Monday, August 9, 2010

Mommy Monday- Back to School


As I find myself preparing for Super Spawn to start school, I can't help but notice the parallels to my writing.

Not only do I enjoy buying unnecessary office supplies for my writing, but the actual process of primping, shopping, and prepping is very much like getting ready to query.

Primping:
School- you get your kid's hair cut, new clothes, new shoes, etc so they can look their best at school.

Writing- you revise, revise, revise until your prose is shiny and bright.

Shopping:

School- there are lists as long as the sheet of paper of things you must buy for school. Now, should you buy the hot brand that's "cool" or this other brand that may not be the hottest, but isn't necessarily any better or worse.

Writing- do you follow trends with your writing or dare to be different? Should you point out your story's similarities to the blockbusters or the differences?

Prepping:

School- you must open everything, write names on each tiny bit, and organize it all beautifully in the shiny-new-backpack so that it can be ripped open and spread around the classroom the first day.

Writing- you ask for feedback on your (as you see it) perfect query letter, only for it to be ripped apart and then you're told to put it back together. (In a good way)

Now it's time to go to school!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Shopping is also like building a list of agents to query -- a long, long list with "dream" and "safety" like schools.

YAY back to school! It's my favorite time of year for shopping through office supply aisles!

Erinn said...

I love back to school shopping. I'm just glad I don't have to don't have to do it for Zoey yet.

KatOwens: Insect Collector said...

I totally got sucked into buying random back to school supplies for my boys this weekend. Darn you Walmart with your shiny cheap goods.