Focus On The Fight, Not The Fright

A lovely TV anchor announced recently that she was in for the fight of her life.  She beat cancer a few years ago but was now diagnosed with another form of the disease.  When I watched her interview with her co-anchors, I was impressed with her strength of spirit.  I also liked a phrase she used..."Focus on the fight, not the fright".  It was like someone had dropped a brick on my head...

What a perfect mantra for writers.  Focus on the fight.  Be the best writer you can be.  Invest your time in  writer's conferences, workshops, critique groups,  and online writing groups...all the many avenues to help strengthen your skills as a writer.  Write every day and let your writer's voice infuse your words.  Do your research and create compelling query letters to attract agents and publishers to your work.  Polish your manuscripts until they shine with the conviction that you are on the right path to publication.

Don't let the fright which comes with the writing life get you down.  Insecurities, frustrations and moments of writer's block might lurk in the corners of your mind, but focus on the fight and be secure in the knowledge that you are exactly where you need to be.  One day you too will see your name in print...as sure as the sun will come up in the morning...

Wild Wednesday

There's nothing wilder than wild life right?   Well, here's where it gets weird as well...I bet you thought only PEOPLE were put on trial, right?  Guess again...

 

1.  Mosquitoes... in the 1200's in the town of Mayenne, France, the townspeople sued a swarm of mosquitoes for becoming a public nuisance.  When the bugs failed to show up for their trial, the court appointed lawyer then fought on their behalf. The verdict...the court banished the bugs from being seen in town...but provided them a patch of land outside of town where they could swarm in peace.

2.  Rooster...in 1471 in the town of Basel, Switzerland, the townsfolk put a rooster on trial for laying an egg.  Believing the rooster to be possessed by the devil, a trial was performed to determine guilt or innocence.  The verdict...the rooster was found guilty of sorcery and burned at the stake.


3.  Leeches...in 1451 in the town of Lausanne, Switzerland, a landowner decided to complain about the number of leeches he discovered in a pond on his land.  The local bishop then took the slimy critters to court and the leeches were given three days to leave town or face the consequences.  When the leeches didn't pack up and go, the court rendered it's decision.  The verdict...death by exorcism.


4.  Rats...in 1522 in Autun, France, the diocese sued a few rats for destroying the local barley supply.  The lawyer for the defense won a continuance because he argued that not all the rats in question was properly summoned and he needed more time to inform his clients which were scattered over several villages in the area.  The lawyer then argued that it was too dangerous for the rats to show up in court because of all the townspeople who owned cats.  The verdict...since the court could not determine a safe time for the rats to appear in court, they won the case by default and their freedom.


5.  Blackie...in 1981 in Augusta, Georgia, a cat named Blackie stood on the corner and performed for owner, Carl Miles, for tips.  Blackie made so much money that the city threatened to take Carl to court for Blackie not having a business license. The verdict...a smart judge decided that since Blackie was not human, he was exempt.

 

Blackie the cat talking

Teaser Tuesday

The Bossy Gallito

Author: Lucia M Gonzalez

Illustrator:  Lulu Delacre 

Publisher:  Scholastic

Ages: 4-8

ISBN: 10 043906757X

A bossy little rooster runs into trouble on the way to his uncle's wedding.  Should everyone stop what they are doing to help?  Will he make it to the wedding?  Does he figure out the magic word which can solve all his problems?

***Bilingual picture book***

Happy 200th!

Under normal circumstances this would have been my 200th blog post.  Technically it's my 201st post because I felt the need to post more than one per day this weekend but I won't count the post about negative things if you won't and we will both pretend this is my original 200th post celebration!

Knowing this day was coming up, I asked others in the writing community how they think I should celebrate this momentous occasion and my friend, Sheri Lawson, came up with what I thought was a brilliant suggestion.  She thought I should shine a spotlight on the highlights of the past six months.

I wrote my first blog on Dec 6th, 2011.  It was a tribute to the wonderful time I had participating in the PiBoIdMo challenge headed up by the lovely Tara Lasar.  It was the outpouring of well wishes and kind comments which helped me to decide to faithfully post daily.  My goal was to provide a source of inspiration to other writers as my way of saying thanks for the support and love I've felt from the very first day here.

So, here are the top 10 posts from the past six months, along with when they posted and how many people read them.  

http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2012/01/tortoise-and-hare.html...Jan 4, 2012...5080 views

http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2012/05/rays-of-sunshine.html...May 10, 2012...3912 views

http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2012/01/doctor-doctor-where-are-you.html...Jan 21, 2012...3850 views

http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2011/12/mountains-and-valleys.html...Dec 26, 2011...3128 views

http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2012/02/is-it-train-or-train-wreck.html...Feb 23, 2012...1786 views

http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2012/01/see-hear-speak-no-evil.html...Jan 6, 2012...1262 views

http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2012/03/artful-dodger.html...Mar 20 2012...1093 views

http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2012/01/bring-on-rain.html...Jan 5, 2012...882 views

http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2012/01/abcs-of-good-writer.html...Jan 24, 2012...826 views

http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2011/12/new-yeara-new-easy-contest.html...Dec 29, 2011...575 views

That's over 22,000 page views on just these 10 posts which quite honestly surprises me.  Despite hackers and stalkers, I continue to welcome new readers and have decided to go ahead and continue with my new schedule of postings. Why should YOU be penalized because of a couple insensitive people who tried to cast shadows on my writer spirit...AND FAILED!

So here's to the next 200 blog posts and I'm working on another contest to work toward my 300th follower.  I'm crossing my fingers that these next six months will be as much fun as the past six as I continue to attempt to entertain, inspire, and dazzle you...my faithful followers...

And what's next?  Number...

A Dickens Of A Tale

I woke up this morning at an exceptionally early hour.  I could have tried going back to sleep. but I had purchased a number of DVD's yesterday and one in particular was calling to me.  The name of the movie was The Ghosts Of Dicken's Past...a story created to show why this brilliant author wrote A Christmas Carol and how it quite literally changed his life...

Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 and by the time A Christmas Carol was created he had written and published a half dozen or more novels.  He was a driven man and always concerned about finances.  He wrote for money and stressed about one day being forced to return to the abject poverty of his youth.  But there was something different about this new novel he was working on in 1842.  His eyes had been opened to the circumstances of the world around him in a way it had never been before.

Instead of slaving over a typewriter or inkwell in the hopes of creating something which would sell, Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol for the pure joy of writing the tale.  Yes, the story was about the darker side of life in the big city during the 19th century, but it was written in the hopes that it would one day inspire others to open their hearts...and pockets...to those less fortunate.  This one act of kindness...trying to shine the spotlight on the suffering of child labor...released a brilliant author from being driven by the almighty dollar.  It only took him six weeks to write the entire novel and the future classic was published in 1843.  And well, you know the rest of the story...

Writers today need to remember why they began writing in the first place.  Some were driven by the need to express themselves.  Some were compelled to write in the hopes of future fame and fortune.  And some write for the pure joy of writing.  To create magic on paper or computer screen in the hopes that some day others will be captivated by their words.  To know they have touched the hearts and minds of readers and for a moment,  the world seems a little bit better place because of their creation.

THAT is why I write.  How about you?

A Letter To My Followers...

Until further notice, I will unfortunately have to stop posting any of my WIPs on my blog as I have a stalker who refuses to leave me alone. This person will not honor my request to STOP commenting on my blog and has set up multiple accounts in their attempt to follow my blog and be able to post comments.  I will now, until further notice, have my comments set for moderation before I will publish anything and will end up having to report this person to the authorities...something I was sincerely trying to avoid but they are leaving me no choice in the matter but to take action against them if  they continue to stalk me.

If you enjoyed  my Sunday "this and that" posts or my Friday "stories", please leave a comment so I can get in touch with you, and I will create an email contact list and start sending my installments out THAT way for those types of posts to everyone who would like to continue reading my stories.  I apologize in advance for any inconvenience this might cause my regular followers, but this is the only way I know to prevent unwanted stalkers from harassing me.

Thanks to all my lovely followers who have shown me your love and support this past year...I will try my best to continue to inspire and entertain you with upbeat posts on a daily basis..I just have to change things up for now...

Sincerely,

Donna L Martin

My Mother's Gifts

My mother, Ferol Emma Ownby Lavergne, would have been 88 years old today.  She was born and raised in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas during a time when the men worked hard to provide for their families and the women worked even harder just to survive a sometimes harsh world.

She was one of nine siblings who scattered to the four winds once they grew up.  There was the aunt who moved to Washington State not far from Mt Saint Helen.  Mother visited in 1980 after the volcano erupted and brought me back a souvenir bag of ashes.

Then there was the uncle who moved to Oklahoma to run a country store not far from the Cherokee Nation Indian Reservation.  Mother would take me there every summer and it was there that I learned that I was part Native American.


But it was the other gifts my mother gave me which I cherish more than any of the material things she gave me over the years.  Gifts like commitment, perseverance and imagination... 


For reasons unknown to me, my mother married my father on a whim.  She didn't love him and I'm pretty sure he didn't love her.  It was a broken hearted rebound story with a relationship that endured almost 30 years of ups and downs. My mother spent the rest of her life devoted to her family.  Watching her strength to endure at times what needed to be endured gave me a gift that I have had to call on many times during my own lifetime.


We moved constantly when I was growing up.  Staying one step ahead of poverty caused us to change homes over the years, but the one constant I could always depend on was my mother's vegetable garden.  While I hated working in the garden during the heat of a muggy Louisiana summer, I understood the necessity of such a thing for our family's very survival.  Creating a garden at some of the places we lived wasn't always easy but my mother never gave up.  Working beside her day after day as she struggled to put food on the table taught me perseverance.  And it was that gift I used to survive a serious medical condition three years ago which could have crippled me for life if I would have let it.

But the greatest gift my mother ever gave me was a love of reading.  She was a Zane Grey fanatic.  I don't know whether those books reminded her of growing up on a farm during an untamed time in American history or if she just wanted to be taken away from the dullness of her every day life by escaping into a good book.  Either way, she encouraged me to read at a very young age and I discovered books when I was four years old.  My sister and I would walk the mile round trip to the local library and load up with as many books as we could carry.  To me, books were treasures to dive into and to this day I surround myself with books of every type.  My mother's love of reading fed my own imagination and is probably the reason I am a writer today.

For all the gifts my mother gave me as I was growing up,  I just want to say thanks.  I'm sure she wondered if her children would grow up strong and not be tied down to the life she was forced to live.  No worries...I'm doing just fine.

Happy 88th birthday, Mom, wherever you may be and hopefully you are still enjoying a good book...

Getting Lost In The Maze

Most of you know that I have returned to my writer roots after a twenty year hiatus.  The reasons which kept me silent all these years no longer exist...or maybe I just came to my senses.  Whatever the reason, I can no longer deny that writing is deeply ingrained in my spirit.  But that doesn't mean it's easy, nor does it mean that what I THINK I want and what I will GET are the same thing.  Being a writer involves all the twists and turns of a tricky maze and it's easy enough to get lost.

So far, this past year has taught me three things:

1.  I'm going to make mistakes in my writing and I have to give myself permission to accept the fact that I am not perfect, no matter how much I might wish it so.  Perfectionists are their own worse critics and if I try to judge my writing efforts by my own standards then NOTHING of mine would ever get published.  I have discovered critique groups, review groups like Rate Your Story and beta readers who provide honest, unbiased critiques help me to grow as a writer and allow me to see my work through another's eyes.

2.  There will be times when I come to a dead end with my writing,  but that doesn't mean it is the end of ME as a writer. Many of you knew from my Facebook posts yesterday that I was contemplating going into debt in order to attend a writer's conference.  People expressed their opinion and insight while trying to help me make an informed decision. There was even one beautiful spirit who sought to council me individually so that I could be prepared should I decide to attend.  My decision to skip the conference was due, in part, to that person's wisdom.  I'm simply not ready for that level...yet...and I feel it would do more harm than good to force the issue.  Sometimes dead ends are there for a reason and we shouldn't always presume it is a negative one.  In my case, it was a wake up call that I need to have a shift in direction or focus as I continue to grow as a writer.

3.  There are no cheat sheets on how to become a published author.  That writing maze is twisty and at times confusing.  Rest assured there will be days when you just KNOW you have gotten turned around and you will even wonder what makes you think YOU could ever write something a publisher would ever want to acquire.  I can promise you this.  THAT is NEVER the time to make life changing decisions about whether to continue pursuing writing or not. When you feel like that reach out to other writers in this wonderful writing community.  Vent. Rant. Cry.  But NEVER stop because if you've come this far then sure as I'm sitting here writing this...YOU, MY FRIEND, ARE A WRITER!

One day, probably when you least expect it, all those twists and turns along that path to publication will finally lead you to the center of that maze and you will thank your lucky stars that you didn't stop...that you never gave up on your dream.  Oh yeah, when you think back to when you first started writing you will see that your dream has changed, but your writing voice had time to mature and your writing spirit has now become strong enough to overcome ANY hurdle which lies between you and publication.

And who knows what beauty you might uncover along the way?

Wild Wednesdays

Today has not gone exactly as planned so my first entry to my Wild Wednesday posts isn't exactly what I had in mind but I hope you will forgive me and give me another chance next week.  These laws came to me from another sister of mine and I thought you might get a chuckle out of them:

1. Law of Mechanical Repair - After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to go to the bathroom.

2. Law of Gravity - Any tool, nut, bolt, screw, when dropped, will roll to 

the least accessible place in the universe.

3. Law of Probability - The probability of being watched is directly 

proportional to the stupidity of your act.

4. Law of Random Numbers - If you dial a wrong number, you never get a 

busy signal - and someone always answers.

6. Variation Law - If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you 

were in will always move faster than the one you are in now (works every 

time). Especially at the checkout lines.

7. Law of the Bath - When the body is fully immersed in water, the 

telephone rings.

8. Law of Close Encounters - The probability of meeting someone you know 

INCREASES dramatically when you are with someone you don't want to be seen 

with. Or where you should not be.

9. Law of the Result - When you try to prove to someone that a machine 

won't work, IT WILL!!!

10. Law of Biomechanics - The severity of the itch is inversely 

proportional to the reach.

11. The Coffee Law - As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your 

boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold. 

Or your husband....oh, he's the boss.

12. Murphy's Law of Lockers - If there are only 2 people in a locker room, 

they will have adjacent lockers.

13. Law of Physical Surfaces - The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich 

landing face down on a floor, are directly correlated to the newness and 

cost of the carpet or rug.

14. Law of Logical Argument - Anything is possible IF you don't know what 

you are talking about.

15. Brown's Law of Physical Appearance - If the clothes fit, they're ugly.

16. Oliver's Law of Public Speaking -- A CLOSED MOUTH GATHERS NO FEET!!!

17. Wilson's Law of Commercial Marketing Strategy - As soon as you find a 

product that you really like, they will stop making it.

18. Doctors' Law - If you don't feel well, make an appointment to go to 

the doctor, by the time you get there you'll feel better.. But don't make an 

appointment, and you'll stay sick.

Teaser Tuesday

My Little Sister Hugged An Ape

Authur: Bill Grossman

Iluustrator: Kevin Hawkes

Publisher: Knopf Books For Young Readers \

IBSN: 13: 9780517800171

Teaser: Little Sister isn't scared by wild animals so she decides to hug them all, from Ape to Zebra.  What will Little Sister hug next? A newt, an octopus, a porcupine?  What kind of trouble will all that hugging get her into?

Here's To The Mucky Muck

Did you ever play in the mud when you were a kid?  When I was much younger, I would walk barefoot along the ridge of the muddy levees which surrounded the rice fields outside my hometown and search for crawfish holes.  Sinking into the mud was simply part of the adventure.

Sometimes however, you find yourself up to your eyeballs in the mucky muck,  and you start to wonder when things got out of control.  What begins as just a little bit of extra weight on your shoulders...i.e. deadlines, writer's block, anxiety over a potential book sale, too many balls in the air at once...one day becomes this pile of sludge which threatens to pull you under and prevent you from reaching your goals.

Don't think that you have to do this alone.  You have friends.  Reach out one little paw and I promise there will be another paw out there to help lift you up and set you back on the path.  That's what this writer community is all about. We all have those mucky muck moments every now and again that pull us down, but that's when we need to look around, take a deep breath, plunge both feet in and just make a little mud art...

This & That

THE SEEDLING

By Janet Lavergne

I planted a little seedling

And watered it so it would grow

I talked softly into the pot

And waited for the plant to show.

I played everything on my stereo

From Bach to Brauhm’s lullaby

I urged the little seedling

“Come out and don’t be shy.”

One day I heard a rumble

The house began to shake

I wondered what was causing

That somewhat small earthquake

Out came that seedling

And he said with a grin

“Turn on the Rolling Stones!”

And promptly went back in.

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

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."  Mark Twain

"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."  E.L. Doctorow

"Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader—not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon."  E.L. Doctorow

"Read a lot, finding out what kind of writing turns you on, in order to develop a criterion for your own writing. And then trust it—and yourself."  Rosemary Daniell 

"Read, read, read. Read everything—trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the most. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out the window."  William Faulkner 

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

Life Weighing You Down?

My best friend teases me sometimes because I had a run in with a crazy squirrel once.  The little fellow wasn't carrying weights like this guy, but MY wild squirrel wouldn't let me out of my own house.  He would sit, watching my back door until I opened it and would then charge it like a bull...chattering away in squirrel language about whatever issue he was having with me at the time!  This went on for days and then suddenly he was gone.  It was a time when my days were weighed down by one angry squirrel.

Then there are times when we feel the weight of our obligations and daily struggles are simply too much for us to bear. We think if one more person asks a favor of us, our cart will tip skywards and we will be left dangling in frustration. Writers get like that sometimes.  I have discovered this past year that it isn't as simple as saying to oneself, "I'm going to write a picture book", or "I'll be published by Christmas".  It takes time and the struggles can be overwhelming if we let it.  I have also discovered three simple steps we all can take to prevent overloading that cart...

Step One...Relax.  Take a chill pill.  Like the song goes, "Don't Worry, Be Happy".  Writing should bring you joy.  While I do have my dream of hopefully becoming a published author one day,  right now I write for the pure joy of it...it fills my need to share a bit of myself with the world and THAT makes me very happy.

Step Two...Take some time out to read a good book.  I like reading everything from children's books to classics.  From self-help to non-fiction and everything in between.  Sometimes burying yourself in a fascinating story allows you to forget about the day's stressful events for a few moments and allows you to simply be.

Step Three...Have some fun!  We are only given one lifetime so why not enjoy it to the fullest?  Don't worry if you might look silly...just get out there and try something new.  You never know what a great time you might have until you take that first step.  Pretty soon you will realize the things you thought were weighing you down were actually helping to lift you up into becoming a stronger person.  And THAT is what living is all about.  Just remember one thing, though.

Everything isn't always what it appears...