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, September 8, 2011

Sweet Dreams

Posted by Ready, Aim, Hook Me at 9:17 PM
A little yawn, a rub of the eyes, and my little one’s ready for bed, despite his best efforts to convince me otherwise. I know for both of us, he needs to climb up to bed and snuggle into his race car sheets and wind down, leaving the troubles and fun of the day behind.

My daughter isn’t as easy as that. She’s nearly four years older and scared of her own shadow. She’s had more bad dreams than anyone I’ve met. We’ve tried Monster Spray, Dreamcatchers, MP3 player, everything and anything to let her mind release whatever torment it holds. It’s exhausting and disheartening to see fear in such impressionable eyes.

Since my daughter was old enough to understand, I’ve told her stories to ease her worries and insert colorful images into her head. I think most of us have grown up with bedtime stories and goodnight kisses, maybe that’s where a writer’s love for words and make-believe comes from. It did for me. I remember hanging on to each and every word, and after my mom turned out the light, I would cinch my eyes and find my way back to whatever adventure she created. There were times when I didn't want to wake up. 

My kids are obsessed with cats. So to send them off to dreamland, away from monsters and bad thoughts, I give them Jingle Bells.  

Jingle Bells is a curious cat—surprise, surprise—with an affection for my kids and whole lot of trouble. So far Jingle Bells has followed them to school, rode the bus, gone to the crash up derby, and even donned roller skates. He wears a little bell around his neck and as soon as my kids hear his little Jingle they know it's time to have fun. It's not the most creative of stories, in fact, I'm sure it's a walking cliche, but seeing the looks in my children's eyes tells me differently.

Rambling on by the seat of my pants has never been more joyful as it is when story time comes around. I think we are so caught up in editing, writing, critiquing, and blogging we often lose sight of our number one audience. I may never see joy in my reader’s eyes like I do when I’m talking about Jingle Bells. A four or five star review is fantastic, but not the same as seeing my kids ecstatic about a story, we created together. 

So, stepping away from your w.i.p.s and finished ‘scripts, I want to hear about your bedtime traditions. Do you have a favorite story you read or tell to your kids? Or do you have memories from childhood of someone planting the seeds of adventure with the simple string of words, “once upon a time . . .”? 

1 comments:

Crazy Life of a Writing Mom on September 13, 2011 at 7:31 PM said...

This is such a magical post. It brought me back to the time my own mother used to tell me stories about a little blonde-haired girl and her special pet, Bootsie (seriously).

There's just something ethereal about a good bedtime story. Your kids are so very lucky to have such an amazing mother.

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