The First 500

If you read my post over on Mormon Mommy Writers you know that I won 1st place for YA fiction for the ANWA BOB contest. I am very proud of this accomplishment, but I was also ecstatic for the other entrants that placed in their respective categories. A fellow winner in the YA category suggested that we blog and share the entries we won with. So DeAnn Huff, this one's for you.
So while I've already made changes to the beginning, here are the first 500 that helped me win. :)

FAIRY GODFATHER

I shuffled down the walk and towards the corner where a few kids already waited for the bus in the cool morning air. I could see from five houses away that Cal wasn’t there yet. Maybe he’d finally been thrown into juvie where he belonged. Hey, a guy could hope, right?

I nodded at Sam as I got to the corner. He held his own diorama box. It looked like something from World War I, with bi-planes attached to pipe cleaners sticking out every which way.

        “So what’s your report on?” Sam shuffled his box under one arm so he could hitch his backpack up his shoulder, his ice blond hair in frozen and immovable spikes that didn’t budge even as the wind picked up.
        “Custer’s Last Stand.” I turned it around so Sam could see all my work. The papier-mâché hills had taken almost two weeks by themselves to get right. A gust zipped around the walled corner and my specially ordered Custer wobbled a little on his hill. I tightened my grip. I couldn’t afford to lose it now, not with my entire life at stake. Well, my spot on the track team, anyway. And since track is my life, it amounts to the same thing.
        The corner filled with students and still no Cal. One more minute and I was home free.
        “Well howdy, boys. Looks like you got somethin’ interesting there.” Cal’s voice came over my shoulder and I tried not to flinch. I wasn’t sure if I was successful, though, because I heard Alex snort. Not like it was hard for him, the way his nose shoved up at the end, looking very pig-like.
        Cal Winthrop and his two cronies came around in front, forming a blockade between me and the bus as it squealed to a stop.
        “So whatcha got there, Eli?” Cal mispronounced my name, calling me “Ellie”. I wished, not for the first time, that my body would start to grow like these behemoths, but no. I’m still short and skinny at thirteen. Fast, but short and skinny.
        I stared straight ahead, pretending like I hadn’t heard anything. The rest of the kids filed on, Sam shooting me a look of sympathy as he slunk by.
        Nobody else moved.
        “Coming, boys?’ The bus driver shouted. Eli took a side step to go around Kevin’s beefy arm. Cal’s sausage fingers latched onto my shoulder.
        “Where ya going? I didn’t give you permission to get on the bus.”
        Finally I met his eyes. I noticed again how small his eyes looked in his face, covered by a greasy swing of black hair and surrounded by acne filled skin. But the look in his eyes lit a fire of old hate in my chest.

“I don’t need anybody’s permission to ride the bus. Nice try though...loser.” The fire flared at my jab, but my stomach sank as Cal’s eyes narrowed even more. Time to escape. I wrenched my arm out of his grasp and stalked over to the bus. I hoped I looked brave.

ANWA Conference: How many ways can you say awesome?

I loved conference. Just like I knew I would. I wish I could download all the memories and show you all the great time. But then you'd see...okay. Never mind. I wouldn't want to show everything that happened last week.

BUT...I did want to share with you some things that happened. One is I wanted to share with you some of the great classes I took and the fabulous information they imparted. A class I was particularly impressed with was Freelance writing. Now I know I have a hard enough time writing for myself sometimes, but the idea of freelancing for PROFIT is intoxicating. It would be great to get some deadline pressure writing under my belt so I could help myself with my novel writing. Matt Peterson had so much great information, I took 3 pages of notes as fast as I could. He showed us where the beginning pitfalls were and what places to look for those kinds of jobs. It's on my to-do list this week, to get started with that. Because I can totally freelance in my pajamas.

Something else of awesomeness: I won!  Click on the link to see what it is!!!

There was another great class about how to control your brand and get it out there. I may not be totally there yet, but I am so doing this. So keep a look out for this blog to gradually migrate to another place, just so I can be on top of it when the time comes. :)

Better go...writing awaits!   

Conference!

Can't tell you how excited I am for the ANWA conference this next week. I signed up for it almost the very first day possible. And I am rushing to complete all that I needed to to participate in the Boot Camp Thursday night. SQUEEEEEE!

Sorry. I went to my first one just last year, and it was so much fun I could hardly stand it. It was right up my alley, all the writers, all the camaraderie, all the great classes. This year I'm even volunteering to help with the pitch sessions for a while, so I can shmooze. :)

I discovered a lot about myself though, as I've prepared. I do well with a moderate amount of challenge, but too much, and I completely shut down. I got completely stuck for a couple of months because I was so freaked out over not finishing on time to participate in a pitch session, that I became totally depressed. It was UGLY.

But I jumped off the pressure wagon and found my joy in writing again, so it is all good now. :)

If you're interested in attending, even just Saturday, check out this link: ANWA Writer's Conference. I hope you do. And I hope it's something you can attend. It's a fabulous time for all!

It's Been too Long

I know it's been forever since I blogged. Turns out reality can really interfere with my desire to escape in to my writing fantasy world. But now that the holidays are over, and the rest of my stuff is mostly under control, I can get back to things. I hope.
Today I just wanted to send a little shout out to Mormon Mommy Writers founder, Nikki Wilson. She has become energized in a way that is completely inspiring. On our blog, we are doing a DAILY GIVEAWAY through the whole month of January to celebrate our 3rd year anniversary! Books, candy, even a query critique from Elena Johnson, besides more books. So come check it out!

Today's offering is from my good friend, Jennifer Griffith. Come read all about her and her new book, Big In Japan, due out in July.

And I promise not to fall away from this blog so much anymore. Let's just say the curveball life threw at me took me around the bend and back. And now I'm back. :)

Creativity

What is creativity? When we are talking about fiction writing, we are usually talking about taking seeming unrelated things, smooshing them together in unexpected ways, and pulling a book out of your brain through the painful process of translating it from brain to fingers and onto the page.

But lots of time we take what has already been deemed a "classic" and see a whole new spin on it. How could we not, as we are different than the original creators? That doesn't make our efforts less original, though the source material is well known. Instead our efforts, combined with the strong foundation of the original work, can help us reach heights we couldn't achieve on our own.

In light of that, I'd like to present two videos from "The Piano Guys". They are Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson, a pianist and a cellist, respectively. With classically trained musicians, it's almost expected that you keep to the canon of accepted classical music. But they have succeeded in taking it to a whole different level. One is a fascinating interpretation of "Carol of the Bells" in honor of Christmas. The other is a hilarious take on a modern classic. As you listen, see if you can pull inspiration from these classics, with a twist. Imagine what kind of twists you could create on something you know well. It could be just what you need to jump start your writing this winter. Merry Christmas!

Back to the Grindstone

Well, the move is complete (mostly), and now it's just a matter of putting things where they belong. Now if I only had enough bookshelves...

Ahem. I'm sure none of you other bibliophiles know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, my brain has finally settled enough that I can start getting things done on the writing front. I am about halfway through "Fairy Godfather". I really need to get it done, though, so I can be ready for NaNoWriMo, i.e., Nation Novel Writing Month. Why they chose November, I have no idea, it being only one of the busiest times of the year. But I have a literary fiction story that came to me, ready to write, that I think will stretch me in good ways as a writer. And I have plans, dang it. I plan on attending the ANWA Writer's Conference in February, and there will be several agents and a few editors there. I'd like to be able to pitch Fairy Godfather, which means it has to be done. Which means that I have to get it written so I have time to revise before February. Which means that I have to finish writing it before November, so it has time to sit before I do the final edits. Ack. That's a lot of work. But this is important to me. It's important that I actually finish a stinkin' story, if only to prove to myself that I can.

I wrote another chapter in this past month, but my personal challenge to myself is to get the bare bones of the story done in before Halloween. Gulp. Wish me luck.

Temporary Haitus

I'm taking a few minutes out of craziness to let you know I'm in the process of moving. We moved to a new state in February, and we're finally buying a house. I'm in crazy mode for the next few, getting out of this one and into the other, so blogs go bu-bye for me during that time. See ya on the flip side...maybe three weeks. :) Wish me luck. I hate moving.