So your (dad, brother, husband, mother etc.) tells me you wrote a book...

I live in a family full of big-mouths. Since I signed with Sara they've enjoyed telling anyone and everyone who has ever met me that I am a writer.

Then I run into these people at the grocery store or the movie theater or church and the first thing out of their mouth is, "So your dad told me you wrote a book and I hear it's a bestseller."

Yup, that's pretty much how it goes.

Then I have to correct them and say, "No, it's not even published yet."

Then they say something like, "So when is it coming out?"

Then I have to explain that I have an agent but not a publisher (yet).

Then they look at me like I'm lame, and try to save the conversation with something like, "Well, I'm sure it will work out for you someday."

Yeah. Tomorrow night is my husband's company party. It's going to be filled with conversations like this--which will be fun.

How do you respond when someone asks you about your writing? Do you have a quick and graceful way of explaining just how long and difficult the non-vanity publishing process is? Do you just nod and smile?

Writing in my head

We woke up Monday morning to snow. It doesn't snow too often here, (maybe 3 or 4 times a year), so the kids were very excited. After I got them bundled up, they went out to play and I went out to SHOVEL.

After about 10 minutes they got cold and went inside. Unfortunately, I was only about 1/10 through shoveling, so I had to stay outside in the BITTER cold and shovel for another hour. (I'd driven on our driveway, so a lot of this time was spent scraping off the tire track ice).

And you know what? It was time well spent. I sometimes love quiet repetitive jobs, because my brain can wander wherever I need it to go. I've written many scenes in my head while shoveling snow, driving, mowing the lawn, and doing dishes.

I am kind of envying you Australians--with your nice warm (or miserably hot) winters, but I'll take the bitter cold and snow if it means productive writing time.

Do you ever write in your head while you work? When is your most productive thinking time?

Pursuing Dreams

First, I have a favor to ask a few of you. I've had trouble tracking down some of your blogs lately. I do try to read everyone's blog who follows or comments here (at least every week or two). If I haven't visited your blog (or if I haven't been by for a long time), would you please leave your blog address in the comments so I can check it out? Thank you so much.

I spent last Friday with my extended family celebrating the life of my cousin who died just after Thanksgiving in a hiking accident. I came away from the funeral feeling inspired. While she was alive, she lived. Though her family was sad that she is gone, they found comfort in knowing she'd had a full, happy life, and peace in their faith that they would someday be reunited with her.

She did a lot during her too-short life. She was very respected in her field. She was a loved mother, wife, grandmother and daughter and friend. And she accomplished her goals and lived her dreams.

Everyone has goals in life. Mine are pretty simple: I want to be a great mom, I want my husband to always know how much I love him, and I want to be a writer.

Most of you share this desire. Do you ever consider quitting, or are you committed for the long haul? Will you measure your success by completion, publication, awards, reviews, money or something else?

Escape

When I sit down with a novel I have an expectation. I read so I can get away from my cares and see life through someone else's eyes--so I can escape.

Don't get me wrong, I live a very happy life. I have a beautiful family, a home, food, clothing, and thousands of other comforts. Unfortunately, real life is stressful. I have many demands on my time. Some of the things I do are fun (like writing, snuggle time with the kids, and movie nights with my husband). Most of my daily tasks are mundane (cleaning, cooking, driving kids from place to place). And some of my jobs are downright nasty (like changing poopy diapers and cleaning up dog vomit).

When I read something great, I can leave all of that behind--at least for a few minutes--and get lost in a story.

I'm reading Rick Riordan's PERCY JACKSON series right now and it has been a great little escape.

Have you read anything fabulous lately?

What Makes Writing Good?

Thank you for all the well wishes and prayers these past few days. Your sweet comments were so appreciated. We are doing well and it sounds like her family is coping, despite the difficult circumstances. Thank you.

Last week my mother-in-law and I were discussing books. We were talking about an author and I said something like: "His stories are great, but I his writing drives me crazy."

She was surprised by this reaction and asked me what makes writing good or bad.

I had to stop and think about it for a minute.

My immediate answer was that writing is subjective, what one person loves another may hate and visa versa, but then I came up with a real answer.

If writing is superior words are never wasted. Every word is meaningful, every sentence is beautiful, every thought is perfectly expressed. An example of this (for me) is THE BOOK THEIF, by Markus Zusak.

When writing is good words are rarely wasted. If there is a page of material, 95% of it is pertinent to the story. The words may not be as perfect as those in a superior book, but they get the story across and don't waste my time.

I get annoyed when books are wordy. Bad writing (for me) is when a writer takes a page to express a thought that could easily fit in a paragraph (or a sentence), or uses adverbs with reckless abandon, or spends forever explaining a room when I REALLY want to know if Don and Harriet are going to get back together.

The interesting thing is, I like more than a few books that are written badly. I also hate a few that are written beautifully. Story trumps all. If the story is good enough, I'll suffer through a thousand page book that should have been two hundred pages, AND I'll tell my friends and family I loved it.

I have not mastered the art of good writing. Sometimes I'm sloppy. Sometimes I use more adverbs than I should. Sometimes I start sentences with and, but, or so. I'm working on it. I want my writing to be good so it doesn't distract from my stories.

Do you agree with my assessment? Do you think I'm a raving lunatic? What makes writing good (or bad) in your eyes?

Loss

This was kind of a strange Thanksgiving for me. There was so much to be grateful for--time spent with my husband's extended family, my grandmother's 80th birthday, great food and good company. But there were things about it that were hard too. We stayed in a house without Internet access (for 5 days) and we were all sleep deprived and cranky most of the trip. I LOVE our family, but it's hard having the kids away from their beds for so long.

Then Saturday morning we received word that my cousin died in a hiking accident the day before. It's been a difficult couple days.

I've been trying to think of something to blog about today, but I feel drained. I'll try to be back to blogging Wednesday.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, or regular week (for those of you in other countries). :)

Being Thankful

This will be my one and only post until next Monday, because we've got a week full of family and food ahead. So HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all of you U.S. dwellers, and happy awesome normal week to all of you in other countries!

First I just wanted to draw attention to the supporters/followers box in the corner. Notice something cool? That's right! Over the weekend several lovely new people decided to follow the blog and now I have 100 friends! So, I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who read and/or follow the blog. I am pretty sure I've made more friends in the last 2 1/2 months than I made in the previous 5 years. You guys are awesome, and it's been a pleasure to get to know you. I hope to know you better in the months ahead.

Now onto my thankfulness story...

Saturday we went to my parents house and my sister asked if my husband and I would like to go to the philharmonic. I find instrumental music a little boring usually (wait, hold your tomatoes!), but my husband wanted to go and my parents offered to babysit so we went (I can't pass up free babysitting). Once we were out I kind of wanted to ditch the concert and go see New Moon instead, but I couldn't convince my husband that a night of vampires and werewolves would be more fun than a night of violins and flutes, so we went to the philharmonic as planned.

It was kind of AMAZING. The music was fantastic--truly beautiful and inspiring-- and the time we spent there was the most productive writing time I've had in months, even though I didn't actually do any writing.

I've been a little stuck with my NaNo novel (again) and I couldn't see where I wanted to go with the plot. Sitting in that auditorium with Tchaikovsky's music making me smarter, it all became clear. I knew how to deal with all of the things with which I'd been struggling (character motivations, plot, conflict--even specific scenes).

So I am so thankful for my sister who gave us the tickets, my parents who watched the kids, my husband who made me go, and Tchaikovsky who wrote incredible music that people have enjoyed for 150 years. I think I'm going to start listening to it all the time.

So tell me, what are you grateful for?