Temporary Blog Hiatus – Coming Soon. Why? So I can Work Harder and Smarter!

Hello fellow bloggers and Happy Monday to you! In order to finish up The Novel I've been dropping hints about, I need to prioritize and reschedule a few things. I won't be posting new content on here much -- if at all. I will most likely reblog your posts. I'm a reblogging superstar! 🙂 And …

Anyone For a Game of . . . Rejection Bingo?

Well. The time has come, folks. ::rubs hands:: Here's my score sheet for a short story that I can't get through The Gates (published). No one wants to give this story a home. It's loveless. It's homeless. And I just want to weep. So, I forced myself to see the "bright side": what prize can …

Goal: At Least 50 REJECTIONS a YEAR? No Problem, Let’s Go Crazy!

Typically, rejection doesn't hold a positive connotation. And why would it? Rejection is painful. When I was much younger writer, I often didn't bother submitting my work because I didn't think it would be accepted. Plenty of times while writing a query letter or a cover letter, the part that always froze me up was …

2017 Year-End Reflection AND 10 Reasons Why I Plan on 2018 Being Even Better!

Soon, the year 2018 will roll on in. Looking back to all that I've accomplished, in spite of the struggle and medical hardships (yup, maybe I'll share that someday), I can finally admit that I'm amazed and proud of myself. Before I sat down to type this post, I had to think back on every …

Stellaluna, The Evolution of Picture Books, and the Excuse of Short Attention Spans

  Earlier today I visited my local Barnes & Noble to purchase The Book. This book shall remain a mystery until a future post. 🙂 Anyway, I enjoyed a lovely conversation with a grandmother who is also a writer. She popped into the bookstore to purchase the gorgeously illustrated and beautifully written picture book, "Stellaluna" …

What Do Recurring Themes Say About You as a Writer?

According to HowStuffWorks.com, Many people have the same or a similar dream many times, over either a short period of time or their lifetime. Recurring dreams usually mean there is something in your life you've not acknowledged that is causing stress of some sort. ... In this case, the dreams tend to lessen with time. I've had recurring dreams, but the …

How Million Yen Women Inspired My Revised Author Wish List!

On Twitter, I discovered this hashtag: #MSWL. For those of you who don't know, it stands for Manuscript Wish List. There's even a website dedicated to this where agents and editors can share with writers what kind of manuscripts they specifically want in their inboxes! Groovy, baby. Just groovy. As a writer, I've always had …

The Query’s the Thing!

In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the main character of the eponymous title states “the play’s the thing” in order to bring to light the truth about his father’s murder. Well, the query’s the thing for writers to grab the attention of an editor or agent! When querying, the first few pages are key! Writers often …

Polish Your Manuscript!

Molli Nickell, The Query Wizard, invites writers to celebrate spring as they polish their manuscripts and submission documents (query, synopsis, first pages) until they glow in the dark. The quest to become published took some major left and right turns this past year with the advent of email delivered query submission letters that include synopsis …