"Writing Thoughts"

"The function of the writer is to comment upon life as he/she sees it." (F. Norris)

A successful creative endeavor, shouldn't be measured by a product, but by the change it stirs in the creator. The creative process is not just putting pen to paper or brush to canvas, often it's during the downtime that the best ideas float to the surface. (Barringer)


Relax, take a walk, or just be.

Sherry

Environmental Picture Books

Are you looking for an environmental theme to read to a little one at bedtime or maybe for story time at school? Check out my two picture books: Hopper and Where Are Wini's Feeler's at www.smashwords.com




Hopper's theme is saving our forest.

Where Are Wini's Feeler's theme is the use of pesticides.


Use them as learning tools to help our children better understand the importance of protecting our environment.

Have a great day.

Sherry/www.treehugger-peninhand.blogspot.com

January's End

Hi all,

What a year 2011 was for my writing. I finished my YA novel, edited it, and sent it out into the world. And, I have two ebooks on Smashwords. Writing is hard. It's kind of like caring a baby for nine months then laboring the pain of birth. I wanted to quit many times. Frustration with plot and structure, character development was huge. Sometimes, I wouldn't write for a week or two. I felt as though I was punishing the whole damn process. But, eventually I would pick my pen and paper up and continue on. Writing has to run in your veins if you want to be successful. Practice. Practice. Practice. I wake up in the middle of the night and change plots and add new ones. I think about my story at work, in the car, walking the dogs, even in the shower. So what, if all those agents I queried say: not a bad story, but not for our agency. That's okay. It's their job to be picky. Is my story the next big thing. Hell no. Is my story going to make it to the top list for 2012. Hell no. But, what I've come to terms with is that I LIKE MY STORY. After all, to form a story out of nothing is a magical thing. I gave breath to a new world with people I care about. As a writer, that's important.

At January's End, I'm very proud of myself for reaching my goal with my first YA. Yeah for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, back to work on book two.

Happy writing,
Sherry/treehugger-peninhand.blogspot.com

Rejection Trivia

When your down and blue over all those rejection letters remember some of the more famous books that were passed up many times by otherwise savvy agents and editors. Keep in mind that this is a very short list of authors and their books.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig, was rejected 121 time. The book went on to sell over three million copies.

A Time to Kill, by John Grisham's first book.

Clan of the Cave Bear, by Jean M. Auel's first book.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John Le Carre'

The First Wives Club, by Olivia Goldsmith

Keep writing. Never give up. Keep your spirits high.

Sherry/treehugger-peninhand.blogspot.com

The Refusal

With each NO that arrives in the mail, comes the human experience of doubt in the writer's soul.
I read the following words from James and Dubus the other day. I found it to be worth sharing.

I am in full possession of accumulated resources. I have only to use them, to insist, to persist, to do something more. To do much more than I have done. The way to do it . . . is to strike as many notes, deep, full, and rapid as one can. Go on, my boy, and strike hard. Try everything, do everything, render everything. Be an artist, be distinguished, to the last. (Henry James)

All these truths and quasi-truths . . . about publishing are finally ephemeral. What is demanding and fulfilling is writing a single word, trying to write le mot juste, as Flaubert said; writing several of them, which become a sentence. When a writer does that, day after day, working alone with little encouragement, and with discouragement flowing in the writer's own blood, and with an occasional rush of excitement . . . the treasure is on the desk. If the manuscript itself, mailed out to the world, where other truths prevail, is never published, the writer will suffer bitterness, sorrow, anger, and more despair. But the writer who endures and keeps working will finally know that writing the book was something hard and glorious, for at the desk a writer must try to be a better human being than the writer normally is, and to do this through concentration on a single word, and then another, and another. This is splendid work, as worthy and demanding as any and the will and resilience to do it are good for the writer's soul.



Have faith in yourself and your writing.

Sherry/treehugger-peninhand.blogspot.com

"Move Quickly"

When writing for children, remember, this is an audience not known for patience. To keep their interest, your story should move along quickly. When your story lags, you'll lose that young reader to a faster medium like games, movies, or watching T.V.
Make each word count with strong verbs. Less is better

Sherry/treehugger-peninhand.blogspot.com

Writing Update-Purple Dog

Just a short excerpt from the YA I'm working on.

Jesse crossed Maple Street in second gear. He hadn't said a word, and neither had Pepper. Charlie's words had shaken them. What did he mean, activate her mom's bracelet? And they would take her? It was obvious, Charlie had become obsessed.

Jesse glanced at his watch. Four-thirty. "Shit," he said, turning his ball cap backwards. "We need to hurry up and get home. We don't have much time."

Pepper sat stiff against the window. Her arms, crossed under her breast like she was mad. But he knew she wasn't.

With a quick flick of his finger, Jesse turned the wipers on high, hurling snow high into the crisp night air. "Penny for your thoughts," he said, trying to break the somber mood.

Pepper tilted her head back against the seat. A slight smile wrinkle her lips as she scooted closer to him. "What would I do without you," she whispered, snuggling her face into his broad shoulder.

"Like I've said before, let's not find out," he answered. "We're a team. We take care of each other. Right?"

Pepper relaxed with the warmth of Jesse's body. The slow hum of the truck's engine slowed her breath, calming her nerves. She wasn't fully convinced that Charlie was telling all he knew. In her wildest dreams, she would've never imagined what was about to happen tonight at the cave. She squeezed Jesse's arm. "Right."

At exactly seven o'clock, Dee Dee rang Pepper's doorbell. "Hey, you guys in there?" She wasn't one for patience.

Pepper had barely opened the front door, when Dee tore by her, throwing her down jacket and backpack onto the couch. Her face, flushed with excitement. "Well, I'm drunk with the thought of seeing them. What time is the landing?"

Have a great day!

Sherry/treehugger-peninhand.blogspot.com