Back to the Grind

I’m a Newsletter Editor!

I now am the newsletter editor for RACWI Reports, the newsletter for the Rochester Area Children’s Writers & Illustrators. Some of my friends think I’m crazy for taking on yet another responsibility, but I’ve done this before.

Yes. I used write and edit a newsletter for the MOMS Club for a couple years before my children aged out of the activities, and our schedules no longer meshed.

Doing the Happy Dance

Don’t get me wrong. I love my children, but they really, really needed to get back to school. It wasn’t until the end of summer that I realized just how dependent on routine they are.

Now, I push the kids out the door as soon as we hear the school bus round the bend. Time to write and draw!

Desperately Seeking Sleep

I sit at my computer type, type, typing away. Before I know it, I’m tipped back in my chair with my head resting on my shoulder and a crick in my neck. “Go to bed,” you say. And I do. I drag myself up to bed and lay down. Then… I’m wide awake… for another two or three hours no matter how hard I try to sleep.

Tried exercise – just made me achy and awake

Tried reading – got too involved in the book and stayed up until 4am

Tried a warm glass of milk – just gave me nasty breath in the morning

So, I either get sleep sitting in an awkward position (wake up in pain), or I lay awake until I eventually drift off.

This has been my week. I guess all those thoughts sucked out of my brain through kid prattle have come back to haunt me as soon as my head hits the pillow.

Contest Alert - Free Book!

If you kids are between 8 and 13 and love to read, there is a contest to win a free signed copy of Donna St. Cyr's debut novel The Secrets of the Cheese Syndicate at http://community.livejournal.com/classof2k9/.

Still Going...

I’m still plugging away. In anticipation (hoping) of more educational writing gigs in the fall, I’ve been thinking about stories I could write and submit. I’ve started a few, but they are just festering ideas right now.

Most of my writing time has been spent in revisions and reading. I’m sprucing up one of my novel’s characters and polishing picture books.

Great Reads…

I just finished reading The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman. And wow! I had bought the trilogy at a Scholastic Book Warehouse sale out of curiosity. I had seen the movie and wondered if the book deviated from it much. They seemed to follow the book pretty well, but I need to watch the movie again to be sure. Setting aside the religious controversy surrounding the book, it's a well crafted story, thick in plot and intrigue, and an excellent study for novel writers.

Illustrating…

In the past week, I’ve been drawing in my head. Okay, that sounds weird, but if you can write in your head, can’t you draw in there too? Eventually, I hope to start journaling some of my sketches.

No more teachers, no more (text) books…

My kids are living it up since school let out last Tuesday. They’ve been watching movies, playing games, and reading lots and lots of books. If only they weren’t sick. Yup. We’ve been shut up in this house since last Wednesday. Sickie boy number two spiked a fever of 104 degrees on Wednesday, and he’s been battling the little cold beasties ever since. I only hope I don’t get it too.

The kids’ school has a summer reading contest, and both boys are determined to win the top prize this year. We have a little competition between the kids, even though I told them that the school awards the prizes based on grade level. Boy #1 (9 yr old) is mad that the boy #2 (6 yr old) is reading mostly picture books and easy readers.

What are they reading this week?

The 6 yr old:

1. Geronimo Stilton
2. Dr. Seuss
3. Berenstain Bears
4. Magic Tree House

The 9 year old:

1. Geronimo Stilton
2. Animorphs
3. Series of Unfortunate Events

I love having a couple of little readers in the house, but if they keep going at this rate, they will have read our whole collection of children's books by the end of summer.

Wall of Shame and other things

I’ve continued on my weightloss efforts, and I managed to squeak off a few pounds, but not as much as I would like to. My weights are posted, and I’m very thankful that the woman managing the blog didn’t post my last name along with my weight. Is that shameless?

Since I’ve taken on the job of Cubmaster, my exercise regime has really faltered. Laurie Halse Anderson, in two speeches she gave at two different conferences, stressed how exercise helps a writer focus and write constructively. I did notice a difference when I was exercising, and even though I have tons of time conflicts that keep me from the gym, I have no excuse. I need to resolve to do something again. The weather is nice. I have a bike and exercise equipment collecting dust in the basement.

Time to Make a Change

Change is good, right?

We change our underwear. That’s good. We change our toothbrushes. That’s good too. And sometimes, we change ourselves, for better or worse.

I decided I need a change of body. Since I can’t trade in the parts that don’t work quite the way I’d like them too, I need to trim down so people can’t say "this or that" is a weight issue. It’s a little difficult when you have BIC (butt in chair) disease, a condition that you have willingly inflicted upon yourself in order to hone your writing skills. But who says a person needs to give up the life of a writer to trim some fat.

Wall of Shame:
Okay, at first glance, people don’t guess how much I weigh, and it’s not a bit of information I care to share. So, in the interest of keeping myself motivated to lose those extra pounds, I’ve joined a contest along with a friend and a bunch of her family members to lose the biggest percentage of weight by December 31st. Every week, I report my weight and pay $5. Fun Fun.

My first week was sabotaged by a wonderful writing conference with lots of food and chocolaty desserts. Luckily, I didn’t gain any weight. I didn’t lose any either. My weights for the first two weeks are posted (with my name) on a blogger’s wall of shame. Sorry. I’m not sharing the link either. Wish me luck!

Now for the Creative Part:
Before the summer is over, I plan to add the special something to my middle grade novel that an editor recommended during my one-on-one critique at the NJ SCBWI conference. AND… I plan to use it as a learning experience in my study of children's illustrations.

My other goals include polishing and revising two picture books based on the recommendations by Cynthea Liu (thanks to her Red Light Green Light contest) and completing an illustration portfolio (and posting it on my website).


So, ready, set, here I go!