Saturday Morning at my House (Creative Essay)

Mind the clutter on the coffee table. 


Welcome to my Saturday morning.


It’s 8 o’clock AM, and my husband and I won’t go out today because of the ice and sleet from yesterday and the potential snow today. It’s a good excuse, anyhow.

We lounge in the living room under low light. The fake fireplace and a piney Woodwick candle create ambience. Tony Bennett sings “Darn that dream” and we chuckle at the song’s quaint language. Chucky sits on the edge of the cluttered coffee table, managing to knock only one thing down.

The coffee today is from Burundi, home roasted and ground, and I can taste notes of lemon, cooked apples, and spice. Tony Bennett has segued into a mellow jazz tune. 

I’m in my writing corner on the loveseat typing this. When I’m done I will go back to my developmental edits, which are going smoother than I thought. Today is an enforced retreat day, for which I’m grateful.

Twitter as #writingcommunity (Personal development, Social Media for Writers)

Oh, that’s how you do Twitter!
I just wanted to announce that I’ve figured out Twitter. I even pinned a tweet!



#writingcommunity is my Favorite Place
I have fallen in love with Twitter, especially the #writingcommunity.

Why have I fallen in love with #writingcommunity?
#writingcommunity Twitter is different than mainstream Twitter (although I don’t have much knowledge of other specialty Twitters). It’s surprisingly social. Some of the discussion is about writing, but some of it is simply “tell me how your day went.”  It uplifts, commiserates, and makes people laugh.

One of the activities in #writingcommunity is following each other.There are two reasons: one of the purposes of Twitter for writers is to add to one’s “writer’s platform” or media presence. One of the things many publishers and agents ask is about your writing platform, because that means potential buyers for your book. The more important part, though, is the interaction I mentioned above. 

Is #writingcommunity for you?
If you’re a writer or an aspiring writer, a thousand times yes! Think about it — you have thousands of people who are good with words. Playing with words is a natural consequence. You have people with writing as a commonality; they’ll talk about writer’s block and rejection.

Comparisons (Personal Development)

Wandering the Twitterverse:
I’m spending time on Twitter building my social network there (#Writercommunity is a good start). It’s a great place for encouragement and commiseration and celebration

But there are dangers. I’m an author who has written five books and

haven’t yet gotten an agent or sold one to a publisher, and I refuse to self-publish because the average self-publisher sells 250 books at latest count. 

There are people on Twitter who have agents, who have books traditionally published, who have awards, who have 41k followers on Twitter. In other words, people much more successful than I am. 

It’s hard not feeling inferior. Or bitter. All the ugly emotions that I don’t want to bring into the Twitterverse because people are so nice there.

Comparing yourself to others is toxic. 
Those negative feelings are the result of comparing myself to others, always the more successful ones. This creates a toxic inner voice that says, “why aren’t you as good as them? You should be better. You should try harder.”

Or ” You might as well give up. You don’t have a chance. You should never have been a writer.”

Either way, I don’t like the person I’m listening to. I want to hide from the Twitterverse, from people, from my cats (who don’t care as long as I feed them).

My solution
First, I take a short break from Twitter and have a good talk with that toxic inner voice. Cognitive journaling (Check out this link; )Ragnarson, 2019)) helps with the cognitive distortions I experience. For example, “You don’t have a chance” is an example of furtune-telling, and I know I can’t predict the future (or I wouldn’t be in this mess anyhow). 

Then I go back on Twitter and celebrate those who are successful. I know I would like it if people celebrated me. If there’s such a thing as good karma, I would like to have a piece of it.

Finally I celebrate myself, because I know I’ve come a long way. 

Reference:
Ragnarson,R. (2019). Cognitivejournaling: A systematic method to overcome negative beliefs. https://medium.com/better-humans/cognitive-journaling-a-systematic-method-to-overcome-negative-beliefs-119be459842c [Available: January 9, 2020)



Part 2 Developmental Edit (Personal Development)




“That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
After a certain amount of hyperventilating at the sheer length of the developmental edit notes, I took a deep breath and dipped my toe into the first chapter. It really wasn’t bad with a two-screen setup so I could go back and forth between comments and book. I made it halfway through the second chapter before my eyes started bleeding. Only 29 chapters to go.

Procrastination is not my friend
Honestly, I’m my own worst enemy with these edits. It goes back to my dissertation, where I sat on a major edit for six months, because I thought I couldn’t fix it. It was easy to think that, what with comments like “why should I care about this?” I finally approached the professor who made the remarks, and she said, “Oh, that’s simple. Just explain the importance of it.” I did not respond with “Why didn’t you tell me?! because I was a lowly grad student and she was a tenured professor.

In praise of dev edits
I have a long ways to go on fixing my work in progress, but I wouldn’t go without the dev edit. I have trouble looking critically at my work — I’m either too critical or not at all, and I sometimes get overwhelmed by the sheer number of words. So I need help in the form of an educated set of eyes.

I’m looking forward to seeing more of my work blossom under edit.

Unboxing my Dev Edit (Personal Development)



I’m a bit nervy about this …
I confess — I’ve been afraid to open up that dev edit for Whose Hearts are Mountains. It’s long, it’s detailed, and I’m going to be mortally embarassed by the mistakes I’ve made.

But it doesn’t matter.
My novel deserves an opportunity to improve. It deserves to become great, not just good. And I deserve to have a better book.

Too many excuses
I’ve been avoiding reading this for four days. I had to clean my room, take a nap, write a synopsis of a poster session I want to present research in, nap some more…

But now it’s time.
I need to get the courage to dig into it and improve the story. Anna Schmidt and Daniel Ettner deserve better than to be left in the corner, their story never heard.

An Epiphany (Personal Development)

Happy Epiphany!

In the Christian calendar, today is the Epiphany, which I guess has to do with the Three Wise Men meeting Jesus. I’m nowhere near a devout Christian, so I think of this as the night some good friends hold a Twelfth Night party, complete with flaming pudding.





What is an Epiphany?
According to Wikipedia (yes, I went there) the definition of epiphany is “an experience of a sudden and striking realization.” (Wikipedia, 2020).

How to Recognize an Epiphany
Imagine you’re thinking about an issue that vexes you. Suddenly you have an “aha” and the explanation for the problem suddenly hits you. From there, a solution comes quickly.

Epiphanies take the form: “Oh, that’s why!” or “I get it now.” Or even, “Well, shit, it’s staring me in the face.”

Epiphany and the Writer
Writing is full of these sudden realizations. Insight into a character, a revelation about a story line, a clue to the action — all are epiphanies that writers cherish. Creativity and innovation come from these aha reactions. 


A Happy Epiphany!
Whether you’re a writer or not, here’s wishing you a happy epiphany!

Wikipedia (2020). Epiphany. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphany_(feeling) 
[January 6, 2020]

Putting Together my Writing Platform (Social Media for Writers)



Learning something new
I have been reading through Robert Brewer’s Guide to Literary Agents 2020 (publication date 2019), and I discovered a treasure trove of information on building one’s writing platform.

What’s a writing platform?
According to Writers’ Digest, a writing platform represents a writer’s visibility through their identity, their personal and professional connections, and social media (Carpenter, 2012). 

I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t know what a writing’ platform was when I was asked by a hybrid (traditional with self-publishing elements) publisher what my platform was. I didn’t get the contract there. 

Thirty Days to a Writers’ Platform
Brewer’s book contains a thirty-day path to your platform, I have to admit I’ve done the beginning steps already not knowing they were part of a platform. My blog, my author account on Twitter. But now I’m stepping it up. 

More about this as I get more established.

References:
Brewer, R. (2019). Guide to Literary Agents 2020. Penguin Random House. 

Carpenter, C. (2012). The Basics of Building a Writer’s Platform. Available: https://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/build-a-platform-start-blogging/building-a-writers-platform [January 5, 2020).

A Glimpse at my Novels (Literary Works)




Are you curious about what I’ve written?

I casually mention in this blog that I’ve written five novels and am working on getting an agent and getting published. I very seldom talk about what I’ve written. So here’s a list of my novels with synopses.

I will cover the ones that exist in the same universe first, in chronological order.

Gaia’s Hands
The odd couple of Jeanne Beaumont, biologist, and Josh Young, writer, follow a threat to Jeanne’s livelihood and a path of their own awakening talents. After calling forth a miracle at the collective Barn Swallows’ Dance, they must fight the conspirators who would destroy it — and possibly their lives. 

Apocalypse

Laurel Smith, a woman without a past, works as a laborer at the ecocollective Barn Swallows’ Dance, unaware of her part in a 6000-year-old myth. Adam Lee is an immortal Archetype who holds the patterns which allow Han Chinese men to survive. He’s been sent on a mission to help Laurel find her legacy and bring her memories back.

An army assembles to kill Laurel to collect on a millennia-long vendetta. Laurel’s memory loss isn’t an accident, though, and three dangerous Archetypes more ancient than even Adam are determined to keep her in the dark. If Adam and Laurel can’t collect enough allies to stop the approaching army, they will build an army to wipe out all women on Earth, and with them, all future generations of humans.

Prodigies
Grace Silverstein, an eighteen-year-old viola prodigy, flies to Poland to participate in an international assembly of prodigies. However, her hosts have hidden their plans to coerce the prodigies under a flimsy mask of hospitality. Grace’s new friend and fellow prodigy Ichirou can influence people’s emotions with his computer graphics, and they figure out that his talent is what their hosts want to capture. Grace smuggles him out of the country with the help of his chaperone and her mysterious accomplice, but their escape has not gone unnoticed.

Back in the US and under pursuit, Grace discovers her own talent of manipulating emotions through her beloved music. The chase continues as both foreign agents and Homeland Security close in on Grace and her compatriots, who uncover a terrorist plot by the prodigy organization. Grace can keep herself and her friends safe if she never reveals her gift but exposing her talent could save many more lives. Making the right decision while avoiding capture may be the hardest thing Grace has ever done—and could have long-lasting effects on the entire world.

Whose Hearts are Mountains
In Whose Hearts are Mountains, Annie Smith escapes the smoking ruins of her university and heals in a remote Canadian town, where she hears stories about a fair folk who help humans and then disappear. These tales resonate with the stories her mother told her as a child, and she seizes the opportunity to research the spread of these tales – until she comes home to find that the United States has crumbled under sectarian turmoil.

Annie chases the stories through a drastically changed landscape, and begins to experience unsettling dreams and strange phenomena. The stories lead to an oasis in the middle of the desert and a people who present mysteries. Pieces click together, and Annie finds out that her identity is tied in with the tales and with a frightening act of terrorism that only they can stop.

This next one is not in the same universe as the others:
Voyageurs
Ian Akimoto, Traveller, jumps through time from the environmental catastrophe called the Chaos to 2015 Kansas City to help Kat Pleskovich, time-jumping daredevil, solve the mystery of who wants to kill her mentor.  Soon their own lives are in danger as they piece together clues involving everything from time physics and falsified records to multiple Kats and gruesome deaths in Kat’s daredevil game Voyageurs. 
Their search reveals that a rogue time traveller broke the timeline at crucial points with a goal of winning Voyageurs with the greatest stunt of all – destroying humanity. Kat and Ian must decide whether to risk their lives toward setting the future right. 

Enjoy and give me feedback!
If you have suggestions for synopses or just want to comment on the storylines, please let me know! My email is lleachie@gmail.com.

Trying to get Twitter

So I’m trying to up my Twitter game …
My guide to building a social media platform for my writing has been challenging. I find Twitter to be overwhelming.

Ok, Boomer
I’m aware that a good part of the reason I’m overwhelmed is because I’m getting older. As much as I hate this fact, it’s unavoidable. And everything I’ve heard says that the older generation has to explain technology to the younger generation.

The overwhelming factor
What I find overwhelming is the sheer size of the Twitterverse. How do people have time to read all these posts? It seems like posting is akin to throwing the message-in-a-bottle out into the endless ocean and hoping someone sees it.

It’s not so bad, people assure me. There’s always hashtags. If you can figure out the hashtags, people will read you. If. You. Figure. Out. The. Hashtags. 

My husband just explained hashtags: You make a post; you create a hashtag. Other people notice the hashtag, and it trends, and then people notice, and then you get likes and retweets. Except this is the Twitterverse, which as I pointed out is a vast sea of hashtags. 

To my relief, I know one of the hashtags people use to promote writing, or at least being a writer: #writingcommunity. 

All is Not Lost
I did the thing I should have done a long time ago — ask people in #writingcommunity what hashtags I should use as a writer. I also participated in a #writerslift thread. 

Maybe I’ll get the hang of this.

If you can help me get the hang of this, please email at lleachie@gmail.com

PS: My reaction to this new blogging style



How’s that new blogging style going for me?

In this new blogging style I’m working with (outlined in this post), I’m finding pluses and minuses that I want to talk about. 


Pluses:
  • The short sentences/headings/short paragraph form is familiar to me, because it’s close to academic style writing. I could even improve my academic style game with subheadings and APA style, but that might be too much for a blog.
  • This format is probably the easiest and best for followers to read. People don’t have long attention spans on the Internet.
In other words, this is how I should be writing for the blog, according to the source I read.

Minuses:
  • This method forces my writing into a factual format rather than a creative one.
  • I don’t know how a more creative essay could be done in this fashion, because it wouldn’t be an essay.
Questions:
  • Do people actually read my lyrical/essay posts??  
  • Does the headings/short sentences format increase my readers?
  • Is there a possibility of including both types of entries (creative and factual) as blog posts?

Readers, please let me know your take on this. Use the Comment button to reply!