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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

What I can learn from other people

Today I spent the whole time joining more blogs and becoming part of an awesome network, the women's blogger network.



http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/the_womens_blogger_directory/

This is a great idea started by Alana Roberts. I am proud to be a part of it. Thank you for putting my blog in your network.

Also, as promised, I'm going to highlight another blog here. I wasn't sure until I found it on my reader, but after seeing the two posts from today I am telling you about Girls Rule, by Ashley Rice.
http://www.ashleyriceauthorandillustrator.blogspot.com/

It is such an awesome place. Ashley Rice who is the owner and author of this blog has such an inspirational tone to the posts. The first one I read highlighted Elizabeth Alexander's poem: "Praise Song for the Day." Inherent in this poem is the spirit of kindness. You hear it in the words and the images bring forth the joy of being kind to each other. So at the end of this post Ashley discussed the idea of remembering to be kind. Then she left a link where you can find a kindness ring. There are a variety of rings that have strings through them. The strings are different colors to remember to be kind for different reasons. I 'm giving you the link here too, since this is such a great idea. She suggests that we pass it on. I am doing that here:




http://www.string-ring.com/

The second and last post today gave me such inspiration I was ready to send it to everyone who needs a little bit of a boost. She addresses us all and asks what we want to accomplish. It's standard motivational speaker stuff, but somehow Ashley makes it sound a little different. At the end of the post is a kind of quiz to see where you are with questions like:

"What personal legacy do you wish to leave behind?



What “story” do you most need to be told?



What does your life, your own work or today mean just to you?"


These are just three of the six or seven questions she has there. I think everyone should at least go and check it out. We all need a boost every now and then. I know that I certainly do. We live with people who sometimes don't appreciate us and we work in places where maybe we're not getting the attention we deserve. Or maybe you have a dream that is stuck somewhere and you're not sure you'll ever attain it. Or perhaps you never started your dream, but it's still there in your head to do. Whatever the place you are in, this post will help you become more motivated to maybe go back and try it. I didn't get a chance to do them, but I'm going there to do them soon.

This is January and the weather is getting worse and worse in most areas. Why not give yourself a boost and pick up your ego. As a writer, I get down sometimes. But today, one of my Facebook friends read the submission of my YA novel, IF I COULD BE LIKE JENNIFER TAYLOR, and her comments made my day. When she read it, she got what I was saying. If you remember, that was the topic I talked about last night. Does someone get what you write? Well this person did get it and her comments made me believe that an editor might get it too!! Oh my fingers are so crossed!!! Anyway, go and check out "Girls Rule" and see if you agree with me.

So that was the second blog that I have highlighted and I have no idea which one it will be tomorrow, but with so many blogs that I'm following I'm looking forward to the choice.:)

The other thing I wanted to say is that a lot of my friends are SCBWI members. If you don't know what that is it's The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. I am also a member and got my new card today. They changed the color a little bit. It used to be a deeper blue. This organization is having it's NY Conference coming up this weekend. I remember attending my first conference. I came on Friday night to meet some friends for dinner and we wound up sitting around in the hotel lounge with Linda Sue Park and her agent. She had just won the Newbery for A Single Shard and I being a new writer was so excited to be meeting not only a published author, but someone who had won the Newbery. She was exhausted after her whirlwind day of interviews. She'd been on The Today Show and other TV spots, but what I realized when we all hung out there together, and I think that Agy Wilson was in that group. If she wasn't I'm sorry, was that speaking with Linda was like speaking with any of my writer friends. In that little group sitting around in the bar I realized that I was a writer. I didn't need to feel inferior because I wasn't published. I was a writer and I was serious about it and I belonged there. At that time I had not had anything published, but in the next couple of years I did get several stories published and sold a children's story all online. But there is no difference when you see your name and your words in print either on paper on a computer screen.

Anyone who is interested in seeing my work can go here and read my children's story: "The Trouble with Follow the Leader". It's actually based on a true story that happened to me.

http://viatouch.com/learn/storystation/stories/troublefollowleader.jsp

Growing up in Brooklyn during the 1950's a girl had to pretty much fend for herself once you reached a certain age. My parents worked all day and so I spent the time after school either in the store or at a friend's house or on the streets depending on the weather. We played games like "Red Light, Green Light", "Hit the Penny", "Potsy", and last but not least, "Follow the Leader". When all you have are gated apartment houses and backyards overgrown with weeds with entrances through dark alleyways, Follow the Leader becomes a much more dangerous game. But kids didn't think about that, so climbing on ledges and walking across narrow spaces was the norm. This story captures that daredevil feeling and shows what can happen when kids will do anything to follow the leader.

Okay, enough shameless publicity for my story. Imagine what will happen if I ever get my book published?:)

Thank you to all my new readers and I hope you will leave me a comment to let me know what you think of this crazy meandering blog. That's me a meanderer.I don't go in straight lines. That would be too boring. I move in and out of things, much more exciting. Hope you can follow the leader.LOL

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