Thanks

In a couple of days my little family, dogs included, will be loaded up and on the road to visit our Arkansas family. Seven hours in a crowded truck with two kids, two dogs, and my husband. If I’m lucky, there will be tons of nappage, and plenty of silence, but anyone who travels with children can tell you to expect the exact opposite. No sleeping and plenty of screaming. So no, there will be no time to write in those seven hours of travel, but I will be taking the Lappytop (omigosh I missed it) and will hopefully manage some writing time. 

Since I will be spending my holiday out in the country or possibly the deer woods if my hubz can talk me out into the cold (pffft good luck there, Babe), and I will have little or no internet, I wanted to do my thanksgiving post early. As we all know you don’t need a certain day to be thankful for the wonderful people in your life, but since this is the time of year that everyone voices their thanks, I thought I might voice a few of my own.

I can’t possibly thank everyone in my life by name here today; I have just too many loved ones for that, but there are those out there who deserve a special little shout out.

Of course, there’s my best friend, Alpha beta reader, cheerleader, and mother. She pushes me to be the best I can while standing nearby to catch me if I fall. She’s my confidant. Without Mom, I could never have accomplished all that I have.

Though my dad may not have always approved of my choices in life he was always supported of them. He’s always right there when I need him. Love you Daddy <3

A huge thanks to the TPR crew. These ladies and Jon have kept me writing for over a year now. They push me through the blocks and listen to my whines. They freely share their wisdom, or just some awesome blogs to learn from ;)

Thank you to Ali Cross and the ninjas at her writing dojo. They instill discipline to your daily writing, and give each other the support it takes to write a novel.

Rosemary, Brandi, and Marisa thanks for being my friends. I have so few friends here in Abilene, and you are true treasures to me.

 And finally, my Dear Hubz. Thank you for being so patient with me while I search for new dreams. I love you most!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’ll see you in a few weeks

v(^.^) ~peace!

Ta!

A.McBay

Wanted: Critique Partner

I’ve decided today I need a Critique Partner, another writer to share work with. So far only one other writer has been able to read any of WF. I managed to finish the whole first draft depending on my Alpha Beta (AKA Mom) and her knack for knowing if a scene seemed to be working or not. I only just found out that she used to write in high school. Yeah, that was a shock!

Lately I feel discouraged about my writing. I don’t know where to go on revisions, and WF2 has slowed to a screeching halt. I’m hoping having a CP would help keep me on track in my writing goals since I would have someone to answer to, and be able to help me see where I can take scenes to a better place. I also want to learn how to critique others. I want to contribute to other great pieces of work. Mostly, writing has been darned lonely. Sure I share with loved ones, but a lot of time my writing isn’t their genre and they have a hard time accepting some of the odd things that might happen in a paranormal fantasy. I want to have a polished draft of WF by summer, and be prepared to query.  I want to have a finished first draft of WF2 by next year. I have so many other ideas in my idea box just begging to be worked on.

Sharing my writing is scary to me. It’s like opening up a piece of me to someone else. I know it’s for the better and the suggestions they make are only in the books best interest but I’m still nervous. *deep breath* BUT I’m ready for it! I’m ready to learn more about being a writer and to help my books be the absolute best they can possibly be. So, if you’re interested, I’m willing to share with you. 
Until then, I'll keep my nose deep in my writing books.

Ta!

AMcBay