POETRY SLAM! #5

This month's Poetry Slam suggestion was inspired by the season. Summer! Tell me what you think and leave a suggestion for next month. So here we go!


Summer Dreams

School lets out, scorching heat
Lakes and pools to wade our feet
Barbeques and lazy days
Sun block and mosquito sprays

Fireworks and lots of sports
Bonfire goodies of different sorts
A few short weeks and summer's done
Back to dream of the coming one

Just a Query Letter. Not scary at all.... Right?

Earlier this week I finished editing my NaNo novel from 2009. (Yay!) I'm excited. Quite. But with the excitement comes apprehension. I've crossed an editing threshold into a new one, the Query Zone. (Oooh...) I've only heard about the Query Zone, never been there myself, but I've heard things. Word searching, hair pulling, almost as bad as writing the book itself! It's the making of the dreaded query letter! (Gasp!)

Ah, the query letter. Such a little piece of paper with so much importance. The letter that sells your book. The letter that will show an agent why your book is going to be perfect for them. The letter that's suppose to make an agent fall so deeply in love with your book that they come beg you to let them represent you. No pressure, right?

Well, yeah, there's a little pressure. This is new territory for me so I'm going to need some help. I know close to nothing about a query letter except for what I researched a little. So I ask you, any suggestions? Have you written a query letter before? Where did you research, a website or a book?

Well, my novel is still no where near ready for being queried so I'll try not to stress about it for now. I'll just sit in the holding area between editing and querying and wait my turn. I believe that place is called revision, right?

PS- Don't forget about the Blog-iversary Giveaway!

The Naming - Alison Croggon

In the classic spirit of epic fantasy comes this glittering saga of a young girl who learns she possesses an uncanny gift—and is destined to use it to save her world from a terrifying evil.
-http://www.alisoncroggon.com

First of all, I want to say that I like this book. If I didn't like it I wouldn't have finished it. With that being said, I almost didn't.

The Naming is a good 400 pages long and it seemed that I hesitated reading some parts of it. The two main characters, Maerad and Cadvan, spend a lot of time traveling. I don't want to say it's boring, but really all that happens in those parts is a description of the area and the weather then something exciting then back to travel and they get where they're going. Now I haven't read the other three books in the series so I'm in no place to say what I think was necessary to put in there or not so I won't go that far.

I will, however, be reading them because it's an excellent plot. I'm stuck wondering what's going to happen next. I want to know what's going to happen to the characters and what kind of trouble they're going to run in to and that's really important for a book.

BLOG-IVERSARY GIVEAWAY!!!

Next month is the one year anniversary of Scribbles and Shorts!! I thought it would only be appropriate if I had a party for it. :) Consider this your invitation. And what's a party without some goodies? That's why I'm having a giveaway!! This is what I'll be, well, giving away!



A dictionary, thesaurus, notebook, 3 ring pencil holder, pens, mechanical pencils, and highlighters. Basically it's a writer's starter kit. Even if you don't write these are things that you would use pretty often.

Rules in short:
-Be a follower of the blog
-Leave a comment about anything on this post
-Contest closes on June 10th at 12:01am Central time
-Results will be posted on June 11th

Rules in Detial:

So how do you get in on this? Follow the blog and leave a comment here. That's it! It can be about anything. A book I should read or what I should post on the blog. Have fun with it! I'll number the comments (the first is number one, next is two, and so on) then I'll use the random number generator to pick one. I'll close the contest at 12:01am on June 10th Central time, film the generator pick that day, and post the results on June 11th.

So have fun posting your comment! But be quiet, it's a surprise party for the blog so only tell EVERYONE you know. :D

POETRY SLAM! #4

This month's suggestion is brought to you by another friend from writer's group.

The topic is: Distraction
The type: Left up to me...but I don't know what it is. I just wrote it on a study break. (It's finals week, cut me some slack! ;) )

So without further ado...

You Know Me

I am talented, I am skilled
I'm hardheaded and strongwilled
I don't need you to grab my attention
I don't need anyone, I am distraction
Think you can stop me? You know you're not right
I come and you don't know it, I keep you up at night
You hear that buzzer? Please. Hit the snooze.
Think of all the dreams you'll lose!
Ha! Look at you, now you're late.
Get up! I've got plans to procrastinate
Social Networks. Trust me it'll only be a minute
Check your email. There's probably something important in it.
Oh yeah, what about that homework, that paper to write
I win. Look's like someone's not sleeping tonight.
I'm procrastination, laziness, but I'll help with a clue
My name is distraction, but mostly I'm you.

When Dad was the Easter Bunny

We heard mom scream first. It was like the time I showed her the toad I found in the puddles after it rained. Then I heard Dad scream. He sounded like he was watching one of his football games. Me and my little brother ran to their room.

"Whoa... Dad, you've got ears." Tod said.

"Like not people ears." I specified. "Rabbit ears."

By this time he knew that because he was already in the mirror tugging at them. Tod and I looked at each other then burst out laughing which we stopped immediately when both Mom and Dad glared at us.

"Ok, which one of you did this?" Dad said.

"We didn't do it!"

"Yeah! We thought you put them on."

"Obviously, your father--" Mom was cut off by the doorbell. She got up and put a robe on. "Don't worry, I've got it. You guys go get dressed." She pushed us out of the door with her and went downstairs while we went to check out the window.

"That looks like an icecream truck."

"Maybe it broke down and he'll give us free icecream!"

We raced down the stairs and heard Mom talking to someone at the door. He had a funny suit on and thin, wiry glasses. He was showing his clipboard to Mom.

"Yes, that's my husband, but we didn't order anything..."

"I know this, ma'am. This is about what other people have ordered and if your husband doesn't leave soon-" He saw Dad coming down the stairs with a baseball cap to cover his head. "Ah, good. I'm assuming your ears came in nicely?"

He adusted his hat. "How do you, uh, what ears? Who are you anyways?"

"There's no time for that. I need you to take this and this," he handed him the clipboard and a suit on a hanger. "And be on your way soon." He started to leave but Dad stopped him.

"Hang on, I didn't order anything."

"I know, I know. Listen, do you want those ears to go away? Yes? Then put that on, take the clipboard and that truck there, and make the deliveries." Then he was gone.

"That truck is ours!"

"Awesome!"

"Tod, stay inside!" Mom said. "Maggie, get back in here! That truck is not ours."

Too late, I was already in the back. "There's Easter eggs in here!"

"Mom! That's unfair I want some too!"

"No one is taking anything from that truck. Maggie, get in here now!"

I hopped out and ran back inside. "Dad, the guy said it was yours right? So those are our eggs."

"No. These are addresses to people's houses. Apparently, I'm suppose to take stuff to people's houses." He looked up from the clipboard. "I think I'm the Easter bunny."

Me and Tod looked at each other again. ".........AWESOME."

Mom muttered something about coffee while we dragged Dad back up stairs. "You've gotta get dressed! We gotta go!"

"No, no, no. No one is going anywhere especially in that truck. It could be anyone's."

"Dad," I pulled him down to my level and snatched to cap off his head. "You have real life rabbit ears. What more proof do you need!?"

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Give me the suit."

"Yes!" We went to get dressed while he went to his room and we heard Mom trying to talk Dad out of it but when we came out she was dressed too.

"Let's go!"

"How long is all of this going to take?" Mom asked him.

"Well, all the addresses are local so not long from the looks of it."

We piled in the truck and took off. We even found three more headbands with rabbit ears on them. They got to the first stop and took a basket into a sitting room full of people who laughed at Dad's funny suit and our bunny ears. Then we were sent to a park. The instructions said to hide them so we did. Mom and Dad hid them in way too obvious places so me and Tod went looking for the perfect hiding places. Behind a tree, under a bench, and on the slides, we even managed to get one to sit on a tree branch. Tod tried to keep one but I told him I was going to tell if he did even though I wanted one too.

That's how the rest of our day went. Delivering baskets and hiding eggs. When we got back home in the late afternoon we were all so tired from laughing at each other that we almost didn't see the basket at our door with a little card that said 'Thank You'. We took it inside and ate some of it while watching tv and soon we noticed Dad's ears were gone. I tried to tell my friends when they asked what I did for Easter but they still don't believe that my dad was the Easter bunny.

Happy Easter everyone! Sorry for the late post but I hope you enjoyed the story. I guess you could say that this was a good idea from the 'plot bunny'. See what I did there?! Ha ha!......yeah. *ahem* Now to rest after a heavy Easter lunch. :) Next post will be really special. See you then!

Things Only a Writer Should Say

• There are so many characters in my head.


• I'm really sad I had to kill him off.


• Finished. Now I can go to the bathroom.


• The characters are telling me what to do again.


• I like this guy. It's too bad he's imaginary.


• This whole conversation is being written down.


• I need a soundtrack for this.


• The end is near!


• This really sucks but that's ok.

You ever find yourself saying something that would probably sound weirder coming from someone who wasn't writing a book?