I changed my avatar for this month - it's a family photo from Christmas 1961 =
Mom, Dad, my brother Courtnay between them, and me and my brother Ronald Lee in front of them.


Here's a Christmas song with a slideshow of scenes of the season

Great cause and great song!

I was very immersed in my writing in different levels this month--

I went to Alabama - to visit my godmother and to do research on 2 book ideas I'm working on, one a nonfiction picture book and the other a historical fiction middle grade novel.

I attended a First Page session and listened to 2 editors give their concernns and comments on the new first page of a YA I'm re writing.

I continued writing a new middle grade novel for the online course I'm taking through mediabistro -- only 2 more weeks =(

And I attended the Highlights Founders Workshop - IT'S ALL ABOUT CHARACTER

Start saving your $$ so you can attend one. It is Total immersion in books and writing and some quiet time to write in your own private cabin!

I'll post more about it later this week

In the meantime - here's a link to the list of workshops they have lined up for next year so far.

http://www.highlightsfoundation.org/pages/current/FWsched_preview.html


QUOTE -- "There is no perfect time to write. There's only now."--Barbara Kingsolver

Here's some Dancing Music for your party! [ I know you like the title of the song =) ]

Soupy Sales died last night =(

I watched him every day when I was a child. I even had the Soupy Sales push button marionette! Best Christmas present that year!
If I can find it at my Mom's house - I'll post a photo =)


Here's an article about him from time magazine website

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1931947,00.html


and his bio

http://www.biography.com/articles/Soupy-Sales-9542553


And here he is in the 1990's talking about when he asked for $

Tha National Day On Writing website

http://www.ncte.org/dayonwriting


and here is some music to write by





If you feel stuck - listen to this





HAPPY WRITING DAY!

Enjoy the process =)

Sometimes, when a situation makes you uncomfortable and you know there's nothing you can do to change it - sometimes you have to quit.

That's what I wrestled with this week. . . at the fitness center I go to. I signed up for a 6 week program and for the past 4 sessions people in my group have shown up & worked out when they are sick. They even say they are sick& have been in bed for days but didn't want to miss the session. They blow their noses every 10 minutes and sound really sick. The trainer has even said that it's not good/healthy to do the big workouts we do when you're sick. Each time one more person is sick and works out.

PLUS - we workout in a small 12' x 6' room once/week with no windows
&&& it's the room the center uses 10 minutes later - as a nursery/babysitting room - for children!!! That's what REALLY gets me = the sick people spreading their germs to the kids.
other times we do 'stations' & machines and have to throw medicine balls to each other, etc. Yuck!

So - today I quit the prgram and left a note for the trainer abt why I left the group.

& I feel better about it =)

--LiZ

1. Flashes= of light in my left eye -- [ some of you may have been thinking that I meant hot flashes, huh *wink* ]
weird freaky flashing light one night while driving- went to the eye dr. the next morning, he said it could have meant retinal detachment -- BUT it didn't this time!! it was age related = as we age we get them - 0r caffeine -maybe- it was a migraine in the eye weird
--now considering giving up caffeine. . . in the afternoon

2. Friend = Charlita - I miss her like crazy -- she died a few weeks ago = she collapsed in a parkinglot, from a heart attack & stroke [autopsy said clogged arteries] She was my gym friend/ workout-mainly-water-aerobics-friend and confidant. I still go to the gym but have a tough time sometimes, knowing she won't be there, but my heart's still looking for her there.

3. Fitness = I signed up for a program at the gym/fitness center
- working out with a group and trainer 3x/wk at 7 a.m.!! It's working!

4. Finished a book review that came from out of the blue - a paid gig!

5. Fun! = With a Purpose - I got in - to the Highlights Foundation Workshop I applied to =)

I hope you all had a very good week!

http://www.nationalpunctuationday.com/


AND They're having a Baking Contest

From that website--



HOLD ON TO
YOUR OVEN MITTS!


Baking Contest Highlights
6th Annual National Punctuation Day®

PINOLE, CA — The first National Punctuation Day® Baking Contest will highlight the celebration of the 6th National Punctuation Day (NPD) on September 24, 2009.


RULES FOR THE NATIONAL PUNCTUATION DAY BAKING CONTEST

1. Entrants must send a recipe and a sample of their cookie, cake, pastry, doughnut, or bread baked in the shape of a punctuation mark to National Punctuation Day, 1517 Buckeye Court, Pinole, CA 94564.

2. Entrants must send two print photos—one putting the item in an oven before baking and the other taking it out when it’s done. Make sure we can see the baked goods clearly.

3. First-, second-, and third-place winners will receive a box of non-edible NPD goodies, and all entrants’ photos and recipes will be published on the National Punctuation Day website.

4. All entries must be received by September 30, 2009

I just booked a flight for my Mom, my husband and I.
We're going in AirTran -- which is fine. The fee that surprised me - was for the seat = $6 it's $20 if you want to sit in the exit row.
I wonder if other airlines charge a fee for the seat - that isn't in the fare price they quote.

I understand the other fees for baggage and whatever-- but the seat charge? You have to sit - with seat belt on and seat back and tray table in their upright positions -- at least for take-offs and landings : P

and I had to look up what the Airport Passenger facility Charge paid for = runways etc -- Okay I get that -- I wonder what the airlines pay to the airports for space rental and landings hhhmmmm.

And enjoy the music

Kristi Holl has a great blog called Writer's First Aid, a Medicine Chest of Hope -- this week she compared writing a novel to running a marathon

Hardiness

Timely for me= soon I start the 'write 15 pages a week/critique everyone else's pages' - part of the YA class I'm taking.

Time now to write the outline and show up to the page daily & Write!

Enjoy the weekend!!

Mary Travers passed away this week. I've been listening to Peter Paul & Mary on You Tube today


Enjoy this song Where have All the Flowers Gone




and Mary singing solo -- this clip has album covers & photos of Peter Paul& Mary

I have a few new ideas/drafts of picture books that I'm excited about!

I need to dig deeper into the characterization in my picture book manuscripts, based on comments from editors, so I'm applying for a Highlights Foundation workshop.

It's going to be a busy writing Fall for me.

I renamed this blog Novel Year at the beginning of the year - and now that it's September - I'm determined to end it with the completion of 3 novels.

To help bolster that determination --

~ I signed up for an online YA Novel writing course - it's wth mediabistro and the instructor is Erica Sussman - she's an editor at HarperCollins.
The class had already started when I applied on Monday - now I'm 5 days behind but almost ready to post my first assignment.
I'm very excited to be working with Erica and my classmates =)

~ ~ I'm in the jonowrimoand posted my goals for it - and will check in with achievements on that =)


~ ~ ~ And best part - I looked over some of my ideas/plans for novels, from old files, and saw 2 I'm excited about working on in addition to the one I have started rewriting!

Happy Birthday Sharon! saputnam

Enjoy your day! & enjoy these flowers in your 'virtual' garden!

kellyrfineman over at Writing & Ruminating, is taking readers on a journey through Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.


from kelly--

"We'll be talking about Northanger Abbey - it's characters, their actions, the customs, issues, manners and politics of the time, the books they read, and more."

Every day for the month of August - halseanderson
leads WFMAD - with prompts and quotes and great advice!

The first Sunday in August is Friendship Day in the USA!

http://www.friendshipday.org/

Happy Day! to all my LJ friends!