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Cathy C. Hallhttps://cathychall.wordpress.com/I write, write, write. Then I rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. THEN I submit all those polished-up words out into the world and sell 'em. It's a plan that's worked pretty well.

Grabbing Opportunities

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pexels-photo-306076.jpegI am always surprised when people don’t take advantage of great opportunities, especially when they’ve paid good money to get those opportunities. Take writers. We do it all the time!

We join professional writer organizations and then don’t bother to attend the free or very inexpensive workshops they provide.

We pay big bucks for a conference and have the opportunity to submit to closed publishing houses, or the chance to meet an agent or two. But we don’t submit. We don’t speak to the agents. (True story: after years of attending my SCBWI conferences, I finally submitted a manuscript to an editor. He wasn’t interested. You thought I was going to say he bought the manuscript, right? But that’s not the point. The point is, it took me years to take advantage of that opportunity. Why? I have no idea. On the other hand, I did chat up my agent at a conference, sent her my manuscript, and signed with her. So there can be happy endings, if you give yourself a shot.)

We win a free critique and never send anything in. Or buy a terrific book on writing and never read it. Yep, the list goes on and on.

Until we either quit (and wonder why we never quite succeeded)–or start maximizing our connections and opportunities. So maybe you’re ready to maximize; I shared some ideas about that over at the Muffin today in “Maximizing Writer Connections”  and I hope you’ll take a look.

I mean, honestly, I’m just like you, squandering opportunities. But sometimes, I put myself out there. And sometimes, it pays off. How about you? What’s an opportunity you took advantage of and were glad you did? Tell me all about it (please!).

And P.S. Photo by Lukas from Pexels https://www.pexels.com/photo/antique-architecture-art-background-306076/

(Check Pexels out, y’all–I love ’em!)

OooooOOOoooooo!Spooky Storytellin’ Time!

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MP900449083The other night, I went on a Ghost Walk Tour with the Junior Hall Boys and it was wicked good fun. I love a good scary story, and I especially love to have two big, strapping boys with me when goosebumps skitter up my spine and I’m positive something–or someone–is right behind me!

That’s the thing about October. It’s just the perfect time for a good ghost story. And so I thought it’d be fun to share two frightfully good places to find something wicked this October way coming.

First up, there’s Bookish, where you can see a list of 13 Authors on the Scariest Books They’ve Ever Read. (Bookish is a great site for book lovers and writers so I hope you’ll read more than the spooky recommendations!) I’ve read more than half of these books, and honestly, I was a little surprised about one or two of the books included. I was also surprised about a couple of books left off the list. But that’s the thing about lists. No one list is definitive. So if you have any thoughts about the books on the list–or what would be on your list of scariest books ever read, I’d love to hear. (The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty scared the bejeebers out of me. I’ll never know what my mother was thinking, letting a 13-year-old girl read a book like that! Just thinking about that book makes me shudder.)

Next is 19 Seriously Scary Ghost Stories That Will Haunt You For Life.

So here’s the thing about true life ghost stories: they scare me more than made-up stories. Even if they’re full of grammatical errors or the plot wanders like a drunken sailor or the characters/people make absolutely no sense at all. Because they’re real stories, y’all; that stuff happened! And that stuff stays with you, stuck in your head. I’m not even sure I’ll read these stories.

Well, unless I can get the Junior Hall Boys to come over. And maybe move in with me for the rest of my life.