1 | Cathy C. Hall Writes

So we’re skidding into the last days of November, scrambling to finish what we started, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, back on the first days of November.

If you’re participating in NaNo, I hope your words have been many and mostly making sense. I completely forgot to mention my guest post over at Agent Courtney’s blog, but it’s not too late for you take a tip from that timely post.

I’m caught up (just!) for Picture Book Idea Month and I am not going to lie–I have been looking out the window practically every day to find an idea. So there are an inordinate number of picture books featuring squirrels, dogs, joggers, leaves falling off trees, decaying pumpkins… Well, I think you get the picture (Ugh. Sorry about that.). But honestly, there are a few gems in the file, so I stand by my tip: ideas are everywhere, if you just take a look around.

And I just zipped over to check out The Next Big Thing over at Sioux’s blog and Debra’s blog and I cannot wait to read these finished manuscripts! Not just because I really like both of these women and their writing, but also because they both came up with great synopsis lines for their works-in-progress. If you can write a great one-line synopsis of your manuscript, then you’ve got a great handle on what your book’s about. And what’s more, you know exactly how you want to pitch it to an agent or publisher.

That’s a golden writing tip, too. So take your pick of a tip–and cross that November finish line with a wow! (And maybe a whew, too!)

It’s Thanksgiving morning, and I’ve got a few minutes before I start cooking (and I use that term loosely) and rallying the troops to help pull this feast together. But a few minutes is all I need to say thank you.

I know lots of famous writers who say “write for yourself” or “write what you need to write and don’t worry about anyone else.” And I believe there’s validity in those philosophies. But I’d be lying if I said I only write for myself.

I write essays for Chicken Soup for the Soul books–and hope readers will smile or sigh or maybe even tear up a bit and say, “Yes, that’s just like me.”

I write stories for children–and hope little kids will laugh or shriek or beg to stay up one more minute so they can hear the story all over again.

I write blog posts here and at The Muffin (I have a Thanksgiving post over there today!) and other assorted places on the web–and hope writers will read those words and chuckle or nod or say, “Sheesh. If she can do this, so can I.”

So a big thank you to the readers everywhere who gobble up my words till they’re stuffed. You make all the hard work worth every minute!