Monday 22 April
Welp, I turned in the revision of my novel and I’m feeling…I don’t know how I’m feeling! Like a groundhog emerging from its hole, maybe? Hey look, it’s spring! Portland has passed cherry-blossom-and-daffodil season, and now we’re in the glorious throes of dogwood-and-tulip season. People are planting vegetable gardens. Robins are busy in my back yard. The whole city is a wonderland of bloom.
One exciting aspect of being finished with this stage is that I can turn my attention to some neglected side-projects, and some that aren’t neglected, just new. I’m working on a follow-up to my Medium post about digital minimalism and a new one about tidal homeschooling. I have some poems just about ready to send out and a picture book idea ready to fall out of my head and onto the page. And I want to do some spring cleaning here on the blog. I’ve read 42 books so far this year and I’m dying to talk about them!
For today, though, I’ll just take a deep breath and enjoy the wind in my neighbor’s pink dogwood. And the flowers on our little cactus!
Helen McLaughlin says:
Oh, Lissa, I’m flat-out DELIGHTED to hear that you’ll be writing more on Medium (really, writing more *anywhere*—here, there, or someplace else—I just love getting a peek at what’s going on inside your head; always a treat). Also, eager as anything to maybe one day read your poetry? (If you’re sharing, of course.) And am cheering on the on-the-page unfolding of this picture book idea of yours…
On April 23, 2019 at 6:17 am
Melissa Wiley says:
Helen, thank you! You were a big help in getting to the finish line. And I got a peek at the cover sketch today and I’m SQUEALING with glee — it’s so awesome! Feels real now!
It feels so good to be writing poems again and I’ve got some that are almost ready to submit. Eek!
Medium is such a different world…I’m learning the ropes and hope to build a nice collection of posts there. I’ve been mostly working on new content, but I think there’s a lot in my archives here that could be repurposed for that audience.
I so appreciate your cheers and *I’m* cheering for your new adventure too!
On April 24, 2019 at 4:17 pm
tanita says:
How much do I love that little frog on the cacti pot! SO cute! And the blossoms are a lovely shade. Are your poems for adult readers or kid readers? I’m aaaaaalmost feeling confident enough to see if I can do something with some of mine, but not yet. I’m grateful for all the poetry peeps who keep me working at it, though.
On April 23, 2019 at 11:48 am
Melanie Bettinelli says:
Hooray for turning in your revisions! We are just at the height of daffodil season here. And have been invited to go on a daffodil walk tomorrow with homeschooling friends. I told the kids it was contingent on getting work done, but who am I kidding. I’m gunning for fields of daffodils and a vernal pond — and there’s a “Destruction Brook”. Honestly, I’m dying to find out the story behind that and if I can’t find it out, I might have to make one up. I love your cheery Easter-y photo.
On April 23, 2019 at 5:09 pm
Ernie says:
Oh, I am so jealous. I keep plugging away at a manuscript, but I do not know if a publisher will ever nibble at it. Congrats to you!
On April 23, 2019 at 5:13 pm
Melissa Wiley says:
Ernie, keep plugging! Shaunta Grimes over on Medium has some great posts about getting to the finish line, if you’re interested. 🙂
On April 24, 2019 at 4:30 pm
Melissa Wiley says:
Helen, thank you! You were a big help in getting to the finish line. And I got a peek at the cover sketch today and I’m SQUEALING with glee — it’s so awesome! Feels real now!
It feels so good to be writing poems again and I’ve got some that are almost ready to submit. Eek!
Medium is such a different world…I’m learning the ropes and hope to build a nice collection of posts there. I’ve been mostly working on new content, but I think there’s a lot in my archives here that could be repurposed for that audience.
I so appreciate your cheers and *I’m* cheering for your new adventure too!
On April 24, 2019 at 4:17 pm
Melissa Wiley says:
Tanita, I may have to take pictures of the other frogs on that little cup because they are all delightful. They make Rilla (resident frog enthusiast) and me so happy!
The poems I’m working on are for adults not kids, which is of course a big departure from all the writing I’ve done for the past (gulp) 24 years…
BTW, I loved your haiku this morning—I’m such a fan of all your poetry—and I tried to comment but WordPress blogs seem to think I’m the devil. Even mine is giving me a hard time today!
On April 24, 2019 at 4:21 pm
Melissa Wiley says:
(Case in point: every time I reply to a comment here today, I get an error message. My reply to Helen posted twice, once as a threaded reply and once below. Yours won’t thread for the life of me. Which means (I think) you won’t get a notification. Blerg!)
On April 24, 2019 at 4:23 pm
Melissa Wiley says:
Melanie, oooh, yes please I want the (real or invented) story behind that name!
On April 24, 2019 at 4:25 pm
Penelope says:
Happy Easter Lissa!! Congratulations on finishing the revision, that’s huge. You must feel like a balloon, wafting on the breeze 🙂
On April 25, 2019 at 2:17 am
Penelope says:
PS that commenting glitch you refer to Lissa? It’s actually been happening here for ages. Hit ‘submit comment’ and get an error message. The comment does actually post, however, so … there’s that?? … At blogger, where my blog lives, the weird comments thing that’s been going on for months is that it’s impossible (for me, logged in and all) to leave a comment at any blogger blog, even my own, unless the comments live on their own page (an option the blog owner can choose in settings). If comments are below the post, no dice.
On April 25, 2019 at 2:52 am