Sunday, June 30, 2013

Editing a Manuscript-Using Scrivener and Goodreader

I know I've written about this before, but I have to reiterate.  Saving my manuscript from Scrivener into a PDF, opening it on Goodreader on my mini iPad, using a stylus and the freehand writing tool and making edits directly onto the page, then flattening the file and sending it back to Scrivener is the easiest and most efficient way I've found to edit my manuscript thus far.  I then can open the edited version in Scrivener (having saved it in the "Research" section), split the screen, and type out the edits right in the actual manuscript like so:





So today, for my 'work on Earths Project' task, I finished editing and polishing up to chapter five, made sure I was happy with the synopsis, and sent a query to another agent.  The agent requires the first 50 pages, synopsis, and query.  I like the idea of sending more in the query, even though I was grumpy about it when I first realized it was a requirement for so many agents.  The reason I've warmed up to the idea is because if the query itself catches an agent's eye, they can easily read more and decide what they think.  And since I've obviously got confidence in my work (or else, why would I be working so hard on its behalf), I feel like my chances can only get better the more they read.

That's all for today...I'll continue with my 1996 journal tomorrow.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Editing a Manuscript, Saturday, and Journal from 8/7/96 and 8/8/96

I'm having a great day.  This morning I got semi-caught up on my jewelry making tasks for the weekend and afterward I folded 3 loads of laundry and started a new one. I even went for a run with the dog right after I woke up...the run was more of a walk because I feel like I've got lead legs lately when I try to jog, but it was still worth the effort.  After the laundry and jewelry, I still had some time while the hubby was out with our daughter running errands, so I used 15 minutes to voice record another chapter of my book.  Doing the voice recording has really made me think about how well or poorly the story I've tried to create flows.  And when I have a bad chapter, I get red in the face while I'm reading out loud...but when I have a good chapter, I get a surge of confidence that lingers for hours.  It's still lingering now and I feel really confident that my writing (up until chapter 4 at least) is sounding the way I want it to sound.  It is getting me more excited to do the second round of editing.

I can't wait until Scrivener releases their iPad app.  I know I still have a while to wait, but it's nice to know it's coming.  Hm...maybe I shouldn't be so hasty to say that it's good to know I have it to look forward to...because I've lately been using that as a crutch and excusing myself from editing because I know it'll be easier when that app exists (my whole book is written in Scrivener, so to be able to read chapters and edit right on the page with my iPad sounds so convenient).  But getting this resurgence of desire to see this thing through and get an agent and (oh god, it's like my go-to fantasy daydream) sign a book deal needs to start somewhere.  And polishing this book to the point where I feel confident on every chapter instead of just every other one is what I need to focus on now.

So the editing must continue.  I'm still following through with my daily writing regimen, but I haven't actually gotten back into editing the manuscript.  I've decided though, that I'm going to pick up where I left off...the edits I've made so far are still marked in red all over the pdf of the whole book I've been reading through Goodreader on my iPad and, for the most part, they're legible, so I just need to continue making those edits.  Typing them out on the actual computer is the scary part.

Back to the journal...

Diary, I don't think David likes me anymore.  I went ******** and he only talked to me once!  Than he asked my ************** to watch a movie!  Didn't even ask me to go to so I had to sit ****************** :'(
                                         Millie

PS The worst part is, I think ************(someone I didn't like had a crush on me)**************

8/7/96
Diary, last night I was watching "Little Rascles" and the one kid said all these names of people that make a team. ***************** I know it was just a coinsodence, but it could come true!

Also, yesterday night I was helping my sister clean her room and she gave me something called a "monkey's fist" and a pez dispencer, a lot of clothes, and a really neat pen! llllllllll <--it ran out!
Oh well!

                                          Millie

PS This morning me and my brother and sister went for a run.  My brother beet me and I beet my sister.

8/8/96
Diary, I think he likes me again!  Yesterday when **************************** but he asked me instead (which he never does)

I ran again today!  and I kind of ran with my sister so no one really won.

***************
                                         Millie

Diary, I haven't been hearing the footsteps outside anymore.  Maybe the ghost decided to go haunt someone else for a change.  I really wish I could tell you something more exciting But there's nothing else to write about but boys!  I know that's the most boring thing I could write about but oh well!  I guess I just have as normal of a life as it can get!

I wish I can write to Kathy but its her turn to write to me!  I guess she just got bored writing to me!  Diary, should I write to her and remind her to write to me?  I'll give her 2 more weeks then I'll write to her!

      I have to go feed my chameleon
                  Millie






Sorry about all the blued out words.  I really censored these ones a lot.  They're just as embarrassing as before.  I am getting numb to it.  I just don't want any identifying information showing up...you know, in case I become a famous author some day and people actually read this blog.  I guess by then an editor or agent will probably force me to take this blog down.  Ahhh, there I go, daydreaming again.

Anyways...we're all just trying to avoid the crazy heat here in Arizona.  It's expected, but this is my first summer in the desert, so I feel like I'm allowed to complain for a while.  Plus, I'm pregnant, so that gives me double reason to complain.

Off to writing the paragraphs for my Synopsis in Six Sentences :)

Friday, June 28, 2013

Writing a Synopsis and the Next Journal Entry (date unknown)

I've been thinking about re-querying agents (well, not exactly 're-querying' so much as sending out my query to a few new batches of agents).  Unfortunately, one thing I hadn't anticipated after writing my original query back in March was writing a synopsis.  I just didn't see that as part of what I would need to do in order to try and persuade an agent to represent me.  I was wrong, so I tried writing up a quick synopsis and found out...yea, not so easy.  Today, for my 'do something on Earths Project' part of my To-Do list, I decided to research again how to best write a synopsis.  I easily found this blog post:

http://writerswrite1.wordpress.com/2013/05/22/how-to-write-a-synopsis

There's also a cool image attached to the blog (and I think this blog post is reposted from the original blog, so I apologize that I was too lazy to track down the original poster).

Immediately, I started applying this tactic to my book.  I am up to the third sentence and I'm finding it to be a much more helpful way of turning this arduous task into a much more manageable one.  Hopefully I'll be able to come up with the last few sentences for this and turn them into paragraphs without much trouble.  That'll be the goal for my weekend? 

On to the next journal entry...I block out a lot from the second page because I'm pretty sure it's for the next day, but for some reason, I stopped writing dates for a few pages.

Diary,  My mom just went for an interview.  Wish her luck!  She has a lot of experience so unless they pick family, she's in the bag!

I might bring you with me when we go to hershey on the 22nd.  If I don't bring you, I'll fill you in on the details when I get back.

I never had a diary that I enjoy to write in and kept this long.  I hope no on ever finds you and reads you!  Unless I'm dead!  Then it won't really matter!  I wish I could write about more exciting stuff but it would be more dumb if I lied!

I hope when I grow up ***************************************
I want an interesting job like being an archeiologist!  Now that would be fun!  I'm not sure if I want kids?  Maybe when I get older I'll change my mind!

                               Millie

Diary, It's so HOT!  I wish my neighbors would invite me down to swim!

I can't wait until my dad and I finish the tree house!  Then I can hide you out there!

                               Millie



I definitely remember wanting to be an archaeologist.  I think it was because of the movie 'Jurrasic Park'.  In fact, I'm sure of it.  I think my mother got that job she had interviewed for...not positive though.  I also think my neighbors invited me down that day.  The only reason I kept that part for this entry is because it's supposed to be 119 degrees in Phoenix today...the hottest day of the year so far.  It's about 2pm, so I'm assuming it's pretty bad out already.  I'm staying inside as much as I can today.

I remember not wanting kids through most of my childhood.  I didn't really decided I wanted a baby until I lived in Louisiana...about 4 or 5 years ago.  When that baby fever came on, I couldn't look at a baby without wanting one of my own with an intensity I've never before experienced.  So I guess there was no way of knowing at 13 that I'd get that innate urge.   

Guess that one wasn't so bad as far as embarrassment goes. Also, it's funny that I am totally screwing over the younger version of myself who wrote this and was so adamant about no one ever reading it (because, as you can see, I'm not dead).

Thursday, June 27, 2013

No Journal Today

I have to take a break because the next couple of entries are almost as embarrassing as the previous one, and I need a breath between them.  Sadly, today, I saw all over Facebook that the town I just moved from (DuBois, PA) is flooding right now.  I truly hope everyone who I know, and everyone who lives there, is remaining safe.  For a minute there today, I was extremely thankful for the fact that I'm no longer there so I didn't have to deal with the fear of how to get to the daycare to get my daughter.  My heart goes out to any parents who are there having that type of scary situation as a reality right now. 


I hope our former home is staying dry...especially because my husband spent many thousands of dollars and hours finishing the basement. 


I feel like there's no good way to transition to another subject, so I'm just going to bluntly do so.  This afternoon, I spent a few minutes deciding on a few things I want to do EVERY day for my writing.  The writing, in the long run, is what I want to do...with a passion...so I need to realize that I can't just expect this to happen without any hard work on my part.  So I made a list of three things that will pop up as reminders on my phone every day at 8:30pm, partly just as a constant daily reminder, but also because if it does slip my mind, the best time of day for me to force myself to make time is after my kiddo goes to bed.  The three things are:

 
Write at least 15 minutes
(I wish I could find it realistic to make that a longer amount of time, but I know I can't...and I don't want to shoot myself in the foot right off the bat)
Blog
(that's you!  so I'll either be adding a journal entry or writing about writing or jewelry or life)
Edit or do something with Earths Project
(lately...well, yesterday and the day before...I started reading the book out loud to my iPhone memo thing...I actually downloaded an app called DropVox, which puts my recording directly into a folder in Dropbox...which is helpful because if I save them with the Voice Memos app, I have to connect them directly to my computer to get them off my phone when they're past a certain length)
 

 
So we'll see how this new process goes, but it's a way to remind myself daily that this is what I want, and I can't just expect it to happen for me...I have to work for it.  Even if I have a full-time job, jewelry business on the side, husband, child and a baby on the way.  Ha.  But seriously....I don't function well with too much free time...so filling it is second nature to me.  And why not fill it with something like making my dreams come true?
 
Cheesy...but whatever.
:)

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Oh my goodness...

It's 3:33 and 3 is my favorite number, so let me just take a second to make a few wishes.

Okay...so nothing too interesting going on the past couple of days.  Yesterday, I took the toddler to the gym so I could do some Yoga and, with 15 minutes left in class, the fire alarm started going off.  Now this is the Palm Valley Lifetime Fitness gym so at 6:45 on a Tuesday night, the place is PACKED.  Even the daycare was overwhelmed with kids, so I asked them to give my daughter a green sticker to sort of keep her in a more supervised area (she's almost 3 and with the high energy and brave attitude, I didn't want her going off and getting herself into trouble).  So, this was basically my first moment of true fear as a parent.  I'm upstairs in this back room doing a nice quiet yoga session with about a dozen other people when suddenly I'm being taken down a set of stairs in a back maintenance area wondering which side of the building I am on and how I'm going to get back in to find my daughter among the crowd of other children.  Eventually, I find the outside play area and run to the door that leads into the gym right outside the doors to the daycare area.  Lines of children are funneling out, hand-in-hand.  About 30 leave the daycare when I finally see mine, first in the line of a dozen other kids, holding hands..she looks like such a brave little leader and I'm filled with relief and pride.  I make sure with the daycare supervisors that it's okay for us to leave...because I'm thinking, if that were my job, I'd be terrified.  How on Earth are they going to keep track of all these kids?  How easy could it be for some asshole creeper to just take a random kid, pretend they're the parent, and lead them to their car?  Hopefully all went well with that fiasco...I have no clue...but I'm very thankful to have found my daughter and gotten her home safely.

So, that's two weeks in a row of only 45 minutes worth of the yoga class.  It's Yin/Restorative, so I love it because it's relaxing and feels like an amazing stretch/massage for the body.  Last week, I thought it started at 6:30 so I got there 15 minutes after its real start time, thinking I was going to be early.  There better not be a fire alarm tomorrow night...I have a pedicure in the gym's spa at 6 o'clock.

I'm just stalling....this journal entry is the MOST EMBARRASSING one to date.  I know it's going to just get more and more difficult to include full journal entries, but this one is rough.  (I'm really enjoying this project though...I hope people out there reading this don't think I'm a complete crazy person for doing this...I know there's about ten of you visiting this page on an almost daily basis...so to those 10 of you, please don't judge me too harshly).

8/6/96

Sorry I didn't write more yesterday.  I was kinda busy, first Rose came over and we went to the Slocum Deli.  I got flying saucers!  Oh yah and green things.  I love (arrow to flying saucers)!  The are my all time favorite candy!!!  I also did something else yesterday.  I went ***** I saw David a little but that was enough to dream about him! ******** He's nice but he's also spoiled rude and vain!  That's enough to turn me away (referring to a friend of David's)

Diary, I heard the footsteps last night!!! I didn't look out my window, I was about to but they disappeared!!! It was around 10:30 11:00!! I'm going to definatly listen tonight

Diary I wish I had P.K. abilities but unfortunately I don't.  Diary, you might find this rediculous but I tried to transport myself to David's room last night!  Of course it didn't work, but I'm glad it didn't.  How would I get out!

Diary I just had the wierdest imagination!  I just imagined ****************************************************** ****************************************************** ******************************************************
And that's all! (thank god) Diary do you think I'm obsessed?

                        Millie




Oh holy jesus.

So just suffice it to say that those stars were the most embarrassing of this entry.  I was 13 years old.  You may think this type of random crazy talk is forgivable at that age but I definitely do not agree.  I was THIRTEEN.  In some cultures, I'd be having kids and being completely mature at that age.  And yes, I'm thankful that I had the privilege and the fortune to have the ability to be a kid at that age...but I would have been more proud of myself if I had used my life for more good.  Tried to learn a good skill (like piano, or put my efforts toward something like science)...but no...I was ridiculously immature and being ridiculous with my time.

Ughhh....okay.....nothing good is coming of me bashing my former self.  This was almost 20 years ago (man, that makes me feel old).

Anyway...I also wanted to add that I still love eating flying saucers.  They're these wafers that are spherical and have a hollow inside with tiny hard candies inside.  Yum!


Monday, June 24, 2013

Weekend and Journal Entry (8/5/96)

This past weekend was pretty great.  Not for any particular reason but because I got everything I wanted to do accomplished and still had enough time for fun and relaxation.  I made jewelry, listened to an entire audiobook (it was only a little over 4 hours long, The Giver, but it was still impressive in my opinion), finished The Storyteller audiobook (one of my favorite books now), did laundry, hung out with the kiddo, took the dog for a walk both Saturday and Sunday, visited a great friend I haven't seen in too long, worked out on Saturday, cleaned my car inside and out, and other little things (like dishes).  Though I was exhausted, I felt really content last night.  There are so many times that I feel like I've wasted days away, and this was not one of those times. 

There was something specific I wanted to write a blog about but I currently have no recollection of what that was.  I just remember thinking "I should write a post about that".  I'm sure it'll come to me eventually.

So on to the journal entry...

8/5/96
Diary, I was pretty mad last night ********(more info about that crush I wrote about in the last entry)

I chickened out yesterday night and just fell asleep!  I guess it's just easier said than done!

I wrote a letter to Mad About You last night, to keep me busy.  I sure hope they write back.  I collect autographs.  So far I have Tim Allen (Best), Jim Carrey, Cathy Ireland & The Cast of Home Improvement (other best).

I have my door open right now, because my brother isn't home, neither are my parents.

I'm supposed to do something with Rose today but shes not home!

Lately I've been thinking of ideas for inventions: A calculator, time, atlas, TV watch!  I wish it was already invented, I would have one!!!

I left a message on Rose's machine so she should (hopefully) call back.

I actually enjoy painting my nails, so I'm going to go and do them now!

                                                   Millie :D




I guess my iPhone would have made my 1996 self pretty darn happy.  I've always loved technology....but I'm glad I wrote about the tree house in this journal because I've also always loved nature and being outdoors. 

I did end up getting that Mad About You cast of autographs.  I think all of them are still in a folder somewhere in my current house (my husband being in the Air Force, I've moved quite a few times since then, so it's saying something that I still have that random childhood collection).

Obviously, I had an issue with being honest to myself about things like wanted to paint my nails.  I didn't want random future people (all of you who might be reading this today, I guess), thinking that my 13-year-old self was so girly and vain. 

My last thought on this one...what I wouldn't give to have time to write a letter to a TV Show requesting an autograph just to pass my time.....jeesh....I was telling my husband earlier that I wish someone would invent a way for human adults to live (with no health side effects) with only about 4 hours of sleep a day.  I'd LOVE to have a few extra hours of awake and alert time a day (and not have to take caffeine pills to accomplish this, or feel like death the next day).

Friday, June 21, 2013

Day 5, (still 8/4/96)

The post I put up earlier today was actually one I wrote (for the most part) yesterday.  So here's another for today, which is fitting, because it's sort of a part 2 of the 8/4/96 entry...

8/4/96
Diary, you wouldn't believe what I just did!  first I snuck my dads shaving cream into my room and shaved my legs!  Then, I smeared noxima all over my face! last I brushed my teeth!  Diary, do you think I'm becoming vein?  I hope I don't turn out like David.  He's the most conceited guy I know, he even admits to it!  Diary, I didn't get to sleep yet, but when I do I'm going to stay up for half the night and try to hear the footsteps outside 
someones coming!

I'm back, it was my brother!  I told him I was writing a story!  I hope he believed me!  If he didn't then I can be sure he will look for you! I won't let him find you.  I'll hide you in a great hiding place!  Some-where noone would look!
I'll hide you now!

You were hidden for about 2 hours and I don't think anyone found you.
  To keep you real safe I'm going to lock my door all the time.

Now since I no your safe I'll tell you my darkest secret. (This is where I go and say I have a huge crush on David, but I'm blocking it out because I'm so embarrassed by the fact that I...in the same journal entry... criticized then confessed affection for the same person.)  I have know idea why I like him.  Yes I do, we are very alike in odd ways, he likes to draw, use crafts, school, he has alergies the same time I do, when he gets the hicups they come on, and off just the why mine do!

I hope he likes me!  I kinda think he likes me at least as a friend.  He flirts with me (which just means he's my friend and............................................blocked a lot of this out because I didn't want any identifying information...plus this entire entry is the most embarrassing thing ever..................................
So you and David had fun yesterday with those clay thigs' he said with a slight smirk on his face.

...................................................
have to go freshin up.

Diary, do you think I'm taking this crush too far? 
                                                                   Millie :)

PS
I'm going to hide you somewhere different each time I write in you.

Oh god....that one was rough for so many reasons.  Where the hell did my ability to spell go?  I know it was rough in the past few posts, but it's like I shut my eyes and made it up as I went.  And seriously?  Could this entry get any worse?

That's enough.  I'm so glad I had such thoughtful insights on this morning's post, and now I'm inwardly blushing and wondering what I did with my shame that I'm putting this out there for the world to see.  I don't even know how I really feel about this project...too early to tell I guess.

Day 4 (8/4/96)


I wish I had more time in a day.  I know it's been said before. I'm sure I've said it before here on this blog.  Time for things like finding other blogs similar to mine, following them, commenting on them, trying to attract more people back here.  Time for making new styles of jewelry.  Time to use the sculpey clay in my silver charms.  Time to edit my book.  Time to spend with my daughter (my favorite person in the whole world).  Time to do the dishes.  Time to go find maternity pants (since I can't find the ones I had from my first pregnancy).  Just more time.  The things I make time for are ones like: spend time with daughter, walk dog on occassional basis (I live in Arizona...it's freakin hot here right now), getting maternity pants (this one really is a necessity), showering, exercising occassionally, writing here, reading for fun.  Things like dishes and editing my book and making new styles of jewelry are the ones that go on the backburner for a day off that will never come (and when it does, I won't have any energy or desire left for those types of things.  Well, maybe the dishes will become a priority eventually). 
 
That's the only rant I have for now...
 
8/4/96
 
 I finally cleaned my room.  Now I promise to keep it clean!  It will probably be clean for a whole 2 weeks!  Me & Kathy (my cousin) vowed to write back and fourth to each other.  Now I'm waiting for Kathy's letter.  Pretty soon I'm going to vacume my room!
 
I started to read more often and now I'm going to build up my confidence and study every night when school starts!
 
On the 22nd I'm going to Hershey Park, diary did I already tell you that?  I just looked back on what I wrote and I did tell you!  Oops! Oh well!
 
Me and Rose have been playing Barbie's! Can you beleive that, I'm 13 years old and playing kid games!
 
The weird part is I enjoyed it!
 
I wish I had something exciting to write about like boys or hiding away somewhere, but boys don't like me (only as friends) and there's no need to hide!
 
I can't wait till me and my dad finish my tree house!  Then I can write in there!
 
I just got my cat off my chameleon's cage!  She always jumps up there and scares the chameleon!  Wanna here something grouse <--how do you spell that?, my chameleon eat like bugs!  And sometimes they crunsh when he eats them!
 
At night the past few weeks I hear all these strange noises!  A long time ago I leaned over on my bed and hit my head on my lamp when I woke up (write after that) I heard a loud gunshot!  The wierdest 2 things are that my lamp was set up on a shelf and would've needed some strong force to knock it over!  The other thing that was weird was that the gun went off at 2:34AM! Who would shoot a gun so late?  Also lateley I've heard footsteps outside!  It might just be because my sister told me she heard them too, but I did hear something and I'm not brave enough to look out the window!
  I'll listen tonight and tell you what I heard tomorrow!
 
                                                                          Millie
                                                                              Komski
 
 
 



Okay, bear with me, but I have a few things I want to say about this one. 

First, a big part of who I am comes in waves like that first paragraph.  I go through phases where I want to make a new me and I just feel differently about the world.  In a very positive way.  I still have moments like this.  Like batches of time where I feel like I'm clear-sighted and ready to do whatever it takes to get me to be who I want to be.  My writing comes from that type of feeling because even when I'm not actively pursuing that goal, I still want it with everything that I am.  In lesser degrees, that feeling trickles to things like making jewelry and keeping my house clean and organized. 

Second, the part where I say I wish I had something exciting to write about is actually something I've thought of a lot since.  When I went to Spain for a semester in 2004 I made friends with a bunch of really amazing girls.  We traveled to Paris one weekend and for some reason I said something about the fact that my journals aren't exciting or worth reading like the Diary of Anne Frank (I can't remember exactly what I said, but it must have been pretty awful).  One of my friends quickly scolded me and put what I had said into perspective. 

I'm currently listening to the audiobook The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult and remembering that conversation with my friend in Paris on an almost daily basis.  The things humans are capable of doing to each other breaks my heart.  That's such an understatement, I can't even find the words to express how I feel about the Holocaust and genocide in general.  So, I'm embarrassed by what I wrote here in this journal, and I'm embarrassed by what I said that day.  I can never fully comprehend how lucky I am that I don't have to fear for my life, ever, and that my child is safe and warm and happy.  I'm pregnant, and I don't have to worry about the life of my unborn child.  It makes me sick thinking about the worry so many thousands of mothers are going through right now.  It makes me sick.

To end on a lighter note...I did end up getting that treehouse finished, the floor at least, and I was able to go up there to write in my journal.  Maybe that's something I'll have in a future entry?

For now, it's kind of messing with me, doing this almost-daily walk down memory lane.  I catch my thoughts trailing off to old memories when I'm driving or doing the dishes...it's unsettling sometimes. 

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Break and Day 3 of Journal (8/3/96)

I'm taking a short, rare break from my tasks.  I just needed a breather from the task I'm working on, so I figured I'd use the moment here.  Also, I'm eating lunch and there's no one here to take an official break with.

I still haven't made a new game plan on how I'm going to approach the last edits on my manuscript.  After which I need to write a good synopsis and send out more queries.  I figure this time away from the book is only going to help.  Diving back in with a fresh outlook is usually recommended, so aside from the fact that I don't want to put it off so long that I just never get around to it, I'm not beating myself up over this time not editing.

The jewelry is going well.  I've been busy to the point where I'm making something or polishing and finishing something on a nightly basis.  That's all fine except for the fact that I really want a break from everything once in a while and it has been a few days since I've felt like I've been able to have that.  I get home from work after picking up the kiddo from daycare, then she and I watch a cartoon, play, eat dinner, she goes to bed and I start working on jewelry.  I get done by 9:30 and I'm too tired to read or do anything much for myself. 

On Sunday, I made time for myself (even during Father's Day, haha) to go to the Central Library in Phoenix during the kiddo's nap.  It was GORGEOUS.  Five floors!!



I checked out a bunch of kids' books and two books for myself.  Every time I go to the library I have a mental battle over whether I should get myself a book.  I always break down and check one or two out but I usually never end up reading them or even opening them. 

The first of the two I checked out is Tenth of December by George Saunders.  I had heard a lot about it when it was first released, and since it was available and I knew it was a compilation of short stories, I didn't feel bad about checking it out.  I've already read a couple of the short stories and I'm really enjoying it.  The second is a full novel but it looked like a light read so I'm hoping I can start it in a week or so and actually have it done before they're due back.


Now on to my journal entry from August of 1996...

 



Diary 8/3/96

Forget those first pages!  That was a while ago and now I am not who I was!
  The other day I went for a run and on my way home I was walking up a hill and (I was too tierd to run!) I saw a huming bird!  It was as big as a wasp!  The thing that was so great about it is that I touched it!
  I'm crying now because I think, I don't know how to put this in words so I'll explain.  Never Mind!
  I still HATE Jessica and Sarah!  Their both BITCHES! (excuse my french) I'm trying to make new friends but that's hard to do during the summer!
  I haven't done much during the summer, just stuff with Rose and Jeanette.
  On the 22nd My family and me are going to Hershey park.
  Why is my handwriting so bad?!?!  It gets worse every day!  I guess I'll just have to live with it!
  Sarah would have made a good friend but she hung out with Jessica too much!

                                Oh Well!

                                         Millie


Why do the French get all the blame for bad language?

Monday, June 17, 2013

Day 2 of Journal Posting (date unknown)

I'm gonna preface this one by saying my brother and I fought...a lot...when we were kids.  That was just the type of sibling relationship we had.  We're fine now, but being close in age while going through grade school and high school did not help our relationship.  That being said, I took out a lot of this next entry because it falls into the category of things I didn't filter when I wrote in my journal.

Dear Journal,
   ******************************** stop their random fighting, it's starting to annoy me every time I come home from school ***********************.

************************************

My friends are all still bothering me.  The other day Jessica (the one I dislike the most) told Jeanette and Sarah to wear skirts and not tell me.  I was so furious!  In fact I'm still mad!  What should I do?
   Maybe just make new friends.

                               Millie



So back in my school days us girls coordinated when we'd dress up on a day for school.  I think it had something to do with dependence and being too shy to wear a skirt or dress up without knowing your friends will do the same.  I was pretty obsessed at that time about what other people thought of me or how they perceived me.  Unfortunately, I think that's pretty common for kids that age and it's one of the main reasons why bullying is so rough on them.  I wish we could just teach our kids to truly be independent and not care what others think.  What is it about human nature that makes that so difficult?  Even today I have trouble not caring what people think of me and I'm 30 years old with a child of my own.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Reading 3-Year-Old Blog Posts - First Journal Entry (From 2-17-96)

This is a good way to get yourself in trouble, or make yourself smile.  It's like reading an old journal..which is something that, more often than not, makes me smile.  Apparently though, reading old blog posts is more apt to get me in trouble.  I found the post I wrote back in 2011 about writing my journals and I realized I very quickly abandoned that writing project.  I have over 14 finished journals I have written throughout the years. If you know me, you know I'm not one to feel at all shy about my personal life.  I write mostly everything on Facebook and post pictures constantly.  Sometimes I use this blog as a sort of journal and don't always filter what I should and shouldn't be writing about.  Where I'm going with this is sort of embarrassing.  I checked, and I still have the images of my entire first journal saved in my Dropbox account (I wrote the journal in 1996 and it's one I didn't completely finish).  I'm considering putting the journal in this blog.

Actually...all my journals.  The thing I'm worried about is the fact that I wrote about people I knew and still know...I didn't hide who they were, I didn't sugar coat my feelings toward them, and I certainly didn't filter what about them made me angry or (even more embarrassingly) the opposite (like when I had a crush on someone).  So if I do proceed and type up my journals to this blog, I'm going to have to censor a lot of stuff so I don't get myself in trouble.  I think if I'd be embarrassed by what I wrote, the person I was writing about would also be embarrassed.  There are pretty good chances I'll have to omit whole journal entries for this reason.  In my defense, when you're a regular person growing up and you happen to enjoy writing about your experiences, it's hard not to write about the people in your life.

So here goes:

2/17/96

Dear Journal
   Hi!  I guess I should tell you about me.  I am Millie Komski and I am kind of short for my age (5 ft).  I am 12 but in 2 weeks and one day I will be 13.  I have brown hair (a little longer than shoulder length).  I also have brown eyes.
  Now to get to what I'm supposed to do in a journal, write about my day and write about what I have learned today.  Well lets get to it.  Today I got home from Sarah's house, actually I slept over her house And 2 people other than me were there, Jessica and Jeanette.  When I was there Jessica and Sarah and Jeanette made fun of me.  At first I could take it but after a while I just started gettin sick of it.  I didn't think Sarah would because I actually thought she would never do that cause she always tells me how she don't like gettin made fun of just as well as me.  Well that's all that happened and I guess you ust can't change every person because if I made all my friends stop makin fun of people than there wouldn't be nothin left now would there be!

from Millie
:)
Smile or try

Holy shit.  That was a rough first one.  I was always kind of picked on when I was a kid.  Kids are mean, especially to a girl with frizzy hair, braces, and a nerdy attitude.  I changed the names in here but I kind of wanted to just admit who it was.  Mean girls should know how they affect people.



So I don't plan on putting an entry a day in here (maybe....but I doubt I'll be able to keep up...aside from the emotional tole it'll take, I just won't have time).  At least it'll be a place for my journals to go digital.  One of my greatest fears is a fire or other disaster destroying them all.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

It is HOT in Phoenix

I've had trouble not thinking about the weather since the days started getting up into the 110s here in Phoenix.  For instance, driving to Joann Fabrics today (the first time I've been to the one near me...and I've lived here since October, so that sort of shows how reliant I am to online ordering for my jewelry shop) <---sorry about the tangent....I realized that most of my trips to the Joann Fabrics in DuBois, PA were spent in the rain.  I don't know if I just got more of an urge to make jewelry when it was rainy (you know, cause I'm stuck indoors), or if it just rained there that often (both are really good possibilities) but it just felt weird driving there today in 105+ weather with the sun shining and palm trees lining the streets.



When I got home, I decided to soak up some of that abundant and reliable sun.  Since the heat of the summer started, I've been getting less and less Vitamin D, so I figured it'd be good for me...plus, I always feel like I'm pampering myself when I put on my bathing suit and lay out.

I know I haven't mentioned it here yet, but I'm 11 weeks pregnant, so putting on that bathing suit is getting more and more depressing, especially considering it's too early for me to look obviously pregnant, so I just look generally pudgier than I did a few months ago.  I gotta figure out if I have any maternity clothes in this house.



To try and prevent death by heat stroke, I dumped out an old spritzer bottle of crappy hair straightening product and rinsed it until it was cleaned out, then replaced it with ice cold water.  I was so excited about my innovativeness until I actually laid on our fold out chair and started spraying myself.  The mist was so thin and fine that most of it just blew away in the slight (disgustingly warm) breeze.  Not the most refreshing half hour of my life, but I think it still falls into the category of 'the thought that counts'.

He insists on coming out when I'm out there.
He moved into the shade almost immediately.
When the toddler wakes up from her nap (we're going on 3 hours...woohoo), we're heading to the gym.  I'm trying to stay physically active with this pregnancy, since I've been regularly exercising since November, 2011, and I'm just now feeling myself again.  There were a few weeks there where I was nauseous all the time and feeling ridiculously exhausted.  So since I'm feeling good again, I'm trying to get back into running and exercising regularly.  Hopefully that will help prevent me from gaining 60 pounds with this pregnancy, like I did with my first.  That was no fun.

Okay...baby girl is awake :)

Friday, June 14, 2013

Exciting Response

So back in March, a few weeks after I finished my first edit on my manuscript for Earths Project: Book One, First Earth, I decided to try out my first batch of querying agents to represent my book.  I sent out five queries.  Within days, and then weeks, I received my standard rejection letters.  Each one looking similar to the next.  Sorry, try someone else (and usually nicer than that...but obviously standard emails that they just mass send out to each manuscript they don't consider at all).  One response was actually really short and sort of mean...but I am prepared not to take rejections personally (you know, unless someone takes the time to actually personalize a mean rejection...something like "This is the worst idea for a book we have EVER seen"...then I would have no choice but to cry for a little while).

Annnnnyways.......like I said, I got four out of five rejection emails.  I always assumed the fifth would just never come, but could be brushed off as another rejection.  My response came on 6/10/2013 at 2:38 pm (EST).  Don't get too excited, it's a rejection, but I'll put the letter here to show you why it still made my heart race a little faster:


Carmella Dillman,                  

 

            Your query regarding “The Earths Project: Book 1, First Earth” has been evaluated. The concept of numerous Earths, with each unaware of their origins or the existence of other Earths, is definitely a novel concept. The journey of the protagonist as she uncovers these truths and learns what must be done to save her own Earth have a lot of potential and could make a solid place for itself in the sci-fi genre. Unfortunately, ******* is not able to represent your manuscript at this time. We concentrate on high-quality fiction and non-fiction works that have the strong possibility for crossover to film and television. Additionally, as digital technology and social media has advanced, it has become a fact that it often takes more than good work for a publisher to recognize the value of a manuscript. A strong social media presence is necessary to demonstrate a guaranteed readership and assure publishers that the cost of publishing and distributing a book will result in commercial success. Should you bolster your social media presence or otherwise demonstrate a dedicated following of your work, please resubmit your query to ******@**.*** with evidence of this for re-evaluation. I wish you the best with both this and future endeavors.

 

Additionally, a Time Magazine article featuring one of our clients, Sir Ken Robinson, is enclosed regarding his book, “Finding Your Element,” which will be on the New York Times bestseller list June 16th.

 

Regards,
*******

They even took the time to take a photo of the Time Magazine article and attach it as a jpg.  So, I'm super psyched that from such a small batch of queries, I got one real personal response (granted, it's a rejection, but it's still something they took the time to consider).

As you can see in the response, it might be helpful to start focusing more on the whole social networking world.  I certainly have the tools and knowledge to be more active through those avenues, but I'm just unsure of how to go about getting more followers.  I don't even have enough followers on this blog to ask for advice.  But if you happen to be reading this and you're an expert at building a large amount of followers by blogging and/or tweeting, please comment!!

In the meantime, I'll try and decide the best way to approach that suggestion.  I also have to finish doing a second round of good editing on the manuscript, but with the job I have now and the jewelry shop doing really well lately, I've had a really limited amount of time to focus on the book.  I'll have to come up with a better system...

So, hopefully I didn't put too many readers to sleep through this long-winded blog post.  Everytime I think about that query response I get excited and feel more motivated, so I couldn't help but share :)

Have a great weekend!!