What a week
There’s a reason for the saying, “When it rains, it pours.”
The past two weeks, it has poured. My life has been a blur of friends, family, work, writing and beyond. It’s been hectic, emotional and trying time, but I wouldn’t trade a moment of it. I have had some of the most meaningful conversation and also the most mindless tasks. What a week.
I work as an events coordinator during the day and my most recent event has been an exercise of persistence and resilience. I’ve been criticized, blamed, accosted and usually it was because people didn’t read prior instructions. I’ve reached the point where my skin is so thick, I don’t take any of it personally.
I must admit this is a great life lesson for me at this time, as I enter into the world of writing and publishing. It’s truly impossible to make everyone happy, so criticism is something we must all learn to live with. These comments, complaints and critiques must all be taken for what they are, considered and sometimes just left at the door. You cannot let it eat you away.
Hopefully, this next week will be a little more subdued, at risk of my hair going prematurely grey. But like I said, I take a lesson away from each stage in my life, and this one certainly taught me a great deal.
Have you ever had weeks like this? What did you do to de-stress and move on?
Read MoreWriting Tips: Idea Book
As a writer, I can say the single greatest tool we have is pen and paper. The next best thing? A whole notebook full of random ideas, plot sketches, character notes and general observations of the world. Your “idea book” is a resource beyond a how-to book you can find at a library. Without ideas, inspirations and characters, what good is your story?
Okay, okay, I admit many writers are probably able to store all that information in their heads and never forget a detail. I don’t function that way. I find that if I don’t write something down right away, I may lose it forever.
I was looking through my idea book today. I have about 20 different solid plot lines for novels that I could write now, another 20 idea pearls that still need development. Every genre too – historical, contemporary, fantasy. Then, there are another 20 or so observations, character starts and more. Some of these ideas were from high school even, and I added another in the past few days.
Whenever I get tired of my current project, I go back and re-read all my ideas and I get excited for each one. I start daydreaming about each character and plot and it inspires me to finish up whatever I’m working on now so I can move onto the next exciting story.
I highly recommend finding a sturdy notebook that can take years of abuse and start jotting down all the notes you think of. I’m constantly amazed at the different ideas that come to mind and though they might seem silly, later on it will inspire another idea and so on.
Read MoreWhy I’ve been absent…
The end of September and beginning of October turn into an event marathon at my day job, as events coordinator for the OSU College of Pharmacy. That means nights worked, constant errands and little time outside of work to unwind.
In effort to keep myself sane, I prioritized and decided to put the blogging on hold. This allowed me to continue critting with my critique partners and work on my writing.
Aside from working, writing and managing my household, we painted our house in a weekend and are still finishing up little bits here and there of cleaning and touch ups. The house looks great and I praise God for family and friends who helped us.
This Friday marks the first official meeting for my book club, and we have been reading an amazing novel, The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. I will post about that book later. If you are interested in forming a book club, I recommend reading Sarah Sundin’s page about book clubs at http://www.sarahsundin.com.
Next Monday I will have a review of the Oregon Christian Writer’s Fall One-Day Conference with some of the highlights and best tips and advice from the day.
Here’s to getting back into the routine of twice weekly posts about history, writing and riding. I’ve missed you all and look forward to new adventures in blogland!
Read MoreBeyond the hairspray…
This week, the 141st Clark County Fair takes over the small town of Ridgefield, Wash., and erupts into a 10-day flurry of wild rides, cotton candy, elephant ears, dozens of vendors, animals of all shapes and sizes, demolition derby and monster trucks. All the good, traditional fair activities aside, the Clark County Fair lands near to my heart. Apart from having shown horses at the fairgrounds for most of my life, I represented the fair across the Pacific Northwest in 2004. I was a Clark County Fair Court Princess.
Yes, I know what you are thinking. Oh. One of those girls. Well, I was. However, the world of rodeo queens stems far from the typical beauty pageants.
For me, the equestrienne court was a chance to practice public speaking and travel the state, all from horseback. I landed my first published clip because of the court, guest writing an article for the Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.) about life in the court. At the time, that was huge for me!
The court serves as ambassadors to local events, parades and rodeos to promote the Summer’s Best Family Party – the Clark County Fair. We rode in grand entries for dozens of rodeos, waved to crowds at countless parades and mingled with other local and state royalty at luncheons and pageants. We spent all 10 days of the fair living on the grounds—signing autographs, judging various contests, doing grand entries and so much more. Early mornings, late nights, lots of fair food and hair spray to keep those curls intact. It was heaven.
I went on to compete in another pageant and was crowned the 2005 Miss Teen Rodeo Washington. Another year of priceless experiences.
Recently, I’ve realized how my years as a rodeo queen helped me later in life. After dozens of interviews, I hold a new respect and perspective as I entered journalism as a major. Only when you have been misquoted in print can you truly understand the importance of accuracy and due diligence.
Giving impromptu speeches and thinking on your feet has paid off time and time again. In college, I served as the editor in chief of the newspaper and magazine. I led class discussions and taught reporters—four years earlier I wouldn’t have seen myself quite that confident.
Finally, at writers conferences and more, the goal is to sell yourself and your work, thus do your own PR. Posture, etiquette and eloquence all come into play and while I can credit my parents with laying the groundwork, the finishing touches came from two years of hair fluffing, sparkling rhinestones and high-speed grand entries. Yee haw!
Learn more about current rodeo royalty:
Read MoreThe start of a dream…and countless hours at the computer
Every author knows the exact moment they decided to be a writer – whether it was 
a dawning realization or a slow, steady development throughout the years. I was 12. Aside from the normal life hurdles presented in the sixth grade, I got my first horse and started showing in local 4-H shows. I spent all my spare time with my horse, a chestnut Arabian mare with an attitude. But I didn’t care – she was all mine.
Meanwhile, my sixth grade teacher spent her time and energy in sharing her love for the written word. She encouraged us to read and read some more. So I did. That’s when the itch began. While I devoured every book around, I started reading inspirational fiction – Francine Rivers, Lisa Tawn Bergren, Linda Chaikin, Robin Jones Gunn, Patricia Rushford and so many more.
A little story formed in my mind and soon I had it down on paper. I wrote about a horse trainer (of course) who takes on a new (and handsome) client, who discovered an abandoned Arabian stallion. But this stallion is more than he seems, with incredible potential. She works with him to reach the Nationals Arabian horse show, all the while battling a crazy ex-boyfriend who stalks her and confronting her feelings for her newest client.
It really wasn’t anything special. I knew nothing about deep POV, proper character development or the evils of too much backstory. But it was all mine. Some 60,000 words of my own creation. I knew I must write more!
I toyed around with the story some, but eventually began a new project in high school. I dove into historical fiction and found my true calling. I started the project now titled Dreams of Yesterday – the WWII trilogy about a woman’s struggle to find a stallion for her Arabian breeding farm. I’m sure you see the theme here…
Years after my first novel in sixth grade, I took the manuscript, all printed in a cutesy font and bound in a three-ring binder, to my teacher. Bless her heart, she took it and read it (I know it must have been painful!) and gave me the encouragement to keep pursing my passion. I credit her with implanting the desire to read, which gave way to the yearning to write.
If you know of anyone, no matter the age, with the inclination to write, do your best to encourage and support them. You never know how one moment can lead to the dawning of a dream.
Read MoreConnect with me
