magick musings…

“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”

~Winston Churchill

…I attended the RWA National Conference at Disney World in Orlando, FL.

Had such a blast!

Dennie M, Michelle M, and I arrived Tuesday afternoon and got checked into our hotel, unpacked, and headed for dinner and drinks at the Cabana Restaurant on the small beach at the hotel. Sat outside where, surprisingly enough, the weather was very comfortable. We munched on their speciality pizza (I tried the fresh tomatoes and basil one) and it was great! Yum!

Wednesday morning we headed for the Magic Kingdom where Dennie and I rode as many rides as we could until the heat took over and we cried uncle and called it quits. I was game to ride anything that didn’t involve getting wet (you can call me a wimp but at least I be a dry one).

Space Mountain, Big Thunder Roller Coaster, Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean – they totally rocked!

Wendesday night, Nikole B flew in and we ate at the sushi bar in the hotel and, after enough sushi and saki sangria, got brave enough to do karaoke. Michelle and Nikole sang, I pretended to sing (trust me, better that way), and Dennie took pics. Evidently, we were in THE place to be that night, because the next day every workshop we attended, someone mentioned it. Needless to say, I bet that night it was packed to the rafters with others wanting to get into the fun also.

Just for the record, I was not brave enough to try the raw sushi kind. That would take more than a few glasses of wine and by then I would be asleep and not eating anything anyway…

As usual, the conference was not only tons of fun, but so productive. I saw some friends I’ve not seen in like forever. Met some new friends like Raeann Parker from my YA group. (Waving to you, Raeann, and thanks for your help on twitter). Also got to meet some of my favorite authors like Tera Lynn Childs, Ally Carter, Tina Ferraro, Melissa de la Cruz, Sophie Jordan, and many many more.

Listened to Nora Roberts talk on how to suck it up and get the job done and how important friends are. She’s such a hero(ine) and inspiration to me. Every time the thought of how ‘hard’ writing (or life in general) crosses my mind, I hear Nora’s voice in my head and I stop whining.

Laughed hysterically at the Chat with Meg Cabot. I so love her.

Sat with Margie Lawson at the Rita awards banquet. She is one awesome, classy lady.

The YA RWA group had our first business meeting and it was so much fun getting to know them and put faces to the online names. This is going to be a really powerful group in the Young Adult field. Happy to be a part of it.

And congratulations to all the RITA and Golden Heart Winners!

If you are serious about writing, attending RWA Nationals is worth every penny.

Even if it is not at Disney World, LOL!

But it’s great to be back and looking forward to another trip with the hubby in a few weeks. This one is just for fun.

Must pack lighter, must pack lighter…

~Sandy

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

~George Bernard Shaw

The beauty of the internet is that there is so much you can do from the comfort of your home. You can ‘window’ shop, buy, sell, keep in touch, make new friends, find old friends, play games, take classes, all in your comfy clothes and bunny slippers.

Occasionally, I will sign up for a writing workshop that many of the RWA chapters offer, but being so busy, will just print the lessons off and put them in a binder (I’m very organized, ya know). My intentions are to read through them and learn and apply what I can to my writing.

Recently, for the month of June, I signed up for C.J. Lyons workshop called Character Driven Plotting. This time, I decided to be an active participant and actually do the lessons and the homework and -(gasp!) – send them in for review.

I cannot stress how much more I’ve learned by doing this. Like many, I can read something and THINK I have the concept and then just move on down the road. But, by participating, you get such informative feedback that helps take it to a new level. And CJ makes you really think hard and dig deep for motivations and conflicts and emotions.

And for us who are such visual creatures, she provided the script to the movie Die Hard and is using the lessons to dissect the movie which is kinda cool. Unfortunately, now I am dissecting movies even worse now. Poor GW!

But try dissecting Shutter Island. Talk about weird!

Great workshop, though!

I recently reconnected with some old friends whom I have not been in touch with for several years and talked on the phone to one of them for TWO hours the other night! It was great catching up and hearing what everyone has been doing. Hard to believe that their kids are now grown, out of the nest, college graduates, and some even married. Wow! Do I feel old! (Not really, LOL. They may all be older, but not me! Although, I do wonder who that woman in the mirror is sometimes…)

Not much to tell on the cooking front. Haven’t been in the mood to try anything special or different.

Later!

~Sandy

“Write stories that insist on being continued beyond the last paragraph.”

~Paul Raymond Martin, Writer’s Little Instruction Book

…to decide!

There are so many cute blog themes out there. If, by chance, you have checked my blog the last few days, you may have come away dizzy because every day I have tried a new look.

Brenda has let me know, without hesitation, which ones she likes and which one she doesn’t.
Michelle says they are all cool. It’s up to me. She’s a Gemini so relates well to my ever changing Libra mind.
Denise is away at RWA Nationals in San Francisco but, if she was here, would tell me to decide and quit messing around. (Take pics, girlfriend, I am so jealous!)

Every one of them has their positives and negatives, but it is fun trying different things.

I just wish I could find what works for me. My next project is learning how to make headers.

Did I tell you we’re having a heat wave here in North Texas? 100 plus heat for several days now. I heard 15, but what do I know? I am busy playing. Inside. Where it is cool.

Okay, back to work. When I got stuck with my plotting, my writing suffered. Even blogging feels stilted when you don’t do it on a regular basis. I have noticed that not everyone blogs as much. That makes me sad even though I don’t get to blog read and surf as much as I used to. My favorite ones that used to have readerships of 100-200 are now down to 40-50.

I have worked through a bit of the problem, so have to get back to writing and see where it goes.

Day-um! I knew I should have never set those goals! And somebody put them on the calendar!

What’s a girl to do?

Get her butt back in gear, that’s what.

But before I do, here’s some wishful thinking:

Hey, it’s my life, I can dream! It may be I like this picture so much right now because I am listening to Kokomo by the Beach Boys as I write this.

~Sandy

“Writing is the only known cure for not writing.”

~Paul Raymond Martin, Writer’s Little Instruction Book

…for my new blog.

Just wanted to try something different. Like trying on a new outfit or a new pair of shoes. You just want an updated look.

May not keep this particular one, but willl try it on for a few days. I am having fun learning how to put it together but have some more work to do on the sidebar. What I can’t figure out, I usually bug Michelle.

Let me know what you think about it!

Northeast Texas has had quite a heat wave lately. And, according to the weather, there is no reprieve in sight as we are expecting over 100 degree weather for a week or so.

Sat outside on the patio today and stayed a tad bit longer than I should have. Now my legs and arms are a bright shade of red. Hopefully will tan and not peel.

Need to think about something for dinner as I have been playing around today and not doing anything serious except for some laundry.

~Sandy

“Finally, one just has to shut up, sit down and write.”

~Paul Raymond Martin, Writer’s Little Instruction Book

…I have always wanted to visit Ireland and Scotland!!!

You Belong in Dublin

Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions. You’re the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl… or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town.

~Sandy