Pages & Paws

Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie

Category Archives: Musings


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How To Make the Most of a Writing Contest

Being all Beautiful and Brilliant and Everything.

Turning a corner here today into somethin’ a little diff: writing contests.

Raise your paw if this has ever happened to you. (It’s okay. Nobody’s lookin’.):

You’re cruising the internet, local bookstore or writer’s group and come across an announcement for a writing contest. It may be fiction or non. Short story, humor, poetry. Whatever. You’re intrigued. You check out the guidelines. Polish your best material to a solar sheen. Submit. And cross your fingers.

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Book Bridges: When Moms Get Dewy-Eyed & Sparkly

It looked like this here yesterday. And like:

So Mom and I decided a soggy Saturday’s a good day to clean out the attic. (It seemed like a good idea at the time.)

Now, you may not know this about me. But I’m a Great Attic Clean-Up Supervisor. I found a comfy rug. Laid down. Watched Mom cart stuff up and down the stairs. Dust. Categorize. Box. Un-box. Re-box.

Supervisin’s a tough job. But somebody’s gotta do it.

Anyway, Mom opened this one box. And sat down. “Oh my!” says she. “Kimmi, look at this!”

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A Writer’s Best Friend

Mom and I, we read like, a ton. (In between peanut butter snacks, natch.) But we’re doing somethin’ a little different today. Today we’re musing about writing. Maybe cuz we’ve heard from some authors recently who are frustrated. Discouraged. Thinking of throwing in the writing towel. If that’s you – or you know someone who fills that bill – then this post’s for you. You might also want to buckle up. Just sayin’. Take it away, Mom!

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Encore: A Reviewer’s Review of Reedsy Discovery

You know that feeling you get when a million-ish people read your latest stroke of brilliance? And another million-ish are looking for it? It’s not quite as good as sinking your teeth into a nice, thick, juicy rib eye steak…

Wait. Where was I?

Oh yeah. Popular blog posts.

Her Momness and I have been fielding lots of requests for an encore of our post about Reedsy Discovery. A fair amount of peeps have weighed in on this review site for indie titles from an author’s point of view. But a review of Reedsy Discovery from a book reviewer’s POV is as scarce as a slim sow.

We fixed that.

Rather than re-post that stroke of genius again en toto, we decided the best way to do an encore is to provide the link to the original post. With some updates. So here ya go. You’re welcome:

A Review of ‘Reedsy Discovery.’

You gonna eat that?

 


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Rattlensnakes and Reunions

 

The Smartest Member of the Family. (Don’t tell Kimber I said that, okay? I’ll never hear the end of it.)

Mom and I were nosing through Draft Posts That Never Saw The Light of Day recently. (Well, I was nosing. Her Momness was … um… snoozing.) Anyway, we found this post that we thought deserved a second chance. It’s about being a writer. Kind of.

So here ya go. You’re welcome:

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How to Build Your “Platform”

Happy Thursday Friends!

Congratulations! The weekend is in sight. So today we’re doing something a little diff. We’ve had a lot of inquiries from authors about “building a platform.” How do you do it? What does it take? Ideas? Dos and Don’ts?

So here, at no extra charge, is The Official Mom and Kimber Guide to How to Build Your Platform. You’re welcome:

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Book Tag 2023!

I’m a tag expert. Get the ball? I’m on it! Fetch the stick! It’s mine! Grab the Frisbee? Oh yeah! So Mom says we’re getting the tail wagging for 2023 with a January Book Tag.

“Someone say ‘Fetch’?,”

Ready to play? It’s goal-setting and challenges for the year. Aw, come on! It’ll be fun! Let’s jump on it! Ready? Set? Let’s go:

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EBook or Hard Copy?

Dear eBooks:

It’s not personal. After all, you’re pretty cute. Shiny and sleek. Portable. Lightweight and easy to carry. Slim and trim. Convenient.

And we still don’t like you.

We prefer hard copy. Like, a real, live physical book with actual paper pages. That you can actually turn. Crease. Stick a bookmark in to save your place.

We like hearing the satisfying creak a New Book makes when it’s opened for the first time by a brand new reader. Or the smack of a just finished book when you snap the cover closed.

We like the way hard copy books feel. How you can brush the cover with your fingertips. Open it with your hands. Thumb the pages. Tuck it under your arm.

Additionally, one of us has been reading books since shortly after the Ark made landfall. And eBooks hurt Momasaurus’s eyes. Cause fatigue. Headaches. Eye strain.

You do not want any of the above coming through in a book review if you’ve submitted your magnum opus via eBook, okay? (Trust me on this.)

Book dinosaurs of the world, unite! As long as we’re talkin hard copy, okay?

XXOO,

Kimber and Mom

Which do you prefer – eBook or hard copy?


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Why ‘Pursue Your Passion’ is Bad Advice

American culture is inundated with the idea that finding our “passion” is key to happiness and success. But is it?

Staying the course only makes sense if you’re headed in a sensible direction.- Mike Rowe

For example, I spent years trying to pinpoint my passion. I thought pursuing my passion was a key to fulfillment.

Then my passions would change. And I’d pursue something else.

A Light Bulb Moment

It was frustrating. Exhausting. Like trying to nail Jell-o to a tree. Then I realized something. Call it a “light bulb” moment a la Mike Rowe.

Like this.

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Ya Gotta Have the ‘Want To’

“383 books in one year?!” people suck in their breath. “How’d you do it?”

Well. I gotta be honest. It was me.

I mean, ‘cmon. Who do you think took Mom on all those walks to the library to grab the latest truckloadsof unread titles? Who do you think nosed through Mom’s book bag(s) until I settled on something worthy and trotted it out? Who do you think sat in her lap while she turned pages? And pages. And pages.

And. Pages.

You know how modest I am. But, hey. As they say, If you’ve got it, flaunt it. And I definitely Have. It.

Oh, sure. Mom says being a fast reader – somewhere between warp speed and 100 mph with your hair on fire – helps. Ditto audio books. Creative juggling. Prioritizing. Self-discipline.

Also reading and eating. Reading (audio) and driving. Reading and washing dishes, folding laundry, cleaning out the basement, mopping the floor, cooking (audio). Reading and walking (audio). Reading in the check out line. At red lights. In the doctor’s and dentist’s waiting room. Setting aside one day a week to read. Logging off the computer. Turning off the phone. Letting voice mail handle it.

Being a voracious reader and lifelong-bibliophile who’d rather get lost in a good book than eat doesn’t hurt, either.

But. If you really, really want to read 383 books in one year like Mom, here’s the key: Ya gotta have the want to.

It all comes down to commitment. Desire. Drive. Aka: the “want to.”

But we all know the real score here. Mom got all those books read because of me. After all, I’m a World Champion Want-To-er. I’m happiest when I’m with my peeps. Reading. Driving. Walking. At red lights. Waiting. Supervising (“Quiet! Mom’s reading!”). In Mom’s lap while she turns pages.

See? Told you it was me.

I love this job. Wait. Do I smell bacon?

Kimber the Magnificent (and modest, too!)

 

What’s your “gotta have the want to” for 2019?