Who's In A Box?

Strange how things happen all at once. I recently got word that I may have a story put in a Chicken Soup book (I think I posted that already?) and now I have a job writing articles for Wheat Life Magazine. It's funny...as wheat farmers we have been reading that magazine for years. I was surprised to see an ad on Craig's list for a writing position. I answered and the new editor replied.

It will be a challenge for me, as I will have to learn about things I know little about. My husband often rambles on about farm operations and markets and wheat varieties, but I don't always pay attention. (shhhhhh...dont' tell) But I do love to research and have connections to the agriculture world in several areas. I think I might be able to do it. Im going to go out of my box and give it a try.

I seem to be living outside my box a lot lately - both professionally and personally. How about you?

Pay It Forward

I was talking with my new hairdresser yesterday. She is really sweet and did a great job on my hair. I told her I was a writer. I still kind of choke on the words when I say that to someone, but I figure it's positive reinforcement for me.

Anyway, she said "Oh. My husband wants to be a writer and has written a book. Do you know a publisher that would be interested?" I hesitated for a second. Careful Jan, don't burst any bubbles. "Is it non-fiction?" I asked her. "Yeah, it's about some life lessons from his experience as a coach/teacher."

So I went on to tell her that if he doesn't have a platform......blah, blah, and so on. Then I encouraged her to have him start a blog and network with other aspiring authors. "Oh he hates blogs. All the back stabbing and weird stuff."

OK. Then I explained how a business/writing blog was different and told her my great experience meeting all of you, and how encouraging and informative it could be for him.

While I sat under the dryer she called her hubby. By the end of my appointment, I think I had her convinced. It was such a good feeling to pass on some helpful information and give back some of what has been given to me. I don't know if anything will come of it, but I intend to keep encouraging her husband through her. It's kind of like paying if forward.

Know what I mean?

Loving your comments...but...

I do enjoy all the comments that are made from my posts. You are all so supportive and I love following you as well.

But, I am exasperated with blogger! I have tried everything I know and all the tricks everyone else knows, but I can't get my comments to show. I want them to show without having to click on the comments link.

If anyone has any magic remedies, please let me know. I really want to help promote you all by having your comments and pics show up on the page.

Thanks a bunch.

Critiques can be dangerous things...or not

I submitted the first two paragraphs to Mary DeMuth's blog So You Want To Be Published. I was pleased with the critique, and thought it was very helpful. As a brand new novelist, I will take all the help I can get. I have no delusions that I am any where near ready for publication, and I humbly appreciate comments that encourage me to do better.

I will say that I have also been critiqued by some editors/authors that have only offered words of criticism without the help or encouragement. What a difference! I will admit that my attitude doesn't fare well with that kind of review.

But I have learned so much about writing and critiquing. I think I will apply it to my everyday life as well. Criticism can be a dangerous thing, and I will be more mindful in my communication to be an encourager and humble helper if I can. I will still welcome any kind of critique, and my lesson learned on all of it I hope will benefit someone else down the road.

Does that make sense?

An Interesting Weekend

I just returned from a fun filled weekend of scrapping at a Close To My Heart company regional convention. I had been looking forward to this for over a month. My daughter in law joined me, along with my 3 month old granddaughter. (We wanted to get her excited about scrapping at an early age!)It was an inspiring few days, and I have lots of new ideas to put into practice.

However, the weekend was also filled with family trauma. I had to deal with a crisis long distance while trying to enjoy myself at the convention. One of my children was in trouble and ended up checking into an in-house program to get some help. It's a year long program, one we are very familiar with and trust.

I say all that to say this - I found myself wanting to journal about it right away. It is so ingrained in me to write, I couldn't wait to get to my computer and sort out my feelings with words on a "page". I'm sure many of you can relate to that. My goal is to journal through this difficult time in hopes of putting together an article or book that might help someone else. I am going to encourage my child to do the same. Who knows what we might come up with if and when we compare notes.

I am guessing many of you have journals that you keep hidden away. I encourage you to share with those that may need to hear your experience. I personally would feel better if I knew my pain was going to benefit someone else. My prayer is that through writing it all down, I can see the good in every circumstance - with God's help.

Oh, and by the way, I have a new scrapping blog if you care to visit.
Scrapper Jan

Take a Break

Sitting here in Portland, Oregon in a hotel with my daughter in law and my baby granddaughter. We are going to a scrapbooking convention for a couple of days. It's never too early to teach those granddaughters to scrapbook! Seriously, we are excited to learn all the new stuff.

I am also taking a break for a few days from editing my WIP. I just need to get away from it. I've been putting in a lot of hours on it and feeling like I'm making no progress. So a couple of days of mad scrapping should do the trick. Too bad I cant work a scene about scrapping in my 1800's historical romance novel.

Do you suppose they scrapbooked in those days?

How many of you take a break once in a while from you WIP?

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Gather The Wind

Just wanted to direct everyone to my Simple Devotion Post this morning. It speaks to a lot of things in life, but I relate this message to my writing as well.

Check it out and see if it speaks to you.