Did I really neglect this blog for two years?! You don't have to answer me, because the true answer is yes. So, what have I been doing the past two years?
Well, parenthood has totally consumed me. With a small child, it can be difficult to clear your mind and find time to write (or write anything that is remotely good). Enough of the excuses. I'm back. Yes, life gets hectic at times, but I'm ready to come back to the writing world and continue to pursue my writing dream.
I hope you will still join me here :)
Jan 1, 2017
Jan 3, 2015
Social Media Overload
As a picture book writer, who hopes to be published one day, I only participate in blogging and Twitter. Last year I was a ghost in both worlds, as I took a break during my pregnancy. I like to blog so I can discuss lengthy topics. I like Twitter to try to lead people to this blog by tweeting little tidbits that might catch ones attention.
In how many forms of social media do you like to participate?
Jan 2, 2015
So excited!
Now, I just call her "Y". So, Y has been writing for some time now, and her stories always impress me. She doesn't write the typical, "Timmy went outside to play" stories. The stories she writes are unique and playful and just plain ole AWESOME. I'm so happy for her and I can hardly wait until her picture books are on my own bookshelf!
You can visit her blog here.
Jan 1, 2015
Back in the swing of things
Happy New Year! Let's get this show on the road.
I'm working on a new manuscript and it feels great. It's a manuscript I barely started last year, but the plot is cute in my eyes so I'm moving forward with completing it. Who knows how many drafts this manuscript will see? lol
In other news, I found a new literary agency for picture books and submitted there. Before submitting, I touched up my query letter, revised the manuscript just a tiny bit, and said a little prayer. It's so hard to completely shelf these old manuscripts, even though this particular one was rejected about 25 times. It doesn't hurt to try though.
I hope your new year is off to a great start too!
I'm working on a new manuscript and it feels great. It's a manuscript I barely started last year, but the plot is cute in my eyes so I'm moving forward with completing it. Who knows how many drafts this manuscript will see? lol
In other news, I found a new literary agency for picture books and submitted there. Before submitting, I touched up my query letter, revised the manuscript just a tiny bit, and said a little prayer. It's so hard to completely shelf these old manuscripts, even though this particular one was rejected about 25 times. It doesn't hurt to try though.
I hope your new year is off to a great start too!
Dec 31, 2014
Should I give illustration suggestions?
The obstacle to writing children's picture books is not having illustrations to go along with the text.
I cannot draw worth a lick. Sure I can scratch a little stick man on paper, but that's about it. When I write a full picture book manuscript and have someone else critique it, don't I need to at least suggest how I think the illustrations should look? Though, I'm sure a publisher would laugh at my ideas and say, "No. No no no no." But, when it's time to submit the manuscript, should I include my ideas for the illustrations?
I cannot draw worth a lick. Sure I can scratch a little stick man on paper, but that's about it. When I write a full picture book manuscript and have someone else critique it, don't I need to at least suggest how I think the illustrations should look? Though, I'm sure a publisher would laugh at my ideas and say, "No. No no no no." But, when it's time to submit the manuscript, should I include my ideas for the illustrations?
Dec 28, 2014
This blog is changing... sort of...
This blog will no longer just be about writing children's picture books. It will also be about parenthood. Here's why:
Last February, my husband decided to go to the grocery store to buy our weekly groceries. He had no more than pulled out of our driveway when I pulled a home pregnancy test from my nightstand. A pack of 3 tests, after all, there was no way the first test would be positive.
I was wrong. I was definitely pregnant.
Two days later I presented my husband with the book Dude, you're going to be a dad. He was as shocked as I, after all, I had only abandoned my birth control pills 3 weeks earlier!
We had always been on the same page about pregnancy: don't tell a soul until we clear the first trimester. So... for 14 weeks it remained a secret. It was so hard to refrain from shouting the news from rooftops, but we did.
Days, weeks and months passed by faster than we could have imagined. We spent many weekends sleeping in late and going on more dates than we ever had. We knew we'd have less freedom once our little one arrived. The final 6 weeks were the most uncomfortable days and nights of my life. I spent half the time on the toilet due to compressed bladder, and at night I was forced to sleep in the worst position: on my side! Uggghh!
Weeks 38 and 39 were a blur. Looking back, I really should have savored those final moments of freedom, but spent most of the time resting. Yes, that's what I was supposed to do, but I feel as though I wished time away too quickly because I was finished with being pregnant. Before I knew it, the doctor was holding up my beautiful daughter only seconds after she was delivered. From that second on, it was no longer all about me or my husband; it was about her.
Because of this major change in my life, I want a place to blog about picture books and parenthood.
So, I hope you choose to continue to join me here and I hope you learn and grow here as well.
Last February, my husband decided to go to the grocery store to buy our weekly groceries. He had no more than pulled out of our driveway when I pulled a home pregnancy test from my nightstand. A pack of 3 tests, after all, there was no way the first test would be positive.
I was wrong. I was definitely pregnant.
Two days later I presented my husband with the book Dude, you're going to be a dad. He was as shocked as I, after all, I had only abandoned my birth control pills 3 weeks earlier!
We had always been on the same page about pregnancy: don't tell a soul until we clear the first trimester. So... for 14 weeks it remained a secret. It was so hard to refrain from shouting the news from rooftops, but we did.
Days, weeks and months passed by faster than we could have imagined. We spent many weekends sleeping in late and going on more dates than we ever had. We knew we'd have less freedom once our little one arrived. The final 6 weeks were the most uncomfortable days and nights of my life. I spent half the time on the toilet due to compressed bladder, and at night I was forced to sleep in the worst position: on my side! Uggghh!
Weeks 38 and 39 were a blur. Looking back, I really should have savored those final moments of freedom, but spent most of the time resting. Yes, that's what I was supposed to do, but I feel as though I wished time away too quickly because I was finished with being pregnant. Before I knew it, the doctor was holding up my beautiful daughter only seconds after she was delivered. From that second on, it was no longer all about me or my husband; it was about her.
Because of this major change in my life, I want a place to blog about picture books and parenthood.
So, I hope you choose to continue to join me here and I hope you learn and grow here as well.
May 24, 2014
If you were a bird
Imagine you are a bird. Not an eagle, but a small little bird like a robin. You find a place to build a nest for your little ones. After deciding that big shrub in front of the white and green farmhouse is perfect, you begin collecting items to build that perfect nest in the perfect location. You collect twigs, shreds of candy bar wrappers, pieces of wiring, strands of ribbons, and are well on your way to assembling that nest.
Day by day, the nest gets a little bigger, a little bigger, until you feel that one more day is all you need, and that nest will be complete. You fly high and low to collect just a few more twigs, and begin your final descent into the shrubs where your new home is waiting. Zoom! Into the bush you fly, only to find that your home is... well, where is it?! You know you are in the correct bush. You've been flying into that bush every day for days! But no, your home has vanished. Gone. Now what?
This exact story line plays out in my head every time I have to remove a bird's nest from my property. Unfortunately for the birds, they choose the worst places to build nests on my property. One year a bird even built one in the Christmas wreath hanging on my front door. Umm, no, sorry birdie, that's not going to work. Each time I wonder if the bird is going to freak out. Will the bird go bonkers trying to figure out where its home is? What exactly goes through their mind? I think I'd freak out if I were the bird and my home just disappeared in minutes.
What would your reaction be if you were a bird?
Day by day, the nest gets a little bigger, a little bigger, until you feel that one more day is all you need, and that nest will be complete. You fly high and low to collect just a few more twigs, and begin your final descent into the shrubs where your new home is waiting. Zoom! Into the bush you fly, only to find that your home is... well, where is it?! You know you are in the correct bush. You've been flying into that bush every day for days! But no, your home has vanished. Gone. Now what?
This exact story line plays out in my head every time I have to remove a bird's nest from my property. Unfortunately for the birds, they choose the worst places to build nests on my property. One year a bird even built one in the Christmas wreath hanging on my front door. Umm, no, sorry birdie, that's not going to work. Each time I wonder if the bird is going to freak out. Will the bird go bonkers trying to figure out where its home is? What exactly goes through their mind? I think I'd freak out if I were the bird and my home just disappeared in minutes.
What would your reaction be if you were a bird?
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