Doing the Next Best Thing

It's one of those days in writer world.  Frustrating.  I am not patient when it comes to establishing a new career as a writer and a speaker.  I want to be perfect at it.  And I am not. 

Of course I wasn't perfect in my last career as a teacher either, but I had been doing it for so long and with enough identifiable successes I felt more secure that I was being successful and offering something to the world. I remember being upset when I was unable to help a student whose home life offered numerous challenges.  Someone said to me, "You can't save them all."  And as much as it killed me to admit, they were right.  I couldn't.  But I could and did try to do the little I could.  I didn't change their worlds overall, but I was able to help them a little.

I am not that point of confidence as a writer and speaker. This world is still a difficult place for me to feel as if I am making measurable headway. Some days I feel like I am floating, untethered and woefully unsure that I will ever offer a contribution worthy of anyone's time or up to the quality of what I want to do.  Overwhelmed, isn't just a word around here.  Yes, I know doubt is something all writers share, as do people in general, but it isn't fun.

Today I ran across a short article about approaching life. Basically the message was nice way to say, "Eat an elephant one bite at a time."  I have heard this before.  But I needed the reminder.  This version was, "Don't set out to change the world, just do the next best thing.  Every day."  It's good advice.

I am off to put a boot in doubt's face, and do my next best thing.



Article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robin-obryant/acts-of-kindness

The Roller Coaster of Writing

Just a brief check in blog world.  Been busy doing edits and more edits on my YA Contemporary Thriller Mirror Images.  Really busy.

Right now my manuscript is out to some readers.  It is the first time I have really let loose of it to let people who know me only somewhat see what I have been doing.  I know my book is FAR from perfect and I know it will return with numerous edits for me to do, but I got my courage up to get on the ride.

Near where I grew up is a theme park that used to have a great roller coaster.  It was a simple by today's standards.  Just ups and downs and a few unexpected turns and drops.  And I loved it.  I don't dislike the newer, faster upside down roll over kinds with bigger drops.  I like them.  But I miss the fun of that good old dependable ride.

This is how I approached Mirror Images.  When I started writing it, so long ago I don't want to admit it, the market was flooded with paranormals, dystopians, and of course, vampires.  There was nothing wrong with that, I read and enjoyed them too.  But it wasn't what I wanted to do.

I realized I missed the old mysteries and thrillers of my youth.  I loved how empowered I felt when I followed the clues and figured out who the bad guy or killer was in my Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys novels.  I had loved and still recommended  to students all the teen thriller books of Lois Duncan who wrote I Know What You Did Last Summer and other books that now seem cheesy, but I loved them.  I also liked that the books were short and even somewhat predictable, because having a "friendship"  with the books was enjoyable.  I read other types of books growing up and I learned, bettered my mind, challenged my ideas, and cried too over them.  It was like with people in my life, who had done of all of these things too.  I enjoyed all of the experiences, but when it came to picking my friends in books, I didn't want to learn or be challenged or always be involved in some drama.  Those mysteries and thrillers were my friends I could depend on bringing me joy.

So I really gave some time to determining what had made those books appeal to me to the point I remembered them after all of the books I have read in my lifetime, and I have read a lot of books in my forty-eight years. I thought when I started at the beginning of Mirror Images and I still think there is still a place for these books in the lives of young readers living in this current world.  Anything that can show young people that using your mind to overcome obstacles is the most important message I think a book can give beyond modeling the way to love and show kindness.

I looked at what I loved, books with suspense; who I loved, the thousands of resilient wonder young people I had worked with in my years as a teacher; and I thought this is what I can do; help others enjoy a book about teens who face obstacles and use their brains to figure out what to do.  That's real life over and over.

On the surface my book is about a serial killer in a small town.  But I think it's a book about growing up, loving and hating your family, falling in love, working your first job, being with friends, using your mind, making really hard choices, and learning to believe in yourself and others when everything and everyone says something different.

Right now I am enjoying my ride in the writing world.  Some days I go up higher than I have been before and others drop quickly down much lower than I ever wanted to be. Sometimes it is the same day and I repeat my ups and downs.

Like a real roller coaster, the twists and turns and climbs and drops will surprise me.  I am often a little afraid of where I will go next.  But this is the ride I bought the ticket for and I am gladly on it now.

In real life as a writer, I need my hands to type, but in my mind I choose to stop holding on tight the safety bar.  I am throwing my arms straight up to the sky and laughing and screaming with joy for the whole ride.

Just a quick Howdy Doo!

It's just a quick Howdy Doo from the G. Aliceson Edwards writing world on how I am doing with my 2013 professional goals.  It's already the fourth after all.  It's kind of repeat of my last blog post, but it reminds me what I want to accomplish.

New Year has rolled in with me hurrying to finish the "final" draft of Mirror Images before I force myself to stop editing and give this book out to some beta readers.  Yeah, I have been working on this book forever.  (I did write others while I was working on this one. )  But I am determined to finally achieve the level of quality I want for this book.  This day has been a long time coming, because I suffer, as many writers do, from insecurity that my writing shouldn't be read until it is perfect.  Silly, since I taught for the years about the value of drafts and feedback.  Physician heal thyself and all that.

After Betas return comments, then I will choose what to change or possibly what to keep the same in my quest for improvement.

Then I contact more agents and editors in a query frenzy.   Yes, I really am going to push toward the publication goal. Doubt be danged!  (I try not to cuss on social media.)

During some of the action above I will be designing my website.  I blog, tweet, and Facebook, but have never gotten to the website phase.  It is here.

I spent December giving away free presentations to schools and groups.  Now I have more scheduled and some decent paying gigs too.

This is my January 2013.  I hope you have great plans for your own.

I do a lot of dancing during my writing breaks.  Check out this cool Facebook  account and find the Hokey Pokey Shakespeare style.

It's 2013, Baby!

It's an extremely cold and icy day to begin the 2013 year, but I am totally looking forward to this day and the ones beyond.

My husband and I just discussed some of our joint goals of what we would like to see accomplished as far as our housing plans, finances, health, and travel.  It helps us to know what we are shooting for!

Writing wise...I have already determined my January goals week by week. 

They are:

Finish the edit on Mirror Images.
Strengthen my writing contacts with a road trip to critique and write-in.
Send M.I. out to beta readers.
Attend meetings and critiques.
Develop Website while waiting for beta reader responses.
Develop list of agents and editors to query.
Edit in Beta suggestions or ignore.  
Send in queries and already requested FULLS.

Then make a new set of goals for February.

Now I need to work on accomplishing my first goal.  Later!

YA Book Recommendations

I love good books for presents and if you are looking for some great reads for teenagers, here are some I recommend them to try. These books are best for high schoolers.

Young Adult Booklist of Books I recommend

1.Alexander Gordon Smith  Escape From the Furnace Series-Books 1-5.5 Appropriate for mid to upper level teen readers, although some lower readers love them too.   http://us.macmillan.com/series/EscapefromFurnace

These books are gritty, but absolutely popular with boys.  They have literally been waiting at the door of the building and chased me down the hall to get the next in the series.  And these kids were often most reluctant readers.

2. Jennifer Brown books.  She has three about current social issues and they have good thought provoking lessons without being preachy.  Appropriate for boys and girls mid to upper reading levels.  http://www.jenniferbrownya.com/

3. Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why is the best book for teens I may have ever read.  It is about suicide, but is unusual in its presentation and really stresses the questions of those left behind and how a few actions of many people can contribute. http://jayasher.blogspot.com/

4.  The number one thing boys like to read are the annual books on Guinness World Records http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/GWR-2013/

and Ripley’s believe it or not. http://www.ripleybooks.com/

5.  If you want some girly teen books, here are some suggestions and reviews http://yabookdiva.blogspot.com/p/reviews.html

6.  I have a friend whose books are very popular.  Denise Grover Swank's Here is a great YA

http://www.amazon.com/Here-On-the-Otherside-ebook/dp/B0064S8D9W

 

7. These are Missouri’s Library Organization’s Gateway Nominees and these are books that high school teens in Missouri have chosen as their favorites.  The variety of books is great and so are these books.  Schools often use these for book reports and projects.  It will help them be ready to go back to their own schools.  I included the link, so that you could see the guidelines for choosing them.

http://www.maslonline.org/?page=gateway_readers

Cleopatra's Moon, by Vicky Alvear Schecter.  Arthur A. Levine Books.
Rival, by Sarah Bennett Wealer.  HarperTeen.
Ashes, by Ilsa J. Bick.  Egmont USA.
Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake.  Tor Teen.
Bitter End, by Jennifer Brown.  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Shelter, by Harlan Coben.  Putnam Juvenile.
I'll Be There, by Holly Goldberg Sloan.  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Something Like Hope, by Shawn Goodman.  Delacorte Books for Young Readers.
Stay With Me, by Paul Griffin.  Dial.
Everybody Sees the Ants, by A.S. King. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Legend, by Marie Lu.  Putnam Juvenile.
Exposed, by Kimberly Marcus.  Random House.
Ashfall, by Mike Mullin.  Tanglewood Press.
Shine, by Lauren Myracle.  Amulet Books.
Pregnant Pause, by Han Nolan.  Harcourt Children's Books.
Trapped, by Michael Northrup.  Scholastic Press.
Delirium, by Lauren Oliver.  HarperCollins.
This Thing Called the Future, by J.L. Powers.  Cinco Puntos Press.
Clean, by Amy Reed.  Simon Pulse.
Divergent, by Veronica Roth.  Katherine Tegen Books.
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick, by Joe Schreiber.  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.
Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys.  Philomel.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor.  Little, Brown and Company.
The Probability of Miracles, by Wendy Wunder.  Razorbill.
All These Things I've Done, by Gabrielle Zevin.  Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

8.  This next group is more for MS students.  They are usually required to read some of these, but they are books the students enjoy.

THE TRUMAN READERS AWARD

2012-2013 Award Nominees Award Winners

Brand new in 2008, Missouri schoolchildren in middle school/junior high vote for their favorite book from a list of nominated titles. The Truman Readers Award is awarded to the author of this book by the Missouri Association of School Librarians. The Truman Readers Award encourages students in the early teen years to express their unique voice through: exploring new literary genres, communicating with their peers about young adult literature, and honoring authors writing for young teens. 2012 - 2013 Truman Award Nominees After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick Although Jeff and Tad, encouraged by a new friend, Lindsey, make a deal to help one another overcome aftereffects of their cancer treatments in preparation for eighth-grade graduation, Jeff still craves advice from his older brother Stephen, who is studying drums in Africa. Bruiser by Neil Shusterman Inexplicable events start to occur when sixteen-year-old twins Tennyson and Brontë befriend a troubled and misunderstood outcast, aptly nicknamed Bruiser, and his little brother, Cody. Dark Life by Kat Falls When fifteen-year-old Ty, who has always lived on the ocean floor, joins Topside girl Gemma in the frontier's underworld to seek and stop outlaws who threaten his home, they learn that the government may pose an even greater threat. Girl, Stolen by April Henry When an impulsive carjacking turns into a kidnapping, Griffin, a high school dropout, finds himself more in sympathy with his wealthy, blind victim, sixteen-year-old Cheyenne, than with his greedy father. Heist Society by Ally Carter A group of teenagers uses their combined talents to re-steal several priceless paintings and save fifteen-year-old Kat Bishop's father, himself an international art thief, from a vengeful collector. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White When a dark prophecy begins to come true, sixteen-year-old Evie of the International Paranormal Containment Agency must not only try to stop it, she must also uncover its connection to herself and the alluring shapeshifter, Lend. Scrawl by Mark Shulman When eighth-grade school bully Tod and his friends get caught committing a crime on school property, his penalty--staying after school and writing in a journal under the eye of the school guidance counselor--reveals aspects of himself that he prefers to keep hidden. Soccerland by Beth Choat Two years after her mother's death of cancer, fourteen-year-old Flora leaves the family's Maine farm for Colorado's International Sports Academy, where fierce competition could end their dream of Flora playing for U.S. Soccer. The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen When high school sophomore Mason finds a beautiful but catatonic girl in the nursing home where his mother works, the discovery leads him to revelations about a series of disturbing human experiments that have a connection to his own life. The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman New York high school student Elizabeth gets an after-school job as a page at the "New-York Circulating Material Repository," and when she gains coveted access to its Grimm Collection of magical objects, she and the other pages are drawn into a series of frightening adventures involving mythical creatures and stolen goods. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan Jason, Piper, and Leo, three students from a school for "bad kids," find themselves at Camp Half-Blood, where they learn that they are demigods and begin a quest to free Hera, who has been imprisoned by Mother Earth herself. Virals by Kathy Reichs Tory Brennan is the leader of a band of teenage 'sci-philes' who live on an island off the coast of South Carolina and when the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.

Busy days and nights!

Where oh where have I been?
Everywhere!  So far I have not focused on being paid to be a writer and a speaker at this point, but I have jumped in with both feet to engage in activities gain experience.

Since my last post I have been to my regular critique group multiple times.   I have joined a new critique group too.  I have enjoyed meetings and holiday parties with my two writing groups MARA and HeRA.  I am making writing contacts who already are or are becoming great friends.  I helped with some contest work for one of my groups.  I have been to book signings for my writer buddies and bought and read their books and given reviews.  I have gathered books from various sources to donate to students in juvenile detention centers.  I even provided some good advice and comfort to some former students during a stressful situation.  I was happy they thought enough of me to come to me to give them guidance.

As G. Aliceson Edwards, writer, my writing is going well!  I know what to do to finish my current YA project.  I am steadily editing to my satisfaction.  I also know what my next project is going to be. I have written two audience participation skits for children.

As G. Aliceson Edwards, speaker, I have been making great strides in establishing a career in public speaking.  I have done workshops on writing at the local library.  I also have done Storytimes at the library and done multiple storytelling dates at an after school program.  I have told stories over and over at a Fall celebration, in costume, with a poke bonnet I crafted myself.

As my way to give back this holiday season, I offered my talents to go to groups and schools to do presentations for free.  I read books, tell and act out stories, have the audience participate, play instruments, and sometimes I even sing, though not on pitch.  I now have nine speaking engagements with a variety of activities and subjects over a two week period with audiences ranging in size from around a dozen to 60 and from pre-school age through high school.  I am very excited to get the opportunity to interact with people of many ages in my own community and beyond.

I am feeling good about having taken a few months to get my bearings for this new career and I have my goals in place to continue going where I want to be.

And oh yeah, I am liking life a lot right now!  Hope all of you either are enjoying yours too or thinking about the things that truly make you happy.  Go get them!

A change will do you good

I just read one of the best books of my life.

It is not the first book I ever read that made me think of the world and my actions differently, and I hope it won't be my last.

A book from my past....Over the last several years I have read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck aloud to my students.  I read the voices with inflection and I wring laughter out of those students and make them cry and choke up too.  I also do a good job of showing that life as a mentally challenged person is not easy, but of value.  I am a good performer, but the key is I feel passionate about one of the themes.  That sometimes out of love for another we must do hard things for their benefit.  My understanding of George and Lenny has made an effect on choices I have made.

A book from my present....I just finished Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.  It is a YA fictional book about teenage suicide and how people's actions affect other people and how simple it is to change the course of someone's life or death by your own actions.  And it is an unbelievably compelling and touching novel.

I learned about this book and this author at the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) Conference last weekend, but put off reading it until this morning.  I heard a lot of hype about the book and I expected it to be so good, I would want to be able to concentrate and read it in one setting.  No bookmarks needed!  I was sick at the beginning of last week and busy at the end, so I waited.  I am working on taking my time to enjoy things and experiences I feel I will cherish.  It was worth it.

I've read the book.  I get the hype.  And I recommend it.  It is not a happy read, but a necessary one.  I have been blessed to read books that were perfect examples of what a book should be and what a book should leave you with.  Thirteen Reasons Why gives that experience.

This isn't just a commercial for the book.  I do hope you read it, but more importantly I hope you read something, sometime that speaks to you the way this book spoke to me.  Something that makes you change.  This ability to touch a reader and to cause the reader to change or revel or love is the power of great literature.

I am going this week to talk to high school students about being a writer.  And I think the message or theme I want to realize about any job is try to find a career that you can be passionate about...a career that lets you use your skills to reach out and to literally make your life and the world a better place.

A book in my future...I hope and believe that I will one day write a book that can cause a person to feel the power of the message and have it change they way they live their life for better.