Welcome to WIPMADNESS 2013 Week 1 Check-In

Welcome to the 2013 WIPMADNESS!

Are we excited?

I’m excited.

Good things are happening amongst the Wipsters this year. Some of us have books coming out, some hope to have books coming out, and some of us are writing books that will be sold and will come out!

Now I’d like to take a moment to give a shout out to a new follower who posted the most awesome review of my blog here. Welcome DaniDuck! I hope she’ll hang out with us Wipsters.

This month I’m going to do some author interviews and book giveaways, but for my special WIPMADNESS peeps, each week I’m going to send one of you commenters something very personal, something I rarely share.

Here’s a hint: ♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫

So now let’s get down to business. This month’s goals. I have two writing related goals this month. One is to plow ahead with the revisions of a couple of YA novels, one contemp and one historical. And I have another exciting writerly goal. It has to do with SCBWI and it has to do with a Northern Arizona network. That’s all I’m saying for now.

So, Wipsters, what are ya’ll gonna accomplish this month?

The Most Important Thing: Destroying your Work

"Put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it." - Colette

We know the expression, "killing your darlings" but do you agree with Colette that an author can, without pity, destroy most of one's own stuff?

I wipe out a lot of my writing on a regular basis, but I never feel like it's truly destroyed since it merely lies dormant in an electronic file. Yet there's something cathartic about assigning entire sentences, paragraphs, chapters, or novels, to the figurative flame. I know many of you have trashed entire novels and started again. I have. And I've never regretted it.

This month I'm diving back into revision and I will be on a path of destruction. Who's with me?

The Most Interesting Thing: Turning Worst Moments Into Money

"Writing is turning one's worst moments into money." - J. P. Donleavy

$$$$$$$

$$$$$$

In case you haven't noticed, I've been through some pretty heavy trauma lately. I'm not going to air the details publicly, but let's just say it's been awful. Please don't feel sorry for me. I've lived through a lot of horrible stuff in my life and I'm still here. Which reminds me of the above quote. I heard it for the first time from author Joan Bauer a few years ago. She and I chatted about not just being survivors, but being overcomers. At the time, I was working on a project that dealt with my worst moments. I still haven't turned that project into money, but I'm hopeful that it will one day earn me a boatload of cold hard cash. The best revenge.

So what do you think? Do you hope your writing will turn your worst moments into money?

The Most Interesting Thing: Journal Therapy

"Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers."--Isaac Asimov 

Writers write. But sometimes life events make it hard to write. So what can a writer do? Journal. Think through the fingers. Many writers journal every day. I've been out of the habit for quite some time. I am back in the habit. 

Do you journal every day?

The Most Interesting Thing: Arizona Bound

Going Home

Tomorrow I hit the road and head home to Flagstaff, Arizona. Twenty-two years ago I made this same journey at this same time of year. I fell in love with this mountain town and fell in love in this mountain town. Though I return with a heavy heart, I know my beautiful alpine home will embrace me and fill me with the warmth and healing I need right now.

The Most Interesting Thing: Make 'em Laugh

"Do you think that all children's books ought to have funny bits in them?" Miss Honey asked.

"I do," Matilda said. "Children are not so serious as grown-ups and they love to laugh."

--From Roald Dahl's Matilda

Do you agree with Miss Honey and Matilda? Should all children's books include some humor? Roald Dahl is a favorite author of mine, mainly because of the outrageous humor in his stories. I don't know about you, but I can definitely use a few "funny bits" in the books I'm reading right now. 

What are your favorite funny books?

The Most Interesting Thing--SURPRISE!

Last Sunday night I thought a transformer exploded in our backyard. I rushed to the window and saw this:

"But wait. It's not July," I mused. "What's going on?"
An amazing surprise!
I rushed to the radio so I could have music to accompany the awesome display.
And I heard Casey Kasem counting down the top hits of the week.
#12 on the list--Linda Ronstadt's Blue Bayou.
"But wait. It's not 1977," I mused. "What's going on?"

One of the things I love the most about life and writing are the unexpected surprises that arrive out of nowhere. Like a huge fireworks display in my backyard on a chilly Sunday night in November. And a radio station that flashes me back to my early childhood when I used to listen and sing along to the weekly top 40 religiously.

Has life surprised you lately? Has your story surprised you?