Terri Patrick's Blog

Today was the monthly RCRW meeting, including a great workshop by Paty Jager called I’m still a Guy:

The workshop will use Brad Paisley and other country songs to show you what a guy really thinks. We’ll explore their thought process and why a grunt and one word sentences are, in their mind, completely effective.

We even had a few males in the room to say, yep – that’s how we think!   The surge of oxygen to the brain from the laughter always stays with me long after the meetings.  

During the Kudos part of the meeting I got my applause for completing my romance, getting it off to beta readers, and the partial on the editors desk.  It’s awesome to have that kind of support and understanding of the job completed.  A dozen of us usually continue the fun by sharing lunch after the meeting and as we settled around the table the conversation focused on the ECWC last month, and I was able to share a memorable event for me.

I had a group appointment with agent Alexandra Machinist and knew she doesn’t represent what I write, but I liked her and wanted to know more about her so I could recommend her to fellow writers.  She began by telling us that everyone was welcome to send a query and pages to her office and we could just talk about publishing books.  We were welcome to pitch our story to her but if we were nervous she warned that she tends to be blunt.

“Well I’d like your advice,” I said.  “I think I’ve written two main publishing taboos.  It’s a memoir with an Erma Bombeck flavor and a lot of happy Catholic stuff,”  I paused and watched her as I finished, “and a quadriplegic.”

Her eyes widened and she jerked as she said, “You’re screwed.”

My friends at lunch today – howled with laughter just like I did (more than once) that day. (And yes, I totally recommend Alexandra as an agent if you write what she represents.)

I needed that extra punch of laughter because tonight I’m working on 7 pages that are very emotional.  Fortunately the red pen edits are like blood splatters on the pages and a lot easier to work with then when I first wrote this chapter, and had to open a vein from my heart and bleed all over the keyboard.

Now a guy may say, “You’re screwed, give up.”  But a romantic hero would give me a hug and let me do what I had to do.  (Ed’s at our weekend place with his pilot buddies because they spread dirt on the runway today.)

And a dozen women who understand the power of love stories and a writers dedication to get it right, know I am not screwed, and it’s the story that matters.

**  So OK, I wrote this post hours ago, as a delaying tactic to get into the rewrites.  It was also a motivational thing for me, making myself accountable to do those pages tonight.  They are done now, and much better.  I’ve even updated the excerpts on my memoir website.  Now I’m going to put my feet up, have some wine and read the free romance I downloaded today.

When a project is complete – celebrating is required.   My personal celebration event was wonderfully timed – and with two events.  I volunteer for Make-A-Wish and this past weekend kicked off my weekly collection of the Santa Letters from Macy’s through the holiday season.  Santa to me is – the manifestation of the spirit of generosity – regardless of all the commercialism.  Having access to hundreds of letters to Santa last year, there was no way I would miss touching on that awesome potential of a child’s trust in generosity, this year.

The other event was the BodyMindSpirit Expo taking place in my town.  I love everything woo-woo and am tickled that it’s called “New Age” when everything about it is so ancient.  This is a positive energy overload because no matter what the message is, live with joy, be healthy, we are all greater than we think.  Belief matters!

Of course, many people also believe that celebrating the completion of a creative project should be something more personal and tangible.  Did that too!  The primary bathroom in our home has new towels, curtains, and rugs.   So every time Mother Nature calls, I am thrilled with what I see around me.  It’s golden with dramatic black accents.

But even more fun, though not prearranged, as I walked into the BMSExpo the first woman I saw was someone I adore.  Then I saw one of my friends from my romance writers group, and later, another.  And my sister appeared because it was only a short hop on The Max for her, and she knew I’d be there.

I also had a work-in-process book project, from friends, to review.  It’s non-fiction and getting me tuned up to the work I have waiting, edits on my memoir, to get back to Carla next month.  Ed’s also back from his journey through international, and east coast time zones, contentedly snoring in his own bed.

Blessings and joy abound, because I have created them and celebrate them.  Three days of grandma play stretch before me.  Life is good.

Our youngest daughter is sleeping now, after her whirlwind trip in Switzerland and Slovenia with her dad.  Lyndsay will leave in the morning to drive back to Bend, where she lives.  Totally exhausted, her initial comments focused on the negatives, getting lost, stuck in traffic, no sleep, so much time in the car, language barriers, and lousy orange juice.

Then there was the disappointment that when they arrived in the village of her grandfather’s family – there was a huge event taking place for All Saints Day – and everyone was packed into the tiny church cemetery – from everywhere – and they were all dressed up – in suits and jewels – while Lyndsay and her dad were in jeans and sneakers….

I was at this church cemetery last summer and it was quiet, beautiful.  Two grave sites were being tended with new plantings by family members.   The tiny memorial gardens and markers listing all the names are charming.  I have a picture of myself, with a woman only a few years older than me, from last year, who is now a new name on the stones.  I still feel this cemetery as a happy place.  A tribute to those that have come before, contributors of who we are now, deserving of honor.

Lyndsay’s comments about her visit to the same place didn’t diminish my feelings.  She’s only 20, and it’s her first connection with a bigger world, that is part of who she is and the heritage that she’s thrilled to claim.

After those first bursts of releasing personal responsibility of being an international traveler – once she saw me, mom, at the airport waiting to take her to a good bed – Lyndsay was then able to relax into the babble of castles, villages, views of cloud covered alps, going past the Starbucks and eating a meal in a hard to find bistro only the locals know…

She has stories of tossing francs, euros and pennies into the dishes for using toiletry facilities.     She has experience with driving on the wrong side of the road.  She’s navigated with maps in different languages.  She’ll return to her current home with a new set of skills, a new perspective.

But tonight, she liked what I did with the bathroom while she was gone this past week, the new curtains and rugs.  Then she wanted the dog to sleep with her, in her bed.

And I’m sort of giddy in the feeling that – as a mom – I’ve done good!

One of my oft repeated laments as a writer has been, “If only I could get the conflict and drama out of my life – and into my books!”   This month of dedicated focus on rewriting a novel has shown me I’ve learned a few things by holding onto my writing dreams – in spite of those pesky conflict and drama issues in my life.

It all comes down to passion.  My passion is story in all its forms, even the ones taking place within my home and family.  I’m also partial to happy endings and love seeing them around me, and in my daughters lives, and know I was a primary player in their success.  I might not have dozens of romance novels on the shelves (yet!) but I loved writing every one that’s been stuck in a box under the bed – just in case the story has merit in spite of horrible prose.

Ed and I attended the symphony on Sunday.  The night before, my nephew filled me in through IM’s on Facebook about the story behind the music, and it made the experience even more memorable.  It fueled my passion for story on a different level.  I’m really enjoying the new flow I feel for story as I work through the process of rewrites.  Maybe there was something in the music. 

All the other authors linked on my blog have interesting things going on right now.  Deb Stover is presenting “Talking to Invisible People” at her local police station.  Jessa Slade has a European Theme Song and Marc Acito has discovered the conspiracy between wealth and health.

I’ve also added a new  link to my “These Are Great Blogs” – Stacey’s Respite.   And one last piece of advice for writers, go back and review Trish’s astrological posts for October before she posts new ones for November.  One thing I know about astrology is there is a benefit to pause and reflect on what aspects were forecast in comparison to what happened in your life.  May you all find your flow!

If you want inspiration check out this site – the music is awesome – the story – evolving!