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I’m so pleased to announce that a poem I wrote about roller skating was published today in Songs of Eretz Poetry Review’s Spring 2023 issue! The theme is “Growth.” It’s also a great joy to appear in the same issue as my dear friend, Charles. Follow the linky-link to check out the issue, filled with poetry and photography by many talented artists.
A splendid way to start National Poetry Month! To all of the poems we’ll read, write, and celebrate this April!
Happy March! I had so much fun writing a fresh flash essay about my doodle last month that I decided to create another one to share. 🤗
“Interior/Exterior: Reflections on Drawing a Scene”
I almost wrote this reflection yesterday afternoon, but I was hungry and promised myself that after eating I’d get right to it. And then, I just needed to pay a bill quickly and I’d sit right down and write. And then, I remembered a time-sensitive email, and then…well, you know the rest.
Yesterday’s writing didn’t happen.
Alas, I had the “perfect” hook pop into my head yesterday, but tonight is no longer yesterday. So, scrap that. My tone today is different, and my hook has evaporated like a cartoon bubble. So be it. This reflection won’t be about whatever that would have been, and that’s okay, too.
Earlier this week, I also promised myself some time to doodle during a break, and I did follow through on that intention. I decided to try to draw a scene—a whole interior SCENE!—which I haven’t attempted since…probably middle school. Yeah, it’s been a hot minute.
I usually doodle one thing at a time, or parts of a scene, or words/phrases paired with a mini doodle or two, but to fill a whole sheet with myriad elements kept my brain and my hand hopping.
I put on some music, broke out a coffee-table book filled with gorgeous photos, picked the one that called to me most as a reference photo that I then adjusted as I went.
I started my scene on a scrap piece of newsprint paper I bought online this summer in a jumbo, 500-sheet package.
There’s something about knowing that I’m not going to save the first drawing because it’s on the kind of paper that tears when an eraser hits it that frees up my creativity. Nobody will ever see this first sketch so, who cares? Onward!
Without contemplation first, hand motions of pencil on paper are often quite soothing.
I try to get that way about more things: that not skipping ahead to envision outcome. Sometimes, my creative process lands, and I don’t stop to examine or even to think about forming whatever I’m creating until I have a draft or five. Those are the best days.
More often, though, my mind loves nothing more than just to keep skipping ahead. Ahead, ahead, ahead!
I’m certainly not the only creative to find my process varies like this. Depending on my day, my mood, how tired I am, how hungry I am, fill-in-the-factor-here, the challenge of crafting something is either easier than imagined, or more frustrating than imagined, or (most frequently for me) somewhere in-between, but it’s rarely the same type of journey more than once.
Each piece needs something different of us, like every friend, like every life circumstance.
My original sketchbook scan in all of its uncropped glory, spirals and all.🤗
So, my interior scene (which I also drew in pencil first, free-hand, on the sketchpad page and then traced with felt-tipped marker and pops of color from watercolor pencils) has some walls that are certainly not architecturally sound, a baseboard that shouldn’t look like it’s cutting through one of the plant’s fronds, some picture frames that are crooked despite practicing perspective, and a chair that I’m pretty sure doesn’t even resemble a chair.
On the other hand, I got the happiest kick while drawing the arched doorway between the rooms that reminded me of more than one friend’s home, and drawing the little locks on the big bay window, and then having a light-bulb moment about adding in a pop of life-giving green on the plants, and attempting some splash of light across the floors, and making the one rug a sisal rug with squiggle motions, and then drawing lines for wooden floors, my favorite flooring—all, nothing but joy and in the flow.
The floors!
The wooden floors. That’s right—I was going to write something about those yesterday.
There was also originally going to be something about the lemonade I tried recently and loved. But today’s reflection needed to be the way it turned out here—about the challenges (for me, anyway) of drawing whole scenes in scale and with perspective but doing it anyway, and something about the comfort of putting elements together that make an interior that becomes exterior, which is also, pretty much, what we do when we create, whether it’s a conversation, a painting, a poem, a dance, or a birthday party. So be it.
On the balance, not bad for a cozy interior. Not great or professional, but not shabby, either. Onward!
February marks the one-year book birthday for my book, Writing It Real: Creating an Online Course for Fun and Profit! In celebration, I’m going to run a book giveaway to share this splendid book that’s packed with tips and insights aplenty on everything from brainstorming your class idea to crafting your syllabus to running your class and so much more to keep educators motivated and interactive with their students.
Between now and Wednesday, February 15th, 2023, if you’re interested in winning a free copy, just leave a comment at my Instagram @frompromisingtopublished99 or here at my website in the Comments section of the post, letting me know what type of course you’d love to create and teach.
Examples might include but are not limited to: science fiction, poetry, flash fiction, romance novels, photography, introductory figure study, pottery, creative nonfiction, memoir, journalism, you name it.
Feel free to add a detail or two of why this class idea interests you, if you’d like.
After the 15th, I’ll enter all names from the comments into a hat (‘cause I run old-school that way🥳) and pick some winners. 😊📔Good luck, and teach on!
Shout-out and much appreciation to @baitswit.ch and Lu Valena for the wonderful experience I had making this #cyanotype print in response to a riveting piece of art by @shawnathon01 that appears in Volume 3, No 4 and for featuring my work today on Instagram. It was a great joy to be part of this publication. Many thanks to talented @christinetierneyphotoart for sharing her awesome work and encouraging me to submit to @baitswit.ch. It's a treat to be among such marvelous artists!
Check out the issue for much more amazing art and consider submitting to this ever-evolving, inspiring publication: Bait/Switch clickety-click!
Such a pleasure to have a review of my book at Lesliesvoice.com!
An excerpt from Leslie’s thoughtful review: “Through anecdotes, metaphor, and humor, this author keeps the reader engaged and laughing throughout the book. Yet the serious part of publishing comes through loud and clear, and a brief exercise is given at the end of each chapter to drive home the content.
This book, From Promising to Published, came to me at the perfect time, just before I typed “The End” on my manuscript. I’ve made notes and scribbles throughout the book, a good sign that I’ll be coming back to it again and again. I’m in the middle of preparing all those things Melanie talks about: Author Bio, Cover Letters (including elements and examples), building a web and social media presence, and managing, and even planning for, rejection (something every writer needs). One of my goals for 2023 is to take more risks with my writing life. The author uses swimming as a metaphor for risk. I’m not a swimmer and, in fact, I’m terrified of deep water. But in writing, I’ve gone beyond the ‘toe-tip in the pool’ to mastering the ‘swan dive.’ Next up, the ‘butterfly stroke.’ I many never learn the ‘freestyle.’ To learn what each of those strokes represents in writing, take a deeper dive into this book, and enjoy the ripple effect of taking some risk.
From Promising to Published contains helpful information about identifying a target audience and submitting to literary journals. But beyond that are tips and tricks I haven’t found in other books on publishing; for example, courtesies and networking among authors, protecting my personal space, avoiding burnout through self-care, and my favorite…celebration! A few months ago, I bought a beautiful peace sign paper weight for myself and had it wrapped up as a gift at the store. After typing “The End” following the last chapter (about freedom and peace), I celebrated by opening my gift. It sits on my bookcase as a daily reminder that I was able to achieve a significant milestone in my writing life!”
Read the rest of the review at: clickety-click!
Check out more of Leslie’s wonderful writing and publications here (“Friday Speak Out!: The List-Maker,” here (“My Favorite Chair”), and here (“What I Would Teach My Children”). Also enjoy this great interview with Leslie from Women on Writing when Leslie’s work placed Runner Up in WOW!’s 2020 Creative Nonfiction Contest: clickety-click.
Many thanks to Leslie Cox for this beautiful review and for making the final stop of my blog tour so meaningful! 🎉
My sincere appreciation and thanks to all of the bloggers who hosted my book during the tour and wrote reviews; to Women on Writing for ongoing support, enthusiasm, and kindness; to Nicole Pyles for applying her amazing blog-tour creation skills to my tour and making this such a fun experience that I couldn’t have done on my own; and to each of YOU, dear readers, who have come along on the fun journey of this blog tour and offered marvelous feedback and messages and/or have purchased From Promising to Published.
May your muse continue to shine, and here’s to filling 2023 with wondrous words and publications aplenty! 🎉
Super excited to have reviews of From Promising to Published at Liberate & Lather and at Word Magic!
From the Liberate & Lather review: “I ended my read feeling built up, and options I never thought of were gifted to me. My power to forge along as a writer has been renewed. If you are on the fence about publishing or not publishing, wrestling with imposter syndrome, or needing fresh ideas to get your work in front of many eyeballs, then you want this in your hands.”
Many thanks to Angie Clay. Check out Angie’s awesome Ignite & Write Subscription Boxes, inspiring podcast, and self-care products.
From the Word Magic review: “Melanie’s goal is to demystify the mystifying process of publishing and she succeeds in this by giving a step by step, logical sequence of milestones and how to accomplish each goal. The chapters are coherently arranged for easy navigation. The author also advises that not every tip will apply to every reader, and they should feel free to pick up on the ones that most suit their situation. One piece of advice I liked was this: say you are a writer/author right from the start, not an imposter, and cling to that knowledge.”
Many thanks to Fiona Ingram at Word Magic. Check out Fiona’s amazing books and her wonderful series website: clickety-click!
I’m honored to have my craft article featured today at Editor-911 as the next stop in my book tour for From Promising to Published.
An excerpt:
“How can we step back a little to create a gentler schedule?
Tip 1: Refrain from the immediate yes, however tempting. Pause for an hour (or even a day) when a great opportunity lands to think it through, step by step.
Break down the opportunity’s required components and guesstimate possible time investments. Factor in your current energy level and health (yours and family members) before taking on a promising project.
Visuals help: physically open your calendar and pinpoint exact hours in your schedule when you will do the work involved. If you don’t have a lot of successive empty spots in your weeks ahead, you already know the answer.
Last week, I had a fantastic short-term gig land in my inbox. My first instinct was to leap on it. Yes, yes, yes! Sign me up!
Then, it occurred to me: a project like the one offered requires 2.5 to 3 hours minimum per day, 5 or 6 days a week…”
Read the rest at: clickety-click!
Many thanks to talented writer, book publisher, and educator Margo L. Dill!
Check out Margo’s awesome online writing classes, including Manuscript Draft Editing Package with Consultation (For Novels, Short Story Collections, and Memoirs), Children’s Novel Draft Editing Package (For Novels for Children Ages 9-12), and Writing a Novel with a Writing Coach: One-on-One Instruction, and Margo’s books and editing packages, sure to inspire and support your writing projects! Sign up for her free newsletter: clickety.
Thrilled to have my craft article, “Bountiful Betas: Benefits of a Beta Reader and Tips for Finding One,” featured today as a guest post as part of my book tour for From Promising to Published at Elle Backenstoe’s blog.
An excerpt: “Beta readers can save authors a lot of time and frustration trying to figure out elements of our own work that can be hard to pinpoint—such as why a certain character feels flat or why a scene that started so well deflated within a few short paragraphs.”
In which our author couldn’t resist posing with these wintry, rectangular beams of sudden sunlight.
One more week of enjoyable stops on my book-blog tour; thanks for all of your messages, positive feedback, and support during this tour.
Kickstarting this week with a fun interview. Stay tuned for some info-packed craft articles/guest posts ahead about beta readers and the art of not taking on too much!
It was a real joy to chat with Jill Sheets recently about the art of pacing, not giving up too soon, photography, forthcoming writing classes, my lack of athletic prowess, and From Promising to Published, among other topics.
Many thanks to Jill Sheets. Check out more of her awesome interviews with writers and blog-tour posts at: clickety-click.
Ever wondered how to find an editor to assist on your writing project? Thrilled to have a craft article I wrote featured at Beverley A. Baird’s awesome blog today. Stop by to get advice on finding a best-fit editor for your manuscript.
An excerpt: “It can be invaluable to get an impartial view on our writing with the in-depth, personalized feedback a freelance editor provides. Editors catch inconsistencies, scope for grammar and structural problems, note unintended repetition and filler words, red-flag plot holes, mark underdeveloped dialogue or characterization, and much more.
Where do you find a freelance editor anyway?
· Ask a librarian. Many libraries host readings or writing groups as part of their community outreach. Plus, librarians dig a good information search and have a wide network…
· Check your favorite indie author’s website. A sizable portion of authors take on editing projects.
· Check the Acknowledgments section of your favorite recently published books.”
Read the whole article with oodles more tips at: clickety-click!
