TAKING CHANCES & ROLLING THE DICE...

To all my current and future #DCSPeeps (DECIDE, COMMIT, SUCCEED), welcome to my new series in my continuing effort to inspire, amuse, and entertain you! Each Monday I will select a new word to analyze how it might apply to our writing lives and also give you a peek into my childhood growing up in the swamps of southern Louisiana, so kick back, put your feet up, and check out my story about TODAY'S WORD:

CHANCES

When I was in high school, I won the coveted position of editor of my school paper. Coveted by me, but not so much anyone else in the school.

You see, I've always wanted to be a writer.

Started reading when I was four years old.

Started writing poetry when I was 8.

Won my first writing contest when I was 11 and the grand prize? You guessed it...a book!

I took CHANCES back then with my writing. Sometimes the words I wrote worked and sometimes they didn't, but I always respected the freedom I had to choose whatever words I wanted to use at the time.

Back to the high school newspaper thing...

Halfway through the school year I asked for poetry submissions for our latest edition. Poems flowed in and I selected which ones I wanted to take a CHANCE on. The teacher who overlooked the paper didn't like my choices and decided to REWRITE the poems to suit his personal taste.

I was shocked and angered at what he did. So I did the only thing I could do.

I walked out in protest.

I took a CHANCE my protest would get the result I wanted...the freedom to run the paper as I saw fit...and after three weeks the teacher caved and asked me to come back. He promised he wouldn't touch the poetry again so I returned as editor for the rest of the school year. 

As writers we take CHANCES all the time.

CHANCES we will finish our manuscripts.

CHANCES we will find just the right critique group, agent, publisher, etc. to help our stories come to life.

CHANCES we will find some level of success on this publishing path we travel.

And what are the CHANCES anything will come of our writing?

No one knows...but if you would have told me back in 2010 when I became a professional writer that in a few years time I would have two stories published, a blog read in over 20 countries, thousands of people reading what I write online, and tons of awesome writerly friends all over the world...I probably wouldn't have taken a CHANCE on believing any of it.

But today, I just sent out a full manuscript request of my YA fantasy romance novel, LUNADAR: HOMEWARD BOUND, to a publisher that just might take a CHANCE on me. So I say, lets roll the dice and take a CHANCE there's another publishing credit in my future!

 I hope you have an AWESOME day today cuz you deserve it!

Children's book author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a 'ninja' writer of children’s picture books, middle grade chapter books and young adult novels by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books. She is also a book reviewer for Harper Collins, and a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. Donna is a lover of dark chocolate, good stories, and an adoptive mom to 20-pound guard kitty in Knoxville, Tennesse

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3 WAYS PINTEREST CAN BOOST YOUR WRITING CAREER

 

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My sister and I were talking the other day about Pinterest. She told me she had an account and quite frankly I was surprised. Janet doesn't enjoy participating in social networking like I do. Her Facebook friends probably number less than twenty, but she likes it that way. That is why I was surprised to discover she even had a Pinterest account. I'm pretty sure she will only use it like a glorified photo album and that's just fine for her.

But not for writers.

 

If we are serious about our careers, writers have to consider how a social site like Pinterest can not only support our writing muse, but also help connect us with our intended audience. Ours is a visual world and here are three ways Pinterest can help us accomplish that task.

PROVIDES STORY LINE IDEAS

I love searching through Pinterest for wonderful illustrations to post to my PB IDEAS board (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/pb-ideas/). Something catches my eye and I pin it on my board for consideration later. I am a visual picture book writer and just studying whimsical or silly artwork will trigger a nugget of a story idea and I run with it. 

When I was writing my fantasy novel I created my LUNADAR board (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/lunadar/). It was there I would skip through the pictures and daydream of a world where my characters could come alive. It help ground me in the fantasy world I was creating until it was as real to me as I imagined my readers would hope it would become for them.

And when I work on my creative nonfiction manuscripts, I sometimes turn to my HISTORY board (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/history/) to maybe discover a little known fact that can become the spotlight of my next book. Why not use a picture based social site for gathering great research pictures?

SHOWCASING ONE'S WORK

Pinterest is a great way for people to take a look at your work. Right now I might only a couple of books available for purchase but MY PUBLISHED WORK board (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/my-published-work/) shows where readers can find my stories, view my STORY CATCHER book trailer, or check out my latest business postcards. My STORY CATCHER FAN CLUB board (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/story-catcher-fan-club/) has info about my picture book and butterflies because they are part of my STORY CATCHER logo. I would love to add Pinterest links of my FREE STORY CATCHER newsletters but haven't figure that one out yet. If you know how to turn a PDF file into a Pinterest pin let me know in the comments or shoot me an email. I would really appreciate it!

If you have a number of books out you could always set up a board for each board and show things like book covers, illustration art, pictures of book signings, Common Core activities linked to each book, etc. The more you are able to pin, the more connected your readers will be to your work.

SHARING WITH OTHERS

I have also created a number of boards to help others like writers, teachers, readers, etc. My FOR TEACHERS board (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/for-teachers/) has a plethora of activities to help support wonderful educators out there. I have a number of "writing" based boards like WRITING (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/writing/), NANOWRIMO (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/nanowrimo/), WRITING RESOURCES (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/writing-resources/),
and BOOK MARKETING (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/book-marketing/). Lastly, for all the lovely book lovers out there I have my BOOKS (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/books/) and WONDERFUL BOOKCASES (https://www.pinterest.com/donasdays/wonderful-bookcases/). 

The possibilities are endless with Pinterest. Whether you are more like my sister and just want a convenient space to post all your cool pictures or you are a serious professional working on furthering your writing career, Pinterest is definitely an avenue worth looking into!

Blurb: Addie comes from a long line of readers or "story catchers" as her family likes to call themselves. Every time Addie tries to catch a story on her own the wiggly words play tricks on her. She tries different ways to make those words sit still but it will take a little faith for Addie to become the next STORY CATCHER.

Buy Links:Amazon Kindle ¦ Paperback ¦ B&N ¦ Smashwords

JOIN THE STORY CATCHER FAN CLUB! Membership includes:

 
Membership Certificate

Bi-montly Newsletter full of mazes, puzzles, games, news, and other goodies

Reading Log for earning STORY CATCHER AWARD

Reaching For The Stars...

Normally I would be doing one of my children's book reviews in this slot but today I wanted to make a little announcement, so here goes...

NEWS FLASH!

I'm stepping away from my blog for a little while.

Not for long and not forever.

You see, I have a number of writing commitments and projects with time sensitive deadlines coming up over the next two months and I've spent the past couple of weeks trying to figure out how to get everything done. Some people might think I'm some sort of Super Woman but I'm actually only human and can only go in so many directions at once...;~)

So, I'm going to step away from my blog for the months of November and December to focus on a number of things including...

1. Participate in NaNoWriMo where I intend to rewrite the first half of my young adult fantasy novel LUNADAR: HOMEWARD BOUND and then actually finish this novel that's been haunting me for about three years now.

2. Participate in PiBoIdMo where I am wanting to focus on researching and fleshing out some more possible creative historical fiction topics. Since I need to come up with 30 ideas in 30 days, surely to goodness a few of them with pop up!

3. Complete a number of book reviews I've committed to for Harper Collins and the Fiction Guild.

4.  Complete two "dummy" picture books to help with my author visits. This is a request per the school system I'm working with to expand what I can offer the schools and I'm happy to oblige.

5. Work on revisions to my existing manuscripts...14 picture books and 3 chapter books.

6. Complete my research on book 3 of a new historical fiction chapter book series I've created and maybe start on the first draft.

7.  Oh yeah...take time to enjoy the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

8. Enjoy a much needed break from work and writing projects when I go on vacation the week of Christmas.

I really enjoy blogging and I hope you have been entertained these past four years (my blogiversary is 12/6/11) and I intend to return on January 4th, 2016 with all kinds of new ideas to share with you, my wonderful readers. I'll still be on Facebook and Pinterest but for now, I'm taking the next two months off from blogging to shoot for the stars!!

Blurb: Addie comes from a long line of readers or "story catchers" as her family likes to call themselves. Every time Addie tries to catch a story on her own the wiggly words play tricks on her. She tries different ways to make those words sit still but it will take a little faith for Addie to become the next STORY CATCHER.

Buy Links:Amazon Kindle ¦ Paperback ¦ B&N ¦ Smashwords

JOIN THE STORY CATCHER FAN CLUB!Membership includes:

 
Membership Certificate

Bi-montly Newsletter full of mazes, puzzles, games, news, and other goodies

Reading Log for earning STORY CATCHER AWARD



THE ABC'S OF READING & 'RITING: LETTER F

 One of the genres readers and writers enjoy is fantasy. What better way to indulge one's love of magical worlds and mythical beasts than to dip one's toes in the waters of another realm? To help celebrate the letter F this week, I thought I would tease you with the opening to my Young Adult fantasy story I'm writing entitled LUNDAR. Whether crossing time portals to forage for survival or fighting a dark lord to help secure the future of the waterfall city, the world and people of LUNADAR are what fantasy is all about!

Lunadar: Homeward Bound

By: Donna L Martin

             The setting sun bathes the deck in an unnatural light.  The men are restless.  They have been too long from land, too long from home and it weighs heavily upon their spirits.  This night will be a rough one with choppy seas and razor sharp tongues.  My hand is firm upon the railing and my body sways in rhythm to the waves.  My eyes peer into the fading light as if to see land just beyond the portal.  I will get no rest this night.

             Voices waft up from below, a harsh word muttered here and there as the men settle down in cramp quarters which reek of sweat and dirt from many days at sea withonly each other and the moonlight for company.   My body begs for rest but my mind races.  Crowded with the what-ifs and what-could-have-been of another life time.  Too late to change things.  The sea is my master and I follow wherever it leads me.  

             I struggle to stay awake.   Many depend on me to lead them through the rocky maze which lies before us.  But I am confident.  I know this path well, having traveled it many times.  Truth be told,  I could steer this ship through these waters with my eyes closed.  Every rock and shell is as familiar to me as the stars in the northern sky.

             The maze is done and once again we are on the open sea.  A solitary moon looms before me, the only other thing awake at this time of night.  Midnight hour. Witching hour.  A time when the portal opens between the here and now to stretch into the outer world.  My heart races as if mere wishing could make these sails quicken the journey.  At last we are homeward bound and another moon will not rise before we are once again in the arms of our loved ones.  All that stands between them and me is the moon. 

*********************

 

 

Blurb:Addie comes from a long line of readers or "story catchers" as her family likes to call themselves. Every time Addie tries to catch a story on her own the wiggly words play tricks on her. She tries different ways to make those words sit still but it will take a little faith for Addie to become the next STORY CATCHER.

Buy Links:Amazon Kindle ¦ Paperback ¦ B&N ¦ Smashwords



JOIN THE STORY CATCHER FAN CLUB!Membership includes:
 
Membership Certificate
Bi-montly Newsletter full of mazes, puzzles, games, news, and other goodies
Reading Log for earning STORY CATCHER AWARD

 

 

Looking To The Future

Yesterday was a time of reflection.  It was my birthday and every year at this time I look back at the past 365 days.  I take a moment to say my goodbyes to the not so great moments since my last birthday and remind myself of all the wonderful blessings I've enjoyed over the past twelve months.

Goodbye to...

1. Restful sleep.  For some reason I am not sleeping as well as I have in the past. I have calculated that over the eleven weeks of summer I will have lost over 220 hours of sleep which equates to 27 1/2 DAYS of sleep at summers end which I can't get back.

2. My old mailbox. Things have been exceptionally quiet on the other side of the hedges and I can only pray it stays that way. My new mailbox isn't looking quite so new after the last 4 am party but it's still hanging in there and for that I am grateful.

3. Household clutter. I have been gathering things in preparation of a yard sale next month and my study is starting to pile up. I'm counting down the days and hopefully when it's over my house will be a little more empty and my pockets a little more full.

4. Rejection letters. I'm collecting those like trophies. All are wonderfully positive but in the end I am discovering my voice is too unique for this market. Either I need to uncover an agent who will boldly go where no agent has gone before...or I need to check out new markets.

Hats off to...

1. Publication. My short story "Shortcut To Peace" was picked up by Chicken Soup For The Soul: Angels Among Us and released in January of this year. It was a much needed validation that at least some of my writing has merit.

2. Picture Books. I started off last year with not even a strong idea for a story and now, after PiBoIdMo and 12 X 12, I have 9 solid stories with 5 of them ready for querying and the other four in final revision stages.

3. WIPs. I have 16 other works in progress where I have written the basic outline or even written a very rough draft but need to go further with them.

4. Novels. I worked some on Lacey's Bridge but it has been Lunadar: Homeward Bound which has captured my passion at the moment.  So little time and so much of this story floating around in my head and nowhere to go until I can free up some moments for my writing.

5. Nonfiction. Expanding in an arena I have had an interest in for more than a year.  Working on research is like searching for buried treasure! Can't wait to see what I uncover next.

6. Contests and submissions. I have spent time this year doing a lot of submissions. Agents, Contests. Magazines. I'm testing the waters and narrowing my search for representation.

7. Participating in Julie Hedlund's 12 X 12. Where else are you GUARANTEED an agent specializing in picture books will actually read your story? And in most cases, they are providing valuable feedback on how to improve our writing.

8. Rejection letters. Yeah, you read correctly. Hats go off to these as well because in the whole scheme of things they assure me that I am doing the right thing. I am getting myself familiar with the processes involved in getting my work seen by the right people. Those letters might contain NOs for now, but one day soon there will be a YES and then I will be forever grateful for the ones who taught me perseverance.

Goodbye to my old life when I was a year younger. I better grab some sunglasses. I'm looking to the future and my future is looking pretty bright!!

Racing To Greet 2013

As this month winds down, it's time for me to close the door on 2012.  It was a really hard year for me with quite a bit of changes to be made in my personal life as well as a lovely surprise in my professional one.  But I don't tend to dwell on the negative very much or for very long.  My mind continually races forward, welcoming new challenges, and I think 2013 will be a great year for many milestones overcome on my road to publication.  My vacation is from Dec 22nd until Jan 1st and I have a plan for the new year:

1.  Streamline my writing study.  I know it looks organized but there are a couple of boxes hidden away full of odds and ends I need to go through.  If it doesn't have immediate value to this next year's writing then I'm either going to pack it away as a resource tool or give it away to someone who can benefit from it now.

2.  Print a hard copy of all my completed and WIP manuscripts and store them in a folder under categories.  Since I write picture books, chapter books, middle grade, young adult, essays, poetry, etc. I need to make sure I know what type of writing I am doing so I can target the right agent or publisher.

3.  Review my 2011 & 2012 list of PiBoIdMo ideas.  There are 85 story seeds to sort through.  Some will never germinate, some will become seedlings in other stories, and some will blossom into full fledge manuscripts on their own so I need to have a good idea of which will become which.

4.  Streamline my bookcase of writer resources.  I  have 100+ books covering all craft aspects of writing as well as the general topics of interest I like to write about.  There are so many great writers out there that I can learn from but I really need to look at all the variations covering the same material and simplify my resource pool where I can.

5.  Narrow my list of agents and publishing houses I intend to focus on in 2013.  I plan on submitting and entering competitions all year long so I will take my vacation week to help fine tune the target audiences for my work.

6.  Work on basic query letters for the stories ready for submission.  Make sure those letters have all the elements agents and publishers are looking for.  I'm even excited to finally be able to list at least one published credit to my name...a small one but still a start in the right direction.

7.  Try to finalize the guest blogger list for my new writer's series, WRITERLY WISDOM, beginning in January, 2013.  I only have 18 guest blogger spots left to fill so if anyone knows of an author or established writer (2 or more years full time writing experience) who might be interested in doing a guest blog, then just send them my way!

8.  I've blocked out specific times to work on Lacey's Bridge, The Warriors Three, Lunadar, and many of my picture books.  My best friend is going out of town and I've asked my family to give me these two weeks to focus on my writing without distractions.

There you have it.  I've got an action plan for the new year and the ability to create my own personal writer's retreat at home.  What about you?  Have you mapped out a course for tackling the new year?  Have you prepared for the uphill climb to publication?  Does anyone have any areas I might have left out in preparing for the new year?  Come on 2013, I'm ready for you!  Now all I have to do is to actually sit down and get started...

A Labor Of Love

Fifty seven and a half hours.  That's how long my own little labor of love lasted before my son came into this world almost 24 years ago.  It really didn't matter if I wanted to quicken the journey.  He was arriving in his own sweet time and I could either live in the moment or fight it every step of the way.  As much as I might have wanted to be in control, I wasn't and I simply needed to trust that what I began nine months earlier would turn out right in the end.

Writing is sometimes like that.  I begin with an idea and I spend countless hours nurturing it.  Feeding it with my imagination until I begin to see it's growth.  Sometimes days, sometimes months later my labor of love bears fruit and I have a completed story. 

I'm currently working on a labor of love which might take me into the holidays and beyond.  Lunadar: Homeward Bound started out as a spark when I came across a mesmerizing picture on the internet.  I jotted down a few sentences to describe what I was seeing.  Then it turned into a daydream which turned into a few paragraphs and now it has blossomed into a young adult novel I am trying to finish. 



But there are times when the labor pains are strong and I have to take a moment to breathe. I have to exercise patience.  The potential birth of this novel drives me forward and I seek to control my world. Sometimes I just have to remember that I'm not the one in charge...my characters are coming to life on their own and they are the ones who whisper in my ear.  All I just need to do is write their story down.

Scheduling time on the computer however is sometimes a problem...





Writing Like The Wind

There is no escaping it.  I have created a pressure cooker challenge for myself which I never expected to happen.  Most of you know I was lucky enough to win a pitch contest recently where an agent wants to look at the first 50 pages of my YA fantasy novel Lunadar: Homeward Bound.  The only problem? The novel isn't finished yet.  Ooops...my bad! One of the problems of being a newer writer is that you might THINK you understand all the rules and terminology of writing, but you could be just as wrong!  Bottom line is I need to actually COMPLETE my novel and I thank my lucky stars this wonderful agent is willing to wait.  I just don't think she will wait forever.  So I have to write like the wind as one of my friends so aptly put it!

The advantages of pressure cooker writing for me is that I have a lot of material with which to work.  I have ONE main character,  about SIX supporting characters, TWO minor characters, FOUR different "kingdoms", a murder, and a handful of secrets mixed in with a healthy dose of mystical magic.  THAT should be enough fodder to fill 50,000 words, right?   The disadvantages of pressure cooker writing is that despite the fact that I am a organized kind of gal in other parts of my life, my WRITING does not come to me in an organized fashion.  

I'm not one of those people who plot, outline, character develop, and index their way from beginning to end of each story.  My characters talk to me...all the time.  I daydream what the characters are doing and saying.  I sit down at my computer with only the slightest inkling of what I am going to write and then I listen to the voices...carried in on the wind...and I simply write them down and see where it leads me.  I don't know if this is how other writers do it, but it seems to work for me.  So for this latest test of my writing ability I will just have to strap on the chaps and write like the wind.  Wish me luck...I think I'm gonna need it!

Climbing A Crooked Path

When I first started on my path to publication, in my ignorance, I thought the road would be a fairly straight one.  Like all new writers I presumed one simply sits, one writes, one submits, and one gets published. The reality couldn't be farther from the truth.  Yes, I sit and write...and rewrite...and rewrite...and rewrite again until my stories are as good as I can make them.  The road is more curvy than straight.  The submitting part of the process is extremely complicated to me because there are so many factors involved in the decision making.  And with so many ways to publish these days and the general upheaval within the children's picture book side of industry...which just happens to be MY genre...the chances of becoming a published author are getting more challenging every day.

So why should I even bother to try?  For me, it is as simple as breathing.  I write because I must.  Even with all the twists and turns in the road that come with writing professionally, I am driven to do this thing I love beyond compare and it's days like today that make it worthwhile.  Last week I entered into my very first pitch contest on an author's blog.  It was my chance to maybe win the right to directly submit one of my stories to an agent who actually wanted to SEE it.  I wouldn't be going in blind.  Over 140 contestants later, I discover I am one of the winners...but there is a catch...

I realize I have make a novice writer's mistake.  I THOUGHT the agent was looking for a story idea query and what they REALLY wanted was the complete story.  I thought I had reached a dead end.  I thought I had royally screwed up!  But apparently a strong pitch is still a strong pitch and once the error was explained to the agent, she still was interested in seeing my novel once it is complete.  How gracious of her to overlook the ignorance of a beginner writer.  So now I focus even harder to navigate the bumps on the road to publication as I travel a sometimes crooked path to my goal of becoming a published author.

There was another lesson I learned today.  Agents and publishers don't really want to see potential future books sitting on someone's blog as installments or read synopsis of works in progress on someone's website.  It's like opening a new candy store and giving away the goods for free.  It's just not smart business.  As much as I am saddened with my having to remove all reference to my stories or poems from my blog and website, I understand and respect the advice of those who are looking out for my best interest.  And I hope my friends and readers will know that I have enjoyed providing a sneak peak into some of the worlds of my imagination.  Now we just have to wait to read the actual published book.  I would caution others to also think twice before posting something they hope one day will be seen in print.  It might make the difference between an acceptance letter and something else.

Now it's back to the land of Lunadar as I realize the final lesson I learned today...