Writing To Be Read

Thanksgiving is only a few days away, and I know everyone has different things that they are thankful for. As writers, we may be thankful for some unusual items that others may not even consider. For example, we writers might be thankful for our ink cartridge not running out before our entire manuscript is printed, or we may be thankful to the inventor of ink pens, because we no longer have to dip our quills, or for trees that provide paper, so we don’t have to print on papyrus. Okay, so maybe these aren’t the first things to cross, even a writer’s mind. Personally, I am thankful for my laptop and the Internet, because without these two things, I wouldn’t be writing Writing to be Read or anything else for that matter. I tried writing way back in the Stone Age, when you still had to use a typewriter and lots of white out, and submit your work in manila envelopes with a SASE, if you wanted it back with your rejection slip. I carry my laptop almost everywhere with me and write in some pretty unusual situations, but that’s how you can tell that I am serious about writing. I can also say that I am thankful for spell check, because it just makes my life so much easier.

I am also thankful that I can now say that I am a paid writer. I am finally making money for my words of wisdom. It is with a feeling of satisfaction that I walked into the bank and cashed my first paycheck in October. I haven’t quite my other job, the one that I have to actually leave the house to go to. I’m not making enough to say good-bye to the drudgery of working for someone else just yet, but I can feel it coming. It has not been an easy road to travel and I have often gotten discouraged, but my perseverance is finally paying off.

I am also thankful for all the other wonderful authors that I have come to know through my profiles and reviews. I have a whole network of fellow writers and authors, who I social network with, and they are all some pretty great people. Some Colorado authors that I have grown particularly fond of are Beth Groundwater (Colorado Springs); Warren Hammond (Denver); Barbara O’Neal (Colorado Springs); Annie Dawid (Westcliffe); Mary Peace Finley (Eastern Plains); JoAnne Sundell (Grand County); Susan J. Tweit (Salida); Bill Trembley (Fort Collins); Nancy Oswald (Cotopaxi); Jessy Randall (Colorado Springs); Laura Resau (Fort Collins); Kent Haruf (Chaffee County); Cicily Janus (Colorado Springs); and Robert Spiller (Monument). Through social networking on sites like Writer’s World and Facebook, I have also met some writers and authors that may or may not live in Colorado, but are awesome, just the same, such as Art Rosch (Petaluma, CA; Cynthoa B. Ainsworth (St. Petersburg, FL); Scott Martin Locke; Cynthia Vespia (Las Vegas, NV); Christopher Scott Silva (Frankfurt, Germany); Carol Berg (Fort Collins, CO);  Mark A. Cooper (Sarasota, FL); Gary Val Tenuta (U.S.A.), Signe Pike (New York, NY) and many others. In addition, I became acquainted with my illustrator for my children’s book, Heather Hummingbird Makes a New Friend, who is also my agent for the same, Aidana WillowRaven. She does excellent work, which I am very pleased with so far, and I can’t wait for her to be finished. I have also made a wonderful friend through my poetry, who is a talented artist, Mitch Barrett (U.K.), who will feature my poetry with one of his painting series, (?). So you see, writing has really expanded my horizons, and I am thankful for that.

Of course, I am also thankful for all the regular stuff. The blessings that I have received in the form of friends and family are always there to be grateful for. I am thankful for my 15 year old son, who is growing into a young man, oh, so fast. I am thankful for my older children that have made families of their own and given me 13 beautiful grandchildren. I am thankful for my loving husband of 28 years. I am thankful for the roof over my head and the food on our table.

Last, but not least, I am thankful for all of the wonderful people out that that read Writing to be Read and Southern Colorado Literature Examiner! Without you guys, I would not have been as successful as I have without you all reading my stuff. So now, I would love to hear all the things that you are thankful for, as writers and as readers. I hope you will leave a comment and let me know about all the wonderful blessings that you have received for this holiday season, so that we can all give thanks together. Happy Thanksgiving!

The Best Part of Thanksgiving

Could it be the turkey, all roasted golden brown?
Could it be the Jello mold, all jiggly and round? Could it be the salad, filled with lots of greens?
Could be the mashed potatoes, thick with sour cream?

Those of you that follow the Southern Colorado Literature Examiner will know that November is National Novel Writing Month, (or NaNoWriMo for short). To celebrate, The Office of Letters and Lights issues a challenge each year to all writers. For more information on this, check out my article; Write a novel in 30 days for National Novel Writing Month. Anyway, so it sounded like fun and I decided to try it. Starting November 1^st, I’m going to begin writing a novel. Only problem is, I don’t have the slightest idea what I am going to write about. I need inspiration, and of course, this is when my muse decides to take off for parts unknown on vacation. So, between now and then, I have to come up with some ideas. Inspiration can be found in some of the most unlikely places, and I am always on the lookout for new places to look. So, here a few online inspiration spots where I have found my muse hanging out. Muses stick together, so perhaps you’ll discover yours in on of the following places.

·        oneword.com – On this site, you are challenged to take one word and write against the clock for a period of sixty seconds to see what you can come up with.

·        Writer’s social networks can often bring information, just by listening to what other writers have to say. I have my own network, Writers’ World, which includes a group called Inspiration Corner, where writers can keep a journal of things that have inspired them and share that with others, as well as sharing inspirational quotes or links to inspirational articles and blog posts. There are many other networks out there, too, such as The Writer’s Box, The Writer’s Network, AuthorNation, All Who Create, IMPnow, My Writers and Authors, etc….

·        Follow your favorite writing blogs. (Don’t forget to put Writing to be Read at the top of your list). Some of my favorites include Editor Unleashed, Writer Unboxed, Chinese Whisperings, Writing About You, Electric Alphabet, The Blog of Fascination, The-Writing-Bug, and Urban Muse.

My apologies. I did not get this finished as quickly as I had hoped and in the interim have been too busy trying to get this novel thing together to come up with a poem for this post. I know this is kind of my signature for Writing to be Read, but I’m hoping you will all forgive its omission just this once. It’s either that or post it way after the fact, which doesn’t seem like the good choice to me. Until next time, Happy Writing!