Happy New Year?

Ah 2015. I am so happy to see you go.

Hello 2016. I am welcoming you with open arms as I simultaneously kick 2015 in the A$$ as it leaves, not quickly enough. I have high hopes for you and I'm praying you don't let me down. Maybe I'm putting my hopes in the wrong thing? This last year (said with some disgust) was a year of being tested and thrown down and tested again. How many breakdowns can one person have in a 6 month period? More than I thought. The thing is, even as I remember how many nights you brought me, alone in the hospital, wondering how many more times I would have to go through it, I had a strange sense of PEACE. Weird right? The worst thing I have ever been through, the pain, the fear and uncertainty and yet always this sense of calm. What was it? How can I keep that sense of peace as I head forward down the path that is laid out before me? 2016, what do you have in store?

2015 was AWFUL. Did I say that already? Contention, sickness, death. The list goes on. But in the midst of it all, my God is always Good. He showed me so many things about my life that I wasn't paying attention too. He changed my perspective on parenting, my marriage, the life that my husband and I are building and my friendships. Is it true that God doesn't give you more than you can handle? I don't think so. I think if we could always handle everything we would need Him less and less. He wants us to need Him more and more. I have been pushed to breaking and I broke. I'm still here to tell my story because He was there to give me strength, lift me up, and show me that no matter what may happen in my life, He is the ultimate, the Almighty and my focus and my trust MUST be in Him. Nothing else will be constant. Nothing else will ever satisfy or live up to my expectations. My kids, my husband, my friends, we are all human and as such we are perfectly imperfect. I will be let down by every. single. person. If I count on them to always be there, always fill me up, always lift me up, I will consistently be disappointed. My peace, my fulfillment, my guidance can come only from Him.

So, with that said, as horrible as 2015 was, it taught me lots of things that are worth taking into 2016. Things that are worth not forgetting. Things that are worth putting into practice. Things like taking care of myself. My new year's resolution will be summed up into One Word (#oneword), HEALTH. Two years ago, I learned about the One Word movement and it stuck. I like the idea of choosing one word to represent the year instead of coming up with a list of resolutions that I often won't follow through with after January. HEALTH encompasses a general overall goal that can help lead each decision that I make over the entire year. I have realized how important health is and how fleeting it can be when your not paying attention (or when your doctors are human). I may not join a gym or stop eating sugar in 2016, but I will remember that my goal is health and that will help me think of my 70 year old self and I will make better choices for her. She deserves it. So do her grandchildren.

Taking care of myself will also include SLOWING DOWN. It's almost unheard of in the rushed community we live in. It's almost expected that each child will be involved in one or two sport teams and that everyone will be busy busy busy! I mean if you're not busy WHAT are you doing?? Our life, the one mentioned previously, that we are building, became so consumed with different tournaments, events, and carting children around from place to place, often in different directions, that our weekends were not about reconnection but instead left us feeling so drained and depleted that every Sunday we wished for just one more day to rest! It only continued to get worse as our kids got older. Until we couldn't remember when the last time we had been able to sit down as a family and enjoy each other. One day in the hospital (my reasons for being there will be another post) my kids walked in and I was suddenly struck with how old they are and how much time I don't have left with them. Especially my oldest. At 16 he will be leaving our home in two years. I started panicking! Where had all the time gone? How many more summers did we have with him? Did he appreciate all of our carting around and cheering? Would he remember that? Even if we didn't have time to go to the Grand Canyon or have other fun family trips and other memory making family experiences? After many days of contemplating, my answer was a resounding NO. Luckily its not too late. This foreign, SLOWING DOWN thing is just what we need. I can't do it all and I refuse to do anything that does not feed me or my family in a way that is good for our connection and our health.

My father in law passed away on December 19th. A bang up way to end the year from H-E- double hockeysticks. He was a very generous man who loved my children with all his heart and soul. They could not have asked for a better grandfather. Of the small blessings we were given, we knew he was going so we were able to spend some valuable time, say our goodbyes and share lots of memories. It's something that we will never forget and it taught us tangibly, the importance of making moments count. We will take that into this new year as well.

2016, I am looking forward to you.

{H}

Guest Blog Post: Jami Gold

I am very excited to be featured on one of our favorite author's blogs. She's a master of all things writing and invited me to share a bit about our process. You can find the whole article here: http://jamigold.com/2015/11/7-tips-for-a-writing-partnership-guest-jennifer-hale/

7 Tips for a Successful Writing Partnership

Writing partners. Do you have one? Have you ever considered it? Sharing the work? Having a constant sounding board; an endless source of inspiration?

Or do you cringe at the idea of letting someone see inside the chaos of your creative brain? Well, sometimes, it’s really not up to you.

We’re Jenn and Holly. We’ve known each other since our high-schoolers were in kindergarten and we shared the job of room mom, way before we learned we were steered by a common muse.

Each of us spent many of our mommy years dreaming of the day when we could get the words on paper, writing ideas on Target receipts and scheming up character names with interesting pasts attached to them.

When One Thing Leads to Another…

I learned about Holly’s writing interests after a dinner party a few years ago. She had just quit her job to write. She belonged to a writing group. It was serious business. She wasn’t just thinking about it. She was actually doing it.

I told her that I’d always wanted to write, so she invited me to the next meeting. It was there, in Karen’s living room, surrounded by other serious writers, that I first considered my writing dream a real possibility.

The next year, Holly and I started a blog and began writing a regular newspaper column for the Orange County Register. We shared ideas and edited each other’s work for months. With all that collaboration, it seemed like the natural next step to co-author a book.

Co-Authorship Is a Serious Decision

As with any business venture—and writing a book is more business than most authors would like to admit—there are challenges. The crux of a writing partnership is the relationship, and when you mix in passionate opinions about fictional characters, it can get tricky.

Getting a traditional publishing deal (if that’s your goal), may also be tough. We’ve heard that some agents and editors don’t want to work with author pairs.

And don’t forget that a good book must have consistency of voice, pacing and style. Can two authors deliver that? YES!

7 Tips to Make a Writing Partnership Work

Holly and I have found that the benefits of collaboration far outweigh the challenges, truly. If you’ve ever considered such a match, here are seven powerful tips that have helped us along the way:

Tip #1: Have a Common Focus

I know it sounds like a given but it’s easy to get swept away in the excitement before ensuring that you have the same ideals.

These are the essentials:

genre,

major themes,

publishing goals (self, indie, traditional),

division of labor,

timelines, and

contingency plans.

If all those things align, your foundation is set. Details will work themselves out later. Sounds like pre-marital counseling, huh?

Tip #2: Don’t Be Afraid of Giving and Receiving Criticism

If you’re not practiced in either one of these, you have work to do before you’re ready to commit to an honest, reciprocal writing partnership. Communication is critical to staving off resentment. Talk about it all and have plans in place.

For example, what do you do with that scene or character or detail that one of you absolutely adores while the other can’t stand it? Maybe it stays until the draft is complete and then it’s revisited, or maybe you have your beta readers (or husbands) vote. Talk to each other.

Tip #3: Be Willing to Be a Cheerleader

If there’s one guarantee about the writing process, it’s the occasional crisis of confidence. And when it happens, you have each other to pull out the pom-poms (otherwise known as wine or chocolate, or both), and kick that doubt out the door.

This is one of the best parts of sharing the writing journey. Motivation and excitement and perspective are in ample supply.

Tip #4: Trust Your Partner and Be Trustworthy

Honesty starts with knowing your own limitations. Knowing what you can commit to and following through on those commitments. Open communication and flexible planning are critical to keeping things balanced and moving the project forward.

Trust comes with time and experience so don’t rush it. Have lots of meetings and hash-out sessions, thoughtfully considering all the logistics before you jump into a writing relationship. (This gig really is like a marriage.)

Tip #5: Push Your Envelope and Challenge Each Other

Think outside the box and be willing to explore new ideas that take you out of your comfort zone. Safe sometimes equates to boring. Take each other on otherwise risky adventures and be open.

For example, when your partner wants to introduce a time traveler to the story and you can’t wrap your head around the space-time continuum, just go with it. See what happens. At least one of you will be able to write that part.

Tip #6: Look Forward to Writing Time

Planning and writing sessions are critical. Holly and I have a standing writing date every Monday morning. We have a few favorite spots where she gets coffee, I get tea (or a Diet Coke) and we share an array of pastries—a happy mind is a creative one, after all.

If possible, schedule writing retreats, weekends away to immerse yourself, escape from the distractions of your life, and WRITE with abandon!! If you can mix in a couple webinars on the craft and writing conferences, even better.

Tip #7: Be Understanding…and Patient…and Flexible

The excitement and motivation, the frustration and writers’ block, the disappointment and the dreaminess, all these things will ebb and flow.

There will be times when life, family, the job that pays, burn-out, rejection, or any combination thereof, will attempt to steer you off course. You may need to take a break here and there. That’s OK!

Just have a plan and talk about it. Have another project or place to focus your creative energy during those times when you and your writing partner are out of sync. But no matter what, don’t give up.

Our Process

Our process includes lots of lists and research and outlines. Our book, a Young Adult Paranormal Adventure, is written with two points of view, which simplifies things. Holly writes the male protagonist’s POV and I write the female’s, alternating chapters.

When we meet, we read what we’ve written to each other, discuss needed changes and take notes. When editing, we can easily spend twenty minutes on a sentence.

We read TONS of books on writing, in our genre and out. We listen to music, we post pictures of our characters on Facebook, we write blog posts, we have a Pinterest page dedicated to inspiration and we fall in love with our story over and over again.

Because we have each other.

Kismet. That’s what we call it. Fate. That’s what we believe.

It isn’t always easy or fast or as productive as it should. But whose writing journey is? Of one thing we are absolutely, undeniably certain: our book is infinitely better because of two hearts and two minds and two writers.

Write on, friends.

{J}

Thankful for Words of Wisdom

NaNoWriMo 2015 (National Novel Writing Month) has been all about editing for Holly and me. Since March, when we decided to change our book's genre from New Adult to Young Adult, we have fully re-written FORGED, book one of Power of 7. Our efforts have been positively influenced by several people and the instrumental tools that they've created. So when you find yourself in need of writing wisdom and editing advice, you will find them here:

1. DearEditor.com and Writing Young Adult Fiction for Dummies by Deborah Halverson

2. One Stop for Writers and the amazing descriptive thesaurus collection by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi

3. Writership and all of the insightful writing podcasts by Alyssa Archer and Leslie Watts

I guarantee there are MANY more amazing editing tools to find out in the webworld but these are our go-to's. In the spirit of thanks and deep admiration of what these talented writers have developed for the betterment of us all, we encourage you visit them today and see how they can transform your writing process.

Good luck and happy writing!

{J & H}

#NaNoWriMo-Day 1

National Novel Writing Month is here!! And we are taking advantage of the NaNoWriMo campaign to edit FORGED, with the help of our incredible editor, Deborah Halverson, and prepare for pitching it at some upcoming writers' conferences.

If you've ever considered writing anything, visit www.nanowrimo.org to get inspired. It's and AMAZING conglomeration of talent and motivation.

Our NaNoWriMo novel page begins with our short synopsis:

FORGED - POWER OF 7 (book 1) is best described as young adult paranormal adventure with elements of romance and historical fiction. Told from the points of view of Emily and John, it follows the "Healer" and the "Listener" and five other gifted Innates, as they discover that they've been brought totether for a very specific purpose. They are tasked with finding the source of their powers in order to confront a force of evil that only they can overcome. As Emily begins to accept the benefits of being different, John only sees his power as a curse, one that threatens the emerging love between them. In an atmosphere riddled with spirits, demons and centuries-old legends, these seven will find that by embracing that which makes them ordinary, they have the power to restore humanity.

Is this something you think you would read? We'll share more throughout the month and are happily accepting feedback.

Happy NaNoWriMo2015!

{H&J}

A New Library In Town: One Stop For Writers

If there's one thing all writers agree on, it's that writing is TOUGH. The road to publication twists and dips as we learn the craft, hone our abilities, create stories we're passionate about, fight discouragement, educate ourselves about the industry...and then start the process all over again as we realize there's room to improve. But you know what? Holly and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Yet, sometimes it's nice to get a helping hand.

Finding a good writing book, a helpful blog, a critique group, a SUPER talented writing partner to share the journey with...these things are gems along the writing path. And there's another resource waiting just up the road called One Stop For Writers.

One Stop For Writers
is not writing software, but rather a powerful online library that contains tools, unique description collections, helpful tutorials and much more, brought to you by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, the authors of The Emotion Thesaurus and Lee Powell, the creator of Scrivener for Windows. 
Whether your work in progress is well on its way or you've decided to finally write that book that's been on your bucket list, or you're just looking to spice up your Facebook status updates and Tweets, One Stop For Writers has what you need. Visit Writers Helping Writers this week and see, where Angela, Lee and Becca are celebrating their venture with prizes and some pay-it-forward fun.

Happy writing!

{J}  

Perseverance Lead By LOVE

Friends...I will try not to make ALL my posts about writing but it is consuming me at the moment so I'm bringing you on the journey with me (lucky you!) Jenn and I have had many conversations about finding the time to write. Sometimes we can find an extra hour or two throughout the day, in between school, work, homework, chores, errands, etc., but as creative types, we need CREATIVE TIME. That's different that normal time. Creative time allows for our brains to get rid of the extra thoughts of laundry, dinner and our other responsibilities and focus on our STORY. Our lovely story. The one we are gently nurturing to maturity.

As moms, we can't do the things we do without support. Whether it's from our husbands, our kids, our friends, whomever. Without it, our rhythm is off and our souls tire out before we can achieve what we set out to accomplish. Every time we carve out some CREATIVE TIME, we are choosing to forego, or possibly miss out on, something else. When we make writing a priority, we are asking for someone else to pick up the slack. That's the price of our endeavor. And the payoff, even if it isn't a book deal, is greater than we could ask for. It's LOVE.

Our kids LOVE giving us ideas, many of which have made their way into the book. Our husbands LOVE us enough to listen to brain-storming sessions and reading first drafts. Our friends LOVE cheering us on when they run into us while we're working at Cinnimon Productions. And we LOVE the whole creative writing process.

What's the wisdom you can take away? Whatever your back-story is, whatever your passions are, whatever rhythm you are looking for, surround yourself with those people who will give you the encouragement you need. You aren't guaranteed easy success, but you will thrive along the journey as you're lead by LOVE.

Thank you, Mike and Michael, Jake and Bella, Josh and Logan, Ella and Noah, for being our cheerleaders and our biggest fans. We LOVE you.

{H}

Ten Things I Learned Going Back To School

Well, we made it through the first week and this is what I learned (or re-learned) going back to school:

1. No matter what grade, no matter how many years your child has been in the same school/district, there is a boat load of paperwork to fill out on day one. (Though it's getting a bit better with the parent portal - right, CUSD friends?)

2. It never fails, when shopping for school supplies, you will not get ALL THE THINGS on your first trip. It will take MANY trips to many different stores to secure ALL the things. Don't be discouraged. I'm pretty sure it's a test.

3. School clothes shopping is not just for parents anymore. Grandparents are out in droves. I've seen them, mostly grandmas. They're covering their ears cuz "the music in these stores is sooo loud." They're shrugging their shoulders when their grandkids come out of the dressing room. They're ringing their hands, "will your mom and dad approve of that?" If this happens in your family, be a love and send grandma with a list and any applicable dress code details.

4. If YOU are the one shopping, good luck to you. That is all.

5. Homework happens immediately. With earlier testing dates, higher standards and a changing curriculum, there's no easing them (US) back into it. Get ready.

6. Fundraising. School sports and/or performing arts. Boosters. School pictures. Yearbooks. Get a second job. Or a third one. Go. August and September are more expensive than December.

7. Electronic devices need to be shelved for a bit. It's called DETOX and it's necessary for everyone (at least in my family.) It's painful but it's the only thing that will cure DIDBD - Device Induced Brain Drain Disorder. If that isn't a thing, it will be soon. Just wait. I bet it's on Webster's list already. We're trying the NDDSD - No Device During School Days - treatment method. If you see my kids and they're twitchy, or RUDE, you know why.

8. School is magical. At EVERY age. But for very different reasons. ASK your kids. All of them - the sullen, non-verbal teen, the moody (scary) tween, the precious little - and find out what part of school induces that twinkle in their eyes. Just listen. Don't try to influence. It might be the cute boy in chemistry or the cow eyeball dissection in science or the "Super Duck" (shoot me now) fundraising prizes. Whatever form it comes in, celebrate the magic.

9. Teachers are SAINTS. This isn't new news, but I really mean it. Your kid might not always get his/her/YOUR favorite teacher but no one does the job of educating and preparing our kiddos for the next steps in life better than the professionals. Remember, this week is approximately 28-32 times harder on them. Be kind and patient.

10. Peace is a choice people. Going back to school is stressful, for EVERYONE. The only way to soften the blow is to find a few moments each day to relax. That goes for the stressed-out-because-she-already-has-two-tests-this-week 10th grader, the can't-get-enough-sleep-so-got-a-cold-day-four 7th grader, and the fell-asleep-on-the-laundry-pile-and-he-wasn't-faking 6th grader. The same applies for you, mom and dad. Carve out some time for a pedicure or a bike ride, a great work out or a date night. And if time permits, maybe work intentional PEACE into the rotation. It's good for all.

Sooo...tell me about your week. Learn anything?

{J}