writing advice | Cathy C. Hall Writes

So, I know that hordes of writers are out there, busily pounding out their 1,569 words today so they can make their National Novel Writing Month goal of 50,000 words. Kudos to y’all!

And kudos to all y’all who may be a NaNo writer like me. Maybe you’ll make 45,000 words. Maybe you’ll forget to actually sign up. Maybe you’ll manage to pound out only 1500 words. Doesn’t make you any less of a writer. (It does, however, leave you with an awful lot of manuscript to finish.) You might be the kind of writer who could use a little extra inspiration and some serious writerly advice. Go here.

Or maybe you’re skipping Nano this year in favor of something different. Maybe, like me, you’ve signed up for Picture Book Idea Month. Because, honestly, who can’t come up with an idea a day? Kudos to y’all! But maybe, inexplicably, your ideas sort of sputter out on the third day, along with your kudos. You might be the kind of writer who could use some extra inspiration and some wonderful writerly advice. Go here.

Okay, yes, it’s the same writerly advice and inspiration. Because it doesn’t matter what you write. It only matters that you write. At least, if you were born to write. And kudos to my writer buddy, Kara Bietz, for sharing that little nugget of writer gold.

That’s not a very catchy post title, but it does pretty much sum up the day’s catch.

If you’d like to read October’s column in Modern Senior Living, check out page 13 for “My Not-So-Smart Phone.” (I could probably write a book about phones at the Hall house. One time, I walked into Juniorest Hall’s room and found this mangled mess of wires and such on his bed. Just before I threw it out, he yelled, “Wait! That’s my phone!” Which he was actually still using. It was the phone I’d purchased 24 hours after I’d bought his first phone–but that’s another story.)

As you may remember, October is National Book Month, and I thought I’d update you on what I’m reading now: Bella at Midnight by Diane Stanley (a middle grade novel with fairy tale overtones) and Bodies of the Dead And Other Great American Ghost Stories (Did you know Edith Wharton wrote a ghost story? Neither did I, but there she is with Ambrose Bierce, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Willa Cather, and Harriet Prescott Spofford. I don’t know Harriet Prescott Spofford from Adam’s house cat, but how many times do you come across a name with that many double consonants? When I finish this scary book, I’m giving it away in the All Hallow’s Read Giveaway. Don’t forget to mention BOOk in a comment if you want your name in the cauldron.)

Janet Reid (yes, the literary agent, again) is having a contest. You have till tomorrow (at noon) to write a 100 word themed Halloween story with the words she’s posted. You can win a critique from Barbara Poelle, and that’s pretty awesome for a micro-fiction story. (You get bonus points if you work in the word “insalubrious”. And yes, I know that you know what insalubrious means, but I thought I’d give a quick definition for all those folks who may have taken a siesta during 10th grade Vocab drills: insalubrious=not conducive to health, unwholesome.)

Finally, just a quick mention of the writing tips you can find over at Finders & Keepers this week. I mentioned that I attended an SCBWI conference and I wrote a “what I learned from whom I saw” post. It’s packed with stuff you can use, whether you’re a children’s writer or not. (Seriously. It’s kind of a long post. But no one will know if you skim it.)

And now, as my insalubrious tale won’t write itself, I have a story to find on this fine Friday. I’m pretty sure it’s rattling around in my head, somewhere.