Website update...

I'm currently working with the web designer for my new site! I'm not positive when the migration of this blog will happen over to Wordpress, but it will likely be soon.

xoxo Sarah

Quick update...

Hey, everyone!

Just a quick update-I'm still working with my web designer, and I'll still be migrating my blog over to Wordpress.

She's also working on a new logo for me--I love what she's come up with so far!

We recently moved into a new house and have been super busy unpacking, so I haven't been around online much.

I'll keep you posted when I know more!

xoxo Sarah

Important news! Blog migration soon (please read!)

Hey, everyone! I just wanted to share some news--I'm having my website re-designed, and my blog will be migrating to another platform. Currently it's on Blogger, but I'm having it ported over to a Wordpress one. I've found that Wordpress is much easier for designers to work with.

When is this happening? Probably some time in May or June. I'm participating in the April A-Z Challenge again this year, and it won't be until after the challenge is over that the blog will be migrated.

What does that mean for you? I'll post about this at least once more (probably twice) before my blog is migrated, including a big FINAL POST post. I'll also include the link to my "new" one so you can follow it there.

I'm really excited about having the website and blog makeover, and I'm hoping you'll love it, too!

xoxo Sarah

Back at it!

Just a quick check-in...

So, now that things have calmed down a bit here (still checking stuff for damages, but we're doing really well on that!), I'm going to get back to writing.

The problem was that for a few days, I was convinced I'd misplaced everything I had for Fate's Awakening. 

Whoops.

But never fear! I excavated it from a plastic bin (it was hiding among other look-alike folders, the bastard) and I'm gonna be all over it like a fat kid on cake.

I'm also working on what to do for the April A-Z Blogging challenge this year. 

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

xoxo Sarah

Writing Goals and When to Beat Yourself Up (or not)

I have a confession to make--I recently failed at a goal I'd set for myself. A writing goal, to be precise.

It was sometime in October or November that I set it, and I don't think it was an entirely unreasonable goal: To outline and add in scenes to Fate's Awakening from another character's perspective.

But things got in the way--mental exhaustion from the busy year we've had, holiday prep, less-than-ideal (for me) writing conditions. All legitimate reasons to fail. And some not-so-legit ones, too--Netflix, finishing Buffy and devouring Jessica Jones.

No matter how you slice it--fail fail fail fail fail.

In case I wasn't clear...

The carrot at the end of this was to enter a writing contest I was interested in. The deadline was sometime in mid-December.

But first, let me be clear--the contest involved an excerpt from my story that wasn't going to change, so it's not like I needed to meet my goal before entering. I consider my story finished, but going through rewrites due to feedback I've received. It'll add to the word count, sure, but it's more to add depth and polish the story.

So, the day of the contest deadline, I sat and stared at my computer. I really wanted to enter, but I felt I needed to punish myself. How else would I know I meant business? I needed to be held accountable for my failure. Missing out on this opportunity--good exposure, sure, and if I did well in the contest, yay, but the feedback would be good either way--would teach me a lesson.

Didn't make your writing goals? That's a paddlin'.

I debated, alternately beating myself up over it and convincing myself that it was a good idea to do it anyway, until (literally) the eleventh hour.

Eventually I tracked down the husband and I explained my problem and why I was being so melodramatic. This is more or less how the end of the conversation went:

Me: "But should I enter the contest? I really want to, but I didn't meet my writing goals like I promised myself."

Hubs: "Was the goal unreasonable?"

Me: "No, not really."

Hubs: "You got some done though, right?"

Me: "Yeah, I finished the timeline of events and have a few pages of character study so I can get a better idea of who he is."

Hubs: "Okay, that's good. But you didn't finish the scenes?"

Me: "No. That's why I'm conflicted--I was hoping to be done with it all. But I don't need them for the contest. That scene is done and dusted minus editing."

Hubs: "The way I see it, you should enter it and stop beating yourself up. Just because you don't have a completely polished product doesn't mean you shouldn't try. Tech companies like DARPA go to trade shows all the time with incomplete tech and show off what they have--like that freaky robot dog you hate--even if it's not perfect."

He had a point. The story was done but not perfect; I was just beating myself up. And I'd done some important work with the character study and all, things that were necessary for writing the scenes I'd promised myself.

So I did it. I entered the contest. I still feel bad about not making my goals and getting what I wanted anyway. I almost--almost--wish I could say I stuck to my guns and didn't enter, but I'd be lying. Though I've always been very hard on myself when it came to things like this.

As for my story and goals, they will get there. I don't normally set out to do something that can't be achieved, but maybe in the future I need to make more bite-sized goals as part of a bigger one. This has been a learning experience, that's for sure.

Also, that DARPA dog still freaks me out. Good luck sleeping tonight after watching that video.

*shudders*

How do you set your goals? Any good tips you can share? I'd love to hear what your thoughts and strategies are!

xoxo Sarah

Good luck, #NaNoWriMo writers! #amwriting

I just wanted to wish all the brave writers tackling National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) the best of luck!

I did NaNo in 2013, and I'm still not convinced I'd want to do it again. My feelings were mixed on it even halfway through the whole thing. I'm super proud that I did it and hit the 50K word goal, but I don't think it fits my writing style at this point. Not to say I won't do it again, but I'm sitting it out this year.

May your muse be with you and may the words flow from your bleeding, cramped fingers like a leaf down a mountain stream.

Wow, that was poetic.

But seriously, good luck!

And, if you're participating in NaNo this year, leave your username in the comments so other writers can link up and you can cheer each other on!

xoxo Sarah

Land of Enchantment!

Happy weekend, everyone!

Sorry for the radio silence over the past couple of weeks--oh, who are we kidding? You guys are sadly used to me not posting things for long periods of time--but the reason for my not-posting this time is quite different.

We've moved clear across the country to New Mexico where my amazing hubs will be starting a new job soon! We're settled for now until we find a house we like.

New Mexico's state flag

Also, in other good news, I ordered a new computer! It should be here in the next few weeks (I hope). I can't wait, especially since the one I'm currently typing on sounds like a chainsaw and gave me a dire warning this morning when I turned it on. I think it knows its days are numbered...

I'm looking forward to getting back to work (both writing and editing) and also hunting down a romance writer's group here. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the lack of humidity and fabulous hair that goes with it. I know that sounds vain, but seriously--it's amazing.

Anyway, there should be posts coming up! Stay tuned.

xoxo Sarah

Inspiring envy...

I just realized that the title of this post might be a bit misleading.  The Oxford English Dictionary says that envy is "a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck".  This is completely not directed at anyone in particular; this post is all about my weird little musings, because I have a feeling I'm not the only one who's going through something like this.

And in case you're confused, I don't mean that this is a tutorial on how to create envy or make people envious. Quite the contrary. I mean that envy can be inspiring if thought about a little differently.

Specifically, with these great gals!

In 2011, I had my first opportunity to go to a writer's convention. It was RWA Nationals, and it was in NYC, where it'll be again in 2015. For the first time, I'd had the chance to be with high numbers of other people with little voices in their heads telling them things that they just had to write down. The camaraderie of being with other writers--some who I'd met online and never thought I'd meet in person, and others I was just lucky enough to meet, period--was wonderful. They were supportive, and interested, and curious, and, for the first time in a long time, I felt like I belonged somewhere.

Anyone want to get me one that grows $100s?

I should also say that has been my only real opportunity to go to one due to the ridiculous cost of flying halfway around the world.

So, for the past three-plus years, I've had to watch vicariously through social media as my writer friends have enjoyed going to the RWA conferences or the RT Booklovers Convention, or various others, having a ball and posting pics, and getting to talk about the people who live in their heads to their hearts' content.

I want to make it clear that I'm not envious of anyone in particular; it's this general sad feeling of being left out. And while even when we live back in the states I'm sure I won't be able to hit all of these up, it'll be nice to have the chance to.

But just in case you didn't think I was being enough of a Debbie Downer or was done throwing myself a little pity party, there's more to this green-eyed monster.  Part of the conferences is getting to talk about the books everyone has published, and I'm not quiiiite there yet as an author.  Am I proud of my fellow writers?  You bet your ass I am!  Do I love talking about their books?  Abso-frickin-lutely!  And I'm going to be genuinely happy and promote them and help as much as I can, because there's that camaraderie I mentioned above--it's tough enough to write a book and promote it on your own--even with the help of a publisher if you've gone that route--so it takes a village. Apparently a village of people who hear voices in their heads, but that's not the point. This has nothing to do with other writers specifically--this weirdness is all me.

But all is not lost...here's where the inspiring bit comes in.  The next time I go to a conference, I want it to be as a published author. For instance, I don't want to go to RWA 2015 (if I do actually go...hopefully!), four years after my initial one, still at the same stage I was in 2011. Will it be okay if I'm not published by then, or if I'm in the process of querying/negotiating, or self-pubbing something? Yes, but to be honest, I'll be disappointed in myself if I don't have something of my own to show for it.  Something I can point people to on Amazon or wherever to say, "I wrote this." I'm using my experience-envy to inspire myself to kick my own butt and achieve my dream. Because, though some people write solely for themselves, my dream is to make stories for others to enjoy as well.

There's a psychological component to goal-sharing--that if you make it public, it'll serve as motivation. I did that successfully last year with NaNoWriMo (I shared my daily word output and total word count on my FB page), and I'm hoping this will be as effective.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings, and please, if you have a moment, leave me some words of encouragement below in the comments, because I think I might need them.

xoxo Sarah

The Sparkly Blue Retainer...A Parable

I'm probably misusing the term "parable" but I kind of don't care.

Anyway...

When I was a kid, I had braces.  My teeth were a hot mess, so on they went when I was about ten or so.  I had a love/hate relationship with them, and a year and a half later, I got them off.

With my new freedom came...the retainer.  So I guess "freedom" isn't the word for it.  I mean, I could eat peanuts and chew gum again to my little heart's content, and instead of this:

Let's be fair...no one looks this good with metalmouth.

I looked like this:

Her, either.

But to hell with it, at least they weren't braces!  

I was told I had to wear the stupid thing all the time at first, 24/7, so I figured I'd like to at least like my new torture device. So when they came in to take the mold for it and they asked if I wanted glitter, of course I said yes!  What twelve-year-old girl wouldn't?  But I did come away disappointed--they didn't offer any colors.  See, I really wanted a blue one.  Even better would have been a sparkly blue one.  Blue, with blue glitter.  A friend of mine--just one friend, this was the mid-1990s when braces were becoming more mainstream--had a blue one, and I was...er...blue?...with jealousy, especially since I had to settle.  

Truthfully, as much as I wanted one, I probably wouldn't have gotten the blue one...I'd been picked on enough in school, and decided that since people would be seeing it (I had to take it out to eat), I should stick to something fairly neutral.  No sense in giving the bullies more theoretical ammo.  Pre-teen kids are assholes, by the way, and that was way more than enough to persuade me to suck it up and settle for something I was only "meh" about, not that I had much of a choice given what was available.

So I got my mouth-pink glittery retainer.  I wore that damn thing religiously, even though I hated it and it made me feel like I was going to puke all the time.  I never even lost it; never even accidentally--or maybe that should be "accidentally"?--threw it out on my lunch tray at school.  Then I was finally given the green light to just wear it at night, and I looked forward to the day when I could wean myself off it for good and be "normal."

That day never came.  

I tried, but my teeth and jaw would ache like a sonovabitch if I didn't wear it for more than one night, and it was actually a relief to put it back in.  I also observed my peers not wearing theirs, and their teeth would migrate like retarded homing pigeons back to where they'd been before they had braces--and in some cases, they were actually worse-off.  And there was no WAY I was going to let that happen.  I'd suffered for beauty (and happy teeth, but mostly beauty), goddammit, and I wasn't going to have wonky teeth just because. 

Fast-forward years later (to 2011, actually), and I was still wearing the same pinky glittery thing.  I'd taken great care of it; it was clean and crack-free, but loose after something like sixteen years.  I'd always been complimented on my "bite" by my dentists and my teeth were good, but a visit to a recommended orthodontist confirmed it was time for a new one.

Molds were taken, and then the moment came--the one I'd been waiting for.

The color selection.  

And you know what?  I picked out a blue, sparkly retainer.  I was a grown women, dammit, and I wasn't going to let anything stand in the way of what I wanted.  I was going do and get what made me happy.  

So now I have one of these:

Not a picture of my actual retainer.  I wanted to respect its privacy.

So the moral of this whole convoluted story is that you should do what makes you happy, no matter what anyone thinks (unless it's hurting yourself or someone else).  

And I think we need to remember that more often.  

xoxo Sarah

Father's Day

Since I thoroughly embarrassed my mother for Mother's Day, I figured what the heck and decided to do the same for my dad.

Where should I start?

I should begin by saying that I'm an only child, but my dad--a manly half-Italian guy with a 70's pornstache--never seemed to mind being outnumbered by women.  Nothing was deemed too manly or girly; he'd play games with me, and he taught me to drive a stick-shift.  I have some mad Cribbage skillz (yes, skills with a "z" because I'm badass like that) because of him.

This is James Franco. My dad doesn't look like James Franco, but the mustache is similar.
My dad's 'stache is more spectacular, however.

We share the same nose (all the better to smell you with, my dear), and even a weird little gap between two side teeth that appears to be genetic--in pictures of his mother, I've seen that she had it, too.  I'll even go so far to blame him for the fact that, on occasion, I seem to sport more facial hair than my husband.  Dad and I also share a similar sense of humor, a love of terrible puns, a baffling enjoyment of car shopping, and Indiana Jones.

That actually reminds me of a little story.  When I was a kid, sick and home from school, my dad would often come home for lunch to see how I was doing.  Sometimes he'd bring me a flower to cheer me up, but he always came by with a smile and made my day brighter.  One one such occasion, probably when I was around ten--I can't remember--he put on a video for me.  It was an off-TV recording of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and we sat there watching it until he had to leave.  I was hooked, and it's been one of my favorite movies ever since.

My dad's also been one of my biggest inspirations.  When he was younger, he worked hard to put himself through school, coming away with a degree in accounting.  Why anyone would love numbers that much, I have no idea, but that's neither here nor there.  After a fashion, he realized that wasn't for him--he hated the idea of being cooped up in an office, and since then, worked in outdoorsy positions.  To make a decision like that--to take the leap and not spend a lifetime stuck doing something you don't like--takes a lot of guts, and he's always encouraged me to do something that made me happy.  Even though he's not a big reader--he loves stories, but prefers a visual medium--he's been one of my biggest cheerleaders and has promised to read everything I write.  

I'll close with another picture of a spectacular mustache, just because.

Tom Selleck, and Tom Selleck's mustache, which must get paid more than he does by this point.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!  

xoxo Sarah

Mother's Day

So, the publisher I edit for, Omnific, is doing a blog bounce for Mother's Day where we share things about mothers...favorite literary or movie mothers, childhood memories, and other stuff.

I figured I'd take the opportunity to talk a little about my own mother (or "Mum" as they say over here across the pond).

And I'll probably make her cry, which, quite honestly, isn't so hard to do.

Mom, you're reading this now and laughing and crying a little.

Don't lie.  I know it.

Anyway...

My mother always encouraged me to read...from when I little, I remember her reading books to me before bed.  She'd prop them up so I could see the words and follow along, whether they were simple narratives like Dr. Seuss or chapter books, and that's one of the ways I learned to read.

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I was the only kid in my first grade class who could functionally read anything and understand it beyond the basics; something around a fourth grade level, I believe.  I credit Mom with making me a pain in the ass to the teachers, who had no idea what to do with me while they were teaching all the other kids how to sound out words.  They ended up farming me out to another teacher who could work with me.

They were trying to avoid this scenario. 

Have I mentioned that my mother's a librarian?  No?  Well, I should.  She's taught in schools--both high school and elementary--for most of my life, and worked in our town's public library as well.  When I was in college and on break, she'd come home with new books they'd gotten in, and that she was going to read for storytime.  Well, you need to practice that stuff...get the inflections and pauses down so the kids with their two second attention spans don't lose interest.  So who did she practice reading the books to? Me, that's who.

It looked like this, only with just a twenty-something in sweat pants on the floor.

Now, she comes to me for book recommendations.  I haven't told her my review on Everybody Poops, though.

Mom's always been one of my biggest supporters, whether it's of my editing position or of my writing, and has promised to read whatever I do write, even when she'd rather pretend that I know a lot less about this stuff than I should. 

How I imagine the first reading of my novel will be from my mother's perspective. My excuse will be that she asked for it.

 So happy Mother's Day, Mom!  The next book's on me.

xoxo Sarah

Time to Fangirl!

I've been a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's work for years, ever since my grandfather read The Hobbit (and then the rest of the LotR series) to me when I was something like nine or ten.  Something about the intricate story, engrossing worlds, and rounded characters really spoke to me, and ever since then, I've been hooked.

However, I can't claim to have read all his books, though I hope to find the time and motivation to do so at some point.  But I've heard mixed things about the ones that aren't the ones mentioned above, so we'll see.

Anyway, this past summer, I had a chance to visit Oxford, England.  For those who don't know, Tolkien taught at Oxford, and it was there that he and his BFF, another author you may have heard of named C.S. Lewis, met and discussed their writings.  They were part of a literary group called The Inklings, and they met at a pub--because where else would you hold a literary group's meetings.  Alcohol can be a necessity at times.

The pub was called The Eagle and Child, but affectionately referred to as The Bird and the Baby.  And this is me in front of said pub, attempting not to squeal like a fangirl.  

My husband was happy to indulge my inner fangirl.  After all, I might absorb some of the creativity and awesomeness of the writers who had met there in the past through some kind of osmosis.  So we went in and had some drinks and dinner to soak in as much as possible.

They should seriously just use this movie poster as a recruiting scheme for Oxford.

Have any of you visited a place where a favorite author (or heck, anyone you admire!) worked or lived?

xoxo Sarah

Tap tap tap...is this thing on?

Holy long-time-no-post, Batman!  I'm beginning to see a trend here, and that would be that I'm the worst blogger in the universe.  It's not you; it's definitely me.

Hang on while I give myself a high-five for actually remembering my own blog's address. 

That said, I hope there are still some of you out there interested in my writing progress, or my inane ramblings.  Or both.  Both is okay, too.

So, what have I been doing for the past eight or so months (holy crap, has it really been that long???) since I was on here?  Um.  Stuff.  Yeah.

No, seriously.  I don't mean to be vague, but it's the truth.  I was doing a lot of stuff.  I edit for an awesome press called Omnific and I haven't quite mastered the balance of doing a kick-ass job cleaning up someone else's manuscript and working on my own at the same time.  Up until now, it's been kind like a see-saw...either my writing or my editing.  My theoretical job for 2013 is to figure my shit out as far as that goes, because although I absolutely love my editing job, I'll never be published in my own right at this rate.  I need a happy medium, and I think that might come in the form of better time management.  Or magic.

I've also been traveling.  We (and my "we" I mean both my husband and I, and my friends and I) were lucky enough to get to see some of the Olympics live.  Between that, and some smaller day and weekend trips, we've kept pretty busy.  One of my favorites was a trip we made to Oxford, where J.R.R. Tolkien taught and inadvertently created one of the largest fandoms out there.

The rest was all personal stuff, holidays, and other random crap thrown in there.  So in short, I'm human, and I'm sorry to have abandoned you all, but I'll do my best to make some at least semi-entertaining posts in the near future.

xoxo Sarah

"L" is for London

Tower Bridge

London is now one of my very favorite places.  

Ever.  

Millennium Bridge, the pedestrian bridge destroyed by Death Eaters .

My husband and I have been three times so far, and I always can't wait to go back.  We've done some touristy things, like the Hop-on Hop-off bus tour (a must-do!), Madame Tussaud's, the London Eye (also a must-do!), and the theater among other things, and there's still so much that I want to do.

I wouldn't consider myself either a country or city girl...I love living somewhere with space and privacy, but I love having easy access to a city with great shopping, amazing food, and many things to do.

What's been my favorite thing so far?  Oddly enough, the food.  We spent a long weekend there, and ate breakfast one day at this little place called The Breakfast Club.  It's a small chain; there are only a few, and they're all in London.  The one we ate at was in Soho.  The food was amazing and home-made; even our juices (one apple, one orange) were both fresh-squeezed.  So good.  I recommend it to everyone who wants a good meal.

London Eye

All pics in this post are mine, by the way.  You can probably tell from the pictures that the weather is actually quite nice!



Have you been to London?  If yes, did you enjoy it?  If not, do you want to go?  Or where is your favorite place?

xoxo Sarah

Intermission post! Happy Easter!

While we're taking a day off from the A-Z Challenge, I wanted to wish a very happy Easter to my readers who celebrate.  Enjoy your eggs, family, and chocolate, but please don't eat the eggs and chocolate together.  Ew.  Don't eat your family, either.  That's not good.

I was just thinking about last year, where my "G" on this day was for Gaga.  I'd bought tickets for a concert in Houston, good seats and everything, and unfortunately my husband couldn't be my date.  After some last-minute searching about a month before, my mother passed the word on to my father that I didn't have anyone to go with, and he had a bunch of time off he could take.  So, he flew down to Houston, and we had an awesome time at the concert.  She's one hell of a live performer.  That memory makes me all warm and snuggly inside, and I'll be sappy for a moment and say that I'll treasure it forever.

*grins*

xoxo Sarah

Three completely unrelated things...

I'm up on Networked Blogs now, so you can follow me through them.  There's a widget in the right side bar.  I'm not sure what took me so damn long to sign up, but there you have it.

Also, a big "Happy Birthday" to my mother!  I wish I was there today to celebrate, but I know she'll have a lovely day regardless.

Finally, my CP, Shelley Greene, has placed in the top 6 of a contest, and I'm so proud of her!  The final round of judging is coming up soon, and I know she'll impress.

Okay, I lied...the title should be FOUR completely unrelated things.  I also want to wish all of my followers a very happy and prosperous new year!

Until next year...literally...

xoxo Sarah

Holiday Traditions...

I was wrapping presents for my husband this past weekend, and as I filled out the gift tags with the "To:" and "From:" sections, I paused to think about what I was writing on them.

In my family, my parents never just made out gifts to me (or to each other) from just them or Santa.  No...there was a whole array of people (characters?) who would give gifts, and specific ones at that.  Each one even had their own handwriting.  If you got a gift to you from the Reindeer, you were likely to open something with clothing in it.  The Elves would send something useful, like a requested tool.  Mrs. Claus was likely to give food (chocolate, specialty tea, etc), or kitchen gadgets.

I smiled as I finished writing out the tags, and found myself wondering what holiday traditions others carried with them when they left the nest, or if they had a favorite one they weren't able to do anymore for whatever reason.

Tell me!

xoxo Sarah

Happy Christmahanakwanza!

I know it's been forever, but since we're getting settled, I wanted to make a short post to wish my lovely readers a very happy holiday season.  No matter what you celebrate, I hope you enjoy spending time with your families and friends, good food and drink, and health and happiness.

CHEERS!

On the note of my absolute fail to keep up this blog, that should be changing very soon.  I will aim to do at least a couple of posts per month, hopefully one a week if I can manage it with my other writing projects, once we get unpacked all the way and settled.  We're about 80% there, so it will be soon.

xoxo Sarah

Crazy life!

Hey!  More crazy to report.

I'm officially moving as of this coming Tuesday, so that should (hopefully) explain my absence and general lack of sanity lately.  Seriously...the sanity and all coherent thought, as well as any remnants of my poor, beat-up muse, have been leaking out of my ears over the past month.  I can only hope that things return to normal in a month or two.

I hope you'll stick with me, though I won't be groveling - I don't want to get my jeans dusty from all the kneeling, and all of my other pants are packed in our household goods.

In other random news, I'm officially a member of the Maryland Romance Writers!  No, I've never lived in Maryland (and I'm not moving there), but my critique partner, Shelley Greene (seriously, go follow her blog), lives there, and introduced me to some of the other lovely ladies in the chapter at RWA 2011.  I knew then that I'd found a great writing family.

So, I'll be on and off for the next couple of months until we get settled.  I hope to get some more writing done and finish my novella, but I'm not going to rush things; I know my muse will come out of hiding when we're situated.

Until then...Cheerio!

xoxo Sarah

Dr. Who and Me. Sort of.

 My husband was out in New Mexico for training for close to half of the year.  In his free time -- the amount of which varied anywhere from having whole days with nothing to do to a precious few hours, plus I wasn't out there to keep him company -- he worked his way through movies and television series to help fill the time.  Streaming Netflix is a wonderful thing.  Having heard some good things about Dr. Who, he began working his way through the latest incarnation of the show.  

The TARDIS.

For those who are unfamiliar with Dr. Who, let me give you a brief overview without giving too much away.  I'm still a relative newbie to the fandom, so bear with me.  It's a BBC program (or programme as they like to say) and enormously popular in Britain.  It's practically an institution over there.  It also has a huge following here in the states as well, even having panels at Comic Con.  The Doctor -- yes, that's his name...just that -- is a Time Lord, and travels around in time and space in a craft called the TARDIS.  Yes, it looks like a police box, but it's much bigger inside than it looks from the outside, kind of like a wizarding tent in Harry Potter.  He's the last of his kind due to a terrible war, and typically takes a companion with him on his adventures.  Various worlds, aliens/creatures, technology, and alternate realities are encountered.  The special effects are reminiscent of something you'd see on the Syfy channel, but the acting is a million times better.  Even better, the series actually has an interesting way of keeping itself alive -- The Doctor regenerates into another form when he dies, or when his time is up.  The show is currently on its eleventh incarnation of The Doctor, because the series originally started in the mid-1960s and ran to the late 1980s.  The series as it currently is started up again in 2005.  

Yes, that's a lot of information, but I'm rambling for a reason.  Hang on.  This is relevant, I promise.

David Tennant as The Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose, his companion.

So, my husband came home and insisted that I needed to watch the show with him.  Most of the seasons are on Netflix, so we've worked our way through watching up through the second season together.  He's seen most of them, but that's where I've left off for now...writing has been my priority, so watching the show has been slow going.  The Doctor in the first season was okay, and the show was enjoyable, but the husband assured me that I'd like the one from season 2 even better.  

David Tennant.  Doctor #10.

The Doctor starting in season 2 is David Tennant.  He's been great to watch so far.  Not only is he adorably handsome, but his enthusiasm for the role is almost contagious.  You can just tell that he loves playing The Doctor.  His excitement for the part is so markedly different than the first season's Doctor that I had to look him up.  

It turns out that David Tennant, as a young child, loved the show Dr. Who and told his parents that he was going to play the role of The Doctor.  Yeah.  They probably had the same reaction upon hearing that as when a kid tells you they want to be an astronaut or President or Warren Buffet.  They probably stifled some laughter, patted him on the head and told him okay, but to have a contingency plan.  You know, in case things...didn't work out.  

But Tennant kept his dream in the back of his mind, taking parts in school stage productions.  He continued doing stage productions, including many Shakespearean plays, and yes, eventually won the role of the tenth Doctor.  He was inspired by the show to act in the first place, and finally the role of a lifetime was his.  

"I've wanted this since I was four!"

Sure, he's acted in other well-known roles, including playing Barty Crouch, Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  You're welcome, everyone who looked at him and wondered, "I know I've seen that guy somewhere!"  He's also currently doing stage work, and I would love to see him live someday.  

Oh fine. One more, if you insist.

The point of all of this, is we (myself included) as writers are often inspired as youngsters.  Maybe it's a favorite book or story that makes us want to tell our own.  Sadly, most of us give up on our dream, and let our contingency plans take over.  Many of us stop writing altogether.  But, even if that's happened, we can still give it our best shot.  Start again, and believe we can do it.  Like David Tennant, we need to believe that success will be ours, and that role of a lifetime -- our Dr. Who -- will be in our hands.  Whether your dream is to write something novel-length, a children's book, or a short story, don't give up.  I constantly have to tell myself this, because, yes, it's hard. 

But making yourself believe you can do it is half the battle.

xoxo Sarah