Yellow Legal Pad Encouragement

 My across the street neighbor moved away a few days ago. We spent tons of time together and her whole family will be greatly missed. Little Guy has already announced that he's going to move into their new purple house with them. (The house isn't really purple.)

Before she left, my friend left me this. Yes, that's a 6-pack of yellow legal pads. My favorite. Seriously. I love yellow legal pads in a way that you probably shouldn't love office supplies. She knew about my passion.

Even bigger than the yellow legal pads themselves was the note she wrote.

 Emily, 
Please don't ever stop writing! I hope these legal pads will come in handy. (So you can forgo the napkins!) We will miss you a great deal. 
Love, Steph & family 

"

Wanted: Beta Readers

Seeking beta readers for a science fiction novel with religious themes. There might be magical monks and theology libraries.

What is a beta reader?
A beta reader is someone brave enough and kind enough to read a still crappy first draft and willing to give constructive, un-soul-crushing feedback.

Examples:

• What's working? What isn't? 
• Does the plot make any sense at all? 
• Where do I need more description? 
• Does the male protagonist sound like a man? 
• Do the two voices sound different enough? 
• Where are the plot holes? 
• Are their problems with continuity? 
• How bad is the theology?
• Call me out if it's the exact same story arc as The Baker's Memory

Requirements:

• Applicants must like me as a person and not seek to crush my soul 
• Must be proficient with Word and be able to write specific comments
• Must be able to complete assignment within 2 months
• Especially seeking beta readers who identify as male for help with the male character who still "sounds like a girl" according to one male beta reader

Compensation:

• Baked goods. Lots of baked goods
• My undying love
• Credit in the acknowledgements
• Reciprocation for any writing, editing work etc.

Sitting on Writing

 

I haven't updated in a while. Because our internet has been ruining my life wasn't working. And we went out of town for a while. And it's summer so I'm feeling lazy. And sometimes thinking about all the writer platform stuff I'm not doing is so overwhelming that it becomes paralyzing and I just throw my hands up.

I carry three writing notebooks with me at all times. The purple one is for quotes. I've been keeping a quote book since freshman year of high school. The striped one is for writing. The pink one is for things like "BAKE MUFFINS TOMORROW." Most of the time I end up scrawling song lyrics, hoping to find the song later. That's what most of that sheet is covered with. However, it also says,

Oblivion closet hula hoops.

I recently went through my notebooks mining for gold and I found 

Oblivion closet hula hoops

And I thought, "What in the world does that mean?" 

I don't even understand my own weird shorthand.  For a few days I laughed at myself, completely perplexed by those four words. But then I remembered. They were from a scene in the spiritual memoir. 

At some point in our lives we all live in closets and they may feel safe or at least safer than what lies on the other side of the door but I’m here to tell you that no matter what your walls are made of, a closet is no place for a person to live…We know it’s hard but we need you out here.
-Ash Beckham, “Coming out of your closet”, TEDX Boulder

I was hiding from myself in Tom’s bedroom.
And maybe from God.

After a few months we mutually agreed that it wasn’t working out. It was the simplest, least painful break up I’d ever experienced. After we broke up we became better friends. I stepped out of the closet that I’d built for myself out of Tom’s arms. I opened the door, squinting in the sunshine, feeling exposed in the bright light. I couldn’t stand being in the light. It was too hard. I quickly replaced that closet with walls made of hula hoops and badminton nets, roller skates and pints of beer. I went to hide at the Fun Vortex with Ben. 

The memoir has just become this thing I'm sitting on. It's like one of those wood bead seat covers. I can't decide if it's a good thing to sit on. Is it the best thing ever or is it awful? How long can I sit on this? If I decide to stop sitting on it, what do I do with it? Was this made for sitting on or does it have some hidden purpose? 

Oblivion closet hula hoops