05/17/12

Update. T-Minus 20 days and counting to the We-Are-Insane (aka Idiots) Vacation.

Training hike: I'll be seeing this guy and his hat a lot.

Last week I told you about beginning to train for our long-distance hike in England. Since then we’ve filled in even more plans and are learning more and more about our conditioning and readiness for this amazing trip. Hot dang! Someone should make a documentary of this—we’d be booked for comedy shows across the country. Read the rest of this entry »

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05/3/12

Watching a television show recently, the character said something that resonated with me.  “God gave us words.  It’s our job to put wings on them.”  It prompted me on Thoughtful Thursday to consider a follow-up to an earlier BIOTM post, Three Dimensional Senses (2/29/2012).

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04/19/12

I think they should rename this season, The Biggest Whiners. Sheesh. Did any of you see this week’s episode? If you didn’t, here’s a quick recap:

The show opened with the five remaining contestants saying they quit. They were upset because they’d just learned that all the eliminated contestants would be returning with a chance to win a spot in the finale. The remaining contestants said it wasn’t fair; those who’d stayed on The Biggest Loser Ranch had to endure the hours of training, the grueling challenges. Read the rest of this entry »

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04/12/12

I have lots of ways of describing myself:  wife and mother of two, technical writer, aspiring romance novelist, driver of a minivan, breast cancer survivor, a Yankee living in the South, and a woman turning forty tomorrow.

(On a side note, did you ever wonder why it’s spelled forty and not fourty?)

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04/5/12

Had a bit of a setback last week.  Happily in the company of my sister’s mid-morning, my vision goes double.  I’m no stranger to blurred vision, most of it self-induced when cocktail hour becomes dinner, but 10 AM?  I turned to casually ask how much rum she put in the coffee cake, and her eyes goggled as if I’d called her something totally inappropriate (it’s not something you do to my sisters, not if you want to live to see the next sunrise anyway).  Next I know, they’re carting me off to the ER.

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03/22/12

 

Recently I started watching “The Biggest Loser.” This season’s theme is “No Excuses”, and I like that, because if making excuses was a paid profession, I’d be freakin’ rich.

 

 

It’s possible to fear success. This morning the Daily OM meditation pointed out to me, “As we create the life of our dreams, we often reach a crossroads where the choices seem to involve the risk of facing the unknown versus the safety and comfort of all that we have come to trust.” If you’re comfortable with not being noticed, with not succeeding, then you’re likely in the same comfort zone I am. If I final in the Golden Heart, I can no longer fall back on the belief that I’m not good enough. Like it or not, out of the comfort zone I go.

 

Take a moment to consider what you fear about finaling in the GH. Sure, it’s exciting, but there’s an element of fear in it. I’m sure my friends Ashlyn Macnamara and Valerie Bowman would say that the joy of selling has brought with it a certain amount of pressure they never experienced before. I’ve heard it from Hope more than once. I don’t think there’s a published author alive who isn’t afraid that with her next book, the world will realize she’s a fraud. Her readers will demand their money back, and her publisher will bellow with laughter as they shred her contract. Has this happened to anyone yet? Not that I know of, but I bet everyone who sells a book is afraid of something along those lines.

 

That being sad, my positive affirmation today is somewhat negative. Think about what you’re afraid of. If you final in the GH, what’s the down side? That your name and your story–and your soul–will be “out there” for everyone to see? That the final judges might barf on your entry? That you might not win? That you might final, win, but not sell? (My hat is off to Laurie Kellogg.) Acknowledge it, accept it, and then let it go. We’re all afraid of something. It’s the simple fight-or-flight response that’s kept the species alive for centuries. But once you know it’s there, it’s not so scary.

 

When FDR said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” I think he meant more like fear of the unknown. I truly believe that anticipated pain is much worse than actual pain.

 

For the writers out there who’ve thrown their entries and their souls in the Golden Heart ring, take some time today to think about what’s your worst fear if you do final, and likewise if you don’t. Acknowledge it, then let it go, because life goes on, just like stories go on. This year you have no excuses. Don’t be afraid to succeed.

 

Posted in Thoughtful Thursday| 25 Comments »

03/7/12

Are writing contests relevant? Worth the money?

Those questions surface periodically on loops and blogs, but I’ve heard from other coordinators that entries are still down, perhaps in response to the lingering effects of a crummy economy, but maybe because people aren’t sure it’s something they should do. Read the rest of this entry »

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02/23/12

Library funding comes up every year and as always their value is vastly underrated. How many people would go to the lengths this person did to benefit the needs of Scottish libraries?

Dragon nesting in the egg

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02/16/12

It begins in mid-January. On the radio, television, and internet. From every direction, we’re assaulted by ads for flowers, candy, cards, perfume, lingerie, furs, and jewelry (particularly the diamond variety). Want to show your love?  Well, you better open your wallet, pull out your credit card and buy, buy, buy.

Wait. Not so fast, love buns. According to a recent study conducted by Laurie Puhn Communications, that may not actually be what your significant other wants for Valentine’s Day at all.

The results of the study showed that what most women (ages 30-49) want for Valentine’s Day is simply rest and relaxation. Yup, a little R&R. Read the rest of this entry »

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02/9/12

Or Jennifer Deschanel. Please help me give a warm welcome to both.

Bio:

If one is going to query a publisher, Jennifer suggests not doing so in pink ink. Her first, written when she was twelve, was nothing if not colorful. She is a member the Romance Writers of America in addition to being a writing mentor. Writing historical fiction and historical romance with unusual themes and locations, such as autism and the social mores of the mentally ill in the 19th century. As a child she had a passion for finding the unusual in everything and her stories were no different.
Writing from a tiny loft office, Jennifer admits to being country mouse with city mouse tastes and is constantly fighting to keep the little critters in line. She can’t pronounce pistachio, hates lollipops with gooey centers, and dearly loves to laugh.

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