Reaching

I took the kids to Disneyland a few weeks ago.
There is something absolutely right with a place that allows people to feel comfortable wearing mouse ears, princess costumes, and pirate hats--not only comfortable, but in style.

Something I'd never noticed before (and I've been to Disneyland a lot in my life) is how much reaching happens at the happiest place on Earth. There were bubble machines and tiny hands stretching out to touch the perfect orbs floating on the breeze. On Pirates of the Caribbean, there's a smoke screen with an image of Davy Jones reflected on it. Hands reached up as the little boat passed through the screen of fog, the mist slipping through fingertips.

It was the tribute to Captain EO 3D show where I realized a problem in society. The 3D image of a little creature floated in the air in front of me. I wanted to reach out, but the logic in me wouldn't allow me to do something so childish. Logic stated that the creature wasn't really there and therefore reaching was foolish. But I wanted to reach--wanted to see my hand in comparison to the picture, not because I thought I could touch the little creature, but because I wanted to simply SEE.

I smiled to myself when my youngest son did reach--doing the thing I could not allow myself to do. But then my teenaged daughter snatched at his hand and whispered, "Don't! You just look stupid. There's nothing there."

He quickly dropped his hand to the side and I could feel his shame in his own sense of wonder.

My heart broke. It broke because she is growing up and with that, she is putting aside wonder for the solidity found in grown-up logic. And it broke because he stopped reaching and I worried he might not reach again.

I wanted to be so many things when I grew up--a ballerina, an advertising agent, a writer, a photographer, an archaeologist like Indiana Jones, an actress . . . and so much more. And then came a time where I stopped reaching. I even put aside writing for a time while I chased solid things like steady paychecks and a 401K.

And then one day I realized I could reach and be solid--all at the same time. I simply gave myself the present of fifteen minutes a day. In fifteen minutes I could stretch out those reaching muscles and live in the realm of wonder.

Anytime the arts are pursued, there will be people to snatch away your hands and whisper that you're being foolish--there is nothing there.

But if you never reach, you prove them right.

If you give yourself the present of a little time each day, you will create the thing you're reaching towards. There is nothing there--not until you create it into existence.

That's what Walt Disney did. That's why there is a Disneyland out there, encouraging other people to do the same thing.

Write-A-Thon Contest WINNER

What a night! Thank you to each and every one of you who participated, it is amazing what we can do when we block out that time. What a fun experience this has been. We had 9 participants for a total of 37,043 words!

So, without further delay, here is the winner:

Word Count Winner: ANNETTE LYON @ 7,461 words! (last time she was a runner up)

*She wins either a 50 page edit from PEG or a $50 gift card to Amazon.com. Way to go ANNETTE!

And because Annette is a PEG editor, we decided to offer a SECOND PRIZE to the next in line who is a non-PEG editor: so . . . . FOLKSINMT, who came in at 4891, also wins either a 50 page edit from PEG or a $50 gift card to Amazon.com. Congrats to FOLKSINMT!

Thanks again for being a part of the second official PEG Write-a-thon. We'll do it again.

(Annette & Folksinmt, please e-mail us at editor [at] precisioneditinggroup [dot] com and let us know which prize you want.)

START NOW: Write-a-Thon November 2, 2010

Ready? It's time to get this party started!

Here's a repeat of the rules-and-or-processes for tonight's write-a-thon:


1-Enter your starting time and starting word count in the comment section of this blog. Contest is open from 4:00 pm, November 2 to 12:15 am, November 3.

3-Write for four hours--set a timer if you need to! (You can take breaks, but track your time!)

4-When finished, come back to this blog and put your end time, end word count, and total words written in those 4 hours in the comment trail.

5-All "end time" posts must be posted by 12:15, Mountain Daylight Time (we're giving you 15 minutes to tally your numbers). To calculate your times based on where you live, go HERE and educate yourself about time zones.

6-Please be honest. You are your own time/word keeper and we are trusting that none of our dearly beloved readers would sell their integrity for $50 or 50 pages :-) You must post a start comment AND an end comment to be eligible to win and have your words counted toward the total.

7-The winner--whoever has the most words written in their four hours--will be posted Tomorrow, Wednesday, November 3rd here on the PEG blog. The winner will receive their choice of a $50 gift card to Amazon.com or 50 pages of a content edit from one of the Precision Editing Group editors.

Ready, set, go...

Write-A-Thon Contest TODAY

At 4:00 p.m. MST, Precision Editing Group will be sponsoring our 2nd Write-a-Thon and we're inviting writers to show us how many words you can write in 4 hours! This will also be a great kick off for those of you who are doing NaNoWriMo.

The contest will open at 4:00 Mountain Daylight Time and end at midnight (You choose the best 4 hours during that period of time, or break it up and track your time). The person who writes the most words will receive their choice of a $50 Amazon.com gift card OR a 50 page content edit by one of the Precision Editing Group Editors.

Here's how it will work:

1-The Write-a-thon will officially begin at 4:00 Mountain Daylight Time.

2-The blog titled "Write-a-Thon Starts Now!" will post at 4:00 MDT--you need to enter your starting time and starting word count in the comment section of the blog when you begin.

3-Write for four hours--set a timer if you need to!

4-When finished, come back to the PEG blog and put your end time, end word count, and total words written in those 4 hours as another comment on the blog.

5-All "end time" posts must be posted by 12:15, Mountain Daylight Time (we're giving you 15 minutes to tally your numbers). To calculate your times based on where you live, go HERE and educate yourself about time zones.

6-Please be honest about your word count and use your time to write REAL words. You are your own time/word keeper and we are trusting that none of our dearly beloved readers would sell their integrity for $50 or 50 pages :-) You must have posted a start comment AND an end comment to be eligible to win either of the prizes.

7-The winner will be posted on Wednesday, November 3rd here on the PEG blog.

We'll also be adding up everyone's words, think we can hit 100,000 words in one night?

Feel free to spread the word to other writers (Facebook, Twitter, personal blogs), wherever they may live--send them here to read up on the specifics. This contest is open to anyone, anywhere. While the prizes are a perk, the true challenge is to see how much you can do in a four hour period of time dedicated to writing. Order pizza for the kids, turn off the phone, TIVO Letterman, and let your fingers go.

*Please ask any questions here, we'll answer them as soon as possible.

Write-A-Thon Contest TOMORROW!

Tomorrow is the big day! We will be holding our Write-A-Thon contest. Winner receives 50 page free edit OR $50 Amazon gift card.

Details HERE!

Spread the word!