This Story is About a Real Person

I have some interesting news! 

I've taken on a project to write a story of a friend whose life has been less than stellar. In fact, she's been through about the most horrible and heinous things anybody could go through. But, she's in her 70's now and really wants her story told so she can help others who have experienced similar things . . . and to tell them to speak up about it. 

If your first reaction to this is "There's no way I want to read anything like that," I totally understand. But . . . if you've ever read my novel, Blemished Beauty, you know that I have written about extremely delicate things in a very non-intrusive, tactful, and let's-skip-the-awful-details way, while at the same time portraying the seriousness of the issue. Plus, this is a story about a real person. And a dear friend of mine.

AND since I know you are a fiction lover, this story will read like a novel, not like a typical biography. 

So what now?

I am going to post installments of this story starting next week on Substack. If you've never heard of Substack, don't worry. 

➡️ If you sign up to Brenda's Books Fan Club you will get the posts sent directly to you! 

        You can do so here: https://www.brendasbooks.net/fan-club.html

➡️ Or, if you're on Substack, you can just follow me there!

      

       https://substack.com/@brendasbooks

Take Care,💕

Brenda Hodnett

Editing Services - BRENDA HODNETT, AUTHOR

I believe every story deserves to be heard! Yours is no different.

Finding a quality editor for your book is difficult. I've been there. I hope I am the right fit for you! Sign up below and we can begin to correspond about your vision for your story!

My rates vary depending on what type of editing you are looking for. Proofreading (simply looking for typos and missing words) will cost you less than copyediting (looking for punctuation and all the formal writing "rules") and copyediting will cost you less than content editing. 

With content editing, I look at plot, characters, flow, organization of storyline, verb usage, tense, as well as everything I would do while copyediting. We can share a Google Doc so you can see everything I change or suggest. I'm all about communication!

Let me know about what you are writing and how I can help!


Editing Services - BRENDA HODNETT, AUTHOR

For Writers: What do you do with that pesky story that you don't have time to write?

What do you do with all those stories in your head that you don't have time to deal with?

Whether you consider yourself to be a writer or a wannabe writer you definitely have stories that are buzzing around in your head, right? Sometimes they come in the middle of the night, sometimes they come while driving, or standing in line at the grocery store, or even in the shower. We all know they don't come at convenient times when we can write them down immediately. But that's not important, I don't think. What IS important is that we DO write them down. YOUR story is valuable.

When I first starting thinking about writing I decided to take a (free) amateur writing class. One of the first things we discussed from Julia Cameron's book "The Right to Write" was that "each story wants to be written." Sounds kinda crazy when you say it like that, I know. But, if a story is in your head you might as well get it out, right? 

But who has time to write some random story in his head, even if it's a true story about his life?

I totally get this. Been there, done that. Still there, actually. But this is what I try to do to help with the problem. Since I "don’t have time" to write down the full-length novel in my head, rather than not doing anything I just write the idea down. Otherwise, a potentially great story will be gone forever.

Let me explain. On my desktop, I have a file folder titled, "Story Ideas." In this file folder, I have several one-page files with whatever part of a story I happened to think of that particular day. Sometimes it's a basic outline of a story, other times it's just a few scenes. Either way, I'll write a brief summary. Here's one that's in my folder right now tentatively titled, "Butterflies."

People with a butterfly on their body have at least one magical power.

Violet has the power of feeling what other people feel.

Darren has the power of making things around him invisible and/or look like something else.            

There is persecution against butterflies. They were kicked out of the community and now they "hide" among other communities by not allowing others to know of their powers.            

In the beginning, Violet is running through the dark woods (running away from persecutors). She is very sick with kidney problems and is about to die. Some ladies find her and bring her to a castle that is "hidden" by Darren. This castle is a safe haven for "butterflies." She is nursed to health there. He makes himself "look" handsome as the head of the household. But he falls in love with Violet and wants her to love him for who he is. So his normal self comes around to woo her. He doesn't know what Violet's power is.

Violet goes to visit her grown children who are "hiding" in the towns. Her son can double his strength (that's his power). Her daughter can sense if people are telling the truth. And maybe one of them has exceptional hearing.

 

Pretty interesting, right? I think so. An interesting idea, anyway. And when I read this file I remember the exact story that's in the back of my mind somewhere. And if I've thought of something new I can add it.

When I look back at these files I have one of two reactions. 

1. I'm super excited: Oh, yeah! I remember this! When should I write this one? 

2. Disgusted: What is this? This is a horrible idea.

Just today I looked at a file titled, "Kissing Saga in College." Um, yikes. I can't even write about this embarrassing idea, it's so ridiculous. It must have been one of those ideas I got in the middle of the night. Or worse, early morning.

Anyway, filing my ideas like this allows me to keep the idea safe and not have to carry it with me wherever I go. Then, we I come back to them I can decide if it's brilliant or not. And if it's not brilliant I can make it brilliant. 

So go ahead. Write down those terrible "kissing saga" ideas. 😊

From Wishful Writer to Published Author

After my YA novel, Blemished Beauty was published I entered the book into several competitions. With certain judges, I received written feedback. One particular judge completely TORE ME APART. I really wonder if he forgot I was a human being. Of all his comments he did not have a SINGLE positive thing to say. This crushed me. It crushed me big time. It's like someone examining your child and telling him he is ugly, stupid, has no potential, and will never learn. And he excuses himself for being insulting since he is an "expert."

What to my surprise, three months later, a received a package at my home. Inside was the "Silver Quill Award" from the League of Utah Writers for the SAME NOVEL that this judge hated with all his soul.

The "Silver Quill Award" essentially means 2^nd place. I was thrilled beyond belief! Now I had a confirmation of what I knew all along: not everyone will like my books, but many will love them. There's kind of a hidden life-lesson there: It's impossible to please everyone, but every individual will touch someone. 

After receiving this award I was asked to write an article for the "Quill Newsletter," the newsletter for the League of Utah Writers. (No, I don't live in Utah.) In this article, I answer questions of I how got into writing, how Blemished Beauty changed from its original title, Acne Girl, my experience of publishing my first novel, and what I learned about the writing process, publishing process, and myself. You can read the article below. 

From Wishful Writer to Published Author

I was shocked when I opened Ann Gordon's email telling me I had won the Silver Quill Award. For the next hour I did nothing but jump up and down. Finally, after years of wondering if anyone would see the same value that I saw in my novel, I received some validation. 

JUST WRITE 

Nine years ago I took an "amateur writing" class. It was based on the book, The Right to Write by Julia Cameron. The best thing I learned from this class was that I could "just write" (the same two significant words of the wonderful League of Utah Writers chapter I belong to). The concept of "just write" allowed myself the freedom to write something "not good"—at least when it first comes out. It's called a rough draft for a reason! No need to fret if I didn't have enough details or if the plot wasn't coming out clearly. All I had to do was get it out and get it on paper. I could go back and clean it up later. This concept gave me the courage to start writing all those stories floating in my head. How liberating! Nine years later, I still find it relaxing to write this way and the "emotion" that I feel often comes out better when I do this as well. 

Since I am a stay-at-home mom it is hard to find (undistracted, focused) time to sit down and write. I rarely attempt it when my kids are home. I wrote most of Blemished Beauty in two different NaNoWrimo sessions, one for Camp NanoWriomo (where you can set your own word-count goal) and one in November. I didn't make a solid scene-by-scene outline before I started. In hindsight this might have been helpful since I had to do so much revamping and moving scenes around. However, I did have a rough outline of the overall story.

The Beginning to the End in a Nut Shell 

From the time I started writing Blemished Beauty to the time I turned it over to an editor was a little over a year, but I would guess out of that time I only spent 4-5 months actually writing it and 2 -3 months actually editing it. I pitched it to a local editor who worked for a publisher based in Fort Collins. I wanted to try traditional publishing because my previous self-published book on Amazon was a huge flop as far as sales go. The editor took 3 or so months to read over it before she pitched it to her publisher. Within the week I was signing a contract with Crystal Publishing, LLC! 

Now, traditional publishers provide an editor and a graphic design artist. Hooray! This process took roughly one and a half years. Honestly, I don't know if this is normal or not. Originally, I thought once I found a publisher most of my "author problems" were over, but they really had just begun! The long process of communicating, keeping the drafts straight as they got passed around, changed around, and back to me over and over was very frustrating and confusing. Having said that, how wonderful it was to have editors invest in my story and make insightful suggestions. Sometimes I would disagree, but more often than not, I would see their wisdom and make appropriate changes.

What's in a Name? Or a title? 

During this year and a half I went through more than half a dozen title changes for my novel! My original title of the book was Acne Girl, since the main character's insecurity was her acne. I never imagined I would really keep this title, but it's how I referred to the story for a long time. My editor (and my husband) loved it, my publisher did not. When I discovered that 9 out of 10 people shrunk back in disgust or disfavor to Acne Girl, I decided the title had to go. Also, by the end of the editing process the condition of acne was entirely changed to a medical condition called rosacea. Moreover, the story is really about the girl inside, not the girl outside. 

With all of these changes it took over two months for all of us involved to agree on a title. We went from Acne Girl to Tomboy to Checkmate to Stranded to several others. Finally, we settled on Blemished Beauty, despite my slight aversion to it sounding a little fluffy. 

Once the title was set it was much easier to come up with a good idea for a cover design. Fortunately, the small crew at Crystal Publishing did most of the thinking on this one. I just had to approve it—which I didn’t when I saw a girl on the front in a rather revealing dress. This was not an accurate depiction of my shy, self-conscious character. But, with some magical alterations of our amazing graphic artist, the dress turned into a lovely evening gown with the girl looking into shattered glass. I love the cover now.

What I learned about the writing process 

There are four important things I learned about my writing process. 

1. Consistency 

This is my life's goal for just about everything. Writing is no different. If I had set a consistent time to write every day, perhaps I would have completed another novel in the same year. Who knows? NaNoWrimo is perfect for forcing this consistency plan into my life. I recommend it to any writer. 

2. Use my resources and try new ways of crafting a story 

I love the "just write" way of crafting a story. I love discovering what the character will do as I am writing the scene. Now, I am going to try to implement the "outline" way as well. Mark Saltzman, a 7-time Emmy award winner and a friend of mine, suggested outlining my story according to plot lines. For example, if there are three plots, outline it in such a way where there are never two scenes together with the same plot line. I've noticed that a lot of writers and myself do this naturally (must be a writer's intuition). However, I am going to make it a more conscious decision now and see how it serves me. 

3. Know when to take and not take advice 

Being a part of writing groups is huge. My good and bad writing becomes much clearer when I share it with other writers. I've learned to consider all writing advice before tossing it aside. Also, I've learned to give myself permission to discard any "feedback" that is strictly insulting. 

4. Return favors 

Most importantly, I've learned to show gratitude for those who take time to read my writing and to return the favor in some way. When we all help each other, we are all better off!

What I learned about the publishing process 

The most important lesson I learned about the publishing process is this: whether I am self-published or not, I will be (almost) solely responsible for promotion. This might be different with large publishing companies, but even they won't blog, set up an email list, a newsletter and do social media. 

This means I can't wait for people to "get around" to finding my book. I need to consistently advocate for it. I can do this by making lasting and meaningful connections with readers and influencers alike.

What I learned about myself 

1. Creating stories is a part of me and I need it in my life.

2. Some people don't care about what I write, but I can find those who do. 

3. Just because someone doesn't like what I write doesn't mean it isn't good. 

4. Whether my writing is good or bad, I can always get better. 

5. Regardless of hard feedback, or how long it takes to see progress, I don't need to give up!

Silver Quill Award

I am so honored to have received this award. It reminds me of what I have known all along: My work is valuable, just as yours is.

Listen the First Time

I lay on my bed completely incapacitated. I couldn't do anything until I made this decision. A decision I had made before but, for some reason, I felt like I needed to reconsider the opposite choice. 

You see, a couple of months ago I decided that once I was finished with my music teaching jobs at the local college I would start writing and editing again. But when I found out there was a full-time music teaching job reopening at the elementary school across the street from me, I stopped to reconsider: Should I apply for that job? After all, music education is what I received my bachelor's degree in. And I LOVE music and I LOVE children. 

But...a full-time job would not really mix well with my family situation right now. Moreover, when would I attack all these new writing plans I just made for myself?

I stewed and mulled over this for a long time. Then I said a prayer and stewed some more. Then I got the thought to read my journal. 

And what do you know? I found FIVE journal entries where I had pondered and prayed about whether or not to continue with my writing and I came to the same conclusion each time.

One entry, in particular, was when I had been pondering the EXACT SAME THING: should I apply for the music teaching job across the street? I wrote about a very stressful night and a day before coming to the conclusion that writing and editing were to be my current path.

I found two more entries this year stating that after much contemplating I felt I should pursue a writing career. I felt calm and peaceful about it. And then I spotted two more entries from over a year ago stating the same thing.

So whenever I think about getting a full-time music job I get stressed, when I think about pursuing writing I feel peaceful.

Now the real question is, why am I still asking the same question when I have received the same answer so many times???

I think the reason for that is this: I feel a bit sad about not taking the music job because I love music and children so much and I'm also qualified for it. I feel nostalgic and a little sorry to see this opportunity pass by. I pray and hope that I will find a way to still keep music in my life because it IS very important to me. 

However, I would also feel sad if I had to take another hiatus from my writing. I've been taking too many. I am looking forward to starting again!

Here's to new beginnings!

Planning for the New Year? Don't you need a planner?

Whenever I buy a planner I always wish it had more features. I don't want just month-views or week-views, I want both! I don't want 2 lines for notes, I want lots of lines! And I want to be able to separate my to-do lists into categories, i.e. kids, home, writing, blogging, scouts, music, etc. This way I can keep everything straight! Also, I love quotes and pictures to brighten my day. So I created THE ULTIMATE planner just the way I want it. I know it will work well for you too!

I will send you this beautiful digital masterpiece. 😊 All you have to do is subscribe to my list of fans on my website. http://www.brendahodnett.com/ or on the sidebar to your left. 
It's easy-peasy!

Happy New Year!

😁😁😁

The Silver Quill!

The Silver Quill! 

Last Spring I entered a writing contest into the young adult category of published books in 2016 to the League of Utah Writers. I sent them three copies and didn't think much would come of it. But what to my surprise, I just received this in the mail! The Silver Quill award! (This basically means second place.) I am so honored! 💓💓
















💓

Choose Your Own Ending Right Here

Have you ever read a book in which you got to "choose your own ending"? For instance, something like this: if you want Robby to return the stolen watch turn to page 32. If you want him to give it to Silas turn to page 23. Aren't those books fun?


Well, I have some options for YOU to choose your own ending with a couple of my own flash fiction stories! (In other words, very short stories.)

To make it even more fun, let's use my Story Cubes. My kids and I did this together once. It was a blast! Watch this video and you will get the gist. Don't forget to laugh as much as we do.

All right. It's your turn. Let's start with the hand. And then you can choose your own ending! Keep in mind Story Cubes are meant to be completely impromptu, so with each of these scenarios I just wrote the first thing that came to my head. =)

"What's up!" I cried to my best friend, Bree. We each lifted our palms for a deafening high five.

"Where are we going today?" she asked.

Choose where Bree and I will go today.

Stars

Home 

Ocean

______________________________________________________________________________

Home

"Let's go to my house," I replied.

"Okay."

We passed Mrs. Greer's house who was watering flowers on her porch, then Billy's house whose kid brother rode his big wheel up and down the driveway and then we reached my house. I kicked the screen door open with my foot. 

"Mom! I'm home!" I hollered.

No answer.

"She's not home?" Bree asked.

"I guess not."

The two of us exchanged grins. "Basement time!" we cried in unison.

We clamored down the wooden stairs and into the basement where my parents never let us play.

"It's dark down here," Bree said. "Where's the light?"

I flipped the switch next to the door. Nothing happened. I did it again. Nothing. Then, we heard a big bang somewhere next to us. I squealed and Bree let out a full-on yelp.

"What was that?" Bree asked.

"I don't know. Who's there?" I called.

No answer, just a screeching noise across the floor.

"What is that?" Bree asked, her voice shaking.

"The…the c-c-cat?" I stuttered.

Abruptly, I felt a strong hand grab my arm. I shrieked at the same time Bree yelled in my ear.

Then a light turned on.  I blinked and saw my mom holding a flashlight to her face.

"Do you still want to play in the basement?" she asked.

A Mother and a Writer During Spring Break

I've never wanted to be a parent who says, "Stop bothering me, I'm working." Or, "I'm too busy right now." So I have made it my personal motto that I will always be a mother first and a writer second. 

This means when my kids are home I rarely attempt to write or do anything "work related." In fact, sometimes I wonder if my kids think I have magic powers to write books since they hardly ever see me do it. 

Whenever I have tried to write while they are around the scenario usually goes something like this:

I am writing:
I ran around the corner to hide.

"Hey, Mom! Look at this!"

"What? Oh, wow, that's amazing, honey."

I slid behind the door into...

"Hey, Mom, guess what?"

into...

"Mom!"

"Yes?"

"Look how many times I can jump rope! One, two, three, four..."

"Oh, wow. I bet you could make it to five hundred."

"Yeah! Nine, ten, eleven. Oh, man, I messed up."

into the...

"No, look Mom! I can do it!"

"I know you can, honey."

into the closet. Then...

(Different child) "Mom, are you almost done?"

Sigh. "Well, I have about 175 pages to go."

"What?!" 

"But, I have managed to write two sentences in the past fifteen minutes."

"So, you're almost done?"

"No, buddy. I'm not even close."

"Can we go to the park?"

"Sure, just after I finish this thought."

"How long will that take?"

"That depends on..."

(1st child) "Mom, guess how many times I caught the ball at recess yesterday?"

"How many?"

"No, you have to guess!"

"Five."

"No, three."

"Good job."

(2nd child) "Can we go to the park now?"

"Sure. But first, you guys go hulahoop while I finish my thought."

"Okay!"

Then I...

"Mom, look at this!"

Sigh. Click off the computer. "That's amazing, honey. All right, kids. Let's go to the park."


Yep, that's generally how it goes, which is why I don't usually try to write when the kids are home. And honestly, I'm fine with that. I'd rather be involved with my children. It works pretty well for me. I write when my kids are at school and when they are home I am just Mom (in other words, a taxi driver, tutor, piano teacher, cook, mediator, cheerleader, bedtime-enforcer, etc).

However, last week when the kids were on Spring Break, I found myself in a predicament. You see, I had already agreed to participate in a session with my online writing group without remembering my kids were out of school for a whole week. I found myself with 8 segments to review of fellow writers, with one week to complete them, and no good time to do it. One review often takes me a little less than an hour. Usually, this is not a big deal as I can do one or two reviews a day. But the thought of finding eight hours to work while the kids were home seemed impossible. 

I decided I would do one review before they got up and one review after they went to bed. If I did that every day, I would get them all done within the week deadline. 

Well, that worked for the first day. The second day, the kids were up before me and were already watching Wild Kratts on Netflix on the computer. So, I let them watch it on "small screen" while I worked on the other half of the screen. (There is no TV in our house so our computer is used for everything.) This worked pretty well as I'm an expert at tuning out TV shows (minus the occasional, "Mom, watch this! It's hilarious!"). I think I did this the third day too. 

On Thursday, they woke up before me again (obviously, mornings are not my strength), but I felt guilty having them watch TV again so I tried the I'll-just-work-while-they-play idea. Well, I bet you can guess how that worked out from the above scenario. Except for this time it was worse because the kids were arguing and I got mad too. And then I felt guilty over everything—getting upset at the kids, working while the kids were home, and mad that I thought it would ever work in the first place. 

So no, things don't always go as planned. And no, I'm not perfect. But I do my best. The good news is I managed to get up early the next day and get my last two reviews done. 

You might say to me, "just tell your kids you're working from this time to this time and they can't bother you." I know that works for some people, (and I realize that some people have to do that) but not for me. I'm not wired that way. When my kids are home I want to be with them. My books will eventually get written. My kids only grow up once. 

A Day to Celebrate 15 Things

Today is a day to celebrate!
 
Did you know today (March 21) is a day to celebrate all of these things?
 
 
Today is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination!
Today is International Day of Forests!
Today is Memory Day!
Today is National California Strawberry Day!
Today is National Common Courtesy Day!
Today is National Day of Action on Syringe Exchange!
Today is National Flower Day!
Today is National Fragrance Day!
Today is National French Bread Day!
Today is National Single Parents' Day!
Today is National Teenager Day!
Today is World Down Syndrome Day!
Today is World Poetry Day!
Today is World Puppetry Day!
Today is World Social Work Day!
 
 
I'm still wondering about the Action on Syringe Exchange. Who knew that was a thing?
 
Today I would like to celebrate Memory Day! I love writing in my journal, taking pictures and keeping memories.
I have a Handy Diary App on my phone. When I look at the month at a glance, it shows the emoji I put in for that day, i.e. smiley face, angry face, teary face, green (sick) face. It's fun to look back and see how my overall month went.
Here are some random things I came across as I scrolled back in time.

HUGE SMILEY face:

• I had an amazing Mother's Day! I usually hate Mother's Day.
• My kids did an amazing job at their piano recital! Flawless!
• MY BOOK SIGNING IS TODAY!
• I'm going to be the soprano soloist in the Messiah!

SAD Face:

• Today totally sucks.
• I want to stop worrying.

REGULAR SMILEY face:

• I love carnivals and rides and roller coasters and slides and crowds and loud fun!
• Bought elbow pads and knee pads today for the kids to rollerblade with. Now they are rollerblading with them all around the house!

ANGRY Face:

• WHY???

• LAME!!!

 
SICK Face:

• Awake for three whole hours last night, but the kids keep bringing glasses of water now, which is really cute.

 
IN LOVE Face:

• I'm so proud of my girl. She just got her blue belt in Taekwondo. She is so talented, so capable and remarkable.
• My kids paid for half the price of their snakes. They've worked so hard. My boy earned $45. My girl $70.
• I love my God. I am so grateful for Him.

 
The coolest thing about looking back on my life is that I can see my progress, my children's progress, my family's progress. To see I got through those times I didn't think I could get through. To remind myself that life is good. Sure, it's hard too. But there is a lot to be grateful for and a lot worth living for.