10/10/10

In honor of the date, I'm going to make three top ten lists.  Ready?

Top 10 of My Favorite Things:
     (So hard to do, I realized I have zillions of favorite things.  This is what came to mind first)

10) salted caramel hot chocolate at Starbucks
9) watching tv with the hubster
8) autumn with the crisp beautiful leaves and awesome weather
7) Thanksgiving--to remember all those things I'm thankful for
6) chocolate-'nuff said
5) reading--especially if shared with #10 or #6
4) writing--especially when the ideas are flowing
3) friends
2) my family
1) God

10 of My Favorite Books:
     (also hard.  I have lots of favs!)

1. The Giver
2. Pillars of the Earth
3. Water for Elephants
4. Embrace Me
5. Harry Potter series
6. Chronicles of Narnia series
7. Lightning Thief series
8. Complete Works of Shakespeare
9. Redeeming Love
10. the Bible

10 Things I've Learned About Writing:

1. Critic constantly shares her ideas.  It's best to ignore her until the editing process.  And then only listen to her sparingly or she'll totally get you down.
2. The best way to avoid procrastinating on your writing is to write somewhere else.  Starbucks is best.  Especially if you don't sign in to their wi-fi network.
3. Everyone who reads your story will have different opinions.  If you listen to all of them, you lose the heart of your story.  And your confidence.
4. When you get writer's block, do something else.  Not thinking about the story for some reason gets the ideas flowing.
5. It's always when you're away from paper or your computer when the ideas flow.  Like when you're on a walk in the woods, driving 70 mph on the highway, or in the shower.
6. It's best to write every day. If you take time off, you lose your flow and forget the little details about your story world.  (Like what color hair your protagonists' best friend has).
7. Every single time you look at your story you'll find things you want to change.  Eventually you just have to say it's done.
8. You're not really a writer unless someone becomes a reader of your work.  You gotta be bold enough to share your story.
9. Keep on keeping on.  Keep writing even when you don't want to.  Keep going when the Critic gets you down.  Keep pushing the excuses aside.  Keep editing when you feel you're so over this story.  Keep sending out those query letters when you get those rejections.  And once you finish one book, start writing the next.
10. You'll never become an expert writer.  There's always more to learn.