Oooh! I Got a Mention!

Yeah, I know, this might not sound like big news to many of you, but it said something to me. Among the many blogs I track, several are related to writing and include a few literary agents.

One agent in particular, Janet Reid aka The Query Shark, often posts mini writing contests whereby the challenge is to write a story in 100 words or less, and including in the story five unrelated words that she provides in the contest post. (Ms. Reid represents several authors you may have heard of, like Sean Farrell "Numb", and Robin Becker "Brains, A Zombie Memoir", to name a few.)

I've considered trying my hand at it, but backed away after reading the cleverness of previous commenters, all of whom I assumed had to be professional writers. ("I'm not worthy...") Professional writers know all the writing rules. I didn't want to be laughed at for making a blatantly amateur error.

I know... self-doubt, limiting beliefs!!!

This last time, I looked at the words:
viola
sword
jimmy
smoking
frame

and a vision came to mind. I jotted it down, made a couple of minor tweaks, then submitted it before I could change my mind or let fear and self-consciousness creep in. What the hell, I thought, I'll take a shot. It's not War & Peace, but it is a concise little story in about 85 words.

If this were a Lifetime Movie, the entry would have blown the agent's mind so thoroughly that I'd be talking about my five-book deal. LOL! No...

But here in the real world, when I read her post today announcing the winners—no, I didn't win—but I was absolutely giddy and floored to see my entry called out and noticed for "fun wordplay"!!! Far more than I expected.

To me, this is a small but vital affirmation that there is something "there" (despite Mercury Retrograde messing up the ability to communicate clearly). I don't even care that mine wasn't the winning entry. Now I understand the Academy Awards, and that it truly IS an honor to be nominated—because it means someone saw something worthy in your work.

::bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce:: <--doing the giddy happydance

Labels: writing

posted by Jeanne @ 4:19 PM 1 comments

Yep, Still Alive, Posting for a Cause

OK. There's this kid. His name is Hunter. He's six years old. I don't know him, but one of my blogger friends does, and he's really sick. He has leukemia.

My blogger friend is generously selling off all but three of her fiber-related books to gather donations to help Hunter's family. She's asking us to re-post to gain more attention; after all, we're three degrees separated from this issue.

So. Every day, she's posting books for sale on her blog. She has some pretty tasty offerings for those of us who sew, knit and/or crochet. So go visit, and help Hunter and his family get through this. There is more information on her blog, so I'll stop here lest I become redundant.

Rowena's Blog to Help Hunter

In other news, there hasn't been much knitting taking place. June and July flew by, didn't they? Let's bullet point this:

• I traveled a bit—went to Columbus, OH for the Parelli Celebration to indulge in natural horsemanship for two days; finally got to PA to visit my sister and niece in July (it was a good trip)
• Had a birthday
• Rode my horse a few times
• Discovered True Blood at the beginning of Season Three and spent many a night catching up on two full seasons. Apparently I among the minority, because I find Sam the Shapeshifter far more lust-inducing than either of the vampires. They are just too cold and dead for my tastes. Besides, who can resist a boyfriend you could pet and take to the dog park?
  
• Just got the car back from the shop—it had developed a sound on the way home from PA, it sounded like a Honda motorcycle was also running in the engine. Turns out it was a rogue wheel bearing gone bad (oh, to see the late-night video commercials for that!). They took it apart and the brake pads disintegrated because they were so thin. So I had an unexpected brake job and wheel bearing replacement done. Apparently the wheel bearing whine was a blessing in disguise, as I was mere moments away from having a catastrophic brake failure.
  
• Looks like I will be shoveling a LOT of manure this month, as the brake job ate in to my horse money
• Worked a few temp jobs, better pay as of late, but nothing permanent yet
• Took in the Psychedelic 60s: Posters from the Rock Era exhibit at the Toledo Museum of Art—it was mind-blowing, phenomenal, and is worth the trip if you're nearby. It goes through September 12th so there is still time.
  
• Have had some major MAJOR revelations that have cemented some questions for me, and I think I'm really ready to declare who and what I am and am doing with the remainder of my life in my post-parental volume. Almost ready. Ready inside, not yet ready to go fully public.

And that's the scoop. Now, go visit Rowena, check out the books, and do what you can to help a kid have a future. Peace out.

Oh. One last thing. This is aimed at the spambloggers. If you post a comment on my blog that reads something along the lines of "Great blog! Very inspirnig", then ask me to link to your blog, and I visit your blog and find nothing but links to illegal downloads or articles teaching visitors how to spam people's blogs, I will delete your comment. I might also send you an email along the lines of "cease and desist" and "you are scum and should be ashamed of yourself". Because we don't go for that here at Knitty Banter. This is a friendly, non-consumerist blog where we discuss life and fibers. If you're not down with that, please take your canned processed meat elsewhere. Thanks.

Labels: breaking news

posted by Jeanne @ 3:49 PM 0 comments