Life is a special occasion

Can you believe this??? I get to blog on Valentine’s Day!!!

And I wasn’t even thinking about the date when I settled on my topic. How cool is that?

Yes, this is Myra effervescing. I know, I know, not exactly “in character,” as Ruthy so eloquently blogged about last Thursday.

(Did anyone rent Princess Bride over the weekend?)

Anyway, as I pondered what to blog about this month, I happened to glance over at the shopping bag I’d just brought home from the Hallmark store. And there, printed in big, bold, purple letters, was the statement:

Life is a special occasion

Not just a particular event, like your child’s graduation or the birth of a new baby. Not just a holiday, like Christmas or Easter or even Valentine’s Day.

Nope. Life. Normal, everyday life. All the ups and downs, joys and struggles, good times and bad. We have plenty of reasons to celebrate just because we’re alive.

Do you feel that way about your writing life? Or are you holding off on the celebration until something big happens, like . . . “the call”?

Maybe you’re waiting for a contest coordinator to call with news that your manuscript is a finalist in a prestigious contest. Maybe you’re waiting for the agent of your dreams to call and say she can’t wait to sign you as her client. Maybe you’re waiting to hear from the editor you’ve been sending stuff to for the last five years in hopes that finally--finally--she wants to publish your book!

But in the meantime, while you’re waiting for that phone to ring or a certain e-mail to pop up in your inbox, take time regularly to celebrate some genuine “special occasions” in your writing life. Here’s a list you can start with:

Overhearing a conversation at the supermarket that gives you a great line for your book.

Finding the perfect active-voice verb to describe your hero’s action.

Completing your main character’s autobiography.

Experiencing an “aha” moment about your plot or main character.

Finally figuring out your heroine’s goal/motivation/conflict.

Finding a Web site or library book containing exactly the research help you’ve been looking for.

Writing a scene so emotion-packed that you’re crying on your keyboard.

Succeeding at a 1K/1 hour challenge.

Finishing a first draft.

Coming up with a killer title.

Gleaning helpful writing advice from a craft book and then trying it in your work-in-progress.

Meeting a new friend at a writers group meeting.

Getting positive feedback from your critique partner.

Enrolling in an online writing class

Registering for a writers conference.

Sending off a contest entry.

Working through a helpful contest judge’s critique to make some much needed revisions.

Hitting “send” on that query letter you’ve been slaving over for weeks.

Having your spouse and/or kids introduce you as “my husband/wife/mom/dad, the writer.”

Now that I’ve got you thinking about those everyday writing moments worth celebrating, what would you add to the list?

Whether you celebrate by popping some M&Ms, taking a Starbucks break, or just spinning around in your desk chair until you’re dizzy, mark the occasion somehow. And if there’s no one around to high-five in person, just hop over here and celebrate with us in Seekerville!

Seekers celebrating with Casey H. in St. Louis, Sept. 2011

Today we actually have two giveaways! In addition to the $10 Hallmark gift card I’m offering to one lucky commenter, Mary Connealy has been sorting through her treasure trove of enjoyable reads and will mail our second winner A Lasting Impression, by Tamera Alexander, and The Messenger, by Siri Mitchell. Watch for your names in the Weekend Edition!

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Myra is currently at work on the third novel in her Horsemen of Cross Roads Farm series for Heartsong Presents, which features returning characters from A Horseman’s Heart. Myra’s latest release, Gateway Weddings, is a Barbour 3-in-1 collection featuring her first three Heartsong Presents romances, Autumn Rains, Romance by the Book, and Where the Dogwoods Bloom.

 
Myra likes to celebrate those everyday successes by giving her doggies a good back scratch. (Hubby likes that, too!)