Advice

People who ask our advice almost never take it. Yet we should never refuse to give it, upon request, for it often helps us to see our own way more clearly.
Author, Unknown

I've found another paying market to share. For those of you who would like to be a part of an anthology, Dream of Things is looking for your creative non-fiction story.

I submitted to the Advice You'd Like to Pass On To Others topic and since the submission deadline stays open until they have enough to publish, the purpose of this post is twofold.

But if advice isn't your forte, the "Workshop" tab at the top of the page will bring you to a list of 14 different topics. There's sure to be one that will spark your creative writing muse.

While you're on the site be sure to sign up for John Rember's MFA in a Box newsletter. His free newsletter is both witty and informative and has some great tips about creative writing.

2011 First Lines

Just a quick post. Going through my e-mails and wanted to share this.

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2011 First Lines

Spring 2011: Sam was a loyal employee.
(Submissions due February 1, 2011.)

Summer 2011: “We need to talk.”
(Submissions due May 1, 2011.)

Fall 2011: Edwin spotted them the moment he stepped off the train.
(Submissions due August 1, 2011.)

Winter 2011: It had been a long year.
(Submissions due November 1, 2011.)
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http://www.thefirstline.com/

Sharing--Six Words On Happiness

Smith Magazine, the home of the Six Word Memoir is looking for your secrets to a happy life. 

"Play like dogs, nap like cats." "Outer order contributes to inner calm." "Wanting what I have, plus chocolate." Happy words, all. And SMITH Magazine is very happy to team up with Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project to seek your "Six Words on the Secrets to Happiness."

Who knows?  Your six words just may end up in a future book.

The New Year

Wow!  I can't believe how quickly the month of December has gone by.  Seems like yesterday I was stressing about NaNoWriMo and anticipating the return of our daughter from her barracks in Virginia to our fluffy warm nest in New Jersey.

Now that almost everyone has shed their shell-shocked, what-the-hell-just-happened Holiday look, we can move onto the next self guilt-induced occasion.

Declaring one's New Year Resolution is the only time we can make outrageous promises to ourselves and proclaim them to others without being held accountable.  (Almost like a politician's campaign promises.)

I've learned a long time ago I'm not the only person who isn't completely happy with themselves but if there is ever a time to make any changes, now just doesn't seem the right time to do it.  Will anyone, including myself, take me seriously?

Although Spring is the season better known as a time for renewal, January 1st seems to be when everyone adopts a "New Year-New You" mentality, where the slate of the past is wiped clean and everything starts anew.

My past resolutions have been to rid my house of so much clutter, lose weight, eat less, quit smoking, etc.  Some of those resolutions have lasted little more than the month of January while most of them were forgotten immediately after yelling, "Happy New Year!"

Sometimes we just can't eliminate those parts of ourselves and our lives that cause such embarrassment and anxiety.  If we learn to live with them instead of hiding them or banishing them from our lives, we as well as everyone in our lives will accept those things and feel more comfortable about them, allowing us to enjoy our lives.

This year, I've decided to try something totally different.  Instead of concentrating on things I need to eliminate, I'm going to concentrate on working with what I have.

--Instead of losing weight, perhaps I can  redistribute my excess weight.  Working out may help to lose pounds and if not, the pounds may turn from mush to muscle.

--Instead of giving up the foods I love like pasta, bread, salty snacks, and sweet desserts, I'll be sure to add more servings of vegetables and fruits.  My food intake will be slightly healthier without depriving myself of my favorite foods, thereby avoiding binge eating.

--Instead of dwelling on the clutter in my house and wondering how to get rid of it all and be more organized, Whether writing, sleeping, working, or having coffee and just talking to my daughter and husband, I'll live in the moment and make the most of my time by truly enjoying the person by my side, whatever we are doing. 

My New Year Resolution is to accept myself for who I am and be more aware to savor every moment of my life.

Here's wishing you and yours a happy, healthy, and aware New Year.

"The Rag and Bone Shop" by Robert Cormier (Book Thoughts)

"I must lie down where all the ladders start,
In the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart."--Yeats

It's the first day of summer in Monument, Mass.  12 year old Jason Dorrant is an introverted student at Monument Middle School.

When a 7 year old girl is found murdered, the town is anxious to find her killer.

The town calls Trent, an investigator from Vermont who always gets a confession, to interview their only suspect, Jason Dorrant.

This thriller is 154 pages of edge-of-your-seat reading.  You'll be wondering, right along with Trent the investigator, whether or not Jason is innocent or guilty.

Mr. Cormier brings you inside the minds of both main characters and the changes you see will shock you.

Christmas Cards

Today is December 3rd.  I went out to my mailbox to pick up my mail and realized that I haven't received one Christmas card yet!  In previous years, I started receiving those festive glittery cards of cheer the day after Thanksgiving.  Here it is, already a week later, and I still haven't received any.

Granted, I haven't sent out any either.  I keep staring at the three boxes of cards sitting on my dining room table and I wonder if I missed an e-mail about some kind of nationwide ban on Christmas cards.  Now I don't know if I should send mine out or wait until the ban is lifted or at least until I get my first card.  Hmmm...I don't want my cards to be the first circulated cards of the season.

What about you?  Are you sending Holiday cards?

Uncle!

Ok, I give up.  Officially.  I know, I know, there are still 28 hours left, but there is no way I'm going to prolong my agony any longer.

I'm talking about National Novel Writing Month of course.  The goal is to write 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November.  When you break it down, it's only 1667 words per day.  Yes, I said only.  Technically it's about 7 pages of 12pt font, double spaced.

"That's easy," you say.  I'll admit, even I said it.

I participated last year and afterwards, I swore I wouldn't do it again.  Call me a glutton for punishment.  I must have forgotten the agony I lived with because yes, I signed in again this year and figured if nothing else, I would at least get a head start on my newest novel idea.  I swore I wouldn't allow myself to sweat the word count.

I don't know what it is about NaNoWriMo.  There is nothing competitive about the activity.  (Aside from the friendly rival between areas and the screen that shows how many words your writing buddies have written...)  But for some reason, I feel the need to keep up.  Unfortunately, since day 2 I found myself behind by anywhere from 2-4,000 words.  Everyday the distance got larger until finally, with only one more day to go, I am behind by 17,000 words.

I'm out of steam.  I have over 500 e-mails to read, I've got Christmas shopping to do, rooms to clean, laundry to wash, dry, and fold and some friends and family to reconnect with after 30 days. 

There's one good thing to the whole NaNoWriMo 2010 experience.  I've learned that sometimes you just gotta know when to say, "When."