Lake Atitlan, Panajachel, Guatemala

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Happy Holidays!

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year. Like many of you, I'll be off enjoying the festivities.





See you next year!!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Something Else for this Reclusive Writer to Hide Behind

Celery Tree now has a blog! And guess who is over there writing for it! Like I don't have enough blogs LOL, sure what's one more?  Here's the link.

And I'm not alone over there. Do you remember this photo?

See the little blonde girl with her thumb in her mouth? That is now my lovely grown daughter, Liesel DeVaul, a writer and editor, who is one of the Celery Tree founders. Stop by and say hi to Liesel and me!

And in case you're wondering what Liesel looks like now, here's a picture from her wedding, as she speaks to her grandmother. Sorry you can't see her lovely face, but this is probably how she likes it, as she is even more reclusive than I am.

Monday, December 13, 2010

As I See It: If You Want to Succeed First You Must Fail

Getting rejected is part of paying the writerly dues, the "badge of courage." My favorite rejection came from a children's magazine-- a form rejection slip mailed to me with these words hand-written on it "try again." I treasured that one *yes! I do have talent!* and it kept me going on the writing journey.

Do you ever hesitate submit your polished manuscript due to fear of rejection? I wonder how many writers are not querying right now because of not wanting to ruin the holidays with a rejection. A rejection isn't a sign of failure, it's one person's response to your work. Go back & revise if necessary, resubmit and find more people. Someone just might like it enough to say yes!

My favorite writer scene in a movie is between the dad in Back to the Future and his future son, Marty. (I paraphrase some here) --

Marty: (reading his "dad's" story) This is really good! You should get this published!

His *future* dad: (cowering) Oh no, I could never do that. I couldn't take that kind of rejection.

And then the rest of the story-- Marty helps his dad gain courage and changes the course of his parents' lives, so in the final scene (present changed forever), his dad is now a best-selling novelist opening a case of his latest book.

I LOVE THIS! It's the story of *how to get published*-- don't be afraid of rejection! Write, revise and submit. Go for it! Be fearless. So what if you get a no? There are other options out there.

I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed. Micheal Jordan 

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.  Robert F. Kennedy