Writing is fun!
Yeah, that sounds like a teacher trying to convince her students of exactly that! For some students writing is not fun. However, for us as writers, writing should be fun. We should enjoy it. When we enjoy our writing it will show and readers will enjoy reading it.
I re- realized this when I was trying to get my son to do a writing assignment for school. Writing is not his favorite subject. He was to use the alphabet to come up with creative adjectives to describe himself. Whoever thought this was a good idea for 8th grade boys obviously never had a boy for a child. He immediately thought of words for A, B, and C and by then was having so much fun entertaining himself he could hardly write for laughing. He finished the assignment because he was having fun.
Next time your writing becomes a chore, take a few steps back. Maybe put one project away and work on something else. It’s okay to work on something that will never be published. It can be therapeutic and do wonders for the mind and soul.
I understand that you would probably have to know my son to truly appreciate this list, but I am including it for those who do know him or for those who have 8th grade boys of their own.
Amazing
Boss (he debated between Boss and Beast)
Cool
Dashing
Eye candy
Freaking awesome
Great
Handsome devil
Interesting
Joker
Kisser
Loving
Manly
Naughty
Obnoxious
Pear eater
Quality
Romantic
Swag (I must be getting old. I’m not even sure what this means!)
True
Ultra beast (He managed to get Beast in)
Very fresh
Wowing
Xciting (Technically not an X word, but this was a hard one)
Young
Zesty
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Monday, April 29, 2013
Victory Song
It’s here! As some of you may know my mother was also a
writer. She and her cousin Kathy could often be found writing together when
they were teenagers. Fortunately, my grandfather was an avid photographer and captured those memories on film. I actually have some letters that my mom and her cousin wrote
back and forth to each other. They signed them “Little Joe” and “Hos.”
Obviously Bonanza was one of their favorite television shows. My mother also
had a deep love of history, mainly the Civil War. She and my father belonged to
the North-South Skirmish Association, which is similar to reenacting, but the
regiments compete at target shooting instead of recreating battles and
shooting at each other.
I remember one day
when I was young, Mom asked me to clean out from under the couch – that was
where we crammed everything when unexpected company came. I took the broom and
slid it across the floor from one end of the couch to the other. For the most
part it was the usual toys under there, but there was one thing that was
different. There was a folder with a bunch of typed papers.
“What is this?” I asked.
“Just put that back under there.”
It was an historical novel that she had been working on in
between sewing Civil War clothing and raising four kids.
Shortly after that, I remember her taking one evening a week
and hiding out in the bedroom to write. That was how she finished her novel Victory Song. Unfortunately, she passed
away before she was able to see it in print, but I have been able to carry on
her legacy for all to read. Victory Song is
available in print here,
but now it is also available on Kindle here.
Take some time to read the book and step back to when our country was at war
with itself. Go to the website and you can read the first chapter. Click on the small cover to go directly to Amazon to purchase a digital copy. Enjoy!

Friday, April 12, 2013
Anniversaries
The longer I’m married, the more
important anniversaries are to me. It seems that more and more marriages are
falling apart around us while my husband and I work hard to hold together what
we have. It’s not always easy – I can be extremely stubborn at times!
While my family loved Randy, I think we did everything we
could to scare him away. One of those times was when we took Randy camping with
us. It didn’t end up being the trip of a lifetime for him, yet it was one none
of us will ever forget.
On the way to the campsite, we were all fooling around in
the car, not thinking that anything was amiss behind us. Only after we arrived
at the campsite did we realize the camper door latch was broken and the door
had been hanging open for we don’t know how long. Since Randy was the last to
pack, all of his belongings were just inside the door. All his stuff fell out
of the camper somewhere along the way. There
was nothing we could do, all his things were lost.
After a trip to the nearest town to at least replace his
underwear, he set up his tent. He was so proud of it! He told my dad he had
even waterproofed it in case of a little sprinkle. Unfortunately, that night,
we got way more than a little sprinkle! It began raining during the night and
by morning there was a foot of water on the ground. There was literally enough
water to make it possible for not only our neighbor’s bunch of bananas to float
out of his tent, but also to allow a resourceful little girl to create her own
boat in the form of a Styrofoam cooler; and she was floating quite easily.
By the time the rest of us got up, poor Randy was standing
outside of his tent in the pouring rain. Immediately my mom made him come in
our camper.
“I thought my tent was waterproof,” Randy said as he stood
there dripping. (Keep in mind the FOOT of water on the ground. We were basically
camping in a river.)
“Why didn’t you go in the car?” my dad asked.
“It was locked.”
My mom asked, “Why didn’t you come in the camper?”
“I didn’t want to bother anyone.” (One of his greatest
fears.)
Even with the experience Randy had on that camping trip with
my family, he still decided that I was the one he wanted to marry.
Now, after 22 years of marriage (and 27 years of being
together) he still likes me.
And we still go camping.
Happy Anniversary, Baby!
Don’t
forget, everyone who purchases a print copy of Come Eat at My Table will
receive an ebook copy for free. Keep the ecopy for yourself and give the ebook
away if you desire. This is automatic so you don’t have to do anything except
order a print copy.
Click on
the link below to order.
Feel
free to share this post with all of your friends using the convenient buttons
below.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Springtime Lilacs
I have
always enjoyed spring. Perhaps it’s because winter was so long in NY where I grew
up that being able to go outdoors without bundling up was a blessing. (Although
spring seems to be slow in coming to VA this year. It snowed yesterday!) One of the things I loved most about spring was
the flowers. When the green tips of the daffodils would first peek through the
soil my mom would announce that spring would indeed come despite how much it
snowed after she made her announcement.
Lilacs
are my favorite spring flowers probably because of a combination of their
beautiful scent and their purple color. Purple is my favorite. What I wrote
about lilacs in my book Come Eat at My Table was one of those things from my
real life.
At the
house where I grew up we had a huge lilac bush. We actually called it a tree
because it was so big. Each spring the bush/tree would be full of blossoms. My
mom would take some scissors out and cut a bunch of those blossoms to bring
into the house. She always put them in the same white pitcher. We didn’t have
any other vase large enough to hold them. That pitcher became known as “the
lilac vase.” That vase, along with the lilacs, became a part of my story and my book cover.
I like all my book covers
to have a special meaning to me. It doesn’t matter if no one else knows what that
meaning is or not. My mom was a big part of the reason I’m a writer. Maybe I
was born to be one, but she definitely encouraged me. Whenever I look at the
cover of my book and see mom's lilac vase I am reminded of her and the legacy she left me.
In honor
of my mom, throughout the rest of April, everyone who purchases a print copy of
Come Eat at My Table will receive an ebook copy for free. Keep the ecopy for
yourself and give the print book away if you desire. This is automatic so you don’t have
to do anything except order a print copy.
Click on
the link below to order.
Feel
free to share this post with all of your friends using the convenient buttons
below.
Happy reading!
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