Winter Wordgrove Newsletter

It's my week to write the Wordgrove Newsletter. This weeks theme is Winter.
Here's an excerpt:

********
Winter came down to our home one night
Quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed slippers of snow,
And we, we were children once again.
Bill Morgan, Jr.

I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure
of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter.
Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show.
Andrew Wyeth

Of winter's lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer's secret
Deep down within its heart.
Charles G. Stater

Around the Grove -
Slim pickins here in Wordgrove. I hope this is because everyone is feverishly
working on their Wordgrove writing contest masterpiece. 'crickets' Hmmm.

Here's the pensive 'Winter Song' by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson.
Although it is a bit melancholic,it still holds the promise of something strong and
enduring underneath. Dare I say, love?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67xr_KKPTHE

This song brings some thoughts with it. So, without trying to sound too sappy or Pollyannish, I want to remind you that love takes many forms, and its rich comforts are there for everyone.You included. Also, Winter can be brutal, but it is just a season. It doesn't last forever. Remember that! Cheers.
********

Ok, that's finished. Now I'm off to write something brilliant for the Sixth Annual Wordgrove Writing Contest. :)

On the Road Again

Well, Thanksgiving was very nice. Ate too much as usual. It was just four of us this year. Hopefully the rest of the family will make it for Christmas. Mom sure hopes so, she missed her chicks.
I'm going to go see my sweet sister in Michigan next week for 11 days. We are gonna look around and see if Michigan is the place to be...for me. Kinda torn about leaving my parents when they are beginning to get a bit feeble. -sigh- Life can be difficult sometimes. Many prayers lifted up...need guidance big time.

The hardest thing to learn in life is
which bridge to cross and which to burn.
David Russell

Choices are the hinges of destiny.
Attributed to both Edwin Markham and Pythagoras

Ugh.

More Reading Needed

I think when I return from my cruise, I will spend some time at the Library and read some more children's books in my target age group. It's been a while since I read them, and I need to steep some more in that genre. Need to make sure I am on the correct level and tone, etc. I have read in several places that one must really do research when writing kids books, and that means reading books that are already out there. I have read a lot of the Magic Treehouse books. This is the type of book that I am writing. I like them because they have adventure as well as a bit of a history lesson added in.

Danube River Cruise

Well, only 11 more days until I board a plane for Budapest! Wow, I thought this trip would never get here, and now I'm thinking that I don't have enough time to get ready! We will be flying into Budapest, and spend two days there. Then we'll cruise the River Danube for 7days, passing through Austria, Germany, Bratislavia and other spots I can't think of right now. Finally, we will spend three days in Prague. It will be so much fun! Looking forward to all the delicious regional cuisine as well as the sights. :)

Wordgrove Newsletter

I was asked to write this weeks Wordgrove Newsletter. I thought I'd make the theme about music and it's influence on our creativity. Here's an excerpt from the newsletter:
Remember the last time you watched a scary movie? The slow creeping steps moving towards the hero.
The heart pounding anticipation of what will happen next. Then suddenly, aiiieeee!!
What enhanced that horribly delightful tension? What thing, possibly more than the cinematography or the facial expressions of the actor made that moment writhe with pure horror?
Why, the music of course!
Music's ability to create atmosphere and evoke strong emotions cannot be over estimated.
Music has the power to calm to heal to energize. It can create feelings of love and hate in equal measure.

Next time you are stuck trying to get your writing mojo going, put on some music and watch those juices begin to flow!

Music is what feelings sound like.
Author Unknown

Music can noble hints impart,
Engender fury, kindle love,
With unsuspected eloquence can move,
And manage all the man with secret art.
Joseph Addison

When words leave off, music begins.
Heinrich Heine

What we provide is an atmosphere of orchestrated pulse
Which works on people in a subliminal way.
Under its influence I've seen shy debs and severe dowagers
kick off their shoes and raise some wholesome hell.
Meyer Davis, about his orchestra

Here are trailers from two movies who's music has become part of the human psyche.
Listen to how the music creates the atmosphere and tension in each scene.

Psycho Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG3-GlvKPcg

Jaws Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucMLFO6TsFM

Cool Ambient Music

My good friend Leif creates the coolest Ambient Music. Here is a sample of his latest album which was released September 22nd.
This track makes me think of a 'Film Noire'. A solitary man is standing in the shadows of dark city street, it's rainy. I hear the rain dripping onto the brim of his hat. The cars one street over pass by, splashing through the puddles. He's stands there waiting, watching...

Wordgrove in There...

I'm a member of Wordgrove. This is a sort of writer's colony in the virtual world of There.com. Here we place our poetry or prose in a book and "drop" it by a pretty tree or someplace within this beautiful pastoral setting. Other members and passersby read the books, and in this way we get credits towards being an "author". Wordgrove also has a Newsletter, of which I am a proud Guest Editor.

Wordgrove sponsors contests, quests, writing exercises, and is even hooked into real life events such as the Novel Writing contest going on now.

If you'd like to see Wordgrove, you have to be a member of There.com. But you can also visit the website at www.wordgrove.com

Dialogue Check-up

I am working on my dialogue. Just in chapter one for now. Some of the things my How-to book says to watch out for is unneeded dialogue, too many 'he saids she saids', and also to watch out that the child sounds like a child, not an adult. This is all such good advice!

I am amazed at how much I have changed in just Chapter one! Kinda makes me think I'm writing a pile of crap! Hahaha! But, no, I really think this will be a great children's story....some day. :)

Third Draft, Fourth Draft....

Well, I have finished the third draft of my book. I am now going to start on my Fourth Draft. It's weird, coz I remember when I wrote the First Draft; I thought it was 'all that'. Mmmm, not so much. Haha. I really do appreciate comments from friends and family about my book, and this has led to many changes in my story. I am soooo leery about presenting any part of my book to a Critique Group. Ugh...what if someone steals my idea???

I have also learned a lot from my book, "Writing Children's Books for Dummies." It is well organized and thorough. I highly recommend it to anyone trying to break into this field.

Ok, got my cuppa tea...on to Draft Four!

Jump Starting the Muse

I joined the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrator's ( scbwi.org ). They provide online tips and publications to help unpublished as well as published writers and illustrators. They also have an active forum, regional and national conferences, and even grants for aspiring writers!

One of their "Success Stories" involved a woman who read part of her story at a round table meeting at one of the SCBWI conferences. It just so happened that a representative from a publishing company was attending. She loved what the woman wrote...and now her book is published! Wow!

I also have the book, "Writing Children's Books for Dummies". It's a very useful book, and I have drawn so much from it. I do wish it didn't have the word 'Dummies' in the title. Not a good word for peeps to draw self confidence from. I know this is part of an entire series of how-to books, but I wish the author had started this series with a different word. Maybe 'Newbies'. :)

Toe touching the Blog Pool...

I've read lately that in order to get where you want to go in this info/techno age, you gotta have a blog. I'm an aspiring Children's Book writer, an artist and dreamer. So, here I go....one small leap into the Blog Pool! Woo hooooooooo!!!!