War Of MY Worlds

People who know me well know that I am the eternal optimist. But I have my moments. Times when I need to take a second to catch my breath and even feel overwhelmed by what's going on around me. Earlier this week I had one such moment.

There are things I deal with in my personal life that sometimes affect what I can do...and more importantly what I can not do.  For lack of a better word I will call my issues "food allergies" and will say that it can certainly be a challenge to figure out what is safe to put in my mouth.  Up until this week I only had four different conditions butting heads with each other as I sit down to a meal. No biggie. Just a process of elimination really and then a chance to enjoy a tasty dish.

But this week I discovered I will have to deal with yet another "allergy" which, if left to it's own devices, could lay waste to all my good intentions from the past three years while doing much harm to me physically. The news was a bit of a shock and I had to take a moment or two to wrap my head around this new information. I'm not one to wallow in self-pity for long and with what appears to be a war going on in MY world, I have no time for crying over spilled milk as the saying goes.

I decided to do what I do best. I began to research my options. For reasons I won't bore you with, I will have no medical support or guidance to help me on this new journey so I must thank my dear mother for giving me the intelligence and common sense to figure some things out on my own. I spent the past few days getting to know my enemy and devising a plan of attack to bring back peace to MY world. The battle has just begun but I am so very confident I will get this new "food allergy" addition under control like the others in no time. Even if I have to simply throw my meals against the wall and see what sticks...;~)

Since I began my writing journey three years ago I have also uncovered other warring factions in MY world. The various voices in my head fight each other constantly for my attention. Sometimes poetry wins a small skirmish before an essay steps in to take over. Young adult novels attack from both sides while middle grade chapter books sneak up from behind. All fighting for the right to live outside the walls of my imagination. To be heard by generations to come if only I can see the fighting through to it's victorious end.  

But I have to say picture book ideas have fought the hardest for the right to lay claim to my current writing. I blame Tara Lazar and her wonderful PiBoIdMo or Picture Book Idea Month (http://taralazar.com/2013/10/24/piboidmo-2013-registration/) for rallying my PB troops into battle. For the entire month of November new picture book ideas with wrestle not only with all other genres I write, but even with themselves, just for the opportunity to be added to my growing list of new PB ideas for this year. I know there will be some casualties...ideas left by the wayside as my writing worlds collide in the ultimate showdown.

I don't have to have a crystal ball to see my future. I WILL win this battle with my "food allergies" and I WILL gather at least 30 PB ideas by the end of the month. You know why? Because I'm a NINJA WRITER and I'll never quit writing!