Tag Archives: SCBWI Southern Breeze

January Wrap Up

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file00025755561I don’t have a lot of accountability these days.

My original and hard-working critique group broke up, my second critique group didn’t work for my schedule, writer friends moved away…even Mister Man, who, if we’re being perfectly honest refused to read any of my writing but would listen to me talk about it as long as there was food involved, up and left me. And so it’s pretty much up to me, what (or if)  I write.

Then I thought about you, dear writer friends. You can be my accountability! And then you can say, “Oh, yes, Cathy, that sounds fabulous!” Or, “Really, Cathy, you can do lots better than that.” Maybe even, “Sounds good to me, pass the garlic rolls.”

And so here I go:

I finished 30 ideas with Storystorm! It’s a list of the good, the bad, and the ugly, but I did it.

I made a goal over at Goodreads to read 50 books this year, and for January, I read four books. (I didn’t make my reading goal last year but whee! It’s January and I’m on track. So far.)

I talked to my Lovely Agent about 2017 and the direction we could go. I have Stuff To Do; I haven’t quite started on that stuff yet.

I wrote up…let me count that again…yes, um…one, er, one story and sent it out into the world. It seemed like a big deal at the time, y’all.

I had an SCBWI writer’s workshop–awesome author Heather L. Montgomery presented–and it was well-attended and lots of fun! (P.S. She was here doing quite a few school visits and kids LOVE her, so if you want a science geek author for your school, contact Heather!) The first of the year is busy in my position at SCBWI; lots of organizing, lots of emails, lots of planning, but I got it all done. That’s probably why I didn’t get much writing done. Yeah, that’s it. That’s the ticket.

Oh! I finally finished my latest Darakwon book! Whew! I had started it back in the spring, I think, so yeah, it was beginning to be like The Song That Never Ends.

You know, I wasn’t feeling very accomplished twenty minutes ago, but I feel a bit better, now that I see my January Wrap Up. All things considered, right?

So how about you? How’s your January started? Brag a little, whine a little, and pass the garlic rolls. You’re with friends here!

 

A List of Favorite Things! (Pssst! Mostly Books! And Exclamation Points!)

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pexels-photoLast weekend, I hosted one of my SCBWI writer workshops at the Gwinnett County Public Library and gosh, it was just packed with wonderful writer stuff! And so I thought I’d share in list form, because…well, I love lists.

  1.  I’d be remiss if I didn’t start with my library. I LOVE MY LIBRARY SYSTEM! The Gwinnett County Public Library is a co-sponsor of these events and that means they do a swell job, promoting events in all of their 30 or so branches. And I–and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators– really appreciate that kind of promotion! If you have writer events, please check with your local library. You might be surprised what they can do for you, because…drum roll, please…they’re mandated to serve the public! Yay!
  2. Author Dori Kleber presented a workshop on the “Hero’s Journey in 32 Pages.” And it was excellent! I wish I could tell you more but I suspect that Dori will be giving that workshop quite often and you know what they say about the cow and the milk. (Wait, what? You’ve never heard that expression? Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? Mom would say that to me in my younger–much younger–dating days. But in this particular instance, I’m referring to writer knowledge not, ahem, other things.) If you haven’t read her picture book, More-igami, now’s the time to go check it out! (And if it’s not at your local public library, why not ask about it? Your librarian might just order More-igami!)
  3. And speaking of books, NCTE will be in Atlanta this year–this week!–and SCBWI is sponsoring a FREE public book signing! With over TWENTY kidlit authors! You know what makes a great holiday gift for kids that you can feel great about after the holidays? A signed book! So if you’re in the Atlanta area, please come out and see us! And if you’re not in the Atlanta area, take a look around your area. I bet you’ll find a local author or two, signing books, just about any weekend. Think about supporting the authors and purchasing the gift that lasts a lifetime: books!

Well, that was an awful lot of exclamation points but I’m not going back to change any of those punctuation marks. Because I’m that excited. And besides, I love exclamation points as much as I love lists.