And the winner is....

It's been so long since I promised a contest that even I almost forgot about it LOL.

Plus, Jason the boy genius and I don't get the chance to cross paths too often these days, what with him keeping up with all his 11th grade AP courses and me trying to find ways to keep the classroom busy.

But he just chose a random date for me and, as luck would have it, it was a date with a post and a comment. August 12th, in honor of a USA Men's Basketball Olympic win (we are sports nuts in this house). The winner is a girl with a great name...Beth Morrissey, another wonderful freelancer. (You should check out her blog--I love it over there).

Yay Beth! I'll be sending you a package of writer's goodies, including the pens that started this whole contest thing...

And thank you so much to everyone who stopped by, passed on my blog link, made comments and sent me wonderful notes. Especially those of you who keep coming back to read. I know I've been horrible at posting over this last month but I do think I've gotten my teaching life under (some type of) control so I'm hoping to jump back into the blogging world soon. I really do miss it...

Hope you're all still writing...
Beth

...I think it's back....

The urge to write, that is.

I really have been grappling lately with this melancholy attitude toward writing. It's not that I've been blocked--I've been working (not as diligently as I should) on outlining a new story over the past several weeks, a baby bit at a time--but I just am not feeling the urge to write with any sort of passion.

It all started after I got back from camp and, until today on the way home, hadn't really let go. I did have two articles to finish for deadline after camp and I managed fine, but other than that, there wasn't any writing going on. I tried all sorts of tricks with no luck. Nothing stirred my interest or passion in the words that I'd spent my summer dreaming about. I couldn't get it going at all (even though the new story does excite and interest me).

Not until today on the way home, anyway. At the stoplight, a line from a book I'd read during free reading time with my 7th graders popped in my head, and immediately the old gears started turning slowly the way they always do when I get the spark of something good running around inside. By the time I got home (half a block) I had a whole paragraph of a new story to start, but had promised myself to finish the one I'm working on first. (I will this time if it KILLS me!!). I hurried to finish all my lesson prep and mom-duties so I could have some writing time alone tonight. I didn't get a massive amount done but enough to get me excited to come back tomorrow night for more of the same. ANd that's no small accomplishment.

I haven't forgotten you guys, my readers, either. I have lots of ideas planned on the calendar for various kinds of posts but haven't had time to zero in on getting those things together. I will, I will. Might be a little while but I'll get there. I feel like such a louse when I'm not posting here, but until the excitement came back, it was like pulling teeth to get the brain to cooperate. Hopefully this mood is here to stay....

A quick note...

This is cutting into my regularly scheduled writing time (which I desperately need after dealing with my lovely middle schoolers all day...if I have to open another combination lock I'm going to scream!), but it's cool and I wanted to share.

Just got a call from the local sports radio station. I entered a recipe contest way back in May for a tailgate recipe book featuring recipes from former OSU Buckeye football players and tailgaters--and I won! My recipe (which I created myself) for Buckeye Bars was one of the ones selected to make it in to the cookbook, along with several others. All proceeds benefit one of the local hospitals (the cancer hospital, I believe). How cool is that?! (They *are* the best peanut butter/chocolate concoction you've ever had...I guarantee it!)

And just in time for football season, too. I'll be making a pan of 'em tomorrow night to take down to the tailgate...6:30 a.m. Saturday. Bright and early...but it's never too early for college football.

Ok, enough bragging. Back to writing! Oh, and Go Buckeyes :)

...O-H....

Done!

Just wrapped up the final edit of the article for the business magazine. It's not due til Friday but I like getting things in early when I can.

This one has been hanging over my head for a bit. It was an idea I was originally (still am) excited to research and had lofty aspirations of interviewing a number of professionals for (it's on capital campaign funding). Problem was, the folks I requested interviews with weren't interested in sharing LOL. (or possibly too busy).

Last week I had to change my topic focus. I have never had to do that before, and I didn't like it one bit. The topic is really the same, I'd just hoped to do more expert advice/profiles than a straight up article.

Just to be safe, I emailed the editor last week to let her know. I was worried she'd not like it not having personal advice but she was OK with it, so I ran with it. Well,walked. It took a bit more research than I'd have liked but all in all, an interesting article.

What's even more exciting is that this is the last summer article on my calendar. True, I go back to the classroom on Monday (ugh!!) but my brain is now free to plot the story that came to me on a walk on Friday. Another iPod inspired moment, this time based on my completely and unadulterated infatuation with one-hit wonders from the 1970s and 80s.

I don't have it plotted completely yet but it's getting there. Well, as close as I can get before starting. I've only 100% plotted one story in my life, and that one never got written LOL. Nothing like stealing story thunder with a too-detailed outline.

I'll be back here soon. I'm hoping to start adding more resources and helpful articles for writers once I get things moving on the school end. And I'll have Jason the Boy Genius pick a contest winner soon so I can send out this package.

Happy writing...

Article Update: Diabetes Health & Eye Care

I'm being a good girl today. Just scratched out the first draft of the business article due next Friday and am on my way to type it up. Stopped online for a moment, and read a nice email from a friend who read my latest article at Diabetes Health.com and found it helpful. Hey, I'm here to serve!

It's a break from my traditional fictional advice and work, but if you or anyone you know has been affected by diabetes, it's absolutely fascinating to know that your eye doctor--yes, your eye doctor, not your GP, the endocrinologist or anyone else--can detect it first. It's all to do with your blood vessels in the back of your eyes.

If you do stop by to visit the article, be sure to leave a comment there. They love comments and choose print articles based on popularity of online commenters. (Yep, shameless self promo, but it *IS* my blog!)

Curious? Here's the link to the newsletter: Diabetes Health Newsletter, July 2008 (My story is the first one: Eyes on the Prize).

And here's the link to the story itself: Eyes on the Prize: Early Detection and Management of Diabetes.

Completely fascinating stuff, even if you're not diabetic. Who knew the eye docs could see inside your body?!

Oh, yeah, and on the article page, you can click on the cover of the latest issue featuring Jay Cutler (recently diagnosed) of the Broncos and check out another article on teenagers & insulin pumps by yours truly...(ok, enough promo!)

Back to my regularly scheduled writing work on my last real day of summer vacay. I'm so not ready for school....

Dreams....at the Plot Whisperer blog

If you know me, you know how fascinated I am by dreams. I've kept a dream notebook (which stemmed out of a meeting with Robert Moss, author of Dream Gates years ago and my first stint with Julia Cameron's Morning Pages) for years and will chat anyone up who's interested in talking about their dreams.

In visiting blogs by colleagues, I found that Martha Alderson over at the Plot Whisperer blog has a great post on dreams and their potential significance to writers in the midst of creation:

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Allow Your Dreams to do Your Heavy Plot Lifting

Following is an inspirational way to use your dreams to write your stories by hynotherapist, author, and radio personality Kelly Sullivan Walden.

Like Kelly, I, too, use my dreams to support my writing and you'll usually find me up before dawn, writing.

"While I was up to my elbows mid-way through writing my recent book, “I Had the Strangest Dream…the Dreamer’s Dictionary for the 21st Century” (Warner Books), I developed the practice of rolling out of bed and into my “writing station.” While still in the in-between-worlds place I would open my laptop, take a deep breath, and with eyes half closed, let my fingers do the tapping. Before my logical brain woke up, I would give myself permission to write whatever wanted to be written from my subconscious/dream state.

This “dream state” writing would often wind its way to being relevant to the particular aspect of the book I happened to be working on. Even if my writing took a detour I would nonetheless find myself opened to a smorgasbord of thoughts and feelings that I could apply to the subject at hand that never would have occurred to me otherwise.

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Read the entire post at: Allow Your Dreams to do Your Heavy Plot Lifting by Martha Alderson at Plot Whisperer

Tryin' to get the feelin' again...

Yeah, so what if I quoted Barry Manilow? It's my blog!

I'm having a hard time getting in the swing of writing after camp. I have plenty to do: two articles due next week and an essay to send off to an editor for consideration, but with the pre-school year hype and nervousness of settling into a new classroom, I'm finding focus and motivation tough. I want to write, I just can't muster the motivation.

I know this strikes more than just little old me. How do you deal with it? I'd love some suggestions....

Publisher's Update from HCI Books' The Ultimate Series

Just got this via email and thought I'd share for those of you interested in this market, which I mentioned in a post earlier this summer:

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With the heat index in triple digits in most parts of the U.S., it's clear we're in the midst of the dog days of summer. Kids will soon be heading back to school, and before we know it we'll all be planning holiday schedules.

Before life gets busier, I want to remind you of an upcoming submission deadline and tell you about an exciting new title added to the Ultimate list.

We've gotten a great response to The Ultimate Mom but are still accepting submissions through the deadline of August 31, 2008. If you've already sent something along - thank you! If not, be aware the deadline is looming.

During Book Expo America, one of the regular visitors to our booth wondered if we had thought of doing an Ultimate book on gardens. Later, when our publisher was reminded of the suggestion it prompted more consideration and as a result we've added The Ultimate Garden as a hot new release for April 2009. That means the submission deadline is . . . now! (September 30, 2008).

The Ultimate Garden stories will explore gardens as metaphors for life. Full-color photos will showcase nature’s beauty and bounty, and horticultural and landscape experts will share their knowledge and passion with readers who never tire of cultivating those proverbial green thumbs.

A full synopsis of the book, guidelines for submissions, how and where to send your work, and information on all the titles in development can be found on www.UltimateHCIBooks.com. Online submissions are preferred. It's the fastest, most efficient route to get your work to the editor working on a title. If, after checking our online guidelines for the information we need included with each submission, you prefer to email your submission, words go to submit@ultimatehcibooks.com and photos get sent to photo@ultphoto.net. Again, please check our guidelines before sending material.

Also, please be sure to add our domain name to your trusted domain list so future emails don't end up in your spam folder!

Stay well and enjoy the rest of the summer.

Theresa Peluso
Developmental Editor
The Ultimate Series from HCI Books

Back....

...but not completely here.

Camp was over Saturday, but I just got home today. Long story short: never lock your car keys in your convertible trunk without having a spare. Trust me on this.

Luckily it happened at the parents' house, so I didn't have too much to stress about, but I did need to get home to finish edits on an article due tomorrow. That's done now, and ready to be zipped off to the editor.

Camp went so fast...without the tons of photos my friends and campers take to share, it'd have just been a blur. I'll be back to regular posting as soon as my real-world settles and I have a few clean clothes to wear LOL.

In the meantime...keep writing!

Best of...Character

Hard to believe this is the last day of camp and I'll be home soon. Hopefully the advance post option in Blogger is working (for you). If not, at least I'll have lots to post when I make it back on Monday!

Today's Best of...features character-building and how to know your characters well before you start writing. Since I'll be starting a new contemporary novella in a few days, I can use this advice myself...lol.

Best of...Characters at the Fountain Pen, Inc. blog

Happy writing!

Beth

Best of...Fiction Query Letters

Still at camp. Today is Thursday, which means the last day of regular activities. Tomorrow is full of all-camp games and, of course, the final dance. So sad...I'll be back in the real world for another year of ...life away from camp.

In the meantime, here's a followup to the post I did earlier on query letters. This is a revisit to the Fountain Pen, Inc. blog files, but good stuff nonetheless.

Beth
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Best of...Fiction Query Letters 1 at fountainpeninc.blogspot.com

Christmas In July? Start Writing Now

Just a reminder that I'm off at summer camp this week (yay!)

If you're a freelance writer, you really should be querying for the holiday season now. Here are two great articles to help get your thoughts moving and article ideas flowing....

Happy writing,

Beth

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Sample Christmas Feature Ideas by Allison Whitehead at the fabulous Writer2Writer.com

Getting Ready to Write about Christmas by Allison Whitehead...at Writer2Writer.com

Best of...Goals

I can't believe I'm at camp again. A whole year has passed and I still get excited about working with these amazing kids.

Since we're in the middle of the year, it's a good time to reflect, rejuvenate and re-goal your writing ambitions for the rest of 2008. To that end, here's a bunch of posts on goal setting for writers from my old blog at Fountain Pen, Inc. Enjoy!

Best of...Goals! by me at fountainpeninc.blogspot.com

The Art of Fictional Query Letters

Just a reminder that I'm gone at summer camp all week, but here's a question from a blog reader I thought you might find interesting...

Happy Writing,
Beth
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Dear Beth,

I liked your web site but can you recommend a web site for fiction writers like myself? I'm having trouble with the process of the query and I really would like to find some sort of group that I can learn from.

Sincerely,
S.H.

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S.H.,

I don't know about a group to join. Maybe you can get together with other fiction writers in your area and set up a semi-regular time to meet and go over your query concerns. You could even swap them or have a round-robin, where everyone gets a copy and time to comment.

As far as the actual writing of fiction queries, here are some places to visit for ideas and inspiration:

Queries to Editors

Charlotte Dillon's Write A Query Letter page (amazingly comprehensive--if you read this and still don't comprehend a query letter, you shouldn't be a writer)

Writing a Killer Query Can Be Simple by Natalie Collins at FictionFactor.com


How To Write a Query at AgentQuery.com

Sample Query Letter by Melissa Alvarez

Queries to Agents


How to Write Great Queries Without Resorting to Threats, Bribery or Coercion by Wendy Keller at Absolutewrite.com

How to Query an Agent by Holly Lisle

How to Query a Literary Agent by Richard Dooling (on his blog; also contains additional, excellent links)

Best of...Writer's Block

hey, guess what? I'm still at camp, but hopefully this revisited post from my days with the Fountain Pen, Inc blog will come in handy if you find yourself creatively blocked in any way...

Oh, My Gosh: Writer's Block by Beth at the Fountain Pen, Inc blog

Happy unblocking,
Beth

Help for Middle Muck in Fiction

Just a reminder that I'm gone this week at camp. Here's a post I'm sure will help many of you fiction writers in the crowd who struggle with the middles of your stories (me included):

2 Plot Tips for the Middle by Martha Alderson at her fabulous Plot Whisperer blog (stay and read a while--I guarantee you'll learn something)

Off to Camp...

Wow, hard to believe it's been an entire year since I was at camp, but it's true. And now it's time to go back!

I've worked with this camp for diabetic teengers since my brother (a diabetic diagnosed at age 18 mos) invited me 15 years ago, and it's truly the highlight of my summer. Just ask any of my friends from camp. I have an official countdown, and I usually start packing in June.

Camp is an amazing place full of super-wonderful-kids and staff and I am honored they keep letting me come back and help run the program. It's so fantastic to be a part of something that changes the lives of so many kids.

I'll be without the internet all week (I think I can survive), but I've lined up a blog post for you every day using Blogger's advance post option. Hope it works...lol. If not, have a productive, creative week and stop by the first week of August when life resumes again.

Oh, and I didn't forget about the contest. I'm going to keep it going during this week since I haven't had time to do anything with it. Every comment is an entry, and when I get back, I'll have Jason the Boy Genius choose one. Lots of goodies for the winner....

Til then, happy writing!

Beth

Rough draft....DONE!

Yay! The rough draft for the October writing magazine article is done. 15 pages longhand, written with a felt-tip (it just felt good) and a massive hand cramp, but it really looks good. I'm excited.

I had a bit of a rough patch getting this one started. Usually, with nonfiction and articles, I can get the first whiff of a first sentence and dig right in, but this one took about two pages to nail down. And I started it with something I have never done before (that I recall) in an article for a national magazine: a personal story.

The idea for this article (the topic is the difference between romance sub-genres) hit me on my second day of spring break in the beautiful Sonoran desert of Arizona. Sitting there on the porch swing of my casita at 5:30 am (the sun rises early in Arizona), I tried, for about the third time, to read a new book I'd just bought and couldn't get into it. Granted, it wasn't a romance--it was a horror novel. Despite the fact that the last horror novel I read was IT by Stephen King (I still walk around sewer openings on the street and cry when I see clowns) in the fifth grade, the geographical foundation of this new horror book was something I'd done lots of research on and loved with all my heart...so I thought I'd give it a try.

No dice. I couldn't stop thinking, as I read, that this would not end with a HEA (happily-ever-after) but instead someone's (or many someones') deaths. Aside from the fact that the novel read like a straight line with minimal description and absolutely no character emotion or POV depth (all 3rd person limited...ick), I tried. Boy, did I. It just didn't work.

So, as I sat swinging and admiring the saguaros, I started thinking. What is it about reading different genres that attract different readers? I didn't dismiss horror as a genre worth reading---the way horror keeps fans glued to the edge of their seat and makes them scream in fear is a worthy goal for the author of horror. What I wanted to know is WHAT elements of fiction draw the reader to their favorite genre(s). I started thinking about how all genres have one or two fictional elements they do well. Sci Fi, horror, romance, medical thrillers...they all have something special.

When I got home, I toyed with the idea for a bit then sent off a note to the editor (with whom I have worked before and love working with). She liked it, especially since I hasn't been done before in the magazine, but I had to tailor it to the subgenres of romance fiction. Hey, no prob.

Long story short (is there such a thing with me?), I started the article with a much shorter version of this story as the introduction. I still have to type, edit and proof, but the meat is done. And none too soon. It's about time to pack and plan for another year of summer camp. I can hardly wait!

Almost a nerd

Jason the Boy Genius (I'm not joking about that!) is a big race car fan. He never misses a racing season with his grandparents at Mid-Ohio in Lexington, and this year was no exception. Despite being on a tight deadline, I agreed to go with the boys to the Indy race today (what fun, I go often but also miss some due to summer camp conflicts).

I justified my wasting a perfectly good writing day by convincing myself that I would balance it with reading and documenting the research for the next article on the way up. Since it's a good hour and fifteen minutes one way, I figured that'd give me two & a half hours of time going through interviews--my favorite but most time-intensive part of the article-writing process.

We pulled in just as I had started documenting the research after reading through it. The Indy race itself hadn't yet started, but the preliminary race (I call them Baby Indy cars; Jason's car-specific knowledge doesn't appreciate that) was about to get going. I figured I could watch that race, do all my spreadsheeting (on paper), and put it away in time for the big race.

Then I thought about all the folks I've seen over the years at Indy races and realized I'd never seen any of them carrying a spiral notebook and shimmery purple folder crammed full of interviews to the grass in the S-curves. Knowing I had better verify this idea was OK, I piped up from the back of the car.

"Hey, I've got a question. Do you think it would be OK if I took my notebook and folder with me to do a little...."

I didn't even get the question finished before two solid, resounding, almost reverberating "NO"!!!s came back in unison.

"You would be the biggest nerd ever if you did that, mom. No way." I could almost hear the teenage embarrassment in J's voice at the mere thought that his mother would be doing work while cars zoomed around the course.

I spared them both (and myself?!) the humiliation by leaving my stuff in the car, but couldn't help but notice that the lady in front of us was reading a romance novel during the Indy baby race. No one even gave her a second look.

Well, except for Jason and I. I was jealous; he was relieved someone else looked nerdier than his mother in public (for once). He's just lucky it was too bright to read in the blazing sunlight...

My Current Obsession: To Kindle or Not To Kindle

I've been having issues lately with wanting an Amazon Kindle. You know, the little ebook reader from Amazon that feels really good, looks really good and can take the place of my Leaning Tower Of Pisa-to-be-read stack...and go to the pool with me, too?

I hadn't even heard of the Kindle until my friend Steph got one as a gift. I marveled at it--not only am I a book-o-phile, but I'm also a gadget freak. Loved the way it felt and since I love reading ebooks as much as paperbacks, thought it was a great idea I'd save up for.

I've come closer to my saving goal (It ain't cheap, that's for sure...one of the other drawbacks) and want to be sure this is how I want to spend the money burning a hole in my pocket (as mom would say). I've been peppering Steph with questions recently, but am still somewhat torn.

Knee-deep in revisions and pending deadlines, I gave up on my quest only (temporarily) only to find a fascinating article at NPR today (and eerily similar to the evaluation shared by Steph):
Taking Kindle to the Pool by Lynn Neary.

Problem is, it really didn't help. Only made me more curious to get one for myself to judge the value. At over 300 smackers, it'd better be a value...lol.

How about you? Anyone have a Kindle and an opinion? (having a Kindle isn't required for opinion but it does make for valuable feedback!). I probably won't pursue it until after camp, sometime in August, but I'd still like your thoughts. Anyone? Anyone?