Happy Thanksgiving!

While the United States wakes up and begin preparing to share Thanksgiving Dinner, some of us Ex-Pats all across Europe have eaten.  Today is the special day set aside to give thanks to God for His goodness and His faithfulness.

 Many thanks to Steve at Steve’s Bar and Grill in Hanau, Germany.  He and his staff are a home away from home on this lovely Thanksgiving Day for many Americans. He is the best cook on this side of Europe.

 

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

Take care and be safe this weekend.

Shalom aleichem,

Pat Garcia

ISWG Day, November 2, 2016, Discovery

Hello Everyone,

It is the first Wednesday of the month and IWSG Time has come around again. 

IWSG, a writer’s support group, which was created by Alex Cavanaugh, is a big help to many of us who do not mind sharing our insecurities, our successes or giving encouragement and help to others. 

So, if you are interested and would like to join, the link below will lead you directly to us:

The Insecure Writer's Support Group 

My report:

I did not submit any new stories this month.

Rejections:

1.    Two stories I submitted to Glimmer Train were rejected.

Acceptances:

1.   SF RWA Heart to Heart Contest – I didn’t win the Certificate but I received three excellent critiques from an agent, published author, and a PAN member concerning the first chapter of my manuscript, which I submitted to the SF RWA.

2. I received an email from Karen Walker, which stated my submission to her anthology was accepted. That is a wonderful feeling, and I am thankful.

 Submissions still out:

1. Still have two outstanding stories that I have not yet heard whether they are accepted or rejected.  So I am still waiting.

2. Submitted one short story to Wordhaus, an online publication. Haven’t got an answer yet.

I am chugging along with my rewrites/revisions of two manuscripts.  I will join NaNo this year with a team of writers from Becoming Writer, and I am looking forward to it.

My blogs are alive and well.  I enjoy posting once every two weeks on my blogs and once a month on this one. I might add another category to this blog and blog twice a month but not before the A to Z Blog Challenge, 2017. If I do add a column, it will take place afterward.

November 2 Question: What is your favorite aspect of being a writer?

Answer below.

Discovery 

I never would have known who I was and what I am capable of becoming if I had not sat down and began to read, write, and revise.  I include revise in this triad because it means my willingness to change. When I revise my writing, I am revising my thinking, my way of seeing things and shaping the things I want to see happen in my future.

Discovery, that aspect of writing that whispers to me, it is all right to branch out and walk differently. It challenges me to embrace the world, other cultures, and to increase my capacity to unconditionally accept others as they are and not as who I would like them to be.

Through discovery, I have learned to laugh at myself and not take myself seriously.  Yes, if there is one aspect of writing I enjoy most, it is discovery. It forces me to face my insecurities, and therefore, it changes my world.

Until next month, be safe.

Shalom aleichem,

Pat Garcia

ISWG, October 2016, The Voices In My Head

Hello Everyone,

It is the first Wednesday of the month and IWSG Time has come around again. 

IWSG, a writer’s support group, which was created by Alex Cavanaugh, is a big help to many of us who do not mind sharing our insecurities, our successes or giving encouragement and help to others. 

So, if you are interested and would like to join, the link below will lead you directly to us:

The Insecure Writer's Support Group 

My report:

I did not submit any new stories this month.

 Submissions still out:

1. Two stories to Glimmer Train

2. My first chapter to SF RWA in their Heart to Heart Contest.

3. Still have two outstanding stories that I have not yet heard whether they are accepted or rejected.  So I am still waiting.

4. Submitted one short story to Wordhaus, an online publication. Should be getting an answer sometime this month.

I am chugging along with my rewrite/revision of my manuscript. I have extended the submission date once again.  I am not ready to send it to my writing coach/book editor. I need to recheck whether my writing is strong and also the show and tell ratio in terms of harmonizing together.  Like I said below, in my answer to the newsletter question, my gut is telling me not quite.

 My blogs are alive and well.  I enjoy posting once every two weeks on my blogs and once a month on this one. I might add another category to this blog and blog twice a month but I am not sure.

The Voices In My Head

I am adapting, learning how to process as I process change.  It is scary and exhilarating.  No one fear comes at me; I think all of my fears are doing double time to keep me from moving farther out. The voices in my head punish. To ignore them makes it worse. The fears get stronger as I progress forward, but I am learning to live with them and to keep looking upward.

Our Newsletter Question for the Month of October.

Our question for this month is when do you know your story is ready?  To be quite honest with you, I think this is an incredibly subjective question with no right answer because it deals with what I call your gut feeling.  It is something that says after months or years of hard work on your manuscript, I have gone beyond my very best and reached a stage of excellence, which cannot be topped.

To feel your story is ready has nothing to do with perfection; it has to do with a conclusion derived from your gut.  No one else can tell you; it is a treaty between you and your spirit that says all is well.

Shalom aleichem,

Pat Garcia