2011—LESSON LEARNED!
I learned many lessons in 2011…and the first was in January at a convent. Yes, a convent.
I live in Illinois, a state with a variety of SCBWI events each year. A week into the new year, I attended a weekend retreat at the Cenacle in Chicago. People asked why I paid good money to sit in a silent room in a silent building when I live alone. The answer was simple: I’m easily distracted. I needed to get away from the Kardashians, dumb TV movies, laundry and schoolwork. I was unbelievably focused and productive—I wrote 3.5 books in 3 days! Lesson learned: I need peace and quiet to get stuff done.
Lisa Wheeler’s Picture Book boot camp was in February. There is only way to describe this weekend: the single best thing I ever did to improve my writing. Picture book writers…find Lisa. Now. Hurry. Many, many lessons learned.
March and April were filled with book signings and school events. Fun! In May, I went temporarily insane and took part and signed up for the challenge of writing seven complete picture books in a week. Lesson learned: I can get a lot done when I set my mind to it!
In June, I did not write anything. Too much stress at work. Needed to relax. I was just not feeling it, and if I’m not feeling it, I can’t force it…so I went swimming instead. And then came….
July! Words By the Lake in Springfield was 3 days of solitude by the lake while writing. The peace and quiet was refreshing and calming. Lesson learned: nature makes me more creative.
August and September—I headed back to school. I had no time and no desire to write. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t making progress on my books. I thought about them every day…just because I was too busy to type does not mean I wasn’t getting closer to being done! And I decided to look for an agent.
And then came October…and 14 rejections. I hate looking for agents. (Sorry if you are an agent reading this…but picture book writers who don’t illustrate need love too!) I also set a goal: one week to finish the book I started at the convent. No Facebook. No TV. No cleaning the house. Much to my surprise, I finished it in 4 days and sent it off to my experts! Lesson learned: I always think it’s going to be harder than it is…
November…Prairie Writers Day (the Illinois SCBWI conference.) Busy, busy, busy. Luckily I walked away with a list of editors because I did not have a creative thought in weeks!!! I’m really not worried about it though, because it always returns.
Plus—I SOLD A BOOK!! Yay!!
Benjamin Franklin From A to Z will be coming out with Pelican Publishing. It will be dedicated to the students and coworkers of Sleepy Hollow Elementary who support, encourage and inspire me every day.
And now it’s December…and I made it through the first round of the
www.meegenius.com contest. Feel free to stop by and vote!
It’s been a great year: I’ve learned a lot. And I just signed up to go to the convent again!!! I hope 2012 is as productive as 2011.
This post is part of the
Nonfiction Monday Round-Up hosted this week by
Practically Paradise blog.