Category: Challenges
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Saturday Six #17: Six Things I Got Out of a Twitter Pitch Contest

This week I participated in my very first pitch contest on Twitter. It wasn’t a contest in that there were “winners” and “losers.” It was simply an opportunity to share a teaser for my completed book and see if any agents were interested, which they would indicate by liking or favoriting my pitch. What’s a…
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Birthin’

Today, my youngest turns four. As I always do on each of the kids’ birthdays, I’m reflecting on the circumstances of his birth: when and how it started (pathetic, infrequent contractions the day after his due date); how long it took (4 hours of active labor); those final moments before we met him (in the…
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Saturday Six #14: What If?

I am attending my first-ever writing workshop this weekend. And while I am learning a TON of valuable information, lurking in the back of my mind are the questions: “Why on earth is this my first one? Why haven’t I been doing these for 20 years?” We can’t change the past. But we all have…
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On Writing a Villain (for the first time)

I might not be done drafting my current novel, but that doesn’t mean I’m not mulling over the next one in the back of my mind. I’m really excited because it will take place during my absolute favorite time period: the 1700s. I’m going to have a heyday researching the Revolutionary War and colonial customs…
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Margins of Error

WARNING: Hopeless Optimism Ahead. During a conversation with my husband last night, he introduced me to the idea of “planning for margins.” He’s reading a book about time management and being busy, and he said it forced him to examine how he prepares to leave the house. He calculates the latest possible minute he can…
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The Roller Coaster That Is Writing

So yesterday I tweeted: Me, two weeks ago: *whines* I can’t even go on Twitter because seeing authors being successful makes me so sad and discouraged, and it’s never going to happen for meeeeeee….. Me, today: I AM DOING THIS AND NOTHING WILL STOP ME. That right there is writing in a nutshell. Everything ebbs…
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Someday Soon

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” really should be our anthem this holiday season. The song was written in 1943 for the film, Meet Me In St. Louis, and actress Judy Garland was the first to sing it. In the movie, she sings the song to her little sister on Christmas Eve because their family…
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The Day Before

I love the day before Thanksgiving. It’s one of my favorite days of the year. I can remember this as far back as early high school, when my aunt and uncle took us to Red Wings hockey games for a few consecutive years on the evening before Thanksgiving. We’d have dinner at Pizza Papalis in…
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Person over Platform: A Rare Word on Politics

I don’t often publicly state my political views or alignment, and I’m not going to do so here, either. I’ve been called “apolitical” and “politically unplugged.” I don’t disagree with either. I pay enough attention to make decisions about voting, and that’s about it. On the rare occasion I do post something remotely political, I…
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NaNoWriMoWoe
I am doing a crazy thing, participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this year. But I realized enough was enough, and I wasn’t going to sit on this idea for another minute. Twelve years has already been entirely too long. The first few days were brilliant. I loved some of what I wrote. In…