Boo!

Find the Strength...

I once heard a man say that bravery is just fear holding out for one moment longer. This guy rescued a child from a burning car. He said he didn't think about the danger or dying, he just thought about the child. He admitted he wasn't any braver than the next guy but the fear just didn't hit him right away. He just did what he had to do.
Although Tank Man had more courage than most he is an inspiration we can bring into all aspects of our life.
What does this have to do with writing?
At first I was afraid of showing my writing to anyone. Just the thought of a critique group struck fear in my heart. But fear was pushed aside and now it's a breeze.
Advice was given and gratefully taken. And I think I grew as a writer because of this.
Joining a writer's group? Who me? I'm no expert, not published, no where near as good as those published authors in that group, but a kind friend encouraged me and again I swallowed past the fear and now I'm loving it. RWA? Liberty State Fiction Writers? Let me at 'em!
I think fear holds us back more than anything else.
Tell me, what do you fear?
How do you break past it?

Go see the Shark...

Every day I have to visit the Query Shark. This site is lorded over by the great Janet Reid of FinePrint literary. She'll take your query, slice and dice a bit and post it online for everyone else to slam....okay, they don't really slam you. Most actually offer some great advice.
I sent a query to the shark but have yet to see it go up. There are no guarentees your query will be chosen, but it doesn't matter. Every time she posts another's query I learn something. I can see my own mistakes in the queries of others. Every time I vist the Shark I learn a little bit more.
Maybe someday I'll learn to put it all to good use.
So go visit the Shark.
PS: I'm afraid of sharks so I posted a picture of my kitty instead.

You gotta check this out....

I have to talk about a blog called "Come In Character". You definitely have to check out this place. It's inspiring.
Right now I'm between stories. I finished one and I'm just sorting through my old stuff to see if I want to resurrect anything. I have one thriller I really love but had to shelve for awhile because it needed more than I could give at that time.
And I'm looking for a home for my angel story.
So what do you do between stories? Do you read all those books you kinda passed on because you were too busy writing?
Do you search for that next story?
Do you just crash?

Josh Zuckerman ~~~The Awesomest!

Throwing your babies out into the world...

There comes a time in every writer's life when they must push their little ones out into the world.
The Query.
Out there. Somewheres. Floating around.
I think you know you're in trouble when they come back with a rejection within 24 hours.
Am I that bad? Or am I hitting the wrong agents? Or is their list too full of what I'm sending.
Questions without answers. Another part of the writing process that just is and we have to accept it.
There's still some floaters out there from this last batch. Time will tell.
I've read the agent blogs where they have like 100 queries a day that they have to go through and I'm thinking...I don't think I want to be an agent.
My head would start spinning, eyes would cross and the computer would probably go flying across the room. I have to give them credit. Its a dirty job, but someone has to do it.
Just glad I'm on this side of the fence.
If you have an agent I think you should give them a hug. Maybe we should have Agent's Day like we have Mother's Day. Send flowers to your agent...or maybe an octopus.