How I Sort of Attacked The Stack

On January 8, 2012, I published the post, Stack Attack.I suggest you read it first so you will have a clue as to what I'm talking about. As the year winds down, I thought it would fun to see if I conquered or cowered. I'm proud to report that I did well! Check it out!

 

Sanctuary - William Faulkner Update: Read it, loved it, watched the movie again.

 

The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Emmuska Orczy Update: Read it, loved it, want to read more!

 

Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins Update: Read it, liked it.

 

The Help - Kathryn Stockett Update: Read it, loved it. Even liked the movie!

 

Basic Teachings of the Buddha - Glenn Wallis Update: Didn't even crack it open.

 

Selected Letters of Martha Gelhorn - Caroline Morehead Update: Didn't even crack it open.

 

The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin Update: Didn't reread, BUT I read Happier At Home

 

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens Update: Didn't even crack it open.

 

The Wonders of Solitude - Dale Salwak Update: Didn't even crack it open.

 

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins Update: Finished it, finished series (see above). I'm 1 billionth on the library list for the Hunger Games DVD.

 

Hobby Farm: How To Create and Maintain Your Hobby Farm or Great Estate - Kristen Hampshire Update: Read it, enjoyed it, learned from it.

 

 

This isn't to say that I didn't read a ton of other stuff. Jennifer Brown's Perfect Escape, Seth Godin's Poke the Box, Lisa Lutz' Trail of the Spellmans, Anne Lamott's Imperfect Birds and Rebecca Nichols Alonzo's The Devil in Pew 7 are just a few that come to mind. 

 

I still plan on tackling Selected Letters of Martha Gelhorn. I love Martha. Need to read more Martha. But, I also have a super duper giganto reading project lined up for 2013. I'm super excited about it, and I can wait to share it with you by year's end. I alluded to it in my Stack Attack post.  Can you guess? Can ya? Can ya?

 

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing ... Keep It Real.

 

 

 

 

 

Real Reality Thursday

I finished reading Jennifer Brown's sophomore YA novel Bitter End last night. Actually, finished reading doesn't begin to describe it. I attacked and devoured this book. So good. SO GOOD.

This week, I accomplished something that has been on my To Do list for, like, forever. I registered for the July 6 Volunteer Orientation session for Literacy Kansas City. I used to do a ton of volunteer work, but have gotten away from it over the past several years. Since I'm having a tough time landing a permanent teaching gig, I have some time on my hands. Volunteering though Literacy Kansas City will allow me to share my passion teaching reading by helping adults build their reading skills. Not sure if I'll do some one-on-one tutoring or teach a small group. Obviously, I'll gain more experience and expand my network of contacts. Always good. I'm super excited! First steps always make me tingly!

What's on tap for Real Reality Thursday?

• Laundry
• Pedicure (years overdue. yes, YEARS)
• A visit to Nell Hill's   (can't wait! again, it's been YEARS. 100% NOT a kid-friendly store)
• Trip to the library to pick up The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared by Alice Ozma
• A new book = plopping my hiney in a deck chair, stretching my kickers onto another deck chair, pushing on my purple shades, and soaking up some sun.

Whatever you decide to do today, enjoy and keep it real!

(Ok ... I've tried a bajillion times to fix the font on the end. UNCLE! Going for my pedi now ...)

I Got By With a Little Help From My Friends

Today marks the end of the "Write For Fifteen Minutes A Day" Challenge. August 31. I gave myself a pat on the back, a congratulatory handshake, and a hard High Five. I did it. I wrote every day this month for at least 15 minutes. I'm proud of some of my writing, but other days I coughed up something just so I could say I did it. On those days, I tried to keep some sage advice from my friend, Jennifer Brown, the author of Hate List, due to be released tomorrow. Her advice was something along the lines of, "As long as you realize and accept that most of what you write will be crap, then you'll be just fine." Gotta love Jen!

Laurie Halse Anderson gave us our last writing prompt this morning. She simply asked, "What worked for you this month?" What worked for me was that I committed myself to the challenge on August 1 with a determination to see this through to the end. But I didn't just commit to it mentally. I said it out loud to people. I wrote about it on my blog. I posted it on my Facebook page a few times. Surprisingly, a few people paid attention and held me accountable for my words, both spoken and written.

Jennifer Brown told me that she bookmarked my blog. Well, the pressure was on from the start! If Jen could pound out thousands of words daily and get a novel published, I could certainly write for 15 minutes each day. To not do so would make me, well, a weenie. Or a bigger weenie than I already am.

Kelly M. was my BFF in junior high and most of high school before she moved out of state. I hadn't talked to her in years, and we reconnected on Facebook. She isn't an FB crackhead, but when she did check in she took time to ask me how the writing was going. Wow.

I met Val T. when I taught middle school in Pennsylvania. She is one of the few people I've stayed in touch with since I've moved back. We understand each other well, especially when it comes to the topics of motherhood, struggling learners, books, and politics. She began reading my blog recently and has been encouraging me to keep it up.

Before taking on this challenge, I had forgotten how far a little spark of encouragement can take a person. I'm a little sad and a tad scared that the challenge is over. Laurie's quotes, advice, and prompts provided motivation, especially on days when I couldn't think of a thing to write about or when I didn't feel like writing. I feel somewhat like a painter who peers down from her scaffolding only to discover that it has collapsed beneath her. My choices are to hang on for dear life and hope for the best, or to fall far and fast.

WFMAD Days 6 & 7 - Putting Pink Pen to Paper

Just finished Day 7 of the WFMAD challenge. I hope I can keep this going when my subbing starts next week and my grad class kicks in the week after that. I find that I'm really enjoying this challenge. Laurie has put forth some tough prompts that have forced me/coaxed me into reaching a little farther with my writing.

For the past two days, I've decided to go old school with my writing. Maybe it has something to do with my 20-year high school reunion being this weekend (not going). In other words, pen and paper. I won Jennifer Brown's Love List Tuesday contest (have you entered yet?) during Week Four. One of the grab bag prizes was a package of Uniball Fusion pens. Pink. Purple. Blue. I used purple yesterday; pink today. These might be my new favorite pens. I absolutely adore writing with pen on paper. It just feels so authentic, so Dickensian to me. I've wanted to use that adjective for a long, long time. The colors just add a little extra flair.

Yesterday, I worked on a physical description for one of my characters in a WIP. That was challenging because I hadn't really thought too much about the characters yet. I've been developing scenes with the intention of fleshing out the characters later. It was an interesting trip, to say the least. I learned a lot about my protagonist that I didn't know.

Today I wrote a scene from the same WIP, but from the perspective of a rat. Yes, I said a rat. This was huge for me because I have a hard time writing from someone else's point of view, let alone an animal's. I wrote for 15 minutes straight. When I finished, I realized I was excited about what I had achieved if only because I tried something new.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring?