See You in September

It is September of the year 2010. This is important, for two reasons. Firstly, today marks the 9 year anniversary of my Greggory Handsome proposing to me, "Will you be my wife?" Yes, 9 years ago I became engaged. Betrothed. I remember everything about that day, which is a blog post on in its own. But I must moving along, because the second reason today is important is because it marks the one year mark month in which I began writing my first novel.

Well, technically I began on the 23rd of this month last year, and so, it has not been a full year - which I am clinging to, because I swore it would not take this long. I will finish prior to the official year mark. In fact, if I am able to stick with the deadline I made for myself months ago, will finish tomorrow. Yes. Tomorrow, September 2nd is the big day. Rough draft #1 will be finished. It should be around 70,000 words and the introduction to the story that my dear Brennan Brave and Liam Noble have inspired, and for which the book has been entitled with their namesakes: The Adventures of the Brothers Brave & Noble: The Existence.

The majority of characters were named and invented by Brennan, and I could never had told the story without his and Gregg's help. I'm not sure of the future for this story. Perhaps it will just be a family treasure. I do know, however, that finally making a disciplined practice of writing for the last year has changed my life. I really believe it's something God planned for me to do. I function best when that part of me is let out to play and dream and create daily. I am a writer.

So! With finishing the 1st draft tomorrow, I thought it would be fun to start putting some of my journal entries on the process and thoughts of this story up on the old blog. And I do mean OLD - I can't believe it's been so long! I look forward to it :)

From under the kitchen table,

clh

Brennan and Jack on the Phone

Brennan and his cousin, Jack, got to talk to each other on the phone tonight. Their conversation had me cracking up:

BRENNAN: Hi Jack!

JACK: Hi Brennan!

BRENNAN: I got the Speed Racer movie...from the grocery store.

JACK: Oh, ...I got dehydrated.

BRENNAN: Yeah, I remembered you were having the flu.

JACK: Yeah.

BRENNAN: Hey, can I tell you a knock knock joke?

JACK: Okay!

BRENNAN: Knock knock?

JACK: Who's there?

BRENNAN: Pizza.

JACK: What?

BRENNAN: I said "pizza".

JACK: Pizza who?

BRENNAN: Pizza potato!

JACK: (laughing) You're funny.

BRENNAN: (laughing) Yeah. I made up that joke.

JACK: Oh yeah, you made up that joke?

BRENNAN: (sighing) Yeah. Just now.

New Year New Traditions

Well it's a New Year and we had a really fun time ringing it in with the celebration of our Savior coming to Earth and excellent times together as a family and with friends. This Holiday season I read a book called Unplugging the Christmas Machine -it's all about bringing the joy and true reason for the Holidays back into your life and not letting yourself get wrapped up in the material commercialism of it all. It talked a lot about focusing on what you like the most about Christmas time and the traditions you want to begin and carry on with your family. This year we started some excellent Hampton Christmas Traditions. Here are some photos of our new favorite things for Christmas time that we'll get to look forward to each and every year: Tree decorating -my most favorite and beautiful antique decorations passed down from Mom. The lighting of the Christmas tree in Atlantic Station downtown -complete with fake snow coming down! Nights of Lights at Lake Lanier -6 miles of light displays, a live nativity and a carnival with marshmallow roasting and hot chocolate. Our Advent Wreath lighting and readings (followed up with ice cream). Gingerbread Train. Handmade stockings for the boys. Visiting with grandparents and cousins in Illinois. Check out our photo albums to the left for all of our Holiday memories!

Buford Bunnies and Grannies

A friend of mine emailed me a link to a craigslist ad that was seeking an illustrator for their children's book. If interested respond with sample illustrations of a bunny and a grandmother type. So, below is what I came up with. We'll see what they think!

Query Letters and Peek-a-Poos

Well this has been a productive week. In just the past three days I have...
1-queried three literary agents
2-been declined by each of them
3-been illustrating to get Walter done by August
4-started writing EVERY day
5-became addicted to searching for a puppy on the internet

Watch out ambition -here I come! So in the literary world, in case you didn't know, first you write your story. Next you find an agent so that they can market you to publishers, but in order to get representation from an agent you have to write what is called a Query Letter. Which reminds me, I need to add to the list of things I've done this week, "developed a hatred for query letters."

In your query letter you give them a one paragraph rundown of your book, like a synopsis, and a one paragraph rundown on you, like a bio. In the paragraph about your book you should probably say why it's different or superb, and it should not be said in a retarded way. This is an easy enough concept to understand, but - as it turns out - it is ridiculously difficult to execute.

This morning, as my nervous breakdown was just at the very beginning of its gestation, I realized that I, the actual AUTHOR and illustrator of the book What if Walter Ate Wood?, have NO CLUE as to what makes my book a beautifully unique snowflake in the sea of identical picture books. Then, logic led me to concur that if I myself am coming up with nothing, it must be due to the fact that my book is in fact not unique or awesomely different, nor superb in any way. Leaving me with the final conclusive data that this is the reason I have not yet been offered representation. I don't sparkle. I don't grab their attention. I'm not what they're looking for.

And now my nervous breakdown is in full swing. I have an acute awareness of my chest and how it kind of seems to be pushing in on me. My brain is turned completely inward and can think on nothing but that I've probably wasted all the good agents with a dumpy query letter. You can't query them again. It's over. And who's left now?

I felt I was being seen as a pair of GAP jeans, hanging on a rack in between all the other GAP jeans. No defining characteristics. Just some denim sewn together by the same machine that sewed the other pairs together. I also worried that when I tried to step out and show how maybe I AM different and superb, I got the "irregular" tag put on me and was sent to the outlet mall. I even thought of what it would feel like to be made of denim and hang from a plastic hangar; I stared at the computer screen with my shoulders scrunched up to my ears and my arms stiffly protruding at a 45 degree angle, connecting with my inner-jean. See, I went crazy.

It was this state of mind that led me to the puppies. I informed Gregg through Facebook chat that I was "accidentally" looking at puppies for sale on the internet - he responded, "Puppies make you so happy," and he was right, they really do. Even the word: puppies. How can you say that word and not feel happy? And if you can, than you're in the bad place way worse than me. So! I registered on puppyfind.com and looked at peek-a-poo puppies all afternoon long. And I felt much better.

The week's half over. I hope that yours is as productive as mine :)

Happy Spring Time

Spring time equals twigs and chirps,
Little blue bells and confetti storms of white and pink dogwood petals.

Spring time is the cause of deep inhales and running races.
Spring time makes me think of pink cake with white frosting.

It makes me wish I could fly like the birds and bees populating the air all around me,
And it helps me remember the creativeness of God to decorate eggs of his own in a perfect shade of blue with brown speckles.

Happy Spring Time.

This is the Way Brennan Plays...

"Hey! Want to come play Ret-row Rocket Ship with me?"
(Ret-row is a super hero Brennan made up.)

Ret-row Rocket Ship is a game Brennan loves to play. He pretends he's flying a rocket ship through outer space. To play this game you need lots of random items placed in equally random areas throughout mom and dad's bedroom -and don't forget the laundry basket with a piece of cardboard inside -it's the captain's control chair!

Because he loves to play this game I find myself discovering the intricate workings of Ret-row's rocket ship all over the house. Like this arrangement here: the block, curler, baby rattle device.

And this one: the various balls nestled in a row behind pillows mechanism. The operation of which is critical for optimum rocket-ship handling.
Then there is the hinge-pin to the inner workings of any imaginary laundry basket rocket-ship: the fingernail polish/eye makeup system, which must be located beneath the fold of the quilt.

You can of course remove the fold to make additions and repairs to the fingernail polish/eye makeup system, but it is imperative the fold is replaced before engaging power to the rocket-ship.

And, On-board Weaponry...just in case.