Bouncing back and Inspiration

So, it is taking me awhile to bounce back from the rather excessive blogging in April. haha. And my website partner is off on vacation. But, I'm excited to be getting back to a normal blogging schedule (even if I am two weeks later than everyone else. I am being "fashionably" late) So, with that being said, I'm hopping back into one of my favorite blog-hops  "Thursdays Children" hosted by Rhiann Wynn-Nolet at A Nest of Words.  

I've always enjoyed this hop because it gives me a chance to talk about the things that inspire me as a writer, one of my fave topics. If you haven't participated be sure to check it out and join in the fun! The linky-list link is at the bottom of my post. (Linky-list link. Try saying that ten times fast.)

The topic I'm choosing this week is waiting. As writers we do a lot of it. First waiting to get an idea. Then waiting to finish the story. To get critiques. To do edits. To find an agent. To find a publisher...etc...etc...When you are a writer, the waiting literally never stops. 

And, sometimes I find it frustrating but, for the most part I find it inspiring. I love getting up and

checking my email every day. I love knowing that today might be the day I hear back on something, whether it's a full I have out or a short story I submitted or a critique I'm getting. I figure the more writing I have floating around, the more chance there is that I will strike gold with something. 

If I never had anything out on submission, I don't think I'd be as driven to keep writing. While it does make me nervous, I also like the thrill of anticipating good responses. And while I'm waiting, I'm inevitably inspired to fill up my time with writing more, so I have more things to submit, and more responses to wait on. 

And it's not just about submissions. One of my favorite things to wait on is critiques. I know a lot of people are super nervous about receiving them. I've even met other writers who dread the critique and the inevitable rewrites/doubts it brings. But, to me, each critique is a new and exciting opportunity to see my work through someone else's eyes. I love finding out what works and what doesn't. What could possibly be more exciting than someone pointing out how I can make my work better? 

What about you guys? Do you like getting critiques? Does all the waiting bother you or inspire you?  Would you rather be waiting to hear back on something or have the calmness of knowing there are no rejections coming? ;)

If you are interested in signing up for Thursdays Children just click HERE. 

E for Electrifying Openings

I thought this would be a fun poll, because you don't need to have read these books in order to vote. In fact, it's almost better if you haven't! All we need to know is which opening grabs your attention the most. And who knows, maybe you'll be inspired to pick the book up. :)

Please vote for your fave opening and, as always, if you know of a great opening you'd rather choose, tell us about it!! 

It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen. 1984, George Orwell

There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb and he almost deserved it. Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis

Every summer Lin Kong returned to Goose Village to divorce his wife, Shuyu.  Waiting, Ha Jin

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

It was the day my grandmother exploded. The Crow Road, Iain M. Banks

All children, except one, grow up. Peter Pan,  J.M. Barrie

My mother is dead. Dad killed her. Playing In Traffic, Gail Giles

It isn’t true what they say about my brother. That he ate those children. Dark of the Moon, Tracy Barrett

It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die. The Scorpio Races, Maggie Stiefvater