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on trying to be a pro

The snow stopped, so our lake effect storm was a brief one (compared to last February). We wound up with almost four feet, but the driveway is plowed, the streets are plowed, we were able to get out yesterday afternoon. Oh, and school is open today.

In Fulton, NY, (a few towns over) the roof on the Department of Public Works garage collapsed under the weight of the snow. CNN is covering it. Sure would be nice if CNN would come back up here for the apple harvest, or the perfect summer nights when we can see the Milky Way from our back yard.

An interesting question about being a professional writer turned up in the comments section a few days ago.

wrote: I love how you write about the writing process in your journal. I’ve only found this journal a little while ago, but I’m been following the entries, and as a writer, it’s really something I can relate to. Writing is so unpredictable and since I’m still just a young wannabe (I’d like to think I’m a writer, even if not a professional one), I can’t even believe how professional writers can put writing’s unpredictableness aside and meet their deadlines! Care to enlighten me?

By “unpredictableness” I assume you mean that we rarely feel totally inspired every single day. I sure as heck don’t. But I have to write every day. First and foremost because I like it and it is good for me. Second, because by staying in touch with the story every day, the writing flows better. Third (though this one is pretty important, too), the writing pays my bills.

Any career in the arts has a simple truth attached to it: you have to do the work every day. That is how you get better.

It doesn’t matter how many books I’ve published. I have never before written the book I am writing now. I have to respect the work and keep striving to learn more, keep searching for new tools for my work chest. If you are standing on the outside looking in, it might seem a little boring, and I admit, there are days when I long for a job that has a guaranteed paycheck every two weeks and some kind of health insurance, but the truth is, I feel incredibly blessed to be able to write stories that people want to read. That is extremely motivating.

2008 Resolution Tracker
Week 3 – Miles Run: 21.75, YTD: 62.75
Week 3 – Days Written: 7, YTD:21

Only 49 weeks to go!

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True this

I still believe, too.

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We’ve had almost three feet of snow in the last twenty-four hours. Needless to say, we’re staying home today.

scribble, scribble, scribble, scribble, scribble…..

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friday five

1. It is too cold to work up in the loft today (without firing up the furnace and burning gallons and gallons of fossil fuel), so BH built a fire in the fireplace in our bedroom and I am working there.

2. I can’t wait until I get through today’s pages and go to the gym because I have new running shoes! And they were on sale!!!

3. I also bought the coolest outdoor running hat ever (also on sale). The V-notch adjuster thing in the back is perfect to stick my ponytail through. If you don’t have a ponytail, you have no idea what a pain it can be to run with a hat on because either the hat loosens the ponytail and then the hair gets in your face and sticks to it because of the sweat and the sunscreen and it fries your last nerve and you have a temper tantrum right there on the road in the middle of nowhere with no one watching except the half-rotted corpse of a squirrel and when you’re done you feel like a right idiot, or b) your ponytail bounces your hat off and it lands on the half-rotted corpse of a squirrel and, well, you leave it there.

But because of my cool new hat, that won’t happen anymore.

4. Just what I needed: more fodder for bad dreams.

5. You want to make hot chocolate this weekend.

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Quick Thursday

Quick thoughts:

A 6am diner breakfast with my dad is a nice way to start the day.

Sarah Dessen’s North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team is still dominating. Sadly. But my Hoyas don’t completely suck.

Yesterday’s run was long, slow, and lovely. And I woke up with a sore right knee. I checked the mileage and sure enough, I’ve put in 325 miles in this pair of running shoes. The last time I had knee trouble, it was when the previous pair of shoes got to 325. You are supposed to only have to get new shoes every 400 miles, but I think I have a snobby knee. (Think Princess and the Pea. Or Knee.) So it’s off to the store we go. Thank you, darling children, for the gift certificate at Christmas!

Along with working on my book and keeping various family plates spinning in the air, I am preparing for my workshops at Kindling Words next week. Are any of you going to be there? If you are, help me out: this is my first KW (I’ve been wanting to go for years). What is your favorite part of KW?

Writing note – I keep circling around the description of a character’s room, putting stuff in, taking stuff out, walking into it, walking out of it, etc. Why am I struggling with this? Because I am still trying to understand this (secondary) character. Hmmmmmm.

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An award list to dance to & how running helps my writing

Thank you, thank you American Library Association committee members!!!!

I am very proud that TWISTED made both the 2008 Best Books for Young Adults and the 2008 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers lists!!!!

This feels awesome. Excuse me while I take a moment to bask.

::baskingbaskingbaskingbaskingbaskingbaskingbaskingbaskingbaskingbaskingbaskingbaskingbaskingbasking::
Ahhh. So, so sweet.

OK, back to work. I have spent the day rewriting Chapter 19, because the same thing happened to that chapter as happened to 17 on Sunday. But it’s all good.

nudged me about answering a question she posted to my Facebook a while back. She wrote: Do you think that running/excersize helps your creativity/creative process?

(Truth in blogging disclosure: I just finished a carb-heavy lunch and am staring at my clothes that are laid out for this afternoon’s long run. It promises to be a chilly one.)

Does my running help my writing? Yes. Absolutely. No doubt. Ja. Si. Absolutement.

If I ever write a book about writing (do you think I should do that, BTW??), it will contain long passages about how moving your body fires up your imagination. For now, here are my top five reasons why my running helps my writing:

1. Running makes me happy, thus, it is a very good reward and incentive to do my work.

2. When I write, I am a) sitting still and b) dangerously close to my kitchen. If I didn’t exercise regularly (and trust me, there have been times in my life when I didn’t) I eat more than my body needs. This slows down my brain and expands my rear end.

3. Running is a meditative exercise – it helps me process my stress in a healthy way.

4. My travel schedule is often grueling. Running (and weight lifting, which I don’t talk about much, but I do, too) keeps me physically stronger and better able to fight off the germs that try to attack unsuspecting travelers.

5. Running has helped me develop mental discipline, which allows me to stay immersed in my stories longer. I have several writing/running mantras that I repeat in my head when I am tempted to stop writing or hit the Stop button on the treadmill.

6. Yes, this is a bonus reason. The human body was designed to move. If we want our minds and spirits to produce their best, we have to help our bodies be the best they can be, too. It’s all connected.

(Thank you for the nudge, )

Now, I have three more pages and a long stretch of road ahead of me.