Snack Time

I'm definitely a snacker when I write. I find it interesting what writers snack on while producing magic. What fuels the fire so to speak. Of course, we should be thinking healthy, but sometimes that doesn't happen.

For me, I tend to go to the granola bar or Cheez-its. Every so often, grapes get involved or Leibniz mini's sneak in. I do try to stay away from chocolate. Let's face it, beach body 2014 isn't going to look too good with a bag of Hershey kisses around the middle. I save the hard chocolatey stuff for the frowny face times.

I have discovered this awesome recipe for a granola banana cookie that I've been making. My kids love them too. http://www.recipebyphoto.com/2-ingredient-cookies/
They are ridiculously easy to make and taste really good. I add chocolate chips. It's the chocoholic in me. I get chocolate and some healthy stuff while snacking. Score.

Whatever you pick it's helps the juices flow, doesn't it? I don't know what it is. Or Maybe I'm a loner in this department. Either way, we all have different ways to produce our pride and joys.

If you snack while writing, what is your go to food?

Have a great day!!

Ban the email

You're querying. Fantastic. Good for you. Best of luck. Your baby is polished and your query is sparkling. You have a list of agents and you carefully followed the submission guidelines. So now what?

This is the part where you must learn patience. As you know, I'm not. But I've learned to become more tolerant. I let things roll more often than I used to. Querying is that moment that defines where your path might go. It puts you on the edge of your seat and your insides squirm. After you hit send, the build up to the moment . . . goes and now you must wait.

I know, not easy. As much as we don't like to admit it, we've hit the refresh button shortly after sending even though you know you're not getting a response any time soon. Most agents takes from two weeks to four months, some even longer. I know most of my email is advertisements. So why do we do it? Why torture ourselves? Why is that urge to continually hit the refresh button on our email so tempting and addicting? A society of instant gratification? Possibly. The want to know whether you make the cut? Sure. To some it's a test of whether you pass. But is it? Writing is highly subjective. That's the part that's hard to swallow. Not only do you have to have the strength of a great writer, personal taste and what sells comes into play. It may not be the right time. And sometimes being the best at your craft gets pushed aside just for a money maker. The factors of all this can make your head spin and create emotions you never knew you had. But it's the nature of the beast. You have to accept this will happen and some will get there quicker than others. Right now, I think I'm on the ten year plan, but even that can change. Nothing is set in stone, and even after you get that agent, there's no guarantee.

So send those queries but do something else while you wait. Go outside (if it's not bitter cold like it is here), write another book, make new friends, find other writers. Go out and live. Don't let the email be your crutch.

Lessons to learn and one I must follow. I've been shutting off email and all other social media when I write, and even though the urge is there, I plug forward and do my best to do something else.

Have a great day!!

Limbo

No, I'm not throwing a tropical dance party to see how low you can go. Although with the winter I've been having I would love to. I'm talking about those times when you feel like you're going no where. The life of a writer seeking publication can go from very high to the depths of the deepest ocean. It's not easy and can be a completely frustrating process. The whole one step forward twenty steps backward thing. There are times when you are getting closer (creates smiles) and times when you fall hard and it takes you down so many levels you're not sure if you can climb out (frowny faces). There are times when you don't know where you stand. You celebrate other's victories but feel almost like a wannabe because you have nothing important to share. The whole left out feeling because you're not there yet. You yearn to be a part of something. Anything. To be included and respected. Yet all doors say closed.

All of this can eat at you. It does. As much as it sucks, it's the demon of doom if you let it continue and influence you. Now, I could sit here and tell you what to do, and I have in past posts. I've dealt with this for years. But the only way to cure it is to deal. There's no real answer other than to keep going.  It's what I have to remind myself when the going gets tough. Sure, there are suggestions like working on something else, get outside, clean, blah, blah, blah. These are great and do help, but when you can't--getting rejections and simply waiting for an answer can mask over the creativity. These thoughts lead to even more character stabbing ideas like--maybe publication for my novels is not in my future and what am I doing? You have to counteract that no matter how much it weighs you down. Move forward and shut off everything around you. Work and work. Look for support. Use what you have and seek new. Keep going and never give up. I have to remind myself always.

So, move forward. It's something I'm going through and must push on regardless of my want to back away.

Where do you go to for support?

Are you seeking new betas and CPs? Where do you search?

Have a great day!! Happy writing!!