Farewell, 2017

What a year. It went fast. A lot of fine things happened in our family, like the birth of my granddaughter. Christmas is really exciting with a little one running about. Family will pull me away from blogging for a while.  I'll post again on the first Wednesday of 2018 for IWSG day. I'll still be writing, but my time on social media will be limited.

We had the first snow that actually hung around last Saturday. Only about two inches in my neck of the woods though not far away, they received more. My sister in Picayune, MS sent me a picture of the three inches they had on Friday. They built a little 12 inch high snowman.

Those fires in California are horrific. Keeping those suffering and worried in my thoughts and prayers.

Hope you have clear weather and can step outside at night and take in the yearly celestial display from the Geminids meteor shower happening this week. I think the best time is around the 13th or 14th. Those of us living in the northern hemisphere have the best show.

Netflix isn't letting me down during the TV drought. Lots of offering from Disney on there and from the Marvel Universe. I really enjoyed The Punisher and my daughter and I are enjoying Godless though it's a really grim and dark show.

Christmas shopping is pretty much complete at my house with only a few gift cards to be picked up for stocking stuffing. And perhaps a few bottles of wine. This is also the first time since I graduated from college where I don't have any traveling to do over the holiday. More time at home, though the reason for it leaves a hole in the family.

And a wish for all my blogger friends. May you find the joy of the season and spend time with those you love. If I could share out the huge mountains of it we'll have at our house, I would send some to all of you.

Are you taking any writing breaks over the holiday season? Doing any traveling? Are you going to enjoy the meteor show? Done with the Christmas shopping?

IWSG: October Version

Happy IWSG day. This brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh is a bloghop that happens the first Wednesday of every month. Join us as we share our worries, victories and offer encouragement to each other. I'm co-hosting this month and posting on the IWSG site. My co-hosts this month are Beverly Stowe McClure, Megan Morgan, Madeline Mora-Summonte, Viola Fury, and Angela Wooldridge. Please go to the list and visit as many people as you can.

This question this month is: When do you know your story is ready?

Well, I could go on all day. I have a list of things, some detailed and some not. There's a difference between a story being ready to go to beta readers as compared to being ready to go to my publisher or if you're self-published, ready to put it out into the world. Rather than take all day, I'll give a few big points I check for before letting anyone else read it.
Is every scene necessary or is it just filler? Does it move the story forward or impart important information?
Does the story make sense or do parts confuse the reader?
Are my characters interesting and do they have depth?
Does each chapter ending lead the reader to continue to the next?
Do I start the story where it should start?
Is my ending satisfying?

Those are only a few of the things I search the manuscript for before I consider it decent enough to take the next step.

My plans for this week. I want to finally watch Luke Cage on Netflix. I want to walk outside if the sun ever comes out again.

And to share some wisdom with the world.

Ideas should be clear and chocolate thick.  Spanish Proverb

"Minds are like parachutes-- they function only when open." Sir James Dewar

Don't forget to visit more IWSG blogs and get your anthology submission ready. And in a slight change to submissions guidelines, the length of your short story can be between 3,000 and 6,000 words. Get writing!

How are you dealing with the insanity of election season? Is fall bringing you some cooler weather and some pretty leaves? Want to add to my general checklist?