Toilet Monster is Written!

Yesterday, my boys and my hubby went camping. It was fantastically quiet for hours at my house! After my chores were done, I stuck to my plan and finished writing my toilet monster story!! I feel so accomplished!

It is now in the capable hands of a chosen few readers who are testing it out. I'm excited to hear the feedback! After reviews are in and a final editing, it will go to either illustrating with my fantastic sister, or on to an agent, publisher, or contest. I am thrilled at the thought!

I feel a strong desire to continue writing children's books. I have realised how much I truly enjoy seeing my stories come to life.  I've had more ideas for some illustrated books. Whenever I have an idea, I write in in a journal dedicated to writing inspirations. I mostly note ideas of characters, plots, and other inspirations that pop in my head. Otherwise, they may evaporate before they have a chance at life. I feel secure knowing I have a reserve of ideas. I'm not running out of ideas any time soon. I just need to decide which idea is next! Do you write down your inspirations?

Inspiration

  It seems inspiration is everywhere. Today while I was working on my toilet monster story, I looked out the window at a little squirrel scattering about on my neighbor's roof. Squirrels are funny little creatures, and this one was no exception. It looked nice and healthy; ready for a long winter. I wondered if it was the same squirrel who raided my sunflowers upside down a month ago, then I remembered a story idea I had written down involving a squirrel. Watching the squirrel spurred some thoughts about the possible characteristics of the squirrel in my story idea.

  Having my own children spurs ideas as well. Oh the things they do! What better way to get into the child's point of view than a 12 hour day, 365 days a year observation? Though, I'm not always looking for a story.

  I was on a bike ride with my son yesterday, and he wondered aloud why the lines coming down from the telephone pole to the ground were shaped the way they were. He noticed they weren't going at their normal angle to make a triangle between the pole, line and ground. At first I was surprised he even noticed something like that. I hadn't even noticed it was there, really, so I looked, and I saw from his perspective and asked in my own head why. The wires had been pushed out so it looked more like half of a house drawn by a child. It only took a fraction of a second in my adult mind to figure out why, but it was asking that I found significant. "Oh," he said, "It's so people can go under it on the sidewalk." And off he rode.

  I suppose what I'm getting at is, if you need an idea, or if you have writer's block, open your eyes. Look outside yourself. Look from a different perspective. I'm beginning to find that there's plenty of ideas out there, you just have to be paying attention in order to catch on to it. Sometimes we learn from participation, and sometimes we learn from being quiet. Be an observer. Be quiet for a while and just watch, listen, feel and be inspired.

So Sad...Or Not

I heard back from the greeting card publisher, and sadly they did not accept my card ideas. It's too bad. Hmmm. Maybe it's a good thing. I'm refocusing to the Toilet Monster and New King stories. I have limited amounts of time to dedicate to writing, so it's probably a good thing not to split it too many ways. When I need a break from stories, or when I feel inspired I'll still write my card ideas and submit them occasionally, but I've decided I don't want it to be a main focus. I'm excited to move forward with my stories, I'm excited with where they were going. I thought I was done with the Toilet Monster, but it told me otherwise. It's in a complete rewrite, and I'm loving where it's going. That's all for now friends. I'll let you know how it goes. ;)

Toilet Monster...Still

And I thought I was done, ha!

I was happily typing along, doing what I thought were the last few changes to my Toilet Monster story,

An awesome illustration by my son. I figure it's
close to what I look like when happlily typing along. ;)

when during a conversation with my sister, I discovered that if I rearrange the storyline it would be so much better! Arg! Yeah!

Don't worry, the basic premise for my story about a giant is well noted and is contentedly waiting it's turn. I am going to finish my Toilet Monster story first. Once it is written, I'll hand it over for illustration.

While the story is out for illustration, I'll search and study how to e-publish. I'm so excited to learn how to e-publish, and I can't stop smiling about the thought of one of my stories being accessible to others to enjoy. I can sense the feeling of momentum and smell the coming accomplishment. The end result of the changes will be well worth the extra effort, and as I find out how to e-publish an illustrated children's book, I'll let you know.

Check out my handmade deadlines on the right. I'm incorporating time dedicated to writing into my daily routine to meet my deadlines. It seems if it's not on the schedule, it doesn't get done...so now it's on the schedule.

Time to Write!

The last few days have been really busy! I've been switching a couple rooms around in my house including my office. I'm excited to have a more organized space to do my writing in, and I think it will help me be more focused during my dedicated time.

Which reminds me, I need to figure out when that is going to be! During the day is difficult because I have other responsibilities with my children and my home. After my children are in bed things get quiet enough, but I'm busy wrapping up the day or spending time with my hubby.

I would need to get up by 6 a.m. to have any significant amount of time to write in the morning, and sitting still while writing would probably help me fall back asleep. When I wake up, I like to get moving and on to my to-do list. I think my best bet on most days is to finish my to-do list by the kiddo's bedtime and write very soon after they're in bed before I get too sleepy.

I'm super excited to be writing again!! I'm going to refine the Toilet Monster, add to the New King story, and start another children's book. Hopefully I'll have a bit to share with you very soon!

Work in Progress

I've been working on my Toilet Monster story, and you'd be pleased! It's coming along quite well. I've taken out a lot of fluff, and I've changed some of the dialogue to sound more like children instead of me. It's more difficult than you might think to find the voice of someone else. I think particularly when that person is under the age of 10.
SUPER-exciting news! My dear sister has done an illustration for me, and I'll be able to use it on my blog for my Toilet Monster story!! I'll put it up with (I think what will be) my final draft. I'll also put a link to her blog so you can see the amazing art she does. For the publishers reading my blog: we've agreed we don't have to work together...but it would be really cool on some projects. Just think of the marketing perks! Sister-team author&illustrator + our dreamy books = warm fuzzies = good sales.

VERY Slow and Not So Steady

I've been masticating (verb, to reduce to a pulp by crushing or kneading)  my writing ideas and hopes, yet my actions have not measured up to the efforts of my thoughts. Translation: family life has rightfully taken over for the past while, and I have not been dedicating my time to writing at all! I need to go back to the at least 10 minutes a day routine.
I have 2 stories now developing. The Toilet Monster is nearing a publisher ready stage. I need to change some things around a bit. The middle is all dialogue and the end is lacking dialoge almost completely. Wierd. Anyway, I'll fix that. One thought, possibly inconsequential, should it be called The Toilet Monster? The Monster in the Toilet? The Toilet Monster Mystery? No. Sam's Run in With the Throne Monster...Sam's Monster in the John. Heh. Hmmm. No, what do you think?

I'm excited about the next story I'm going to work on. I'll be doing a bit of research on animals of varying regions. Little boys and girls need to have more adventure than what farm and jungle animals can provide!

Exciting news for you, my fabulous sister has offered to do some illustrations for my blog!! Hooray for something awesome to look at in addition to all these beautiful words. :) Oh yes, that was a smiley face.

Here's to amelioration. (See previous vocabulary submission)

Finding a Publisher

Now, the tricky thing about having my book published, well one of the tricks, is finding a publisher. There are so many publishers just in the US!! However, for my stories, the list is narrowed to children's book publishers, fiction, and publishers who take manuscripts from writers without agents.

I've re-checked out a book from the library entitled "2011 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market," Alice Pope, Editor. It's a nearly overwhelming book full of information on book publishers, magazines, agents, conferences, workshops, contests, etc. It also has some information on what makes a good children's book. It's fabulously helpful. In the back are some happy indexes just waiting to be cross-referenced.

I will look in the Age-Level Index. Where does The Toilet Monster fit in? "Picture Books and Picture-Oriented Material are for preschoolers to 8-year-olds;Young Readers are for 5- to 8-year olds..." Is it a Young Reader or a Picture Book? There are about 140 publishers listed under each age group. I need to figure it out. Maybe reading a few publisher descriptions will help clear things up. So that will bring it from 280 to 140 publishers.

I will cross-reference the publishers of the age groups, to the subject index. Adventure? Animal? Fantasy? That should narrow it down more.

I will read the description of the publishers, and cross them off if an agent is needed. I'll make sure my story would be something they'd be interested in. Happy, sigh, another narrowed down list. With that list, I'll search what they've previously published. Do they have books that are in the style that I envision mine to be? Are they too conservative for a book that is set in the bathroom?

I'm sure I can find a publisher who would be thrilled to read my story. Aren't you excited?! You get to be here when I get the news of acceptance or rejection! What happens if my story is rejected, you ask? Well, I review any helpul information the publisher might send with the big, fat, no. Then I will send out my story to the next publisher on the list.

Oh, and what if the first publisher sends it back wanting to publish my story? I will say, 'thank you please send me the contract.' Don't worry, I'll read the fine print. (After I stop jumping around in my gleeful happy dance.)

The Toilet Monster Update

I've been working on The Toilet Monster for some time now. I thought I'd share some of it with you to give you a taste. When published it would be fully illustrated, so imagine some awesome pictures with a fun-loving nature...


The Toilet Monster

Last week, my friend told me about the monster in the toilet. He said it hides when you’re going, then it attacks you when you flush! He said you have to flush and run!

“Watch out for it, Sam!” he told me. “The monster is stinky, slimy, huge, and green with ugly yellow eyes. It has big sharp teeth and hides in the pipes. It comes out right after the water whooshes!” he said. He’s four months older than me, so he must know.

I tried it out later that day. I flushed and ran away as fast as I could! The monster didn’t catch me! I figured he must be right, so every time I flushed, I ran. It worked pretty well all week.

Today I told my big brother, Anthony, about the monster and how it hides in the pipes and comes out after the whoosh. After all, I didn’t want him to be attacked!

“Have you ever seen it?” he asked.

“No!” I exclaimed, “That’s why I’m still alive!”

“Alright, calm down, Sam.” he said. “Sam, if it’s so big, then how can it fit through the pipes in the toilet?” he asked.

“Well, it shrinks to fit in the pipes, and then when it comes out to attack it gets huge again.” I said.

Then Anthony asked, “If it lives inside the toilet, how does it breathe?”

I hadn’t thought about that. I said, “I don’t know, but it must have gills like a fish, or something.”

“Before anyone told you about a monster, did one ever try to eat you after you flushed the toilet?” he asked.

I thought about it. “Well, no. Maybe he just moved into the neighborhood?” I suggested weakly.

I sighed. I wasn’t sure if there was a monster or not. I decided I needed to know. I moved closer then looked back hoping Anthony would tell me to stop, but instead, he motioned to do it. Flush the toilet. I stood in front of the toilet. I looked at the water. Maybe there wasn’t a monster, but if there was, I’d be eaten alive.


Well, there you have it! Will Sam survive the flushing?? Will his brother's name still be Anthony next week's revisions? You'll have to stay tuned to find out!

Balance With 10 Minutes

I feel I'm beginning to find some balance between the responsibilities I have in my home and writing stories. I'll be working on my stories for at least 10 minutes a day. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's like cleaning a room for 10 minutes. I decide to clean a mirror, after it's clean, I wipe a spot off the wall, then I clean the floor, then take out the garbage. That's how it is for writing. I can stop after 10 minutes if I need to, but I need to dedicate time otherwise, laundry will rule the day.

By the end of this month I plan to send my manuscript or letter for "Toilet Monster" to a publisher. I've tweaked it once again, and I'm feeling significantly more confident. It's exciting and at the same time I am feeling like a very, very small fish in a very, very big pond.

I have found I don't want to label myself just yet. It might be fun to write for an older audience too. It's time for experimentation! Here's a part of tonight's "10 minutes":


Dreams
I used to have the same dreams about once a month; witches that hunt me, a flood whirling around my house boat, alligators that bite off my legs, an anonymous dark figure who watches everything I do while I’m oblivious. I figured everyone has crazy dreams. I never thought in all my wildest dreams, that they were premonitory.


Maybe I'll continue that story in my next 10 minute session. Happy reading!