Summer Writing Marathon
I’m back! Boy, have I been busy since I last left a message at on my blog. I try to spend as much time as possible writing during my summer "vacation." Here’s a run down of what I’ve accomplished in this writing marathon, and maybe you’ll see why I haven’t have a second to update.
1. I organized all of my newspaper columns into a new book titled “Teaching Secondary Language Arts: One Day at a Time.” At 62,500 words, I’m sure you can see that proofreading alone took quite a bit of time.
2. I sent both “Teaching Secondary Language Arts: One Day at a Time” and a MG novel I’ve written, “Tides Against the Sea,” to the Utah Arts Council Original Writing Competition.
3. I wrote a 122 page film adaptation of an award-winning young adult novel and submitted both it and an original screenplay I had already written, “Terror in Dead Horse Canyon,” to the producers of the movie my husband recently worked on.
4. I collected critiques for a magazine article I’m working on from my writer’s group and have started to work on that rewrite.
5. I’ve been working on Volume 2 of “Books, Books, and More Books: A Parent and Teacher’s Guide to Adolescent Literature,” adding several new guides.
6. I’ve written both newspaper columns–“Read All About It” for the Spanish Fork Press and “Out of the Best Books” for the Spanish Fork News”--each week.
7. I’ve written a resource handbook for the workshop I’m teaching for Nebo School District called “Recipe for the Reluctant Reader: Add Reading Strategies to Young Adult Literature and Mix Well.” This workshop is aimed toward educators or anyone who is interested in helping kids improve their reading.
8. I took a few minutes to read the article I wrote for Byline Magazine (“Five Tips on Self-Editing”) which came out in their July/August issue.
9. I wrote and submitted an original script for a television series that was recently cancelled, hoping to bring this series back once its reruns move to ABC-FAM network this fall.
10. I wrote an opinion editorial on contemporary vs classic literature for students, and submitted it to the Wall Street Journal.
11. I wrote a script transcript and sample novelization chapter and submitted it to Disney Press for consideration.
12. And, I submitted a query letter for the book I am writing on LDS Temples.
So, add to all this mix of writing, the general things a mother and wife does around the house, church obligations, and family gatherings for the holiday, and a few days of computer problems (could it be overload?) and you’ll see why I’ve had trouble getting a blog out recently. I wonder if all of this typing has anything to do with the fact my carpel tunnel is acting up and my wrists are killing me?
Until next time,
Lu Ann
