Words of Wisdom

I think I would be just as big a fan of Game of Thrones if it was just about Jon Snow and Tyrion:

"Had I been born a peasant, they might have left me out to die, or sold me to some slaver's grotesquerie.  Alas, I was born a Lannister of Casterly Rock, and the grotesqueries are all the poorer.  Things are expected of me.  My father was the Hand of the King for twenty years.  My brother later killed that very same king, as it turns out, but life is full of these little ironies.  My sister married the new king and my repulsive nephew will be king after him.

I must do my part for the honor of my House, wouldn't you agree?  Yet how?  Well, my legs may be too small for my body, but my head is too large, although I prefer to think it is just large enough for my mind.  I have a realistic grasp of my own strengths and weaknesses.

My mind is my weapon.  My brother has his sword, King Robert his warhammer, and I have my mind... and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge."

Tyrion tapped the leather cover of the book.  "That's why I read so much, Jon Snow."

It's been a long time since I rock and rolled...

Funny how going back to school and having a day job again can get in the way of important endeavors like blogging.  Didn't mean to sign off for so long but lesson plans and grading don't get done by themselves.

The last few months have been very eventful for me on the writing front, day job notwithstanding.  Some highlights:

• I discovered how to use twitter as a writing resource.  Narrowing my long-dormant twitter feed to various happenings in the writing community (read: I started using twitter to follow literary agents, editors, other writers exclusively) has opened up a whole new world of possibilities.  Namely...

• I participated in a number of writing contests.  Just in the last three months, I participated in PitchWars, Nightmare on Query Street, and PitchSlam!  Didn't win (or even advance in) any of those contests but the payoff has been significant in terms of honing my craft, connecting with others on the same journey as me, and making general progress in writing pitches and query letters.  And speaking of connecting with others...

• I attended my first writers' conference.  Going to my local SCBWI's annual fall conference may have been the most transformative experience of all.  Among the many things I took away from the event, a few standout:
     
1) I had my first 10 pages of my manuscript critiqued by an editor at Bloomsbury.  Good feedback has been hard to find and I greatly appreciated the insights and impressions he shared me with.  Some of his suggestions validated things I had been thinking about (switching from YA to MG), while others (the need to develop setting more) apparently flew under my radar.

2) I really need to join a critique group.

In conclusion, while the ultimate goal of getting published has yet to be met, progress is being made.  And so the journey continues.