The Right Headspace

Let's just start this post off by agreeing that writing is hard. Not just is it hard, but it's hard on our mental health. (Hello, three year break!) There are so many different aspects of this work, and each of them can be draining in their own way.

In drafting, I struggle with perfectionism. I want to put my best work down to begin with, but this often stops the flow of my words.  It acts as my block, and it's exhausting to break through it. It's not something I can flip a switch and turn off either. (But thanks for that suggestion, Hubby! At least you tried to help!) I need to be in the right headspace -- or frame of mind -- in order to step beyond that paralyzing need to be perfect. This particular challenge has gotten greater as my writing knowledge has improved. The story that I've been outlining and drafting while I was on my break has been the one I've struggled with most of all in this respect.

YOU SAID WHAT?!

In revising, well...it's easy to take comments too personally. (RE: the whole perfectionism thing) This is where I have to be REALLY careful with how and when I read comments from my CP's. I don't want to get my back up and be all...

SHE HATES ME!

I also don't want to read the comments when I'm feeling too vulnerable or sensitive, because then can I wind up all...

I've got this!

Sometimes that means waiting a few hours, and sometimes that means waiting a day or so to be able to dive into the comments and take them with a positive mindset...

Waiting is not my favorite thing to do. I'm an action taker -- I don't sit idly by for anything, I go after what I want -- so it's hard for me to wait. But I'm learning to balance that feeling by diverting my focus. 

I've made it a goal of this year, and this month specifically, to work on my craft every day, but specified that "working on my craft" includes reading, writing, critiquing, revising, blogging, social media, etc. So I don't feel hedged in and limited. I've allowed myself that freedom to escape my own mind's games. That way if I'm not in the right headspace for a critique, I've got a whole list of other things to work on to better my craft without feeling guilty or putting myself through the emotional wringer.

I'm hoping that I've come back to this world with enough clarity from my break to keep the positivity flowing. And I hope that maybe my experience will help another writer who has struggled with the same things to not feel alone out there. Sometimes it's nice to have someone who understands to just say, me too.

Do you guys have any tricks for keeping yourself positive during this process? I'd love to hear them!

Super Spawn's MG Book of the Week

I thought it would be fun to let my kiddos have a chance to share their love of reading with you all, and maybe even provide some recommendations you wouldn't have otherwise known about. Plus, it gives a good picture of what actual MG aged readers are reading!

 This week, Super Spawn's pick is:

Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystal

by Dan Middleton

 

After a day of experiments, Trayaurus and DanTDM are about to call it a night when a strange-looking crystal plummets to earth, breaking into five pieces that scatter far and wide. DanTDM and Trayaurus recover one of the shards and quickly realize they are in possession of an object more powerful than anything they’ve ever known.

Word reaches DanTDM and Trayaurus that other pieces of crystal have been recovered—a group of pigs have harnessed the crystals’ power to enable them to talk. But they’re not alone—Dan and Trayaurus’s archenemy, Denton, has also found a shard and manipulated its power for evil. He has created a cloning machine and is producing a terrifying marauding army intent on hunting down the remaining crystals in his effort to become all-powerful.

It’s down to DanTDM and Trayaurus to stop him. Will they prevail, or will the forces of evil be too great for them to overcome?

 

Things you should know about Super Spawn:

1. He is CRAZY about Minecraft.

2. He laughs hysterically at the videos Dan TDM puts on YouTube when he gets to watch them.

 

 

With that being said, the kiddo has been looking forward to this book since he first heard it was coming out. When we went to the book store over the weekend, it came as no surprise when he picked this one up. This is another of those books that isn't in the AR system for school, and so puts me through a lot of angst over it. I love that he still wants to read it though.

 

Anyway, Super Spawn devoured this book in a day, and immediately started reading it again. He laughed the entire way through it, and said it's one of his favorite books EVER. (Yes, he put that much emphasis on the ever.)

 

So if you've got a young Minecraft lover in your life, I'd say this one is worth picking up for sure. Maybe next week I'll get him on the blog to tell you all about a book himself. He also got FUZZY by Tom Angleberger, so maybe he can review it soon! If you have any MG recommendations for my boy, we'd be happy to hear them! 

Parenting the MG Reader

Being both a mom and a writer adds a lot of complexities to the task of developing my children as readers. It has been heavy on my mind the past couple of months as I've watched one child blossom and the other struggle in my own home over their school reading requirements.

I don't know about the rest of the world, but in our school district the kids are on the Accelerated Reader program (AR for short). Which means they read a book and then take a comprehension test on it, which earns them "points" toward their goals for the term.

Within this system the kids are also given reading levels and goals to reach in that regard as well. For Super Spawn, who is now 9 and in 4th grade, he's reading at a 7th grade level as of the beginning of winter break. Curly Girl is 7 and in 2nd grade, and she's reading at a 3rd grade level. Which is great!

Until I take them to the book store.

Super Spawn is big into middle grade fiction, which is wonderful. I've been sharing some of my all-time favorites with him this year. HARRY POTTER, PERCY JACKSON, MAGYK, and more! The issue arises when we're standing in front of a shelf of hundreds of books and I have to pull out my phone and plug the titles into the AR search to see if 1. there's a test for this book, and 2. if it's in his pre-set range. Let the frustration begin.

New releases? Not in the AR system. Could take months for it to show up there.


What does he want to read? The newest LAST KIDS ON EARTH book, of course.


But guess what, even though it's now in the AR system, it's no longer in his range. He's moved above it level-wise. Except he loves this series, and he wants to read it no matter what. 

 And I'm supposed to tell him what? Sure, I'll get it for you and you can read it, but it can't count toward your school goals? 

Sorry, but that's a load of crap. It's almost like a punishment for reading something he loves just because it's below his level. I hate that for him. However, I still bought him the book.

With Super Spawn I also have the added challenge of appropriateness. Yes, he reads well above his grade level, and only continues to improve. We're reaching the point where books like DIVERGENT are falling into his reading range. Now, I LOVE that series. I own all the books and movies. But just because it falls within his capacity to comprehend it, doesn't mean he's at the right maturity level for it. *Cue freakout because he wants to read it, and he knows I've read it, and it's staring at him on our bookshelf begging him to read it*

Our kids are being pushed to challenge themselves to read more complex stories, which is fantastic. Until you hit that wall where they've leveled up beyond their maturity and their teachers are still pushing them farther.

In the case of Curly Girl she's being pushed really hard to read higher level books, which causes her to take less tests, to struggle with her goals, and to not want to read her AR books at all. They're pushing her too fast. Let her just be a 2nd grader for a minute! She will grow at her own pace! The transition from early readers to novels is a hard one for kids. Super Spawn struggled with it too. It just takes time.

All of this to say that I'm not sure putting all of these restrictions and guidelines on our children's reading is as beneficial as we (as parents) are told it is. Isn't there a better way? Wouldn't more freedom to choose help to grow their passion for reading far more than shoving a certain level of book down their throat?

As I writer I worry the implications this has on the novels we put out. What if, because of my sentence structure, my book is labeled as a 6th grade reading level, but the content is appropriate for a high school level of maturity? Is that going to automatically put my book in that "you can read it but it won't count" crowd? I'm not sure I like that one bit.

Do any of you have thoughts on this or similar experiences to share? I'd love to hear them.

Goals for 2017

Seeing as tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and I'm just getting back active on the blog, it seems like the perfect time to talk about goals.

Something I've learned in my time off from writing is that you should never set goals that you don't have complete control over. I'm a big fan of setting goals. Always have been. However, I've been known to set a few that at least had elements that were beyond my control. That's a dangerous game to play, and if you're as goal driven as I am, it can cause a big spiral down a long path that's dark and full of brambles. That's not the kind of place I want to be.

So, this year my focus will be on goals entirely within my control.

Holly's 2017 Writing Goals:

1. Finish revisions on my current project.
2. Find a title for said current project that I actually like.
3. Once it is as perfect as I can make it, query the revised project.
4. Finish a draft of the new project I've been outlining/drafting.
5. Outline that other new project I've been stewing on.
6. Start another draft or round of revisions or both!
7. Remember to enjoy myself.
8. Settle into a blogging routine.
9. Stay active on Twitter.
10. Reconnect with old friends and make some new ones.


What about you guys? Do you have a list of writing goals for the new year? I'd love to hear about them!

I'm back!

I know its been about 300 years in writing world time that I've been gone. Time travels faster in fiction, you know. In the real world though, its been more like 3 years.

Why did I leave?

To finish my degree. I'm an accountant now!

Did I miss writing?

Tremendously. Every so often I'd tell my husband how I just needed to write, and that I was going to work on this new idea no matter how little time I had...and he'd smile and tell me to go for it, of course. Then I'd realize that the little time I thought I had actually didn't exist. Between work and kids and studying I had zero time to myself.

Which is why I'm so excited to be back at it full-force. School is done, and all those hours I was spending on studying I can now devote back to writing! Huzzah!

What did you miss while I was gone?

I got married! That's why the name has changed on the blog and twitter! Yay! I also gained a cute, silly diva of a step-daughter. Super Spawn has turned NINE and now reads MG fiction! Plus I got this furry beast of a puppy that I love to bits and pieces... his name is Barkley.

Sweet Barkley

He's just the cutest.


What am I working on?

I've got a couple irons in the fire. At the moment I'm working through a big revision of one of the novels I wrote several years ago. I've also got an outline of a NA Contemporary I'm looking forward to putting some work into.




I can't say for sure how much I'll be blogging. I'm testing the waters to see how they treat me. If you're inclined, drop me a line to say hello! I can't wait to hear all about everyone's projects and latest news!

Just an FYI - I'm leaving my old posts here. It's not all of them, because I switched platforms for a while and I didn't bother importing those over, but it's a good deal of them. I enjoy looking back and reading through them, so I'm going to let them stay.

A Favor?

BEGINNING OF THE ARCHIVE POSTS:

Guys, I've officially begun the Big Blog Overhaul of 2011!  Which means, the new blog is live at www.hddodson.com!  YAY!  It's so shiny!

But I need to check and see if you guys are seeing the feed in your Google Readers/Blogger Dashboards/etc to know if everything is working like it should be.

So, check out the shiny new look and let me know if the post from today showed up for you, please!

Technical Issues on the Blog

So that you all know, I'm having some issues with Blogger.  I keep commenting on blogs, and they keep disappearing into the ether.  I have no idea what is wrong with this, but please know I'm not ignoring you all -- I'm just having technical issues.  That's also why my posts are showing up so late in the day in your feeds...stupid Blogger.  They're all posted first thing in the morning, yet they aren't showing up until hours and hours later.

I keep thinking about switching to a different host for my blog, but I haven't done it yet because I don't want to go through the crazyness of figuring out how to change my feed sources and everything (I have no idea how that stuff works).  That may be where we're headed though unless Blogger can get it's stuff straight.

But I love reading all of your blogs, and love that you take the time to visit mine.  And if you have any knowledge of how to fix this issue, I'd be happy to hear it!

Thanks guys!  <3