You Like Me! You Really Like Me!

This week, I received not one, but TWO wonderfully pleasant surprises. On Tuesday, Jenn Johansson granted lil' ol' me the Premio Dardo Award! And then today, Michelle over at The Surly Writer did the exact same thing! How cool is that? Thanks, Jenn and Michelle!

I'm no expert as to how these awards work, but here are the details (via Jenn's and Michelle's blogs):

"This award acknowledges the values that every Blogger displays in their effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values with each message they write. Awards like this have been created with the intention of promoting community among Bloggers. It's a way to show appreciation and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web."

And here are the rules of the award system:
1. Accept the award (absolutely!)
2. Post it on your blog together with the name of the person who granted it to you.
3. Link to his/her blog.
3. Pass the award on to 15 other blogs of your choice.

I did a double-take on that last one. 15 bloggers?! Do I even know 15 bloggers?! Geez Louise, that's a lot of people! After taking a minute or two to think about it, however, I realized it wouldn't be that hard to find award recipients after all. In the five weeks or so that I've officially been in the blogosphere, I've come across some really fantastic writers. Folk that easily put my humble writing space to shame. And I'm happy to have the chance to give them their due.

This list is in no particular order. Although I love all the blogs on my normal blog list, these ones put that extra spring in my step. They're the ones I really look forward to reading every day. They make me say, "Hmm," or "Wow, I didn't know that," or "That's such great advice!" Some just make me laugh my head off every single day. I know some of them have gotten awards already, but they deserve more, trust me. These guys and gals are just stellar:

1. Erica
2. Jon aka "Lurker Monkey"
3. Spy Scribbler
4. Amy
5. Angie
6. Lori
7. Jenn (you know I had to give it right back to you! hehe!)
8. Michelle (you too, ma'am!)
9. Melissa
10. Debra
11. Anita
12. Carole
13. Kathryn
14. Brian
15. Shelli

Hmm... Okay, can I give this award out to MORE than 15 people??

The Waiting Game

Lately I've observed that quite a few of my fellow writers have taken that brave, brave step we all hope to make someday: querying literary agents. Yikes. I have yet to tackle it myself, but I've heard that the whole process is one big, ugly, scary beast, no matter how many times you face it. Even the jargon is intimidating; queries, partials, fulls, exclusives, contracts... Ugh! I can see why so many people opt for the self-publication route. Sometimes I feel like it would be easier to take my manuscript to the nearest Kinko's and hand out copies of it outside Barnes and Noble.

But no. I, like many of you, have chosen to take the road less traveled by. The traditional route, with all its wrinkles and hangups and inefficiencies. Say what you will about traditional publishing--it's still the best thing we've got, at least for the time being (although if Nathan Bransford's post today is any indication, that may change sooner rather than later).

As I read about each writer's querying experience, they all touched in some way on the agony of waiting, which was often compounded by the sting of rejection whenever it came. All of them also had different ways of coping while they waited. Debra "kept on truckin'" with other writing projects, while Michelle made light of the situation with hand drawn pictures and a fun discussion with her blog followers. When things didn't go in his favor, Jon kept his perspective by looking at the bigger picture.

Personally, I found all of their stories inspiring in different ways. They made me think about how I'll handle the inevitable waiting that happens during every part of the publication process. I hope when my time comes, I'll have the patience and grace to cope with it as well as these writers do.

What about you? Are you playing the waiting game right now? How are you coping? How do you plan to cope when it's your turn?

Are You Up For A Challenge?

Greetings, all! When it comes to freelance writing, I pride myself on working efficiently and producing high-quality results. However, it seems like whenever I pull out my fiction projects--which aren't paying me a dime--the right side of my brain seizes up and refuses to cooperate. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm a recovering procrastinator. *sigh*

Fortunately, all is not lost. I've discovered a simple treatment for my condition, one that makes it much easier for me to release the stories inside me that are just dying to get out. I need accountability. That's why I've been able to commit to this blog (more or less) for the past month, even though I've failed at every attempt I ever made to keep a journal. I don't love writing any more now than I did when I wrote my thoughts in a secret notebook. I just keep at it because I know someone out there is watching me.

It's also the reason I've done so well during National Novel Writing Month. Although I've never "won" by writing the full 50,000 words, I write more during that contest than at any other time of the year, simply because I have a support system. I have people cheering for me, urging me forward, and I do the same for them. We all have the same goal, and we're rushing towards it at full speed.

Well, now I get to have that experience all over again, thanks to fellow writer Melissa Marsh. She created an event called the Just Write Challenge, and I like to think of it as a smaller, more customized version of NaNoWriMo. Instead of everyone pushing to write 50k, we each get to set our own writing goals for the month. Those who reach their individual finish lines will receive fabulous writerly prizes. It's like a marathon where you can run as far and as fast as you want; in the end, everyone wins!

I love the concept, so I jumped on board as soon as I found out about it. My goal is a simple one; I want to write 1,000 words per day on my current WIP, a YA sci-fi novel that I started last November. I'll be chronicling my JWC adventures here at RLGL throughout the month so you can take part in every step of the journey.

Thanks a bunch to Angie Ledbetter over at Gumbo Writer for spreading the word about this great event! Check out the JWC info page on Melissa's blog for all the details. It's not too late to get involved. I just got plugged into the JWC blog yesterday, and everyone there has been wonderful. So, what do you say? Are you up for joining me in the Just Write Challenge?