Tag Archives: writing money

Fun with medical people

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No replacement faucet yet from Moen. Sigh. And on the bank front, we’re leaning toward switching to Washington Mutual.

Had a follow-up appointment with the nurse practitioner from hell on Monday. I was not looking forward to it, and had geared myself up to do everything I could to get my Adderall refilled and me out of there as fast as possible. But I think nurse-lady got the message that I considered her (cursory, spurious, and uninformed*) assessment to be bogglingly off-base. A couple days after my May appointment I dropped her a note letting her know that I was discontinuing the Celexa she’d bullied me into starting and why I didn’t feel the need to be on an antidepressant. I was cordial and non-confrontational. Honest!

I never got a reply and didn’t think about it beyond wondering whether she’d read it. But as soon I got through the door, nurse-lady does a little song-and-dance of “another practitioner departed, my workload increased, for future follow-ups you’ll need to see either doctor so-and-so or such-and-such” and hands over my Adderall refill prescription. Since she didn’t mention refilling the Celexa, I’m assuming she did indeed read my missive.

Man, she wanted me out of there quick-like. If I hadn’t asked her to repeat the doctors’ names, I wouldn’t have said a single word to her. Irony there. She babbled about her situation to me. But that suited me fine. I wasn’t exactly gagging to have a tête-à-tête with her.

And I’ve decided not to make a follow-up with a pdoc. I’ll check to see if either my GP or my Rheumatologist, whom I see on a regular basis to keep tabs on my Lupus/MCTD anyway, can refill my Adderall. I’d like not to have to shell out a co-pay just to have a pdoc scribble out a refill. It’s one thing if my emotional equilibrium is totally off kilter and I need the services of a mental health professional, but it’s not, and I don’t.

Also got a call from fosteronfilm‘s mom the other day. Dad-in-law’s back in the hospital, back on a respirator. He’s had another dangerous buildup of CO2 (isn’t there some preventative treatment for that?? They already know he’s unable to expel it on his own anymore . . .). They also have him on a dialysis machine. MiL wasn’t sure if she should approve the hospital’s request to hook him up to it. She didn’t know what it was and was worried that it constituted one of those unendurable, dignity-killing quality of life treatments that both she and DiL are adamant about not subjecting him to. After Matthew explained to her what a dialysis machine was for, she gave the hospital the go ahead. It concerns me that she doesn’t have a better grasp of DiL’s medical treatments. Why doesn’t the hospital make a better effort at informing her?

DiL is fully expected to recover from this latest hospital adventure, and we’re prepping for our trip north.

*What, me still incensed? Naaah.

   


Writing Stuff

“Souls of Living Wood” in Modern Magic got some nice comments from Elizabeth A. Allen in her Tangent review:
“Foster juggles the hilarious personalities of the obstreperous customers well with the genteel voice of the house in a story that’s surprisingly gentle”

New Words/Editing:
– 5K on the Swan Lake story (now titled “Black Swan, White Swan”) bringing it to zero draft. I foisted it upon fosteronfilm to first reader and did a pair of editing passes to get it to first draft. Loaded it to Critters.org this morning.

Such a relief and release to finish a fiction piece. This one was an experiment in present tense, a style I typically eschew as I think past is a better storytelling vehicle. Present is rarely done effectively and often has the undesirable effect of pulling the reader out instead of immersing them. But I thought this story, because of the rapid fire POV hops into my main character’s head, lended itself to present. I found myself writing all her internal dialogue in present–past tense threw the pacing off, lacking the off-balance quickness I was going for–so it made sense to have the rest of the story match. Curious to see how it’ll be received.

Matthew liked it well enough, although I think he would’ve said anything to get me not to play “Ave Maria” one more time. I assembled a playlist soundtrack/mix for this story–I was quite put out to discover that we don’t have Tchaikovsky’s complete Swan Lake suite on CD–which I ran on repeat while I was writing to keep me grounded in the mood. I gate out auditory input extremely readily, so didn’t notice how many times it looped. But he can’t disregard sound like I can.

The mix is 45 minutes long. I estimate it played somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 times in just the last few days.

Poor Matthew.

Received:
– Payment for my last freelance gig and specs for my next.

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Kitchen Sink Mishap and Adventures in Banking

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This week has been less than sterling. Little things and big things have conspired to irritate and infuriate.

On the little, irritating things side, the lever on the kitchen faucet broke, as in snap-holding-a-piece-in-your-hand broke. fosteronfilm was turning on the water and then . . . he wasn’t.

Fortunately, this didn’t result in a panic-inducing geyser, or even a distressing dribble, for that matter. Still, it’s awkward doing anything in the kitchen without a ready water supply. After Matthew peered at the underside of the sink for a while and determined it was out of his DIY league, we phoned several plumbers and got a vastly diverse range of estimates from “I dunno how much it’d be; we’ll have to send someone out to look” (for what ought to be a basic installation) to “prolly around $175” to “$250 not including parts.”

Grumbling, we went to Home Depot to pick out a new faucet ensemble, and while there, I noticed that they do installations.

“How much?” we asked.

“$90,” they sez.

Still painful, but far less so. And while boggling at the wide range of faucet options available and their correspondingly wide range of prices, I mused aloud to the hubby: “I don’t understand why there’s such a huge price difference; what makes this $250 faucet better than this $69 one?” A helpful assistant person in an orange apron replied, “It’s all about the name brand and the finish. But they’ve all got lifetime warranties, so just pick one you like that fits your sink.”

Not only sage advice, but it made my brain ping. “They’ve all got lifetime warranties?” I queried, eying the Moen faucets.

“Yup, these brands always do.”

So we went home, sans faucet. I looked up the model of our broken Moen, emailed the company a “Lifetime Warranty?” note, and they got back to us the next day with a “sending you a new piece, expect delivery in 5-7 business days.” Wow! We didn’t have to mail them the broken faucet or anything. I’m not sure what exactly they’re sending us. A new handle will not be useful, as the connection is snapped through, but if they’re sending a new faucet, then we’re all good*. I am optimistic.

On the big thing, making-Eugie-livid front, trying to deposit my check from Faeries was every bit the wacky fun I’d anticipated, so much so that I still have the check.

Went to my local SunTrust branch, handed my check to the teller, and asked what the conversion rate was and if there was a fee for depositing it. After squinting at my weird money-paper with the funny words and asking what a “euro” was**, the teller looked up the conversion on her computer (bad but not unexpected), then said it would cost me a flat $25 fee to deposit it. I squawked. She called for backup, and subsequently revised the fee to $10. I asked for documentation, as the fee structure I have from both the website and the handout they gave me detailing the features and fees of my account list no such fee, and I want to know what I’m paying so I can go price compare at other banks. She referred me to their financial services rep.

Off I went to powwow with the financial services rep. This woman was equally clueless so phoned her supervisor for advice. She then said $60 and handed over a printout (hot off her laserjet), and circled a section under “Research Services” called “International Collections.” I explained that this wasn’t “research,” nor was it a “collection.” Unless they’re using new and different definitions, in banking and finance, a “collection” is when a creditor tries to recover a past-due payment, and “research” involves hunting down information that is not readily available.

She insisted she was correct.

Then Matthew pointed out that above it was a $20 fee listing for “domestic collections,” and if what she was saying was true, then it would cost everyone $20 anytime they wanted to deposit a domestic check, which was patently ridiculous.

Nevertheless, she stuck by her bogus claim.

Realizing there was no one there who knew squat and they were making it up as they went along, I retrieved my check and we went home.

Once home, I called my bank’s customer (dis)service line, and, after summoning a supervisor for assistance, the phone rep. declared “10% of the amount of the check” to deposit my French check.

That brought the total number of different fee amounts quoted to me for depositing my check to four. Spurious much? And there was no one else higher up to talk to.

So I contacted the Better Business Bureau and lodged a complaint.

Can anyone recommend a new bank?

*Well, except for installation.
**Geez, you’d think I was asking them to explain string theory. It’s a simple international transaction. I want to deposit a foreign check. A bank ought to be able to handle that, and a bank’s employees should at least be familiar with what the standard currency in Europe is.

   


Writing Stuff

I’m having a dry spell in the sales department (wah!), so feeling disheartened and needy, I did a vanity search. One of my hits was the Institute of Children’s Literature!

Deborah Vetter, my Cricket and Cicada editor, is an instructor there, and in her bio, I’m listed as one of the “distinguished writers” she’s worked with, along with Nancy Springer and Aaron Shepard. Me! A distinguished writer! *squee!*

So yeah. That helped.

New Words/Editing:
– 600 on the Swan Lake story.
– 600 on an article for Writing-World.com. Several editing passes and sent off. Waiting is.
– 1500 on the freelance gig.

Received:
– Payment and contrib. copies from Paradox for “The Archer of the Sun and the Lady of the Moon.” Huzzah!

Club 100 For Writers
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500/day
      50

Inverted Skunk and Touring Paleontologist

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It is sometimes difficult to figure which end of a skunk is up.

The other night I went to retrieve Hobkin for purposes of cuddling. In the shadows under the hutch and me without corrective eye wear, I had a moment’s confusion, unsure which end of the snoozing fur lump truncated in a nose and which a tail. Making what I thought was an accurate determination, I bundled Hobkin in my arms and carted him off.

fosteronfilm came in, and I squinted and commented offhandedly: “Wasn’t sure which end of Hobkin was which.”

Since I am myopic unto blind without my glasses, I couldn’t see his expression, but the tone of his voice was expressive. He replied, “Still haven’t worked it out, I see.”

Seems I was lugging a groggy and very perplexed skunk around head down. Of course, I righted him as soon as I realized, but he was miffed and wide awake by that time (usually I can carry him from the hutch to the chaise without waking him, and he just nestles in my arms). He glared at me and rightly decided he didn’t want to snuggle with the crazy lady; he scampered back to the hutch in a huff.

Oops.

On the non-upside down skunk front, our friend, Chris-from-Tennessee, came a’visiting over the weekend. He’s a Biology professor specializing in Ichthyological paleontology, and he’s conducting a summer seminar in Mexico. He drove to Chez Foster a couple days before his flight from Hartsfield-Jackson so we could hang out and catch up. It was a nice diversion from nose-to-the-keyboard, and he’s got a toddler daughter who I love hearing about. Chris’s wife is from China, and she speaks Mandarin to their daughter while he speaks English to her. I’m fascinated by the linguistic progress of an emergent bilingual child.

   


Writing Stuff

Been mulling my recent lack of fiction progress. The hamsters have been most troublesome even though I’ve slung away some of the bitier ones. And it occurred to me, as in bolt-out-of-the-blue smack-me-in-the face occurred to me, that I’ve been undermining the intrinsic motivation of my writing by pairing it too closely with financial reward.

There’s heaps of psychological studies that show how both creativity and interest decline whenever something once done for the pure joy of it is set on a reward schedule. As soon as gain becomes the driving purpose behind creative expression, enjoyment evaporates, and art becomes work–to the detriment of art and artist.

While I am indeed a working writer, struggling to pay the bills and all, there’s got to be a way to achieve a balance here. Yes, they’re linked in reality, but I need to isolate the money-making from the creative part on an emotional level. Already, I’m finding myself thinking along the lines of “these 300 words of website content that I’m ghostwriting will get me such-and-such amount, while I’ll be lucky if these 300 words of fiction–more grueling and draining to produce–will get me a fraction of that if I’m lucky.” And so I’m ending up cranking out the money-words and neglecting my fiction.

But how? Hrm. I need to implement a new reward structure, I think. So here’s what I came up with: From now on, fiction writing is no longer “work.” It is the reward for making progress on my freelance gigs, which are “work.” If I finish a reasonable daily quota of “work” I’m free to indulge my muse.

Well, the theory sounds good. ‘Course the true test is whether my restructuring results in any fiction productivity gains. Will revisit this as needed.

Man, when I unearthed my repressed psychologist, she went amok. Beware berserk psychology researcher . . .

New Words:
– 600 on the freelance gig.
– 1K on the resuscitated Swan Lake story. Hurray, fiction!

Received:
– Check from Faeries for “Returning My Sister’s Face.” In Euros. I anticipate wacky fun when I go to deposit it. I wonder how much my bank will try to shaft me for. Oh well, it can’t possibly be worse than their foreign wire transfer fee.

Club 100 For Writers
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500/day
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HB1359, blurbage, and looking for a Locus

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Brain overflowing with health insurance laws, rules, and regulations. Ugh.

Of note, Georgia is one of the dozen or so states that does not have a high risk healthcare pool, although there’s currently a bill awaiting a vote in the Senate Rules Committee, HB1359 – Georgia Assignment Pool Underwriting Authority, to pass such a plan. Apparently, some businesses and organizations like the Georgia Retail Association, UPS, and BellSouth are working to oppose it because it would impact large businesses, who would be required to help subsidize it.

Feh.

We did determine that our current HMO is willing to keep covering us under a “conversion” healthcare plan after my COBRA expires. Although I’m still unclear as to whether this conversion policy would be a group plan–a group of “1”–or an individual one, and I dearly want to transition to another a group plan if at all possible. However, there would be no prescription drug provisions, which is problematic since both fosteronfilm and I are on long-term prescription meds, and the monthly premium would increase by a third again from what we’re already paying for COBRA, which is egregiously expensive as is.

Oof. Well, it’s a start.

   


Writing Stuff

On his blog, fellow Phobos Award-winner James Maxey had really nice things to say about “Souls of Living Wood” in the Modern Magic anthology (of which we’re TOC-mates).

Happy blurbage:
“wow, this was a terrific story . . . It’s ideas like this that draw me to science fiction and fantasy . . . Even better, Eugie takes this original idea and builds a terrific, moving story around it. Sometimes, great ideas get stuck in stories that don’t live up to their promise, but Eugie follows through with lovely writing, a captivating plot, and strong performances from the other characters in the story, all of whom come to life with an amazing economy of words.”

Also saw that Rich Horton reviewed the spring issue of Oceans of the Mind in the May issue of Locus. (I really need to subscribe to Locus, dammit.) Anyone out there have a copy it? I’m dying to know if Rich said anything about my story, “The Few, the Proud, the Leech Corps.”

Editing:
– Editing passes and final polish completed on the freelance gig. Product sent off, and I await payment.

Received:
– Payment from Dragonfly Spirit for “A Patch of Jewels in the Sky.” Yay!
– 34-day “Dear Writer” from Orchid. But I have to admit that their form letter is pretty upbeat. They encourage writers to keep at it, informing us that the average story is rejected 25 or more times before being accepted (which, according to that figure, puts me way above the bell curve, averaging 13), and that both C.S. Lewis and Ray Bradbury were rejected more than 800 times before making their first sale.

This was for a story I wrote after reading a lot of Kurt Vonnegut, and my style was heavily influenced thereof. It’s a surreal, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, quasi-literary, experimental piece with genre overtones. I’ve gotten mixed responses from genre pubs who typically like the style and voice, but think the narrative’s too unfocused. So now I’m trying literary markets, since I’ve found them to be concerned far more about style and care less about narrative cohesion. But I have an inkling that the genre elements might be touch-of-deathie for them. Foo.

I’m getting major “I need a sale!” twitches. It’s been almost a month since my last one.

Club 100 For Writers
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Weekend update

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Patrick and Christy are heading back to New Orleans as I type. Their apartment hunt was fruitful, job prospects looking good, and they’ve all but settled on a place close by, around eight miles from us in the Sandy Springs area. Yay! Very, very excited about them moving here!

And now I have much work to play catch-up with.

   


Writing Stuff

New Words/Editing:
– 600 on a new freelance gig. Edited, sent off, and paid.
– 1200 on another freelance gig.

Published:
– “A Patch of Jewels in the Sky” is now up at Dragonfly Spirit.

Received:
– Note from the editor of Writing-World. She liked the article, and wants to make it a two-parter, so asked me to write part two. Of course I said “yes.” Coolness.
– 30-day “not right for us” from oldcharliebrown on a submission to Fantasy Magazine, but to offset the pook, also some preliminary back-and-forth on contributing to a Prime books anthology with a Japanese mythology theme.
– Contrib. copies of #193 of Galaktika from Hungary.
– Payment from Ennea via wire transfer after I asked them not to wire the money. Not only did my bank shaft me with another $15 fee, but my payment got sent in two stages, so the Greek bank doubly-shafted me to the tune of another $9. To say that I am unhappy is much like calling Godzilla a tall lizard. ARGH! Sporksporkspork!

Club 100 For Writers
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500/day
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Birthday bash

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Had hella fun last night at j_hotlanta‘s beautiful sylvan abode, where he and britzkrieg co-hosted a dual birthday party. There was food (grilled portabello mushrooms, mmm), booze, and cake, and I had a smidge too much gin. A bit hung over this morning, because I am unable to hold my liquor–one Tom Collins in a tall glass. Yep, I am the lightweightiest lightweight there is.

   


Writing Stuff

New Words:
– 400 on the article for Writing-World.com.
– 300 on the child development article.

Received:
– Payment from Galaktika.
– Barbed-and-pointy shaft from my bank by way of a $15.00 “wire transfer fee”! [RANT] Isn’t it enough that I work like a dog to make peanuts; peanuts, furthermore, that the government double taxes me on because it’s “self-employed” income, although said government doesn’t see fit to provide me any reasonable, comprehensive health care option? Is it really necessary to smack further indignities upon my pathetic financial status with bank fees that swipe nearly 20% of what I earn? ARGH! [/RANT]

So yeah, I’m awaiting payment from Faeries and Ennea still. Previously I’d given them the go-ahead to wire my payment from France and Greece, respectively, but in light of the egregiously painful shafting I just got, I’ve emailed them to see whether there’s any way they can cut me a check instead.

Club 100 For Writers
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500/day
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On shaving a skunk and Tramadol

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And it’s back to the daily grind.

After hearing how much happier yukinooruoni‘s cats are in summer after being sheared, I wondered if Hobkin wouldn’t prefer to carry less fur weight around during the hot months. And then I remembered how much he hates being brushed and having his nails clipped (although, oddly, he doesn’t have a problem with me cleaning his ears), and I’m thinking we’d lose digits if we tried it. Ergo, skunk shall remain fluffy.

Wingstubs giving me some major grief, so I took a Tramadol last night. And not only didn’t it knock me out, but it seems to have given me a bit of a zing. I was up until 4AM, working. Huh.

   


Writing Stuff

In an effort to continue spring-boarding more paying work off my psych. degree, I went on a guidelines spree. And, of course, I found an ideal market right under my nose. The Cricket folks put out a Parent’s Companion publication as accompaniment to their ‘zine for 2-6 year-olds, Ladybug. They’re looking for articles written with “a thorough, up-to-date understanding of child development.” Bing!

Went through my old grad. papers for inspiration–which were stored in Lotus’s Word Pro, of all applications, and I had to scour the Internet looking for a freeware program that would let me open them before I could read them. So I spent most of last night compiling notes, references, and checking out new research, and I hope to get an article written this weekend. This one’s on spec rather than of the query–>greeen light variety, but I’m thinking the topic matter is such that it should be sellable to other venues if they turn it down. Assuming I don’t totally botch the job and write gibberish, of course.

Also put together a query/pitch for a nonfiction article for the China-themed issue of the kid ‘zine, Faces, and sent it off. They’ve got a pretty formal process for queries that includes a word count, an outline, and a reference list, with the end result being that I’ve all but written the thing by the time I finished putting together my query. It should definitely make writing it a no-brainer, should I get the green light.

Initially I hesitated about querying them because their guidelines specify that they buy all rights, and I’ve been assiduously avoiding selling all rights to my work, but I realized I’m far less possessive about my nonfic stuff. After all, I’ve been ghostwriting routinely since I started picking up more freelance work, and haven’t had any qualms about the “all rights” nature of that. Of course, they’ll probably send me a “thanks but no thanks,” which would make all this waffling moot.

Received:
– Contrib. copies of the June issue of Spider with “The Tax Collector’s Cow” in it. I was delighted to see five illustrations (by Jennifer Hewitson) for my story. Very shiny.
– Contract and payment from Best New Fantasy: 2005 for “Returning My Sister’s Face.”
– Payment for my last freelance gig.
– 1-day rejection from Escape Velocity on a reprint; they don’t take reprints. Oops.
– Comment at MySpace from the MechMuse folks that their audio production of “The Storyteller’s Wife” is proceeding apace. Quite looking forward to that, I is. I’ll be sharing a ToC with Kevin J. Anderson!

Club 100 For Writers
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500/day
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Wingstubs and Sister of the Hedge

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Wingstubs were a searing ache all of yesterday. Realized that at some point I’ve got to let them rest. Figured it was better for me to choose my downtime rather than have my wingstubs decide for me. So I took a Tramadol and curled up with June’s Realms of Fantasy, Journey to the West, and a skunk.

dsnight‘s story in RoF, “Sister of the Hedge,” blew me away. It’s a dark re-examination of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, told via the POV of adjacent characters. Aurora, Prince Charming, and the fairies et al. are only seen through the lens of legend and superstition. This story illustrates both the best and worst aspects of religion, and combines it with some really chilling imagery. It’s exactly the sort of nouveau-classic fairy tale story that I absolutely adore. Fresh, thoughtful, and lushly told. Go. Read.

I should have some more enforced wingstub rest periods this weekend, which I hope will help. fosteronfilm and I are going to an advance screening of The Da Vinci Code tonight, yukinooruoni and I are having brunch tomorrow, and dire_epiphany is taking us to the opera to see Tosca on Sunday.

See? I’m getting out more.

   


Writing Stuff

My guest blogger post at A Writer’s Vanity, “Stuffing My Eyes with Wonder or Why I Write,” is up.

New Words:
– 200 on the YA novel. Then it just hurt too much. Decided to do the non-chronological writing thing and am hopping scenes. Hoping I won’t have to dump too many of them.

Received:
– Payment from Writing-World.com for my “10 Myths About Writing for Kids” article. Also, the editor sez she’ll probably publish this one in July.
– Payment from my researching freelance gig. Yay, money!
– Email from Surreal informing me that my manuscript is being returned unread because they’re closed to submission right now. Thank you, please come again. Doh!

Club 100 For Writers
      19

Juggling too many hamsters

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Hamsters hamsters everywhere!

Between canadiansuzanne‘s son’s hamster, snarkydork_jodi‘s hamster, wicked_wish‘s posting of this adorable hamster-cupcake video, and my offhand comment likening writing fiction to washing dishes while juggling hamsters, I think the cosmos is trying to convey a hamster-illustrated message upon me. (I guess birds was too subtle.) And this metaphysical hamster-dispatch, I believe, is that I’ve got too many hamsters in the air.

Guess now would be a good time to revisit the whole “reinvention” thing. I’ve had friends who’ve “reinvented” themselves. Some have done it multiple times and afterwards they seem pretty much the same to me–maybe with a new wardrobe or new job or some-such, but fundamentally still them.

I’ve never properly understood the underlying motivation that prompts these episodes of self-overhaul. Even after major life changes–like our relocation to Georgia and the loss of my old day job–I didn’t feel like I was reinventing anything. It was the same old me, but in a new place doing different things.

I still don’t get it with regard to the nature of people and personalities, but I think I do understand the mindset and mood that drives it. Sort of. It’s a profound sense of discontent with the grounded and fundamental beliefs or assumptions about yourself, a dissatisfaction with deep underpinnings that require more than a few tweaks or a change in venue.

I’ve been feeling that way about my writing of late. With my frustration about obtaining the “next level,” and my desperation at ever breaking into the Big 3, I’m left with an overwhelming feeling of dissatisfaction–and dropped hamsters. Add onto that the glaring inability to make anything remotely like a decent living on short stories (who can survive on $.05/word??), and my failure at maintaining progress on my novels, and I’m left floundering in a big ole morass of reproachful hamsters at my feet.

After wrestling with that for a bit, I think I’ve come up with a solution: I need to put down some hamsters.

What does this mean on a non-abstract, “am I putting down this Siberian hamster or that Roborovskii hamster” level? I dunno, I’m still working on that. But I do know I’m feeling pretty fragmented and way over-stressed these days.

I want to make a living doing what I love, which is writing. That hasn’t changed, nor will it. But what I write, what I focus on, and where I concentrate my efforts, I think that needs a realign. I need to reorganize my priorities or I’m going to burn out. And if I burn out on writing, well, I may as well burn out on life.
   


Writing Stuff

New Words/Editing:
– 1600 on a freelance project. Several editing passes, polished, and sent off to the client. Payment received in less than 24 hours.
– 100 on the Swan Lake story. I shouldn’t have put it down the other day. I was on the verge of hitting flow, and now I seem to have lost my place. And there’s another hamster on the rug, dammit.

Published:
– basletum‘s interview of me for his “Give it Meaning” column.

Received:
– 9-day no grabbie from JJA at F&SF.

I think that might’ve been a dwarf hamster. Tossed him too high and now he’s quivering on top of a bookshelf.

Club 100 For Writers
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500/day
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Fairy portals sprouting in Michigan

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dean13 sent along this link from NPR on wee fairy doors popping up in Ann Arbor, MI. I want one! Although I’m inclined to think there’s already one under Hobkin’s hutch . . .

[Edit: dean13 found the artist’s website: urban-fairies.com (*squee!*)]

   


Writing Stuff

New Words/Editing:
– 1000 on the middle-grade novel –> Picture book effort. Only halfway into the story and my word count limit’s just about up. Urp. Must cut and tighten. Daunted has become intimidated.

Received:
– Payment for my “When the Guidelines Say for Children 7 to 12” article. The editor said it’ll probably be published in June.
– Acceptance and contract for my “10 Myths About Writing for Kids” article from Writing-World.com.

And now I’m thinking I need to start seriously considering doing lots more nonfiction. Dwelling on trying my hand at writing nonfiction for kids. I think I’d be decent at it. And this whole query/pitch->green light->pay thing, where I know I’ll get paid before I write something, there’s definite appeal there.

Club 100 For Writers
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500/day
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