WOW!

 This last series of workshops was just amazing. Sometimes, I couldn't get them back on track after they started talking about books, TV shows, or movies that exemplified the concept I'd taught. Last night was the 4th and final workshop. One of the guys BAKED cupcakes for the whole class. I believe he'd never baked cupcakes....and it was adorable. 

Then, they were reluctant to leave...and so many final questions about all kinds of creative writing thoughts. It was just so fun. 

Another workshop series is wrapping up

 I think tonight ends my third or fourth time leading this series of workshops. I had participants from my overview class asking for more writing time, so the workshops really gave that to them.

 Tonight is Developing Your Writing Style. I've added a few more great videos that we will watch. I have my Legos! This has been a fantastic group!! I'm sorry the session is over. I hope some of them sign up for the mini retreats. 

Linda - a participant in every class and sometimes she takes classes multiple times- has signed up for my beginner glass and the retreats. I would love her feedback on these new classes. 

 I had the opportunity to attend a free session that Michael Tabb hosted (WGA writer/actor/producer and author of a GREAT book). Sadly, he experienced a Zoom bomber. I tried to help a little on my end without us taking too much time. He's an interesting fellow. I took a class with him while getting my MFA, and another writer in my class hung out with him after our graduation. We had a great time at Disney Town, along with Jennie Jarvis, another writer/actor/producer. She's won a TON of awards this year with shorts and pilots. I may look at writing more of those. 

I also got some amazing screenshots from my writing buddy. He was also a graduate of the program, and we formed a small writing group of alumnae. Unfortunately, his move to Vietnam has reduced our amazing talks and our writing work. - We also have a LLC called Agile Media Productions. We plan to use it to produce visual media and publish print media. But, we aren't ready for that yet. 

I have the six week beginner class to create by Sept 15 - I have to commit to completing one session each week. It takes time to develop a class. I don't have semester-long classes, but they are time-consuming to create. I learned once from an instructional designer that for every 1 hour of class time, 8 hours are needed to create and prepare. That's pretty much true.  

 I don't know  how many hours AIMS has me down for, but they are gracious in giving me pay for those hours. I really like this community college. I'd love to do more there, but I doubt the pay would be close to my corporate salary. Maybe it will be my retirement job like my mom did. 

I've rambled enough. Thanks for being here!

My best,

Tess 

Here it is - Writing Retreat: Beneath the Surface

 

It's going to be awesome!

SO much to do!

 Hello my friends,

I continue to be hard at work with classes, workshops, and retreats for creative writing. I have the following already created for AIMS Community College in Greeley, Colorado.

• All about Creative Writing ( Six 2-hour classes)
• Creative Writing Workshop Series: Character, Plot, Reviews & Feedback, Developing Your Writing Style (3 hours each)
• Creative Writing for Beginners (Six 1.5-hour classes)
• Beneath the Surface: Character and Plot  (Two 5-hour mini retreats) 

I love being part of the AIMS community. It's a great community college that strives to serve Greeley and surrounding towns. 

In addition to all of this, I'm creating an in-person retreat located at a historic B&B in Fort Morgan, Colorado!!! I'm always trying to cram as much powerful information into what I offer so that my participants know they are getting more than they paid for. Along side of that, I try to make sure they also have time to apply what they've learned. It's a balancing act, for sure. 

I'm still writing on my own novel (one of them), and I am loving the depth and scope of this story. I hate that it gets sidelined with creating the classes and retreats, but there's not enough time in the day. 

I'm also trying to keep up with bellydancing, service on the board of a new nonprofit, and getting my music chops better and better. I'm picking up my violin and working on piano again. I have a new beautiful electric guitar. I think my vocals are getting better. As everyone around me has said, when I love the song, I belt a good one. Confidence is key.

I have so many amazing books I use as reference materials, and I strive to learn more about writing constantly. I'll have to add them to the pages on my site. Apparently, I'll also have to repost all of the graphics I had on the site. Somewhere along the way they were dropped???? 

As always, please be patient. Consistent blogging is headed to the top of my list as I open registration for my new retreat. 

My best,

Tess 

 

And so it begins..... yay

 I'm happy to announce (with loads of excitement) that I have been accepted as a continuing education teacher at AIMS Community College for a creative writing class. It will be so great to 1) be teaching in a non-grading capacity and 2) be on a college campus again. I might have to go to the book store next time I'm there. It's an "always" thing with me and colleges. I have to attend or teach, not just visit. 

The program coordinator showed my proposed outline to the English department chair who thought it looked to be a good class.  High praise, yes. But, again, this isn't my first rodeo. It's just a new horse. 😉

It just feels so good, my friends. 

I've also continued to read Prewriting Your Screenplay by Michael Tabb, which has been a wealth of solid and usable information. Michael, one of my former professors, has an engaging voice and offers tremendous amounts of information with examples galore. Even if you don't write screenplays, get the book. His many chapters on character alone are a gold mine. I could teach an entire course just on characters. ...who knows, I may. 

What would you like to see in a continuing education class on creative writing?

Still.... tenacity

 My friends, I'm so happy to tell you that tenacity is paying off. My parents (and their friends) have joked for decades that I never create a plan B because I'm so committed to plan A. Well, I don't know. Maybe?

I want to keep teaching creative writing, but in a non-grading/non-credit capacity. I've been contacting all the places I could think of here in Greeley, Colorado. When that didn't seem like it would pan out, I started contacting nearby cities for possible opportunities. 

Now I am talking to three organizations about my proposed course. Tenacity, my friends. 

They say when a door closes, a window opens. I say just look for another door. 

Tenacity Above All

 I am finally getting back to the blog to provide some updates. While talent and extraordinary skills help in your success, the most useful skill is tenacity. Tenacity (to me) is continuing to seek new ideas and avenues. It is getting up every time you feel knocked down. Michael Jordan, Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Babe Ruth kept getting up - I mean, their failure rate was devastating, but they could not have had their success without tenacity. Colonel Sanders kept sharing his business vision. Many very famous authors had to submit their works many times before getting accepted for publication. Silvester Stalone is a great example of continuing to press on with his dream when he was "knocked" down time after time trying to get his movie script for Rocky produced. 

Well, I've continued on my path to teaching workshops on creative writing. After all, I did teach it for 7+ years! I was in an ongoing conversation with the local community college continuing education director, but despite their initial enthusiasm, that conversation didn't really progress. 

Moving on!!! I reached out to the local library and the recreation center. The library directed me right around to the recreation center's coordinator, so we'll see.

After that, I reached out to the recreation centers in three neighboring towns. I heard back from one within a few hours, and they had serious questions that indicated a viable possibility. I'm glad I had tenacity. I didn't just stop after a few "red and yellow lights" as Matthew McConaughey would say. Baby, I was going to create a road trip and make my own green lights. 

I love that about me. Really, I do. I love that above all, I have tenacity. I may get knocked down. I may get my feelings hurt. I may have to figure out a very different path.  But, I have the tenacity to keep trying, and I think that is the skill we should all work on. Educators now call it grit. 

Get your grit on, baby. Thomas Edison's philosophy was that each failure in creating the light bulb moved him one step closer to success. Ted Lasso tells us to be a goldfish (give yourself 10 seconds and forget it). I'm doing all of the above.... with tenacity.

Progress is one step at a time

I used to teach creative writing as a middle school elective. Not only that, but I also helped develop a three-year cyclical curriculum that would keep students engaged if they took the elective every year during middle school. I loved creating the lessons and content for my students, and naturally, I had accumulated quite a lot of materials. 

When I left my teaching position in Texas, I "shared" all the files from my school Google account to my personal Google account. Unfortunately, I believe that those materials were lost when my school account was deactivated. I'm pretty upset, but I can't stay in that place for long. 

So, I'm determined to create bigger and better, or at least to start on that creation. Right now, I have an outline of the major units I taught. 

In the meantime, I have also reached out to the English department chair where I want to teach a continuing education course in creative writing. This will give me the teaching and guidance outlet I love without the necessity of grading!!! And I hope to reach a larger audience this way.

Moving "write" along

 I'm so excited to say that since my last blog post, I've accomplished quite a lot in the writing (and business) areas. 

I filed my LLC for my coaching business in Colorado, so I will be adding writing under the total umbrella for Success with Tess, LLC.  Not only will Success with Tess, LLC handle coaching, but there will be a forthcoming journal for self-care. When I lived in Texas, I only had a DBA, so this is stepping forward in business for me. 

I purchased a block of ISBNs for my children's books, which will be republished this year if I keep to my schedule. I have a wonderful artist friend who will help me rework the illustrations for the 2 existing Baxter books and get the third completed and published.  We will also be putting out coloring books on my Etsy site.... that's a thing, too. 

I've been working on my short articles for The Belly Dance Chronicles. This beautiful magazine is currently on hold while they are looking for a publishing platform that suits their needs. I'm working on a number of articles so we can all hit the ground running as soon as they are ready.

Finally..... maybe... I am creating an outline for a creative writing course to teach in the continuing education department at AIMS Community College here in northern Colorado.  There are three campuses very close to me, so I'm betting I can get at least one campus to support this course. I am also considering applying for an English adjunct position.

For you, my readers, I want you to put faith in any writing endeavor that you do. If you are journaling, writing poems, or attempting something larger, DO IT. 

I think my entire family started writing more after I got serious and was published. I'm sure they figured if I could do it, they certainly could.  My dad, mom, and brother have started writing funny and poignant family stories. I could not be happier about this. I'm so thrilled they are all finding their individual voices.  It's a crazy joy for me to see other people write, feel good about their writing, and find their voice. I don't care what they write or if they share it with me, which they normally do. I just want them to have joy in writing. It's an art, a creative process, and an important part of human civilization to write our stories - fiction or non-fiction, poetry or prose.  It doesn't matter. It's a uniquely defining factor of our species on this planet. Blows your mind, doesn't it?  

Join me in finding your voice and finding joy. If you want information about writing or any of my specialties, hit me up at tess@successwithtess.com. Leave a comment and let me know what you are writing or what you plan to write!!!  Put in links to your blogs or other writing so we can enjoy!

I can do that...

I’m not sure when I first started using the phrase, “I can do that.” It’s apparently so much a part of me that my entire family says it in jest whenever I get a certain look in my eyes. When I saw belly dancers dancing on stage at Scarborough Faire in Waxahachie, Texas, I said, “I can do that.” (Note: my mother had taught belly dance lessons at a local junior college when I was very, very little, so this was NOT my first exposure to this awesome dance form.) I immediately signed up for lessons with Isis at her studio in Bedford, Texas. 

I've done the same with writing books, participating in adventure race sprints, and learning new instruments. I didn’t say, “I’ll try,” “I’ll see” or “I want to do that.” I affirmed that I already had the ability to DO it. If you read motivational and self-help books, they give the same advice. Speak as if you've already become or done that thing. 

Start telling yourself, “I can do that.” Go out there and DO IT!

Leave me a comment on a time you did the same. I'd love to hear from you, and you might inspire someone else to live their dream.

Updates to the page - and a new offering!

 Hello all  - 2023 is already a flurry of activity around here. I've created affiliate links for any/all books on this site. That includes my books and books I love and/or recommend. In addition, I now offer coaching and editing services. I've been an editor for a long time, but I just didn't advertise. I'll only take jobs on a case-by-case review, and I'll have a few different tiers to offer. Look for more details coming soon. 

Getting back on track

 So, I have two children's books published. I'm very grateful and love that I had that opportunity, but all was not quite rainbows and roses. I had two talented illustrators who brought Baxter and his stories to life, and I have great reviews for which I am humbled. But illustrator #1 wasn't paid (or paid so little as to seriously infuriate a very good artist) by the publisher, and I'm not sure if illustrator #2 was either. Neither came back. Then came a string of several illustrators who were wildly wrong for the project. Heck, I even bought a very low-end digital art pad and took an illustration course. Sadly, though I can draw a bit and certainly copy things, I couldn't get the hang of this.  Maybe I can keep trying since I have an iPad and pencil now. 

Then, my publisher didn't get book 3 published and eventually shut up the house. Amazon only offers my first book, Merry Christmouse, digitally, so people can't get a hard copy.  (Publisher should be working on that now.) Also, somehow my book was sold or handed off to other printers, and now they are getting printed elsewhere - I don't get paid for those. 😡

Book 3 was written, edited, and ready for the next step. I actually don't know if that will happen.  Writing books ain't for the faint of heart, y'all.

However, I started 2023 asking for the rights to my books and the digital files so that I can work on republishing the books. I'm not sure what it will take right now, but they are MY books. I'm going to get them back out, and I'm going to research to make it right. Amazon has a global reach, but I feel sick with my books out there getting sold without respecting me. 

I'm also going to open a digital store for Baxter items, so look for that.  I want Baxter on an ornament or t-shirt or something!  So does my awesome mom. If I can get the hang of drawing digitally, I want to create Baxter coloring books. I had so many big ideas way back when, and it's time to dust off.... uh, the dust.😄  I've contacted BOTH illustrators to get involved AND get some compensation from their work on my behalf.

In other news, I found a file that might contain some of my novel information from long ago, AND I found my old teaching website that contains tons of files and links that I used for to teach middle school Language Arts classes, including my creative writing elective classes. I'm going to see if I can get everything back up and accessible. I'm really excited. It's like a big New Year's present (and if you only knew what a disaster my NYE was, you'd agree that I needed this). 

Uhm.... that time when you forgot you had a blog.

So, it's been a while since I've posted because life really had twists and turns, and then I completely forgot I had a blog. Whoops!

But, cool things are happening.  I have 2 children's books that I still adore. A third was written and edited, but it never got published. The publisher I was with didn't pay my illustrators and then didn't find a suitable replacement.  Then, she closed up shop. So, who knows what I'll do on that front. EXCEPT, I have resurrected my CafePress shop and am in the process of creating Baxter print/ship-on-demand.  It's so very cool. When I told my mom, she said she needed a Baxter t-shirt.  As soon as I can get the shop set up completely, I'll post links. 

I have done so little creative writing since my master's degree and the children's books. However, there was an idea I was fleshing out during my coursework. I can't find those files, but I decided to piece together what I could and start a novel.  

Oh - and I quit teaching, went back into technical writing, and moved to Colorado. I'm currently sitting in my beautiful home with my dog, 2 cats, and fish while it is  -2 degrees outside with a windchill of -16. It's also snowing and will continue to do so for at least 12 hours. We'll see what we wake up to. 

Back to the novel. I joined a MeetUp group up here in Colorado that's part of the Shut Up and Write organization. We meet online, which is a hold-over from Covid, but it's great because I don't have to drive.  That ends up taking as much time as the writing part. I started the novel, attempted NaNoWriMo, and realized I'd been "pantsing it." I wrote myself into a very blank page, as it were.  I didn't know much about my characters, and I didn't know how I should go about plotting out the story. So, during one of my weekly online sessions, I started going back and doing the things I used to teach my students.  Now, my MeetUp friends want some of my worksheets and notes from the CW class I taught to middle schoolers. I hope I can find those files. 

I thought I saved all the things went I left teaching because I had so much good stuff, and I could/can put that out on Teachers Pay Teachers at some point. I'm still looking. 

I wrote a lot of articles for The Belly Dance Chronicles at one point, but I got out of that habit when life got crazy. There was a lot of crazy in life for a while. But words are my friends, and I'm still writing. 

TTFN as Tigger would say. 

Tales of illustrators

Now I'm an illustrator without formal art training. However, I've taught Photoshop and Illustrator in my distant past (plus dozens of other software programs across multiple platforms), so I'm ok with jumping into this new role.  I stumbled upon some Youtube videos by Aaron Blaise, a former Disney artist. He worked on Beauty and the Beast and (I think) Aladin. He's got some credibility!

Aaron's website is https://creatureartteacher.com, and you can subscribe to a host of different art lessons or
 buy his custom Photoshop brushes. He also has a YouTube account, The Art of Aaron Blaise, 
where I found some of his free video posts. They are really terrific, and I've done some binge 
watching. 

I've also subscribed to Adobe's Creative Cloud suite of products. There is a great price for 
students and teachers. Unfortunately, I've had a real glitch with their payment process, and 
they have been unable to understand and then unable to fix the error thus far. Since there is 
only the option to pay the monthly fees in order to use the product. I'm stuck. It's a very 
frustrating situation.  They've even got multiple subscription payments coming from my Paypal 
and my bank accounts, which I am unhappy about. They say they'll fix that error, but all 
payments ar stuck "in process." 



I'm stuck in process.


I bought a Wacom Intuos drawing pad, and I'm enjoying getting to "know" it better.  It came 
with some simple software, so I can get the feel of drawing on a tablet still while Adobe is 
struggling to provide me with the software. I took Aaron's advice and did a rough, rough sketch 
on paper of the pages for my books so that when I get on my computer, I'll have a plan in place.  
I've already discovered some problems with the initial sketches that need sorting through. It's 
almost like finding plot holes that you have to think through. 

I'm anticipating that once I really get deep in, I'll find my own process and the art will flow 
more naturally.  For now, I'm practicing drawing the characters, since they MUST look the 
same as the first book.  I can say this much - I'm a writer by nature and by heart. I can do the 
illustrations to finish this series, but it's not going to be a career change for me. 

Changes - as the wind blows...

The winds of change often blow you away (see what I did there), creating high strung emotions until you sort out the details.  As it happens, my second illustrator quit just weeks before the production date for publication... sounds oh so familiar.  But this time, I'm so ok with the situation.

I was concerned when the illustrator sent me the first drafts of what he thought Baxter should look like.  I said so many times that Baxter needs to look just like Baxter from the first book. He sent me a second version - closer, still no cigar.

The date for publication came closer and closer, and I hadn't seen all of the illustrations. When he sent them to me, I was disappointed. When I looked closer at each illustration along side the text it was supposed to illustrate, I was dumbfounded at how off the pictures were from the text.  In case I was falling into snotty author mode (I second guess myself all the time), I showed the pictures to my writing group and to my writing students. I also showed it to the language arts administrator in my school district, who has a very young child and is an expert in child literacy.  Consistently, the verdict was that these pictures were not consistent with the branding already created in book 1 or up to professional publication standards.

So next step - I WILL ILLUSTRATE the next two books! I'm very excited about it because I can do the work I need to do since we have an existing set of characters and a set artistic style.  In my past, I've done graphic manipulation work and taught Adobe software products. So now, I'm delighted that I will be able to create amazing books that are just what I want them to be.

On scripts and children's books...

I've discovered a critical disconnect that has caused resistance on my part. I can't seem to get myself back into my original full-length script.  The reason is that my  original concept, poem, and the MFA course requirements for movie trailers and posters do not match with the current version of the script. The original ideas were more sci-fi, but the reality is all action/spies/intrigue. The technology ideas I started with only become the catalyst for my conflict, but not the driving theme.  A-ha!

Back to the drawing board - and that's a good thing.



The short I wrote with Brandon is now headed for contests. The funding isn't available to get it produced with the director we talked with. That's ok becuase we both like the original script in original form rather than the cut version the director wanted.  It's all good--either way is good. I like that we continue to move forward with it rather than let it sit and get stale.

My illustrator is reworking his illustrations to really fine-tune the tone from the first book, so we are moving forward there as well.

One of the challenges writers face is the speed bump or the stop sign in a project's life. We have to be flexible and adjust - a lot. The challenges each of these writing projects have brought me have been good for me.  At least I can say that I've met them each with an open mind and willingness to do what it takes to get them to production.

Well HELLO springtime!!!

I've been busy with my language arts and creative writing classes.  The kids have had a great time with our units in creative writing: fan fiction, movie scripts, humor and comedy, NaNoWriMo, and more.  We are starting our last unit, children's books.

My writing buddy,Brandon, and I wrote a short in record time. We already have a director interested.  He had changes he wanted to see, and I took it as a personal challenge to give him something even more amazing than the first script. (We really think the first script still has incredible merit and potential; it's going on its own to other realms: contests.)  I like being in the seat of a script writer. I understand how directors and producers have visions and constraints, so it's real teamwork to bring my ideas in line with what they want and what they can do.

My second children's book is currently titled Rainbow Tracks.   My new illustrator is making revisions and final touches to the illustrations, and I hope it will be out the end of May or in June. Yay!

I have a wonderful love in my life.  His name is Locksley. I adopted him as a rescue in February.

My mom has decided that I should be writing books about Locksley now. I've got a few ideas brewing, so we'll have to see. Life with Locksley is a BLAST!!!

As my students soon embark on reading _Night_

I felt an urge to write a poem that transcends the decades from the Holocaust to our tumultuous world today.


Night

Imagine as you read
Black on black
Human ashes against the midnight sky
the darkness of the soul, as
evil eats away all shreds of humanity

Imagine a leader today
one who speaks of building walls,
documenting anyone of a religion,
blocking entrance of anyone from a nation;
evil must eat away at his soul

Imagine the fear out there
mongers of open-carry,
protesters against human rights
The myopic view to save one's self above all others
evil eating away our decency

Imagine a world we can save
the kindness to help others
the compassion to serve all
a world of intention and purpose, where
evil prevails no more.

More developments in my writing world

January 2016 has been quite interesting. All of the sudden, writing opportunities are pouring in.

1. I contacted a dear friend of the family this summer about getting his deceased wife's memoir reprinted by my publisher. Unfortunately, her original files were locked, and it took him until now to get that figured out.  He contacted me that the files were open and ready; we are going to talk about sending it to the publisher.  Plus, he has a lot of stories for a possible follow up book that we are going to discuss. He'd like me to write it.

2. Another friend, an actress, has wanted to write, act, and produce her own one-woman show. She's asked me to help her co-write it.

3. My writing group tends to come up with cool and creative ideas for co-writing projects. One of the writers and I have already started the first steps for a new short.  We also talked about me going out to California this summer, where we might look at producing it.

4. Both of my children's books are now with my illustrator.  I hope that book #2 will come out in the spring and #3 in the fall.  Yay for Baxter!


I started back on writing daily "morning papers," from The Artist's Way.  It has helped me skim and purge the junk I need to get out of my head in order to focus on current projects.

Books are moving and grooving!

November and December were great months for getting my second and third children's books moving forward. Linkville Press got a new illustrator, and he has book 2 in hand. I submitted book three to my editor in December.  I'm hoping for a May publish for book 2 and a September for book 3.