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Author, BBC, Dan Gutman, Dreams, Gloria Richard, Goals, Humor, Jennifer Eaton, Middle Grade Series, Row 80 Challenge, Sherry Isaac, Snark Park, Writes
I don’t need Ancestry.com to know the man in this story swims in my dream-to-reality gene pool. Read on to discover how and why ISLE BE BACK rocked my world.
It was a cold and drizzly morning. I was in the *library* (Yes, again!) reading tidbits from Reader’s Digest when I happened across an article (Source BBC News) that resulted in a major…
Did no one else take that ellipsis for a stroll in Snark Park? Excuse the interruption, then. Carrying on:
…an article that resulted in a major epiphany.
ISLE BE BACK
Being short on navigational skills and equipment did not deter a British man from circumnavigating Great Britain. But his inadequacy as a sailor did. Keeping the coastline to his right, he spent all his fuel mistakenly circling the small isle of Sheppey, just east of London. (From BBC)
SHORT ON NAVIGATIONAL SKILLS
I could easily have titled this segment YebbitVille, but that wouldn’t offer extra points for a smooth transition, would it?
[Pausing while you place a gold star on the top right corner of your screen. Got it? Good. Thank you!]
Putting myself in the place of that misguided sailor, I pondered YebbitVille on my first row ’round the ROW80 goals. The Yebbits changed their signage with each passage, so how was I to know I was circumnavigating the same small island?
- Not perfect yet! Row round in circles.
- This ‘n That need help! Please donate time.
- Yebbit thinks you should finish X before you pursue your A.
- Your X for today is picking belly-button lint.
YebbitVille — a place between where I am to where I dream to be.
I know it well.
Sadly.
Predictably.
Thankfully. YebbitVille is a well-populated village. I always have someone to play with me on the teeter-totter.
I leave it to my intrepid writing buddy, Sherry Isaac, to inspect the cargo hold area of my Row80 goals and marvel at my progress constructively explore what went awry, and why. Sherry returns next Wednesday, the 15th.
For those of you new to this blog, Sherry, has an on-going mini-series titled Step Away from the January. For the most recent installment in the series, click here. That installment also birthed the title for this article. Thanks, Sherry!
[Waving frantically ’cause she lives in land far away called Canada–The Land of the U hogs.]
On this journey ’round the small Island, I am going to focus…
For me, that could be a complete sentence, and an achievement with its own merits.
But, wait! There’s more to that sentence this time.
On this journey ’round the small Island, I am going to focus on which of my writing projects owns my heart at the moment.
More wisdom from Sherry’s post was that we have to be flexible; to adjust our goals, our dreams.
Tough choice, because they both do.
One is a current project (a Contemporary Romance filled with snark and steam) in which I’ve emotionally invested a great deal of time developing characters and plot-lines and turning points.
Add the Dark Moment, and we have the requisite “Oh, my!” of Dorothy in Oz fame.
The second is a just-for-fun project started with my then-eleven-year-old niece.
That then-eleven-year-old niece moved on before we finished our project, and has since graduated from Carnegie-Mellon with a degree in Chemical Engineering.
Yes. I have fingers and toes, too.
I did the math. It’s a long time.
Especially if you remember to carry the one.
That just-for-fun project was a genre-challenged Middle Grade Series marketed as YA. That just-for-fun project gave birth to an eleven-year-old character (Michelle “Mitch” Madison), a team of quirky sidekicks, and a light fantasy theme.
I wrapped my arms around the pillow of that just-for-fun project dream for years. The main character still lives within my heart and imagination. She wants her story told.
“And do it properly this time,” Mitch says.
A DREAM IS A WISH YOUR HEART MAKES
,
- LITTLE RED IN HER ROOM AT PAPAW AND GLOWIEs
.
Back-in-the-day, The Middle Grade series generated heart-warming dreams.
In those dreams young fans recognized me at airports, sent copies of my book via Flight Attendant for personalized autographs, invited me to become their show-and-tell at school.
During that window of time, Little Red, my granddaughter, couldn’t yet read, but she could dream.
Yes, the wrong fairy tale is depicted in the picture above, but it accurately reflects her age when Glowie wrote the first iteration of the series.
Age and gender appropriate Beta readers validated their love for the book.
They fueled the fires of my unconsciously ignorant writer’s dream.
Ah! Those were heady-to-fame times.
So, with accolades ringing in my ears, I began the query process. The first fifty pages of my manuscript generated requests for a full.
Woot! My dream was about to become reality.
And, then…
Splat!
“Thank you for giving us the opportunity, butt…
A GOAL IS A DREAM PUT INTO ACTION
There it is.
The second half of Sherry’s wisdom on the subject of dreams.
That just-for-fun project was written before I bought a clue about the craft of novel writing.
I’ve since chucked many nickles at learning my craft, and permitted many dust bunnies to play on the box containing that manuscript.
Fast forward to today. Little Red has grown taller, but she still runs to me for a hug when she visits.
Little Red asked me a year ago about the book I was writing for “kids her age.”
I told her a wee bit about it, and assured her it was NEXT UP when I finished my current project.
Six months ago, Little Red came to me during a family get-together, purple post-it-note in hand, and asked for the title of my book, the characters, the name of the quirky leprechaun.
If I close my eyes, I see the part in her hair as she studiously wrote what I told her on that purple snippet of paper. I asked if she wanted to be a Beta reader for my book. Once I explained the term, she accepted. Big grin time for both of us.
Ka-thunk in the chest time for me.
At Christmas, I handed Little Red a wrapped package–obviously a book.
I didn’t understand the smile on her face until she opened the package and simply said, “thank you, Glowie.”
I don’t know if she’ll read the book I gave her. I don’t know if she’ll like it or love it.
And, it honestly doesn’t matter to me.
Because I didn’t give her the book she dreamed about.
The book I dreamed about.
For those moments between knowing she held a book, and the stark reality that it wasn’t Glowie’s book, Little Red’s face had that look of expectation I’d seen so often in my dreams.
That’s when my teeter got off the totter.
Contemporary Romance will always be there.
I will not always have a Little Red in my life dreaming about the day she gets to show her friends the manuscript entrusted to her for a Beta read.
.
DON'T DALLY, GLOWIE! I'M ON MY WAY TO ELEVEN-YEARS-OLD.
.
As if those events weren’t enough to push my tush into rewrite-the-Middle-Grade mode…
Jennifer Eaton recently posted a book review featuring a video of her son critiquing The Genius Files Mission Impossible by Dan Gutman. Click here to read that witty post and view the video.
He loved it.
Sure, I listened to all the reasons why it hit a nerve in his eleven-year-old reader’s heart.
I made notes.
But, it was the energy, the look in his eyes, the smile on his face that caused me to pause and think…
I want that.
I want to unleash Michelle “Mitch” Madison in my imagination while that dream is fresh in my heart.
So, Little Red? This book’s for you!
Okay. I’m a cross between all choked up and all stoked up to write again this morning. Writer’s dream. I know it. You know it. Please share your dreams, your achievements, your AHAs, your own visits to YebbitVille, whatever. I LOVE to hear from you guys. Like Sherry said in her recent post. I’m needy that way.
Gloria Richard 
I have more than one project going at a time. I have some that won’t LEAVE me alone as they swirl around in my head complaining that I only have notes about them. (Was that a run-on? They are surely allowed in comments.) Oh, Glowie, I love the story and pics of Little Red. Why can’t you have it all?
You’re right (of course). I don’t have to abandon one friend to spend time with another.
Better stated — but too late to change now — is that I can’t just tell the MG to “shut up and sit down” while I finish my current project.
Michelle “Mitch” Madison and Little Red require focused attention while I plot and plan and ponder. Oh, my!
Awwww, Gloria, you put tear in my eyes. You sentimental you!
Your Little Red is one little beauty. I understand your motivation, and it’s the best out there. So yes, push your tush into high gear and if you need a DE partner, wave this way!
Yeah, when it comes to Little Red, I am a sentimental gloopster. I look at her and wonder what I did to deserve such a precious person in my life.
The same applies to my step-children and grandson and friends and that then-eleven-year-old-niece.
You’re part of my gratitude list, Carole. Whatever, I’ve done to deserve special people in my life, I hope to keep it going.
And, yes. You have been added to the DE list.
As always Gloria, you give pause to thunk of the dream our hearts wished a moon-shine ago 🙂 Little Red is a great looking kid by the way.
I have the habit of working on more than one story each month, alternating the new work with a much needed edit or revision of an older work. This month, my BETA reader and I are preparing one of my children for her maiden voyage into cyber space. Not my first born, this gal will take with her my precious dreams from the ether pumped into my head, to the reality of my hard work produced through my heart.
Keep working on your story and when the time is right let her travel through space and time to a place where dreams come true 🙂
Well said, Florence.
My dream is that we both meet success when our precious babies launch into cyberspace.
PINGING good vibes from my site to yours for the “gal” produced through the hard work of your heart.
Gloria, the road you travel from point A to point B is long and twisted, but Damn! It is a fun and worthwhile (and this time, sentimental) journey.
It could be that Mitch’s time has come. The fantasy element is so hot right now, and your middle-grade audience is likely more receptive to quick-witted snark than they were when the idea first brewed in your mental coffee pot.
Yup. I am now close personal friends with Pam, the local B/N children’s section sales associate. I know the market is hot for them at the moment.
Which is a fluke for me b/c I wrote this one so many years ago and it was written because it’s what I WANTED to write at the time rather than written to the market.
Mitch and her crew took me places I hadn’t thought about. Better yet, they have a penchant for putting themselves in situations that scream for humor hits.
I’m far from a meany, but I DO love putting my characters in awkward situations.
What a sweetheart, lil Red is!
Gloria, I’m so glad we’re on this journey together. We need to hold hands lest we drift off.
I started writing a historical, then moved on to paranormal, then increased the sexual heat with a novella and now I’m fasincated with the thrillers course I’m taking.
This is not a straight road we journey, but is full of forks and bends and road blocks. Still, I would not want to wander a different road.
Sounds like you need to take a turn and write that YA novel, and that’s exactly the road you need to travel. Go for it, don’t worry, got your hand!
I won’t argue with you about your “what a sweetheart” comment, Sharon.
I, too, am glad we’re on this journey together. It’s a twisted road–a career that takes us on as many paths as our characters create unanticipated plot twists in our novels.
YUP! The MG gets attention now so I have some polished pages to wrap for my Beta Reader on her 11th birthday.
Once the MG voices settle back in my noggin’, I suspect I’ll keep both projects active until both are complete.
Thanks for visiting and MWAH! for commenting, Sharon.
Settling down to a write a book is always a wondrous endeavor, both egregious and incredible, but I can imagine how it must mean all the more when you have someone as special as your Little Red in mind when writing. To think of her, and to have her joy’s smile lighting up your dark moments when the vision just won’t manifest on the page properly, it is a wonderful thing indeed. I have no doubt you will tell a beautiful story, made all the more enchanting by your devotion to your sweet daughter.
Blessings,
Cara
Cara! Thanks so much for visiting. I don’t know how you found me, but I am glad you did.
Your words? They’re imbedded in my brain (somewhere–they keep hopping around) when I hit those dark moments–when the scene simply won’t unfold.
BONUS! Your visit took me on a cruise over to yours. LOVELY site, and your voice is emotive, literary and compelling. I loved the excerpt you recently posted.
Well, Gloria, the feeling is entirely mutual! And I found you by way of Jennifer Eaton’s blog. Perusing the comments left on the blogs I follow is actually my favorite way of finding new ones to follow. I’ve found that, for the most part, we invested bloggers tend to clump together 🙂 I don’t need to tell you this, but there is nothing more satisfying than coming to find that someone has not only read, but also taken the time to leave you their thoughts, how they were personally affected. My husband says that writers have the upper-hand when it comes to doing this, though. I have to agree. Brevity is not our strong suit, eh? Nor a disingenuous remark 🙂
Thank you — you are so kind! — for leaving such thoughtful comments and compliments. I appreciate them more than you know.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
Cara
You know me, Gloria, I’m an over-achiever-dreamer. My goals list looks like an insurmountable mountain. Keep dreaming and keep striving to keep going on any one of your endeavors. I have faith in you!
Thanks, Jessica! You proved perseverance and focus pay off with the SOON-TO-BE-LAUNCHED debut novel of THE Jessica Aspen! Cheers to you and Little Red Riding Wolf.
Keep dreaming is a given.
Keep striving is a given. The trick there is NOT to row in circles. To focus and to keep moving forward.
Thanks for your vote of confidence. Guess what? I have faith in me, too!
Awe! This is so sweet! I just called Eric out, and he read what you thought of his review. Big Grins from my little guy!
Honestly, I started writing a MG novel over a year ago for my son, but I abandoned it because I was “pantsing it” and wasn’t sure where I was going. My kids will be graduating college before I finish it. Unfortunately for me, I cannot work in more than one world at a time. I emotionally invest myself in something, and I lose myself in it.
I need to finish the three other projects that are important to me before I get back to this… unless I can decide why those little creatures are running around my house terrorizing the bugs in the middle of the night. Geez, what I whacky mind I have.
By the way… if you wnat a middle-grade beta-reader…. Eric devours full length novels for breakfast. (Not kidding)
I was so HOPING Eric would volunteer to be a Beta reader for my series. I need a guy’s point of view.
You see, the MC is a girl. A snarky, precocious, bossy girl. And, one of her sidekicks is a boy with attitude.
I’ll send the official Beta reader invitation when the first part is ready.
His offer adds another level of urgency. What if I don’t get new copy to him in time? What if he has to read the back of cereal boxes at breakfast?
ARGH! The pressure!
As for two projects at once, both of these manuscripts are alive to me. I never stopped thinking about the Middle Grade fantasy. Michelle “Mitch” Madison is as active in my imagination as she was when I created her.
Gloria,
The hope when reaching out to another author — or another person in general — is that they might be as interested in you as you are in them. When I came to your blog, I knew immediately I was in the midst of talent and authenticity. You are rare. Even though communication is limited my words happens, you — especially those who express themselves best with prose — can glean a sense of who someone is by their words, and by the comments they leave to others. To each person who took the time to tell you what your words meant to them, you equally took that time to say thank you. Not with those words per se, but with something more. You are a special lady, which I am hopeful you already are aware of.
I am honored that you found something in my writing worth commenting on. It gives me a bold burst of encouragement, and the something I need to stay strong in what is very honestly becoming a frightening place for writers.
I am so glad to know you, to have had the chance to read a little about who you are and what you’re doing.
Blessings,
Cara
Good morning, Cara!
You tip-toed in here to comment while I was busy world-building in my dreams. Real sleepy-time dreams. Not the daydreams in which I love to indulge.
Our voices (IMHO) are at opposite ends of the spectrum — or, close to it. That adds another layer to my reading and writing day.
The common thread, as I see it, is that we share an interest in people, a need to put words on the page, and all the insecurities that come with exposing our inner selves in life and out there in that challenging world of publishing.
I have no doubt you’ll meet with success. BELIEVE!
Good morning, to you, too!
I hope you slept well! I certainly did — once I was asleep, that is. I’m sure this is probably happened to you: a dialog starts to play out in your mind and if you don’t write it down RIGHT NOW, you just know you will lose it all. I put the book I was reading down 3 times before I could finally say, “Okay, that’s all of it.” LOL. Btw: (I love sharing what books I’m reading with other authors. Feel free to send recs my way!) the book is “Princess of the Midnight Ball” by Jessica Day George. It’s a Younger Adult novel, which I am not normally fond of, but it was recommended by another author I admire, so i thought I would give it a try. I’m only a few chapters in, but am enjoying her voice very well surprisingly.
Speaking of voices . . . May I ask what IMHO stands for? And how do you figure we are at opposite ends of the spectrum? Just curious. I’m going to go search for a piece of yours so I might get an idea myself 🙂
“The common thread, as I see it, is that we share an interest in people, a need to put words on the page, and all the insecurities that come with exposing our inner selves in life and out there in that challenging world of publishing.” I absolutely agree with this. You so elegantly strung together the elusive “Thing” that evades me when I’m fighting to remember why I write. Now it is your words embedded in my mind. Thank you.
Hey, Cara! I looked for you on Twitter. IMHO stands for In My Humble Opinion.
One of the downsides of TWITTER? I have to get my thoughts across in 140 characters max. I’ve become quite familiar with acronyms as a result of that.
SO glad we made the connection.
I love it! I’m going to work on Kyle’s Story along with Awakening and we will be in Middle Grade heaven together!
Woo-Hoo, Lori! I am so excited about this project getting off the ground. As soon as I have the basics down, I’ll likely flip back-and-forth between WIPs. LOVED your post this morning. Takes again for the Lieber Blog award.
This post was just awesome. I love the way that you wrote it, and it was so entertaining! Good luck with all of your goals, and I hope that you’re able to finish everything you set out to complete. We all get held back at some point, but you just have to push past those obstacles and get to the finish line. I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll get there. Happy writing!
Hi Gloria, I so relate to your “just for fun” project. When I was in grade 8 I dreamt up a fantasy world that I have never been able to forget. It has always been my intention to turn this idea into a novel (perhaps a series) but never seem to be able to find the time. Grade 8 was nearly 10 years ago (I can’t believe it has been this long). Your post has inspired me. Perhaps it’s time that I picked this silly-little-idea up again. Who knows what it could become.
I don’t know if it was your intention that I should find this post, but thank you for directing me towards your scrapbook page. I really enjoy your writing style. Your voice comes through so clearly. Looking at the dates, I see this was written almost a year ago. I’m curious how the project is going?
I saw a reply you posted on synchronicity, but then it disappeared. Regardless, synchronicity certainly rings some bells for me. I’m really beginning to notice some of its effects in my life. Believing an understanding how the universe workd through attraction is frustrating sometimes. The other day I woke up in a little bit of a bad mood, and on my way to school my hat ended up falling off my head without me noticing (it was loose fitting). I was so angry, not because I lost it (although that was part of it) but because I knew that I attracted that experience into my life. If I had been in a good mood, the hat never would have fallen off. The universe is a funny thing.