Learning Is Never Easy! by DL Larson

Recently I attended a "Beginners Band Concert."  The players consisted of fourth grade students eager to perform publicly for the first time.  Parents, grandparents and friends sat in the bleachers waiting for the performance to begin.  The children were all dressed in clean, neat clothes, hair combed with faces scrubbed.  In other words they looked adorable if not a little nervous.  Miss E, the band director, seemed calm, smiling to her students and the audience alike.  She greeted the audience and began to explain the grueling process of learning to play an instrument.  Miss E reminded her audience about developing breathing techniques, keeping a good rhythm and learning to focus on the music as well as on her.  She then reminded us how the students needed to adjust to the added burden of holding the instrument in small hands and learning to manipulate their mouths correctly in order to make the proper sounds. 

Miss E is a very enthusiastic teacher and she shared with us how much her students had learned in one school year.  She then said they were going to play the first thing they learned.  She turned to her students, nodded to them to be ready and she stepped up on her podium.  Her arms came up and with quick precision as her hands came together, a giant squawk came from the students and when she used her down motion to complete the beat, the squawk stopped. 

The kids were smiling, Miss E. was smiling and the audience laughed.  The students held up their mouth pieces and Miss E. told us what progress it was for kids to learn to make a sound through their mouth pieces.  One squawk, in unison, held for the correct amount of time, with an abrupt stop just as the instructor had motioned.  She then progressed to the first note, then to the first set of three notes, and so on.  After that I thought the concert would begin, but Miss E. invited, or rather challenged the parents to come down and try playing their children's instruments.  They were to play "Mary Had A Little Lamb."

A nervous laughed resounded through the crowd but the parents were good sports and descended on the students.  Each child showed a parent how to hold the instrument, how to manipulate the few notes and to read the music.  After a few moments Miss E. decided they had learned enough and tapped her stand to gain everyone's attention.  Once again she looked over her band, now full of adults with children standing by their sides.  She stepped up on her podium, brought her arms up and kept up a wonderfully smooth beat to the squeaking and bleating that followed.  Cheeks puffed out, faces grew red from exertion and Miss E. kept directing the beat as the kids earnestly helped their parents keep track of where they were on the page.  The audience doubled over laughing.

A wonderful concert  by the children followed the mayhem.  The kids performed with enthusiasm and everyone left the gmn a little wiser.  

So you may wonder what this has to do with writers.  Well, everything, besides sharing a story with you, it's a reminder that learning a craft is never easy.  And instead of getting crumpy at the process, relax and enjoy the progress you have made.  Whatever level your writing is at right now, take a moment to look back and enjoy those bumbling moments for what they were ~ learning to create! 

Til next time ~

DL Larson 

You Can Make An Impact

When you least expect it, you can make an impact. Last week, when I stood on my back stoop, I noticed a June bug. They always seem to appear in the wrong month, but I digress.

The stoop was wet. The bug lay on its backside, with its tiny legs flailing. I could have ignored its plight. Maybe it would have righted itself. Maybe it wouldn't have. It might have been just another bug trying to have a life and not succeeding.

I thought for a moment, then went back inside. I tore off a small piece of typing paper and went back out. Ever so gently I placed the paper under the bug, taking care not to get any of its tiny legs squashed in the process. Then I slowly lifted the bug up, turned the paper over and placed it on top of a nearby piece of vegetation. It didn't move. Well, I'd done all I could to help its survival, so I went back into the house.

Half an hour later, when I went out to walk my dog, Rascal, I looked for the bug to see if it was still there. It was gone!

The June bug is only one example, but writing is another. Through your efforts, you have the awesome power to transport readers from their everyday world, with its cares and troubles, into another place where they can live for a while.

Yes, you can make an impact!



Find Excerpts & Buy Links to Morgan Mandel's Books at
http://morgansbooklinks.blogspot.com/



Truth really is stranger than fiction....

Sometimes you read something and wonder how the author thought that up, then you'll see something in real life which that makes that writer's creation pale in comparison. I had to add some thoughts today on a headline I just saw and which I find rather shocking. Yes, truth is stranger than fiction. And Soylent Green apparently is very real. My thoughts today on this at my Candid Canine blog. Warning: this may be a bit disturbing to some and contains strong viewpoints.

Writerly Goals for the Week

It seems like it's a busy time of year...then again, what time of year isn't busy? There always seems to be so much to do, and never enough time to do it. When that happens, I tend to put my goals in writing instead of just thinking about what needs to be done. There is much satisfaction to be gained from crossing things off of a list as they are accomplished.

For now I'm not going to think about things in other aspects of my life that need to get done. Instead, I'll focus on the things I need to do in my writer's life:

*Polish synopsis and cover letter for "Family Secrets" and send to the American editor at Harlequin. (This also involves a trip to the post office for international postage.)

*Finish revisions on "An Unexpected Blessing", give it a read through, and send it off to my editor at Wild Rose.

*Get organized so I can really put fingers to keys and make some progress on rewrites/revisions for "This Feels Like Home". (I've done some preliminary legwork, but now it's time to get serious.)

*Autograph and send copies of my books for a collective basket prize another blog is putting together for a June contest. (To be efficient, I'll do both post office things at once.)

And since 'real life' will also need to be accounted for over the next week, I think I'll leave it at that.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

An Incredible Talent by Margot Justes

Renaissance in a literal translation means rebirth. I'm specifically writing about the later Renaissance period that started in the 14th Century in Florence, Italy.  The massive movement affected, politics, literature, industry and of course art; and that is just gliding over the surface.

The impact on art was profound, a new realistic approach to painting where perspective became important-more specifically something called linear perspective-where parallel lines converge so as to give the painting an illusion of depth and distance. That is the accepted definition.

When we look at a painting, we don't say 'ah, I see the linear perspective', we just see a painting and recognize distances and depth and sometimes an added dimension.

There is a recent BBC article written by Robin Banerji about the quintessential Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci, despite being dead for centuries.

The latest article states that his anatomy drawings were quite accurate and better than the 19th Century Gray's Anatomy, and according to the article his anatomy studies were "hundreds of years ahead of its time." A series of drawings of the skull were anatomically correct and  perfect. The article goes on to say that the drawings were as good as what can be drawn today.  Leonardo died in 1519, that puts things in perspective.

Among his many talents, Leonardo da Vinci could paint what he saw perfectly.  That is not as easy as it sounds. I imagine it as he photographed it in his head and later developed it on paper.  A perfect visual image rendered in pigment.

 Till next time,

Margot  Justes

Hearts & Daggers

A Hotel in Paris

www.mjustes.com

Do You Stand Out From the Crowd?

I saw this great example of branding yesterday on my way to Fitness Class.

Why is it so great? Look at the colors, the shape, the design, the logo. It also contains contact a phone number and QR Code as contact information.

This sign serves the dual purpose of warning people off the grass, as well as promoting the brand. My eyes were immediately drawn to it, and I wanted to read what it was about.

Those looking for a lawn care company or thinking of changing theirs would most likely consider this company. Why? Because their signage is very professional.

The conclusion from an observer would be the company's work is is also professional.

That's the kind of branding I'm striving to achieve. Now I just need to find a gimmick like they have.

What about you? Do you have a great gimmick going? Or, maybe you've seen someone else's that strikes you -- that of an author, or perhaps someone in a different profession. Please share.

Excerpts & Buy Links to All 4 of these books are at
http://morgansbooklinks.blogspot.com/

First Impressions and Animals....

Just watching the Today show with a preview of Diane Keaton's new movie, Darling Companion. A dog movie! Being a dog lover, this sure sounds like one I want to see. But the first preview I see the guy loses the dog! Well not a first good impression - of the male character.

Funny how sometimes things get stuck in your head, but to me, any movie that centers on an animal I have to see - War Horse. Sad but sure rooted for the horse!

Adventures of Tin-Tin - still on my list as the dog is so cute.

Writing-wise, maybe that's why subconsciously I usually put a dog in most of my stories. Usually they add something to the story (they should if they are there!)

In my kid's mystery, Searching for a Starry Night, the dachshund Petey is right in middle of the mystery.

In my Girl Zombie story, a German Shepherd dog Chico is there as protection tho the main character (who is part Z) wonders if he will smell that she is "different."

Adding a dog or another pet or animal to a story can only make the story better, imo anyway. You know for sure that is one character the reader will love. haa!

** Do you like to read books with animals or do you put animals in your own writing, and why?

* (PS - Looking at the new pix, wish I would have made it to that conference!)