An Odd Start

     I woke up this morning uttering expletives.  This forces me to believe that I was having one odd dream.  It seems that ever since I started writing again, my dreams have been getting even more extraordinary by the night.  All that remains of 90 minutes of extreme vision is the lingering cloud of emotion.  That's where my ideas begin, the "front yard of the house that books built". They build and build until I have a little person who has a story.
      I have been loving the creation process, it's great fun watching the characters come to life. It's amazing when they have their own little personalities.  I've also decided to put my imagination to the test by joining the upcoming Picture Book Marathon. You can find information about that here http://picturebookmarathon.blogspot.com. I expect to learn a many great things over the next 30 days.  I will be sharing the stories along the way. Enjoy!

Until my next very brilliant idea.
xo

Week 2.2

      I'm not a new writer, I just haven't written seriously since high school, with the exception of the occasional poem or contest entry. The contest landed me 2 behind the goalie seats for the NHL Western Conference Finals.  If any of you are hockey fans, you know what a HUGE deal this is! In 4 lines you had to show that you were a Red Wings fan by using player names. I took 5 minutes to write it out, then anxiously called the station with my perfect work of fan driven love. It was unanimous that I was the winner. wOOt...off we went!

                                                  Contest Winning Poem:

                         We've got Datsyuk, Draper and Zetterberg to start,
                         Rafalski and Lidstrom who play with whole hearts.
                         We've got Kronwall and Stuart our 2 biggest hitters.
                         There's no team that can beat us...We're Red Wings
                          not quitters.
                         Franzen the Mule and Hudler who's Happy,
                         We need a nickname for Ericsson snappy.
                         Helm skates flawlessly, we couldn't ask for more...
                         It appears as though the Red Wings are looking to score.
                         We will go to the finals to take on the Pens....
                         Red Wings lovers know how it ends.
                         We will all cheer them on at the Parade....
                         They are from Detroit...
                         Where Champions are made.

I entered the contest using only the first 4 lines of course, I wrote the rest just because.

Until my next very brilliant thought.

Afterthought:
     After trimming down the word count to a respectable 973, and adding some spectacular vivid verbs, I have finished polishing my beloved story.  The process has been an interesting one, forcing me to learn a lot in a short amount of time. I'm finally 100% satisfied, so I am going to put this baby to bed and move on to the next.
xo

Week 2.0

Another rejection. Polish, polish, polish. Shiny stuff! As confident as she was that my work would find a home, it wasn't to be there. I do appreciate everything that Elena tried to do for me. I got 2 reads, a lot of people barely get past the query letter. I will continue to press on, try to sell my beloved Phyllis to someone that is willing to give her a good home.

Until my next very brilliant idea.
xo

Week 1.6

After working diligently over the past week to revise my Ping Pong Platypus ms, I have decided to kabosh the whole idea and focus on 1 character. The character with the loudest voice wins, and that is Phyllis. I am settled with who she is, and how she is motivated. I set up my storyboard, eager to tell Phyllis's story, and before I knew it, I had that done and 979 words typed out. I slept on the story, and for once she wasn't screaming at me to wake up and write. I think that if Phyllis is content with the story that I can be too. That's another thing that I'm learning on this journey to my first children's book. If the character is content, then you can be content. I emailed the completed story to Elena at Pippin Properties this morning, not as confident as I was last time, and that is a good thing.

Til my next very brilliant idea.

xo

Week 1.4

I sent out 10 feeler queries last night for my latest 900ish word story, A Week In the Life Of A Picked On Platypus. This time Phyllis is having a hard time with the other kids in Miss Holly's room at Lyons Day School for Tots. Can she win them over with her amazing paddle ball routine? Will she finally not be Chubby Phyllis who can't play games?

Til my next very brilliant idea!
xo

Week 1.3

Finished up another story using the character that I have come to love. Phyllis is the kid me, my alter ego. I can write all about her because I know her. They've always said that some of the best fiction stems from real life. I have had enough life experiences that will keep my fingers busy for quite some time. We can call it Creative Therapy.

Til my next very brilliant idea.

xo

Week 1.2

I've been passionate about many things in my life. Music, reading, making good food, and the genetics section of my Biology 101 textbook. Seems I've found a new passion with the characters swimming around in the sea of my cerebellum. This is very different for me. Passion has never woke me up before.
They scream at me. Begging me to tell more. Pleading with me to bring them to life. They are getting louder with each passing day, and harder to ignore.
Writing was just another one of those things that Monica does...I think though that it's becoming more. This is becoming who Monica IS.

Until my next very brilliant idea!
xo

Week 1

I decided to finally take the time to write out an idea that had been building in my head over the past several months. I felt like a champion as it neared completion. Very proud of every sentence. I was so stoked about finishing something that I threw caution to the wind and sent a query out to 5 agents. 2 no replies, 1 that is out of the office until tomorrow, and 1 request for the full manuscript. Woohoo! I got past the query stage with 1 of the 5! I was on top of the world!! Problem is, the story wasn't even finished really. I put a rushed ending on it and called it done. My biggest downfall, I hurry when I get excited. Blinders on, faith and hope going full tilt. You know the type.
I woke up on Saturday still excited about sending my first manuscript the day before, so I quickly made my way to the dining room table where I do all my writing, and sat down to re-read the email requesting my full manuscript.  For 2 days I rode the cloud of greatness through the hours. Barely worried that I was going to be rejected. In fact, I was certain that I wouldn't be.
Monday morning rolled around and I couldn't believe it. There was a response from the agent already! I opened it only to read,"I couldn't connect in the way that I wanted to." Rejected! Couldn't connect? What does that mean, I couldn't connect? I read the manuscript again trying to see what she did and found it. After sleeping on it for a few days I realized even I couldn't connect with the story and it's MY story!
 Needless to say I have learned a few lessons this past week. First, patience. Second, it's not as good as you think it is, and when they say sleep on it they mean it. Even sit on it for a while. I've edited this blog 4 times already. Maybe I should have sat on this too.

Until my next very brilliant idea.
xo