Thursday's Children Blog Hop. Inspired by. . .

Pitch Contests!

Yep. After another round of #PitMad this past week, and the Writer's Voice recently, I can assure you that these adrenaline inducing, live and public pitches, are inspiring.

And How…

*You get to put your stuff out there. Whether it’s in 140 characters, as in an elevator pitch, or your query and first page. Other writers and even agents comment and/or critique your work. This definitely charges my battery.

*You can read what’s out there in writer land, and in writer’s minds in its developing stage and possibly the books of tomorrow--more for the TBR list!

* You can see what other agents are looking for by what they pick or comment on. And often tell us in their search through pitches. You can see what other writers are digging and want to add to their TBR. –In this case if an agent hasn’t commented, you may get several writers who really really want to read your book. Once again, proving subjectivity reigns.

*And quite possibly the BEST thing about writers’ contests is meeting/connecting with other writers!  

(‘course Blog Hop are great for this too… I’ve met some very inspiring writers through this hop!)

*And the you-never-know element: 

The coaches for The Writer’s Voice didn’t pick my MG from the 150 submissions they got; however, since my first page and query were still up on my blog, an agent found ME! And asked for a partial!!  Very cool. And very exciting.

Have you participated I any online pitch contests, or query/first page contests?

What have you gained or learned from them?

And Once again, I'd like to thank Rhiann Whynn Nolet and Kristina Perez for organizing this weekly hop and keeping the energy and the LOVE going. They ARE inspiring! Hop on the blog, get inspired and meet some great people. And write, write, write. . . 

Thursday's Children Blog Hop. What inspires you?

THE TAROT

This is a weekly bog hop hosted by  Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez, about what inspires you. Please join us. I will try the link, but if I can't get it to connect, please got to Rhinn or Kristina's blog and hop on.

The Tarot inspires me, questions me, and has been instrumental in helping me create my first novel length fiction. 

The Tarot figure semi-prominently within the pages of ABEGALE FORCE: When Abegale finds her grandmother's mysterious herbal medical book, The Tarot fall from its pages. Her grandmother's left a note explaining how to use the cards; how to bridge her unconscious and trust her intuition—and eventually figures out where her grandmother has been for the last three years.

In my early twenties, I became fascinated with The Tarot. I began collecting several decks. As many as I could afford. They were so beautiful, mysterious, and FILLED with symbolic situations—my focus at that time. Each deck had a history and story of its own. I was writing a lot of poetry then, and delved into esoteric studies of all kinds. I went deeper into my study of The Tarot, practicing on friends, who were only too willing, practicing on myself, taking intricate notes of what I was experiencing the moment the cards were laid out, and what the cards were showing; the patterns, the symbols, and how the passing of time resulted in the card’s fulfillment of a question, or situation the person had asked about.

I sometimes think of The Tarot as a way my ‘over self’ uses the symbols in the cards to make contact with my mind—or consciousness.

They say within The Tarot every life experience can be shown, each conflict, resolution, and tool to over come. Or the process of ‘individuation’ as Carl Jung said. “They [the cars] combine in certain ways, and the different combinations correspond to the playful development of events in the history of mankind.”  To read more about Jung’s perspective of The Tarot: Carl Jung

Sounds perfect for writing fiction—right? I didn’t use the cards as a tool for creating my fiction, ABEGALE FORCE, but I suppose it’s within my subconscious from the years of study. I expect it’s seeped into my blood and now pours from my pen. Ha!  I’d like to think so, anyway.

I once read The Tarot over the phone--as a job—for about a week. An interesting experiment; I found I was less judgmental not seeing the person, only hearing their voice. I could be true to the cards and springboard a story from my intuition. I drew on conclusions from the cards laid in front of me.  There was a past, a present, and a possible future. A choice. Where again, events turn into unlimited possibilities—because nothing is fixed in time. Nothing.

I may use The Tarot the next time I’m stuck on plot, or a character’s motivation. Why not try it? What about you?  Do you have a deck?

The Fool: 0, zero, the beginning, symbolic of the egg, with its unlimited potential. It marks the beginning of the Tarot journey, The Major Arcana, ending at 22, The World--completion.

The Fool jumps off where others fear to tread.

Mary K. Greer's Blog.

I found Ms. Greer's books a great help. I highly recommend them,

and her blog for beginning readers. Have fun!

Here's my attempt to attach the linkey: Sign on!

Thursday's Children ~ Inspiration April 25th.

Where do I find inspiration? The weekly theme of Thursday's Children Hosted by: Rhiann Wynn-Nolet http://rhiannwynnnolet.com/ Join us!

From my beta readers/CP's!!
-because we're flexible like that.

Guess it was two years ago in July that I found Jeff and Jennifer on Krista Van Dolzer's blog, Mother Write Repeat. Krista wrote about beta readers and how many writers were having difficulty finding writer buddies in their own genres.

Being in this boat myself, with my writing friends not writing my genre--they were great and very encouraging--but not MG readers, not even YA. I even had trouble finding beta readers with the list SCBWI sent me. And I live in NYC! I finally realized, and it took awhile, sometimes you’ve just got to create what isn't there.

I snagged a couple forlorn writers within Krista’s comment stream, and we created the #MGbetareaders (look for us on twitter) Found a few more on twitter, and then a friend of a friend, and it snowballed. Now 24 members strong, they inspire me everyday.

Some have recently found agents. Some have sworn off writing, only to be on the road to an agent/publisher by the next email. Others get down, or overburdened and remind me we all feel this--not just me. I let the feeling sorry for myself bug vanish when I hear their stories. Or any writer’s story for that matter—We need stories! Damn they’re helpful.

Being 'sensitive' types, guided and sometimes driven by our emotions. It's great when they check in with their fears, hopes-- and contests to share!

Love each and every one of you: Akoss, Ella, Becky, Melanie, Jean, Jennifer, Annie, April, Ashley, Chris, Jeff, Devon, Dana, Jay, Heidi, Ki-wing, Paul, Gail, Rebecca, Rebekah, Rebecca, and Ronnie--an Awesome, Amazing, and Generous team. Go Team! Some are rocking the CampNaNo.

So, get down—in your seats--and keep writing! 

You sure inspire me to NEVER stop!  XO  

Thursday's Children March 14, 2013

A weekly blog hop where writers come together to talk about whatever inspires them. Join us!

This blog hop is about how we find inspiration as writers. A special thanks, to Rhiann Wynn-Nolet http://rhiannwynnnolet.com/ and  Jessica Fleck http://jessikafleck.blogspot.com/ for Thursday’s Children Blog Hop. See the linkey below and hop on. Or take a tour of the other inspiring stories with Thursday’s Children bloggers.

Well, and this may sound a little perverse, but after coming down with a nasty bronchitis last week, I realized a VERY important inspiration --and that is BEING HEALTHY!  It’s always more apparent after being sick, unable to do ANYTHING except stare at the walls, to remind you of how much you value your health. 

Maybe it was a good thing that my usually over active mind was numbed down, because I had energy for nothing--barely able to visualize. It could have been extremely frustrating. So I used this time as a deep meditation. I did read one book at the onset, that I Loved: CODE NAME: VERITY (thought I’d read more). This incredible story gave me a lot to dream about before the malaise overwhelmed me. When I became the staring Zombie. 

Being Healthy after infirmary is inspiring, and for me, creates a frenzy of ambition. All the things neglected come to the forefront, and I want to accomplish them all in a hurry.  

I must pace myself though, or risk collapsing/stressing/suppressing my immune system again—did I not learn my lesson. 

As a dear old friend’s mother, who survived Auschwitz said to me, “if you have your health, you have everything.”

Words to live by.

To your health! 

I sure needed a brain. 

**Be sure to visit the blog hop participants Thursday's Children

Inspiration from Mysterious places. 

First, I want to thank Rhiann Wynn-Nolet for organizing this weekly--yes, weekly blog hop. If you'd like to join us, head over to Nest Of Words for linky and information.

Two weeks ago, when I decided to hitch a ride and wrote my first blog hop post about where/how I find inspiration, I thought, inspiration can come from so many, many things, ideas, smells, emotions, and just anything that moves you or moves passed you.

So after posting about my first inspiration, which was characters, other ideas floated to the surface, I could see why Thursday's Children needed a weekly blog about inspiration.

We all know, the "flow" is unleashed in a myriad of ways. Here's my #2, although I don't think my inspiration is in any type of order. Muses live in another dimension after all.

I LOVE speculative fiction, especially when it crosses over into "news". Maybe some would call this conspiracy theory. So what.
I'm writing fiction.

Give me flying Blue Beam projects or lights caught in outer space via NASA, or something like this: Mysterious Purple Spheres Found in Desert.

It almost doesn't matter what these "really" are. I can conjecture them into my pages and take flight. I can make them anything my imagination might design.

Or try this one: Klerksdorp spheres  "Roelf Marx, curator of the museum of Klerksdorp, South Africa, where some of the spheres are housed, said: 'The spheres are a complete mystery. They look man-made, yet at the time in Earth's history when they came to rest in this rock no intelligent life existed."   

 Yeah, this is the stuff I drool over.  If you'd like to read more here's a link to get you started https://www.forbiddenhistory.info/?q=node/26  

There's even a Wiki link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klerksdorp_sphere     
Come on. If Wikipedia lists it, it must be true. Right? Again, for my purposes, it's not necessary. I'll move the story into fiction and make sure my characters are real.

Klerksdorp Spheres

Maybe we could try a little writing prompt with one of these mysteries. I will. 

I keep an "X-file" for all of my speculations. When I need a CR-A-ZZzY idea, that's where you'll find me. 
Until the next Thursday's Children Hop.... 
Make sure to visit my writing buddies in the hop. They're pretty inspiring, too. 

Linky:

Thursday's Children Blog Hop

How do I find inspiration? How do I not?         

I'm in constant flow of ideas, which are often met with the frustration of having my hands tied. Or my mind riddled with something else while the muse waits, and waits, until…

a) I write the notes in my notebook. b) I get right down to business. Or, c) I multi-task with projects spread around, carelessly completed.

Not always carelessly, but that's how it feels. I try and slow down, but time flies, and I have children! Not young children, worse--young teen-age boys! And they need more help than they must have needed as toddlers. I swear.

But what inspires me to write?  That is what this Blog Hop is about. I would say above all—it is PEOPLE! The Characters, shady ones, unusual traits, hidden kindness, overt cruelty, or Joe Shmo, who I turn into a Wizard on the page.

I played with Barbie’s well into the age of thirteen. Of course, I realize why, now. It was the dramatization of the characters I craved. When we moved from Cocoa Beach to Key West, I was only permitted to bring the most essential. I figured it was a good time to drop the Barbie dolls. I sure did miss them. But by writing fiction, I can still pretend and make-believe.

And having fun inspires me all the time.

A weekly blog hop where writers come together to talk about whatever inspires them. Join us!

   

"And You Are...?" Blog Hop

Swinging into the Blog Hop. Hope I'm not too late for the Par-tay!

hosted by Tammy Theriant  http://tammybr2.blogspot.com/
and Emily R. King http://getbusywriting.blogspot.com/2012/12/and-you-are.html

I'm hoping for some goodies from Santa. Click Dave, over there and read the other participant's Blog interviews. They're hilarious! Eeps--Davis is broken. To read the other Blogs click on Emily R. King's link above--that'll take you to the hub.

1. How many tickets have you gotten?  One, when speeding home from the Catskills in my Robo Cop car that didn't have a catalytic converter. Think I was racing home to my dog. I don't drive very often living in NYC. And when I do, I prefer to watch the scene pass, you never know where an idea may stem from.

2. Can you pitch a tent? Of course, I can read, can't I?

3. What was your worst vacation ever? I don't think I've ever had a "bad" vacation. There have been challenging ones. Like when I traveled the islands of Greece, only expecting good food, and it was Lent and the coldest Spring ever. Even the fishermen weren't out.

4. What was the last thing you ever bought over $100? Um? maybe a pair of boots? But it could of been the electric company? Oh no- it was definitely the grocery.

5. We're handing you the keys to what? A Beach house! Yay! Thank you SO much. Or a solar power Volkswagon Karmann Ghia. I hate choosing!

6. What was the last meal you cooked that made even you sick?  Sick? I burn everything. I cook a lot of goood food, but I don't eat it if it's been too burned.

7. Fill in the blank: Oh my gosh! Becky, look at her butt! It is so big. She looks like a
backwards Kangaroo.

8. What was your first car?  A 1985 red Nissan Sentra. In college, my dorm buddies and I called it the KIT car, not sure exactly why, though.We had many adventures in this baby, across state lines. 
Almost forgot all about her. Here's what she looked like --spittin' image. 

9. Your best friend falls and gets hurt. Do you ask if he/she's okay or laugh first?  I'd check my besties condition and how she feels--was it a cool acrobatic descent, or is she crying...

10.  What's the worst song ever?  Dude Looks like a Lady--think I heard that one this morning. That's drop everything and turn the channel kind of song. There are MANY these days.


Dear Santa, I've been a Very good girl, most of the time. 

Pitch Fever Reigns

Here I go again.

I can hardly keep organized with the pitch workshops, the #pitmad, #pitchon, and #pitchlive and first page Agent contests all happening. Today the #GUTGAA Small Press Pitch has gone live.

My entry, ABEGALE FORCE: http://inkinthebook.blogspot.com/2012/09/gutgaa-pitch-10-abegale-force.html is in for Upper MG. . . if you want to leave an anonymous comment.

"The judges will leave feedback and place votes under their SECRET NAMES from Monday until Thursday and the winners will be announced no later than Friday." O.o

I'm blown away, most everyday with the generous support of other writers, sharing their experience, and talents in hosting opportunities for other writers. This is my kind of world.

Now, to check where I left my pitch draft for critique.

**I didn't even mention the BLOG TOUR!! A list of blogs participating are at the bottom of this page. Haven't figured how to add the names higher up the blog, without the names scrolling of the edges. ...happy travels, and blog jumping new writer friends!