When A Turtle's Not A Turtle

Last Saturday morning, I was teaching my youngest how to make shape pancakes because FUN! But her smile drooped, her forehead wrinkled, and I sensed she was ready to hurl the ladle across the kitchen.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I keep trying to make a turtle, but it looks nothing like a turtle,” she grumped.

I tilted my head and opened my eyes wide. “WHOA!”

The pancake she had tried to make into a turtle had shifted into golden phoenix. It was incredible. When I told her what it looked like to me, it became an insta-favorite.

This happens with so many things. Stories. Guys. Relationships.

We have in mind what perfection looks like. We see it so clearly, we can almost taste it. And then it morphs into something we hardly recognize. It may still be amazing, or it may be horrific, but all we can think is, “That’s not a turtle.”

Has this happened to you? Did you learn to love what it became, or did you start all over again? Leave a comment to share!

Firsts

I’ve been thinking about firsts this summer and how, um, AWKWARD they can be. So in case you wanted to think about awkward firsts too, whether for late night bonding with a friend or for a writing exercise, here’s a list to get you started:

First Time Putting On Makeup

First Date

First Kiss

First Crush

First Dance

First Audition

First Show

First Tryout

First Time NOT Making The Team

First Time Making The Team When A Buddy Doesn’t

First Game

First Time Being Dumped

First Time Having To Dump Someone Else

First Fight With A Best Friend

First Time You & Your Bestie Liked The Same Guy

First Big Party You DIDN’T Get Invited To

First Time Playing Spin The Bottle

First Time Saying “I Love You”

First Time Hearing He Only Wants To Be Friends

First Time Falling Asleep While On The Phone

First Time Tasting Liquor

First Time Hiding A Hickey

Five Things You Will Never Hear Me Say

Sometimes the things a person or character won’t say are more telling than what they will say. Delia Moran has a post on what she wouldn’t say, and I love it so much I decided to steal (with her consent) the idea. Here’s the link to hers. And here are five things you’ll never hear me say:

5. Want to meet me for a 5:00 a.m. jog?
4. I know exactly where that random piece of paper I jotted that down on is!
3. Who would buy paperclips just because they come in cute shapes or colors?
2. Baked Kale tastes just like potato chips.

And last, but not least:

1. No worries. I never take my story ideas from real life situations.

What would be on your list? Share by leaving a comment.  If you decide to steal Delia’s post idea, be sure to leave the link so we can read yours too! J

 

Leap!

My summer was packed with adventure. Camping with Yogi Bear. Racing down waterslides. Even finding my inner ARRRRGH at the Beaufort Pirate Invasion.

A favorite scene happened during one of my kids' gymnastics lessons. A teacher from a different class had a group running through the same obstacle course over and over. All of the sudden, a differently-abled little girl had had enough. Instead of returning to the end of the line like the others, she took off with arms flailing and a rebel cry toward the giant foam pit on the other side of the gym. The staff called for her to stop, but she ignored them—keeping her eyes on where she really wanted to be.

It is a thing of beauty to watch someone leap.

We get caught up in the day to day, making sensible choices and listening to reason, but most of us long for something more. To dive into a foam pit. Sing on a big stage. Lay a kiss on someone we’ve secretly loved. To fly across the Atlantic Ocean using hundreds of helium-filled balloons. It takes courage to leap. After all, it doesn’t always end well. But that moment when there is more hope than there is fear? It tastes like freedom.

So as the new school year begins, I’ll ask you…heck, I’ll double dog dare you! LEAP! Find something that makes your heart sing and take a chance.

Are you planning on leaping? Comment below to tell us what you are doing to throw yourself into a dream.

Capilocks and the Three Critique Partners

Once upon a time, there lived a young writer with stories worth gold bouncing from her head. She dreamed of an amazing house—a publishing house that would take her manuscript all the way to Happily Ever After. So after Capilocks trudged through the Forest of Revision, she set out to find a critique partner that was juuuuuuust right.

The first partner she found was a tough one. He flashed his red Sharpie and laughed a maniacal laugh as he slayed each sentence and made them his own. He belittled her ideas, told her to only write to the trends, and tweeted mean things about her crappy first drafts.

Capilocks shuddered. “This relationship is too hard.” She wished him well, gathered her tattered ego, and backed away.

The next partner she found was quite cuddly. She dotted her I’s with smileys and hearts, embraced every adverb, and proclaimed, “Brilliant! Send it!” whenever Capilocks scribbled out a new manuscript on the back of a phone message. Capilocks liked this new partner. She never criticized and always encouraged, but Capilocks' stories were still rather suckish.

“This critiquer is too soft,” she said. Capilocks looked around for someone new.

At last, she landed in a relationship with a fabulous writer and caring soul—someone who wanted her to succeed, but wasn’t afraid to ask tough questions. Someone who encouraged her voice, but hid the postage stamps and guarded the send button until manuscripts were polished and prime.

“This critique relationship is just right,” said Capilocks. And it was.

I’ve been blessed to work with some amazing critique partners and dodged a few that didn’t work for me. Where do you go to find great critique partners? Do you ever find it’s tough to critique in a way that’s juuuuust right? Please share in the comments below.

Surviving The Wait

You hit send. And so it begins. The waiting. You check your sent folder. Yep. It’s gone. Now what? Do you spend the rest of your days hitting F5 to refresh your inbox? If you don’t at least feel the pull, I question your humanity. But you know, there’s no guarantee of a response. So here are ten different things you can do while waiting.

10. Be a kid again. Go down a slide head first. Blow bubbles. Color a picture. Walk on your hands in the swimming pool. Do something fun, and practice not caring what anyone thinks about it.

9. Find fun songs about waiting & sing them loudly as you drive through town with your windows down and your hair tangling in the breeze. We writers don’t have to look like soccer moms, you know.

8. Volunteer. Come out of your writer’s cave and see what cause needs some love. Tutor a kid. Help out in an animal shelter. Serve others at a soup kitchen. It will help put things in perspective again.

7. Ketchup. No wait, I meant catch up. That laundry pile looming and threatening to bury you in your sleep? The kitchen floor confettied with Goldfish crackers and Cheerios? Take charge of it before paranormal elements emerge.

6. Create flash fiction. Can you write a mini story? There are some fun contests out there with prompts and prizes to get you started.

5. Let out that nervous energy in a way that feeds your soul. If it’s running, run. If it’s playing guitar, strum. If it’s dancing, twirl. Your family will thank you.

4. Create a spreadsheet. When responses come in, you’ll want to keep good records so you'll know who you sent what and how they responded.

3. Read. Read for fun. Let a stranger’s story dance in your head. And when you finish that book? Read another one.

2. Plot, plan, dream. Start thinking about your next writing project. It’s time.

1. Write something new.

So what do you do when the waiting starts? Comment below and let us know.