Wrapping Up Summer

Last week I taught a series of writing workshops to a group of third through twelfth graders. Some of them truly amazed me with their grasp and love for storytelling. They also inspired me to write several new pieces. I'm excited to see where those current inspirations lead me.

The kids were really excited to see each other again after missing their friends for most of the summer. Classes at the local school officially resume on August 16th, but many of them are already returning to the campus for summer football, band, and other various activities.

I'll be enjoying the last two weeks of summer with my girls. We still have school shopping, annual check-ups, and a few other necessities to attend to in the next two weeks. I'm sure we'll also be enjoying several more summer reads - I introduced them to the Harry Potter series for the first time in June which turned out to be appropriate timing as it's the 20th anniversary.

While I'm not ready to send my girls back to school yet (is that normal?), I am ready to resume a schedule for my writing. I'll talk to you all again on Wednesday for the annual IWSG post!

How about you? How are you spending the last few weeks of summer?

Swing of Things

I'm back from vacation and attempting to get back into the swing of things.

The end of a vacation is always bittersweet. I hate that I'm leaving a relaxing environment of no worries. I hate that I'm leaving behind family I get to see so infrequently. I hate that I had to leave behind the beautiful southern California weather.

However, I'm happy to be back sleeping in my own bed again. I'm happy trying to return to a routine. I'm excited about getting back to writing!

This week I'm teaching the local Girl Scout troop a series of classes on writing. Today, we covered writing poetry, short stories, autobiographies, articles, and essays. I enjoyed sharing some of my published works with them. In turn, their enthusiasm and own beautiful creations inspired me to begin writing some new pieces today.

I'm looking forward to the rest of this week when we will be working on novels, screenplays, memoirs, and cookbooks. In all, I'd say this is a wonderful way to get back to reality.

How is your work coming along? Creating anything new lately? Have you taught any writing classes?

I'm Alive!

Thank you to everyone who has been commenting or emailing me. I'm doing well, and enjoying some much needed vacation time with family.

I have to be honest though: I haven't been writing much in the last few weeks. I'm reading some good books which I'll share with you later, but for now I'm just enjoying time and experiences (you can see more photos on my facebook and instagram pages). I hope you are all able to do the same. I'll post again when I land back in reality. Happy Summer!

Are you enjoying any great summer reads, or new experiences that might influence your writing?

IWSG: Valuable Lessons

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs. You can also join us on twitter using the hashtag #IWSG, or on the Facebook page.

Now, IWSG hosts have changed up the format in an effort to make it more fun and interactive.Every month, they will announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Don’t forget to visit others that day to see their answers. Want to join, or learn more? Visit our - Sign-up List.

JUNE QUESTION: What is one valuable lesson you've learned since you started writing?

MY ANSWER - learn all you can, keep writing, but always write for yourself first, and never throw ANYTHING you write away. Rules, market fluctuations, fan opinions, submission calls, and people in charge are constantly changing. If you write for yourself first, and don't give up, you will always be satisfied. Also, don't let rejections get to you. Sometimes it can take years to get a piece published - my record is 20 years later :-)


What valuable lessons have you learned?