This will be a short one - more fact than funny - but I felt the need to write:
Some of the seeds I sowed back at the beginning of January (when I was feeling upbeat and motivated) are starting to come to fruition.
1. Joy FM has posted the logo contest entries on PHOTO Scramble. Some of them are simply fantastic! As much as I'd love to claim the $500 prize, I hope that the best logo wins. So many contests that are determined by votes come down to who has the most (or most dedicated) friends. Not gonna lie ... I didn't vote for mine. Today, my favorite is the yellow and purple one with the sun.
2. My first copy of Clubhouse Jr. came in the mail today. I plan to read the articles so I can tailor my submissions to their style and content guidelines. I also borrowed some Christian biographies - and autobiographies - from my mom so I'll have someone to write about. Thanks again, Mom! BTW - Nate needs a haircut. Can we come over?
3. I filled out forms today (uggghh!) so Thriving Family can pay me for my next four book reviews. Not gonna say how much here, but I was very pleased. Let's just say it will pay for our next water bill - which was twice as much as usual, thanks to our ever-running toilet.
4. I finally got to read Zombie in Love to grades 3 through 5 in honor of Valentine's Day. Love it!
5. I put an ad on Kijiji for the Newfie pups. Unless we are really lucky (ie. Sam's little swimmers miraculously didn't get anywhere), they'll be born in mid-April. At least I know how I'll be spending my birthday! We've had a lot of positive responses and hope to find great homes for the pups - and have enough money left over to spay/neuter our two fluffy friends.
Sigh...
6. I cleaned my house last weekend, so this weekend will be mostly laundry, art, and writing! And sorting the huge mountain of clothes in my bedroom. It is the age-old question of the Western woman: How can I have so many clothes and still have nothing to wear?
I have also been making recipe-card sized pen sketches while Nathan watches TV in the evenings. Some of them are turning out alright, so if you'd like one, send me an email at natelisa.robinson@gmail.com with the pic you want me to try drawing. I'll send you a digital copy - and the hard copy if you live in the area.
7. And ... drum roll please ... I got an email from a published author. A best-selling published author. You may remember that 6 weeks ago, I contacted Neil Pasricha, the author of the best-selling book 1000 Awesome Things, with a short composition titled "The Double Snow Day." He said my submission was great, and he had fixed the submission form on his website. Would I submit again? Needless to say, this made me very happy. If he likes it enough, my story could get published on his blog or in his next book.
This weekend, I hope to work on a few more sketches and write the movie review of Ip Man, which I will then submit to Plugged In. I am working off-and-on on my picture book - more thinking than writing at the moment. I should also buy Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, which is due on February 28th. At the very least, I should make sure Chapters carries it.
If not, there's nothing like reading a many-hundreds-page-long book on your smartphone screen!
Although I did read Little Men and all 154(?) of Willie Shakespeare's sonnets that way.
Hey, they were free.
Have a good weekend, everybody!
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Friday, 15 February 2013
Sunday, 3 February 2013
Day 31: Bad Days
I knew yesterday would be a bad day when I stretched and accidentally knocked a picture off my wall and onto my head. It fell off my head and onto my coffee cup, spilling coffee all over my pink carpet.
As if I needed more brown stains.
But I was wrong about yesterday being a bad day. Yesterday was okay. I attended Uprising (a women's conference at Crosspoint Church). I attended a beautiful, sad-but-happy funeral for a friend's mom. And I meant to go to bed early, but instead I took a nap and stayed up late drawing pictures of people's faces off old Just for Laughs videos on YouTube and listening to Jeremy Wade catch electric eels in an almost-dried-up-pool in the middle of a cow pasture.
I will never step in a puddle again.
No. Yesterday was not a bad day. But today? Today was everything yesterday promised to be, and more. And it's not even noon yet.
Less than an hour after getting up, I had searched the internet to find out if going into heat can make a dog not only lose her mind but also control over her bowels. The answer is: occasionally, yes (although switching dog foods suddenly because the pet store was out of our regular feed may also have something to do with it).
Don't ask.
Let's just say we're almost out of Nature's Miracle.
I had also sobbed alternately into the (clean) laundry bin and Nathan's arms about bills and losing everything except pounds on the scale and never having a clean house or folded clothes.
And I missed church. Hello guilt, come on in. Make yourself at home.
I am feeling better now, after some coffee and plain eggs scrambled with water - we're out of milk and I couldn't find the pepper. I did add some low-fat cheddar and crushed red pepper spice.
There's also no longer a pool of water on the floor beside the refrigerator. No, the refrigerator hasn't stopped leaking. Dave (the cat) just licks it up as fast as it comes out.
I guess he prefers it to the drooly dog water.
Today is February 3, almost one month after I began this journey. I've posted twelve times (including this post) and my blog has almost seven hundred views, one follower, and fifteen comments (including mine). Thank you, readers, for your encouragement.
I've spent time almost every day honing my writing skills and beginning to practice art again. It's been a long, slow process, and I know it will get even longer and slower in the months to come.
But I won't give up. Not today, anyway.
Wherever you are in the world ... have a good day today. Unless a picture falls on your head. Then you might as well resign yourself to the inevitable.
LOL Update: While my portraits are beginning to bear some resemblance to the human species in general, there is still no actual correlation between the picture and the person they are supposed to represent. Witness this quick portrait of Nathan - it looks like a mix of Justin Bieber, Moses (from the Prince of Egypt movie), and a woman with a beard. I think Nathan put it best. "It looks like everything I don't want to be..."
As if I needed more brown stains.
But I was wrong about yesterday being a bad day. Yesterday was okay. I attended Uprising (a women's conference at Crosspoint Church). I attended a beautiful, sad-but-happy funeral for a friend's mom. And I meant to go to bed early, but instead I took a nap and stayed up late drawing pictures of people's faces off old Just for Laughs videos on YouTube and listening to Jeremy Wade catch electric eels in an almost-dried-up-pool in the middle of a cow pasture.
I will never step in a puddle again.
No. Yesterday was not a bad day. But today? Today was everything yesterday promised to be, and more. And it's not even noon yet.
Less than an hour after getting up, I had searched the internet to find out if going into heat can make a dog not only lose her mind but also control over her bowels. The answer is: occasionally, yes (although switching dog foods suddenly because the pet store was out of our regular feed may also have something to do with it).
Don't ask.
Let's just say we're almost out of Nature's Miracle.
I had also sobbed alternately into the (clean) laundry bin and Nathan's arms about bills and losing everything except pounds on the scale and never having a clean house or folded clothes.
And I missed church. Hello guilt, come on in. Make yourself at home.
I am feeling better now, after some coffee and plain eggs scrambled with water - we're out of milk and I couldn't find the pepper. I did add some low-fat cheddar and crushed red pepper spice.
There's also no longer a pool of water on the floor beside the refrigerator. No, the refrigerator hasn't stopped leaking. Dave (the cat) just licks it up as fast as it comes out.
I guess he prefers it to the drooly dog water.
Today is February 3, almost one month after I began this journey. I've posted twelve times (including this post) and my blog has almost seven hundred views, one follower, and fifteen comments (including mine). Thank you, readers, for your encouragement.
I've spent time almost every day honing my writing skills and beginning to practice art again. It's been a long, slow process, and I know it will get even longer and slower in the months to come.
But I won't give up. Not today, anyway.
Wherever you are in the world ... have a good day today. Unless a picture falls on your head. Then you might as well resign yourself to the inevitable.
LOL Update: While my portraits are beginning to bear some resemblance to the human species in general, there is still no actual correlation between the picture and the person they are supposed to represent. Witness this quick portrait of Nathan - it looks like a mix of Justin Bieber, Moses (from the Prince of Egypt movie), and a woman with a beard. I think Nathan put it best. "It looks like everything I don't want to be..."
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| Forgive the red Sharpie ... couldn't find anything else. |
Friday, 18 January 2013
Day 15: Momentum
O momentum ... how easily I lose you.
And momentum isn't the only thing I lose on a regular basis.
The following is an actual conversation between my husband and me:
Me: What habit do I have that you used to think was cute, but now it's just annoying?
Nate: Great. She doesn't hang me, she just hands me the noose.
Me: No really. I want to know. So long as it doesn't have anything to do with food.
Nate: Well ... I used to think it was cute that you lost stuff.
Right.
I lose everything.
Money. Debit Cards. Credit Cards. Keys. Travel Mugs. Cell Phones. Passports. Birth Certificates. Citizenship Cards. Glasses. Receipts. Library Books. Marriage Licenses. Well, only one of those!
Consider the following evidence:
I lost my car keys this summer. I never found them.
I lost my credit card too. I found it ... two weeks after I declared it lost or stolen.
I also lost a copy of The Lorax that we rented from Jumbo Video.
(I think I put it on the car roof and drove away. I'll probably find it in the spring.)
I now buy books from Chapters because it's cheaper than paying library fines for books I forgot to return. My last fine was over $50.
Ironically, I am now a librarian.
I lost my husband's car keys while shopping for a new library book at Chapters.
Then my cell phone died (after I called my husband to tell him I was stranded at the mall).
Then I found the keys.
I would have called him back, but I couldn't ... because I lost the charger.
Needless to say, he wasn't impressed when he arrived home.
Sometimes I lose momentum because I lose things like pencils or computer cords.
Other times I lose momentum because I can't bring myself to finish something I know will never be perfect.
Whatever the reason, when I lose momentum on a project, I'm always tempted to call it quits. Tempted to hide it in a drawer and start again in a couple of months when the sting of failure isn't quite so fresh.
But not today.
While my internet voice has been silent, here are some baby steps I've taken:
And momentum isn't the only thing I lose on a regular basis.
The following is an actual conversation between my husband and me:
Me: What habit do I have that you used to think was cute, but now it's just annoying?
Nate: Great. She doesn't hang me, she just hands me the noose.
Me: No really. I want to know. So long as it doesn't have anything to do with food.
Nate: Well ... I used to think it was cute that you lost stuff.
Right.
I lose everything.
Money. Debit Cards. Credit Cards. Keys. Travel Mugs. Cell Phones. Passports. Birth Certificates. Citizenship Cards. Glasses. Receipts. Library Books. Marriage Licenses. Well, only one of those!
Consider the following evidence:
I lost my car keys this summer. I never found them.
I lost my credit card too. I found it ... two weeks after I declared it lost or stolen.
I also lost a copy of The Lorax that we rented from Jumbo Video.
(I think I put it on the car roof and drove away. I'll probably find it in the spring.)
I now buy books from Chapters because it's cheaper than paying library fines for books I forgot to return. My last fine was over $50.
Ironically, I am now a librarian.
I lost my husband's car keys while shopping for a new library book at Chapters.
Then my cell phone died (after I called my husband to tell him I was stranded at the mall).
Then I found the keys.
I would have called him back, but I couldn't ... because I lost the charger.
Needless to say, he wasn't impressed when he arrived home.
Sometimes I lose momentum because I lose things like pencils or computer cords.
Other times I lose momentum because I can't bring myself to finish something I know will never be perfect.
Whatever the reason, when I lose momentum on a project, I'm always tempted to call it quits. Tempted to hide it in a drawer and start again in a couple of months when the sting of failure isn't quite so fresh.
But not today.
While my internet voice has been silent, here are some baby steps I've taken:
- I created a design for the JoyFM logo contest that begins in February. It began as a one-day fling and morphed into a multi-day event. I was grateful for the input from friends and family - which dramatically improved the final product. I don't expect to win, but it was fun to think creatively again. It's also a great opportunity to display my artwork to the Fredericton community. Or at least it will be ... if I don't forget to submit it!
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| Original Design |
 |
| Finished Product |
- I registered for a creative writing workshop that's taking place at Smythe Street Cathedral tomorrow. It cost $30 including lunch. Woo hoo! Finally something within in my price range!
- I drafted a letter to Plugged In, proposing that I review movies for their site. To this end, I watched Ip Man on Netflix, took copious notes ... and am still working on the first paragraph of my sample review.
- I've continued to work on my picture book manuscript. You'd think it would be easy because it has so few words. Not so. I expect to finish just before my eightieth birthday.
This is a picture of the last muffin.
I found the camera just before Nathan ate it.
By Nathan, I really mean me.
I would post the recipe ...
but I lost it!
Mom: If you're reading this, don't worry. I'll find it again. I always do.
Mom: If you're reading this, don't worry. I'll find it again. I always do.
Saturday, 5 January 2013
Day 2: Game Plan
You can't just wake up and decide to write a book.
Unless something really, really, really unusual happens to you.
Or you're a lifelong reader.
If you want to be a writer but you HATE reading, complete the following steps (in order):
Don't laugh. They exist. Just ask Jack Black.
Nothing unusual has ever happened to me (unless you count getting bit by a squirrel, which was a harrowing experience I'd rather not discuss with anyone over the age of accountability). However, I LOVE to read. And write. Although my family didn't always own a TV, I can't remember a time before books.
But I can't just write a book. I need practice. Experience (preferably paid). Real-life opportunities to hone my craft.
Enter Focus on the Family.
Focus on the Family offers some great opportunities for Christian writers to practice their skills, gain experience, and collect a paycheck. Check out the links below for submission guidelines to three of their magazines:
Clubhouse Magazine
Clubhouse Jr. Magazine
Thriving Family Magazine
I began writing book reviews for Thriving Family last year. As a Christian school teacher, I regularly used Thriving Family Book Reviews to see if a book was appropriate before recommending it to my middle school students. For those of you who aren't familiar with Thriving Family, this service is similar to FOTF's PluggedIn.
When some of the books I used in class weren't reviewed online, I sent an unsolicited review to Thriving Family. To my delight, it was accepted and posted. Now I am assigned reviews on a monthly basis. I love writing them. Receiving a check in the mail every few months is just a bonus.
I would say it helps with the groceries, but I used December's check to adopt a second Newfoundland dog. Now I have a boy and a girl. Neither are fixed (yet). Not sure what I was thinking there...
Today I took another step towards publication: I signed up for Focus on the Family's Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr magazines. Each 12-issue subscription cost $19.99. After tax, I spent less than the cost of a full tank of gas (unless you own a scooter). But having access to these magazines means that I will be able tailor my submissions to their audience and have a higher chance of getting published.
I do have two long-term projects on the go: a picture book and a YA novel. I'd be happy if either was published by the end of the 1000 days.
Until tomorrow or whenever I write next ... live life to the fullest! Unless it's cold. Then you should curl up on the couch with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate. And a cinnamon roll (if you're lucky).
My Thriving Family Book Reviews:
Unless something really, really, really unusual happens to you.
Or you're a lifelong reader.
If you want to be a writer but you HATE reading, complete the following steps (in order):
- Quit your day job.
- Buy a sailboat.
- Spend your (few) remaining days globe-trotting. If you're lucky, a publisher might find you before the sharks do. Or the Brobdingnagians.
Don't laugh. They exist. Just ask Jack Black.
Nothing unusual has ever happened to me (unless you count getting bit by a squirrel, which was a harrowing experience I'd rather not discuss with anyone over the age of accountability). However, I LOVE to read. And write. Although my family didn't always own a TV, I can't remember a time before books.
But I can't just write a book. I need practice. Experience (preferably paid). Real-life opportunities to hone my craft.
Enter Focus on the Family.
Focus on the Family offers some great opportunities for Christian writers to practice their skills, gain experience, and collect a paycheck. Check out the links below for submission guidelines to three of their magazines:
Clubhouse Magazine
Clubhouse Jr. Magazine
Thriving Family Magazine
I began writing book reviews for Thriving Family last year. As a Christian school teacher, I regularly used Thriving Family Book Reviews to see if a book was appropriate before recommending it to my middle school students. For those of you who aren't familiar with Thriving Family, this service is similar to FOTF's PluggedIn.
When some of the books I used in class weren't reviewed online, I sent an unsolicited review to Thriving Family. To my delight, it was accepted and posted. Now I am assigned reviews on a monthly basis. I love writing them. Receiving a check in the mail every few months is just a bonus.
I would say it helps with the groceries, but I used December's check to adopt a second Newfoundland dog. Now I have a boy and a girl. Neither are fixed (yet). Not sure what I was thinking there...
Today I took another step towards publication: I signed up for Focus on the Family's Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr magazines. Each 12-issue subscription cost $19.99. After tax, I spent less than the cost of a full tank of gas (unless you own a scooter). But having access to these magazines means that I will be able tailor my submissions to their audience and have a higher chance of getting published.
I do have two long-term projects on the go: a picture book and a YA novel. I'd be happy if either was published by the end of the 1000 days.
Until tomorrow or whenever I write next ... live life to the fullest! Unless it's cold. Then you should curl up on the couch with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate. And a cinnamon roll (if you're lucky).
My Thriving Family Book Reviews:
Our two Newfies, Sam & Kia.
Don't be fooled by their cuteness. Sam snores something awful.
Don't be fooled by their cuteness. Sam snores something awful.
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