Exploring Other Forms of Writing

I love taking writing classes. 

Over the years I've taken numerous classes in writing for children. The most recent class I took was an online class and even though I missed the face to face interaction and some of the real life connections that have come out of my previous classes taking an online class opened me up to the possibility of taking more classes while not being limited by location and time.

I love how the simple act of taking a class can make me think about writing in a new way.

Over the years I've taken many classes in writing for children and they have all been great. In addition I've taken other classes- Writing the Personal Essay and now Copywriting 101.

I've been doing some research and have been exploring the field of copywriting.  It's exciting to learn about an area of writing that I haven't given much thought to. 

It's also fun to think about the possibility of writing and maybe getting paid for my ability to string words together in a coherent fashion while I'm writing and submitting kid lit stuff.

Last year some financial issues meant I had to work during a 6 week layoff from my main job. While I'm lucky to have built the connections where I was able to have work during that time it was really difficult to leave my writing for all that time. After factoring in commute time, long days, and hypothyroid I had very little energy to write at the end of the day. I felt like I was abandoning my characters, my stories, and my dreams. I felt like I failed and that I let myself down.

I really hope that I don't have to do that or make that kind of choice again and I'm hoping that eventually copywriting could provide me with some work so I wouldn't have to make that choice again.

How to Make a Marshmallow Peep video

If you've been reading my blog for a while you know that spring is my favorite time of year because it involves making things out of marshmallow Peeps. 

Maybe it all started back in 2006 when my coworker and I hot glued Peeps to one of the wardrobe stations at work. 

It took me a while before I found someone who loved hot gluing Peeps as much as I did but when Sara and I worked on MacPeep I knew I'd found a friend for life.

Peeps love the Guthrie Theater

The following year hot glued and giggled side by side as we each worked on our own separate projects. I created Princess Peep of the Milky Way to celebrate my love of the Minnesota State Fair and Sara created Repeep Harlequin! said the Tick Tock Man inspired by a Harlan Ellison story. Seriously this is one of my favorite dioramas ever because it is awesome.

In 2012 I was on my own again because my partner in Peep crime had moved to the Sunshine State but that didn't stop me from creating an amazing Zombie Peep Crawl diorama.

Photo by Amy Wurdock

This year I decided to try my hand at something different with my beloved Peeps. Video. See the Pioneer Press also has a video contest. 

It's not like video is a new thing but in my current WIP one of my characters has a youtube channel so I've been trying to learn more about that. In addition I hear more and more about book trailers and writers using video to market their books. So this year's video is inspired by Veronica Mars. 

Veronica Peep, she's a marshmallow

camera, taser, locker

Logan Peepcholls

Peeps investigations

I used the voice talents of one of my coworkers and the photoshop talents of Jenn James to create the opening credits of the film in Peeps. 

Here is a link to my entry, enjoy.

What is your favorite thing to do with Peeps? Peep s'mores, Peeps brûlée? stale Peeps? Fresh Peeps? Hot gluing Peeps to cardboard?

Iowa SCBWI conference recap

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Iowa SCBWI spring conference.

My friend, illustrator Emmeline Hall, arranged for three of us to car pool and room together.

The conference started on Friday afternoon with presentations from Julie Ham on picture book beginnings and nonfiction picture books.

The next day included a keynote from Donna Jo Napoli and presentations from Carter Hasegawa, Laurent Linn, and Linda Skeers. After Donna Jo Napoli's speech I am reminding myself of my right to write. Despite the fact that I am not a morning person lately I've been carving out writing time for myself in the mornings. I'm sure the "morning" I'm referring to is much later for real morning people but that's what I've got.

I really enjoyed Laurent Linn's presentation and am looking the covers of the stack of books sitting on my coffee table with a little more perspective.

I'm using the advice in Linda Skeers's talk to improve the humor in some of my funny stories.

On Sunday the Illustrators spent the morning in an illustrator intensive and the writers spent the morning in a writers intensive. Julie Ham talked about Charlesbridge and Jessica Regel talked about queries and hooks. People in the audience shared their hooks and Jessica let them know what worked and what could be improved.

Overall it was a great conference. One of the things I really enjoyed was that it was very picture book friendly. I've been to conferences that seem very YA focused in the past and this felt like a good fit for the things I'm working on right now.

The conference was held in this old hotel called The Lodge. It has this sort of German, ski chalet, bavarian, castle theme to it. I know, a lot of those things don't go together. This hotel used to be the place to go in its hey day. Sadly it has fallen into disrepair. They also serve powdered eggs on the breakfast buffet with the exception of the omelet bar. But despite the fact that the hotel was a little like something out of a Stephen King novel I got some fun pictures.

Willkommen!

Seriously, these castle windows

Another great thing about this conference is that it happened to be in my hometown. Now I don't get back to B-dorf often enough because my parents moved to Des Moines but my best, dearest, friend lives there so I got to see her for two nights in a row.  I read books with her kids, had a dance party, and built a lego gas station.

How Thyroid Disease Changed My Shopping Habits

Recently my Facebook feed was full of people sharing an anti-union video from a big box retailer. The industry I work in is represented by unions so several people were sharing the video vowing to "think harder" about where they shop and questioning the choices of the actors in the video.

I used to shop Super Big Box. Several years ago friends called them out on FB for supporting an antiunion or anti-GLBT  candidate or cause vowing to "think harder" about where they shopped. Back then I didn't think I could stop shopping at Super Big Box. Like anyone else I could go into Super Big Box only needing a couple things and end spending $80 on a cart full of stuff.

But it got me thinking about my shopping habits, which radically changed when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's. Actually that isn't completely true,  they had been changing before I was diagnosed. See the thing about having hypothyroid disease is that it makes you tired. Unbelievably tired.

Before I knew what was wrong all I knew is that I was tired. Too tired to drive to the nearby Super Big Box to get groceries. Too tired to trek across a huge parking lot and make my way through the sprawling grocery section. Too tired to walk through the other sections- pets, health and beauty, and get other things I might need. Too overwhelmed by all the choices. By the time I got home from shopping and putting away my groceries I was exhausted and needed a nap.

I actually started shopping at a local grocery chain that was probably more expensive because it was less exhausting for me. The thing is, I knew it was more expensive but it was worth the extra expense not to feel as tired as I felt after going to Super Big. The stores are probably the same distance from my house- about 15-20 minutes but this smaller grocery store was all I could manage. I no longer had to walk what probably amounted to an entire city block to get to and from my car. I didn't have to push a massive cart around because they have smaller carts.

When I was diagnosed with thyroid disease I decided the best investment I could make was joining a CSA. This year I did a winter CSA as well. Let me tell you kids, when you get a giant box full of vegetables that you've already paid for the week before a major holiday plus you get recipe and meal plans from your CSA's Pinterest board and newsletter it takes some of the stress away.

After my first summer of CSA membership I decided to join a co-op. Like the local grocery chain my co-op is pretty small compared to Super Big Box. I had been eating a mostly gluten free diet by then so it seemed like a good plan. Like the local grocery chain my co-op is nice, and small. The parking lot is nice and manageable and the carts are small. Because co-ops are all about organic, non-gmo, healthy, free range, fair trade, grass fed goodness the selection is different from Super Big Box and that is nice I am not overwhelmed by all the choices. After my first year of co-op membership I earned back my membership fee in profit sharing.

I don't go to Super Big much anymore. I get almost everything at my co-op and the cats get their stuff at the neighborhood pet store. When I pick up the occasional item at Super Big Box I often find that the gluten free, grass fed, organic items are slightly more expensive then they are at my co-op and they never go on sale. I suspect that they know that they can charge a premium for these items and that they do. In addition these are the items that go out of stock more often. There is nothing more frustrating than crossing a giant parking lot, pushing an oversized cart around and having no gluten free waffles to show for it.

Out like a lamb

It's been a while since I updated here.

For me, March definitely came in like a lion.

This last month has been a bit of a roller coaster as I've been dealing with things on the health front and figuring out how to bring a little more balance to my life in the areas of health, work, and creative self.

In January I blogged about my thyroid journey only to find out at the end of February that my thyroid disease is the autoimmune kind and that my numbers were a little high for me. I guess the most frustrating thing about that is knowing that I have changed my diet drastically in an effort to improve my thyroid health and that apparently my body is still attacking my thyroid.

This combined with another health thing that turned out to be no big deal means I've been spending a lot of time with my journal lately. Writing about what is important to me, trying to figure out how to find more balance in my creative, work, and financial life.


In addition I discovered that while my thyroid has been slowing down my cat's thyroid has been speeding up.

Aww buddy, you don't have to make all the T4

I've been reaching for my journal a lot over the last couple months as a way to deal with stress and it's been really soothing. 

The good news is that all this scribbling away in my journal has had the wonderful side effect also keeping me on track with 12x12. There is something sort of freeing about writing on paper with a pen the way nature intended. 

I'm looking forward to going to the Iowa SCBWI conference in April. 

Thyroid Awareness Month- Staying Healthy

January is Thyroid awareness month and last week I blogged about my experiences with hypothyroid.

One of the big things I've struggled with is staying healthy. I used to think I never got sick. I used to think I had an amazing immune system but hypothyroidism kind of changed all that for me. In the last few years it has not been unusual for me to get every single cold or respiratory thing that is going around. 

This year, after much reading and following a lot of thyroid communities on Facebook, I decided that the best thing I could do was to eat well and cook for myself. I always feel great in the summer because I get a CSA share from Burning River Farms and I cook and eat lots of vegetables but around the time that my veggies run out is when I start getting sick. Sure I still buy veggies at my co-op but it isn't the same. 

This year I decided to get a winter CSA share from Featherstone Farm. This has kept me eating good, locally grown veggies long after I might have slowly decreased my veggie consumption.  Having these veggies all winter has been great for continuing to eat healthy and cook for myself. I was able to make an amazing meal for my family at Christmas using veggies from my CSA. I find that I love the creative challenge of using the veggies in my CSA box. Cooking for myself has become one of the main ways I take care of my health.

Now my biggest dilemma is deciding which farm to use for the summer. I have been a CSA member of Burning River Farms for three seasons and I love them but you guys, Featherstone Farms has a pinterest board. 

In addition I have been taking vitamins and the vitamins actually make me feel better. I'm taking the Rainbow Light Women's One vitamins. To give my immune system and extra boost I have also been taking Vitamin D. In addition I've been taking  a Black Elderberry supplement since echinecea does nothing for me and my actually make me worse.

I have also been diligent about getting enough sleep. I know I do best with 8 hours a night so I aim for that no matter what. 

So far I have managed to stay healthy. 

What are your tips for staying healthy?

Thyroid Awareness Month- My Thyroid Story

I know everything has a month these days and this is a little off topic about writing and books but January is Thyroid Awareness Month and since I have hypothyroid I thought I'd try to take some time this month to post about my experiences with hypothyroidism and changes I've made in my life since I was diagnosed three years ago.


When I was still in high school or college my mom began having issues with her thyroid. I remember her telling me at the time to be sure to start getting my thyroid checked sometime in my mid thirties. Since my mom had hyperthyroid I was totally on the lookout for those symptoms. I'd always tried to avoid some of the things I thought brought on my mom's symptoms. So while I was waiting for the rapid heart beat, bulging eyes, and weight loss I missed some of my own symptoms. Lesson- thyroid problems run in families.

I'm not exactly sure when my symptoms really began. I know that even though I go to the gym, ride my bike, and sometimes my job is fairly active it is still pretty difficult for me to lose weight. Even during a time when I did workouts that are now well known for results such as kettlebells and running I still carried a bit of extra fat that I just couldn't get rid of. Lesson- love your body the way it is and be proud of what it can do and not what size it fits into.

I often took naps in the afternoon and usually set an alarm so that I would be able to wake up in time for work. Sometimes waking up from these naps was really difficult.

Many of my friends were starting or had started families at the time and I have to confess that just spending an afternoon babysitting or even hanging out with my friends and their kids was often enough to exhaust me. I totally understand that kids have a lot of energy but I think at some point I began to understand that parenthood wouldn't be a thing I could do because somedays I didn't even have enough energy to support myself much less meet the needs of a small person.

An injury and a car accident put a stop to my intense workouts, which often amounted to two hours a day. At first I put on weight slowly like one might expect to if they stopped doing kettlebells and running three to five miles. But I was still active, still biked, still went to the gym, still had an active job. At some point in time I started gaining weight when all the math would have said I should have been losing weight. During a two month run of a show I gained ten pounds and I was biking to work plus working on a really active show. Lifting costumes, running around like crazy backstage, picking up costumes, carrying laundry baskets full of clothes around. Yeah, this is the kind of show I should have been losing a few pounds on.

As time went on the napping only got more frequent. At first it was just a nap in the afternoon, then it was a nap in the morning after I'd gone to the gym. Sometimes in the morning I was too tired to shower so I often took baths instead because I could sleep or close my eyes or at least I wasn't standing up because I was sooo tired.

Also I was hungry. All. The. Time. But I wasn't eating irresponsibly. I wasn't eating junk food. I was eating healthy, tracking my calories. It was just that my metabolism wasn't working so my brain was telling my stomach that I was still hungry, or something like that. During this time my interactions with people were often crabby and I know that I was crabby because I was hungry because yeah my metabolism wasn't working.

At a certain point I stopped making the effort to get together with friends because I was so tired. I knew that I needed to nap before work and meeting up with friends would have gotten in the way of that. I basically couldn't commit to anything socially because I knew I would be too tired. I remember once telling a friend I couldn't get together because I knew would be too tired and I remember that friend being really hurt about that.

In my writing life I would often sit down to write only to find myself needing to lay down and take a nap.

Finally a friend got me to sign up for a fitness competition at my gym. I managed to gain weight while tracking my food and increasing my activity level. I made an appointment with a doctor and asked to have my thyroid levels checked.

When I went to the doctor I asked to have my levels checked based on weight gain. I don't remember if I even mentioned all the napping because that had, over the years, become normal for me. Because of the mentality of people towards weight and the idea that weight gain is attached to poor choices it was hard for me to ask to have my thyroid checked based on weight gain I knew shouldn't have happened. But I'm glad I did.

My levels came back saying I had subclinical hypothyroid, some doctors will treat this, others won't. Thankfully my doctor did treat me. The difference was  amazing. I didn't need to nap all the time, I wasn't hungry all the time, I wasn't tired all the time. I have to say that while things aren't perfect all the time and in addition to my medication I take several vitamins and supplements to keep my energy levels up I'm thankful to have supportive doctors.

In addition to medication, vitamins, and supplements I have made a number of other changes. I eat gluten free, try to avoid dairy, and yeast as well. I shop at a natural foods coop and get a summer and winter CSA share so I have vegetables I can cook all year round. I cook for myself all the time.

Here is a list of some thyroid resources that I've found helpful over the last few years.
Gena Lee Nolin's website- Gena is a celebrity who is open and honest about thyroid issues.
Hypothyroid Mom- Another great blog and resource
Mary Shomon's articles

Happy New Year

Last time I blogged was in November. One day I was happily working on my NaNoWriMo project the next thing I knew I was working on Christmas Carol. Craziness.
Needless to say with the unexpected change in my schedule in November I didn't finish my NaNo project but I did get a good start.

2013 brought a sort of rock bottom moment as far as my writing goes. I feel like I've been at this writing thing for a while but the only thing I have to show for it is drafts in various stages and rejection letters. I made the tough decision to stop working on a project. In addition I spent a lot of 2013 worried about having less work at my day job- really night and weekend job- and had to make choices that took me away from my writing in order to keep the bills paid.

2013 has seen a lot of changes in my writing groups. My PB critique group has not met for most of the year. I might need to reach out and find new critique partners. My MG/YA novel writing group has also changed a lot with two of the members going back to school.

I confess that the thing that kept me going was 12x12. Not only did I have a goal to write 12 picture book drafts but the opportunity to submit to a different agent each month was amazing. Learning about these agents and what they are looking for really helped me grow as a writer. The agents who were interested in nonfiction really inspired me to explore more pb biographies. I've been reading more pb biographies as well as researching subjects I find interesting and trying my hand at writing drafts of pb biographies.

I plan to sign up for 12x12 again this year.

Yesterday's Words

OK kids, I'm doing NaNoWriMo and it's been going pretty well so far. I'm keeping up with my word count and I hope to get a little ahead this week while I am off from work. I might even use next weekend to join up with the local NaNo Tour or at least make it to a couple stops.

Yesterday the weirdest thing happened. I was working away on the Pages app on my iPad and I went to open the document with yesterday's words on it and I couldn't open it. I have now tried all the things, updating everything, restarting the iPad, reading about other people with the same problem on Apple's support pages to no avail. The words I wrote yesterday are just not available to me now. I can see the document I can even see it in iCloud but those 1500 words I wrote yesterday are basically dead to me.
It's OK Apple, nbd, it's not like it's NaNoWriMo and I needed those words or anything.

So today I am writing like the wind. I spent too much time yesterday trying to figure out how to get the words to come back so today it is onward, without the words. I figure I can go to the Apple store and have the Geniuses puzzle over it or I can use the time it would take to figure that out and just keep writing.

Fortunately I didn't lose any more than those 1500 words because all my other words are in a document on my computer and backed up in time machine and saved in drop box. So yeah, while I will now be playing catch up instead of getting ahead today.

The biggest bummer of this is that now I'm worried that this could happen to anything else I work on in Pages. All my other Pages Documents open just fine it is just yesterday's words but it is a little worrisome. So it is back to the old pen and notebook for writing on the go because words on paper can't get trapped in the Cloud.

An Update

I haven't done a blog post in a while. So here's what I've been up to.

1. Did WFMAD- Write Fifteen Minutes a Day- in September following Laurie Halse Anderson's posts on her blog. This was the shot in the arm my writing needed. I think I only missed one day but by the middle of the challenge I was definitely writing more than 15 minutes a day. 

2.Prepping for NaNoWriMo. I am trying to outline this year. Getting as much info down as possible and having some idea of where my story is going. I have a fair number of crappy first drafts but I want to someday have a novel that is publishable so I'm trying to make some changes in my process because obviously being a pantster isn't working for me.

3. Researching nonfiction Picture Book subjects. This is my second year participating in the 12x12 challenge on Julie Hedlund's blog. As part of the membership level I signed up for I have the opportunity to submit to an agent every month. Learning about the agents and reading books that they represented has been really informative. There was one agent who was really interested in biography and nonfiction and even though that agent was featured a few months ago her wish list and reading list really resparked and interest in nonfiction and biography type picture books.

4. Getting a second job. My job has been slow. I have less work this year than I have had in previous years. I'm sort of experiencing the crunch in two ways which basically means I'll probably make $10,000 less than I have the last two or three years. It was just time to get a part time job. I'm lifeguarding which is a prefect flexible part time job, plus I get a gym membership. It works out pretty well.

What about you. Did you do WFMAD? How did it go? Are you doing NaNoWriMo? What are you working on?

Cherishing my writing time

First, cool stuff, I wrote something for the on the topic of women in business for the Your Thoughts section of the Minnesota Women's press. It is just a little thing but you can read it here.

I spent the last month working days in a costume shop because there were no shows on the stage I work on for the last month. No shows= no actors= no people for me to dress or laundry for me to do.

Since I had so much time off with another 6 weeks off anticipated in January/February I decided I needed to work. I've spent a lot of time and energy worried about money lately and I'm hoping that spending the month working will give me a little cushion and allow me to focus on writing instead or worrying.

Working days when I'm used to working evenings and weekends has been an adjustment and even though it feels like I have written very little, I've still written, and ultimately I keep reminding myself that I did this for the writing.

It has been great to reconnect with old friends and meet new people. It has been fun to build costumes, put together flat puzzle pieces that eventually take shape into three dimensional garments, be part of this creative work, see the work that other people are doing.

I have one more week left of day work before I go back to my real life. I'm excited to return to my normal writing life and I hope to make some changes that help me take full advantage of my writing days. Having my writing time altered has made me want to cherish that time more once I return to my regular schedule.

This month I'm doing the Write Fifteen Minutes a Day Challenge. There are writing prompts and blog posts on Laurie Hasle Anderson's blog. Today's prompt is about things that steal writing time.

Confession of a Pantser

I am a complete and total pantster. I don't plot, I don't outline. I just sit down and write and I don't always have the map of where I'm going or I just let the characters do their own thing and go along of the adventure.

But here's my problem. I notice that the number of projects that are stuck, problematic, or will never see the light of day keeps getting bigger. I don't have that one novel that is perfect and wonderful, yet.

I'm also faced with some interesting challenges at work. Mostly that there is less work than previous years and that means less money than previous years, a lot less money. I've had to make some tough choices about the time I have carved out for writing because I need to pay my bills.

It's been tough as I look for that part time thing that fill the huge gap in what I made the last couple years to what this year is shaping up to be because it feels like such a huge road block in my writing life.

But it is also a big wake up call. The fact that I've been writing all these years and I basically have a bunch of problematic WIPs to show for it means that something needs to change.  If I'm going to have less writing time then I need to make the most of it. I need to have a plan and not just sit down at my computer and write by the seat of my pants.

So I am going to change my pantser ways and do whatever it takes to become a plotter.

I downloaded the Storyometer app a while ago and I just haven't used it that much, mostly because I've been too busy panicking about money. I have a project that I'm not very far along on that I think could really benefit from some plotting. I feel like the story has legs and think it that plotting could really help it become something that doesn't end up keeping the other manuscripts company under the bed.


What about you? Are you a plotter, a pantser, a reformed pantser, or a reformed plotter? If are a reformed plotter or pantser(especially pantser) I'd love to hear how you changed to a plotter.

The Power of a Challenge

I love a good challenge. By challenge I mean something like NaNoWriMo or the fitness challenges my Y holds in the spring. I love committing to do something with a group of people and reaching a goal.

I've probably talked about doing the 12x12 Picture Book Challenge this year. I did it last year and it was very motivating. So far this year has been even more motivating. See, this year I paid for the Gold Membership so every month I've been able to submit a finished picture book manuscript to an agent.


That commitment is a lot of fun. I've been reading stacks and stacks of picture books. Writing new ideas that pop into my head. Researching topics for nonfiction picture book ideas.

This challenge is the one thing that is getting me to the page on a regular basis, writing-wise. I've been spending a lot of time worrying about having less work this year than I've had the last couple years and adjusting to the reality of that. Thinking about picture books, reading picture books, and revising picture books, is about as far away from worrying about bills that you can get.

One day, maybe, I will be at a place in my writing career where I won't be as worried when I have 6 weeks off from my day job because I'll be able to use the time to write instead of scrambling to find work to fill up huge chunks of time.

Witnessing History

Yesterday I had the honor of being present at the state Capitol when the MN House of Representatives was voting on the Marriage Equality bill.

I got involved with Minnesotan's United for All Families last fall because I wanted to do something to make sure that this amendment, an amendment that would have limited the rights of many friends, coworkers, neighbors, and people I didn't even know.

When Marriage Equality Bills were introduced in Minnesota I knew I wanted to help that happen to. I have friends who want to get married. They should be able to do that. It was a great chance to reconnect with people I met last fall and finish what was started.

Yesterday I volunteered at the Capitol, greeting people and making sure that everyone I encountered felt safe and supported.

It was amazing to democracy in action. While there was some tension I also witnessed very civil conversations while people waited for equality.

While greeting people I met a man with a sign that said "Jesus is the way" on one side. When I informed him that I was Catholic and wasn't it great that there were so many people of faith on both sides of this issue he informed me that I needed to spend more time with my Bible until I could see the way.

Over the course of the day I gave away a bottle of water (it was very hot in the Capitol). I also gave away an orange to a diabetic man who looked a little shaky. I greeted people with kindness. In addition I listened to people sing songs of love while they waited to see if their families would be recognized by our state. I watched as people with orange signs shared bottles of water to people with pink signs without even thinking twice.  Somehow these things seem more like the Bible I'm familiar with.

RTW- Happy Poetry Month

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered.

This Week's Topic: April is National Poetry Month! Share your favorite poem(s) or poet.

Years ago, after I got out of college and then thought "Hey I want to be a writer when I grow up." I started with poetry. 

I really like the Dylan Thomas poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. I'm sure I read it in college but I rediscovered it when it was used in the book Reached by Ally Condie. 

My great grandparents were Welsh so Welsh writers and poets interest me. In rediscovering our family tree my uncles met a cousin who is 90 years old named Dylun Thomas. There are pictures from a visit with Dylun standing next to a plaque talking about Dylan Thomas the poet. I think that Dylun likes that people do a double take when they hear his name.

This year for National Poetry Month I get to celebrate by working backstage on Nice Fish at the Guthrie Theater. Nice Fish was written by Mark Rylance and a Minnesota poet, Louis Jenkins. When I first watched a run thru I was amazed at how poetic the play sounded. 

Podcasts for Writers

A few months ago I made the decision to get an iPhone. I already had an iPod touch but I sort of felt like I was always carrying around two devices all the time. Also when I bought the iPod I failed to realize just how little 8gigs actually was. After about a year of iPod ownership I was often having to make decisions about what I wanted on my device because I didn't have enough memory.

Since joining the 21st century I've been listening podcasts. I'd listened to podcast before but mostly as a way to practice my Spanish, which is extremely rusty.

Lately I enjoy listening to writing related podcasts. Listening to writing related podcasts have been a good way for me to think about writing and projects I'm working on even when I'm not at my desk, writing away.

The first one I've been listening to is Sara Zarr's podcast, This Creative Life. She interviews authors, illustrators, and other creative types to talk about their craft and how they approach it and how they balance work and life. I think one of the great things about this series is hearing that there are as many different approaches to writing (or other arts) as there are writers.
So yes I highly recommend This Creative Life.


When I started running out of episodes of Sara Zarr's podcasts I knew I needed to do something so I searched iTunes for writing podcasts which is how I found The Narrative Breakdown. This podcast is hosted by Cheryl Klein and James Monohan. The podcasts talk about the craft of writing using examples from popular books, movies, and TV shows.

Do you listen to podcasts about writing? What are your favorites?

RTW- Let me be your guide

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. 

This Week's Topic: If you could visit any country with a fictional character as your guide, who would you pick and where would you go?

I thought this would be an easy answer since the book Anna and the French Kiss made me want to travel more I thought I would pick France with Anna as my guide but after thinking about it I decided it would be cool to visit Prague with Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. 

I've always heard people say that Prague is a sort of magical city and reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone reminded me of that. Looking at these pictures the city looks beautiful and inspiring. 

Source: yourpictures.in via Peggy on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Andrea on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Amy on Pinterest

Baseball, beaches, and circuses

Happy Opening Day! I love baseball season. One of my favorite things to listen to while I write is a baseball game. 

I just got back this weekend from a wonderful vacation in Florida. 

In recent years I've had the wonderful experience of having my parents be someplace warm. My dad was in California for a while and then Mexico which gave me the opportunity for some warm weather getaways.

My mom was working in Florida this winter and I decided to make the most of that by going to a Spring Training game. It's been on my to do list for a while and this year it worked out perfectly. We caught the last home Spring Training game for the Twins at Hammond Stadium.

Other highlights of my trip included a visit to the John and Mabel Ringling Circus Museum and a trip to Fort Meyers Beach.

Miniature circus was a highlight for a diorama lover like me

Port Charlotte Sunset

Fort Meyers Beach Pirate Ship

Twins Spring Training Game

On my way home I just couldn't breakfast at the Harry Carey's at Chicago Midway Airport as the perfect ending to my baseball Spring Training vacation. 

I hope that the beginning of baseball season means that spring is on its way soon.

I always bring notebooks with me when I travel and now I bring and iPad as well. I always think that vacation will mean that I'll have lots of time to write but I never end up writing as much as I think I will.  I can only hope that I am absorbing all my vacation experiences as writing fuel for later. 

What about you, do you write when you travel?

What I've learned

Maybe it's all the snow outside but I can't believe that Easter is almost here.

This year I decided to give up Facebook for Lent and I can't believe that I'm coming to the end of that.

Here is a list of things that have changed in my writing since Lent started.

1. I have more time to write.

2. I start writing earlier in the day.

3. I write for longer.

4. I have more "found' time that I use for writing. (a half hour here, twenty minutes there, it all adds up)

5. I go to sleep earlier.

6. I have more time to read.


After Easter I'm not sure if I'll give up Facebook entirely but I definitely want my life to be more writing and less Facebook. I'm thinking of only looking at the site once or twice a week.

What about you? How often are you on Facebook or other social media? Do you feel like it's stealing from your writing time?

Recharge: Day One

I'm participating in Sara Biren's Recharge Winter Writing Retreat


I'm happy to say that I'm getting a late start on introducing myself because I've actually been busy writing today.

Icebreaker-

What is your name?
Carrie Monroe

What do you write?
I write for kids. I am currently working on a YA manuscript but I also try to write a picture book draft every month and shorter pieces for children's magazines. I also like Middle Grade fiction and have written poetry in the past.

How long have you been writing?
I've wanted to be a writer for a long time. I wrote for my high school newspaper and spent most of my teen years dreaming of someday working for Sassy magazine. I went to college where I studied theater but the desire to write never really left me and I started writing poems and stories a little over ten years ago. I wrote a novel for NaNoWriMo in 2007 and that was the beginning of the idea that I could write a novel.

What location have you chosen for your retreat?
Minnesota winter, no offense but I am tired of you. I've decided to spend my writing retreat on a houseboat in Sausalito. 

Source: relaxshacks.blogspot.co.uk via Carrie on Pinterest

How did you come up with the idea or find inspiration for your current WIP?  
My inspiration for my current WIP came from feeling stuck. I felt stuck in my previous WIP, I also sometimes feel like I haven't seen enough of the world. My business is full of meeting new people but also goodbyes when shows are over. I think I was feeling like I was always saying goodbye and never getting to go places so I started writing about a character who leaves her small town in Minnesota to go to New York City.