OFF ON HOLIDAY!

I am all packed and ready for my holiday. I will be back Friday evening, so I won't be writing any blog posts till then.

Happy Writing!

A to Z BLOGGING CHALLENGE IN APRIL 2011

I am so excited. This is the first time that I will be participating in a blogfest! It is a big challenge but I will try my best to pull it off. Thank you Heather for inviting me. I really appreciate it.
Please, feel free to come join me and fellow bloggers during the month of April to participate in this fun (hopefully) and exciting challenge! Just be sure to sign up before April. Good Luck to everyone and hope to see you there!



http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/

How does the Challenge work?

The premise of the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge is to post something on your blog every day in April except for Sundays. In doing this you will have 26 blog posts--one for each letter of the alphabet. Each day you will theme your post according to a letter of the alphabet.

You will only be limited by your own imagination in this challenge. There is an unlimited universe of possibilities. You can post essays, short pieces of fiction, poetry, recipes, travel sketches, or anything else you would like to write about. You don't have to be a writer to do this. You can post photos, including samples of your own art or craftwork. Everyone who blogs can post from A to Z.

I AM FREE!

I have finally finished my job at the college and I guess it's no secret that I am very happy about it. I am just not the kind of person to work as a receptionist. I don't have the personality for it. Stick me in a office with lots of paperwork and tons of data capturing and I am happy. I suppose that's why I love writing. In the end it's just me and the computer and at times even blank pages. Writing can be a very solitary thing and that's what I love about it, but I also blog, therefore I get to interact with other writers and that makes me feel hopeful. It let's me know that I am not the only one out there.

Next week I am going on a week long holiday by the beach. I am looking forward to it. I can hardly wait. I am not taking a computer with me so I will be writing most of my stories freehand.

I finally got my novel bellow the 100 000 word mark! I am very chuffed about that. I was surprised how many times I used certain words over and over. I am reading through it again to make sure it still makes sense and that I didn't change too much of the original storyline which I love. I am also on the look out for more things I can cut from the manuscript. I am yet to rewrite my query letters. I am trying to find a better hook. I am also redoing the synopsis. This time I will be doing a long and short version. I didn't do a long version of my synopsis before because I couldn't make it sound good. So I am working on it.

I was thinking of entering a blog hop the other day but in the end I chickened out. I was so afraid to let more people read my blog posts and writing. I lack confidence in the writing department. Having people read my blogs as it is now doesn't bother me because I know almost nobody reads it. But when I would be part of a blog hop and people do read my stuff and hate it, well, there would be no hiding then.

DREAMING

When ever I heard someone tell me that I had to follow my dreams and if I did that my dreams would come true, I always just ignored the advice and thought this person must be crazy. But today I actually realized how true that saying is.

No, not all our dreams will come true exactly how we planned, but, those dreams are what keeps us motivated and inspired. It gives us something to strive for. Today I realized, after not writing for a few days (blogging doesn't count), how easy it is to just give up on that dream. One of my many dreams is to be a successfully published author. And after working at my current job, where I constantly feel overwhelmed by inquiries and demands, it is all too easy to say ''I am too tired to write today or pursue this treacherous query process any further. If it was meant to be it will be.''

I felt like that today, but almost immediately I reminded myself that this is something I really want. I am not the type of person that will feel fulfilled with a 9-5 desk job. I have far too much things going on in my head. So it is not that stupid to do everything in your human power to try and makes your dreams come true. If we don't have our dreams then what do we have?

It is the thing that stops us from becoming bitter and hopeless. It is the thing that stops me from just fading into nothingness. So people, don't be afraid to dream big and don't be to proud to try your damnedest to make it come true.

WELCOME AND THANK YOU!

Welcome and thank you to Kristin Miller for following my blog! I am always excited and happy to have a new follower.

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW AND NOTHING BORROWED

SOMETHING OLD
Had a horrific day at work today. I have never been so close to tears of anger as I have been today. I think I was more upset with the fact that I am not allowed to retaliate or defend myself when potential students or their parents are rude to me, but I should just have said my say and have had them fire me. I think I would have been happier but that would probably look bad on my CV, seeing that I wouldn't be able to use them as a reference.

SOMETHING NEW
Anyway, I finally finished the 2011 Guide to Literary Agents and it was a wonderful and insightful book, not to mention very helpful, seeing that I get tons of New Agencies I can possibly query. So I would recommend it to anyone who needs more help with their writing or who needs a more detailed lay out of how things work in the world of publishing. I will definitely do a bit more research and tweak my manuscript before querying again. I also read about agent pet peeves and I am guilty of a few things, for example:

Starting a scene with someone waking up from the sound of the alarm clock.

Having a bit too much narrative which tends to make the novel read slowly.

Not having a good balance between showing and telling.

Repetitive words or sentences. (Big problem for me).

Too much pointless dialogue.

NOTHING BORROWED
As you see I picked up quite a lot of things. I also rewrote my whole first chapter and it is almost just as terrible as my original first chapter. I also decided to rewrite my query letter and synopsis. I am definitely doing something wrong (besides that my first chapter sucks). Because there were a few agencies who just wanted a query letter, no synopsis or sample pages allowed and I wasn't even requested to provide a synopsis or anything afterward. So I am thinking that maybe my query letter isn't polite or professional enough. Apparently agents like queries where one's personality shines through and perhaps I give off the vibe that I don't have one or perhaps I come across as being too dull.

Anyway, I talk to much. Have a wonderful day and best of luck with which endeavours you attempt.

JUST A THOUGHT

The night air is warm but tolerable. The sun has faded and all that can be seen is the lights in the black sky. I sigh in relief, thankful that the night has come. For there is a comforting quiet all around. I feel as if I can hear the very breath of nature. She sounds content.
I suddenly hear the sounds of crickets and even they sound happy. As if they know something I do not. I smile, for I do enjoy this simple pleasure of natures company. Even though I feel it, I am never really alone. Nature is always around, blessing me with it's presence. For that, I am thankful.

Just a thought I had.