would happen to me. I go to sleep each night and say, OK T. Come to me tonight and tell me more about your story, with the hopes that tonight will be the night I dream about it. But until last night, it has never happened. Only I didn’t dream about it. I was woken up.

It was an amazing experience. I hope it happens again and again.

So here is Excerpt Number II. Again, not wanting to give away too much about my novel…

He cleared his throat uncomfortably, not knowing what to do. I think he wished he had some words of wisdom to help Papa. I think he lingered because although he wanted to help, he didn’t know how. After all, his wife was still alive. They had been married for 40 years.

“I brought my famous lemon meringue,” said Mrs. Laramie a little too cheerfully. She left her husband to place her pie next to all the other foods everyone brought. Maybe she thought she could bake words of wisdom into her pie.

No one could imagine what Papa needed at this moment. Not even me. Most of all not me. But I knew it wasn’t baked into some dessert or in anyone’s words of wisdom.

Happy writing everyone!
Sheri ks, ks

Habits and Taxes

I missed Thursday and was going to post this on Saturday, but heavy winds knocked out my cable and Internet service…

So today I wanted to post about two kind of disjointed topics, and yet, can be connected if you squint and tilt your head to the left...

First habits... I read this article recently about habits and willpower. The study said that people are unsuccessful in changing their ways, even those facing death, when they try to change their ways alone and based on sheer willpower.

And I started to think about my own life... trying to lose those stubborn 10 – 15 pounds... I was never successful at this. Except for one time when I joined a gym with a very pushy friend who wouldn't take no for an answer.

Well, sure enough when I went back to reading, the article said, real success in change comes from seeing someone you admire make that same change and you think, "If she can do it, then so can I."

And then I thought about my writing... and about my writing group... And I thought, yes, this is why it is successful! See, about a year ago, I constantly complained that there wasn't enough time to write, that I didn't have enough energy, that I didn't have enough stick-to-it-ness. And yet I said I wanted to be a writer. But I barely put in the consistent time.

Then I met my friend Leeza. Anyone who knows her knows she is full of energy! She gets so much done you can't help but catch it when you are with her. She really inspired me to dig deeper, to make a commitment once and for all, no excuses. Then I started the Hunterdon County Children's Writer's Group, where I've made such special connections and friendships. And suddenly, BAM! I am writing every day (unless I have a "percolation period" I will never call it a writer's block again - too negative a connotation). Once I surrounded myself with writers, I truly became a writer.

I write every day. I read every day. I have a job where I am paid to write. It is incredible! The study is true. If you want to change a habit, surround yourself with people who are living the way you want to live, and before you know it, you will barely remember your old and tired ways.

Now what about taxes... Well, incase you have been living under a rock - It's tax time boys and girls and our government can be very kind to us artists. So, if you haven't spoken to your tax guy (or gal) about legitimate write-offs, maybe you should! As writers, we are allowed to claim a loss until we get published! I did not know that until today. I mean I knew we could claim a loss for a couple years, but not until we get published. I don't claim a loss because I am paid as a freelancer (not much, but... it's not a loss). You can also write off dues to professional organizations, like SCBWI, and any workshops or conferences you attend. Postage for submissions. Paper. Ink. Office supplies. I even learned today, if you need daycare or childcare because of your writer/artist ways, you can write a portion of that off too. You needed a new printer, computer... write-off. But be careful. Find a tax accountant who really knows the law for us creative folks. Don't do anything shady and save, save, save those receipts. You can NEVER be too careful. Every little bit helps when you are in a profession where you may never see a substantial paycheck.

And habits can tie in to this topic because... you should make it a habit of collecting your business receipts and reporting miles. I have a folder I keep on my desk labeled 2008 Expenses. Every time I need to purchase something writing related, it goes right in the folder. Then before I meet the tax guy, I total them all up and put them on an excel spread sheet. It doesn't take much to organize your expenses this way, but the benefits can be huge.

So habits and taxes can go a long way.

Sheri ks, ks

Dogs and Deadlines

My eldest daughter's dog, Luke, taken by my youngest daughter... He's a tenacious Cairn Terrier

I'm back... and not just blogging on my regularly scheduled day, but in writing too. I have been in such a writer's block for about a month - a very painful, long month. At first I thought it was my nerves before meeting with an editor from Penguin to discuss one of my books. Or maybe from preparing for the SCBWI workshop. Or maybe I was burned out from reading so many MS's a day. I am in two writer's groups, plus the small group I was placed in for the workshop, brought my reading load to 13 MS's or more to read in a week. Looking back, no wonder I was blocked.

But the words are flowing once more and I am thrilled. The sun is shining. It is warm outside and supposed to stay that way for a few days. And you can just feel, spring is a month away. Something internal has clicked on. My family and I went for a long walk along the tow path of the Delaware River today. I love walking on the river, but it's been too cold. Luke, the cairn terrier pictured above, doesn't walk so well on a leash. But Kenzie, my trusty collie/shepherd mix is, of course, perfect all the time - except when she blows her coat twice a year...

So what it is that brought the words back? Who knows? Maybe it ran its course like some word virus. Or maybe it's having a deadline. There's nothing like a solid deadline to kick things back into gear.

Perhaps there's more to it then a simple deadline, but I do have a looming Monday deadline and I knew I had to pump something out or risk losing out on a deadline. So I decided to re-read last week's pages. I prepared myself to throw 90% of it away, but was surprised that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. While in my blocked state, I couldn't see the forest through the trees, or the words through the pages. And then seeing I actually had something to work with, I relaxed and wrote forward. This is not to say that I will not become blocked once again and fail to believe in my process. Whatever it is that stops me or allows me to write, one thing's for sure - it just feels so damn good to be back!

Here's the best way I can describe what I was recently experiencing... when I am blocked, I feel like I am over thinking every single word. I feel like I force the words. And the best way i can describe it, is I feel like I am writing from the front of my brain, where I believe the ego lives. But when I am truly in a writing zone, it feels like I am in a trance, like I am writing from within a very deep inner self, one that is not conflicted by ego or over thinking things. Yesterday, without agonizing over it, I just naturally fell into that inner core.

So what is it that stops me from reaching this core, and what is it that allows me to reach it at other times? I have no idea! I hope with time and experience I will learn to control it and not the other way around. I will learn to trust my process and know that at the end of every writer's block, comes a flood of words.

So, the sky has parted and the heaven's sing, Ahhhhhhhhhhh...

What do you do to get yourself through a rough bout of writer's block?

I am going to start a new Sunday tradition. I am going to include a short excerpt from my novel, but nothing that can kill the buzz or give away too much of the story. Just a line or two, or perhaps a paragraph at the most that I feel proud of for one reason or another. So, here it goes...

Excerpt 1: It felt like time held its breath, as Grandma May’s lacy curtains stood rigid against the breeze from too much starch. It was as if the onlookers were watching a play with a cast of two: me and Papa, not sure how this story was going to unfold, but sure it wouldn’t be a happy one.

Happy Writing Everyone!
Sheri ks, ks

More From the SCBWI Meeting

Hey, I just got a digital camera. I decided to take it for a test run at the NJ SCBWI workshop last Sunday. Here's some photos from the day...

Kathy Temean, the RA of the NJ chapter is the one with the red scarf. There's Jeanne and Kim also in red in the background.

Before we get started - maybe some pre-critique jitters...


Peek-a-boo! I see you Leeza. Look how the sun shines on only you in the room like a beacon, the clouds part, the angels sing.... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh...



Most of us gals from my small critique group... Lynette in red, to the left, Hallee in the back Leeza, in pink Joelle, and in the front on the right is Marcie. Lisa was not present at the moment.

NJ SCBWI Workshop

Hello all,
This is just a very brief posting saying... I've been to the NJ SCBWI workshop today. I met some lovely ladies in my group. (Hello Joelle, Marcie, Lynette, Hallee, Lisa, and of course, Leeza!)

In case you've never been to such an event, here's what happens...

About a month before, you are assigned a small group. The ladies mentioned above were in my small group. Each small group is assigned an editor to receive a one-on-one critique with for 20 minutes. So in that month’s time, you have to mail your first 30 pages of your novel, or your entire PB MS to Kathy Temean, RA of the NJ chapter of SCBWI. AND... you have to email your pages to the members of your group.

Then over that month you read and critique all the stories as they come in (or wait until the last possible moment - whichever way works for you...) Then, on the day of the conference, armed with the critiques you have written for one another, you show up ready to share.

Everyone takes turns presenting their feedback while, one at a time, a member will quietly dismiss herself (sorry no token males were present in our group) and meet with the editor in a separate room.

Then, around, well... lunchtime, there is a lunch where we can all mingle and meet other writers or editors present at the event. Then we go back and finish our critiques.

At the very end is an open mic Q+A session with all the editors. We get to learn what they are individually shopping for, how long their personal turn around is with scripts, and their tips and tools of advice and suggestions. We, as writers, are eager to eat up every nugget of info they are willing to provide.

And at the end of the day you've made friends (or enemies – no, only kidding!) and you hopefully will walk away feeling energized, renewed, and ready to revise, revise, revise.

I, on the other hand, always walk away feeling exhausted! I need a few days to not think about it, while all the while my subconscious is percolating, and simmering, deep in thought. Then, in a day or two... or three... I read everyone’s comments. I print out a fresh clean copy and begin writing notes of what the others have said. If someone else says the same thing, I put a check next to the comment. If again, another person says it, I add another check and so on. If there are comments that don't ring true to me, that no one else brought up, then I let that comment go. I toss it, as Joelle said in her “Take it, or Toss it” philosophy. If there are comments that spark something within me, even if no one else said, I star it.

Then I open my computer, copy and paste the story onto a fresh document and save it as... whatever the title is, the draft number, and I give it a new version number. For example, my novel... is on its first draft, but 5th version - 1.5. (For me, a new version is when I make changes within a single draft. Once I get to the end, any other changes would begin my next draft. And then process begins all over again, 2.0, 2.1, etc.) So now, I save it as a new document as TITLE, 1.6. Next, I take the hard copy with all the converted notes and I place it in that story’s binder. All of my stories have their own binders. Then in the binder, I mark it, TITLE 1.5 NJ SCBWI Feb 2008 conference. The editor’s version goes in the binder too, of course, and I attach her business card and her critique, so it is altogether.

And that's my process!

Another benefit of the day is... a good number of the editors that come to these workshops do not accept unsolicited work. But once you've met the editor at an SCBWI event, you are no longer considered unsolicited for a window of time - usually a few months. So even if you met with editor A, you are still welcomed and invited to send you MS to editors B, C, and D, as well. And most promise that they WILL read your MS and WILL write a personal (rejection) letter (OK hopefully not a rejection letter of course! I was only being funny!!!!)

So if you haven't ever tried an SCBWI conference or workshop. I highly recommend it. Visit SCBWI to find your state's chapter. To have that 20 minute one-on-one wiht an editor is so worth it!

If You Want to Make God Laugh...

Woody Allen once said, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” Well, no sooner had I announced that I would blog only on Sundays and Thursdays, that everything went to pot! I got sick... really sick... and needed a long recuperation period. Now that I am recuperated and it is Thursday, I will try to make my fuzzy brain think in a somewhat logical and coherent way...

So, here's what I've been contemplating lately… living an authentic life with intention and purpose. Simplifying. As some of you might know, my day job is as a copy writer for a local real estate firm. While it is a cool job if you love to write and love looking at houses (which equals loving to write about houses, btw) it is not a job without its hazards. You have peak seasons when you are so busy, you don’t know if you are coming or going, and finding as many synonyms for “featuring,” as possibly so all your copies don’t sound the same. Followed by periods of nothing, nada, zilch, zero homes to see, which means no money to make. But the biggest downfall to this job by far is… (Drum roll please) falling in love from time to time with a house.

Yes, that’s right. I said falling in love with a house. (sigh)

So, I am smitten once again. My last house-affair wasn’t pretty. It was way too big and for way too much money. Honestly, it was more house than I could handle. But it was gorgeous. It was an 1880's farm house that was completely refurbished and remodeled to be Green - you know ecologically friendly... Green… earth first! I am all for earth first. My novel is about trees for crying out loud - ok it’s about a lot more than just trees or that would make for one boring novel, but I digress… So, I loved that house and obsessed over that house, and pined for that house, stalked that house, talked about it late at night with my husband and friends. I drove everyone crazy! I was in love.

I know what you're thinking... IT'S A HOUSE! GET A LIFE!

Yeah, yeah, yeah. BUT you didn't see it, and you didn’t have to write about it in a long, beautiful, salesy, descriptive pitch. My job is to make people fall in love with houses through my words (The photographer has it easy. You know… a picture’s worth…) It’s only natural, every once in a while, I actually am so convincing, I convince myself.

But... sometimes the love of a house comes before the words. It might begin the moment I drive down the narrow, wooded, windy, country road. Or pass the long, sweeping vistas of rolling farmland. Or wind my way down a long driveway canopied with trees and dappled sunlight (See I really do, do this for a living).

The house du jour is this kind of love affair. It had all of that and so much more. It was nothing like my former house-affliction. No. That house with its 4,000 square feet and bunches of barns and outbuildings (all of which were also completely refinished to perfection), made me realize, I could never keep up with a house that size and it’s many out buildings. I would spend my life cleaning! And who wants to do that? Certainly not me!

Well, in the wake of getting over that first house-affliction, I learned something - most of us need to downsize. That house might have been as Green as they come, but something about a family of 4 living in 4,000 square feet seems juxtaposed to living earth first. That’s a 1,000 sq ft per person! Is that really necessary? Is that really Green?

America has become a nation of EXCESS. Everything is in excess. Food, cars, the sizes of our homes, our spending, our bills, and so on and so forth. And we are passing that excessive living down to our kids. There are more overweight, bored, and depressed children in American than every before. I think it’s because they are trying, or we are trying, to buy love for them in all the toys, games, clothes, etc. And when the love is not in the toys, games, or clothes, they do something else in excess – become not only bored, but depressed. Not just put on a few pounds, but become overweight.

All this excess has got me thinking about my dream to live green. I took a few earth first tests online. I was sure it would tell me, “You’re great, Sheri! Look how you love the earth. You do your part. If everyone lived like you… But here’s how you could improve, yes even you…” But the test didn’t say that. It said if everyone lived like me, even with all I do to reuse, reduce, recycle, eat healthy, organic, yada, yada, yada… it would take 4 planets to sustain my lifestyle. Four planets! I felt discouraged. What could I do? Then I discovered that an average family of 4 really needs no more space than about 2400 sq feet. And if everyone lived like that, we’d be fine. If everyone stopped living in excess, the earth would heal and so would its inhabitants.

It got me to thinking... maybe we should go small, down size? Maybe my family and I should move… to a smaller house… less electricity, less to heat, less to cool. Hey, less to clean! We could maybe afford those solar panels I have been dreaming of, and maybe even geo-thermal heating too. And why not a wind turbine while we’re at it. We could live off the grid! Hey, the grid could pay US back, or we could donate our excess of mother nature’s power to a family in need… So the dream began.

And so that brings me to this new house I saw yesterday - my new house-love. It was nothing special from the outside. As a matter of a fact, it was quite unpleasant from the exterior. But still I was in love. Here’s why... First of all, you should never judge a house by its cover – you should all know that by now. It’s what’s on the inside that counts, and it’s your peace with life that really matters right? (Yes, I am still talking about a house.) So, number one this house “lives” smack in the middle of a woodland preserve. You would be living in a preserve! How wonderful is that? Well, for this writer who loves and writes about trees, I felt like Henry Thoreau discovering my Walden. And then it got me thinking about Thoreau and his pilgrimage to the woods.

When Henry Thoreau was asked why he went to live in the woods, he said. "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

And I thought, ME TOO! Me too Henry. I want that too!

Then he went on to explain that he wanted to get the most from his life by determining what was really important. He believed this could only be done by removing himself from the normal life of Concord, Massachusetts in the 1840's. For him, it was economic, too. He wanted to reduce his material needs by living simply, so that he would not have to spend much time supporting a lifestyle that he did not need or care about. But of course, he’s reason for living amongst the magnificent trees was for a spiritual connection too.

And then that got me thinking about a passage I just read in The New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, that said many people in Eastern and Western religions, will strip themselves of all their belongs and live simply in the woods to find God and inner peace.

I think this would be good for ALL of us - maybe not the woods for everyone - some love the beach, the mountains, a meadow... but to live simply and with purpose.

By doing this, Thoreau and the great religious minds, were able to strip down their ego and be in touch with life - real life and what it's really all about. Not square footage, or the latest IPod, or a flat screen TV, or shiny, new car. But about you living your authentic life, loving the people in your life, being a messenger for them, and them for you, dedicating yourself completely to your talents, whatever they may be.

But how does one do this? It seems like it should be so simple. But selling a house in today's present market - believe me, I know - is no easy feat.

And so it brings us full circle - PLANNING!

Yes, I am planning. Oh this new house-affair too, shall pass. Some lucky new owner will buy it and spruce up the outside and live amongst the trees in a woodland preserve. But I don't think my need to simplify my life will stop.

So, I plan fully aware of what it will get me - a hardy guffaw from the One Above.