Summer Activities for June

By Stacy Johnson

So, amidst the other things going on here (and it isn't keeping my blog updated, or even my FB for that matter), I have put together a calendar of activities that are free or cheap that we can do here in the east valley (mostly QC or AJ).  There is something to do every single day of the month, so I don't have to hear "Mom, I'm so booooored, what are we going to do today?"  You know, in that whiny voice every mom learns to tune out so well.  Anyway, I figure at the beginning of each week, I'll post the udpated week's worth activities and contact person if any, for each activity.  We'll see how this works.  Here is Tuesday-Sunday for this week, in the future, come to my personal blog. www.johnsonteammom.blogspot.com

1-Tuesday -
**Begin your 60 day Book of Mormon Challenge today, read just about 9 pages a day and you can finish it before the kids get back to school.  I love it.  If you want to be part of a group doing it together, check out www.readthescriptures.com and then send me your e-mail.  I'm so in, so are my kids.
**The Scottsdale Drive-in offers a family discount on Tuesday nights.  It is $4.50 per adult and $1 per child ages 5-11.  Kids under 5 are free.  Pop some popcorn, fill up the cooler with  juice boxes and you're in for a double feature.  Too bad it isn't per car, I'd totally take all of you in my 15 passenger van:)  www.westwinddriveins.com

2-Wednesday -
**Make a treat with your kids and then surprise your neighbor.  Include the kids on this and make it something everyone can help with.  Ding Dong ditch your neighbor with your suprise.
**Usery Pass from  noon to 1 is "All About Deserts"  Bring a sack lunch and learn how the desert was formed and other cool info.  Cost is $6 per vehicle.  I am definitely going to this, it is in the Nature Center. www.maricopa.gov/parks/usery

3-Thursday -
**Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art is free all day on Thursday.  I think they have some kind of "texting" exhibit I think the teenagers might be interested in.  www.smoca.org   We might stop for a QT drink on the way home.  They are only .69 for a 32oz.  Sonic has a great happy hour too.
**AJ Library Water Splash play ages Birth to 2 is 9:30-9:50, ages 2-3 is 10:15-10:45, and ages 4-5 is from 11-11:30.  Wear your swimsuit and bring your towel. www.ajpl.org

4-Friday -
**Phoenix Art Museum is free on the first Friday of the month from 6-10pm.  Sounds like a great date night to me.  It also sounds like something the teenagers might enjoy more than the little ones.  I love the Phoenix Art Museum, especially when it is free. www.phxart.org

5-Saturday -
**The Arizona Historical Society has a few museums.  Let's hit the one in Tempe today, but they are all free on the first Saturday of the month.  I've never been there, but what have we got to lose, it's free? www.arizonahistoricalsociety.org
**The San Tan Mountain Regional Park south of QC has a cool even today from 1-2pm.  It is all about things that are scaled and tailed.   Meet you in the Critter Room.  Cost is $6 per vehicle. www.maricopa.gov/parks/santan

6-Sunday -
**Let's get ready for Flag Day on the 14th.  Write a letter to someone serving in the military right now, or someone you know who has served previously.

Don't forget to read everyday too!!

Laughing Out Loud

by Marsha Ward

Since I began a trend in lampooning English gaffs, I seem to have tuned my ear (and eye) more towards the "oopsy" moments around me.

This week someone mentioned they saw a blog where the term "pre-Madonna" was used. Incorrectly, as it turns out. They weren't referring to the era before the singer became popular, nor to the 1997 album by Stephen Bray. Not even to the American singer/songwriter's own "Pre Madonna" album.

No indeed. I looked up the blog, and it's here, if you want to see LeBron James characterized as a self-concerned person, more important than the normal human being. Unfortunately, the proper insult term is "prima donna". The writer only got it right on his second attempt.

Prima donna comes from the Italian term for "first lady," usually used in an opera context to denote the lead female singer, who often acted in life in a high-handed manner. A similarly-used term is "diva," and both have become slang references to temperamental and conceited persons of either sex, whether in a film, music, or sports context.

You can read more here, here, and here.

I continue to snicker and LOL at these egregious misuses of English. I'm not immune to making some of them, but I do admit to hooting with laughter when I come upon such horrible examples used by poor souls who don't know any better.

On a more sober note, this week we've said goodbye to two of our blog team members, Krista Darrach and Sarah Albrecht, and welcomed our new contributors, Susan G. Haws and Tanya Parker Mills. We appreciate all that our departing friends have shared with us, and look forward to reading wonderful posts from our new members. There will be more changes in a few weeks.

Branding

By Cindy R. Williams

I read a post from QueryTracker.net this week. If you're serious about your writing, you may want to Google them and sign up for their free on-line Newsletter. I’m finding a wealth of information there.

The topic was "Branding" and they didn't mean cattle. It is branding as in surrounding your writing with your own personal brand. It made me think of having my own personal logo.

Examples were given such as most things Harry Potter. From the style of art for the book covers to the many characters. The lighting scar, the round glasses, a Quiddich scarf of maroon and gold, the wands of different woods and shapes, even the names themselves such as Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Hagrid, Dumbledore. Snape . . . the list goes on and they all ooze Harry Potter.

Another example; Twighlight t-shirts and jewelry. The branding is so univeral that often strangers ask each other if they are team Edward or team Jacob.

Your brand helps people identify with you or your works. The post suggested we choose the genre we are best at then make our name there before we branch out. It used the example of a fashion designer. Once a designer makes a splash in say, swimsuits, then their name means something to the design world, and they can go onto designing other things such as dresses, pant suits, shoes, purses and so forth.

The post mentioned that your brand must be unique to you. It has to promote something that is different about your work or book, so that when your readers comes across it, they will know it is you. Beautiful pink roses work well for romance books, but they're generic. You have to find something unusual. Brainstorm about what makes you and/or your book stand out from the crowd.

Websites and blogs are a good place to build your brand. If you keep you websites up to date and blog often, you're also building your platform. which is a whole other topic for another day.

Please leave a comment about what your brand is, or what you would like it to be. You are welcome to show us your brand with tags to your blogs or webs. Who knows, you may create a bit of your own buzz and build your platform while your at it.

A Healthy Balance

by Tanya Parker Mills

I have an appointment with my orthopedist this morning to find out what exactly is wrong with my left shoulder and what can be done to help it function fully again (preferably without pain). Over the last two years, I've suffered injuries to the right side of my body--a broken bone just below my right shoulder and a ruptured Achilles tendon--and I joked, at the time, that I would doubtless begin to break down on this other side in 2010. Needless to say, I'm not laughing now.

Whether this turns out to be arthritis (Come on...am I really that old?) or something else, I've gained a new appreciation for physical balance in my life. When one joint or limb becomes less useful, a person tends to make up for it by overworking its partner on the other side. That, in turn, can become a kind of weakness.

Is it so different in our writing? I will admit, here and now, that one of my biggest weaknesses in writing is describing setting. Why? Because I have never taken the time to learn enough about nature--all the flora and fauna that add so much color to a scene. Rather than boning up on it, I squeak by with a rather spare description and, instead, concentrate on my perceived strengths: dialogue, pacing, etc. As a result, my sense of setting grows weaker and weaker...just like my left shoulder.

I'm certain the doctor today will prescribe some form of painful therapy and that is probably what I need to undertake in my writing, as well. Sometimes, writing is painful--hard, labored, and requiring extra concentration, and study. But if our goal is to be published, we must put in all the time and effort required.

I learned what is required during a "webinar" (online seminar) sponsored by Writers Digest yesterday with literary agent Rachelle Gardner. One of the many things she noted during the 90-minute session was what she looks for in any author's opening pages. She basically looks for strong story, strong voice, and strong craft. She went into more detail regarding each of those aspects, but honing in on the latter, she mentioned all of the following:

• Characterization
• Dialogue
• Pacing
• Scene-crafting
• Dramatic structure
• Sensory details and strong verbs
• Few adverbs
• Avoiding backstory
• Showing, not telling
• Single point of view per scene

Do our first few pages of our works in progress reflect all of those things? If not, they need to. To get our writing noticed by an agent or editor these days when they are being bombarded by hundreds (and sometimes thousands, depending on the agent) of queries each day, we need a healthy balance in those first few pages, if not the entire body of our work.