TIS THE SEASON TO BE SNEAKY...

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:

 

SNEAKY

I grew up in a very small town to a very poor family with six mouths to feed. Things may have been very rough any other time of the year, but during the holidays my mother made sure there were plenty of surprises under the tree to be opened on Christmas morning.

Only thing is, it was never a surprise what was in those gifts so colorfully wrapped. You see, I’m the youngest of four siblings and my brother learned how to be SNEAKY at a very early age.

As the baby of the group, I was the lookout while my parents slept, and my brother would very carefully unwrap each gift and tell the recipient what they were going to get the next day! Then he would just as carefully rewrap the present and return it to its rightful place under the tree. For years this was a Christmas Eve ritual with us kids.

And my mother never found out.

I know this because she had a very strict moral code when it came to things like that and let’s just say our backsides would have been redder than a baboon’s if we would have been caught.

Sometimes you have to SNEAKY. Take this writing journey we are all on. We all began this journey for various reasons. You know the ones I mean…

“My kids love when I tell them stories.”

“I want to see my name in print.”

        “I've read several books and I can do better.”

        “There's something I want to share with the world.”

But there are times when negative self-talk and doubters all around you try to sabotage your writing efforts. And if you truly want to be a writer, you have to be SNEAKY to trick your mind into doing what’s best to stay on this publishing path…not what’s comfortable!

My own SNEAKY examples:

1) Make it a priority to write every day, no matter what!

2) Participate in writing groups, whether in person or online to connect with other writers.

3) Take a writing course...or two...or three...to continue to improve your writing skills.

4) Don't be afraid to put your writing out there and get others to critique your efforts. Seek out the wisdom of those who came before you and learn from them.

Writing for me is not a hobby; not something I can simply set aside when something better comes along. For me, there is NOTHING better than writing and I intend to SNEAK in writing every chance I get for the rest of my life.

How about YOU?

I hope you have an awesome day today, DCSPeeps, because 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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UNDER THE WEATHER BLUES...

I'm feeling under the weather right now. I've been sick since Thanksgiving and will have to wait until next week to give you my latest TODAY'S WORD, with an interesting holiday story from my long ago childhood...

Sorry for the delay. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I'll be back next week!



GETTING MY STUFFING ON...

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:

STUFFING

It was not long after I moved into my new apartment when I decided to adopt a kitten. One of my coworkers told me her own cat delivered a litter six weeks prior and those "little bundles of energy" were ready to find a forever home. 

I should have taken her words as clue #1 of what was to come.

After seeing the adorable kittens playing outside (clue #2), I decided to take two of them home instead. The calico one I named Patches for obvious reasons, and the grey striped one I named Cricket because she hopped like a cricket more than she did anything else.  Cricket was also lightening fast and liked to climb my curtains when my back was turned.

Clue #3.

I brought Patches & Cricket home the weekend before Thanksgiving. Other than having to peel Cricket off the curtains a time or two, by Thanksgiving morning both kittens were settling into their new home and I could concentrate on cooking the turkey.

At some point in the process I needed to check if the STUFFING was done, so I sat the bird on the stove top just as my hall phone began to ring. Thinking it would just take a minute to answer it, I left the bird cooling and took the call.

My phone conversation took longer than I'd planned which I regretted as soon as I returned to the kitchen to discover Cricket had scaled the side of the stove like Mt Everest and was now buried up to her shoulders INSIDE MY TURKEY!

Who knew cats liked STUFFING? 

I guess I should be happy at least SOMEBODY liked my homemade recipe, but for me, Thanksgiving dinner was ruined and by the next weekend I found new homes for my two feral kitties...

During this holiday season, I have decided to STUFF my writing with lots of flavorful ingredients:

🦃 rich details in my world building

🦃 quirky personality traits for my characters

🦃 challenging obstacles to overcome

🦃 a life changing event to help someone grow

🦃 a surprise, unexpected ending

You see, my DCSPeeps, strong writing is the backbone of every great story, but it's the STUFFING that makes your audience want to climb up and dig in!

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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Author Email: www.donasdays@gmail.com
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CHASING AFTER THE WRITERLY DREAM...

 

 (wikimedia commons)

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:

CHASING

When you come from a poor family you have to be creative. Especially when it comes to games.

My mother didn't especially care for me hanging out with the neighborhood kids, so it was a good thing my sister, Janet, and I were fairly close in age. She was four years older than myself, but many a Saturday morning would find us outside getting creative with whatever was lying around.

One particular Saturday when I was about 9 years old, we decided to pretend we were grand ladies going to a Ball. The only problem was, we didn't have any fancy dresses to wear. I don't remember which one of us came up with the idea, but soon my sister was cutting holes in large packing boxes trying to make cardboard skirts out of them.

The plan would have gone great except for the fact my sister cut the leg holes of my "skirt" a little bit too small. When I stepped into the box, she quickly pulled it up my legs to see if it fit, causing my legs to be painfully scraped and my temper was immediately inflamed.

Throwing the cardboard to one side, I grabbed the knife my sister had used and began CHASING her around the yard, screaming at the top of my lungs I would kill her if I ever got a hold of her! It took much persuasion from my mother to eventually convince me to put the knife down. My sister and I continued to play together after that fateful day, but I can't remember either one of us ever wanting to go to the Ball again after that!

CHASING our writing dreams, my #DCSPeeps, can sometimes be as scary as being CHASED by a madder than heck victim of a cardboard attack. Some newbie writers CHASE random agents and publishers like dogs barking at cars...not very effective, but it gives the impression they're being productive.

There's nothing wrong with CHASING the chance to see your name in print. Just make sure while you're running down that publication path, you remember three things:

1. Make sure your story is the best it can possibly be. Revise, critique, and polish your words until they shine like diamonds on that page.

2.  If you go the traditional route to publishing, do your research so that your manuscript has the best chance of being read by the right person to possibly help you.

3. Once you have completed that manuscript, don't hesitate to start on your next project. The more you write, the more you learn HOW to write, and when it comes to CHASING those writerly dreams, MORE is better!

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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Author Email: www.donasdays@gmail.com
Story Catcher Fan Club Emai: www.storycatcherfanclub@gmail.com

 

Some Powerful Things Come In SMALL Packages...

 (Wikimedia Commons)

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:

SMALL

For those of you who might not know, I grew up in a VERY poor family where my mother was challenged every day just to put food on the table. 

I’m not sure how they managed it, but the year I was about 4 years old, my parents actually bought a side of beef to help feed the six of us in our family.

We only had a very SMALL refrigerator, so my parents rented freezer space at the local butcher shop and would travel there once a week to pick up the following week’s meat.

Those trips will be forever etched in my memory. The cries of the animals, the smell of furry bodies in SMALL, cramped pens, and the sight of blood dripping from the carcasses as a few butchers prepared the meat for shipping.

I also remember the job I was there to do every week.

Being the SMALLEST one in the family, my father would lift me high into the air and set me INSIDE the freezer compartment we had rented. Crawling on my hands and knees, I had to make my way into the back of that dark, frosty cave to retrieve the white wrapped packages of meat no one else could reach.

Just when my 4 year old mind thought my frozen fingers would surely fall off, my father would finally retrieve me and lift me back down to the warm floor below.

Another week would go by and there would be another trip made to the butcher so we wouldn’t have to worry about where our next meal was coming from.

But I already knew where it was coming from, because I was the one, quite literally, bring home the bacon…;-}

Some people think SMALL things don’t matter, my #DCSPeeps, but they’re wrong.

A SMALL act of kindness can go a long way to heal a broken spirit.

A SMALL smile given to a stranger might be all that’s needed to give them hope for a better tomorrow.

And one SMALL child might have the power to hold back hunger.

When you are struggling to put your words down and are thinking about maybe throwing in the writing towel, remember to celebrate all the SMALL accomplishments made along the way. It's those SMALL steps made each day that keep you moving in the right direction on this publishing path we’re all on!

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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Author Email: www.donasdays@gmail.com
Story Catcher Fan Club Emai: www.storycatcherfanclub@gmail.com

 

ROLLING OUT MY #DCSPeeps WRITING SQUAD!

                                                      DECIDE

                                                      COMMIT

                                                      SUCCEED

 

You've "heard" less from me over the past few months as I've tried to get a handle on a number of projects I've been working on. Some deadlines I've made and others I'm still working on.

I'm back to blogging but now you'll "see" less of me. One of the projects I worked on over the summer was ME. I was at a point in my life where my weight was affecting my health. 

I DECIDED to make changes.

I joined Weight Watchers and lost over 40 pounds so far. Actually I guess I should say I've gotten rid of them cuz I don't plan on FINDING them ever again!

I COMMITTED to making better choices for my future.

I have every intention in SUCCEEDING on my weight loss journey.

I'm also using this same process to revamp my writing.

I've DECIDED to focus on my YA Fantasy series, LUNADAR, for the rest of this year and finally get it ready for submitting to agents.

I've COMMITTED to revising this novel every day this month as I continue to roll out other writing projects I've completed.

I'm planning on SUCCEEDING at this writing thing and would like YOU to come with me on my journey. 

My Monday posts will now be a kind of TODAY'S WORD where I focus a short story from my past with present application of key words we use in our lives every day but hopefully, I will be able to give you a new, inspired way to look at those same words.  

In the Weight Watcher community, my posts go out to my #DCSPeeps so I will tag my new posts here the same way. Look for my first TODAY'S WORD post next Monday.

Won't you join my "peep" squad? Let's all DECIDE, COMMIT, and SUCCEED together!