Yarn

Today's Blogging From A to Z Challenge letter is Y.

Yarn: There are two definitions for the word yarn that apply to me.

1. thread made of natural or synthetic fibers and used for knitting and weaving.

2. a tale, especially a long story of adventure or incredible happenings: He spun a yarn that outdid any I had ever heard.

I crochet on a fairly regular basis and I love it. Crocheting is an artistic art form in my opinion. It's also something that calms and relaxes me. I can crochet and let my mind wander and often times I can work out plot problems in this way. It helps me to be more of a creative writer.

Of course, spinning a yarn or a tale is what I do almost every time I write. I love to tell a good story!

Teaser Tuesday's: When We Met by Susan Mallery

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read

- Open to a random page

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser.

My teaser this week is from Nook page 12 of When We Met by Susan Mallery:

"What makes you think I'm the least bit interested?" she asked.

"You're still here."

A good point.

X

Today's Blogging From A to Z Challenge letter is X.

X: I am completely stumped. There, I've said it - or rather, I've typed it. I cannot for the life of me think of a word that begins with the letter X that relates in anyway to my writing. The words I keep thinking of - excited, excellent, examine - actually begin with E and not X. I've even gone as far as searching for words related to writing that begin with X. Guess what? My search turned up absolutely nothing! Depending on the source there are 120 to 400 words that begin with the letter X. It does seem that the vast majority of the 400 words are no longer used in the English language, though. So the 120 is probably more accurate. It is also a popular consensus that a lot of the X words have their origin in the Greek language.

I don't have a specific X word for this post but I do feel I have learned something. For me, as a writer, I often find myself researching something for my books because I want them to be authentic. Now, I absolutely must find a way of including this information on X words in one of my books sometime soon. And yes, I am completely tickled that I have managed to create a post about the letter X after all.

Thank you for reading it.

WriteCLub and WriteChain

Today's Blogging From A to Z Challenge letter is W.

WriteClub: I've been waiting excitedly for the letter W because I get to post specifically about the two things have changed me as a writer and I believe helped make me a better one. Since I found WriteClub first I'm going to start with this group. As I've written about before, I needed a major boost to my writing and my attitude toward being an author at the end of last summer. To put it in a slightly crass fashion, it was time for me to put up or shut up as a writer. I was unmotivated and therefore not producing much. I wrote nearly nothing for the entirety of the summer last year. It was depressing. One of my best friends (hi Julia!) was happily telling me all about Twitter and different aspects of it that she loved. Of course, I knew about Twitter and even had an account but it wasn't something I was in to at all. However, in a moment of desperation, I started searching hashtags about writing. I found #WriteClub. Which is @FriNightWrites if you are interested. Anyway, I was immediately intrigued by this concept of writers all over the world writing together on Friday nights. The camaraderie of a group of like minded people was incredibly appealing to me. The idea is to write in thirty minute sessions and share how much you write during that time. Sometimes people even share lines from their WIP's and that is always awesome. It was incredibly inspiring and I thought, I can do this. I should do this, darn it, I'm doing this! I told my husband about it and he thought it was funny. Then he realized I was serious about it when my writing became a priority again - on Friday nights. He was understanding, he was supportive. He was (and still is) happy for me for finding and becoming a part of something important to me. Another benefit, seeing the numbers other people put up in regard to how much they were writing really got me going. It's not a competition at all. It's just that I personally am motivated by seeing other people succeed. I hope that makes sense. Anyway, I love WriteClub! I love being a part of something so amazing!

WriteChain: I wiill say right here and now that I LOVE the WriteChain Challenge just as much as I LOVE WriteClub! There, it's said, done and in writing, out to the public. I found WriteChain through people from WriteClub posting about it in September. The challenge is to do something writing related everyday and earn a link and make a WriteChain. Write everyday? Well, that was something I had just started doing anyway. Would this challenge make a difference to me? I knew immediately that the answer was yes. Again, it was the camaraderie and the inspiration of success (for others and myself) that drew me to this challenge. I love seeing the participants WriteChains grow. I love the people (Hi Skye!) I've come to know in a writerly way through the challenge. It's the best thing to see people achieving their goals, setting new ones and having success. It's a mixture of inspiring and humbling.

So, I am so, so thankful to these two groups. I know that I am a better, much more focused writer as a result of having found them.

Voice

Today's Blogging From A to Z Challenge letter is V

Voice: The other day I wrote about style and voice came into my post a little bit. It's a topic often spoken (or rather, written) about my authors or those who claim to be experts. For a period of time I worried about whether or not my voice was being interpreted the way I wanted it to be in my writing. I have, thankfully, stopped worrying about how my voice is perceived. The reason is fairly simple, I'm true to myself with my writing. I write what I enjoy and I write what I hear in my head. As a result, I no longer feel any pressure to come across 'a certain way'. I am who I am and I write what I write. I imagine (meaning I really hope!) I come across the way I hear myself and my characters as I write their stories. The last thing I ever want to seem as a writer is a phony hack. I attempt to write entertaining stories with strong characters that are often overcoming something within their lives. I hope my writing voice tells their stories well.

Understanding

Today’s Blogging From A to Z Challenge letter is U.

Understanding: This is an emotion and a sentiment I am extremely grateful to have and be able to give in my life. I am ever so thankful for the fact that my husband and children are understanding to the fact that I must write. I also appreciate that they show an interest in what I am writing. My husband even likes to give me story ideas and plot twists. Of course, the majority of them crack me up and usually have nothing to do with anything I’m writing, but still. He understands me, I understand him and it’s all good.

Time and Thank You

Today's Blogging From A to Z Challenge letter is T.

Time: Whether your passion is sky diving, scuba diving, making music (like my husband), painting or writing (mine!) it's a challenge to find the time to fit it in. Right? Finding the time for the extras has always been a challenge for my husband and I. Yes, we've heard people say, "So make the time." For the longest time (ha!) that irritated me so much. Where in the world was I supposed to make time to write? Then at the end of last summer it finally dawned on me that it was a matter of priorities. Was it worth it to me to make writing a priority in my day? Was it worth it to me to take the time I have in a day and make some of it be all about the writing? My answer was a resounding yes!

So, near the end of August of last year I decided that I could devote at least thirty minutes of my day to focused, daily writing. That went incredibly but I quickly realized thirty minutes wasn't going to be enough for what I want to achieve and decided on an hour a day. And it didn't take long for me to realize that what I needed to do was set a daily word count because I could easily fritter away an hour of so-called writing time. This was near mid-September (when I started the WriteChain Challenge - more to come on that) and my life as a writer changed for the better. I am a better writer than I was eight months ago and that is because I decided to make time for myself and be the writer I want to be. I made my writing a priority and will continue to do so without regret.

Thank You: I know this challenge has six letter (or one week) to go but I want to say thank you to all who have stopped by as a result. I also want to say thank you to the organizers of this amazing challenge. It has helped me to realize that I do still love blogging and I will make my little corner here more of a priority come May and moving forward.

Style

Today's Blogging From A to Z Challenge letter is S.

Style: I strongly believe that a writer's style - along with his or her voice - is very important. Of course, one should write in a way that is true for them and their style will hopefully come through to the reader. Not everyone is going to like my style. I know this and I am all right with this fact. I do intend to stay true to my style and my voice and my beliefs within my writing, though.

It's interesting to me when a book or a series (or even movies or music artists) become quite popular but I really don't like the book or movie or song. That is in part taste in genre but it's also tastes in style, I believe. There's a very popular, bestselling author that a LOT of people apparently like but I just do not. I've tried to read two books by her and I was so incredibly irritated by them that I was actually angry. It seems silly as I write this but it's true. I read several passages from the books to my husband and kept asking him why this person was published and so successful. The books were full of mistakes and continuity issues. I felt like they weren't even edited but they had to be. As I said, this is a very popular author. The only thing I can wrap my mind around is that I simply do not care for this author's style. As I said above, that's all right. There are plenty of books for me to read by writers I do enjoy quite a bit. Let those who enjoy this person continue to read her books.

I know no one can ever please everyone so I'm not even going to stress over it. I'm going to honor my own writing style and voice and strive for the best.

Teaser Tuesday's: The Guestbook by Holly Martin

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read

- Open to a random page

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser.

My teaser this week is from Nook page 32 of The Guestbook by Holly Martin:

We didn't have a girl's name; we were both so sure it was going to be a boy. But Willow, after the cottage seems to fit perfectly.

Relationships

Before I begin today's post, I have to say that I have no idea why in the world P and Q show up without any words. It's completely bizarre. So, I'll have to try and remember exactly what I had been attempting to say and fix them. Of course, that is assuming this post will show words. I hope it does.

Today's Blogging From A to Z Challenge letter is R.

Relationships: I seriously considered writing about romance as it's the genre I write most and think it's something that should be a part of everyday life in some way. Then I thought about the fact that all of my books and stories - regardless of their genre - are always about relationships in some form. And I thought about the fact that it's the relationships in my life that add to forming me as a writer.

Relationships are crucial to every story. I really don't think it's possible to have a story without relationships, whether they're love relationships just beginning, between a parent and child or even enemies, it's still relationships at the core of a story. Can you imagine a book with only protagonist characters? There has to be some kind of an antagonist to add a layer of interest to the story. At least this is my opinion. And I honestly can't think of a book I've ever read that didn't have an intentionally unlikable character. If anyone knows of something like this please tell me.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Queries

Point of View

Opportunity

Today's letter for the Blogging From A to Z Challenge is O.

Opportunity: I've really been trying to take to heart the idea of being open to opportunity. In a way this may sound odd that as a writer I'm working on being open to the idea. The thing is though, in some respects, I'm kind of shy. I think most people that know me will be scratching their heads over that sentence. The thing is, when it comes to the act of sharing my writing it is absolutely true that I shy away from doing so. I think that that is due in large part to a fear of rejection. So, I'm actively working on getting over this and embracing opportunities to share my writing. It's not an easy thing for me. For example, my husband has asked me to read something I've written out loud on more than one occasion. I can't do it. I physically cannot stand in front of him and read a chapter or even a paragraph of something I've written to him. I don't mind if he reads it to himself but I can't do it. I have to get over this and I know it. To a degree, I feel like I should be able to read and share my own writing with people I know. I know that I am becoming a better writer everyday. Now I just have to create and accept opportunity to move another step forward with my dream.

Networking

N is today's letter for the Blogging From A to Z Challenge.

Networking: As in any field, networking within the writing community is very important. I didn't used to think so but have definitely changed my mind about this topic. Whether you're going the traditional publishing route or self-publishing I believe having a strong network of people in your corner is key. I also believe it's beneficial to have a network of writer friends who understand exactly what you are striving to achieve.

Music

Today’s Blogging From A to Z Challenge letter is M.

Music: This was another definite topic for me to blog about. I am, and always have been, extremely inspired by music. The majority of my childhood memories have music attached to them in some fashion. Of course, as a teenager, music ruled my life. I discovered the ever so amazing Duran Duran at the age of twelve and have never stopped loving them. My daughters even love them, thanks to the fact that they have always been exposed to their music.

Music inspired me as a writer as well. The majority of the time when I’m writing, I’m listening to music. All of my books and stories have a soundtrack. Now, whenever I hear a song that I associated with writing one of those books, I think of that book and those characters. It seems a little funny and yet I’m certain I can’t be the only writer who does this.

Right now, my main female character is a flute player in a symphony. This is proving to be a very fun person for me to write as I was a flute player through school. I’m enjoying writing about what it’s like to be a part of the world of classical music and auditions and rehearsals and the thrill of performing. I’m also rediscovering a love for classical music through listening to it. Another positive to this is that my kids have discovered they like classical music, too. They even want to be in band! Right now they’re saying they want to play flute but I’ll understand if they change their minds. J

We love all kinds of music around my house. Duran Duran and classical, as mentioned but also Country, some Top 40 and my husband loves hard core techno. And it’s all inspiring to me as a writer.