I'm Moving, Will You Move With Me?
14 years ago
The Reading Level of This Blog
While reading through a blog by an editor I met once, I came across this. Boy, I've got to use smaller words. I'm a children's writer, for crying out loud!
The Life of a Writer
Two years ago this month I was fortunate enough to attend the BYU Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers workshop. While there, I met a literary agent with a name hard to pronounce and even harder to spell. I talked to him a few times and I was so impressed that I knew I wanted to try to get him to represent my work.
He gave a blanket invitation to every workshop attendee to send him a manuscript that he would personally read instead of sending it into his slush pile. I asked him how long his invitation would stand. He remarked that he would like to see the manuscript within a year or two.
As you can see, it has been two years. During the last two years I have only finished the first draft of the novel I had planned on sending him. Life--the loss of Greg's business, a move and a new baby--got in the way. The manuscript wasn't ready and I wasn't ready to fix it.
But this week my thoughts have turned back to that manuscript and the agent I wanted to send it to. I talked to Greg, I asked my writer friends, I even pulled the manuscript out of a box. And then I got to work.
So you will excuse me if I don't have much to say. Right now I am focused on polishing the first three chapters so I can send them off by the end of the month, or sometime in August at the latest. I'm on a mission. I'll let you know if it succeeds.
He gave a blanket invitation to every workshop attendee to send him a manuscript that he would personally read instead of sending it into his slush pile. I asked him how long his invitation would stand. He remarked that he would like to see the manuscript within a year or two.
As you can see, it has been two years. During the last two years I have only finished the first draft of the novel I had planned on sending him. Life--the loss of Greg's business, a move and a new baby--got in the way. The manuscript wasn't ready and I wasn't ready to fix it.
But this week my thoughts have turned back to that manuscript and the agent I wanted to send it to. I talked to Greg, I asked my writer friends, I even pulled the manuscript out of a box. And then I got to work.
So you will excuse me if I don't have much to say. Right now I am focused on polishing the first three chapters so I can send them off by the end of the month, or sometime in August at the latest. I'm on a mission. I'll let you know if it succeeds.
It's Cherry Pickin' Time
We have a cherry tree in our back yard. It's over two stories high but the branches aren't very big. We've watched as little green buds have grown to lovely red cherries, but the one problem is nearly all the cherries are high up in the tree. We're not sure why the lower branches are pretty bare. It could be due to the frost we had while the tree was blooming.But the upper branches are at eye level when we are standing on our back patio. So we have been tantalizingly close to those red beauties. And since Greg was home yesterday afternoon, we decided it was time to pick some cherries to have with the dinner we were making for the missionaries.
Well, as this lovely picture shows, Greg climbed the tree and turned Cherry Picker for the afternoon. He picked the cherries, tried to threw them down onto a small blanket (though usually he missed), and Daniel and Ben collected them into a bowl.
Greg was in the tree for nearly an hour. Once he was finished and back on the ground, his legs were wobbly from being in the swaying tree for so long. But I really appreciated his hard work, even though this was how many cherries we finally had at the end of the day.But at least they tasted good with dinner.
Bethany Tagged Me
5 things I was doing 10 years ago:
-Preparing for my 1st child's entrance into this world.
-Preparing for my bro-in-law and sis-in-law's wedding.
-Finishing up the last few days of working before becoming a stay-at-home mom.
-Still unpacking from moving into a new apartment.
-Working on writing a novel.
5 things on my "to-do" list today:
-Finish coordinating the carpool for cub scout day camp next week.
-Get Ammon to the store to pick out a birthday present for a friend.
-Decide whether or not to finish and submit my application for admittance to the University of Washington.
-Get the house clean.
-Work on writing my novel.
5 snacks I enjoy:
-Pretzels.
-Fruit Smoothies.
-Trail Mix (with nuts, raisins and M&Ms).
-Rice Krispies Treats.
-Chocolate (and not the dark stuff--Hershey's milk chocolate is my favorite).
5 places I've lived:
-Utah (various cities in the Salt Lake Valley).
-Idaho (Boise).
-Texas (Irving and Carrollton--in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex).
-Colorado (Northglenn--in the Denver metroplex).
-Washington (Sammamish--in the Seattle area).
5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:
-Hire a maid.
-Hire a cook.
-Travel with my family to see the world.
-Buy a bookstore.
-Share the wealth.
5 bad habits:
-Reading instead of cleaning the house.
-Writing instead of cleaning the house.
-Playing with the kids instead of cleaning the house.
-Blogging instead of cleaning the house.
-Sitting on the couch and staring at the wall instead of cleaning the house.
5 jobs I've had:
-Ride operator at Lagoon.
-Office assistant in the curriculum department at the Jordan School District.
-Secretary for the Church Education System.
-Lead Bookseller for Deseret Book.
-I keyed mail for the United States Postal Service at their Remote Encoding Center.
What you might know about me:
-I write children's books. So far I have one middle grade mystery finished (well, the first draft anyway), about a half-dozen pictures books are in various stages of completion, and I'm focusing on writing a YA (young adult) contemporary coming-of-age story right now.
I'm tagging Lacie, Brianne and Logan.
-Preparing for my 1st child's entrance into this world.
-Preparing for my bro-in-law and sis-in-law's wedding.
-Finishing up the last few days of working before becoming a stay-at-home mom.
-Still unpacking from moving into a new apartment.
-Working on writing a novel.
5 things on my "to-do" list today:
-Finish coordinating the carpool for cub scout day camp next week.
-Get Ammon to the store to pick out a birthday present for a friend.
-Decide whether or not to finish and submit my application for admittance to the University of Washington.
-Get the house clean.
-Work on writing my novel.
5 snacks I enjoy:
-Pretzels.
-Fruit Smoothies.
-Trail Mix (with nuts, raisins and M&Ms).
-Rice Krispies Treats.
-Chocolate (and not the dark stuff--Hershey's milk chocolate is my favorite).
5 places I've lived:
-Utah (various cities in the Salt Lake Valley).
-Idaho (Boise).
-Texas (Irving and Carrollton--in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex).
-Colorado (Northglenn--in the Denver metroplex).
-Washington (Sammamish--in the Seattle area).
5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:
-Hire a maid.
-Hire a cook.
-Travel with my family to see the world.
-Buy a bookstore.
-Share the wealth.
5 bad habits:
-Reading instead of cleaning the house.
-Writing instead of cleaning the house.
-Playing with the kids instead of cleaning the house.
-Blogging instead of cleaning the house.
-Sitting on the couch and staring at the wall instead of cleaning the house.
5 jobs I've had:
-Ride operator at Lagoon.
-Office assistant in the curriculum department at the Jordan School District.
-Secretary for the Church Education System.
-Lead Bookseller for Deseret Book.
-I keyed mail for the United States Postal Service at their Remote Encoding Center.
What you might know about me:
-I write children's books. So far I have one middle grade mystery finished (well, the first draft anyway), about a half-dozen pictures books are in various stages of completion, and I'm focusing on writing a YA (young adult) contemporary coming-of-age story right now.
I'm tagging Lacie, Brianne and Logan.
Three Cheers For the Kids!
Three things happened this week that I thought should be applauded:
Cheer #1:
Elizabeth has FINALLY figured out the system and is potty trained. We ran out of pull-ups this week and haven't purchased any more.
HIP HIP HOORAY for Elizabeth!
Cheer #2:
Ammon decided he was old enough to mow the lawn. So, he got the mower out and got to work. Our lawn slopes downward on the side of the house, and Ammon got down the hill but was having trouble getting back up. Well, Daniel doesn't usually notice or care if anyone else is struggling (especially since most of the time he is the one causing grief), but this time he decided he needed to cheer Ammon on. "Put your heart into it, Ammon!" he yelled.
HIP HIP HOORAY for Ammon and Daniel!
Cheer #3:
I stopped at a yard sale and picked up a kiddie picnic table for $3 (hooray for me) and took Ammon back with me to pick it up. While we were there, I noticed two picnic/camping mats that would really come in handy, but of course I didn't bring any other cash with me. Well, Ammon saw me admiring them and turned to the lady and asked how much they were. She wanted $1 a piece. Ammon pulled out his wallet and told her he wanted to buy them for our family. She was so impressed with him that she sold them both for $1. He used his own money that he had been saving to buy himself a toy and bought those mats for the family instead.
DOUBLE HIP HIP HOORAY for Ammon!
Three cheers for the kids! I'm so proud of them.
Cheer #1:
Elizabeth has FINALLY figured out the system and is potty trained. We ran out of pull-ups this week and haven't purchased any more.
HIP HIP HOORAY for Elizabeth!
Cheer #2:
Ammon decided he was old enough to mow the lawn. So, he got the mower out and got to work. Our lawn slopes downward on the side of the house, and Ammon got down the hill but was having trouble getting back up. Well, Daniel doesn't usually notice or care if anyone else is struggling (especially since most of the time he is the one causing grief), but this time he decided he needed to cheer Ammon on. "Put your heart into it, Ammon!" he yelled.
HIP HIP HOORAY for Ammon and Daniel!
Cheer #3:
I stopped at a yard sale and picked up a kiddie picnic table for $3 (hooray for me) and took Ammon back with me to pick it up. While we were there, I noticed two picnic/camping mats that would really come in handy, but of course I didn't bring any other cash with me. Well, Ammon saw me admiring them and turned to the lady and asked how much they were. She wanted $1 a piece. Ammon pulled out his wallet and told her he wanted to buy them for our family. She was so impressed with him that she sold them both for $1. He used his own money that he had been saving to buy himself a toy and bought those mats for the family instead.
DOUBLE HIP HIP HOORAY for Ammon!
Three cheers for the kids! I'm so proud of them.
