Huge shout out to Mr. Smith's class at St. Joe's!  What a great time meeting the class and talking about The Case of Secrets.  Loved the GREAT questions and your journey around town looking for Gothic architecture was too cool!

Met the COOLEST class in Sanford, North Carolina.  Mrs. Collazo's 4th/5th graders read The Case of Secrets and had lots to say.  Check out their rockin' blog:
http://kidblog.org/collazocove1314

Zealous. Fervent. Passionate. Fanatical.  Obsessive.  These are all words that should describe every aspect of your writing.  From that first inkling of an idea, bring it forward with a zealous spirit.  Work it into clearer shape with a fervent desire.  Share it with a passionate (and accepting) mindset.  Be fanatical in your desire to make it better, and obsessive when you reach out to publishers, agents, reviewers and bloggers.  Don't stop.  If you truly believe in yourself and your words, never stray from the path.  All good things in time.  Years ago I heard a Polygram Records executive talk about [country sensations] The Kentucky Headhunters.  He explained how they approached the label and were told that it wasn't their time yet...that it would come in another 8 years.   Sure enough, 8 years later (1989) they released their debut record "Electric Barnyard" which became a huge hit.  The point is, they never stopped.  They kept going until their time came.  Writers have to do that too—pursue their writing dreams with unyielding desire.  Do they all make it?  No.  But let's give thanks for the ones that do.  Consider your favorite writers.  Imagine how the world would be without them.  Good thing they were zealous, fervent, passionate, fanatical, and obsessive.  They took a chance and never quit.  One of my favorite sayings, and it applies perfectly to this post: When you're standing on thin ice, you may as well dance.    

You can do it.  This is my reply to those people who tell me they want to write a book but for some reason they don't think they can.  Nonsense.  If you have a story to tell...TELL IT.  Learn the rules of writing, many of which I've discussed over the course of the month, and then get to it.  Don't complain that you don't have the time to write.  Don't cop out by saying you don't have a good place to write.  If you really want to write...REALLY believe in yourself and your story...you'll find a way.  Some time ago I came across this message and I immediately posted it on my Facebook page: "Good things come to those who work their asses off and never give up."  That was shortly after I learned that a small indie press had picked up my mid-grade novel.  If it can happen for me it can happen for you.  So do it.  Do it a lot.  Do it even more, because the more you write the better you get.  The more you share your work, accept corrective input and network with others, the better you get.  The more you refuse to accept mundane characters, droll dialogue and flat situations...you guessed it...the better you get. 

And if you happen to change a single life...inspire a single reader or writer...you've reached the top of the mountain.  Think of this Bill Murray quote from the end of the movie Scrooged, where he addresses the world in the middle of the Christmas Special:

"It can happen every day! You've just got to want that feeling.  You'll want it every day.  It can happen to you!"

So stop telling yourself you can't and start the journey.  You CAN do it!  

Xeroxing your artwork.  This is a trick I used for a recent set of graduated illustrations.  It's very simple to do and allows greater continuity of design, as opposed to redrawing each illustration from scratch.  In my case I wanted to have a graduated set of  images that eventually became a Gothic window.  The final image was based on an actual church window in England.  I started with the basic elements...a square set with a vertical and horizontal line.  This I saved as Image #1.  Then I copied it and added a few more details.  Voila...Image #2.  I added even more detail and had Image #3...and on I went  As I progressed I gradually started taking away inside lines, curves, and so on, and my finished window image began to look like the real thing.  Each image was then placed on the chapter pages of my book, giving the reader the impression of looking over the architect's shoulder as the image was being designed.   Not too shabby for an architect wanna be!

Weed out what doesn't belong.  All vegetable garden references aside, it's very important to go through your story and weed out the parts that aren't important.  This can be discussed on two different scales.  Weeding on the larger scale is about discarding the parts that have no relevance to your story.  They may be the best prose you've ever written but I'm sorry, they have to go.  This applies to redundant parts too.  Ask yourself, have I already answered this question or described this part of the character?  If so, say goodbye to it.   

Weeding on the smaller scale includes a few basics and some pet peeves.  First, it's OK to leave out the specific mechanics of your character as they move throughout the story.  I'm referring to the exact details of something as mundane as walking out of the room as illustrated with the following: 

When she saw him pull into the driveway she turned away from the window and hurried across the room.  When she got to the door she grabbed the doorknob and gave it a hard turn, then pulled  the door open so hard it hit the wall with a loud thud, rattling the small figurines on her  bureau.  Then she stepped through the doorway into the hall and raced down the hallway towards the front door...blah blah blah.

As a reader I don't need to have it broken down for me. It's OK to just tell me she ran out of the room and  went outside to meet her mystery visitor before he got out of his car.  It keeps the story moving forward and allows the reader to fill in the blanks.  Remember, readers like filling in the blanks.  We're funny in that way.

Another part of weeding (pet peeve alert) is to discard redundant words...especially those descriptive oddities that stand out from the rest of the story.  Give unusual words a cameo appearance and let them go back to the shelf at the word warehouse in your mind.  For example, a word like "multitudinous"...(admit it, you love that word)...sticks out like a sore thumb, so don't wear it out.  Another example—the word "tumescent."   Great word.  Don't kill it.  There are plenty of other words, so don't be afraid to give that old thesaurus a workout.  By the way, the next time you run into Stephen King, don't mention the thesaurus. He's not a big fan. 

The last weeding chore is delegated to punctuation.  Specifically...exclamation points.  Every writer makes this mistake at some [early] part of their career.  In an early draft of a chapter book I removed 268 exclamation marks.  You should too, and for good reason.  First off, your story doesn't need them.  Secondly, they'll drive your reader crazy.  Lastly, and this is huge, there are much more interesting ways to infer emotion.  Interesting for you the writer and interesting for the reader.  When it comes to exclamation marks, I avoid them like the chatty mailman and his multitudinous complaints about the neighbors.

See what I did there?  Looks like I have some weeding to do.

Vive la différence!

When your write for the masses, people are going to have something to say about it. This is unavoidable.

(cleansing breath)

For a writer it will be a blessing and a curse.  Not "can be"...WILL be.  Some people will get exactly what you're trying to say—others will miss the point by a country mile.  One person will say the use of the [insert noun] as a metaphor for the main character's [insert plight] was brilliant.  Another person will say it confused them or it had no place in the story. 

(sigh)

I have a narrow strip of paper taped to the side of my computer monitor.  It says "Unicorns and Rainbows...Vampires and Werewolves."  It's there to remind me that different people like different things.  The reviewer who loves baby unicorns probably won't understand your story about the cute blonde math teacher turned vampire.  Sing it with me..."You say "tomato"...I say  "to-mah-to..."  

It's the human condition, so my advice to you—get used to it.  Spock was right when he said "humans are illogical."  We are...for the lack of a better term...only human.  As a writer you need to adopt a Vulcan mindset.  Yes, you DO need to be mindful of where you send your work, who is reading it, and so on.  As mentioned previously, make sure it's going to the publisher/agent/reviewer who is looking for werewolf stories, or historical romance, or books about moose that talk.  And be like Spock.

Live long and prosper.