Sunday Status Report

Go to, enjoy, and network at the conference (starting Thursday evening through Saturday night).

5/4: Got home around noon today.  I made some wonderful contacts, received invitations to send two queries to agents in addition to the two awards.  (3rd HM for Poetry Rhymed Long, “Paris, April 1998″ and the 1st is for How-to/Technical Article, “10 Tips for Getting Organized.”)  

-Get back on blog schedules.

5/4: “Sunday Status Report” on Creatif
5/5: “Response to Judge’s Comments” on Creatif, “To MakeUp or Not to MakeUp” on Confessions of a Fat Chick, “Exercise: Cliches” on The Idea Pocket.
5/6: “Tip: Trust Yourself” on The Idea Pocket.
5/7: “I’ve Been Tagged” on Creatif, “Weight a Minute: I’ve Got to Do Something” on Confessions of a Fat Chick, and “Associated Sites” and “My Thoughts: Life in General” on The Idea Pocket.
5/9: “Been Working” on Creatif, “Camouflage” on Confessions of a Fat Chick, and “Quotable Friday” on The Idea Pocket.
5/10: “Source: Music” on The Idea Pocket

-After the conference, do one query a day. (I’m pretty dang close to that now as it is, so we’ll see how it goes.)

5/4: Thursday morning, I got one query in to an ad on Craigslist.  I think it had to do with resumes, but I’d have to look at my “sent” file on Outlook Express to be sure.
5/6: Sent two queries, one to a magazine and the other to a business newsletter
5/7: Sent two queries, one in reply to an ad on Craigslist, one as a reply to an ad by Publishers Weekly on MediaBistro.
5/9: SUbmitted queries to write online for EthnicDenim.com and Sheckys.com.
5/10: Sent ground mail submission of a fantasy short story to Realms of Fantasy.

-Send nonfiction proposals out to two agents.

5/4: One query will be going out tomorrow, as requested by an agent.
5/6: Due to delays in not being home, the query went out to the agent yesterday.

-Send fiction queries out to two agents.

5/4: One query will be going out tomorrow, as requested by an agent.
5/10: Sent query & synopsis to Sourcebooks Casablanca imprint

-Edit Devon’s Wish (still haven’t started that).

Been Working

There are actually a few things I’ve been working on today.  The first is my dial-up connection.

Yesterday, my phone cord and extender connector died.  That meant I had to get a new phone cord long enough to reach from the computer to the phone jack in another room.  Apparently whoever designed this house never thought of this room as being used for an office (probably because there’s a very small built-in office area by the laundry room), so there’s not a phone jack in here.  The phone jack in the small office area doesn’t work.  It would cost the same to get a new jack put in as it would to fix the old one.  But I digress.  I got the new cord and connector and then some.  I now have a phone on my desk so I don’t have to jump and run if/when my phone rings.  My other answering machine was fried in a thunderstorm sometime last year, so I now have a working answering machine as well.  That bodes very well for me so the editors/agents can call me now.  Hey, I can dream, right? 

I’ve also been working on my next website review, which is almost done.  (I’m sure my editor for that would be very glad to know that, if he were to ever read this, that is.)

Even more, though, I’ve been working on a work-in-progress that I’ve let sit for a while.  I found out, through some judge’s comments, that what I was calling a contemporary romance would actually be classified as romantic suspense.  Now that I know that, any time I add anything to it, I find myself thinking, “Does this work for suspense?”  I think I need to forget about that and focus on the romance.  I can go in and edit/tweak any suspense stuff later.  Right now, I’m sitting at almost 8,000 words.

Other than submitting requested queries, that has me covered for the past couple days.  How’s it going for you?  Been working?

I’ve Been Tagged

This isn’t the post I originally intended to put up today, but with the way things went, it’s what I’ve decided to go with.

Cheryl at Aspiring Author tagged me with a meme. As always with this blog, I will attempt to keep it writing-related.

Instructions: Write down six random things about yourself and then tag six bloggers with the same task.

Rules:

• Link to the person who tagged you.
• Post the rules on your blog.
• Write six random things about yourself.
• Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blog.
• Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
• Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Six random things:

1. I buy and read all the Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christine Feehan, and Katie McAllister (as Katie Mc, not as her mystery alias) books I can find as I find them.
2. I want to write a book about someone with a disability where the disability is not the focus and people don’t feel like they HAVE to help her.  I just haven’t found the right heroine or the right story yet.
3. I have two historical romances complete (still in need of edits), one in progress, a romantic suspense in progress, and two nonfiction projects in progress.
4. I just found out this past weekend that the romantic suspense is actually romantic suspense.  I’d just been calling it contemporary.
5. I’ve made more money this year from writing than I did last year so far.  ($50 vs. $20)
6. I like to write to music; I can’t write in silence very often.

Now, I don’t always play by the rules.  This is one of them.  My muddled mind doesn’t want to think of six people to tag, so…If you read this, you’re tagged. 

Reaction to Judge’s Comments

I don’t know why I have to do this.  Last year or the year before, I felt the need to reply openly to some comments a judge made.  That one was on a poem.  This one is on a novel partial.

A comment was made to “watch those pesky cliches,” which I agree with. 

However, the things that were marked, for the most part, are not cliches but legitimate descriptions. 

How would you describe a soldier’s hand that had been calloused by using sword either in practice or in battle?  Is it truly cliched to say “calloused hand?”  I thought simpler was better, or am I mistaken?

On the same note, how would you describe the burning you feel in your throat because of thick smoke?  “Her throat burned” is apparently also cliched.  How would you say it?

It isn’t the idea of avoiding cliches that bothers me but the things that were marked as cliches.

I have no doubt there are still many things I need to learn, but am I completely out in left field by thinking those two things I mentioned are not among them? 

Please be aware that there are some things the judge marked as cliche that I do agree with.  I didn’t list those here since the point of this isn’t what I agreed with, but rather what I didn’t.

Sunday Status Report

-Go to, enjoy, and network at the conference (starting Thursday evening through Saturday night).
5/4: Got home around noon today.  I made some wonderful contacts, received invitations to send two queries to agents in addition to the two awards.  (3rd HM for Poetry Rhymed Long, “Paris, April 1998″ and the 1st is for How-to/Technical Article, “10 Tips for Getting Organized.”)

 

I’m still surprised.  That’s my first first ever. 

 

I’ll get my notes typed up by this coming weekend and get them on a page on my blog.  When that’s up, I’ll post the link and you all can take a look-see if you want to.

 

-Get back on blog schedules.
5/4: Posting this as my Sunday Status Report on Creatif as well as here.

 

-After the conference, do one query a day. (I’m pretty dang close to that now as it is, so we’ll see how it goes.)
5/4: Thursday morning, I got one query in to an ad on Craigslist.  I think it had to do with resumes, but I’d have to look at my “sent” file on Outlook Express to be sure.

 

-Send nonfiction proposals out to two agents.
5/4: One query will be going out tomorrow, as requested by an agent.

 

-Send fiction queries out to two agents.

5/4: One query will be going out tomorrow, as requested by an agent.
-Edit Devon’s Wish (still haven’t started that).

Scheduled to Get Back on Track

This weekend, I have a conference to go to.  After I return from that, I will be getting this blog back on track.  At one point, I had a blog schedule, but it was something every day.

There’s nothing wrong with blogging every day, but it was a bit much for me at that point.  I will re-evaluate and decide if I am going to stay with an every-day format or go with something different.

In the meantime, I’ve been writing and querying.  Have you? 

There’s been a little change around here, too.  In a moment of senility, I put my picture here.  It will probably stay, but we’ll see.

Sorry

I tried to get the Monday Poetry Train post up last night, but for some reason, WordPress wasn’t working with me. Instead of trying to do it today when I’m snowed under with day-job stuff, I’ll just wait until next week and hopefully have it worked out then.

Sunday Status Report

Minimum 3 queries a week.
Week One:
4/2: Submitted two queries in reply to Craigslist ads.  Also submitted a query for Confessions of a Fat Chick to Ashley Grayson Literary Agency.
4/3:  Submitted a query to an ad from Backpage.com and one for a FabJobs guide.
Week Two:
4/7: Printed and mailed a query in response to an ad on Online-Writing-Jobs.com
4/8: Sent query in reply to a Craigslist ad wanting website reviewers.
Week Three:
4/14: Sent a query in reply to an ad for medical/lifestyle writers on Craigslist
4/15: Sent one application and three replies to ads to Article Insider, Cragislist, and 2Work-at-Home.com.
4/16: Sent a query in response to an ad for an essay editor on Craigslist.
4/17: Sent a query in response to an ad on Craigslist for writing wine-related articles.
4/18: Sent a query in response to an ad looking for an editor on Craigslist.

Maintain blog schedules as posted on Confessions of a Fat Chick and The Idea Pocket.
Week One: Nothing
Week Two: Nothing
Week Three:
4/14: “Makeup: Lipstick” on Confessions of a Fat Chick and “Exercise: Commercial” on The Idea Pocket.
4/16: “Weight a Minute: Side-Effects” on Confessions of a Fat Chick

Minimum two posts a week on Creatif.
Week One:
4/1: Theresa Chaze, Guest Blogger
4/2:  That Meme Thing
4/3:  Scissortail Creative Writing Festival
4/6: Sunday Status Report
Week Two:
4/7: Monday Poetry Train
Week Three:
4/14: Guest Blogger Charlotte Barnes
4/16: JK Rowling Lawsuit
4/20: Sunday Status Report

Build and activate The Idea Pocket website. 
Week One:
4/5: Activated e-mail address and upgraded to IE 7 to use provider tools.
Week Two:
4:13: www.theideapocket.com is live, though it still needs some work as not all areas are fleshed out.
Week Three:
4/16: Added info to the About and Links pages.
4:19: The Idea Pocket and KNOWS pages have information added.  Also started a forum at http://creativetips.ning.com to go with the website.

Prepare and preesent first two speeches in Toastmasters.
Week One:
4/2: First draft of the first speech is written.
4/6: Bio written and sent to Toastmaster.
Week Two: 
4/7: Presented Ice Breaker speech: “The Hats I Wear”
Week Three:
4/15: Determined topic of second speech.
4/19: Began outline for second speech

JK Rowling Lawsuit

Have you heard about this*?

Personally, I don’t know why people think they can take a writer’s work — any writer’s work, not just well-known ones — and present it as their own.  True, the guy in the story claimed to be putting a Harry Potter encyclopedia together, but…HELLO?????

I won’t say much more because I don’t want to turn this into a soap-box.  I intended only to bring it to your attention if you hadn’t already seen or heard about it.

What’s your take on it?

——-

*If for any reason, you don’t see the link in “this,” here’s the entire link: http://www.nytimes.com:80/2008/04/16/nyregion/16potter.html.

Guest Blogger: Charlotte Barnes

(Jen Note: Today we will not have the Monday Poetry Train.  Instead, poet/writer Charlotte Barnes is our guest blogger talking about her book, The Masfield Lighthouse Cats.)

 I wrote The Mansfield Lighthouse Cats because I was compelled to capture feelings and scenarios—human moments—on paper. It contains many poems for many moods. You can pick it up when you’re sad, happy, introspective, irritated, whatever—there’s a poem that will speak to you.

I wanted the collection to have a wide appeal. Most specifically, though, I wanted to complete a collection that would appeal to those who haven’t read poetry in a long time. I want them to feel the joy of poetry.
    
In a bigger sense, I write because I am driven to answer the question, “How great can I be?” By that I mean, “How much of my potential can I fulfill? How much service can I provide?” The drive to answer that question gets me through the tough times of rejection letters, disappointments, and setbacks. As I say in a poem I finished recently, “I simply must know how great can I be and how far can I go?”

Click the image below for more information.

(If the image link does not work, go to www.charlottebarnesonline.com.)