The First Snowfall

It's here!  The first snowfall of the year is here!!  Never mind that the sun was trying to convince us that we had entered into an eternal summer with a string of unusually warm November days, capped off with a day that reached 80 degrees yesterday.  Never mind all that.  The snow is here!

The first snowfall of the year is always my favorite.  It is magical, and fills me with the kind of excitement and joy that I felt as a little kid.  I especially love the first snowfalls that give more than just a little dusting.  And that's the kind we're getting today.  The sky clouded over this morning, dense with grey clouds.  Then the temperature dropped, and the first snowflake swirled to the ground.  This snow is the beautiful, puffy kind that floats softly down.  And it just keeps coming, thicker than the inside of a snow globe.

It's the kind of day that makes me want to snuggle up inside with a good book, or just write.  It feels like my house is a warm little cocoon where I can spin tales of enchantment and the belief that anything is possible.  So that is just what I'm going to do!

 

(c) Amber Byers

Update on the Conference

Just wanted to let you all know that the conference is done and it was incredible!  I absolutely loved the format of quiet, individual writing for several hours in the morning and then hearing presentations in the afternoon.  Having that time to be productive and write really helped to counterbalance the overwhelming or anxious feeling that can arise when I learn too much information at once about everything I need to be doing as an author.  Because really one of the best things I can do to be a good writer is to write.  And having a firm schedule and supportive community was just what I needed.

Then, once I had some productivity under my belt for the day, I was in a perfect position to listen to the presentations.  And they were fabulous!  Everything from publishing and marketing, to developing a business plan, to the nitty gritty details of formatting digital and print books, to a comprehensive review of helpful writing software, to tips on blogging, and designing book covers.  As a newcomer in this field, it was so incredibly helpful to get all this information from people who have done this before, and have an opportunity to ask detailed questions about all of the steps in the process.  The prospect of writing, formatting, publishing, and marketing my book is much less daunting now.  Thank you, everyone!

Update and Looking Forward

I was surprised to sit down and look at the calendar today to realize that it has been 3 weeks since my last blog post.  I knew it hadn't been as frequent, but 3 weeks?!  Where did the time go?  I wish I could say I've been off galavanting around the world, tasting exotic foods, and learning new languages.  But sadly, no.

I've been fighting off the mundane challenges that arise closer to home.  Have I ever mentioned that autumn is my least favorite season?  In fact my feeling toward the season is closer to hate.  I am in love with summer.  The sunlight (if they could turn it into a potion, I would drink it).  The green trees (it doesn't matter that I'm allergic to nearly every type of them, I would spend every minute near them if I could).  The warmth (oh, there is nothing else to say except the warmth, it is delicious).  All of it combines to cast this spell on me that makes me believe in magic and hope and beauty and dreams coming true.

Then, autumn comes along and steals it all away.  I get sick.  Right away.  Every single time.  I get better, then a few weeks later I get sick again.  Everything that once seemed possible in the summer seems suddenly agonizingly difficult or downright insurmountable in autumn.

I know it's just a phase, and life can't stand still in summer forever.  As winter nears, I will get over it and adjust to the colder days and the darker nights.  And eventually it will be okay again.  But in the meantime, please don't think I've abandoned my writing or forgotten about you, my dear blog readers.  I am just busy getting by.

And on a more positive note, I wanted to let you all know that I will be going to a 3 day writing conference starting tomorrow and I am so excited.  The mornings will be devoted to writing and the afternoons will have a series of presentations on all sorts of topics relevant to writers.  I just went back and looked at some of my writing on my children's chapter book, and even though it is mostly a jumble of writing that needs to be sorted out, some of it was way better than I remembered it.  It was inspiring to read right before my conference, and gives me a bit of a boost that this is something that I can do.  Even if it is autumn.

Update 11/3/16 @ 1:29 p.m. - Something else amazing!

Just after I published this post, I checked the news and found out something else to be really excited about - the Cubs won the world series!  I have been a Cubs fan since I was a little kid, and I still feel like this might be a dream that is too good to be true.  But there you have it.  Amazing things are happening.