Well, folks. It was fun while it lasted.

As you can see, not much has been happening on this blog lately.

There are several reasons for this, but I will only hit on a couple:

First: It's amazing how much can change in a couple of months--both in our personal lives and on the writing front. A couple of us have signed publishing contracts, and so the need to write, edit, market, promote HAD to take preference over this blog and the services we were providing.

Second: Running this blog, critiquing submissions, providing feedback...well, that's a LOT of dang work. We weren't getting paid for this service. We had a concept and we went with it--for free--not realizing how much time it would involve with very little (nothing) in return for our effort.

Third: Probably the biggest factor that made us come to this decision, was the fact that a good portion of the submissions we received just weren't ready. They needed more revision. We were wanting to give out reviews on AMAZING, fully complete, well edited novels. 90% of what we received didn't come close.

So we've shut it down. We've moved on.

If you liked our comments and our posts, you can check us out on our individual blogs:

Angela Scott: www.whimsywritingandreading.weebly.com or @whimsywriting on twitter or http://www.facebook.com/AngelaScottWriter

D.S. Tracy:

Kacey Mark:

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Unfortunate Inspiration

Posted by Ready, Aim, Hook Me at 9:40 PM
This blog post was originally posted on my first blog site: Literary Intentions. Thanks to an unexpected smack in the face,  I had to ditch my blog post in progress and go to plan B. 







Since I was a child, I’ve secretly scribbled out stories and poetry. I would tuck my creations away in an iridescent orange folder and slip it under my mattress—my secret, my coping mechanism for whatever life threw my way. I had always wanted to be a writer, but lacked the confidence to pursue my bliss. 

It wasn’t until a family tragedy knocked everything out of whack that I thought I had any sort of talent for it. My mother-in-law passed away a few years ago on Easter. It was sudden and unexpected. Her death not only shook the family but it became my inspiration to pick up a pen and write.  

A few days after the funeral, my four-year-old daughter interrupted story time to tell me something that had been weighing on her mind for some time. She said Grandma Strawberry (My daughter’s nickname for her Grandma Atteberry) was a fairy who visits her in her dreams and they go on wonderful adventures together. She said when her daddy felt sad and missed his mom, all he had to do was close his eyes and find her: she would be waiting for him. 

Through the eyes of a child . . . 

My mind marinated in my daughter’s words, and after I put her to bed, I had the overwhelming urge to write a story about Grandma Strawberry and her many dreamland adventures—free of pain and full of happiness. I shared the story with my sister-in-law who later said it came on a day when she needed a nudge, a simple reminder her mom was okay and that she would forever live on. Her response was my nudge to pursue something that allowed me to feel a different sort of purpose besides wife and mother. 

So, here I am nearly three years later.  I’ve written two novels and nearly finished a third.  I’ve placed in contests, and I’m currently seeking a literary agent. The one downside to it all is the fact that my mother-in-law isn’t here to root me on. She was a voracious reader, but more than that, she loved how a book made her feel. The waves of emotions, ebbing and flowing, freed her mind from the constant pain tearing through her body. The woman who sacrificed so much for her children could simply pick up a book and be whoever she wanted to be. I miss her, but thanks to my daughter, I now know when I need a little inspiration all I have to do is close my eyes and welcome the adventure.


In a world full of rejection, where do you find your inspiration? What keeps you clutching your pen fast in your hand? 



Thanks for looking, 
The Skeptical Hook’er 


5 comments:

L.L. Muir on July 29, 2011 at 8:26 AM said...

I've found inspiration comes from seeing people do something I can't. Not that I'm a competitive bugger...

Unknown on July 29, 2011 at 1:24 PM said...

Wow, that is a lovely post! I've almost teared up... It's beautiful to believe our lost ones are still up there, watching us. I sure do.

I don't actually write when I'm depressed or too sad because I've no desire for it. The opposite inspires me to write, actually. When I'm happy and enthusiastic about life, I have that sudden feeling to create something even more amazing than life. Make sense?

Inspirational stories and sayings and quotes move me, movies nudge the creator in me, and above all, what people do and say around me seals in my brain like a story waiting to happen. Everything is inspiration if you let yourself see it. :)

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader on July 29, 2011 at 2:46 PM said...

I get inspired by blog posts like this. Knowing that I'm not the only one. It makes me feel that we have a camaraderie of sorts.

Ready, Aim, Hook Me on July 29, 2011 at 5:12 PM said...

Lesli, what a great comment. I think it is inspiring to see possibilities from someone's success. Gives us hope and spurs us on to do and be better.

Lynn, I love inspirational quotes too. Especially old writers. I love Mark Twain's logic.

Michael, thanks for reading and yes, we have to stick together or I think it's easy to lose oneself at bit in our writer's world.

thanks for commenting. :)

Crazy Life of a Writing Mom on July 30, 2011 at 6:43 AM said...

Beautiful post. It's amazing how root emotions of love can spur us on. I started writing for my son who died ;)

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