A thank you is due 12 x 12 Challenge participants and administrators who are always on my mind, because I weekly look to them for ways to improve my craft.

Boldly stretching my mind, my dollars, and my time to go where I’ve not yet been.

Can I craft six more manuscripts during the second half of 2014 working at this pace? Coffee, please.

Dialog on WordPress and Facebook, for me, is pushed by this jingle in the back of my mind: Do it; Do it right; Do it right now.

Effort? Come on, how much effort could it possible take to write a page a day? Exactly.

Frankly, my dear, you can clean the toilet today.

Great, I’m almost to the end of “one page.” ( hand written lines.) But the laundry is in, and I may have enough coffee to write to “Z.”

“Hiya,” said Mighty Max.” (JuJu reminded me to add the magic.)

I will submit. The time is near.

Jane Yolen, of course, who has written over 300 books for children and who inspires me, because she advises, creates, pens, publishes, and believes we can. And, that humbles me today, forcing me to “keep butt in chair” (quote from Ms. Yolen). I pause to give thanks for this author who gives much back to the writing community.

Kaleidoscope we PB authors make, while bringing color and light to kids.

Love it when you understand my words.

Much to learn. Making progress.

NOW? If not NOW, when? I’m really bad at networking, but Katie Davis makes it look so easy. She knows everyone; can do anything technical. Her only competitor is that little kid, who is guru to two of my grandsons, when he previews candy and toys on his YouTube channel.

Open mind, open heart. Operative for writing. Books are a way to take a precious moment in time and make more of it. The camera might miss it, because it only sees in one direction. You might have missed it the first time, because you were multi-tasking. As a PB author, I can write the whole story with a good illustrator, of course. *BTW science of the brain tells us that the brain cannot multi-task. When we try, it seems to work, but a chart of your cerebral path would show that for a second (less than), your brain left one thing and worked on another.

Queen Julie Hedlund, administrator of 12 x 12 Challenge, online. I know she delegates, and rightly so, in a comprehensive program that makes clear my author’s path and makes me want to run that direction.

Repeated daily are: rest and exercise and writing.

Slow but steady won the race. Sometime we have a growth spurt, but logging into 12×12 Challenge gives me new thoughts and review, skill building, and it affirms with responses from others.

Time? Some days it manages me. One child gave me a refurbished lap top for Mother’s Day. Yeeha!

Use all your resources to enlarge your world.I’m one of those who can say, “I walked everywhere.” It worked, at the time, but my world was so small.  In 1966 I had one small TV, one car that I didn’t know how to drive, walked with child and stroller. I used pay phones and wrote letters. I talked to the lady at the Laundromat. Only my husband drove and worked 8-5 that year. It was a blessing when he lost his job, because we moved back to our families and friends. We got a telephone. I learned to drive. I got a job. Life began again.

Voice: I have one that in my writing speaks volumes. It didn’t always. My voice is not the voice of one Grandson, Max, who has a voice that is a little loud, at times, but always strong, confident, and enthusiastic right up until the moment he falls asleep. He is both a verbal and non-verbal communicator. At a garage sale, he will count his money and smile at the seller and return to me to ask why he got his item for FREE.

Work. Don’t worry about who does the most around the house. Housework/yard work is never ending. He might see that an electrical outlet needs moved. She might see that it’s time to defrost something for the evening meal. But here’s what I think: He who cleans the toilet dies last.

“X” out some of the clutter. It renews the spirit.

YOU:Life isn’t about YOU. It’s about all of us. Listen to the stories of others. Listening is an affirming communication.

Zipping this blog up now with best wishes for your day. 🙂