Hello and welcome! And Happy Halloween!! Let’s get right to it!

Some of you may have seen the announcement on social media, but I haven’t really talked much more about it since. A conversation at this year’s Writer’s Digest conference led to me apply for (and be accepted into!) Western Connecticut State University’s MFA in Creative and Professional Writing program. I’m going back to school for writing!

Part of the application process was to write an essay on why I thought WCSU’s program was the best fit for me. As I pondered this, many answers came to mind. But in the end, my motivations all boiled down to one thing: I want to be a published author. I want to spend my life and make my living telling stories and entertaining people.

This is not a new revelation, but it is a truth that took a long time to come to and accept. Throughout my entire bizarre professional life, which has included positions in banking, office management, transcription work, and event planning, writing has carried me in one way or another, and has always been something I’ve returned to. It existed in my life as a hobby, drifting to the forefront of my mind on the bad days and in the transition periods. But it always conceded its place to more realistic options.

And then the more realistic options ran out. Many of you know my origin story, but to recap for my newer subscribers (hi guys!): two years ago, I was working as a contracted technical writer at a medical device manufacturer and my contract was coming to an end. In the throes of being sold off, the company I was working for opted not to offer me permanent employment, an inevitability for which I spent a great deal of time trying to prepare. But after months of searching, no job opportunities panned out.

Prior to that time, I would have kept searching for a job, and would have eventually accepted one because it was the safe thing to do. After all, each position offered promise and fulfillment. Sooner or later I’d find a match. But deep down I always knew the same thing would happen. Each job would leave me feeling more and more disappointed and dissatisfied. The oft-misattributed definition of insanity popped into my head, and I knew I had to break the cycle. I had to do something drastic. I had to make a hard choice about my future.

After much discussion with my husband, and many nights ranging from pondering to panicking, I decided to stop looking and start acting on the passion and calling that was demanding more and more of my attention. I had a story idea that had been mulling itself over in my mind for years, and I adopted the mantra “now or never”. It wasn’t like I had anything to lose. So, I finally admitted to myself, and then told everyone else, that I was going to pursue my dream.

I was going to become a published author.

That decision was, and continues to be, one of the scariest decisions I’ve ever made. I don’t have an income, and I don’t have a safety net. My husband and I have made sacrifices in the name of this dream, paring down our lifestyle so that we can live off his income alone. Sometimes we mess up and a bill gets paid late. And we say no to many invitations simply because we can’t afford the activity.

It sounds like a lot to give up in the name of a dream. And a challenging one to achieve, at that. But my husband’s faith in me never falters, even when mine does. And though this is the riskiest thing I’ve ever done in my life, it’s also been the most rewarding and the most satisfying.

Since that fateful day, I’ve poured everything I have into this dream. I’ve written three novels which are in various stages of editing. I boldly pitched the first novel I completed to agents. Summarily rejected is the best way I can describe the reaction to that piece, though I still love it and I still believe it has potential.

I continue to fill notebook after notebook with ideas waiting to be developed. Some of those ideas I turn into short stories, which I routinely enter in short story competitions. I continue to attend conferences to learn about and hone my craft. And I’m building my author platform more and more every day.

I’ve already spent a tremendous amount of time and money pursuing this career. Plenty of authors out there don’t have an MFA and have created very successful careers for themselves. I’m certain that if I stay on this track, I will eventually earn my place on library and book store shelves. I’m hoping the MFA program will help get me there sooner.

Much like my decision to abandon the nine-to-five routine, the decision to return to school in the name of my dream is one of the most frightening decisions I’ve ever made. This is a conscious choice that I’m making with very little outside input, a decision I’m solely responsible for. Sink or swim, it’s all on me.

If I’ve learned anything over the last two years, though, it’s that those sink or swim decisions are the worthiest. Yes, there’s a high risk here. But there’s also the potential for a huge payoff (and I'm not really talking about money, though that would be awesome, too). I know I can’t count on destiny and luck to make it happen, but saddled with this particular brand of inspiring pressure, I know I can count on myself.

I can’t imagine that I was given this passion and this propensity for writing for no reason. I find all elements of this industry to be so exciting and so fulfilling, that I simply cannot believe I’m not meant to be a part of it. Scared as I am, as I move forward with this opportunity, I finally feel that I’m in the right place, at the right time, doing what I’m meant to be doing. And much more than that, I am finally the right version of myself to successfully pursue my dream.

Updates and Goals:

I’m taking on technical writing work to save up for my first semester’s tuition. For the next several months that is going to be taking priority. If you know of any opportunities out there, let me know.

Short stories will be going to out to magazines within the next 30 days. I’m hoping to earn some income from that.

I’ve found a new place that pays me to read books and review them. Keep an eye on my website, I’ll be putting up a list of books with links to the reviews.

I’ve finally organized all of the short story submissions I’ve received from Twitter, Facebook and my website. In all there are over 100! My goal is to read and review ALL of them (that’s right!) by the end of the year! Of course, I’m still taking submissions (on Twitter or via my website), so when I say “all” I mean the one’s I’ve received prior to today (10/15/19). And don't forget to check out my reviews over at my blog, Kristine's BRF!

Photo for this section courtesy of Javier Molina via Unsplash.

That’s a lot, and it’s more than enough to be excited about! And speaking of being excited, it’s time for my favorite part! The Peer Highlight!

This month’s peer highlight is about one of my new favorite people in the whole world, the incomparable Carla Hoch. Carla has written the book FightWrite: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes (published by Writer’s Digest). She was a speaker at this years Writer’s Digest Annual Conference, which is how I met her, leading two seminars, the first titled Writing Fight Scenes, Battles and Brawls: Everything You Need to Know, and the second, FightWrite: From Practical to Tactical. As an added bonus, in the description of the FightWrite session, it said audience participation optional. If you know anything about me, you know I was powerless to resist the subject matter, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

But this isn’t about the sessions, awesome though they were. This is about Carla, who is equally awesome, and then some! Carla’s been a life-long writer, though she’s been doing it professionally for about a decade. Her first real foray was when a local Barnes and Noble agreed to carry her self-published book. Another local author introduced her to the world of writing conferences, where she pitched her first fight-heavy book.

In order to accurately portray fights in her writing, Carla enrolled in some self-defense classes. It is there where the worlds of fighting and writing clashed and Fight Write was born. She parlayed her research into an opportunity to write for a martial arts company, in addition to writing for a magazine and doing some advertising writing, as well as launching the Fight Write blog (check it out right here).

But launching a successful and popular blog, and writing in general, wasn’t the goal. In fact, Carla never intended writing to be a career. It was simply something she enjoyed. She’s written a number of award-winning short stories, but before that, she was a high school Spanish and English teacher. After taking a break to raise her children, the plan was always to return to teaching. But then she wrote a book and got the “writing bug.” Of this career change, Carla says, “When I started the FightWrite blog, it quickly became bigger than me. The more I posted the more folks read it and I thought, well, this isn’t so bad! Maybe I can do this! The blog landed me teaching gigs at writing workshops and contract work as a fight scene editor. Then the Fight Write book came about, Writer’s Digest sent me a contract, and I guess this is what I do now! Ta-da!”

So what makes Carla qualified to write about fighting? Carla has training and experience in about 10 different fighting styles and is currently training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Occasionally, she gets “in the ring” and competes. (As I’m told, there actually is no ring. According to Carla, “it’s a very unimpressive square on the floor.”)

This “research” (who are we kidding, it’s just plain fun!), serves to inform her seminars and her non-fiction work. She says, “when somebody who looks like me says they teach anything about fighting, folks think it’s a joke. I’m on the wrong side of 45 and am built like a hobbit child. I look about as intimidating as a dog in a purse. After the person stops laughing at me, I either get a “that’s cool,” or a good whiff of their ego, meaning they will ask me a question to challenge my knowledge. This happens at every single writer’s conference where I have taught. Every. Single. One. I will be questioned about some obscure sword or martial arts technique. Now, I don’t claim to know everything. What I don’t know is a lot! But, so far, I’ve gotten all the “challenge” questions right.”

And what about what she writes? I’ll leave that to Carla’s own words as well. “For my Fight Write book the audience is anyone who has any sort of violence or evidence of it in their work. The book isn’t just about writing fight scenes. It also teaches about the psychology behind aggression, stages of decomposition, how wounds appear, statistics on how women kill, how to choose the best weapon for your character…lots of cool stuff. My other work is for anyone who likes untidy stories. If you like happily ever after tales, my work is likely not for you.”

So, Carla fights, and she writes. But wait, there’s more. She is also a wife, mom and proud Texan, and she loves “reading, watching movies/TV, Candy Crush (don’t judge me), and Jesus, but not in that order!” And a cool piece of lineage is that she is a descendant of Shakespeare’s maternal aunt, so writing is literally in her blood!

I asked Carla what she is most proud of accomplishing in her career, or in any area of her life, and she told me that her “mic drop moment” was being published by Writer’s Digest. She said, “I literally put my face in my hands and cried. Heck, I still get all choked up over it! Fight Write had been rejected by other publishers. Actually, it was rejected by Writer’s Digest. They just didn’t know they rejected it! So, writing-wise, that is my greatest achievement I feel very blessed by it.”

And personally? “On a personal level, I am proud of my kids. They are kind, funny, loving people and it’s an honor to raise them. Being their mom has made me a better person.”

As you all know, I always ask if my interviewees have a quote or mantra they keep in mind while pursuing their dreams. Carla’s answer is too good to paraphrase:

“I don’t have a mantra so much as I just don’t believe in giving up.

"Writing has a lot in common with fighting. The only fighter who never loses is the one who doesn’t get in the ring. The only writer who is never rejected is the one who never submits a MS [manuscript]. In both cases, “failing” is solid evidence that you had the guts to give it a shot. And, you’ll find that you learn far more from losing/rejection. Both expose your weaknesses and if you don’t know where you are weak, you won’t ever be strong. Here’s the thing: failure is food, winning is wine. Now, you can live without wine. But, to grow stronger, ya gotta have food.

"Embrace the ups and the downs because, from what I’ve seen, success doesn’t happen on a smooth upward trajectory. It’s more like a steady ascension of triangles: up, down, up, down. What you have to remember is that the down of today is on the same plane as the up of yesterday. So, don’t give up. Take your punches, hit the mat. Then get back on your feet and get back to writing.”

And of course, I always ask for any final comments. Here’s the advice Carla shared with me:

“If you remember nothing else from this interview, remember that you should write and/or keep writing. This world is starved of bravery and writing is a brave venture. It demands vulnerability and there is no greater act of courage than the willingness to be vulnerable.

"No matter what you write, the world needs it. They either need to be transported by it, taught by it or ticked off with it. They need something that demands they don’t remain where they are. Writing can do that. You have a story in you or you wouldn’t have read this interview. Write it. And, when you aren’t writing, read. When you aren’t writing or reading, listen. You aren’t the only one with a story. Everyone else has one too. Listen to it. Stories aren’t just tales we tell. Our stories are who we are. As Dr. Who said, 'we’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one.'”

Carla is so inspirational, so witty, and so wonderful to know. I am so grateful that I got to meet her this summer! Make sure you check out everything #FightWrite:

Fight Write: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes - published by Writer's Digest

FightWrite.net - Carla's website

Catch the Fight Write Podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Say hi and give a follow to Carla on Twitter @carlahoch and on Instagram @carla.c.hoch.

And don't forget to search #fightwrite #fightwritebook and #fightwritepodcast on all your social media and search engines!

Know someone you'd like featured in the Peer Highlight? Send me a recommendation by clicking here!

A silly home-made cardboard sign asking for beer money has turned into an outpouring of love and generosity in Iowa.

According to People, on September 14th Carson King held up a hand-written sign during ESPN's College GameDay saying "Busch Light Supply Needs Replenished ~Venmo~ Carson-King-25". By the end of the day Carson had received over $1000.

Seeing an opportunity to put more good into the world, Carson announced via his Twitter account "With all the donations my @CollegeGameDay sign for @BuschBeer has received, I will be donating all but enough for a case of Busch Light to @uiowa Children’s Hospital." (Check out the tweet here.)

It wasn't long before his tweet caught some big attention. Within a day, Busch Beer agreed to a dollar for dollar match to King's fundraising, with Venmo making the same promise shortly thereafter. And just last week, Carson presented the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital a donation of $3 million!

Why University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital? According to the People article, Carson says, "The University of Iowa does 'the wave' to the kids since the hospital overlooks the stadium, and being I’m an Iowa State University fan, I figured this would be my way to help out."

I can't think of a better news story than that. Make sure you check out the full story over at People.com.

Photo for this section courtesy of Felicia Buitenwerf via Unsplash. (Note: I was unable to get permission from Carson to use one of his photos by the time this newsletter was sent.)

If you have a good news story you’d like me to feature, I’d love to hear about it! Click here to send me a story!