This & That

RAINDROPS & RAINBOWS

By: Donna L Martin

You’re thinking about leaving

Its all there in your eyes,

And I can sense your hesitation

When you try to say goodbye.

But before you close the door

There’s something you should know;

It’s the raindrops and rainbows

That helps true love to grow.

The memories of the good times

How they’d brighten up our day

And help create the rainbows

That kept dark clouds at bay.

The ringing of our laughter,

The loving in the snow;

Through those raindrops and rainbows

We helped our children grow.

So think before you turn away

From what our future could be,

And I hope all the years we’ve shared

Will help to make you see

That nothing in life comes easy

But the answer lies, I know

In those raindrops and rainbows

Which help true love to grow.

 ******************

It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous.

- Robert Benchley

He was such a bad writer, they revoked his poetic license.

- Milton Berle

I have been successful probably because I have always realized that I knew nothing about writing and have merely tried to tell an interesting story entertainingly.

- Edgar Rice Burroughs 

If you write one story, it may be bad; if you write a hundred, you have the odds in your favor.

- Edgar Rice Burroughs

First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!

- Ray Bradbury

My Writing Palette

Words are the colors of my writing palette.  They dip and swirl and blend together to paint the stories from my mind. Layer upon layer, everything is outlined in various hues and textures as I try to bring my writing palette to life.  

From those before me, I study the written word and celebrate the works of the masters.  I should be so lucky as to create such a thing of beauty.  But for now, I dream...and I paint.  One day, maybe I too will be able to count the objects from my writing palette as worthy to lie among the classics...

Chasing The Dream

I can't believe we are halfway through the 12 X 12 in 2012 challenge.  I have five picture book manuscripts completed and almost finished with the sixth.  It's been all about chasing a dream of mine that began over 40 years ago.

Poetry has lived in my head since I was eight years old and by the time I was in fourth grade I had a dream of becoming a writer.  I chased that dream for years; first filling notebooks with virgin efforts at poetry, then essays about whatever struck my interest and even a stint at being editor-in-chief of my high school paper.  No one knew of my passion for writing and I focused on that dream to the exclusion of many other things.

Yet dreams are sometimes hard to catch and when I was in my twenties I allowed other people's opinions to darken my visions of becoming a writer.  I tried to silence the voices in my head for twenty years and thought I would be content to just read the works of others.  But dreams are funny things.  They don't die easily, so when the timing was right my voices began invading my dreams again and I returned to my writer roots once more.



Maybe there was a reason for the silence.  Maybe I needed time to mature as a writer...time to discover this wonderful writing community I'm so proud to be a part of...time to be able to participate in Julie Hedlund's wonderful 12 X 12 in 2012 Halfway There Blog Party ( http://www.juliehedlund.com/2012/06/25/were-halfway-there/ ) and celebrate a milestone in my new writing career.  And maybe it's not about getting the picture perfect ending, but about the journey through the story itself.  About doing whatever it takes to chase that dream...

Are You A Floater Or A Sinker?

Come on everybody...sing it with me:

We all live in a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine...

That is, we all do if we call ourselves a writer.  But it's what we do while ON that boat that determines just what type of writer we can call ourselves...

We can be a Floater...

A Floater plays it safe.  Hanging near the surface, they chose simple plots with no depth and hope the surface ripples will trick readers into thinking there's more below the surface.  Writers who choose to float throughout their writing career will always keep land in sight because the fear of the unknown keeps them tethered to their safe place.

Or we can be a Sinker...

Sinkers don't let the safe current keep them stationary.  They take that chance, diving deeper into unknown waters and taking risks with their visions in the hopes they will come up with a treasure to share with the world.

In my heart, I'm a Sinker.  Though I fear the depths at times, life beneath the surface calls to me.  There is an energy there that I can build my stories upon.  A place where I can go to discover the other Sinker spirits around me.  Which are you?  Where will your yellow submarine take you today?

Better Luck Next Time

Sometimes it just doesn't pay to get up in the morning...

Sometimes you're not ready to face the world...

Sometimes you're in over your head...

And sometimes you are stopped dead in your tracks.

Then again, sometimes it's better luck next time...

Sometimes there is cause for celebrating...

Sometimes there are reasons to jump for joy...

And sometimes there are reasons to just exist.

Then again, there are some things better left alone...

Don't Be Shy...

I had to do something today that I really didn't want to do, but in the best interest of my blog and my readers, I felt I had no choice.  Between the hackers and the stalkers I've dealt with lately I've had to be extra careful who comments on my blog or connects with me through Facebook or other social media.  Today I received an "anonymous" comment on my post.  While the kind words touched my heart, I had to delete the comment.  Anonymous can be anyone and THAT can include hackers or stalkers and I've had enough of THOSE to last a lifetime...

So, come on...don't be shy!  I care about all my readers and would love to connect with each of you, but I need to know you're real.  I want every kind word thoughts, every blah I'm bored with your writing thoughts and even those so you call yourself a WRITER thoughts.  So please stand up and be counted among my friends and let me call you by name...

I'm just standing around here waiting...and waving...

Crazy Like A Fox

She dipped the quill into the inkwell and let the words flow across the page like a rushing torrent of emotion crashing upon the paper.  Each breath brought her ever closer to the finale she knew would be the world's epiphany of sheer perfection!  That's how we writers feel every time we sit down to write, right?  Every word slips with ease from our fingertips as we are mere vessels, channeling all the greatness which came before into works of art which will stand the test of time...

Or maybe this guy is more how we feel when we try to write?  Every story feels like the battleground where words and emotions fight for control and we are sometimes the casualty of the war between the two.  Visions twist around in our mind as we struggle to create something worthy of all the angst which comes with being a writer.  Are we just on the verge of snapping one day and going a wee bit crazy?

I say yes, I'm crazy.  Crazy like a fox.  Just watch a fox on the run from the hounds.  It will seem like it's movements make no sense but that old fox knows what he's doing.  He's playing with those hounds...teasing and tantalizing and drawing them into a trap he creates until he leaves them breathless with anticipation.  Writers should be like the fox. Teasing.  Tantalizing.  Tempting readers to want more.  Just remember not to take the whole crazy thing too far...

Dreamers vs Storytellers

New writers often hear people telling them to "find your writer's voice".  Well I think I might have something wrong with me because I'm hearing more than one voice.  And I'm not sure where those voices are coming from.  It seems like my mind never stills and those voices range from small children wishing for grand adventures to young adults finding themselves in the middle of a mystery and everything in between.  Voices all dying to come out and spill their stories.

A friend of mine commented the other day that it seemed like I could somehow conjure sensory images in my stories until the reader could almost feel what the main character was feeling.  That I could capture just the right words to describe a world which invited others to come in and stay awhile.  They, however, sometimes seem to struggle to bring their own visions to life.  At the time I gave what I hoped were some useful suggestions, but I have thought a lot since then about their observation of my work and I've come to a conclusion.  I believe beginner writers evolve over time into one of two types of writers.  Some are Dreamers and some are Storytellers.

Dreamers have wonderful stories swirling around in their heads.  True to life characters and worlds so real one could almost touch them.  But there is where they stay...in someone's head.  For whatever reason...either through lack of a skill yet to be learned or simply the inability to bring that story to life no matter how hard they try, Dreamers are trapped in the land of dreams and readers are never invited into that world.

 

Storytellers, however, command attention.  They play with the written word and invoke their readers' senses until the worlds and characters of their stories seem as real as the readers themselves.  To read a great book is to catch a glimpse of the storyteller's mind and oh what dreams are hiding there just waiting to be shown to the world.

For myself, I hope one day I evolve into a true storyteller.  Until then I will keep writing and keep encouraging those voices in my head to speak to me and maybe one day I will bring my own great story to life...

Cook Up A Good Book

My mother was the queen of homebaked goods.  Everything from fresh baked bread to homemade candy and doughnuts and cakes.  For myself, it took a while to get the hang of things.  I even tried to bake some cookies one summer when my mother was on a trip out of town and I almost burnt the house down.  I find that my writing is a bit like baking a cake.  My first attempts are sloppy at best.  I can't quite figure out what goes wrong, but I KNOW something is missing...some secret ingredient which helps take my stories to the next level.

 

But I keep at it.  I don't give up.  I put together another story while throwing in a pinch more of humor here and a dash of suspense there until I finally get something of which I can be proud.  Others even think THIS attempt smells good and I think maybe I have finally figured out how to cook up a good book.

 

I don't want to stop there.  I want to be a gourmet at this writing thing.  So I sample the works of other writers.  I ask other cooks for their recipes for success and spend a lot of time learning to perfect the process of creating a good book.  And I cook.  And cook some more.  And if I'm lucky enough and work really hard, one day I might cook something worth consuming.

But then again, there are some things I want to stay away from...

 

Tag Anyone?

I'm pretty sure most of us played some form of tag when we were growing up.  Even now, some of us still play tag either with our children or grandchildren.  But how many of us can say we scaled a building while playing that childhood game?  About eight years ago I was introduced to an extreme (non-competitive) sport called Parkour or Free Running.  

Originating in France and developed by David Belie,  Parkour is both training and a game where participants dodge imaginary...or potentially real...assailants by vaulting, running, rolling, or climbing over anything between them and freedom.  Might be a shrub.  Might be a set of stairs.  Might be a ten foot wall.  Doesn't matter.   David Belie even created a Yamakasi group which is dedicated to the pure art of Parkour.

Parkour Tag or Free Running can be addictive and my TaeKwonDo school has our own variation we let our instructors and students participate in because you never know when you might have to outrun someone.  For myself,  I've wisely chosen to forgo Parkour Tag because I just KNOW what the end result will be...

The Awards Are Piling UP...

LG from WRITING OFF THE EDGE ( http://lgkeltner.blogspot.com/ ) has honored me with "The Booker Award". It is given to a blog that spends 50% or more on the craft of writing or talking about books...and I certainly think I qualify for THAT award...lol...so on this Teaser Tuesday I will give you five of my all time favorite books but first...the rules of the award:




1.  This award is for book bloggers only.  To receive this award the blog must be at least 50% about books...either reading or writing about them.


2.  You must share your top five favorite books you have ever read.


3.  You must give this award to 5 other lucky book blogs you enjoy.


So here my top five:


1.  The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.  How is it possible for one man to put SO MUCH emotion and spirit into a book with almost stick drawings and a few words?  I should be so lucky as to grow to have a talent like that!


2.  A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.  This story was required reading during my high school years and it left a profound love of the classics on my spirit.


3.  Silas Marner by George Eliot.  Another required reading by my high school English teacher where I would sit in his classroom and follow along as he played a record of the book for us to listen to...it certainly added to my enjoyment of the book to be immersed in the sounds of the actor's voices.


4.  Truly...anything by Mercer Mayer.  I cut my teeth on Mercer Mayer books...I grew up with him, joined in the adventures with him, and felt a little bit better about life in general after having read his books.


5.  Mine-o-saur by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen.  Every summer I read this book to my students at my Summer Adventure Camp as it is a fun lesson in how to be nice and share with others.


and a bonus:


6.  My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza.  I absolutely LOVE this story.  I love the little piglet...his craftiness, how he outsmarts those around him and it's just a GREAT feel good book!


Now...instead of passing out this award to just a few of the wonderful book blogs I read everyday...I thought I would just ask MY readers to give me THEIR top five favorite books.  I just might find a reason to add some more cool books to my collection!

Sometimes It's Okay To Can't

Sunday was not a good day for me.  I thought I had a good night's sleep but woke up at 8 a.m. EXTREMELY SICK.  Out of nowhere sick.  CAN'T keep anything down and CAN'T stay out the  restroom sick.  And CAN'T keep my eyes open in between being sick so I slept until almost 4 p.m. when I wasn't being sick.  During my coherent moments I was actually thinking about my Monday blog post and I realized that it is okay sometimes to CAN'T.  My body was telling me it CAN'T do all the outside chores I needed to do so I gave in to my CAN'T and took care of ME instead.

To the people that know me well enough, they know I would be that chicken that WOULD fly despite everyone around me saying chicken's CAN'T fly.  But then there are times when I will give in to the CAN'Ts in my life because I need to.  I CAN'T go to my regional SCBWI conference this fall because I simply don't have the financial means.  But that doesn't mean I give up my dream of writing.  I will find ways around this and go in search of lessons to learn what I might have learned there.  

I CAN'T hope to polish my writing without the help of critique groups and professional groups like Rate Your Story.  I must give in to the CAN'Ts and allow others to show me where my work needs improving.  It's okay to say I CAN'T do it without you and seek out the wisdom of those who have come before me.  

But there is one thing that I CAN'T ever forget...and Wil Smith from the movie The Pursuit of Happiness says it best...

You're A Good Egg Charlie Brown

Who in the world DOESN'T like Charlie Brown?  He's a good egg.  We all route for his successes and feel the pain of his defeats.  Despite all the obstacles life throws at him, he always manages to keep going.  Holding his head up high and staying focused on the task before him.  Oh, he makes mistakes along the way, but that comes from simply being a part of the human race.  But it's HOW he handles those set backs that make me admire him.

I believe most people aren't bad eggs; they just don't seem to know how to handle the cracks that come along with being in the real world.  You know the ones.  The kind of egg who rushes to the ER with a paper cut.  The kind of egg who falls into a dark pit of despair because of a rejection letter.  The kind of egg who sees every bump in the road as a monumental fight where they can never hope to come out the victor.

Then there are those good eggs who know it takes hard work and perseverance to achieve anything in life.  A good egg realizes that underneath the rough edges of their life lie a golden egg just waiting it's chance to shine.  A good egg knows not every day will be sunny side up.  That with every bump and barrier along the way, they are getting stronger...gathering friends along the way who think they are a good egg too.

And then they are sitting on top of the world...