Wherein Esther returns with life news

Greetings, dear friends! I have returned to the blogging world!
My absence provided me a lovely break from deadlines. I must admit, as much as I love writing, the weeks with no posts to schedule were refreshing. I highly recommend taking the occasional break, if you can.
My sabbatical was not empty. I have been writing -- lots of journalling, mostly. And I started working at the veterinary clinic again (yay!). But that's not the biggest thing that has happened.
The biggest thing is that I now have a boyfriend. And he is awesome. And this has inspired me to do a bunch of journaling because I have to wrap my brain around this new life journey and because I think better on paper. I'm sure you writers can relate.
I will do my best, over the coming months, to not bore you with sappy posts. ;) But I am excited about the things God in doing in our lives, and my man will probably be mentioned occasionally. You are forewarned.

I am in eager anticipation of the coming Rooglewood announcement. It's less than 4 weeks away! Can you believe it? At this time, Anne is reading the top 25 stories and matching them up together. Maybe she is even sharing her ideas with the other Rooglewood editors by now. It's so much fun to think about that.
I've tried to figure out if I think I'll make it into this year's anthology or not. Sometimes you have a feeling (whether accurate or not) that you are so sure you will win or you are so sure you will not. But I really don't know this year. I've kind of given up trying to figure it out and settled myself to wait patiently until March 1st. How about you? Any guesses or hopes for how your stories are doing?
And for those of you still waiting to find out what happens to Emery and Beth: fear not. I am going to work on it this afternoon and hopefully will have the next installment up on Saturday.
Thanks again, everyone, for letting me play hooky for a few weeks. :) It's good to be back!

A Short Story Break

via Pinterest It has been a while since I penned a short story. Usually it takes something like a "short story contest" to inspire me. But I have noticed my writing skills improve with each contest so there is something to be said for writing short stories. I say all this to lead into the fact that I am going to try another short story. There is no contest looming on the horizon, but it has been so long that I think I am due to write a short piece. Life cannot be entirely devoted to novel-length plots... I am rolling around different ideas in my head. There is no one to give me the first three words or a picture to base my story on. There are no restrictions, no props, and no judges. Methinks I will try something that is both epic and ordinary...something I have seen before. After all, personal experience, great things, and the expression of the...

More Snippets from Snow White Rose Red

One of the shadows moved. “Were you just going to chuck it in there with no thought for the poor folks on the other side?” Flip’s voice drawled out. It was a deep voice and it made my heart skip a beat. He moved away from the trees and came to stand in front of me. “Some hard-working fellow is plowing his field and then – whop! Out of nowhere, a poisoned apple flies out and hits him upside the head.” He clucked his tongue reproachfully.

The Countdown: Eight Days

Eight days. Do you know what that means? Barely over a week. Tomorrow will be one week from the announcement date. Are you excited? I am. So, today, I want to talk to those who wrote something for the contest, whether or not you entered it in the end. What made you start writing your story? What was the first inkling of an idea that tickled your brain? What was it that you liked about your premise? As you wrote, did you have a favorite character or a favorite scene? And are you glad you wrote it down? Do you feel like you learned and grew in your ability as a writer as you tried out things for this contest? And, if your story isn't included in this year's Rooglewood anthology (either because you didn't submit it or because it didn't fit with the other four stories selected), what will you do with it? Will you market it elsewhere? Or will you lock it away in a drawer?

Erudessa ArandurielFebruary 3, 2016 at 11:51 AM
ESTHER!!!! So good to see you again!!!

Exciting!!! Congratulations!! On both working at the clinic and the boyfriend!!
Skye HoffertFebruary 3, 2016 at 1:20 PM
I'm nervous about the contest too, I hope we both placed. :D
MaryFebruary 4, 2016 at 6:08 AM
So good to hear from you again!!
I'm so happy for you too :)
And a veterinary clinic...that must be fun to work at!
As far as my story, I've gone back and forth on whether it has a chance; it's kind of an oddball, almost contemporary type story, so I really don't know if it would fit in, or if it's even good enough to fit in at all.
But either way I'm looking forward to March 1st! It's going to be awesome seeing the stories and reading them later! I hope you win, because I'm super intrigued by each of your stories :)
JessicaFebruary 4, 2016 at 5:42 PM
Nice to see you back again! I'm glad you haven't forgotten Emery and Beth too, because I haven't either. ;)
Emily Ann PutzkeFebruary 5, 2016 at 5:01 PM
YOU'RE BACK!! Congratulations on all the exciting things happening in your life! That's wonderful!

The Pen of a Ready Writer

Search This Blog