Don’t forget to leave a comment on Friday’s post to be entered to win a $25 gift card! Comments close Thursday night. I had dinner with a friend last week that I hadn’t seen in quite awhile, and he asked me about my writing. When I told him I’m working on a young adult novel, …
Melanie Hooyenga
My Own Out of the Ordinary Homecoming/Arrival Home Story
First, if you missed Friday’s post about the HOOHAH Contest or haven’t left a comment yet, be sure to watch the video and play along. Now, here’s my story: Back when I was 25, I went on a ski trip to Colorado that was completely uneventful until my friend dropped me off at the airport …
Hoo’s Out of the Ordinary Homecoming/Arrival Home CONTEST!
That’s right! It’s contest time! Introducing Hoo’s Out of the Ordinary Homecoming/Arrival Home Contest, or HOOHAH! Watch the video for details: To summarize, you have two ways to win one of two $25 Amazon gift cards. 1 – Leave a comment on THIS POST about a bizarre, crazy, funny, whatever story about coming home. Next …
What a Difference 365 Days Make
Can you believe it’s been an entire year since I left Mexico? Through a weird quirk of my flight times, I departed Zihuatanejo on February 23rd and arrived in Chicago February 24th. I’m big on numbers and dates (as I believe I’ve mentioned before) so having a clean divide between the two actions is significant …
New Beginnings
Thursday will mark one year since I left stepped off a plane from Mexico, introduced my Mexican puppy to snow, and pressed restart on my life. But that’s not what this post is about (that’ll be Wednesday). The new beginning I’d like to talk about today is for my latest novel. I’ve received wonderful feedback …
Don’t Give Me That Look
Raised eyebrow. Snarling lip. Clenched jaw. Trembling chin. Wide eyes. Flushed cheeks. … A lot can be said with a shift in expression. A change in mood, a sudden thought, a devious plan. As writers we know what our characters are feeling, but showing those emotions is often easier said than done. It’s easy to …
Total Ellipse of the Heart
Get ready. This post might be a bit of a stretch. Last weekend I bought something I’ve coveted for nearly ten years: It’s an elliptical machine! Good for the heart, good for the knees, and no annoying aerobics instructor telling you to give her eight more! And, um… it’s in a box. Yes, I bought …
Find and Replace
Ahh… technological devices designed to make our lives easier. When will I ever learn? One of the comments from my first beta reader pointed out that I had a lot of extra spaces in the document, as well as some wonky apostrophes. (I blame the PC, as usual.) I hit Control F, plugged in the …
Undercover Superhero
Let’s get one thing straight: I don’t do spandex. That said, I’ve been wearing a lot of rather… clingy clothes as of late. As you may be aware, I live in Michigan, it’s the middle of winter, and we’re buried under two feet of snow. There’s an inverse relationship between the number of layers one …
Wheeeeeeeee!
I got my first comments back from my first beta reader and I’m so relieved someone likes my story! Since this was my very first reader there were lots of silly things to fix, but by later today my very first TEENAGER will be reading it. Eek! Another benefit of my wonderful network of writing …