Kate Scott's Blog, page 11

Realistic Goals

I'm now a motivational speaker. Today, I talked to a group of students at Thomas Edison High School. Edison is a local HS exclusively for students with learning differences. I dropped by for their latest assembly to talk about my experiences as a dyslexic author.

I tried to make my talk entertaining. Most teens have short attention spans, and Edison has a large ADD population, so humor seemed like a good strategy for my motivational speaking debut. Some of the tidbits of wisdom I had to share were funnier in my own head than students'. There was one thing I said that resulted in so much laughter I had to stop talking for a good ten seconds to wait for everyone to calm down.

So I'll spare you my thirty minute oration and just share that one line here.

I would love to be a great speller. I'd also love to learn how to fly. It's important to set realistic goals.

There you have it. Realistic goals are definitely a good thing. Thankfully, being a good speller isn't a requirement for being an author. Having an imagination is. I might not know how to spell big words like of, but I've always been a fabulous daydreamer.

What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk.  Head over to Jaime's page for links to find out what's up with everyone else. Here's what's up with me.
What I'm Reading

This week I read Side Effects May Vary  by Julie Murphy. It's a teen with cancer book. Like all teen with cancer books, it was very sad in parts and poignantly human in others.

The thing that makes this book stand out compared to all the other teen with cancer books I've read is that Alice, the terminally ill teen, is a horrible character. She's the classic mean girl that should be the villain of every story she appear in, not the hero.

It's hard to hate someone who is actively dying though. Maybe that means it should be hard to hate someone living too. I enjoyed Murphy's writing style and the duel narration/duel timeline style worked well in this story.

Over all I enjoyed Side Effects May Vary . Still, I think I would have enjoyed it more if there had been a slightly more likable main character.

What I'm Writing

I sent The Evolution of Emily off to beta readers last week. One person has already gotten me comments back, and given me some good ideas of changes I need to make. I want to wait until I hear back from more people before diving back into revisions.

So this week, I started a new project. My new WIP doesn't have a title yet. And right now, it's only 3k words long. I think it has potential though. I don't have any real goals for writing it this month. But anything I get down now will be a start when I start seriously thinking about this project after The Evolution of Emily is truly complete.

What Inspires Me Right Now

Last week I went to a screening of Rethinking Dyslexia . I wrote a longer post about my thoughts on the film here. It was an inspiring event. I hope Counting to D can be a source of inspiration for some of my readers. Watching Rethinking Dyslexia didn't teach me anything I didn't already know, but it did remind me that alternative thinking can be very entertaining.


Best line in the movie. Sir Richard Branson (the business tycoon) said, "When I was fifteen I accepted that I wasn't learning anything at school and dropped out. When I gave my headmaster the news, he said, 'You will either end up in prison or a billionaire.' Thank God, I didn't wind up in prison."

What Else I've Been Up To

The audiobook for Counting to D  has been in the works for a while now. I had been planning to release it May 1st. But it might pop up on audible a little bit earlier than that. Because it's done and fabulous. I have always loved audiobooks and can't wait to connect with listeners through my words.

It's really fun listening to an audiobook of a story I wrote. The actor I hired did an awesome job. She gave all the characters their own personalities, some in ways that were different than I imagined them in my own head. It's an exciting reminder that every reader, not only professional actors, add bits of themselves to the characters they read.

My characters can be lots of different things to lots of different people. I love that. And I love my audiobook too. I'll be sure to let you know when it goes live, but for now, plan on May 1st.


So what's up with you?

One, Two, Three... Cover Reveal

Mark your calendars, because One, Two, Three... by Elodie Nowodazkij is coming to a bookstore near you on June 26th, 2014. Today, I'm excited to be able to share it's gorgeous cover. I can't wait to find out what's inside. 


When seventeen-year-old Natalya’s dreams of being a ballerina are killed in a car accident along with her father, she must choose: shut down—like her mother—or open up to love.
Last year, Natalya was attending the School of Performing Arts in New York City. Last year, she was well on her way to becoming a professional ballerina. Last year, her father was still alive.
But a car crash changed all that—and Natalya can’t stop blaming herself. Now, she goes to a regular high school in New Jersey; lives with her onetime prima ballerina, now alcoholic mother; and has no hope of a dance career.
At her new school, however, sexy soccer player Antonio sees a brighter future for Natalya, or at least a more pleasant present, and his patient charms eventually draw her out of her shell.But when upsetting secrets come to light and Tonio’s own problems draw her in, Natalya shuts down again, this time turning to alcohol herself.
Can Natalya learn to trust Antonio before she loses him—and destroys herself?

AUTHOR BIOElodie Nowodazkij was raised in a tiny village in France, where she could always be found a book in hand. At nineteen, she moved to the US, where she learned she’d never lose her French accent. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Modern Language & Linguistics, and later earned master’s degrees in German Cultural Studies and European Studies. Unbeknownst to her professors, she sometimes drafted stories in class. Now she lives in Germany with her husband and their cat (who doesn’t seem to realize he’s not human), and use her commuting time to write the stories swirling in my head. She's also a serial smiley user. ONE TWO THREE is her first novel. 
Author Links:http://elodienowodazkij.com/https://twitter.com/commutinggirlhttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7800147.Elodie_Nowodazkij

Rethinking Dyslexia

I went to a screening of "The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia" tonight. The event was sponsored by the Oregon branch of Decoding Dyslexia and involved a panel discussion with several dyslexic students and educators after the film.


I want to begin by recommending this film. The DVD is available on their webpage and is worth watching if you are new to the dyslexic world and want up to date accurate information about what dyslexia actual is, and isn't.

Several of the big name dyslexic success stories like Charles Schwab, David Boies, and Richard Branson appear in the film. There is one point when Richard Branson talks about dropping out of school at age fifteen because he wasn't learning anything there. His principal at the time said, "You're either going to end up in prison or become a billionaire." Lucky for Branson, he became a billionaire.

I'm not a billionaire, but I'm not a felon either. While I enjoyed the event, in some ways I felt like the panel discussion afterwards missed the point. The film featured all these super successful craptastic readers, then a bunch of special education teachers talked about resources to help teach current struggling kids how to read.

Learning how to read is a very good thing. And I definitely encourage all parents of dyslexic children to advocate for their children and get them all the support they need to succeed. I'm also a realist though. And I know Sir Richard Branson wasn't knighted for his spelling abilities.

I am a published author. Nobody is inviting me to star in their films, but I still qualify as a dyslexic success story by most peoples standards. I can read, actual books. I can write them too. You should be very thankful that I use spell check though. I still misspell of on a regular basis. The word has two letters, and I write for my job, but I still can't remember how to spell it. I'm just fortunate enough to understand being able to spell two letter words is not a requirement for writing novels. Making up compelling stories is, and that is something I can do.

One of the other people featured in the film was a young girl who reminded me a lot of Sam from Counting to D, which means she reminded me a lot of myself when I was younger. Towards the end of the film, the seventh grade Skye Lucas makes the comment that she might grow up to innovate clean water solutions in the developing world, or she might cure cancer. She can do anything.

Skye, you are right, you can do anything. Never set your self expectations to low. Because if spelling isn't a requirement for writing novels, it's definitely not a requirement for curing cancer.

Rebecca's Story

I love to read, and write, because I love stories. Everyone has a story to tell. That's what makes this crazy world we live in so interesting. Every Monday, I interview a different person here and share their stories. At first glance, my guests may appear ordinary, but I promise they're not. They're people. And all people are fascinating. We all have a story to tell.


This week, I'm talking to Rebecca Behrens. Rebecca debut novel  When Audrey Met Alice  came out earlier this year. It's a great middle grade novel that blends modern tween angst and historical fiction through the eyes of first children. I'm thrilled that Rebecca has agreed to share her personal story here today. 

Let's get started, Rebecca, describe yourself in 50 words or less.

RB: I believe there is a story in everything, and I’m grateful that I get to spend so much time telling them. I still feel like I’m thirtysomething going on thirteen, which is probably why I’m drawn to writing middle grade. I’m an observant introvert who loves to laugh.
Me: I expect a lot of writers can relate to your observant introvert self-concept. What do you love most in the world?

RB: Family and friends, sunshine and fresh air, creativity and compassion.
Me: All very lovable things. What do you fear most?

RB: I'm a worrier with many fears, from airplanes to toilet spiders to illness, but they pretty much all boil down to lack of control.
Me: Toilet spiders, I've never thought about those, but I could imagine them being very scary. What's your largest unfulfilled dream, and what are you doing to achieve it?

RB: Being an author has been my largest dream, and I work on that one every day.
Me: I'm glad this dream of yours has become a reality. I can't wait to read whatever you write next. I'm sure getting to this point hasn't been easy. What is the hardest thing you've ever done?

RB: Probably packing up a Budget truck and moving from the midwest to New York. It was really hard to leave family and friends, but this is where I (and my now-husband) needed to be. (Also, Budget trucks are not the easiest things to load and drive.)
Me: That move sounds even scarier than toilet spiders--okay maybe not. Now that we've gotten to know each other, tell me a story. It can be long or short. From your childhood or last week. Funny, sad, or somewhere in between. Just make sure it's yours. What's your story?

RB: One of the first years after I moved out east, my sister and I had the idea that I should fly back to Wisconsin to surprise my mom for her birthday. Because it was the weekend before Thanksgiving, one of us joked that I should show up unexpectedly on the front steps dressed as a turkey. Probably because we found that image so funny, we started to take that idea seriously . . . and my sister started sewing a felt turkey costume. 

I took the earliest flight on a Saturday morning, and my sister picked me up at the airport. I took the wheel for the three-hour drive to my parents' house, while she sat in the passenger seat and put the finishing touches on the costume. My parents live next to a large park, and wild turkeys roam one of the wooded fields in it. So then we got the idea that it would be even funnier for me to wait in the field to surprise my mom.
We drove straight there. My sister helped me into the costume and then headed back to my parents house, where she'd convince my mom to take a morning walk. I sat down on a rock to wait, with a magazine from the car.
The one thing I had not factored in with this plan was that I was going to have to wait in there for a while, and this park is a popular place for hikers and walkers. On a pleasant fall morning it was busy. I got a lot of weird looks. Nobody quite knew what to make of the turkey girl sitting on a rock, reading a fashion magazine. Including me.
(Eventually, my family came strolling down the park road, and my mom got a big, happy surprise. It says a lot that finding her adult child dressed as a turkey in the woods did not faze her.)  
Me: I love that story! Although now I wish I'd interviewed you in November instead of March. Thank you so much for sharing. And for all you readers, if you like authors dressed like turkeys you'll probably love learning about Alice Roosevelt's pet snake that she carried in her purse and occasionally let loose at state dinners. You can read all about it in Rebecca's novel.

So what's your story? If you're interested in participating in a future installment of What's Your Story, please leave your contact information in the comments of this post or email me directly at katherine(dot)elliott(dot)scott(at)gmail(dot)com.

Building a Web Presence without Turning Social Media into a Full Time Job

When you google the name Kate Scott, I am the 2ndand 5th site to come up. Considering how common the name Kate Scott is, I’m very happy with those results. Granted, I don’t crack the top 200 on a search for “dyslexia” so my SEO could still use a lot of improvement. But today, I’m going to talk about what writers can/should do to help build their own web presence.
You need a web page.The number one thing you can do to build an online presence is have a webpage. Personally, I enjoy blogging. I started this blog years before I transitioned from aspiring writer to actual author. When I first got started, I wanted to blog, so I went with blogger. This site is still hosted by blogger, because I didn’t want to start again from ground zero and lose all my established readers and content. But wordpress does have more customizable options and is a more ideal platform for an author website. If you don’t have a website yet, I would recommend getting a wordpress account.
While you do need a webpage. You don’t need to blog. If blogging isn’t something you’re interested in, don’t blog. That is another advantage of wordpress, your blog doesn’t have to be the home page, so if you only occasionally post big news like cover reveals and book signing info, you can still have a very professional looking website. The primary function of a webpage is to serve as a landing board that links to all your other internet activities. I said before that I’m 2nd and 5th in a google search of Kate Scott. My personal webpage is the site that comes up 2nd. (My book's Amazon page is 5th.) If you want to engage with readers, having a webpage is a mandatory first step in making that possible.
One other note on blogging, 95% of the people who read this blog are other writers, both aspiring and published. Occasionally people I know in real life read my posts, but very few of my real life friends read it consistently. I do also sometimes receive comments from people who found my books first and came to my blog to read more about me. While I love connecting with my readers, I know most of them don’t regularly follow author blogs. And I don’t expect any of them to be consistent readers here. If you want a forum to express your thoughts and connect with other writers in more than 140 characters, blogging is great. But blogging is not the same thing as having a website. A website is required, blogging is optional.

Host an Online Newsletter.When I started blogging a few years ago, people actually read blogs. Subscribing to a persons RSS feed has become a lot less common, and tracking numerous blogs can be difficult for readers. The easiest solution to this problem is email. No, I am not encouraging you to spam people. Do not do that!

Build a subscriber based email list that people can opt into. And then once you have an email list, don't spam your subscribers. If you do, they will unsubscribe. My email list is hosted by Mail Chimp. It's super easy to use and a great way to stay connected to fans without sinking into the quicksand known as social media.
Goodreads = Social Media for ReadersFacebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+ are the main sites most people think of when they think social media, but if you are an author, you really should be thinking goodreads. If you don’t have a goodreads account, get one! It is entirely up to you who you want to befriend and how you want to review books you have read. But if you are an author, you really do need a goodreads author page. After your own personal website, a goodreads account is the second most important place for you to live on the internet.
There are several features available for authors on goodreads, but the most valuable item that I want to highlight is the goodreads giveaway. I held one contest on goodreads that ran for six weeks leading up to the release of my debut novel. It was totally free to create and cost me only the five autographed copies I agreed to mail to the contest winners after my book came out. More than 1000 people entered that contest. Not only did 3 of the 5 winners post reviews after receiving my book, but more than half of the contestants who entered and didn’t win the contest added my book to their to-read list. Many of those readers later went on to buy the book. This is the value of goodreads. When people connect with you on facebook or twitter, they are there for lots of reasons, most having nothing to do with reading. When people connect with you on goodreads, they are looking for ideas on what to read next. Make sure you, and your writing, is a part of this online community of readers.
The Facebook Fan PageMost people have facebook accounts. This is where you post your vacation pictures and keep tabs on people you knew in real life decades ago. Some people love facebook and update their status 20 times a day. Other people only make one status update per month. What you do with your personal facebook account is entirely up to you. If you like keeping your private life private, you don’t even have to have a personal facebook account.
I do, however, suggest you create an author page. Facebook pages are different than standard facebook accounts. People don’t friend you, they like you, and everything posted on a fan page is open to the public. Most fans aren’t going to visit your website daily, but they’re still going to log into facebook. Your fanpage is an easy place to let people know about upcoming book related items.
One great feature of the facebook fan page is that you can see how many facebook users saw each of your posts (not only how many people liked it). There is the option of expanding a posts reach via paid advertising. I’ve never done this, and doubt I ever will. I do think the number of views feature is valuable though. It’s a good way to gage when your fans are actually on facebook and time posts appropriately so they are more likely to end up in peoples news feeds. It’s also a great way to see what posts are being shared by your followers, expanding your reach.
TwitterIn my opinion, twitter serves the exact same purpose as blogging, only in fewer characters. Some people love twitter. Some people hate twitter. Some people love blogging, and some people hate it. I said before that if you hate blogging, you shouldn’t blog. The same thing is true for twitter, if you hate it, don’t do it. But if you love it, knock yourself out.
There are a lot of authors on twitter, and it can be a great forum to connect with other writers.  Building a network of writer friends has a lot of value, and twitter is a great place to meet colleagues. Twitter isn't a great place to actually sell books though.

Many readers do find book recommendations on twitter, and facebook. But they don't find this when you post about yourself. When other people start talking about you on twitter, your sales will go up. Having a presence on twitter, and a network of writer friends, is a good place to start. But don't spend all your time there.

Twitter can destroy productivity and adds very little value. If you live on twitter, be honest with yourself. You are there because you want to be there, not because being on twitter will help you sell books. It won't.

Plus 1 for GoogleI heard an hour long spiel about the importance of Google+at a writing conference last year. I was really good about using google+ for about a month after that. But I’m really not a google+ convert. The argument for google+ is that google is the number one search engine, and they own google plus. So using google plus helps build your “author” status and increases your search engine optimization. According to the speaker at that conference I was at, every post you put on google+ is treated like a different searchable page, so the more you post the wider your online presence, and the more likely search engines are to find you.
Personally, I’m glad google doesn’t look at individual facebook status updates and tweets when hunting for sites related to a specific search. It does include facebook fan pages and twitter accounts. The hype surrounding google+ feels like a lot of SEO hocus pocus intended to buck the curve. If you want to buy into it and go gung ho on google+, I’m not going to stop you. But as an author, I think it’s more important to write great books than to stress over the latest SEO trend. Having a good website to go along with a few great books is a much simpler way to build a web presence.
Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Tumbler and MoreThere are lots of other social media webpages eager and willing to gobble up all your writing time. Like blogging and twitter, these are sites that you should only use if you enjoy them. But unlike blogging and twitter, which can be wonderful places to connect with other writers, most of these other sites have virtually no actual value. If you have a thousand followers on Instagram, maybe your Instagram account will generate new readers. But if you have a thousand followers on Instagram, how are you finding the time to write your next book?

Create a webpage. Set up a goodreads account. Make a facebook fan page. Blog if you want to. Tweet if you want to. And then log off the internet and go write your next book. Getting fan mail is awesome. When your readers want to find you, make sure you are there to be found. But if you want to be an author, I recommend learning how to communicate in more than 140 characters.

What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk.  Head over to Jaime's page for links to find out what's up with everyone else. Here's what's up with me.
What I'm Reading

This week I started reading  10 Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew  by Ellen Notbohm. One of the main characters in The Evolution of Emily has autism. I didn't do much, any, research about dyslexia before writing Counting to D , because I'd already lived the research. I am dyslexic. I'm not autistic though. So writing EoE, requires more research. I did a bunch of research a year ago when I started this project. When I finished my last round of revisions, I had this temporary panic that I'd gotten Olivia's character totally wrong.

Olivia is Emily's little sister, and she's an awesome character. She is complicated and interesting, and also happens to have autism. Olivia isn't steriotypical, so for a second I was worried she wasn't accurate. 10 Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew is a very good non-fiction book geared primarily towards parents of autistic children. If you don't have an autistic kid and aren't planning to read it, I'll give you the shortened version. Every child with autism is a child and like all other children they are complicated and interesting, and autism is only one small part of who they are.

Few, I think that means Olivia is a realistic character after all. That's good, because she is beyond fabulous and totally makes EoE worth reading. I'm still planning to get a few people tied to the autistic community to beta read for me, but for now, I feel a lot more confident about this story.

What I'm Writing

I finished The Evolution of Emily at 3am on Friday night, or Saturday morning. I have stayed up late into the night finishing books I'm ready many times. This is the first time I've ever stayed up all night finishing a book I was writing though. I absolutely love the way it came together. I still need to do one final read through before sending it off to beta readers, but I don't plan on making any changes larger than correcting typos. Despite finishing EoE on Friday, I haven't actually started this last read through yet.

I want to send it out to beta readers the first week of April, so I really should get back to it. If you want to be one of my beta readers, let me know. Just to get you excited, I'll give you a mini teaser.

As my "What I'm Reading" answer indicated, Emily has an autistic sister, Olivia. Olivia is obsessed with biology, and there is lots of biology info supplied by Olivia all throughout the story. When Emily get's a cute new boyfriend (this is contemporary YA after all), Olivia asks, "Are you mating?"

That single line of dialog was actually the spark that set this book in motion. And the autistic sex talk that follows is fabulous! I can't wait until November when I can share it with all my readers. But I really do need beta readers before that, so let me know if you want a sneak peak.

What Inspires Me Right Now

I had a blog post go viral. Not at the millions of viewers level, but still huge compared to my normal levels. Most of my posts get somewhere between 20 and 150 views depending upon the content and if it's linked to other sites, etc. Last Friday, I wrote a post about the 5 Things Every Dyslexic Should Know. I noticed a few people shared it on facebook and twitter, but didn't think anything of it. Until I noticed its had 1200 hits already.

In terms of SEO and all that good stuff, I think this means I'm becoming more of an "expert" on dyslexia. Considering the main character in my debut novel is dyslexic, this is fabulous news! Maybe I should write some autism posts.

What Else I've Been Up To

It was beautiful over the weekend. It's raining again today. But this weekend, Spring was out in full force. There is a tree in my backyard that's way to close to the house, garage, neighbors house, etc. It's a big tree (about 80 feet) and is starting to compromise the buildings foundations. Also, it's just an awful tree. It drops spiky balls all over our yard and makes a huge mess. It needs to go.

So over the weekend, my crazy husband cut off all the branches. We haven't cut down the trunk yet and may have to hire a real arborist for that job. But here are a few pictures of my husband pretending to be an arborist.

As a point of reference, I took the first two pictures while standing on top of my garage. I had to take the picture with my husband in it before he picked up the chainsaw, because once he started cutting, it was my job to hold the safety rope tied to his back. As you can see from the third picture, our elaborite road system worked. That giant branch that hangs over our neighbors fence did not hit her roof. It missed it by a good three feet before swinging back into our yard.


So what's up with you?

Mission Acomplished

It's week three of YA Buccaneers Spring Writing Boot Camp, and things are going great! I have successfully climbed the mountain of my writing.

I finished my re-write of The Evolution of Emily and I really like the way the story turned out. I can't wait to share it with my readers.

While it wont be available for general readers until next fall, I'm planning to send it out to beta readers next week. If you would like to beta read for me, let me know.

My plan for next week is to read through EoE one last time before sending it off to my betas the first week of April. At that time, I will also be starting the third book in the Kennedy High series.

I haven't written anything down on my third book yet, but I've started thinking about the main characters and major plot points. I'm really excited about writing this one.

How has your writing been going this week?

What's Your Story - Fear Edition

For the past several months, I've interviewed a different person each week in an ongoing project I call What's Your Story? So far I've talked to 31 different people. One of the questions I ask all my what's your story participants is, What do you fear most?

Here are the answers I've received so far.


Okay, seriously? Tornadoes. Or maybe being buried alive. ... Definitely that one, actually.

Earwigs. I know, I'm totally neurotic, but I'm terrified of earwigs. I don't mind other insects, and I think it's really just the name that gets me. Every time I see an earwig, I think it's going to crawl into my ear. There are a bunch of earwigs in my garden, and when they make it into the house attached so some home grown produce, it always makes me loose my appetite. And also squirm and freak out too. Seriously, earwigs are creepy.

Yikes. Honestly... I'm not afraid of quitting or falling behind with my art, because I know I wouldn't let that happen. It's far more likely that I'll continue working, but I'll keep doing so in relative isolation. No audience, no recognition. Just some strange girl with a notebook and a tablet PC filled with terrible comics. So I guess I fear isolation more than anything.

I’m afraid of losing control. I become agitated when I can’t control a situation and if someone tries to control me. I get upset, become avoidant since I’m not argumentative, and sometimes I lose my temper. Mild discomfort can lead to full panic mode. I don't want anyone or anything compromising my freedom.

I think I have the general fear that most parents have:  I have never raised children before—So are we doing a good job, or scarring them for life?  I am guessing the answer is:  probably a little of both!!!--which is VERY scary!   If you don’t think this is scary, then just remember all those sappy songs and quotes about how children are the future?!?!... and then come to the realization that they are talking about YOUR children being the future!  Scary indeed!

Not connecting with other people.

I fear being unloved, or maybe its fear that I am unworthy of love.

Being inadequate.

when i was younger i feared stagnation - i never wanted to become stuck in a place where i would stop growing. over the years, having repeatedly changed situations and started fresh (sometimes by choice, sometimes not), my hunger for knowledge and faith in my resilience and charisma have faded. i realize more and more how difficult it is for me to connect with people or feel a sense of belonging. what good is experience without people to share it with? as i struggle to connect with people, it becomes harder to identify things in my life that feel worth knowing or sharing. sometimes i miss past opportunities to "stagnate." i am no longer afraid of an end to learning so much as i am of being alone.

Failure in life.

I would say I’m afraid of being ostracized.  I know that’s not the perfect word for it.  Maybe shunning?  There used to be a practice, I want to say in colonial times, where everyone would just turn their backs on a Scarlet Letter type person and ignore them.  Like, literally just turn their backs and pretend the offender wasn’t there.  We have a modern version, I’m not sure if it’s got a name yet, but you probably know what I mean.  The whole internet instantly deems you persona non grata.  Your career, mighty though it may have been, is toppled.  You become hated.  A joke.  It happened to Paula Deen…Nickelback…Miley Cyrus.  I’m sure between the time I write this and the time it goes up on Kate’s blog it will have happened to someone else.  I’m always sort of afraid I’ll say something stupid and then be ostracized like that.

I honestly can’t answer this. I don’t know. There’s so many things one could fear might happen, but I figure I’ll take things as they come. . .somehow. 

Not sure I've lived enough to answer this well, but the truth is that I hate failing. I've been lucky enough to find things I do well early in life, but that has hindered me because I am not sure how to fail publicly.

Being abandoned in a pitch black room, full of creepy china dolls; where, at random intervals, the light flashes on, only to reveal that the dolls, with their big, freaky, staring eyes have moved. Yikes! It makes me want to run and hide, just thinking about it.

My greatest fear is opening myself to someone, asking for help and being treated as if I don't mater.

I fear failing my children. I realize I'm painting a picture here of being a crazy, neurotic, over-protective mom, but I promise, I hide it in real life very well!

Dying before being able to raise my daughter until she's an adult. There, it's the truth. I'm not really afraid of dying really, I'm afraid of leaving the people I love behind, of leaving my daughter without a mother.

I've always been a big risk taker. I fear that one of my actions will inadvertently hurt the people that I love. I also fear living my life with regrets.

I most fear losing my children. Probably a pretty common fear for parents. My second-biggest fear is dying young and not getting to raise my children. My third biggest fear is losing Tony (my husband) and having to raise the kids on my own.

I have faced every fear and demoralized them.

Playing the piano in public.

I'm not afraid of ghosts, I love ghosts. And horror movies, and all of that stuff. Paranormal Activity is the best movie ever! I'm afraid of bad drivers. Riding on the highway during rush hour when my mom is driving is scary.

That I won’t be able to tell all the stories I wish to tell. That I won’t be able to learn all the skills I want to learn in order to become the artist I wish to become. Also, scorpions. It’s like someone made the perfect math equation for producing the world’s most terrifying creatures, plugged in a very, very high number, and scorpions came out.

Having someone break into my house when I’m home alone or asleep in bed.

Rejection. And awkward, uncomfortable situations, which often stem from rejection.I hate hurting other peoples feelings. 

Doing damage that's beyond my power to repair. Yeah, it really does extend to all aspects of life. Breakups? Ouch, I'm hurting someone and it's not in my power to make it all better. Dealing with other people's money? Oh, you better believe that's scary. I could lose someone else's money, and not be able to fix it. The worst part about this fear is it's not unreasonable, it's only the strength of my reaction that's unreasonable. But the bigger problem is that I want to be a show runner, and being in charge means you're empowered to do a lot of good, but always more harm than good. So good luck to me. Yikes!

That something bad will happen to my kids.

Running out of chocolate. Either that or having to be dependent on someone else. Spiders are also pretty awful. I think it's a three way tie for #1.

Anything bad happening to anyone I love.

Wasps. Everything else I can buckle down and meet head on. But not wasps..unless it was to save a baby or something. 

The unknown, which is crazy because life is full of it. I’m a worrier by nature. It’s definitely something I’m working on.

So what about you? What do are you afraid of? If you are interested in participating in a future installment of What's Your Story, please leave your contact information in the comments section of this post, or email me directly at katherine.elliott.scott(at)gmail.

Advice to Dyslexics

A few weeks ago, I posted my advice to aspiring authors. While many of the people reading this blog are aspiring authors, they aren’t the target audience for my novel, Counting to D . C2D is a contemporary young adult novel about a dyslexic teenager, and is already being embraced by the dyslexic community. Learning Ally called it “an honest portrayal of dyslexia that is sure to speak to those who are familiar with the learning disability, and provide much-needed illumination on this oft misunderstood subject to those who aren’t.”
In addition to writing a novel with a dyslexic main character, I am also dyslexic myself. I understand how challenging living in a literate world can be for dyslexic children and young adults. So today, I wanted to take a moment to share my advice for dyslexics. I have a lot of suggestions, but have broken them down into five simple tips for today’s post.
1.       Don’t believe people who tell you you’re stupid. 
You aren’t stupid! The “average” dyslexic has a significantly “above average” intelligence. Not reading is really hard, and it takes an enormous amount of critical thinking and concentration to survive in a literate society without reading. Sam, the main character in Counting to D , is a genius. I didn’t choose to make her that way as a convenient narrative work around. I made her a genius because every dyslexic I know in real life is crazy smart. If you are dyslexic, and you’re reading this right now, you probably are too.
2.       Figure out what you are good at. 
Reading and thinking are not the same thing! Not being able to read, does not mean you can’t think. So figure out how you think. What are your own personal strengths? Spelling may be super hard, but not everything task requires the ability to spell. Find out what you can do, and then do it.
3.       Recognize all your strengths, not only the obvious ones. 
Personally, I am very good at math and science. Despite struggling with basic reading, I did well in all my math classes in school. I then grew up to become a licensed engineer. Engineering was a logical choice that utilized my obvious strengths. But math isn’t the only thing I can do. I’m also a very good listener, and I have a very active imagination. I have always love making up stories. I will never be a strong reader, or a good speller, but I can still be an author. I simply had to recognize that authors do more than read fast and spell well, they make up stories. I can do that. I’m actually really good at it. You can do things too. Don’t sell yourself short.
4.       Work as hard as you have to. 
Learning how to read is very hard for dyslexics, that is just a given. But it’s not impossible. There are support systems in place and ways to learn. If you’re struggling in school, get help and try harder. The International Dyslexia Association is a great resource for finding support services in your community.  It won’t be easy, but very few things worth doing are easy. And learning how to read is worth it. So put in the hard work, and never give up on yourself.
5.       Get help when you need it. 
Help can come in many forms. Learning Ally is a fabulous resource for students that need audio textbooks. They also provide fiction titles, including Counting to D. But assistance should extend beyond the obvious academic support systems provided by resources like IDA and Learning Ally. As a dyslexic author, I have a very hard working copy editor who corrects all my creative spellings. I’d never survive without her; fortunately, I don’t have to. Thinking you can do everything on your own, both in school and in the life that comes once you’re done with school, isn’t realistic. That doesn’t mean you can’t do amazing things. You can! You just might not be able to do them alone.
You aren’t stupid. There are lots of things you can do, not despite your learning disability, but because of your learning disability. You see the world in a different way than most people, and therefore have the capability of doing things many people can’t.  Don’t set your self-expectations to low, but don’t expect to be able to do everything own either. Surround yourself with the people and tools you need to reach your potential. You are can be phenomenal. Don’t settle for anything less.