You just have to laugh: Airport travel

As I mentioned in my Tuesday post my trip to Maine to visit my friend Katie was the most eventful I've ever had...and that says a lot. I travel for my day job and out of the twenty or so trips I've taken this past year, only one has gone smooth.


I could complain, and whine, and ask 'why me?', but what good would that do?


So I laugh. (Though when I travel with my colleagues they don't usually join in with my amusement of my awful travel skills.)


I'm sure you've all got your travel stories, the ones you had every right to kick the dirt and yell up at the sky, but you chose to laugh. You were with the people or in the place (or on your way to the place) you wanted to be and you saw the good in that. I'll share mine and then I'd really love to hear yours.


I left Milwaukee, WI at noon on Friday and got to Minneapolis, MN just fine. The flight from Minneapolis to Languardia, NY went good too and although my flight from NY to Bangor, ME was delayed by two hours, that didn't dash our happy mood of getting to see our friend.

Things got a little frustrating when we left NY and circled over Bangor, ME before having to go back to JFK, NY due to the fog that covered the runway in Maine.


So at 2am Saturday morning we land at JFK and are told the earliest they can get us to Bangor is 7pm on Sunday night. Not cool, since we were flying out at 6am Monday morning.

But...but...they could put us on an eight hour bus ride to get us there. So that's what we took. We waited in the empty airport (with this little bird) until 5:30am and took a not so comfortable Coach Bus to Maine, getting us there at 2pm.

I was quite proud of our thirty six friends that joined us on the coach bus. Most had been traveling all day, 24hours plus, and though we were frustrated there were many more laughs than people going on rampage. After all, it wasn't the airline's fault.

Aside from this huge bruise I got on my arm (there's a matching one on my leg but I'd feel uncomfortable showing that to you) we all came out unscathed. The bruise is because I climbed a fence in fear that the bus only held 36 people and we had 38 that needed a seat and I was determined to make sure I got a seat. Turned out it held 38. Oh well...

The short time we were in Maine was wonderful. I thank those 36 other people that traveled with us for laughing as much as we could. And though I don't want it to happen, I know it will, so I plan on keeping my positive outlook on my crazy travel issues.

So what are you travel issues? I'd love to hear them!

Where in the World is Kelley? Acadia National Park in Maine

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! I certainly did!

This weekend I visited one of my bestest friends, Katie. She recently moved to Maine and one of my other bestest friends, Jen and I decided to take a weekend to visit her.

The flight to get there was a little more than eventful, but I'll skip that part and talk about it on another post. What I'd really like to tell you about was the day we spent at Acadia National Park. It was wonderful and a place I highly recommend to go on vacation.

Katie and Jen leading the way

Acadia offers a lot for all levels of adventure. There is a cute town called Bar Harbor that has tons of restaurants, shops, beaches and places to stay. There are about thirty hiking trails from a stroll in the park to 'climb every mountain'. It is a perfect place to get away and experience the great outdoors.

So what did we do? Well we took the more 'climb every mountain' route. If you haven't seen our trip to Ireland you can find it here. We are a bit on the adventurous side.


We started on the Cadillac Mountain South Ridge Trail. It starts you off in the forest and then you climb up Cadillac Mountain. 

You can actually drive up to the top of Cadillac Mountain, which most people do. If you are at the top of the mountain during sunrise you will be the first person in the United States to see it. We thought about doing it, but due to our crazy flight experience, getting us in way later than we were supposed to, we decided against it.

This was our view for lunch. Pretty crappy, hey?












From the top you can see the town of Bar Harbor.

We hiked down Cadillac Mountain and up Dorr Mountain which was equally as beautiful.

A man that we met while hiking up Dorr Mountain suggested we try Gorge Trail. We took his word and it was probably my favorite trail of the day. It leads you along a beautiful stream through the woods.

We walked on stones as the water ran around us and slid across logs that went over the stream. Poor Katie had shoes without any grip and kept falling on her bum. This is her falling off the log into the stream. She's so funny.

Then we accidentally took a wrong turn and went up Dorr Mountain again. That was not fun. Our legs were dead and we were hungry. But we finally made it to the top and meandered our way to a bus stop to take us back to our car only to find out that we missed the bus. We asked a lovely older couple for a ride and they gave us one! I've never hitchhiked before but they were so much fun!

We caught dinner on the bay in Bar Harbor as the sun was setting.

And then we shopped and finished the night off with some ice cream. Yum!

Acadia National Park is a place I highly recommend for a getaway. You could spend just the weekend or a whole week.

If you're interested or have any questions I'd be more than happy to add my two cents!

Taking me back: Hanging out at the Roller Rink

Last night I took Payge, my Lil' Sister in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program, to our local Roller Rink, Skateland.

Wow. Everything is the same as the last time I stepped into one over ten years ago. The smells of pizza, popcorn, feet and whatever they cover the rink in. I'm guessing I didn't think about the other feet that were in my skates before mine when I was twelve though.

Before you ask how well I skated, after having not been on skates for ten years, I'll tell you this. In the two and a half hours we were there we got around the rink five times. That's it. Payge told me she was a great skater but...well...she wasn't.





But there was a 'bouncy house' for kids ten and younger and she LOVED that. So between the nachos, the rink and the bouncy house, she had a blast.

And I had a blast watching the birthday party of twelve year old girls. Even though I couldn't hear them as they whispered to each other I knew what they were saying. They all looked terribly cute in the outfits they wore. One difference from when I was there age was a number of them were on their cell phones. They'd call a friend over and say, "Michael's on the phone and wants to talk to you!" Oh man, how fun.

I think this whole experience might find a way into a WIP...

Have you had any of these moments happen to you lately? What brings you back?

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!

Writing Inspiration

Sometimes we just need to stop for a little while and think. Look around us.

And then write. For no one other than ourselves.

Writers Workshop with Wade Rouse

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending a Writing Workshop with Wade Rouse. I would highly recommend participating in his workshops no matter what stage you're in in your writing career.

Bio from his website: Wade Rouse is the acclaimed author of four memoirs, including the bestselling At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream and his latest, It's All Relative. Wade has been hailed by NBC's Today Show, USA Today, The Washington Post, Detroit Free-Press and Entertainment Weekly as one of America's wisest, wittiest and most wicked writers, and the worthy successor to David Sedaris.


One of the best lines that describes him is: Wade Rouse has quickly established himself as one of America’s favorite memoirists (and, according to Writer’s Digest, “One of the Top 10 Writers, Dead or Alive, We'd Love to Have Drinks With” … Wade was #2, behind Ernest Hemingway, and ahead of Hunter S. Thompson, an honor he puts on the same level as winning the Pulitzer). 


I would totally love to have drinks with this guy (and his partner Gary who was equally as wonderful!).


Alas, we didn't drink during our two day Writing Workshop. But I did learn the following:


1. I need to read his books. I'm not a big reader of memoir, but just by talking to him I know I'd love his stories.


2. We opened the workshop with an exercise on finding your voice. In reading my work to the class of about eight I learned that I do already have this (yay!) but, as with everything in life, I need to keep challenging myself, keep pushing the boundaries. Learn more about myself and my writing so that I can keep delivering that voice that every agent and reader is interested in.


Fun little exercise for 'finding your voice': Write about what you fear most to write about for one hour. Don't edit, just write. It has to be in memoir form. Very effective.


3. I got to listen to excerpts of a number of very talented writers who are at all different stages in their careers. Such inspiration!!


4. My query letter is ready. (Thank gwad!) I'd sent it to a few agents to see what would happen but after receiving a few personalized, helpful rejection letters, I thought maybe my letter wasn't right. Nope. Wade, as well as my peers, thought it was ready. Hence the querying process was in full swing this weekend. (Fingers crossed!)


5. The whole group was very interested in my 'third project', which is my only Contemporary YA. It needs editing, but I plan on fully diving into this one next.


6. Wade went over everything from getting an agent to how the agent then works for you. He went over the five publishing houses and how they operate. All very informative.


7. It's wonderful to participate in something like this. To get advice and validation for your work. To watch people's reaction in person to what you've created. I look forward to the next one.


In regards to the next Writing Workshop or Writer's Conference I should go to... Any suggestions? Any that you're going to? Maybe I could join you... :)

Narrative Voice: Which do you like?

I just finished the first draft of my second manuscript last night. There's a lot more I need to add, but I feel real good about it.

In my first manuscript I wrote in third person. The reason for that was because I didn't want us to know everything about the MC. I wanted there to be a little mystery to her. Somethings we didn't, and would never know.

My second manuscript is in first person. My logic behind that was I wanted us to know everything my MC, Agent Andrew Ryan, thinks about the other MC, Tori Hale. The kicker is we never get to 'hear' her thoughts at all. We only get to witness her through Agent Ryan's eyes. In essence I want her to be the main focus of the story. I hope it gives the affect I'm going for.

Then, ironically, the wonderful Allison Winn Scotch posted on this very topic today! You can find it here. 


So I'm curious. Is there a narrative you prefer to read? To write with? Or is it situational?

Let's talk: Bathroom Etiquette

While I was washing my hands in the restroom yesterday at work one of my lovely coworkers came in and we started up a little small talk.

Then she proceeded to go do her thang and the conversation abruptly ended when the stall door closed. Awkward silence...

My question is: Is it okay to 'shoot the s***' when you're... well you know. Or is it better just to let the conversation fizzle out?

Or even better. What do you do when the person keeps talking from in the stall and you have somewhere to be? Do you cut them off and excuse yourself? Or do you just let them keep talking? (Eventually they'll figure out that you left...right?)

Something to make you giggle

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! I did. Packers won, UW Madison Badgers won. And I wrote about 15,000 words for my second WIP. That's a good weekend for me.

I wanted to write something today but I didn't know what so I settled on going through my camera and finding some pretty funny pictures. Hopefully they'll brighten up your Monday. Start ya off with a giggle.

I think this one is more funny if you're actually there. So if you are ever in the Philly airport, check out Baggage Claim C. They have this neat contraption where balls move throughout it and make noises when they hit gongs, bells and whistles. It made me laugh.

For those of you who are newer to my blog, you probably missed my post that included the weird grape. So here it is again. About a month ago when I was on vacation with mom's side of the family we found this.

Then, when we took a weekend at the Wisconsin Dells my Aunt Lynn found this M&M and she thought it was so hilarious. She shouted, "Kelley, you have to put this one on your blog too!"

So I will. :)

On the same Labor Day weekend vacation we spent some quality time with my Uncle, waiting for the rest of our family to arrive. He's a great guy. Totally hilarious. This is his 'old drinking man' pose. Looks pretty good to me. Except he's holding a McDonald's coffee. But I think he's got potential for an acting career. After the pic he asked me if we should take one with him smiling in this pose.

That one would have been a little creepy I think...

Lastly, here's my sister's idea of funny. My dog, Sasha will let you do pretty much anything to her. My sister thought it would be hilarious to put my sunglasses on her bum. Funny?

That's a picture of her good side.

Hopefully that was good for a few laughs. Have a great Monday!

Getting into Character

I am SO sorry. I know I've been MIA for a little while here. Crazy busy memorial labor day weekend (I always get those two mixed up), followed by a business trip to Philly. Sorry if any of you are from Philly, but I'm a little mad at your airport right now. Mucho delays. The nice gentlemen I spent seven hours talking to assured me it was usually like that. Great.

So anywho...

I'm not sure if this happens to anyone (referring to the title of this post). I've done my fair share of acting. Mostly stage but I was in a few student film productions. Getting into character is number one for actors. However I have found that in a very small way, I'm doing that with one of the characters in my second WIP.

I realize that when we write we tend to take our experiences and use people we know to create the story. That makes total sense.

What I didn't realize is that it can go in reverse. I've created a character who, by looks only, resembles the character of Dani Beck on Law and Order: SVU. (Though my creation is quite a bit younger.) Dani was only on for a few episodes and is played by actress Connie Nielsen.


So as I'm writing this WIP and getting to know Tori, the character which looks like Dani over here, I realize I really like the conflicting thoughts we associate with braids and the 'tough girl' persona. Usually we picture braids on little girls in pink dresses. The tough girls wear leather and have usually died there hair a different color, maybe black or purple. Maybe they've got corn rolls. In any case I like the idea of the 'closed-off' character wearing a braid. I think it gives the look of 'yeah, I'm a lady but you better not mess with me.'


I just recently started going to a boxing club for exercise. Let me tell you, best way to exercise ever. And guess how I wear my hair when I'm there. You got it.


So after creating my character, I realized I like her style, the statement her appearance makes. I had never braided my hair before but I taught myself. In just that small way I was like my character Tori. And surprisingly, it helps with connecting with your character. Something as simple as wearing your hair the way she does. 


Does this ever happen to you? If you read about a character or create one, do you find there's a part of that character that you'd like to steal?

Don't put your eggs in one basket

Happy Friday! Anyone else totally pumped for the long weekend?

Who came up with that saying anyway? Don't put your eggs in one basket. I mean, I get the theory, but why eggs? And why baskets?Why not, don't put your chocolates all in one bowl. Or don't pour the wine all in one glass. Hmmm. Anyways.

The point is we get the theory. We can't put all of our time and energy into one thing hoping it will help us achieve our end goal. If we want to retire comfortably, we need a balanced portfolio (and a different economy, but lets not go down that road...). If we want to graduate from high school/college, we must be good at more than one subject.

If we want to be published, most likely we're going to have to work on more than one 'first book'.

But... we don't want to put each one of our eggs in its own basket. Can you imagine trying to carry seven baskets for these guys on the left? That's just silliness.

We have to remember that each egg is not a separate entity. They are connected. When we write one manuscript and pitch it, only to find it's not getting a bite, that doesn't mean we should throw it away. It means we have others critique it, we keep reading, keep writing and then go back to it at a later time. And maybe while you're working on your writing craft you come up with another great idea for a book and that's the one that gets you in the door. Then guess what? Now you have other manuscripts which you can pitch to your agent after the amazing success of your first one.


Not too long ago I finished my first manuscript and at that point decided I wanted to shoot for publication, so I switched from writing as a hobby, to writing as a business.

I thought my manuscript was super good and that agents would be clamoring to grab it. Course, that isn't happening and now that I've learned more about the publishing industry I understand why. But I do still believe it is a great piece of work and someday will be published.

The thought of giving up on this manuscript and writing something else made me sad. This was the one. This was the first one. Then I got two more ideas for two different stories and started writing. And I loved it. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for my first manuscript which is in the querying phase right now, but I'm totally loving writing other stories. And I can see my craft is getting better.

So in the end our eggs and baskets look kind of like this. A few baskets with a bunch of eggs in them. Now we just have to carefully carry the baskets so as not to break the eggs...

What in your life requires more than one basket?