Sunday, February 21, 2010

Heat #7: Biothlon, Take Two

In the Opening Ceremonies, we asked you what your "parade moment" would be. At what moment will you know, right down to the tips of your toes, that all your hope and faith in yourself has been justified?

Your Heat task today is to write the author bio which will be true when you experience your parade moment. How many books will you have released by then? How old will you be? What does your daily life look like? What are your new career goals at this stage of your career?

Leave a comment about this exercise to get an entry in our drawing. Prizes will be awarded at the Closing Ceremonies.

10 comments:

Holly Rutchik said...

So, my bio for the perfect "writing me" has me working MORE outside of the field of writing. As a non-fiction writer - I find it important I get out in the world MORE. It also has me writing from home where I am mother to one more child then I have now.
I may have `too many dreams!

This one was really fun and I learned a lot about myself!

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Heh. I've got that coveted long tail (like... a backlist of 20; I'm 10% of the way there now!), I'm twenty years younger (at least in my own mind. And maybe body), and my new career goals are... dunno. More, I suppose. I think to finally realize my childhood dream of being the one who supports my family handily on what I make as a writer.

Sylvia said...

Oh, I've had a flash of inspiration. What I really want is a bio where I no longer have to list my publications because people already know who I am.

It was interesting though, to consider that I'd like to reach my parade moment and have bookS published before I'm 50. I hadn't previously realised that it was supposed to happen this decade. :)

Dave Shaw said...

Hmm. Missed 50. 60's still possible, though. And oh, to get that question about the next book after the first one comes out! One can hope, anyway.

Riley Murphy said...

My parade moment? Well, there’d be a freaking parade! You know, ticker tapes and fanfare! A massive crowd. Me, carried on the burly shoulders of two - tall, gorgeous, young, hunky males. Their only task in life is to make me happy...okay, when I say it like that, I begin to think I could maybe do without the parade. Too distracting. ;)

Seriously? For me? I had to rearrange priorities early on. Back then - I had a parade moment perfectly envisioned for myself (when I was much younger - right out of university and it was doozy- see above), but then life got in the way and well...now all those things that were important to me, as far as my writing goes, aren’t anymore. Quite simply, I have a goal and I want to meet it. I’m not thinking beyond that point, because if I meet my goal I’ve succeeded. I have no control over what happens after I’ve done so. It might be great, or I could crash and burn. But bottom line? No regrets.

Murphy, loving the ride. :D

Anonymous said...

I've discovered that everything I'd want to say about myself would be either too revealing or boring... LOL.

I'll worry about this one *if* I ever need to.

Jami Gold said...

The interesting thing I found with this exercise was that nothing much would change.
- My writing goals wouldn't change: I'd still be writing because the voices in my head will drive me crazy if I don't tell their stories. :)
- My daily life wouldn't change: I'd still have my day job.
The most that would change would be that I had an assistant - come to think of it, I could use that already. :)

Jami G.

Anonymous said...

I've discovered my parade moment is a paradox. I set simple goals. You know, not too many to create chaotic stress. One simple goal - write what you love and get one book published before 40. Then I examine the goal, the stats, industry blogs, and the potential length of the journey. I'm stumbling back on what I wanted to avoid - chaotic stress.

And my daily live is like Murphy & Jami G. Nothing will change. Still writing. Still chasing goals. Without a goal, I'd be lost at sea.

Kathleen MacIver said...

Nothing would really change for me, either. I mean, my Opening Ceremony parade moment will be when an agent offers me a contract. My Closing Ceremonies parade will be when I sell. :-)

But I'm probably going to be a homeschooling mom, keyboardist at church, etc. for the next eight years or more, and I really, REALLY hope I get to march in those Opening Ceremonies by then!

Anonymous said...

As I started to think about a bio, I realized my life would change. I wrote the bio as if I was the author of a New York Times bestselling series. I don't want to say age, because unfortunately I think agents now sometimes judge our writing value based on a number.

My life would change if I met my goals. I could then dance tango every night in Buenos Aires six months of the year. While in there on holiday last year, I did some of my most effective writing.