M Happy New Year

I just wanted to apologize for being away and not really posting since before Christmas. Anyway, I wanted to wish a happy new year to all and I hope that all of the joy of the fresh start spreads to you and your families.


My resolution for this year is going to be: tighten the screws on my manuscript and query. I have spent the last year writing and learning how to seek out publishing from all of the great publishing, writer's, and agent's blogs out there. Thank you for your support in 2010 and now it will be time to put it to practice in 2011.
Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas to all and Happy Holidays.  I will talk to you next week.  I hope that you have a great time with your families.

M. Writer's cramp

I have always found that I love the writing that I do and I generally enjoy reading what I write. However, I am finding myself falling out of love with just about every word I wrote in a WIP lately. At this point the only thought that I am having is that I want to scrap the whole thing and start over. 

I would call it a mental and emotional writer's cramp, my hands don't hurt, but I can't go forward until I step away, rub away the unwanted writing, and come back rejuvenated.



The plot was decent, the characters needed work, the description was poor at best, and I really can’t stand it.


I think that the story needs to be told though it is a really uplifting and fun fantasy type Middle Grade novel.


Have any of you ever scrapped a story? Have you ever been disgusted with a story that you rewrote it? I guess that I am still developing and learning about myself, so I don’t know if this is a normal stage of the insanity that is writing.

M. Christmas Movies, Dead or Alive?

As is customary with the holiday tradition, I have been watching the Christmas movies with my children. Like always, frosty manages to not melt and Rudolph finds the path to Christmas, but there is one thing off. When I watch the movies of old, even the disturbing Claymation ones, I notice that they are better stories and by far better done then the newer stuff.
There are several newer age stories that have branched from the original ones and I just don't see how they carry any weight against the ones of old. Possibly it is just my nostalgic look on the old ones, but for a lack of a better term, the new shows are crap.
What is your favorite movie of old and is there a newer one that I haven't seen that is worth it?

My all time favorite live is The Christmas Story and animated is Frosty, I love that snowman.

M. Twas the Week Before Christmas

Twas the week before Christmas and...  Ahhhhh!!!!  I still don't know if I'm ready.  The hustle and bustle of Christmas is getting in the way of anything and everything being accomplished, but in a good way.

We get to see family that we haven't seen in a while and friends that have become distant come together.  The people coming out of the WAWA's (A convenience store, with the best coffee in our area) hold the door for you and don't give the normal annoyed looks that usually exist.

It would be nice if people would walk around with the spirit of the holidays all year long.  It would be like a land filled with Anti-depressant laced coffee.

I hope that everyone has a great holiday and I wish everyone and their families a safe and happy holiday.

M. Cookie Day

Today marks a day of Christmas tradition in my household that has dated back for several years now.  So in celebration of that day, there is no talking about writing today, just writing about cookies.  Which is fun too.

Basically my wife and sister-in-law make mounding heaps of cookies, which I sample all day, in all different shapes, sizes, flavors, styles, it is basically a smorgasbord.  Then to top it off, this year she is making chocolate fudge and a family recipe of Congo Bars (Which are too good to describe.)  It is a wild day filled with sugar rushes and fun to spare.

Family traditions, even though some are filled with sugar and calories, are always a key element of the holidays.

Any favorite family traditions in your house for the holidays?

M. Writer?

I was reading Betsy Lerner's blog last night and she was asking what specifly makes someone a writer.  Here.  There is a great few contridictions about the walls and barriers that we hit as writers but my comment is, "I say that I am a writer. It is up to agents and publishers to make me an author."

I have already become a writer just by writing and nobody can take that from me.  It doesn't matter to me if what I write is ever read or published, it would be nice, but not the main goal.  Writing is a soothing outlet for me that I have found to be as enjoyable as reading.

Don't get me wrong, I will continue to try to get published and send query letters out.  I will read the query shark and get suggestions from Betsy on how to do all of these things, but if it never happens, I am still a writer.

Do it because you love to do it and don't give up no matter what and don't let a label stop you from your goals.

M. Blogging

Blogging is so much more of a task then I originally thought it would be. At first, I figured it would be just logging on every day or so and talking about whatever was on my mind. Then I read that it was supposed to be about something. On top of that it has to be entertaining, educational, and well written.
I don't really have any issues with the process, it is just sometimes taxing. It has been about a week or more since I have written anything. It wasn't a lack of time; it was a lack of inspiration. I was just having blogging blah.
To be honest, I am having the same issue with writing in general right now. I can't seem to get the keys and fingers to flow like they were and I don't know why. I hope that this stops soon and I am hoping that part of my healing the issue is coming on here and saying it. So here it is, I want my inspiration back.