I got my first rejection letter already for my book. It's okay though. The way I look at it is this: I wouldn't have gotten the rejection letter if I hadn't sent the query, synopsis and sample chapters out to begin with.

Admittedly, it's been a while since I've sent any writing out, so it's been a while since I've gotten a rejection letter. And maybe I'm just one of the lucky ones who got a yes on the first story I ever sent to a magazine, and on the second and third one as well. I have a fairly decent track record when it comes to acceptances vs. rejections, but I'm bracing myself for more rejections as I try to find an agent for my book.

Rejection is a part of life--not always to be taken lightly, but not always to be taken so seriously either. Yes, I have my heart set on finding a publisher and seeing my book on bookstore shelves. Yes, I have my heart set on writing more novels and seeing my BOOKS on bookstore shelves. It all has to start somewhere, and by my estimation, a rejection letter is a fine place to begin.

There is a great service that every writer should know about. It's called Writer's Relief.

The Writer's Relief newsletters are full of great information, writing tips, and punctuation and grammar primers. I learn something with every issue, and appreciate their humor as well. I somehow managed to win their a la carte service with a silly little poem I wrote for their 15th anniversary. With the a la carte service, Writer's Relief will target markets for your writing, and send address labels so you can submit your stories, poems or novel.

This kicked my writing into high gear! I finished and polished my novel, and completed the Writer's Relief form. A short time later, I received address labels for 29 literary agents. I rewrote my synopsis, wrote a query letter, and polished the first 3 chapters of my book.

I'm proud to say that I went to the post office this morning and mailed off 29 envelopes with my fingers crossed that one agent will want to see the full manuscript. Writer's Relief does say that it generally takes 100 submissions before you get a "yes", but I'm hopeful that it will only take 29. We'll see how it goes!

The point is, Writer's Relief made this part of my work so simple. I can't begin to imagine how many hours of studying the markets they saved me. Without a doubt, I will use their services again, and I hope that you'll check them out as well!

Yesterday I did squats and lunges for the first time in months. Boy do I feel it today!

I thought about how much I dislike squats and lunges because they are painful. Because I know the feeling, I tend to avoid them.

I realized I do the same thing with other aspects of my life. I avoid doing the things I don't want to do for whatever reason I don't want to do it. There's nothing wrong with that approach I suppose, if I don't want to grow.

Sometimes I hold myself back in my writing because I think it's silly or stupid or I think I'd be embarrassed to have my family read it. I found though, with the last story I wrote, that if I let myself go for it, I have something really good. Some people might not agree with me, and they may not enjoy it, but I can't please everyone all the time. I have to let go of the self-editing, and put what I feel or what my character would feel, down on paper. If someone wants to be critical about it, so be it.

I can't avoid topics because I fear people talking about me behind my back, or shunning me because I wrote something they think is inappropriate. I have to be who I am and who my characters are. I have to be true to myself.

My husband and I almost finished packing up my mom and dad's house yesterday. There is so much stuff--a lot of it is junk that has accumulated over the past 43 years.

They didn't throw anything away. I found their tax returns and canceled checks with receipts all the way back to 1965. Either the shredder is going to have to work overtime, or we're going to have a big bonfire!

They kept empty pill bottles. They kept the green foam out of flower arrangements. They kept boxes that people sent things in.

But they also kept some gems. I found an old trunk with silk quilts my grandma made. Old photographs of people I don't know. Old 78 records. Old cameras. Old dolls. Old coins. Old sewing machines. Things that are absolutely priceless.

I look around my house at the things I keep and wonder why I have them. I'm not much of a pack rat--when something has lost its usefulness, it goes in the trash. But I realize that what is important to my parents, may not be important to me. And what is important to me, may not be important to my husband.

My mom and dad are having a great time seeing all these things they've forgotten about, and remembering old friends and other events in their lives.

Life isn't always about throwing away the old for the new.

I've been reading up on how to write a synopsis because I need to get one done for my almost complete novel. The problem is, I'm scared to write it! Every website I've looked at has called it the "dreaded synopsis" in some form or another. I keep reading about how difficult it is to write and how painful the process is.

If I have to start from an attitude like that, of course I'm worried. But in the back of my mind, I keep thinking that I've written the whole book, so how hard can it be to boil it down to mere pages?

I finally discovered Lisa Gardner. Her website is fantastic, and I am not so intimidated by the synopsis any longer. She has an entire course about synopsis writing on her site, and she's even posted a few examples. What I've learned is, I need to go through my book, chapter by chapter and find the plot points and turning points. If I can do that, the synopsis should write itself.

Of course I have to obey all the rules, such as writing in present tense and giving away the ending. But I can conquer this scary beast. All I had to do was filter through all the information and find someone who could help me.

Yes, there is a lot of information out there. And because each of us learns differently and absorbs things differently, the variety is good.

The Pocatello Half Marathon was terrific! The goal has always been to have 1,000 runners across all the running events, and this year, in the 10th anniversary, they made it! 1,044 people signed up. Unfortunately, the original race director died 5 weeks before the race. But as my mom said, he was up above with the best seat in the house.

I did a good job of pacing myself. I let everyone else take off, then picked them off over 13 miles. I ran a nice race, and never wore myself out. If I had picked up the pace a little at the end, I may have ended up in 2nd place instead of 3rd place, but I felt fantastic after!

And I made a new friend. Her name is Bridget Simpson, and she's from Tennessee. Her goal is to run a race in all 50 states, so she carefully chooses her races. She looks for the ones where she'll get a finisher's medal, something to show for her efforts. Pocatello was number 31. What an awesome goal! And she took first place in the Master's division in the 10k. She's an inspiration.

Because I felt so good last weekend, I'm going to take on another half marathon tomorrow. This one should be much more interesting. It doesn't start until 10:10, so the weather could be a big factor. It is a loop course, so I have to run around 4 times plus a little tiny bit at the end. And I got stung by a bee on the top of my right foot, so it's all swollen. Why not add another challenge, right? Like I told someone else, it's all mind over matter!

As summer winds down, and the days get cooler and shorter, I know my running days are numbered for this year. But I will run every day I can--mind over matter!

It's been a busy, hectic week!

I've been looking at my to-do lists since Monday and see that very few things have been marked off as being done. Sometimes when the unexpected happens and there is a shift in priorities, I have to take a deep breath and tell myself it's okay. There are a lot of phone calls that I haven't made. There is a lot of writing I haven't done. There are a lot of emails that haven't been answered.

But my family is more important than these other little tasks that I feel I have to do. I'd rather spend time with my mom and dad because that time is starting to wind down. I'd have a hard time forgiving myself if I let other things take precedence over their lives. Sure it stresses me out sometimes, but I don't want to look back and wish I had another day or another hour with them.

Sometimes I think people forget that life is limited. We rush here and there and over-schedule our days. For what? To get a raise or a bonus? To move up the ladder? To impress people who shouldn't matter as much as our family?

No. I'm going to put first things first and if I miss an opportunity, so be it.