No words needed...

You Are a Winner!

Part of the fun of belonging to this blog is being among so many talented authors. Everyone's always working on new projects, and the book sales and releases keep flowing in.

 Today it's my turn to celebrate another book release! The UXL Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes has arrived. All 5 volumes and 2200+ pages of it.

Just thinking about all the hours of research, writing, and editing that went into it exhausts me. But now it's done, and I can enjoy the finished product as I move ahead on another one -- this time fiction.

Having a book published is a high, but what of all those hours slogging through rough drafts, squeezing in time to write between other obligations, wanting to crumple up the pages of the current WIP, staring at a blank computer screen hoping the right words will come? All of that, too, is part of the joy of being a writer.

Writing successes are often few and far between. When they come, we rejoice, but we also need to remember that the frustrations mean we're struggling ahead, learning our craft. Olympic athletes aren't made in a day, or a week, or a month, or a year... Being a writer takes the same amount of dedication and hard work. They say it takes about 10,000 hours of practicing your craft to become a pro. How many hours have you put in?

If you're feeling discouraged, check out my post on Downtown YA, Feel Like Giving Up?, and McKenna Darby's post on the Hearts Through History blog, Struggling as a Writer? Congratulations!

Making Characters Come Alive

Sometimes inspiration strikes as I read other blogs. And today I came across a blog that was so beautifully written, I just had to share it. McKenna Darby's post on the Hearts Through History blog is one every aspiring and published author should read. If you want to know how to make characters come alive, McKenna has the secret. And, coincidentally, it'll make your settings more vivid too.

If you want to read more of McKenna's wisdom, you can read her blog. It's well worth the time.

Looking Up

I just spent part of today in a redwood forest. I find forests inspiring; they have a hushed, holy feel. And this one with its undergrowth made me think of untouched wilderness. I always come away with a deep desire to write, to pour out my soul on the pages.

But as I stood there today, I was reminded of the writing process. The primal understory with its tangle of vines, the deep, fertile ground of subconscious. Those huge redwoods towering overhead grew from a tiny seed, and each one was different. Some had many branches and offshoots. Others went straight to the sky. So like the writing process that springs from a tiny seed buried deep in the subconscious and grows... and grows... Until like the towering redwood, it's large and impressive, awe-inspiring.

When we stand there and marvel at the trees, we often forget how long it took them to get to that height and all the hardships they endured along the way--droughts, fires, being overshadowed by other larger trees. Still, they persevered and lived through the pain, struggled to reach their heights. And so will we.

When I look at the Susquehanna Writers, I feel the same awe as I do in the forest. I knew many of them when they were struggling, unpublished writers. We were saplings together. Sharing the pain of rejections, the frustration of learning the craft, the struggle to find someone--anyone--who appreciated our work enough to take a chance. And now we've all arrived at the stage where we're published authors; most of us are multi-published.

At one time, we thought that was the goal, the be-all and end-all. Now we know, though, that like the redwoods, we still have much more growth ahead of us. We all continue to write and submit, of course, but now we're branching out with a new skill--marketing. Which means the growth process is ongoing. But someday soon we'll all be towering redwoods that inspire others.