Your Daily Digression: Self Help at its Zaniest

Need a little help being sillier? Is life a bunch of stern looks and red tape? Well I have the book for YOU! Or I will, a year from Christmas...

My Digressionista is a giraffe

See, I've had this idea for quite a while... know those calendars with a little inspirational quote every day? Something like THAT, but digressions... thinks or acts to make life a little more random, though not random in the mathematical sense, because all said, in a year of randomness, you are likely to end up with the same thing several times if it were truly random... random including some repetition and all... but I digress! (see how I did that)

*cough*

ANYWAY... with my other writing and my LIFE interferences (gads, I hate that) I've decided the only way I'm really going to get this written is if I write ONE digression each day. Then I will finish in a year, just in time to format and get it ready for Christmas (which means it needs to be a 2017 calendar, yes?

Giraffe-necked weevil. Not nearly so cute as a giraffe.

BUT... (this is the part where some of you might be able to help me) it's be really cool if there were some art, yes? Photos or drawings or ink blots or some combination of the above? And IS THERE anywhere to produce something like this Indie, or should I start bundling this as a proposal for some publishing company? Who does this sort of thing? (and if I'm going that way, should I be thinking about a 2020 calendar #commentaryonthespeedofpublishing

Anything anybody knows about anything like this would be amazingly helpful.


And the OTHER One.

So I should finish the final (of this round) spit polish of Also Appearing tomorrow...

Here's the pitch at its draftiest:

Leia Clarence feels like an extra in her own life. A bystander. A bit part. An “Also Appearing”. Her friends and older sister have social skills she can barely understand, let alone display. To compound matters, her parents are relegating her to a summer at the lake, away from her friends, with poor internet and cell phone connections and no way to keep track of the social scene back home. It's going to be the worst summer ever.

Until she meets a cute guy who lives at the lake year-round. Trey is mischievous, charming and hot. And the crazy thing is he seems to like her, too. Not her friends. Not her sister. Her. She isn't a shadow, but the focus of his attention and affections. For the first time ever she has a starring role in her own life. At least until something goes wrong.

Back at home she tries to recapture that feeling of mattering, of being somebody, but it seems easier to just numb the fact that she doesn't. Alcohol, drug experimentation, and a different sort of boy all fail. Is there anything Leia can do to grab back that leading role, or better yet, write the script for her own life?

Also Appearing, at 59,000 words, is a contemporary young adult novel about a girl's struggle to break expectations that her friends have and to find an identity that not only fits, but allows her to soar.


I would LOVE LOVE LOVE feedback on this, especially if this is a genre you read or write in. And IFF anyone is honestly interested, I am looking for a couple second round readers.

Amwriting(dot)org

And writing communities generally...

Last week I saw a Tweet from Debbie Ohi,
[fabulous Deb Ohi comic ----- > ]
superstar Twitterer (and personally responsible any time I've gotten anywhere with a Tweet). Her post? There is not just #amwriting, but also amwriting.org.

Say what?

For those of you uninitiated on Twitter (and it is with great irony I say that, as I am a Twittering TWIT), hash tags [the # mark followed by your favorite topic, eg: #nakedworlddominationtour] gives people who want to find out MORE on a topic a way to find all the conversation on that particular topic. You can create your own... last year when we did my writer's group sponsored WriMo I created #BuNoWriMo and had a handful of conversants—oh sure, I was about 2/3 of the entries... but still...

Anyway, I learned early that if I wanted to reach WRITERS and not limit myself to followers, that I should include #amwriting on what I had to say...

http://amwriting.org/

So this WEBSITE for the #amwriting types was pretty darned cool!

I Signed Up And...

There are a BUNCH of writers there... and there is a system whereby anyone can be a MEMBER but if you have a book number and stuff you can register as an AUTHOR (with a bio and such) and if you START as a member but publish, you can update...

There are bios, and communities and help... it is set up very well, I think.

But as with ALL these things, I think it is as useful as who participates. I signed up for 5 groups (the genres I write, plus a social networking one and... maybe it was two social networking ones...).

There are forums for conversation...


I guess what I think is... wouldn't this be FABULOUS if all my FRIENDS were here?! If, say... all of YOU signed up... because then, instead of a day by day blog (which is fabulous, but VERY temporary) there could be conversations by TOPIC that go back and forth and remain there to browse later...


What say you? Sounds cool, eh?



Do you all know of other forums like this? Are they friendly, or filled with annoying people (I have been to others, but have found them full of sycophants. I hope that doesn't offend anyone... I'm sure there are a bizillion I've never found... but say... the site run by hot former agent guy...)

Any you recommend? Or should we take over? And by take over, I mean respectfully join (but also add some life to)



****

On a more personal front...

I am officially ABNA entered... that is not to say I am READY, but I learned yesterday that I can REload up until they close, so better to load, then update as I have them, instead of being budged out because I am too late. Once they are closed, I am stuck with the version I have, but that is better than not being IN there...

FYI I thought you may be curious about before (which you've seen), and AFTER on my pitch)

Before


In the high desert of Eastern Washington, miles from anything other than a few farms, grain silos and a small cluster of modest houses, sits the Eastern Washington Hospital for the Mentally Retarded and Insane. The doors to the hospital have been officially closed since 1953 when the suicide of a resident spurred an investigation and found serious abuses in care.

Helen has been alone since then, in the abandoned institution that caused her such pain, but thankfully, her death ended the seizures and the death of the hospital ended the screams. There is other sadness, but she believes the worst is over.

When the noticed is nailed to the heavy front door Helen is shocked to realize she's been dead sixty years. When trucks and workmen show up several days later; however, she realizes her death is going to change drastically. The damaged young people assigned to the Kahlotus Project have not entirely bought into the idea of a reform school. They bring with them tragic pasts, mental illness, and a vast deficiency in coping skills. They posture for dominance, manipulate each other, and, when official backs are turned, cause each other, and themselves, harm. Helen can't work out what to make of these people, but is drawn to them like a circus show.

Only a handful of the new residents can see Helen, and in the case of a schizophrenic girl, she is taken as evidence of psychosis. But the girl who really touches her is the one who seems just as surprised as Helen to be seen. Serena has spent her life alternately trying to be invisible and be seen, always visible to those who would hurt her, unseen by the rest, unbelieved by those who should help. Perhaps this unlikely friendship can heal more hearts than just their own.


After

In 1953 teen resident Helen Bixby's suicide spurred an investigation that closed down the Eastern Washington Hospital for the Mentally Retarded and Insane. Helen has been alone since then, in the abandoned institution that caused her such pain. Thankfully, her death ended the seizures and the hospital closure ended the screams. She thought the worst was over.

When a notice is nailed to the heavy front doors Helen is shocked to realize she's been dead sixty years. Work on the building brings fear of what will come, but the building is meant to be a opened as a school. Unfortunately, the damaged young people assigned to the Kahlotus Project have not entirely bought into the idea of reform school. They bring with them tragic pasts, mental illness, and a vast deficiency in coping skills. They posture for dominance, manipulate each other, and, when official backs are turned, harm each other and themselves.

Helen can barely cope, but that isn't the worst of it. Neglect and new abuses by the adults in charge trigger painful memories of life at the hospital in her own time. She decides she must do whatever she can to change its course.

Only a handful of the new residents can see Helen, and for those, admitting it is taken as evidence of psychosis, only making matters worse. But the girl who really touches her seems almost as invisible as Helen. When it seems Serena is going to fall victim to the abuses of those in charge, Helen forms a partnership with Allan, teacher and counselor, to protect the students, so the horrors that so adversely affected her life, don't destroy the lives of another generation.

Kahlotus Disposal Site, at 65,000 words, is a Young Adult novel along the lines of The Lovely Bones meets Girl, Interrupted.

So there.


All Content Watery Tart Generated (Hart Johnson) and seen first at Confessions of a Watery Tart.

I'll Show You Mine!

First off... NEWS: I met my 2010 goals, albeit about 16 hours late with the book... I had more last minute changes than I thought and when I talked to my agent, she said New Year's Eve was hardly a day they were going to be picky about. She sent a message and we agreed I'd have it there before business Monday, though in actuality, I got it in at about 4:00 Saturday afternoon. I'm glad I talked to her, as I probably would have met the deadline but missed some of the things that make it smoother. And I learned an important lesson... EDITING IS NEVER DONE! *rolls eyes* I wish there was a point at which you think 'man that's good' and everyone would just agree (and by everyone, I mean... everyone... I'm not asking for kiss-ass help... I wish the READERS would all see it as fabulous at that point, TOO.)

Now... On to the BLOGFEST!


Okay, so normally I don't do writing blogfests, mostly because I don't READ appropriately to evaluate writing via blog—I don't feel like I do the task justice, so I just opt out. But I really couldn't resist the innuendo on this one... it's too good. PLUS, being me... I sort of altered WHAT I'd be showing.

This is about sharing our NaNoWriMo, and on THAT part, I am in... but instead of a scene, I decided this would push me to get my first draft of my PITCH in order. I'm sharing TWO pitches, from both of my last two WriMos... the first, because that is the spirit of the blogfest (sharing our most recent NaNoWriMo) and the 2nd because I need a PITCH for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest (and it was my JUNE WriMo) (more on ABNA tomorrow)

These are both rough, first drafts... The Player Down one isn't even all that URGENT (more a teaser) but I would LOVE help spotting strengths and weaknesses in the Kahlotus one.

Player Down

Zachary Grodin seems to have everything going for him. His grades are good. He has a string of girls wanting to date him. He is a star basketball player and a talent scout is on his way to watch him play, promising a scholarship offer. Unfortunately, Zach also has manipulated, used and mistreated one too many people.

Callie Vaughn has been drifting since she got to high school. Her classes took a more academic track than her friends from middle school, and the gossipy, boy crazy scene is just not her thing. She has maintained a close friendship however, with Paige Flannery, a girl who moved in with her boyfriend at sixteen to avoid her mom's drug-infused life. The two girls have lunch together in the woods off campus daily, and one day see something suspicious through the trees. When they investigate after school they find a foot buried in dirt and leaves, which cause the police to unearth the body of Zach Grodin.

When the school counselor is accused, Callie and Paige begin to look into some clues they think the police may overlook, finding Zach had a lot more enemies than anybody would admit and his crimes ranged from sexual pressure, rumor starting, and blackmail, to a much darker secret that threatens to expose not only other athletes, but several important adults.

When the counselor is found dead and Paige is accused of the murders however, Callie is led on a wild goose chase, and she has to wonder whether she has put her faith in the right boy.

Kahlotus Disposal Site

In the high desert of Eastern Washington, miles from anything other than a few farms, grain silos and a small cluster of modest houses, sits the Eastern Washington Hospital for the Mentally Retarded and Insane. The doors to the hospital have been officially closed since 1953 when the suicide of a resident spurred an investigation and found serious abuses in care.

Helen has been alone since then, in the abandoned institution that caused her such pain, but thankfully, her death ended the seizures and the death of the hospital ended the screams. There is other sadness, but she believes the worst is over.

When the notice is nailed to the heavy front door Helen is shocked to realize she's been dead sixty years. When trucks and workmen show up several days later; however, she realizes her death is going to change drastically. The damaged young people assigned to the Kahlotus Project have not entirely bought into the idea of a reform school. They bring with them tragic pasts, mental illness, and a vast deficiency in coping skills. They posture for dominance, manipulate each other, and, when official backs are turned, cause each other, and themselves, harm. Helen can't work out what to make of these people, but is drawn to them like a circus show.

Only a handful of the new residents can see Helen, and in the case of a schizophrenic girl, she is taken as evidence of psychosis. But the girl who really touches her is the one who seems just as surprised as Helen to be seen. Serena has spent her life alternately trying to be invisible and to be seen, always visible to those who would hurt her, unseen by the rest, unbelieved by those who should help. Perhaps this unlikely friendship can heal more hearts than just their own.


Okay!  I would ADORE constructive criticism here!

And the list of other particiapants is in the sidebar here!