Thursday, October 30, 2008

Freak out Time!

Okay, so 2 days to Nano, one day to Halloween and I'm soooooo not ready. The kids have no costumes, we haven't got pumpkins and I'm still not sure what story I'm going to do for nano. It doesn't help that the hubby is home for two days, makes it hard to get anything done in the writing department.

A month ago the kids wanted to be CSI's for halloween, and I had all the costume stuff ready to be made...then they changed their minds and now I don't know what to do. The stores are sadly low on costumes.

Anyway, onto more important matters...since I last blogged here we got a new car. A month of freakin' chaos, rental cars, bank screw ups and finally we have a car that will tow our Boler without killing the transmission. Woot! This means I'll be camping ALL summer next year! Okay, maybe not. Actually, the idea of camping is making be cringe. It's freakin' freezing out there!

Off to do the winter prep thing, plastic windows, redo weather stripping...buy a house down south....oh, no wait, can't afford that yet. Darn it.
posted by Jennie Andrus at 12:55 pm 0 comments

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Fruitful Fall

It’s October. My favorite time of the year. I am a Halloween fanatic. You know those people that decorate outside for Christmas with so many lights you can see them a mile away? (ala National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation) Well, put that idea to Gravestones, Zombies, Grim Reaper and dead bodies, and you will have my house from October 1-November 1.

We go all out. And as a result, I usually find October to be a very energizing month for me. Recharging and getting all my creative juices flowing. My first two published shorts were about Samhain and Christmas, both written around this time of the year.

But not this year. For some reason this year it’s been a drag this month. I work on an as needed basis for my regular job, and I didn’t work much at all this month. So that made me worry about finances. My SIL passed away last month, so we’ve been dealing with that kind of stuff. And my mother isn’t doing very well, so have had to deal with that all long distance.

I am still looking forward to Halloween, but am looking forward even more so to Nov 1. That is the beginning of NaNoWriMo. (National Novel Writing Month). For those of you that do not know, it is a global wide thing where we are challenged to write 50K words in one month. Now 50K isn’t a full length novel, it isn’t even a category length novel, BUT it is a great jumpstart on a longer novel, or a way to finish a novel. It’s how I finished my first full length, Argus: In Dreams.

So, I have already joined up for Nano this year, and I hope, pray and dream that I will be able to get something done that I have been working on half heartedly for a couple years. As I blog in November, I hope to mention how much work I have been doing. Cause darnit, I am gonna get it done this year. Just wait and see.
posted by Tina Bendoni at 5:16 pm 1 comments

Saturday, October 11, 2008

And the beat goes ....


I just wanted to wish everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING.
posted by Aline de Chevigny at 4:03 am 0 comments

Thursday, October 02, 2008

The Benefits of Online Classes and Conferences

Hi everyone,

I love teaching online classes and taking them.

In fact, shortly I'll be teaching an online class as well as going to an online conference and take a class I just signed up for.
I've never done so much in one week like this so we'll see if I can handle it.

What I'm doing is making folders in My Documents for the conference and the class, that way I can easily save handout/information for easy retrieval.

I have a separate folder for the classes I teach and books close by in case a student needs a more indepth answer.

Do I get quality information and teaching when I take online courses? Yes.

There are many benefits of taking an online class. You save on gas and the frustration of driving in traffic. You can log in the class when the kids are asleep or staying all night at a friends etc., You can take the class wearing your comfy pajamas.

I've had students from other countries take my class and I love it when that happens. These students bring experiences and points of view I may never have had the honor of being exposed to.

Here's my teaching schedule:
Celtic Knot work Weaving Together Characterization and Plotting
RWA- Romace Writers of America ESPAN chapter October 13-17, 2008
RWA Outreach Chapter November 3-14, 2008
RWA Carolina Chapter February, first two weeks

Have you taken any online classes? Take the plunge. It's fun, inexpensive and you'll make new writing friends and learn more about the craft of writing.

Best,
Tambra Kendall
Goin' Down Anthology Book Two-Aspen Mountain Press Out now!
Wicked Pleasures, Recommended Read! from Red Rose Publishing
Celtic Love Knots Vol. 9 from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid
posted by Tambra at 4:52 pm 0 comments