Lauri Meyers .

The forces of the cosmos have been itching my britches all month:      14 days of being sick,      Two water main breaks (always on the days I really need a shower),      Car accident (but minor),      Fell down some steps and bumped my wittle head,      Loss of two special loved ones...      all in one gray, bleak, wintery January. My horoscope predicted it all, always 100% right, because this is the guy who writes it- you can tell he knows his stuff:   Rick Levine, the "other" man in my life... Here are some horoscope highlights for the month: January 9: You feel as if you're completely in charge today, but this sense of authority is probably more illusion than truth. It's not that your life is running amok; it's just that circumstances can unfold without your expressed permission. *Though I was surrounded by chaos, this horoscope made me laugh out loud, and a good laugh at oneself is a most miraculous tool. * January 18: Th

I'm sneezy, stuffy, slimy sick. I had to write this post real quick. by David Lat via sxc.hu Before the boogies hit my keys, I'm typing out two poetries. So I won't give my germs to you, I'll grab a tissue and Achoo ! This tiny poem was inspired by The National Day of Service: Some give money. Some give time. Some give thanks. But all give. By Lauri C. Meyers, 2013 This cold has had me for a week.   Though it's customary to say I "have a cold," it’s pretty clear who has the upper hand.   Thanks for stopping by, but you better go take a bath in anti-bacterial goo now.

When I started writing I tried to stay focused on one project at a time, which seemed like a good strategy to see the manuscript to completion and get it published as soon as possible! But there are downsides to focusing on one story at a time. The one project method can mean long periods  of just editing.  I mean I love editing as much as the next writer, but a writer cannot live on editing alone.    Having multiple projects lets you work on whatever interests you the most that day - writing, researching, twittering, or even editing. Focus can mean lots of waiting - waiting for feedback from your critique group or a response from an editor.   Multiple projects let you be productive and keep flexing your writing muscles. Though it sounds backwards, focus can be inefficient.  If you research publishers with just one manuscript in mind, then you need to complete the research again for the next story.  If you have a few at hand you may note a good editorial fit for each one

"Hi, honey, how was your day?" I used to answer, "I read 137 emails about nothing, nodded abstractly in a bunch of meetings, made a killer multi-colored spreadsheet, ate chicken fingers at my desk then tried to airspray the breading out of my keyboard,  ..." Fast forward to today.   "Hey, babe, whad'ya do today?"  I answer, "I studied the sounds downy woodpeckers make, which includes a "whinnying call" if you were wondering.   I practiced speaking squirrel: "kuk, kuk, chitter, tail flash!"  I laugh hysterically then remember my husband doesn't speak squirrel fluently and didn't get the punch line.   "I crawled to the kitchen to make lunch, because I couldn't find the right words to describe an anteater hunting ants.  Then, I hocked a few loogies into the sink to try to create the sound a giant would make when he stepped on a pointed-hat-wearing elf.   Oh, frookberries!" I was too far

I like to rhyme. There I said it. I've read all those fancy pants writerly books that said don't rhyme, rhyming picture books don't sell, rhyming is the quickest path to the devil (I don't remember which book said that, but I do recall having to have the house blessed after reading it)... Well, here's what I know: Even Rhymezone can't handle orange. (slice by Michal Zacharzewski, SXC) 1. Rhyming makes me happy 2. I enjoy reading rhyming picture books to my children. 3. Some rhyming picture books sell, because I've read a few hundred. 4. Rhyming is not illegal.  I can rhyme anywhere I want.  Any time I want. With anyone I please.  (Unreasonably long sidebar:  When I lived in Detroit I lived on high alert of running into Eminem at the Meijer store and having to bust rhymes with him.  It was almost as bad as my current fear of walking into a taping of the Real Housewives of New Jersey dressed in yoga pants and yelling at my child

I'm doing the booty dance!  Booty, booty, boot-y!  Hey!  Booty, booty, boot-y!  Hey! No , that's not a Snooki dance.   (You are cut off from MTV for awhile, BTW.)   It's the dance pirates do when they find treasure.   Even the most fearsome pirate who stumbles upon a hidden chest on a desert island is sure to catch a serious case of all-night-dance-party-fever!   (cue disco ball)  Between you and me, I think this supports the belief pirates are cowards, because you don't have to be very brave to shake what your momma stole for you when there's no one around (which is often the case on a desert island.) (chest by lockstockb via sxc.hu) Anyhow, I made out like a bandit, or pirate as it were, this Christmas.  I got: A Motherload of Writing Books A Gift Certificate to Barnes and Noble for a Motherload of Writing Books A New Bookshelf which holds a Motherload of Books .   When we set sail to the East Coast, I scuppered my book collection ove

After creating my 2013 Action Plan, I briskly walked into the kitchen, grabbed a brown paper bag, and took many deep breaths.  I seemed busy in 2012, but apparently I wasn't doing anything because I had a million things ahead of me in 2013.  A hundred deep breaths and two marshmallow snowmen later I decided to look at my 2012 activities for perspective. By Maxime Perron Caissy via sxc.hu If you can you bare with a little self-indulgent recap, here's what kept me busy in 2012.  (Thanks to my friend Romelle Broas for providing a great format, which I copy here with shameless abandon.) 2012 DO-DID-DONE! February         Said "I think I'll write a picture book."   March Said "I think I'll submit this book somewhere," realized I didn't know how to do that, stressed over font and paper and envelopes and formats, and finally submitted a couple manuscripts (which weren't ready of course because I didn't know what I w