Duke Pics

My husband decided not to illustrate for my chapter book. The decision was made because the story has a seasonal theme. Its not nearly as seasonal as A Christmas Carol or How The Grinch Stole Christmas; however, its still set during winter around the Christmas season. We didn't think we'd have enough illustrations by Thanksgiving, which is around the time I want to release Duke's Forever Family to the viewing public.

Its a 10 chapter children's story about an adventurous kitten whose family disappears one winter's night. When he finds they are missing, he sets off into the cold to search for his siblings and his mother. Along the way he meets new and interesting friends, discovering that hurt and loss come in many different forms. Will Duke find his family or is he alone for good?

Here is one of the pictures that we were going to insert, however it will not be included in the final product:

Aww isn't he cute for a drawing?

To illustrate or not?

Well my husband started illustrating for my manuscript "Duke's Forever Family" a story about a kitten who wakes up to find his whole family has disappeared while he slept. He sets out on an adventure to find them. During his adventure he finds friends and learns about how others experience loss and hurt.

Well now he kinda just wants to stop illustrating since its a chapter book. He wants to put the book out without any pictures because its 10 chapters long and the shortest chapter is about 5 pages. Its a beginner or entry-level chapter book so that kids who are starting to out grow picture books can step into my chapter stories.

Well he wanted to illustrate it and he had some pretty cute pictures but now he doesn't think we should. I kind of want them so that its an easier transition for kids. It's a toss up. I guess that we still have time to consider it. Being the story does take place during the winter, specifically around Christmas, I kinda want it to be taken care of ASAP so I can get the copyright already.

Writer's Block or I Suck!

This morning after I opened my new USB keyboard I thought "I am going to use this to write Lindsay's nightmares"

Unless I start from scratch, Lindsay's Nightmares sucks. I introduced the first slightly scary scene about 4 pages into the story. The reader barely knows Lindsay. I didn't even describe her as a person. I didn't give her any looks. I'm not sure if she's white or black. I don't even know when to describe her. With my story about the kitten I knew exactly the right moment to describe my characters.

From the time that I could say my alphabet at about four years old I liked to tell stories. By the time I was in the first grade I was writing chapter stories for kids. I loved to write so much that sometimes my teachers would tell me that if I were half as interested in my school work as I am in writing my stories I'd be the best student in the class. I'd write in school, I'd write at home. I'd write so much I'd only set it a side when my hands were cramped and ink stained or when Mom had called me a second time for dinner.

Now I am a busy mom of two with one on the way. I started writing again a few weeks ago. I wrote a children's story about a kitten whose family mysteriously disappears in the night. He wakes up to find himself all alone and bravely decides to set out on a mission to find his mother and his five siblings. Along the way he meets unusual friends and finds that he shouldn't judge a book by its cover, so to speak. He learns that hurt and loss comes in many forms.

I loved writing that story. I enjoyed each and every step. Now I am writing Lindsay's Nightmares and I am stuck on the 4th page. I have been stuck on the 4th page for about 4 days. I told myself that it was because I did my best writing on the weekends. I don't do the best writing on the weekends. I wrote my story of the kitten nearly everyday. A new idea popped in my head all the time. I was raring to go. I was anxious to leave work to write that story. Now I am not even motivated to open Lindsay's Nightmares. I don't know one single interesting thing that can happen.

I can blame it on writer's block or I can accept that I really never was a writer to begin with.

A gift from the hubbby.

This morning, Micke threw a large, brown package on my bed, waking me. I still felt tired so I looked at the box, looked at him, and then closed my eyes. I was going to try and drift off for more sleep until he told me "At least look at it."

I turned over, and sleepily attempted to open the box. I am pretty weak in the morning. Actually, I am pretty weak all day, but mostly in the morning. He snatched it from me, opened it at the tab where it was meant to be opened and revealed to me a new USB keyboard. A week ago, I was flat broke and my three year old had spent some time tearing several of my keys loose from my laptop keyboard.

I had a G missing and I placed the tilde where the W goes. I had an ALT key where my /and ? mark is supposed to go. My B was still there but it was barely functioning. My FN key is gone and my right shift, the most important one, was torn loose.

Pretty much my laptop's keyboard is ghetto rigged. You might wonder, or you may not even care, why I had to replace some keys with others. The simple answer is that my son tossed the keys all over our bedroom and I am sure that somewhere in my bedroom is a black hole where things go. I can't seem to find the keys for my keyboard, my cat's old collar, and several other missing items.

This keyboard is sweet. Now I can write my memoir or I won't. There's not much to tell, and frankly, I'm boring.

Check Out Scott

I know dreams are not interesting to anyone but the dreamer. However, I wrote my dream in a way that reads like a story. It isn't edited or fine tuned so there are errors. Even though dreams suck and nobody cares I kinda wrote it this way to get feedack on my writing. Share your thoughts. I'm used to rejection, I work in a call center. ;)
Scott

The Emotions of a Call Center Agent

Working in a call center can be thought of as a high stress job. Not every call center representative is out to call everyone in the country and sell them something really crappy at an enormous price. In fact the job I do has nothing at all to do with sales. Still, working in a call center is quite stressful. Its the kind of stress that will make you sweat on a 30 degree day.

Watching our new hires being trained today reminded me of my first day on the job and all the emotions I've felt.

During training there's the feeling of anticipation. You're kind of nervous but in the back of your head is "I can do this!"
Most newbies I've ever met are bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Then after a call center agent has been on the phone a few weeks, (some may take a month to this emotion) there's the feeling of absolute dread. After the third week I started having nightmares. On the way to work I'd peer through my windshield and see the call center building approaching and I'd start to groan and mumble aloud. My mind would swirl with ideas of how to escape my fate.

After a couple of months on the phones you start to go into a kind of depression. This is where you've sort of accepted that your life sucks and you have very few other options. You go in, you take the calls, you don't care anymore if people curse you out and scream at you, your life sucks and the end of the tunnel is black.

Finally you get to the point where you're mellow and you can kind of accept it. That's where I am now. I must have seen 8 or 9 paydays by now and at this point I am accepting my job. I don't love it and I don't hate it. I clock in and think "Pay day is x amount of days away"
Joe Famous just called me a stupid expletive deleted?? Okay! I am getting paid for him to call me that.
Some Spanish guy just spent 20 minutes of his evening on the phone cursing me in another language....I can dig it. I just got paid 3 dollars to hear an interpreter call me a dummy. What he really said is not what she said in translation because if there's anything I recognize in Spanish, its swear words.
I am at the point where some days are better than others but I no longer have a pessimistic outlook. Life doesn't seem quite as bleak. When there are few other job opportunities around, you suck it up, even if your job does suck. I neither anticipate or dread starting my day. Sure, some days I grumble before, during and after work....but then...who doesn't?

I find that these are the typical stages for most call center employees I've talked to. You might wonder what this has to do with writing, well nothing really. If dreams actually did come true the relevance would be that working in a call center would be a thing of the past. Other than that, this entry is more about my personal life than my writing dreams.

Enjoy...or don't but comment even if you hate it.