The drive there was great and I planned my day so that I would have time to re-group and enjoy breakfast before the event. I discovered a tiny, trendy rather up-scale cafe and enjoyed a relaxing breakfast.

After that, I met up with four other writers from my RWA group. This series of workshops was presented by the BC Chapter of Crime Writers of Canada in celebration of National Crime Writing Month.

The atmosphere was very relaxed. The day consisted of four panel discussions. The presenters would share their opinions and then the audience could respond. I’ve always enjoyed panels as I can hear differing points of view and listen to different voices. The focus was on: Character Building from the Ground Up, Avoiding Plotting Problems and Sustaining a Series.

The day ended on an interactive note with published authors reading excerpts from their novels and then having their readings critiqued by their peers.  This section was very informative to me. I love the challenge of public speaking so offered to read a short selection from my latest manuscript. I received helpful feedback and I was really glad I drummed up my courage and took the opportunity to present my work.

Another fine aspect of the day was the opportunity to have my work read by an author during the Blue Pencil Cafe. As it turned out, my writing was reviewed by Lou Allin who has written for younger readers. So that was very helpful and totally unexpected.

All in all -a very good day. You don’t know how some of these adventures will turn out -unless you take the chance.

And I did!

©2012 Jodie Esch | Confessions of a YA author. All Rights Reserved.

Oh well, I was prepared -even though I didn’t write much at all, on my current manuscript.

I did enjoy my weekly forays to the local writing club however. Those were opportunities to share the love of words with other  writers.  The small room was a place of acceptance. Everyone had the chance to read their work aloud if they wished. And I did. It was super to have an audience. Many writing glitches can be caught when one reads to others.

The writing was diverse -ranging from poetry, memoir, adult fiction, children’s fiction and slice-of-life stories.

Every Monday afternoon was set aside to focus on the power of words. And truly, it didn’t matter about the age of the participants who showed up – everyone was in love with books and reading and writing.

So, I shall leave Casa Grande remembering that in-between golf, pickle ball, pottery, lapidary etc. -I found a cluster of passionate people whose main focus was books!

Yes, yes. I plan to join you again next winter. Thanks to Darlene , our super leader!

©2012 Jodie Esch | Confessions of a YA author. All Rights Reserved.

Hanging on by my fingertips in a local writing group in Casa Grande, Arizona. But it’s hard to stay focused with a buffet of activities to choose from and spectacular weather. (not to mention stellar dinner parties and get-togethers).

And yet. Even writing this blog reminds me of how much I love words. I love playing with words. I love hearing words. And I love discovering a new word.

Song lyrics tug at my brain and create a torrent of emotions. Words can wash over my body like a massive wave. So, the moral of the story is ‘Just Do It’, which of course is a marketing phrase and totally over-utilized. Cliche, cliche.

So, I must invent my own phrase.  Writing is ‘me’. Writing is what I do!

End of speech for today.

©2012 Jodie Esch | Confessions of a YA author. All Rights Reserved.

I’m learning to play the fine game of ‘pickle-ball’ which is surging in popularity for those of us who want a challenge and would be considered ’mature adults’. For those who don’t know, it’s a court game, deceivingly simple and  very good exercise.

And pickle ball is as much a ‘head-game’ as much as it is a ‘physical game’. Believing in yourself, believing in your capacity to learn, believing in your body.

However, it’s the winner/loser theme that I’ve been exploring with myself. I can play six or seven games over a period of two hours and not win a game. I can have scores of up to 11 (which is the number one wants) -but not magically win. And then I walk away and feel despondent.

I’ve found myself wishing I had a different body, a different skill set, etc. Basically ‘wishing’ my life away. And I realize (intellectually) that thinking like this is so self-defeating. No kiddding. And obsessive and just plain un-healthy.

It’s the same thing with writing. I stopped for a period of time recognizing that after all these years of trying to learn to write commercial fiction that I will not be on The New York Times Best Seller List. So, does that mean I should stop writing? Should I stop dreaming? Should I stop creating my imaginary worlds?

Just because ’you’re not winning’ doesn’t mean that you should be categorized as a ‘loser’. I spent decades in schools, working with students, trying to improve their self-esteem so that they could learn to face the challenges in their lives.

I have to remember my own advice.

It’s all about the journey. Lighten up Jodie!

©2012 Jodie Esch | Confessions of a YA author. All Rights Reserved.

On this very special day we are thankful for:

• our family
• our friends
• our health

Wishing everyone a wonderful day of visiting, eating and relaxing.

©2012 Jodie Esch | Confessions of a YA author. All Rights Reserved.

I have, of course, packed enough books for a decade. Deciding which books to take and which to leave behind is a difficult exercise. I like to have a buffet of books. I like choices. I like books to catch my mood. Sometimes I want something thought-provoking, sad and grim. Other times I crave a book that is up-lifting and that gives guidance.

Sometimes I want a story of someone who is leading a life-style totally different than mine. I can escape into that world and often be thankful, sometimes, that by the end of the book that I don’t have to live in that world.

I suppose the simplest idea would be to travel with two items. My computer and my credit card. That would work in an ideal world. However, I have my favourite teas, recipe books, various kitchen items and spices.

So, onwards – and back to packing. The main goal of this adventure is supposed to be to live a simpler lifestyle. We shall see. Stay tuned.

©2012 Jodie Esch | Confessions of a YA author. All Rights Reserved.

It takes alot of courage to show your work to others, but of course, that’s what this system is all about. People write and people read. The goal of course is to have readers. How wonderful to have people read one’s work – that is someone else beside friends and family.

I have re-visited the opening of my latest YA novel. Again. Trying to go deeper. Trying to demonstrate emotion. Trying to utilize feedback from contests.

It’s work, for sure.  But I’m happier working on it, then not. There’s the complexity. Some days I wish I could walk away, but I can’t.

So, on I plod. But it’s all good – as some teens like to say. I can see progress in my own writing. And that’s a very good thing.

©2012 Jodie Esch | Confessions of a YA author. All Rights Reserved.

As Bradbury declares in the preface -’these essays were written at various times over a thirty-year period, to express special discoveries, to serve special needs. But they all echo the same truths of self-revelation and continuous astonishment at what your deep well contains if you just haul off and shout down it.’

Wow! This morning in order to re-connect with myself I did the following. First rather than framing choices in the ‘I did not zone’, instead I will share what I did. I stayed quiet. I centered myself and offered affirmations for my daughter who is at a critical juncture in her life. I lit my candles. I made a list. A large list. With new markers to signify a fresh start.

Bradbury suggests that if one is not writing ‘the world would catch up with and try to sicken you. If you did not write every day, the poisons would accumulate and you would begin to die, or act crazy, or both.’

And finally he offers, ‘You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.’

For sure.

And I guess that’s the best way to end for today. When you stumble upon enlightenment, pay attention.

©2012 Jodie Esch | Confessions of a YA author. All Rights Reserved.

However – thinking, no matter how productive it might be, does not result in ‘words on the page’.  So here I am, on a bright sunny Saturday morning, with the CBC humming in the background, dipping my toes in the writing pond again.

I thought I could walk away. I thought I could find other things to do. But writing always draws me back. Draws me back with an intensity that is sometimes shocking. I have to acknowledge, finally, that writing is as essential to me as the love of my family and friends. So there you have it. I’m back.

©2012 Jodie Esch | Confessions of a YA author. All Rights Reserved.

Rachel is a keen participant in our writing group and always provides us with useful information whenever she offers a workshop. She is a freelance writer of magazine articles, a journalism instructor and a consummate blogger. You can find her at ’Heart of a Peahen’ and ‘Calorie Neutral’.

As a freelancer, she must convince each prospective client that she has written something that they will want. She has crafted her strategies into four elements of marketing.

For the short story or novel writer, she summarizes her information as follows:

1. Who am I talking to? Who is my target audience?

2. What am I offering? or What’s in it for the recipient?

3. How am I different? How am I special?

4. Why should they believe me?

You see there is a ‘great divide’ between one’s finished product and launching that product into the market place. The separation between the two adventures is more like the Grand Canyon.

Rachel’s suggestions give writers an opportunity, a way of looking at their work, that will launch their manuscripts up and over the precipice.

It is one thing – to have written. And that in itself is a huge accomplishment! Then one has to negotiate the next step.

Rachel urges us to identify ‘the difference between my story and every other press release, between my book and all the others on the same shelf, between my manuscript and the 800 others in the agent’s TBR pile.’

Over the next period of time, I will closely examine what makes my work special. How is my work different from other writers’work?

Rachel delivered a thought-provoking and timely workshop. I will return to her major points again and again.

A round of applause for Rachel and her timely tips!

I appreciated her expertise.

©2012 Jodie Esch | Confessions of a YA author. All Rights Reserved.