Day -31 and counting

Can you believe that it's the First of October already? Only 31 days until the NaNoWriMo begins. This networking stuff is really boggling my mind. I never expected when I started writing this blog that I'd be doing all that I'm doing. I thought I'd be finishing what I'd started writing and then clear my writing plate for November first but that hasn't been the case. I've actually more writing projects lined up and have got a whole lot more going on than I'd ever thought possible. I am still going to close down the rest of my writing projects during that month so that I can concentrate on the new novel. Writing the novel is priority; it always has been.

I wrote a short article for examiner.com to see if they'd take me as their national sustainable agriculture writer. We'll see. Today has otherwise been a great writing day in the social sense. I've been catching up on writing to some of my friends here on the net and talking to friends and family on facebook.

Last night I taught the children in my Wednesday night Bible school class. I had just 4 children in the class all girls. The youngest was four years old. Her name is Shelby. Shelby is really smart. She knew the Bible Quiz questions better than everyone except for maybe the eldest-- Amber who is 9. She's even better than my daughter. I guess Boni was still wrapped up in her pageantry winning dreaming.

I am surprised that Boni hasn't let winning the pageant go to her head any more than it has. She's actually doing better in school since the pageant and has been getting her homework done at school which makes it easier for her because she doesn't even have to bring her books home anymore so it saves the hassle of looking for her school books and papers in the morning. I think really winning the pageant has built up her confidence so she can do better in school. Not that she wasn't doing well, she was just breezing through. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we tell her that she's not only pretty but she's also smart. We're not putting down her talents for good personal presentation but we also are reminding her that she's more than her looks. Another thing that I'm trying to keep alive in her is her imagination. (Why would I do that? It's not like I value an imagination or anything.) Being a parent is a full time job, no, I don't want to think of parenting as a job. It's a privilege and I enjoy every minute of it.

Day -34 and counting

Wow! It's been a busy weekend. You wouldn't know it by the fact that I haven't written in here, but maybe you would. I think I mentioned in my last blog that my daughter was to be a participant in a beauty pageant that night (Friday). I really didn't think she'd win. Those things are usually rigged right? The judges get bought off by wealthier families or well known families in the community who can afford to give a lot toward a cause. A seemingly noble gesture but one with a price. Their darling daughter must win the pageant. Well guess what? That didn't happen in this pageant. My daughter won in the 5-9 year old age division and there were ten other girls competing. The largest number of girls in any of the categories. She was so happy.

I was talking to the school's art teacher after the event and we were discussing our views on pageants in general. Though neither one of us, would have considered participating in this type of event ourselves, we didn't fault those who enjoyed this type of competition.

Don't think that there isn't skill involved in pageant competition because there is. If you'd have seen the difference between the skill of the winners and a lot of the once who didn't place, you'd see that there truly is skill involved. A pageant contestant has to think in a lot of the same ways that a writer has to think. Not only do they have to think about what feels good and natural to them, but they also have to think about and cater to their audience. Not only does a contestant have to do her moves flawlessly but she also has to relate to her audience (which includes the judges) in a way that draws the audience in. In the same token, a writer has to not only get into the flow and feel good about what she's doing while she is writing but she also has to (at least in the editing stages) has to reel in her audience--the reader.

The other day I read two different articles on the same topic and the first one was okay. I enjoyed it but the second was much better. That article had an undercurrent that sucked me in and wouldn't let me go. Most of my articles I would say are more like the first. It's alright but it doesn't draw you into the current. I need to consider my reader more. As a writer, I want to be more like the winners and less like those who didn't place.