Wow! How'd time get away from me?

It's been awhile since I posted on my blog. I feel like I've been completely out of touch. School, work, writing, critiqueing....It all takes up so much room in this brain, and doesn't leave much room to remember other things like buying toilet paper, or thawing the meat for dinner, or washing the enormous pile of laundry that has taken up residence in the hallway... UGH!

Anyways, I decided to take two months off from school to prepare for the LDStorymakers Conference coming up in a few weeks. I'm looking forward to getting out of town, taking in the clean air of Utah, and shoving every bit of writing information I can into this already overcrowed brain. My mother, and possibly my father will be hitching a ride with me to Utah, and we will get to see some family as well!!!

I'm excited about seeing my grandmother especially! Love ya!

I've got so much to tell her. She'll be so proud of her granddaugher.

So, in preparing for the conference, I bought Larry Brooks new book,"Story Engineering. Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing". I signed up to take his 2-hour master class at the conference, and I'm wanting to be as prepared as I can to get the most from the class. The book is awesome! I was struggling to find my groove as a writer. Too many questions, do I outline?, do I not outline?, can I just write with no end in mind, and figure that out later? The answer according to Larry...NO!

LOL. I'm really enjoying his advice. Learning to recognize all the components needed to write a successful novel is so much fun. I love movies, and I've found that after reading his book (as well as the screenwriting book he recommends) I am breaking down the stories as I watch. This gives me a much deeper appreciation for the method behind creating a great story. It's fun!

I highly recommend reading his book if you're like me and wanting to one day call yourself a "published writer". As for now, I'm taking his advice and trying to really outline and engineer my stories, before I sit down and write the scenes. It really does help.

BOOK SHOUT OUT!
I just finished reading the third book in Dan Wells' series. I HIGHLY recommend this series. I loved them!
Book #1 - I Am Not a Serial Killer, Book #2 - Mr. Monster, Book #3 - I Don't Want to Kill You.

Dan Wells is a master at weaving suspense and keeps you flipping pages until the end.
16 year old John Wayne Cleaver is a sociopath that you find yourself rooting for!

Love Always,
Kris

I'm Movin On!

Sometimes the words to a song seem like they were written specifically for you. I love when I find songs like that. They can convey exactly what is in someone's heart, and remind you that you aren't alone in the way you feel, or on the road you have travelled, the exits and detours taken, or mistakes made. You realize that someone else has been there before, and that can be comforting knowing that you aren't alone.

Lyrics are great places to find story starters too. One of my WIPs came to me from a LeeAnn Womack song...

But the Rascal Flatts song, "I'm Movin On" talks about the exact place I'm at in my life. On this coming Saturday, I'm planning on closing the door on a part of my life that has been holding me back for way too long. I'm leaving behind those people that have not only stopped my forward progression, but actually began to pull me back further and further until I almost forgot who I truly am and who I truly want to become. I'm looking forward to the future, and taking the lessons learned and saying goodbye to the person I used to be,and I'm Movin On.

Love Always,
Kris

More Followers!

So Amazing, and Welcome to my new followers.


I must apologize. I haven't checked in since Dec 28th. I seemed to have grown by about 10 new followers. What a way for you guys to start out, with me ignoring my blog the last few weeks.

Well things have been kinda crazy lately. School started back up on January 3rd, American Literature I.
I'm now on my last week on that class, and American Literature II starts next week.

The critique group I joined started Jan 1st as well, and that is SO exciting. Lots of reading and realizing I'm in the company of some great writers...wondering why they let me into the group! HaHa..just kidding. But I'm learning alot from my group members. They are amazing.

For those of you that know what I'm talking about, my husband and I are celebrating our 12th anniversary, (Jan 30th) by finally attending the Temple for the first time, with our 11 year old son, who was recently baptized back in November, just before his 11th b-day. It's been a long road, and lots of lessons learned. We've been working for 12 years to get there, and finally Feb 5th we will make it there with our family surrounding us. AWESOME!

As for writing, like I mentioned, I joined a critique group which has forced me to working on 2 of my Work In Progresses. I'm so busy, but I couldn't be happier.

I'm getting ready for the LDStorymakers First Chapter Contest, and will be attending the Conference again this year. My second time around, and I can't wait!

Well, That's enough for tonight. I will try to get back in the habit of posting once a week!

Love Always,
Kris

3 more days in 2010!

Wow, this year went by so incredibly fast. Looking back over the year, there have been so many things to be grateful for in my life and some, not so much. But that is life, right? It is a roller coaster. But it is never just good times or bad times. It is both at the same time. This chaos surrounds us daily; ups and downs, stressful times and relaxing times, times of sadness and times of great joy and laughter, making new friends and losing old friends, financial hardships and being rich with love for friends and family.

Everyday, we make choices. Some good and some bad. And with every situation, we choose how we will respond to situations we are faced with in our lives. So this next year, choose to live your best life.
Choose not to hold that grudge.
Choose not to judge a person by their mistakes.
Choose not to assume the worst.
Choose not to throw away a friend.
Choose not to allow the outside world determine your worth.
Choose not to give up on those who have offended you.
Choose not to be unforgiving, no one including you, is perfect!
Choose not to allow anger and pride control you.

I want to wish everyone a Bright and Happy New Year! May all your dreams come true!

Love Always,
Kris

6 days til Christmas!

I absolutely love this time of year....

The rain freshens the air, and the smell of fireplaces being used to warm the home. The crisp coolness on your face, and the thousands of twinkling lights that illuminate the evenings.

But most of all, I love spending the extra time with family, and the exchanging of gifts that give us the opportunity to tell people how much we care. It's never a matter of how much money is spent. Only that smile put on a loved ones face that says you brightened their day by remembering them.

This is also a time when we are reminded of our many blessings, and reminded to share our gifts of time and friendship with those who need our help.

SO count your blessings, and then do what you can to reach out to others. Call a friend you haven't spoken with in awhile, mail them a Christmas Card or friendly note, leave a plate of homemade cookies on a neighbors front porch. Just letting people know they are cared for is one of the most precious gifts you can give.

Love Always, and Merry Christmas!
Kris

Book Review: Perilous by Tamara Hart Heiner

Perilous (WiDo Publishing, fall 2010)

Jaci Rivera has plans for her sophomore year: go to regionals with the track team, make the honor roll, and eat too much pizza with her best friends, Callie and Sara. Her biggest concern is Amanda, the pushy girl who moved in a few months ago.

What she doesn't plan for is catching a robber red-handed, or being kidnapped. The desperate thief drags her and her friends 2,000 miles across the Canadian border. They escape from his lair, only to find that he has spies and agents watching their path home, waiting to intercept them and take them back.

Then Jaci finds something out about her family. Something which irrevocably connects her to their kidnapper, and makes her question their chances of escape.

Perilous is the debut novel for Tamara Hart Heiner. For a debut novel, this isn't a bad start for Tamara. I enjoyed the tenacity of the characters and the determination they show throughout their journey home. I'm not sure I could have survived as long as they do in the book. I found myself continuing to read to see what was going to happen next. However, there were some plot holes and areas that didn't seem real or plausible, and maybe even a little out there or too coincedental for me. But don't let that stop you from checking out this story.The book is a decent read, and though the book just seems to end without explanation, the sequel will hopefully plug the holes and resolve things for the girls. You can't help but root for them!
I would give this book a grade of:

B+, waiting patiently for the sequel.

Please take a minute to check out Tamara's blog and websites. She is holding some pretty cool contests! Also, you can find her Book Trailer on YouTube!

Thanks Guys for listening,
Love Always,
Kris

Getting back on track.

SO, I'm done with the Shakespeare class! Yay! But now my brain is mush. My plan is to try and sprint to the finish, but I only have 7 days left, one being Thanksgiving, and one being my son's B-day...so it is more like 5 days....I don't see 50,000 words in my future. BUT, I'm going to give it a try and just see how close I get...

I did not sign up for another class until January, so even though NANO ends Nov 30...I'm going to keep on going til the end of the year and see what I come up with.

I just joined a critique group which starts in January, and I need stuff for them to critique!

Anyways, I wanted to wish everyone and very Happy Thanksgiving, and remind everyone to reflect on what you are truly thankful for this holiday. Life is so short and can be gone in a blink of an eye. You never want to be left wondering if you ever told someone that you loved them. So Tell Them!

Let go of the grudges, the only person they hurt is you. Let go of the anger, and forgive. Tomorrow might be one day too late!

Love Always,
Kris