Who knew that three little dots to show a pause could be overused? Before I turned in my manuscript, I revised, revised, and revised. I checked to make sure that all the periods, commas, questions marks, and exclamation points were all in the right places. I double checked my grammar and sentence structure. I even used the "Find and Change" feature in Word to make sure I removed the weedy words like suddenly, instantly, and immediately. However, I never thought twice about that darn . . . ellipsis! You know that series of three dots that allows a writer to omit words or phrases without changing the meaning. Or, as some writers, like me, use it--to demonstrate a pause in thought or the flow of a sentence like "I wonder . . ."

Well, my editor knew, and she very kindly pointed out my crime. Duh . . . duh . . . duh! I was caught red handed with too many ellipsis. Oops! My sentence? "Go through the manuscript and delete 90 percent of them or even more." 

So, two days later, I am finally in the almost ellipsis free zone. I have cut, changed, added, swapped phrases, and scrubbed my manuscript clean. It is now ready to return it for the final edit. Whew. What a learning experience. Tomorrow, I will email it off with all the corrections. You might say, I am feeling good. Hmmm, I just hope she doesn't want those dashes I used for emphasis or to show interruption removed. Oh, well, if she does that will be another part of my journey.

"Are you famous? You know . . . like the person who wrote the Hunger Games."  I must admit that I was shocked when I was asked this question by a 10 year-old who was just told by her teacher that I was an author, but that made me stop and think. What is famous anyway? Is it some shooting star that rocks the New York Times Book list? Or, a first time author whose book sells a million copies? To the world, yes. But for me, I have to ask, "Is being famous really important in my writing journey?"

Famous, by Webster's definition, is someone who is "widely known; honored for achievement." Hunger Games author, Suzanne Collins, definitely fits that bill. I know because I became a fan of hers with the Underland Chronicles, and it just made sense to stick with her when her Hunger Games trilogy came out. She has millions of fans, and to most people, fans determine whether an author is famous or not. But are fans they only thing that determine whether an author is famous or not? Remember the second part of that definition--honored for an achievement? 

When I take stock of what I have accomplished since I retired in 2012 and began my new career as a writer and author, I have several achievements that I am proud of. My children's articles have seen the light of day thanks to Guardian Angel Kids, my non-fiction book The Great Camel Experiment of the Old West was published, and I was able to self-publish my first picture book thanks to my family of supporters. In addition, my first Tween Novel was just contracted by MuseitUp Publishing. And, I am happy to say that each article, short story, and book was written because of an overwhelming need to put the idea on paper--a need to accomplish a goal--and a need to fulfill my dream of becoming a writer and an author--a need to keep walking on my journey. 

I really think that it takes more than fans to be considered famous. In my journey, I've been blessed with the friendships of an inspiring group of writers--aspiring, published, and accomplished. Not one of them considers herself and himself to be famous, but each one of them is famous to me. Why? Because of their desire to write, their determination to do the hard stuff even if there is not recognition, their willingness to encourage every new writer as well as each other, and their love of the written word. I am a fan of every single one of them. 

But if the world only looks to fans for a determination of successfully achieving fame, then I truly am famous because my 10 year-old grand daughter answered her classmate's question, "Are you famous?" with "She is to me."