May Day

May Day -- the First of May.
It used to be a fun festival of flowers (love the alliteration), but these days -- nothing.
I was thinking about writing a May Day Book of Facts and Fun -- but since nobody celebrates it in the United States anymore, probably not a good idea. (I did find a lot of pictures on Google Images, so it must be still celebrated somewhere.)

How's my revising going?
Fairly well. I'm almost done with the first pass through.
Then I'll print it out and see how it reads.

Word-wise, I've passed Junie B. Jones. Headed toward ivy and Bean. (see previous post to understand THAT comment.)

Too bad it's turned warm -- and I want to be outside. Hmmm, maybe I can take my laptop out there to type?

Housecleaning?
so-so. No, I've not done everything I thought I was going to be able to do, darn it. I'll have to simply keep on trudging on until I get the piles of stuff conquered. (It's hard to train the rest of the family to pick up and put away. It's like they can't hear me when I ask them to Move IT.)
-wendieO

Time to write

People ask me -- How do you find time to write?

--What with your working full time as a Children's Librarian in a public library system. (with all the paperwork and meetings and planning and producing programs that entails)
--What with having a husband to coddle. And an 8-year old child at home -- and all those years when she was younger. The school and athletic events she's involved with.
--What with keeping up with the housework in a 1640 stone house. (12 rooms/ woodstove/ fireplaces/ laundry room much too far away from the bedrooms)
--Two cats and a dog.
--2 acres of lawn, woods, and garden.

hmmm. Once I write all that down, I kinda wonder, myself.

Well, for one thing, I do have a husband, so he takes care of some of this. And we share the care and upkeep of the 8-year old's school, athletic, and scout activities. (I was just reminded that she has a Brownie Court of Awards today.)

Secondly, we don't have cable TV. So I don't waste much time watching TV. Just a few special shows like Numbers and CSI and, of course, The Amazing Race. (8-year old and I are addicted to The Amazing Race. If I wasn't too old and she wasn't too young, we'd both try to become a team on that show.)

Thirdly, I've taken a leaf from other writers and have begun taking my laptop computer to her gymnastic classes and have worked on manuscripts and proposals while she is having fun there. I can't do that at the soccer games, because I know too many of the soccer moms and we sit and talk.

Fourthly, I have a liberal leave at my workplace -- five weeks. So I can take a day here or a week there to either do research, write, or give talks to kids and adults about writing and books. (This isl where I wear both my librarian and writer hats)

Fifthly -- My co-author of the "Busy" books, Mary B-K, (See the Busy books to the right side of my blog, under our pen name C.W. Bowie), urged me to get a cleaning service to help with the housework. And that has helped tremendously. I had thought that cleaning services were only for rich writers like Danielle Steel, but she convinced me that she had used one for years and that it was necessary for our sanity, if we were going to be able to both work and write.
So, once TO FLY was selling strong and I had finally come out from under all my bills, I began with a cleaning service. And she was right! Spiders are now banned from the house. (a big deal with me) Plus, it forces all of us to keep the place neat -- so they can actually find the floor to clean.

Also, since I consider my research trips and my trips to conventions to be "vacations," I do manage to enjoy a well-rounded life while continuing with my writing.

My next scheduled vacation? ALA in June. Will I see you there?
How do the rest of you manage to include writing in your busy, busy lives?
-wendieO

Do it all in a week?

Beginning Monday I have a whole week off.
To write?
To houseclean?
To get Christmas presents bought and mailed?
To contemplate my navel?

Probably all of the above.

Sooooo, I'm going to try to post regularly here to report on my progress -- if any. Just like the people doing NaNoWriMo.

What is NaNoWriMo ?
Go to www.NaNoWriMo.org for more info, but basically it’s a nationwide project where crazy writers pledge to write an entire novel in exactly one month! (first draft, naturally. No way will it be finished enough to send to publishers. But still -- one month! )

I hope to report-- How many words I wrote. What rooms are straightened enough to be in House Beautiful. (or at least decent enough to hold a birthday sleepover in without embarrassing us or the other children's parents.)

In one week I magically turn back into a Children's Librarian in a Public library -- with a Thomas the Tank Engine program to give the day I get back. I'm hoping that keeping a tally here on the blog will insure that things actually get done.

-wendieO (who urges you to buy Robert's Snow Snowflakes when they come up for auction mid-November)