Sock Disappointment and Manuscript Woes

I received a rather disappointing e-mail from Pastor Eric this week. He said the 'sock story' didn't fly so well with the preschoolers.  Apparently it was too long and some of the words were to big for them. But they did like my drawings.  So . . . My plan to make $$ for missions by selling the 'sock story' to folks has flown out the window.  

On another note -  I gave my manuscript for: Face of an Angel; to a woman at church this week.   She is going to read it and give me her opinion.  Cathy read it and told me, she thought the hospital scene was  too intense.  But I want the reader to see and feel what the character is seeing and feeling.  Cathy said she was almost having flash backs of when her dad was in the hospital, and thought I should dial it back a bit. 

Well . . . Lorilee is a nurse and I think she might be better to tell me if it is too intense or if it is okay.   Don't I want my readers to feel like they are really there?   Lorilee also said she is a slow reader and it might take her a while.  Cathy read the manuscript (just over 400 pages) in two weeks.  But that was because I gave it to her in two installments.  I ran out of printer ink.  

Speaking of:  I ordered three cartridges of ink from Office Depot, online.  :o)   

So far so good on the gluten free diet. (In case anyone was wondering.) 

Keep on writing.
~Susie

Manuscript Reader

Happy Sunday Everyone. I gave my complete manuscript for; ‘Face of an Angel’, to a woman at church today to read. The last woman who read it told me she thought the hospital scene was too intense. Too intense? Don’t I want the reader to see and feel what the character is seeing and feeling? When I said this to her, she said – Yes, but she was almost having flashbacks of when her father was in intensive care before he died. (So it was believable?) And then she said, “I think it needs to be dialed back a bit.” What?

  

The woman who has it now is a nurse. She says she is a ‘slow reader’ and it might take her a while. I’m not sure what that means. (It’s just over 400 pages) It only took the other woman just under two weeks and that’s because I got it to her in two installments. (I ran out of printer ink.)

The critique group hasn’t yet gotten to the hospital scene because it is closer to the end of the story. Therefore, I haven’t yet heard their opinion on the matter. The manuscript is still a work in progress as it is being re-written as I get feedback. *sigh* So . . . I sit here wondering and second guessing myself. I would think details enrich our writing. And I don’t think I was too detailed in my descriptions of the hospital scenes. I think I was realistic if looking through my characters eyes. *sigh*  Time and others opinions will tell me, I suppose.  :o)  

Keep on dreaming and writing,

~Susie

 

God is Good

Hello Readers.

I love it when I go to church with a question on my mind about something to do with what I'm writing and I think to myself . . . I ought to ask the Pastor about this so I don't mess this up when I write about it. And then - Lo and behold . . . The pastor preaches on that very thing, or something very similar. Is God good or what? :o) I don't even have to go to the pastor and sound like a goober asking what might seem like silly questions. Because God is anticipating my needs and giving me the answers before I know what the questions are! AWESOME!

What more can I ask? (Give me some time, I'll think of something.) Ha-ha.
Thank you, Lord!
Keep dreaming,
~Susie

Social Media and Gluten

Hello Readers. I've taken a course on the ACFW loop on Social Media. They recommend everyone not only have a blog but they also have an Author page on Facebook. So . . . I now have an Author page on Facebook. I'm also supposed to have a Twitter account. I'm not really sure what Twitter is. As far as I can make out from my son's usage, it is a text message he gets on his mobile phone. Alerts and such. Updates about people or things he's subscribed to. News and such.

Well . . . I don't have unlimited text messages on my phone and I don't plan to pay for an unlimited text package so I guess Twitter is out of the question for me at this time.

On a personal note. I want to thank Author Colleen Coble for posting a link on FaceBook to The Wahls Foundation. Doctor Terry Wahls is a woman who had secondary progressive MS. She apparently changed the course of her Multiple Sclerosis with diet and supplements. As I am an Amway consultant and I have access to the Nutrilite supplements and I know they are very good. I am taking the Daily vitamins and the B-Complex Vitamins from Nutrilite.

I am also, at the suggestion of the information I got from the Wahls Foundation website, going to try to omit GLUTEN from my diet and eat mostly veggies and fruits and meats. No wheat, rye or barley products. I figure it won't kill me to eat healthier. And being as it is spring, this is the perfect time of year to start a new diet.

Follow the link provided to check out the Wahls Foundation.
~Susie

http://www.thewahlsfoundation.com/

20 January 2012

Well I just don't have the nerve to post on the Hoosier Ink site. I prayed and I just didn't feel like I had a strong leading. HOWEVER. I have felt a strong leading on another matter. * smile * :o) We have at my church a Global Impact Celebration. (a Missionary Confrence) When this was going on I filled out a faith pledge card. I wanted to pledge millions of $$ to missions, but of course I don't have millions of $$ to give for Gods work. So - I marked the box that said - OTHER. Now I had no idea what "other" might be. But it came to me. I thought - Why not give the proceeds of a story I write to the missions fund? Lignt Bulb! (Truthfully, I've had this idea before, but never acted upon it.) So - I called Pastor Mike and had him read my "Sock" story and told him my plan and asked him what he thought of it and he said - Take it to the missions committe and see if they think it will fly.

I took it the next week when the committe met and pitched the idea to them and they suggested I get someone to illistrtare it first and see if the children at say - daycare or preschool like it first- before printing a bunch of copy's and let them know, before they will give me the OK to run with the idea. :o) So I tried to find someone to draw some pictures of talking socks for me.... with not much luck. Long story short. I drew the pictureas myself. Joe said my socks look like boomarangs. * haha * But as of right now, Pastor Eric's wife has it and is going to read it to the pre-school class and get their reaction.

I figure if they like it and we can say - print 500 copies and sell them for $2 over what it cost to print them - then we've made $1,000 for missions. And I've helped.

Okay - It sounded like a good idea to me. Well see how it turns out.
Keep dreaming.
~Susie