It's April 15th, tax day! This is what it looked like out the truck window this evening. Snow! We've had several days of snow/sleet/rain. Typical spring weather. I need to get back into blogging. Since I wrote my last blog post, I've finished the rough draft of my book and I've started writing the sequel. My friends at iwritenetwork.com have kept me motivated. I've recently joined an online critique group, so I'll finally get some feedback. Fun stuff!

Writing Tip #2
I've learned a lot since joining twitter. One writing tip that has helped me is called the pomodoro technique for time management. It's very simple. Set the kitchen timer for 25 minutes and write. When the dinger dings, set the timer for 5 minutes and do something different. Get out of the chair, put clothes in the washer, whatever. But after 5 minutes, get back to writing for another 25 minutes. It works! I've been able to stay on task for 25 minutes at a time and progress through the first edit of my WIP. This technique will work for anything you have to do. The 5 minute break makes all the difference. Here's a picture of my son with his horse, Sparky, taken last August in our back pasture. It has nothing to do with writing, but I like it. :-)  

Writing Tip #1

I've learned so much by reading other writers' blogs. Now it's my turn to post writing tips. My first tip has to do with my favorite writing tool: my Alphasmart. It's so convenient to use. I take it everywhere. One of my favorite places to write is in bed at night. I type with my eyes closed and ideas flow. When I'm writing a scene and need inspiration to write dialogue, I just grab the Alphasmart and get to work. The trick seems to be that I can't see more than four lines of type at one time so I'm not distracted by the whole page. I can't copy and paste--so I just write. Later, I download the file to my computer and edit what I've written. If you don't have an Alphasmart you could try typing with the monitor turned off or wear a cap pulled down over your eyes. Your fingers won't get lost on the keyboard because there are little bumps on the "j" and "f" keys. Try it for fun.

January 13, 2010

I finished the rough draft of my story for the LDS Publisher's contest. What a hoot! I never thought I'd write a story that takes place in a Book of Mormon setting. I enjoyed the challenge. My story has almost 6,000 words--I was having too much fun. I'll have to trim it down to 5,000. Here's Dave snowboarding on the slope behind our pasture last weekend.

January 13, 2010

I've come up with names for the characters in my Book of Mormon short story. They'll do for now. I can always change them later if I need to. :-) So I'm off and running with the first scene. This was the rosey sunrise this morning taken from my front porch.

I took this picture of the horses this morning. It was a foggy, frosty day in the Bear Lake Valley. I'm excited about the Book of Mormon short story contest on the LDS Publisher's blog. I already have a main character, a setting and a plot. Creating appropriate fictional names has been a challenge--and names are very important in defining character. I've never tried to write a story that takes place in a Book of Mormon setting. It makes studying the scriptures fun.

It's Thanksgiving and I have so much to be thankful for--including Stolen Christmas. My short story, "Christmas Joy Ride" is included in this anthology of LDS short stories. It's available at Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Christmas-Other-Stories-Season/dp/1931858160/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259034406&sr=8-12

What happens when you're so poor you have to steal your Christmas presents? Have you ever taken a punch in the face as your Christmas gift to the girl you love? Or saved Christmas while hunting were-weevils? These award-winning Christmas stories are the best of the best from the LDS Publisher Christmas Story Contests. From Christmases past, to present, to future; from sweet and inspirational, to zany and delightful-there's a story for everyone in this eclectic collection. Seventeen stories to celebrate the season, from Sarah M. Eden, Tristi Pinkston, Joyce DiPastena, Christine Thackeray, Don Carey, and more. Including me!