The Bouncy Castle in Space

MsJudy

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Oh, my, sissy. Suddenly finding yourself with full custody of a 3yo is... a bit daunting. You have my permission to wallow in whatever you would like--self-pity, chocolate pudding, a bubble bath.

I know what you mean. After a while, it gets harder to convince yourself that the acceptance letter is "just around the corner."

But if you think about it, even if you aren't getting any closer, you aren't getting farther away, either. By which I mean, getting rejected doesn't actually change anything. There's nothing at stake, nothing to lose, as long as you don't let it get you down. So, they didn't take this book. Big deal. It's not like that's the only book you're ever going to write, right?

Of course, I can say all this now that I'm off the Singulair. A month ago, it was all I could do to compose an email, and I wasn't sure I ever would write another book. When life bowls you over, about all you can do is hunker down and be patient until the storm blows itself out.

3yos take naps, right?
 

SheilaJG

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:Hug2: sissybaby. Rejections are all the harder when they come at a time when personal problems are popping up. And when they come in batches. Don't give up. Keep writing, and keep sending your writing out. Focus on what you love about the process - the creating, the observing, the joy of finding the right word, whatever. You'll get through this!
 

Laura J

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Sissybaby, sorry about your daughter. I'm glad your little one has you to take care of her. I saw lots of chocolate is in order.

My dh is very involved in recovery, particularly NA. Hopefully, she will turn it around. I've seen it happen over and over again. Take care of yourself too.
 

Kitty Pryde

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I survived a day of subbing in kindergarten. Charming little critters, they are. "Are you a boy or a girl?" "You smell kinda yucky." "This is a cricket" (shoving tiny handful of live cricket in teacher's face) I think someone thought I was gonna go mental doing it, because 5 different teachers came in to check on me. But I did not! I DID do an extremely dramatic reading of the Duckling Gets A Cookie, starring Pigeon.
 

MsJudy

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I DID do an extremely dramatic reading of the Duckling Gets A Cookie, starring Pigeon.

Oh, yes, reading Pigeon books is one of the best reasons to teach K or 1st. Playdough is another good reason.

I got to spend my helping-big-kids-with-homework day teaching a 6th grader how to multiply fractions.

In Spanish.

My brain hasn't worked that hard in a long, long time.
 

sissybaby

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Oh, I read these posts and realize why I would have made a horrible teacher. At least teaching Bible class I get easy questions and comments. Like, "What is adultery?" or "I'm glad Adam and Eve got sent out of the garden, because otherwise we'd all be running around naked."
 

MsJudy

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If I might be permitted a little bragging bounce...

My two sons set up and decorated the Christmas all by themselves! I wanted to get dinner started, so I asked them to set it in the stand. Next thing I knew, they'd taken care of everything. And it looks beautiful. And my mom, who was hanging out with them, said they did it without arguing or anything.

*sigh*

There's my holiday miracle, I guess.

(which makes up for the snotty email I just received from a parent, which made me want to punch somebody. but i didn't.)
 

Britwriter

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That's wonderful Judy!

It's so cool when they are old enough to start doing things themselves. I told my youngest today that I"m looking forward to when he's older and I can call him up and get him to come over and fix my broken appliances when his dad is too busy to get around to it. Hopefully he'll still love tinkering with broken stuff when he's old enough to fix things properly. :)
 

Kitty Pryde

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Hazards of life at an urban elementary school!

-Friday my coworker hit her head on the shelf in the closet so hard she had to go to urgent care for a CT scan. She is somewhat recovered but still has a headache. She wasn't even going to go home after, but she cried in front of her math class and the rest of us demanded she leave.

-This afternoon a very tiny fifth grader got stung by a bee. I could see the stinger hanging out of his arm, but he kept pulling it away from me and prancing around yelling. Finally I pinned him under my elbow and pulled the stinger out. Luckily he did not swell up or anything. I HATE bee stings. They are so hurty! Then the bee was wandering around in its death throes for AGES, causing more squawking and shenanigans.

-Right after, a first grader left a huge puddle of *censored for the faint of heart* on the threshold of the walk-in gate, just at pick up time when all the kids and parents were going in and out. Coworker and I scored the glamorous job of standing on either side of it stopping people from walking through it.

Next week they are filming an episode of "Southland" on the street right outside the school. If we end up in a fictional crime scene, I'm gonna be really put out.
 

Britwriter

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Oh my gosh. I miss my teaching days..........mostly, anyway! Life as a teacher is certainly never boring, is it?

I love reading all your teacher stories here. :)
 

DavidBrett

Alas, poor Yorick, he fed me 'nanas
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I GOT PICKED! I GOT PICKED! WOOOOOOOOOO*gasp*OOOOOOoooo...!

For those of you wondering what I'm raving about, I entered a twitter contest called PitchWars. The writing mentors' picks were revealed today and, out of 2000+ entries, "ENIGMA FILES: PHANTOM THIEF" got picked by one of the 5 MG mentors - that's a 1.57% chance, apparently!

I'm still buzzing from the huge news! Not only did Jennifer Malone pick my book, but she's stated that it came as a complete shock to her - it's not a book she thought she'd ever be interested in. News that bodes well going into the second stage of the contest, where she'll read the book and offer intensive critique in time for the last round, where 15+ agents can read and make requests on the MS.

2013 is going to be a BIG year!

Dave
 

Britwriter

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Congrats to Dave!!! There's some real bouncing going on over here today!

My bounces are a little smaller, but bouncin' nonetheless. I came in second pick to Dave with Jennifer Malone. I couldn't have come in second to a better and more deserving writer.

Go Dave, go TeamEnigma - what's your team going to be named? I'm going to be rooting for you!
 

jvc

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I GOT PICKED! I GOT PICKED! WOOOOOOOOOO*gasp*OOOOOOoooo...!

For those of you wondering what I'm raving about, I entered a twitter contest called PitchWars. The writing mentors' picks were revealed today and, out of 2000+ entries, "ENIGMA FILES: PHANTOM THIEF" got picked by one of the 5 MG mentors - that's a 1.57% chance, apparently!

I'm still buzzing from the huge news! Not only did Jennifer Malone pick my book, but she's stated that it came as a complete shock to her - it's not a book she thought she'd ever be interested in. News that bodes well going into the second stage of the contest, where she'll read the book and offer intensive critique in time for the last round, where 15+ agents can read and make requests on the MS.

2013 is going to be a BIG year!

Dave

Congrats to Dave!!! There's some real bouncing going on over here today!

My bounces are a little smaller, but bouncin' nonetheless. I came in second pick to Dave with Jennifer Malone. I couldn't have come in second to a better and more deserving writer.

Go Dave, go TeamEnigma - what's your team going to be named? I'm going to be rooting for you!
I swear I just read this somewhere. I did the whole dancing bananas and the wavey thing. I must be going crazy.

Well, I can do dancey bananas and wavey thingy again.

Congrats to both of you. :TheWave: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :TheWave:
 

monkeymum

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Congrats David and Britwriter! :hooray: I also got an alternate (with @naughtyBrent, ninja mentor). It was my first toe dipping into Twitterdom, so I'm pretty pleased.

My only concern was the feedback from one of the mentors, which I'm very grateful for. I'm worried because it's been niggling me for a while. I've got a sneaking suspicion that my ms (sometimes) sounds older than MG. Other than my concerns with consistency of voice, which I will try to fix, I think the overall content/plot is very much MG and possibly too tame to appeal to YA. I didn't think I was too far away from a Percy Jackson age group, but now I can't tell and I feel like I'm going round in circles - do I try to add more YA content (I'll have to research what's expected/allowed because I've read a lot less YA), or do I try and hold back the voice which appears to be fighting to get out and keep it MG? :Headbang:

Perhaps it's time to draft the new WIP I've been mulling over and let this one rest.
 

DavidBrett

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Thanks Kitty, Brit and JVC!

MM - Thanks, and I wouldn't worry about the balance between MG & YA right now: once your mentor/agent/publisher gets a hold of it, they'll have a much more informed view of what age group it's suited for.

For example, EF includes thievery (obviously), bullying, death threats, epileptic-like seizures, eidetic memory, paranormal investigation, detailed explanation of paranormal phenomena (screaming skulls, poltergeists, telekinesis, psychokinesis, the Philadelphia Experiment), alien abductions and microchip-implantation... And yet no one - not betas, potential agents, etc. have ever said it wasn't MG. So I'm classifying it as such until an agent I'm signed with says differently, lol.

Dave
 

monkeymum

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Thanks Joy :) It's nice to know I'm on the right track even if nothing else comes of it.

David - thanks for the positive vibes. Good luck with EF ;)
 

Britwriter

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Yay for you too monkeymum!

Wasnt it awesome getting feedback? Even if some of it does leave one pondering....

I'd say to query it as it is, and see. Can you pick the brains of the mentors a little more?

I'm pondering the question of language. Two of the three judges advised changing the MC's secret acronym for his little bro's (PITB) as it's difficult to read and breaks the flow. But PITA which is pronouncable, is too strong for MG. I'm trying to think of an alternative, one judge suggested making it a joke mispronounciaiton of something else. Right now, I'm stumped. I don't really want to get rid of the acronym altogether, as it is a reminder thoruhgout of the difficult relationship between the brothers, and the MC and the parents. I could get rid of it if I had to, but that seems, well, as my MC would say, lame.......

Anyway, well done to all kidlet folks, we are an amazing bunch over here. :)


Congrats David and Britwriter! :hooray: I also got an alternate (with @naughtyBrent, ninja mentor). It was my first toe dipping into Twitterdom, so I'm pretty pleased.

My only concern was the feedback from one of the mentors, which I'm very grateful for. I'm worried because it's been niggling me for a while. I've got a sneaking suspicion that my ms (sometimes) sounds older than MG. Other than my concerns with consistency of voice, which I will try to fix, I think the overall content/plot is very much MG and possibly too tame to appeal to YA. I didn't think I was too far away from a Percy Jackson age group, but now I can't tell and I feel like I'm going round in circles - do I try to add more YA content (I'll have to research what's expected/allowed because I've read a lot less YA), or do I try and hold back the voice which appears to be fighting to get out and keep it MG? :Headbang:

Perhaps it's time to draft the new WIP I've been mulling over and let this one rest.
 

SheilaJG

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Congrats to britwriter and monkeymom too! I read that while only 1.5% of entrants got a mentor, only 5.5% were alternates - so you guys really did well! And I hear they are having a special showcase for the alternates, too. Awesome. (Oh, and monkeymum - Brent works with my agent. I'm pretty sure he plucked me out of the slush pile, so I love him. She told me we'll all be working for him someday).

Britwriter, about the acronym, another way to go about it is to think up a word you want to use, and then make up the words that would make that word. Arg, that sounds stupid - here, example: Say you want to call little brother SCAB - then you can think up words - My Stupid Crybaby Annoying Brother. That was without much thought, if you are wondering why it sucks as an example. Just a thought. (FLEA - Farting Little Elfin Annoyance. No, that's no good either).

PITB - Pain in the butt?
 

Britwriter

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Congrats to britwriter and monkeymom too! I read that while only 1.5% of entrants got a mentor, only 5.5% were alternates - so you guys really did well! And I hear they are having a special showcase for the alternates, too. Awesome. (Oh, and monkeymum - Brent works with my agent. I'm pretty sure he plucked me out of the slush pile, so I love him. She told me we'll all be working for him someday).

Britwriter, about the acronym, another way to go about it is to think up a word you want to use, and then make up the words that would make that word. Arg, that sounds stupid - here, example: Say you want to call little brother SCAB - then you can think up words - My Stupid Crybaby Annoying Brother. That was without much thought, if you are wondering why it sucks as an example. Just a thought. (FLEA - Farting Little Elfin Annoyance. No, that's no good either).

PITB - Pain in the butt?

Yep, Pain in the Butt. Some folks love the acronym, some don't as they say it interrupts flow. PITA is easier to read, and can also be spelled in lower case, like Pita, meanign it's less harsh on the eyes, but it's just a little too much for MG.

Good idea to think of what he wants to say in 4 letters, then look at acronyms. Thanks! This might be my answer!

Onwards!
 

sissybaby

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I rather like FLEA, and I never thought of doing that.

Congratulations to all three of you, Monkeymum, Dave and Britwriter. I know nothing of this contest, but I hope you all get book deals out of it. That would be wonderful!
 

Britwriter

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Yeah, I like FLEA too. But, I'm trying to avoid using the word 'fart' in either the query, or too early in the book. I've had feedback that some agents might hit delete immediately on seeing that word.

It's fine if any mention of farts makes it a no-no for an agent, as it then wouldn't be a good fit, but although farting does play a part in the story (the final science fair experiment) it's actually only a small part, very funny, not gross, and there's far more to it than that. Using the word early on or in the query, however, may make it look like a cheap-laugh fart attempt at a 'boy book'. KWIM?
 

jvc

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I'm pondering the question of language. Two of the three judges advised changing the MC's secret acronym for his little bro's (PITB) as it's difficult to read and breaks the flow. But PITA which is pronouncable, is too strong for MG. I'm trying to think of an alternative, one judge suggested making it a joke mispronounciaiton of something else. Right now, I'm stumped. I don't really want to get rid of the acronym altogether, as it is a reminder thoruhgout of the difficult relationship between the brothers, and the MC and the parents. I could get rid of it if I had to, but that seems, well, as my MC would say, lame.......

Anyway, well done to all kidlet folks, we are an amazing bunch over here. :)
How about PIB -- Pain in Butt?