All Said and Done

May we all have the courage and support to set and accomplish our goals.

How did you all fair in my Writing Triathlon while I was away? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for following this journey. Now back to the writing (eeks! I'm so excited for WriteOnCon).

Until You Quit Trying

YOU ARE NEVER A LOSER

UNTIL YOU QUIT TRYING

Why is it that the closer we get to our end goal, the harder it is? Maybe that's just me.

I am so close to finishing the revisions I set out to do in June and now I just want to ball it up and throw it all away.

A funny thing happened to me in June. I was ready to throw in the towel on this first story. I didn't like the ending, which led into another book, and then another. I literally wrote two books and got over 20,000 words into the third story before realizing I just didn't like the way book 1 worked out.

By this time, I had sent six queries out before realizing how a query should be written, thanks to the Query Shark. After revising my query, I sent 5 out and immediately got one request for a partial that eventually came back as a rejection. Then I joined one of Query Tracker's contests for feedback on my first chapter. The feedback came as "Telling more than showing." Here's where my story takes a turn.

I was already rearranging book 1 in my mind before the contest. After the contest, I was rewriting my whole story idea. Then a week later the agent that hosted the contest asked for a partial based on a query I sent well before the contest existed. I sent a polite email reminding her that I participated in the contest and what her comments were. At that time, I asked if she was still interested in my partial. If so, I would be willing to revise based on her comments.

The agent was kind enough to respond by suggesting I go ahead and make the revisions and then submit the partial via her email. I spent two and a half days revising thirty pages before submitting early am on a Friday in June.

The revisions prompted a complete overhaul of book 1 where I would need to wrap book 2 up in it for a more satisfying ending. Now, I'm 30,000 words away from the finish and I'm doubting myself and I am probably days away from hearing from the agent on the revised partial.

The problem is that once I started pulling from book 2, I found several ways I could revise my story if I dumped book 1 and focused solely on book 2. I mean, book 2 just jumps right into the heart of the story exactly where I want to be. Book 1, at first, was a lot of background with some action. Since the revisions, I was able to make book 1 way more interesting, but not with the same type of action that book 2 holds out of the gate.

I'm attending WriteOnCon and now I'm not sure about my whole story. Maybe I have to step back a little. My focus is torn between the kids and their summer activities and James' Ironman.

Have you ever gotten so close to something that you just froze? Unable to get where you know you need to end up for the finish?

The funny thing is that I don't really want to quit per say, I just want to start all over.

I desperately need two things:

1. To hear back from the agent so I know which way to go (feedback would be awesome but in the event of a form rejection, I think I will rework book 2. Of course, if any type of yes, or send a full comes about then I will jump for joy.)

2. Attend WriteOnCon. I will benefit greatly from other's like me, and the experts.

By the way, have you joined my Writing Triathlon yet?

If you are already sending love to Elana Johnson via her blog, Query Tracker blog, or WriteOnCon then you have a leg up in this race. Now you just need to let me know you're playing in the comments and then head over to The Practice Room and Tour De Writing and leave comments on their blog about your writing progress. It's never to late to bump someone and get one of three prize places (to be announced soon).

What Lies Before Us

The third inspiration that James chose to see on his poster boards is:

What lies before us and what lies behind us

are small matters compared to

what lies within us

Emerson

WHAT LIES BEHIND US:

Race prep is going well. At least from my standpoint. From James' standpoint, I'm not really sure if he has managed to get everything he needs quite yet, but he will.

This is the first race where we've had to pack our bags and rent a place to stay. Luckily James reserved a house months ago, so that's one thing off our list.

Movie players for the car ride...check, movies for the players....check. Regina is making the craft bags (crayons, notebooks, etc.).

I spent the weekend working on the shirts. This is the big race. The race he's always wanted to do, short of being the World Championship in Hawaii. Thus, cow bells, poster boards, and iron-on transfer t-shirts were a must. I'm one of those; I tend to over do it a bit when it comes to milestones and celebrations. (We all have something.)

The kids drew pictures for the t-shirts. Here's what the adult and baby shirts will look like, the kids who drew get a shirt with just their own drawing on it:

WHAT LIES BEFORE US:

Though I worked on the T-shirts (that meant printing the iron-ons), I still have to iron-on the transfers for 10 shirts.

Pre-cook the carb-loading meal the night before we leave.

Pack, pack, and pack some more.

For the triathlete, the process is train, train and then train some more. Then come race day, get up early with the masses, get set up in the transition area, and get into a mental zone. Also, a quick check of the water bottle, Goo, Perpetuem, Shot Blocks, race bib, bike go-through, put on the wet suit, etc.

For the fans, which in James' case includes me and the three kids, and my sister, her husband, and their three kids, we prepare a different kind of way. We check our cameras, camcorders, water cooler, snacks (for the kids), sunblock, sunglasses, portable potty (for the kids though wish an adult one would be as easy to pull out of a backpack), kids clothes proper, kids shoes and socks proper, money just in case, and this time, the cow bells, the poster boards (divided up for each leg of the race), and extra sustenance for James.

WHAT LIES WITHIN US:

In my previous experience this is how race day goes

(with some preconceived tweaking for the Ironman):

We take pics with James before the race.

Then we say good luck and goodbye and head out to find a good place for video and pictures. This is no easy task. Jason, my sister's husband, breaks off and takes pictures and some video from his location (It's better for one to stand near the exit to get the shot of the bike transition), while me, Regina and the 6 kids stand at a distance. We will get the water shot and then run (I mean book it with 6 kids ages 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8) to a distance where we can see James coming on the bike (this event is looped for the spectators so we will get a couple of opportunities to see him).

In the past, once we've seen James on the bike we break up again so one of us can catch James at the transition for the run while the other will set up a cheering section at another point of the run.

This time, since the race will take approximately 15 hours, us fans will have to take a break. We will all go back to the rental after we see James on the bike, to eat lunch, rest and get out of the sun for a bit.

Then, Jason has agreed (thank you Jason) to watch all 6 kids at the rental until near the end of the race while Regina and I head back out to meet James at one of the points on his map.

During this meet up time, James will swap out his water bottles, get some sustenance; maybe more Goo, shot blocks, and Perpetuem (600 calorie beverage). We will also have bandanas with ice, frozen washclothes and other ways to help him lower his body temperature. Although the run is looped, Regina and I will start heading toward a more distant point so we can continue to cheer him on. (perhaps bringing the older kids' scooters will be a good idea).

Hopefully when all is said and done, James will have had the strength to cross the finish line and none of the fans will have heat stroke.

In writing:

What lies behind me is the desire to write a book, the pain of completing the first draft, the bewilderment and inexperience of sending query letters and partials.

What lies before me includes revising my first two books down to one and revising book three into book two. WriteOnCon is still uphead. And I'm days away from hearing back from an agent who has my partial.

What lies within me includes the strength and perseverance to follow my dream by not giving up, and continuing to write, revise, and blog. I hope that should my partial come back a rejection, that I will find the appropriate sustenance to keep me going.

Hopefully, I, too, will make it to my finish line.

A Single Line Today

Discipline is remembering what you want.

(unsure source. found on search.)

The First Line of Inspiration

I think eight is a lucky number because it represents infinity; no ending lines.

Today marks 8 days to the starting lineup for James' triathlon.

If you just got here, my husband is getting ready to do his first Ironman Triathlon (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and a 26-mile marathon). I started a Writing Triathlon to honor my husband's dream finally coming to fruition. I, too, hope my dream of getting published comes true by means of the same type of dedication and perseverence my husband has used to train for this race.

And now we have come up with 8 sayings that will hopefully inspire James during his potentially 15 hour race (he has 17 hours to finish and hoping for better than 15)

The first inspirational saying is -

A GOAL IS A DREAM WITH A DEADLINE

May you all have a goal in mind and the perseverance to set the deadline.

My Writing Triathlon got off to a great start. It's not too late to join in.

Here are the stats so far:

Tina - Current points leader with 20 points. (Got an excellent boost of 5 points from mentioning my contest on her blog. Thank you for that.)

Heather - Isn't far behind with a solid 17 points.

Kelly - In the running with 14 points.

Dena and Krystalyn both started following me just as the contest was getting under way but may not be sure if they are playing. If you want to play then you could still be in the running for top three prizes. Find out more about the points.

(I sometimes miss The Practice Room because of my West coast schedule. If I can't get in the room I give everyone points for that day anyway. The Practice Room yields 2 points per day because you could get in there a few times a day.)