Shout-outs 4 great Writing!

It seems being absent over the summer has left me with some serious catching up to do.

First thing I'd like to mention is the same pluggy I left you with before the summer--Writers Support 4U! Yes, I created it. But that's not why I'm mentioning it again. It's not really for me. It's for all of you, although I do utilize it.

We went from 1 member, Moi, on July 1st to 96 as of yesterday!! Many of the writers who joined over the summer used the space to share their current struggles or successes, and almost instantly got some sort of response from one of the other members. It's been a great way to connect and expand the skills of our writing community.

We'd love to have you. You can JOIN HERE!

My next item for the Writers' Ally plug is Rach Writes Third Writers' Crusade.

Now, I did not participate in the first crusade; I hadn't heard about it. But I did participate in the second crusade. It was a great experience, and I'm already signed up for this crusade. Rach breaks us up into genres and groups. We meet writers with similar tastes and challenges. And she offers awesome writing challenges, contest, and of course--prizes!!

If you haven't checked it out, please do. You can JOIN HERE!! But you only have until tomorrow. Rach is closing the list so she can get organized.  

So, tell me what I missed. Do you have a specific link or contest, or maybe information you gathered that you'd like to share?? Please do and I'll collect them and write up a post for you!!

~Hearts~ 
Sheri

Writers' Ally is BACK!! Summer Writing Lessons...

****WAVES frantically****
Did you miss me as much as I missed you??

I really did, you know. We're all aware of..."Absence makes...blah, blah..." Well, my heart is definitely fonder of each of you. And a special spotlight welcome to my New Followers. Please leave comments. I ADORE your thoughts and love chatting with you. Can't wait to get to know you.

I do not say this lightly: you are all important to me. You are my energy in this writing game, and I'm so grateful for you. So....if you stay tuned, you'll find out how grateful I am. Yes, I'm teasing you with a giveaway. I have like 25 Young Adult & Middle Grade books, just weeping for new homes, laying prostrate on my office floor. A giveaway is in the near future. :)

But I wanted to catch up a bit before we move into the Fall season.

I had a quiet yet busy summer. My kids' last day of school was only a week and a half before the Fourth of July. That really shortened our summer. We swam in our pool, chatted, and barbecued a ton. Went to the beach, did the amusement park thing, parades, and camp visits. Of course, being HUGE Red Sox fans, we hit three games!!! One of them was even on that day in Boston when, at game start, it was 108 degrees. Phew....Now that's hot.

On the flip side, we spent half a week in six ice rinks in Massachusetts for a summer hockey tournament, and then fried at our daughter's premier soccer tournie in New Hampshire. Yeah...we're a versatile bunch, aren't we?? More like crazy. I do have one story to share with you about when I accompanied my hubby on a business trip to New York City and than Atlantic City, but that will take too much of your valuable time, right now. Let's just say--ICE CHIPS FROM THE VENT ABOVE MY SEAT FELL ON ME, WHILE WE WERE FLYING IN THE AIRPLANE!! I so wanted off! Other than that, we were kind of lazy, which was fantastic for our busy family of six (Dad, Mom, & the 4 kiddos, for those of you who are new to my crazy life).

Editing, writing, and freelance work took up some of my time. Mostly, I reflected and totally sucked in all I could from observing my kids and their friends. I'm a children's book writer. What better way is there to formulate ideas than by watching kids and teens in action? My brain regressed back to that two-year-old mentality, soaking up their actions, mannerisms, word choices, and attitudes. The list was endless.

The main lesson I learned over my eight week hiatus from blogging is that I can't allow my love for storytelling to get bogged down by the business of life. Each day is a new day, which will bring new challenges. Most of those challenges will have nothing to do with my writing career. Honing in on daily life can fuel our writing, creativity, and our drive.

Take advantage (and notes) of every moment you're given. They ALL really do count!

So happy to be back.

Splat: I've devised a new schedule for the Alleyway: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday (occasionally alternating with Friday, just because I love Friday posts!!) Each day will host a regular lineup. But I never decided on exactly what I want to do. I'll need your opinions for that. I'm hoping to list them soon. :)

On the writing front, I'm normally private about my true activity and any leads I might be pursuing. Just keep me in your thoughts. I'd set writing goals for the summer...

What have you learned over the summer that can make you a better writer?