Just thinking about my decisions and priorities over the years. I’ve loved writing since elementary school and had notebooks full of stories as proof. But when it was time to declare my undergrad major, a penchant for numbers and a preoccupation with dollar signs attracted me to business and specifically Accounting. By that time writing was a nice hobby but I didn’t even consider it as a career, a profession. So now fast forward more than a decade later and those dollar signs have lost their appeal, my childhood passion and dreams have been renewed and I’m thinking maybe I should have majored in English or gone to grad school for Creative Writing  instead of HR Development. But the past is the past and all I can do now is immerse myself in the gift of the present and the promise of the future. 

Had the opportunity to do one of my favorite things this weekend…curl up with a good book! More than a hour of uninterrupted time with a book and I’m singing “Oh happy day!” I was psyched to slip away to the library and peruse the new arrivals shelf. My pulse literally quickens at the sight of a shelf of books. I crave books like a pregnant woman craves…anything. As usual I walked out balancing a stack of books…I always forget to bring a bag. Looking forward to devouring my literary treats over the next few weeks…just have to make sure I check those due dates. I love my public library!:-)

Just read an article about employers using a potential candidate’s blog as a sort of character study. Essentially what you post in your blog could be the difference between “You’re hired” and “We’ve chosen another candidate.” So somehow that got me to thinking about the whole “Following” thing. How does one go about amassing followers? Do you recruit, blog plug….? I still consider myself fairly new to the blogosphere, I only began my first blog Barnabas Blessings (plug?) in June of last year. I’ve noticed that one can choose to follow a blog publicly or anonymously so maybe I have readers admiring from afar..LOL. Either way, I write to clear my mind, to remember and along the way hopefully connect with and encourage someone else. Three cheers for blogging!:-)

I’m mulling over what my next moves should be. I have so many ideas in my head and about four stories outlined and started.
So I’m thinking I will definitely submit something for WD’s next writing competition coming up in May. Then there’s also writing classes. I’m still receiving letters from the Institute of Children’s Literature. I took one of those “Be a children’s writer” aptitude tests and received a lovely letter informing me of a passing score and praising my great potential. Of course the realization of this potential was dependent upon a $600(?) correspondence course with a writing mentor. The financial outlook at the time made it a no-go although the importance of writing education was not lost on me. Just not sure I want to write for just children though and I have to do a bit more research on the school…I can be a bit of skeptic at times. Of course now the question becomes where can I get the most bang for my buck, the search for reputable writing programs and classes will be a post for another day. Finally I can’t ignore the self-publishing route that seems to be a trend these days. A college friend, MB Parker (see the link to her site on the left) self-published her debut novella “A Debt Too Deep.” She’s a great writer and so graciously gave her time & expertise to critique a very, very rough draft of an idea with which I’m still deciding what to do.
In some ways I’m so conventional…follow these rules, these steps, this system…but it seems with writing and publishing there’s no one way to do it and sometimes unconventional can be good.

I’ve received my first rejection of sorts. I submitted two short stories for Writer’s Digest (WD) short story competition back in December. Winners1 through 25 were to be notified by Feb. 12 and… I guess they misplaced my number. I was the tiniest bit bummed Friday evening but was quickly cheered by the reality that it was my first writing competition since the 5th grade (I still have my Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Writing in a frame). So I’m motivated to keep going, I can at least say I have added to my short story collection.

I’ve lived through the Great Blizzard of 2010, Snow-maggedon, Snow-pocalypse…Five days of confinement to the comfort of my home. A great opportunity to start this blog, connect with other writers and do some serious writing….or so I thought. TV, Facebook, laundry, a snowball fight with the hubby and little one…I did everything but write. So much for my goal of writing everyday. Well the snow-cation is officially over and I’m back on track–better late than never!