My last post was a poll on about manuscript submissions, Poll - Manuscript submission. As you may have guessed, I posted this because I do have a manuscript out there and I am waiting for a response. I was curious about what other author/writers think.

The good news is I am still waiting for a response and it's past the upper limit of the usual response time. Yes, I know the response times are estimates, but no new is not a no. I'll happily and patiently wait for a response.

While I wait, I have a few other things on the go. To find out what, you'll have to wait to see. :)

Poll - Manuscript submission

Authors (and writers), when waiting for a response to a manuscript submission, do you feel that no news good news? For example, if response time is 8-12 weeks*, do you get more excited if you haven't heard anything by week 12? (assume they respond, even for rejections) *arbitrary duration

— Madeline Barr (@MadelineBarr) July 9, 2019

Digital rights management (DRM) - the dark side

Microsoft's Ebook Apocalypse Shows the Dark Side of DRM https://t.co/PKWr3xbfqe

— Madeline Barr (@MadelineBarr) July 3, 2019

Tap Dance Day!

Shuffle-Ball-Change! May 25th is Tap Dance Day!

I took tap dancing lessons when I was little and enjoyed it very much. I always felt so special in my tap shoes.


Interesting fact: 
Early tap shoes were made by hammering pennies or hobnails (a short, thick-headed nail commonly used on boot soles)  into the toe and heel of the shoe. When the performer danced the metal would create a tapping sound when their foot hit the hard ground or stage. https://ourpastimes.com/the-history-of-tap-dance-shoes-12185380.html

Question:
Have you ever tap danced? If not, what kind of dancing have you done?

Books:
Here's a list of some children's books about turtles:

Rainbow Magic Dance Fairies: Tasha the Tap Dance Fairy - By Daisy Meadows - Scholastic

How to tap dance:

Brother's Day

Love them or hate them. Today, May 24th, is Brother's Day.

I have an older brother and, yes, I do love him - but don't tell him I said that. 😜

Question: Do you have any brothers?

Books:
Here's a list of some children's books about brothers:

• The Orphan Rescue - by Anne Dublin - Second Story Press
• The Wright Brothers - by Elizabeth MacLeod and illustrated by Andrej Krystoforski - Kids Can Press
• No Room for Baby - by  Émile Jadoul and illustrated by  Émile Jadoul - Kids Can Press
• Little Brothers & Little Sisters - by Monica Arnaldo - Owlkids
• Me and My Brother - by Ruth Ohi - Annick Press

Turtle Day!

It's time to "shellebrate" because May 23rd is Turtle Day!

Interesting fact: 
A turtle's shell is part of its skeleton. More facts at https://www.natgeokids.com/za/discover/animals/sea-life/turtle-facts/

Question:
What is known as Turtle Island?

Books:
Here's a list of some children's books about turtles:

• Franklin the Turtle - by Paulette Bourgeois and illustrated by Brenda Clark -  Kids Can Press
• Old Turtle - by Douglas Wood and illustrated by Cheng-Khee Chee  - Scholastic
• Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People - by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger - Annick Press
• Hatchling’s Journey - by Kristin Bieber Domm and illustrated by Jeffrey Domm - Nimbus Publishing
• Leatherback Blues - by Karen Hood-Caddy -  Dundurn
• Turtle Pond - by James Gladstone and illustrated by Karen Reczuch - Groundwood Books

Hosting a writing group

This blog post is a general post about my writing group at work. The writing group we've formed at work is going well.

In our first meeting, we wrote short paragraphs based on photo prompts. It was very interesting to see the creativity of the group and how the photographs prompted each writer in their own unique way. I don't think my paragraph will develop into a full-fledged story but I will keep it in my files. You never know when you are going to need it in another story.

At the next meeting, a co-worker and I tagged teamed hosting the meeting. In honour of poetry month, he taught the group on how to write a Haiku, and I follow-up by expanding the lesson to how to write a Tanka. The lesson was well received by the group.

I am very excited that I have been asked to host the May 28th meeting with a topic of my choice. The topic I chose is

Generating Story Ideas

Once I complete my session I will post about the topic and how the meeting went.


While you wait, feel free to share with me some the ways you come up with story ideas or what you do to help get the creative juices flowing by entering it in the comments below.

I'm also interested in any other topics I could share with my writing group or you would like me to post about.

What now? I've been busy

What am I up to now? Here are just a few things:

• Editing - I am helping out a fellow Atlassian Author with something he's working on.
• Benny and I made a student/department visitation - he loved it.
• I scored 2, yes TWO, goals in hockey in the same shift. First time I've done that!
• I joined a writing group at work.
• I'm doing the Robert Brewer's April Poem A Day (PAD) Challenge.
• Signed up for Exploring Haiku as Gratefulness Practice - sign up before April 10th.
• Went to my son's music performance where he had an alto saxophone solo - so proud.
• Used my artsy talent to create and cut window decals on my Cricut.
• Successfully completed an accelerated "The Basics of Fluid Development" and "Advanced Fluid Development" course for Oracle PeopleSoft development.

Now, I'm looking to either resurrect a manuscript and make it pretty or write something new like an article. Not sure yet.

(I also need to figure out a new exercise routine now the hockey season is finished but I don't want to write that down in case I don't do it --- oops, looks like I wrote it)

It's Been a While!

It's been a while.

Why?

Well, I took some time off from writing because I was taking courses for my day job. Now that the courses are done, I've spent significant time polishing an old manuscript. A manuscript that almost made it to publication in the past. I am thrilled with the final result!

It's been a while since I submitted a manuscript.

It's polished, printed and in an envelope with a SASE sitting by the front door. I will drop it in the mailbox tomorrow morning when I walk the dog before I go to work.

It's been a while. I'm happy to be back!

(I'm off to work on the next manuscript)

A Love of All Shapes and Sizes

I'm pleased to be a member of the Atlassian Authors group! Yay!

With Valentine's Day in mind, the prompt this month was about the app/add-on/plug-in we love.
Read my article A Love of All Shapes and Sizes - draw.io Diagrams for Confluence .

Let me know what you think.