Powering Through

Being creative is hard work. It takes effort, commitment, time, dedication, and tenacity. I've seen artists become successful on a local level, but I also know how many years it took them to get there. Writing and editing are no different from other forms of art.

Writing for me comes naturally. My first drafts are messy, convoluted, and sometimes need a huge overhaul, because I do a little bit of outlining and a bunch of pantsing. I go into writing with vague ideas that end up getting fleshed out halfway through, which means I always have to go back. Rewrites are a big part of my writing process, and they are also more time consuming than writing.

There's something about re-reading the first words I've put down that makes me a bit disheartened. I think in my head, "This isn't good." I second guess myself and my art. It pushes me to the edge of wanting to give up, because the words didn't flow the way I wanted them to.

Rewriting is where I get stuck. It's the part of the process where I have to power through and just "do it." The only person holding me back is the inner editor inside me that dislikes (hate is too strong of a word) my first draft.

Drafts are not supposed to be this shiny, perfect thing that you can push out into the world. Drafts are for shaping and folding, mending into the story you want it to become. This part of the process should be fun (at least on some level). I have this novel in my hands that I created, and now I just have to make it better. I should look at this as enhancement, but I always struggle to get through.

All writers struggle with some part of the process, and despite the struggle, you should never give up.

Being creative takes time and dedication. You have to forgive yourself if it's not perfect, and then you have to work on making it better. I could throw this book aside and say, "Eh, I'll get to that later." But if I stop now, I'll lose momentum. I'll, essentially, give up.

What is your reason for powering through when you are struggling creatively?

Mine is the characters I create. I know they have a story worth sharing, which makes me want to finish what I've started. Even if the story is over, the characters never really leave me.

New Year, New Planner

I'm a saver, not a spender, and as such, I hardly ever buy things for myself. Sure, sometimes I splurge with this "I really need this," but I have to justify it to myself, much like a child would a parent. I have to explain to myself how vitally important this item is.

One recent purchase was The Simple Elephant Planner. I tried doing the bullet journal thing last year, but I found the page set up to be tedious. I wanted my planner to look cool with awesome spreads, and I spent so much time making each calendar month look great, that I spent less time actually doing the items on my list.

This year, I decided to try The Simple Elephant, and so far so good. It's simple and goal-oriented. It has to list the five most important goals for you to do this year, and it comes with a few easy instruction guides to give you advice on how to set up your goals.

Mine are:

1. Shop Dissimulate to 50 Agents
2. Publish two additional works
3. Better Overall Health: Mental breaks, meditation, and lowering waist size
4. Read 50 books
5. Take a Vacation

Ideally, I won't reach 50 agents with Dissimulate, but since "get an agent" isn't a quantifiable goal, because it depends on the agents I shop to. So, I've decided on something more straightforward and gave myself a number to shop by the end of the year. Dissimulate has a lot in it though: a futuristic sci-fi theme, existential discussions, and a GLBT main character. This one will find a home.

I wrote most of it for NaNoWriMo, took December off to get Overwatch loot boxes (I'm a bit obsessed with opening shiny treasure boxes in that game), and I'm finishing up the book now. I'm at 64,000 words and approaching the end. My rough drafts always skimp on description, so the rewrite usually adds 10k in story and descriptions.

While it is only January 4, I feel really great about the simplicity of setting up this notebook. It breaks down overall goals into monthly goals, breaks down monthly goals into weekly ones. Then, it helps recap your week with successes as well as what can be done better.

Now, I know I have to have Dissimulate done by March for shopping. Now, I know once that's finished I can pursue the other two titles I wish to publish this year. I expect big things from myself in 2018, and you should expect big things from yourself, too.

What are your plans for the new year? Any big goals? What are you using to track your progress?

An Existential Existence

I haven't updated in a really long time, and perhaps I am now due to an existential crisis about what it means to truly exist and be conscious and simply "be" because I watched a marathon of Westworld. It made me think about life in a slightly different way, and I suppose I was already starting to do this, but it reinforced this idea of never winning. As it stands, there's a strange peace in knowing there is no such thing as winning. This life that we're given may in fact be the only one we are ever privy to and may be the only one we get (beliefs aside for a moment).

But in knowing there is no winning, then what is the point? As Ed Harris's character explores in Westworld, why do we keep going through the daily monotony if there is no actual way to get ahead. There's small battles that lead up to small wars and then what? More battles? More wars?

If life is a cycle, what makes it worth continuing?

I turn inward to my creative self, the self that wants to keep producing, keep making despite all the hardships and consequences of trying to achieve a creative life in today's time. Though, I wonder, where did this wondrous desire to write come from? Sure, I've been inspired numerous times in my life, by my peers, my teachers, random strangers, my family. But where did it all start? And more importantly, why did it start?

The first story I ever wrote was about a haircut. A girl who hesitantly entrusts her best friend to give her a haircut, even though he has no professional experience. Now, my best friend when I was nine was not about to give me a haircut. My sister, up until that point, had been my only hairstylist. Why that story? Why that idea? Why any of it?

When I take a step back, I come to realize that I write because of the why. There isn't any grandiose reason I chose to become a writer. There wasn't a single light bulb that turned on one day and made me realize "this is my way of being." I write because I need to explore. I write because I ask these questions, questions many of us never find the answers to. While that might seem sad or depressing, I'm actually okay with it. Maybe these questions weren't meant to be answered. Maybe they were meant to be explored again and again.

That's the interesting thing about existing and searching for answers you may never find. Once you become okay with the search, accepting that the search may indeed be endless and you may never find the treasure trove perfect answer (42), then life becomes much more enjoyable, because you can become more focused on living in the moment.

With all that being said, what prompted this mass exploration of myself and writing and what makes life worth it? Well, I spent the last week in a tremendous amount of pain, so much so that I had to swallow my pride and ask for help. I hate feeling reliant on other people, even my wonderful partner in crime, because I have this idea of me being strong and independent. Fact is, my body gave up. Something happened, or maybe many things happened, and my back could no longer support my weight, a result of massive sciatica. I could barely stand up or sit without assistance. I went to the emergency room and still don't have answers as to what exactly happened to me.

The pain made me question why I do the things I do, why I pursue the things that make my life so financially hard (and therefore, make acquiring healthcare hard). Ultimately, the answer remains that I do what I do because I'm in search of answers. And it's the search that makes life intense, unique, fun, and difficult. But if I could do it all over again, I wouldn't choose another life path. I will always choose to explore, however difficult that may be.

Here's hoping all of you have a wonderful, happy, and healthy holiday season. I am going to be more active on the blog going forward, because this is something I've been missing.

2014 Accomplishments and 2015 Goals

I set a lot of crazy goals for myself in 2014, which I realize was a little over zealous. But I still accomplished a lot, so here it goes:

• Wrote, edited, and published YA Dystopian, The Collapse (The Uprising #2).
• Wrote, edited, and published YA Contemporary, Girl Nevermore.
• Wrote, edited, and published short horror story, ZERO (which you can get for free by signing up for my newsletter).
• Started my author newsletter.
• Ran several book giveaways.
• Moved to a different state.
• Got a new job (which starts soon!)
• Read 50 books.
• Founded the independent author collective, The Scriptors.
• Finished NaNoWriMo for the fourth year in a row (by writing In a Blue Moon, to be published soon).

I think that's most of it, but overall a very productive year!

I'm excited for 2015, but I'm keeping my goal list a little shorter this year. I'm taking each day at a time, and I have a monthly calendar with each day's goals written out. It worked great for December, so I'm keeping it up for this year!

Here are my writing, reading, and personal goals for the next 365 days:

• Publish three books.
• Publish one novella.
• Read 55 books.
• Take five hikes to beautiful locations.
• Go on five photo adventures.
• Eat at five new restaurants.
• Complete NaNoWriMo for the fifth year in a row.

That's it! Seven goals. Of course, I can always stretch these goals. I can always add another book, hike, or random adventure to the mix. I'm excited for 2015, because I feel focused again and ready to take the challenges as they come.

Cheers to the New Year!

What are some of your accomplishments from the past year and goals for the new one?

A Different Approach

If you're a writer, you've probably heard the phrase, "Just write; editing comes later."  It's very good advice, but I'm abandoning it for my latest endeavor.  Before you gasp, I will say that I do not recommend this for new writers.  New writers shouldn't second guess themselves every step of the way.  New writers should write and practice writing.  Editing can come later.

While I only have two works published, I'm not a new writer.  I'm working on my eighth novel.  None of my novels have been published, because I get hung up on the editing process.  I'm so excited about writing the story, and I write my book in less than two months.  Then I hit the wall.

My wall is editing.  It's so giant that I can't see a way to climb it, let alone figure out how to get to the other side. So I've decided that my wall needs a door.

I am abandoning the really good advice that got me to seven novels in the first place.  After writing a chapter, I'm going to edit it to make it the best chapter it can be. I'm crazy, right?

My new approach to writing:

• Outline the whole book. My outlines are super long.  They have some choppy dialogue, description as it comes to me, random notes, and whatever pops in my head.  I might have a 600 word outline for a 3,000 word chapter. My outlines, in essence, are the first draft of a story.  It's easy to add and subtract things in this state because the writing doesn't have finesse yet.  It's also allows me to developmentally review my book before I really start writing.
• Write a chapter.  I need to slow down while I write and take time to imagine each scene. I'm especially having trouble with this piece, since world building is a massive part of my story.  But the next step should also help with this.
• Edit the chapter.  This will happen two to four times.  
• First pass: Check the description and the character development. Are things unfolding the way they need to be?  Is the pacing for this chapter good?  
• Second pass: Grammar, sentence structure, tightening paragraphs.  Is there a better way to say something?  Are the emotions coming out okay?  
• Third pass: Another line editing pass.  
• Fourth pass: Proofreading / last minute fixes.
• Write the next chapter.

When I finish, my book should almost be done.  I'll do one last pass on the whole book before sending it off to my proofreaders.

Editing my own work has always been a headache and hangup for me.  I like to reward myself for editing, so I end up playing a tons of video games when I could be writing.

My new reward system will be: "Once you finish editing this chapter, you get to write the next one."

Writing, something I love, will get me through editing, something I struggle with. I should mention, while I struggle with my own editing, I love editing for my clients.

I'll be sure to blog with an update of how this is working for me!  So far, I really like this idea in theory... now to test it.

Monthly Goal Update

I am happy to start this post with:

I finished writing No Sugar Coating!

I know I don't normally get this excited about my projects when I finish them, but deciding to self-publish a few of my titles makes me insanely happy.  I have a deadline (February 2014) and a goal to work towards.  It's tangible.  There's a light at the end of the tunnel!

It stands at 47,000 words.  I was aiming for 50,000, but usually more descriptive meat gets added during editing.  My first draft is always in gray scale, so-to-speak, and the second draft gets painted with color.

So!  With that announcement being done, I have several other goals to touch upon.

May is going to be a busy month, but I'm ready, and excited, for it.  I have a trip back to New Hampshire to visit the family (much needed, since I haven't met my youngest nephew yet) and then I have all these shenanigans that I've set out for myself.

Before leaving:  finish the first and second edit of my top secret novelette project.  Deliver a copy to my husband, one of my awesome critique partners, and my roommate.

After getting back:  Do another edit based on feedback of top secret novelette project.  Get it to my beta readers.  Edit The Unanswerable.  Create mock-cover for The Unanswerable.  Start the IndieGogo for The Unanswerable. 

I took a look at my finished projects, and I was shocked to see how many of them are lying around right now.  I have four sitting, not actively being worked on, and one temporarily abandoned (until I feel like rewriting it into a darker NA story).  That's five projects that are doing nothing.

I look at that and think, "What am I doing?!"  I keep starting new, shinier projects and leaving my old ones behind.  It's daunting, looking at that back list, and thinking of how many edits, changes, etc. I have in my future.  But knowing I have plenty of things to work on feels good.

For the rest of this year, with the exception of NaNo, I will be trying to finish what I started.

Writing Over 20,000 Words in a Day

I wasn't sure I would ever get here.  Honestly, when I started writing again, squeezing out six thousand words in a day burned me out.

But this weekend, I set a goal for 10,000 words during a 24-hour competition of word wars. After getting woken up by cats at 4:30 am, I started writing.  I managed 1,600 before crawling back into bed (it was 5:00 am, could you blame me?). I woke up again at 7:30 am, a more appropriate time.  I wrote.  I didn't stop writing until my dearest husband made us breakfast - then I only stopped to eat.

By 4:00 pm, I finished my novelette, a semi-comedic dystopian.  It stands at 19,380 words.

Since I hadn't broken 20,000, I switched gears and wrote a few more thousand for No Sugar Coating.  My grand total of the day was 21,968 words.

A lot of people commented on my status updates and said I was a machine (okay, maybe I said that I was a machine).  I kind of felt like it that day.  My fingers kept writing in this weird autopilot.  It was my writing and me, nothing else came into play.

It was a little bizarre to finish the entire novelette in one day, almost like I had watched a friend grow up in the span of nine hours.

I wanted to share some tips on how I made this possible.

1. If you have a significant other, get him/her to support you for the day (like making food).  You may owe them a few back rubs.  If you don't have a partner in crime, be prepared with meals you can heat, eat, then resume writing.
2. Outline, outline, outline.  I'm usually write by the seat of my pants.  A lot of writers do this, and I used to love doing it.  But I've seen the light. Outlines can really save you from making weird little plot bunnies that don't end up going anywhere.  They can also help you stay focused.  I wrote 2,000 words in my outline.  2k for a 19k piece seems excessive, but my characters stayed on track.
3. Read over your outline the night before.  In fact, you should be thinking about your story almost constantly in the days leading up to this! 
4. Give yourself a reasonable goal.  Pass it.  Then keep writing.  I started with 10k.  Once I finished that and saw how early it was, I said, "I can do this."  Set my next goal for 15k.  Finished that, still had time.  So 20k it was.
5. Don't sweat the small stuff.  You will have grammatical errors and probably a lot of typos.  This is your rough draft.  It does not have to be perfect.  Can't think of the right word?  Find a quick filler and keep going.
6. Reward yourself.  If you achieve your first goal, you should allow yourself to do something that you don't normally do or buy a little something for yourself.  In my case, I bought more books.  (ALL THE BOOKS).

It's possible.  It takes a lot of focus, some fun and friendly competition, a super supportive group of people (thank you husband and members of the G+ community!!), and tons of motivation.

Any of you have big writing goals planned?  How do you approach a full day of writing?

Oh, and be on the lookout for upcoming news of my novelette.  I plan on releasing it in July, but there will be plenty of sneak peeks and information before then!

April Goals

March went by and was decently successful.  I have 23,000 words written of No Sugar Coating, my YA Magical Realism piece.  Though, I think calling it Science Fiction and putting it under "Psychic powers" or something like that might be more accurate?  It's contemporary, except the one, magical element.  Which, these days, can arguably be either Magical Realism or Paranormal.

Where We Collide has four chapters left of first edit of the third complete rewrite.  My critique partners have gotten me feedback on most of the chapters.  I still need to work on this throughout the month, but I'm really close!  I did rewrite my not-so-great query letter, so that least that's done.

I need to edit/rework the synopsis, focus on the first five-ten pages, and then send off queries.  I am so excited!

This month, I also plan on finishing No Sugar Coating.  Depending on the length, I might hold off on self-publishing and consider maybe seeking an agent for it.  But if it ends up being novella length (my original intention), I'll self-pub.  If I ends up being over 55k, then I might seek traditional publishing.  I think it's a great story, I'm really proud of it.

And of course, April brings the dreaded Write-a-thon day.  On April 13th, a few friends and I are participating in Camp NaNo's write-a-thon, but we've put our own twist on it.  I'm excited, and nervous.  In preparation, I've been outlining my top-secret-novelette project (which has a name that I won't announce until I get closer to the release date).  It's YA Comedic Dystopian (that's the only sneak peek you're getting).  I plan on writing it in one weekend, and I'm aiming for 20k.  I figure if I outline enough then I might be able to pull it off.

So now I have a bunch of new goals, which include self-publishing the top-secret project by mid-June/early-July and creating an IndieGogo for The Unanswerable.

Yay for new projects!  And yay for almost finishing old projects!

Progress

I know editing is important, incredibly so.  But when I'm editing, I feel like I'm stagnant.  It's a frustrating feeling, especially when I have so many things to finish, polish, and improve.

Thankfully, this month brings a different tactic, since I'm determined to make progress with No Sugar Coating, I am writing a little bit every day.  Editing is taking place in my downtime, but it's still happening.  I have so much to do with Where We Collide before I can fully count it as "decent enough to query."  It does stand much better than the original, so I'm happy in regards to that.

RUHE, however, is going to take a complete backseat.  It was my first finished manuscript.  Perhaps somewhere down the road, I'll take it out of the box and dust it off, when I feel like making a darker story, "going there" instead of easing off at the last moment.  For now, I'm quite content to focus on my other two projects.

In other news, I've been reading, a lot.  I've rediscovered the wonders of audiobooks.  I know that sounds silly, but when I first listened to books on CD they were all kind of done in the same, drab narration.  Now, they are punchy, have impact, and it's almost like watching a movie unfold.

The wonders of technology and the world we live in:  I love it.  I can listen to an audiobook, read a physical book at lunch, and take my ebooks anywhere I'd like.  At this moment, I have three books in progress, one in each format.  I think I'm honestly making up for lost time.  So many days of my life were spent hating books because of my "required readings."  But I wonder, now that I'm older and more in love with lyrical writing, if I would get more out of reading the classics now than I did then.

Maybe some day I'll revisit my old, required readings and see what I make of them.  For now, I'm having too much fun getting lost in young adult literature, new and old.

March on!

Okay, I know I'm a day early, but bring it, March!

I fought with February, goal wise.  We threw down, took the gloves off, and went three rounds.  In the end, this is what I accomplished:

• Edited 60k of Where We Collide (10k left)
• Plotted the entirety of No Sugar Coating
• Wrote 8k of No Sugar Coating

Things I missed:  Finish CPing (still working on it - so grateful that my CP is understanding!), writing all of Part One for No Sugar Coating, and of course, editing the entirety of Where We Collide.

I read seven books in February.  My husband and I joke that I'm now addicted to reading.  I think he's right.  I continue to go to the library and buy books when they are on sale.  I have 10 books on my desk that are all unread. Maybe I'm just a book hoarder...  Better than the other alternatives, I suppose!

March Goals:

• Finish editing Where We Collide - get it to CPs
• Finish CPing
• Write 20k of No Sugar Coating
• Consider editing RUHE - discuss with Betas/CPs if they think it might be better if I make it darker...  I still feel like it's not as strong as it could be

RUHE might be completely on hold until I finish other projects.  I want to accomplish tangible goals - and right now, RUHE is rather directionless. 

Just to update my word count, I've written 46,768 words this year!  Okay, okay, I included some rewrites, but hey, that's work/words towards my end goal.  So I have a right to brag about it just a little bit ;)

Feeling good about March, since the majority of the edits are done, I'm excited to start my new project in earnest.

Winners and February Update

I just emailed the three winners from February - congratulations to those who won - and thank you everyone else for following!

There will be more giveaways this year - but probably not for a few months.  It's an exciting time in my head/house, but I've got a lot of work to do and not much time to do it (that's the norm for everyone, it's it?)

My husband received good news on his side of the creative career fence, so this year is shaping up to be great.

I wanted to take the time to go over what I've done so far this month - and what I'm still working on.

Edit Where We Collide again - working on it! I'm working with my two awesome critique partners and getting feedback, but I'm trying to do this as fast as humanly possible.  If I didn't have to work 8 hours a day, I would be working 8 hours a day on this.  Consequently this also covers my update on "Get Where We Collide to CPs"

Finish CPing - We're working on it.  I'm really loving the piece I'm critiquing (or maybe I'm just saying that because she reads my blog - Shout out, hello!).  But in all honesty, I adore her piece, though she can probably tell from the insane amount of commentary I put in the margins ;) It's like how I only yell at television shows when I'm invested in the characters (Walking Dead spoiler:  RICK, RICK, GO AFTER HIM, RICK!  ARE YOU SERIOUSLY LETTING HIM LEAVE?! AARRGGGG!!)

Plot No Sugar Coating - Done!  The 45k YA Magical Realism novella is plotted.  Though if it ends up turning into a novel, I wouldn't mind ;)

Write Part One of No Sugar Coating - This takes a backseat while I finish Where We Collide, but I did write 8k of it. 

In addition, I posted a new page for my 2013 goals, so you can keep track of where I'm at for each month.  Lots to do if I want to publish The Unanswerable this year - and No Sugar Coating the next!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day!

February Goals and January Accomplishments

Some triumphs and some set-backs.

What I accomplished:  Major rewriting and replotting of Where We Collide to make it ten times better than it was before. Finished all but 10k of the edits (my goal was 30k edits, not 50k, so woohoo)! Finished Good Criminal Heart.  

What I missed:  Submitted The Unanswerable to ABNA, but due to illness didn't have time to edit it.  Whoops.

Just in case you didn't know:  This is day nine of Sickdom.  Nine!  And while it is "just a cold" and "not the flu" and all that - nine days has really thrown off my writing/editing game.  This just means I need to step it up for February!

Original February Goals:
These are what I originally wanted to accomplish in the new year. 

• Finish editing Where We Collide
• Get Where We Collide to my beta readers

New February Goals:
Similar to the original, but with new additions (and *sparkles*)!

• Edit Where We Collide again - this time to make it into first person, and therefore, even better than it is now.
• Finish CPing
• Get Where We Collide to CPs
• Plot the entirety of No Sugar Coating (my super secret YA Magical Realism project)
• Write Part One of No Sugar Coating

My March Goals will come at the end of February.  Hopefully I will get some more random exercises to be blog content.

But know this, my friends:  I am working!

Drifting Away

Got another Writing Prompt today from the fabulous Nina Pelletier on G+.  So here's the first flash fiction piece of the year based on this prompt:

#1 - 1st person POV
#2 - 400 word count maximum
#3 - Your character has an unusual superpower.  Very Very unusual.  Have him/her tell us about it.

-----


"Hey," he smiled at me. I loved his smiles.

“Hi,” my voice was tentative.

I hated meeting new people, especially new guys. It was my fault that I was such a loner. One of my girlfriends told me a long time ago that I should get over it. But we’re not friends anymore. Call it self-fulfilling, but I saw Gina and Thomas, my ex, run off together long before they did.

“I’m Jack.” He held out his hand and leaned over the counter.

I tried to act the dumb blonde bit and refused to shake his hand. Instead, I continued with my customer spiel. “Our special today is Midnight Moon Chocolate – it’s really good.”

He eyed me; deep blue, grey steady on mine. He withdrew his hand. For the past month, I was able to gawk at him. He was gorgeous. But I didn’t want to touch him. It would ruin everything.

“Tell you what, Kylie. How about you and I go out on a date. Tonight? This place closes at nine, right?” It wasn’t really a question.

I looked down at my nametag. He made my voice sound like music. “Fine,” I grumbled. It was going to be tonight or never. “Ten.” At least I could go home and get the smell of spoiled milk out of my hair.

We met later at the only theatre in town. We had coffee beforehand, we talked, and we watched the only movie playing at 11pm. I treated him like he was on fire, staying far away from his hands as possible. Touching would ruin everything.

He leaned against his car at the end of the night. “I have to ask, is there going to be another date?”

“Maybe,” I said. Here goes nothing. I planted a kiss right on his lips. It took him by surprise. But what I saw surprised me more. The first time I touch someone, I see the last moment I will ever see them. I feel my heartbreak. That’s how I knew about Thomas and Gina before it happened.

Jack was the first person who wasn’t going to leave me. He cried silently over a hospital bed, my hospital bed, and I felt myself drifting away.

When I pulled back from our first kiss, I had a tear on my cheek.

“That was different,” he said bemused.

“You have no idea.” I wiped the tear away.

Goals 2013

The clocked turned to 12:00 am last night, and I was still wide awake.  So I set about reading the first book of the new year.

Since today is the first day of a year, it seems appropriate to do the "this year's goals" post.  I accomplished a lot last year, in summary:  Published novelette "My Summer Vacation by Terrance Wade", wrote novella The Unanswerable, wrote 55k of WIP Good Criminal Heart, made my first ten dollars on Examiner, finished Rioss, rewrote RUHE and had an awesome beta critiquing session.  And!  Had RUHE in the hands of two agents (both rejected, but after initial interest, which is exciting).

Goals by month:

January: Finish Good Criminal Heart, get 30k of Where We Collide edited.  Submit The Unanswerable to ABNA after a quick read through (not significant editing, just a quick one!)

February:  Finish Where We Collide editing and get it to my beta readers.

March: Make edits to RUHE based on beta's comments. Attempt the same for Where We Collide.

April: Rewrite Rioss (specifically the ending and adding several scenes to make the ending make more sense).

May: Get betas for synopsis, first five pages, and queries for both RUHE and Where We Collide then start querying (this will continue for the rest of the year, goal is 15 agents RUHE and 25 agents Where We Collide)

June: Edit The Unanswerable.  Get beta readers.

July: One last read through of Rioss now with new ending, then get betas.

August:  Edit The Unanswerable again - maybe hire an editor.  Or re-read it 10 times myself.

September: Start campaigning for the self-published release of The Unanswerable.  Make some early giveaways, cover reveals, get some bloggers to help me spread the word, etc.  Get betas for synopsis, first five pages, and queries for Rioss.  Start querying (will continue until I reach 30 agents).

October: Release The Unanswerable (perfect end of the world tale for the month of Halloween!)  Prep for NaNo.

November: NaNoWriMo!  Yes, I'm going to do it again.  Either The Underground, a semi-sequel to The Unanswerable or 2041, my silly sci-fi novel.

December: Wrap up any NaNo leftovers.  Start editing Good Criminal Heart.

I'm hoping to start 2014 with three fully-edited pieces, another self-published work, a new novel, and a partially edited novel.  Who knows, if I manage on querying the right person at the right time, maybe I'll even get a partner-in-crime (aka. an agent).

What are your goals for 2013?  Good luck to everyone!  Let's make this year a great one :)

How it feels...

You know when you first buy a book?  Or you pick up an old book that's been sitting on the shelf for awhile?  You know how you try not to be noticed when you smell it?

That's kind of how I feel today.

Except I don't care who sees me with my nose so far in my book that I might as well be snorting it.

The proofs of "My Summer Vacation by Terrance Wade" came today.  I sent two copies to my dad - one will reside with my grandmother.  She's my last grandparent - and she told me on Thanksgiving, "I hope to be around when your name is in print."

And now it is.

Terrance wasn't originally intended to become a paperback copy - but my grandma kind of sealed the deal with that comment.  I love her to pieces, and after she said that, I needed it to happen. 

Getting the copies today in the mail was amazing.  They are thin - as a novelette would be.  It stands at 50 pages.  But heck, I think they are 50 really fantastic pages, and it is only $3.99 for a copy of the book, which will be only $2 more than the ebook.

I say it is quite a steal for 50 pages of good content, especially since magazines sometimes are more than $4 each.

Anyway, you can get the paperback version yourself from CreateSpace.

Or you can purchase an ebook from Amazon or Smashwords.

I will be here in my room smelling my book until I fall asleep.  And if you are an author and haven't smelled one of your books yet, you should.

Published and Giveaway!

Remember that post I made way long ago about how I was going on a self-publishing adventure for "My Summer Vacation by Terrance Wade"?

Yeah, I barely remember that post myself, but the point is - I've done it.  I'm proud to announce that my not-quite-novella (aka novelette) is published and available on Amazon or Smashwords!

In addition to this super fabulous amazing news, I will be adding good news to it!

You know that Winter Giveaway that's still going on?

Well, each winner within the giveaway (there will be five winners) will receive a free ebook copy of My Summer Vacation by Terrance Wade.

 How's that for gifting before the holidays?

Now, if you don't know what Terrance Wade's Summer Vacation is all about, you should read this super awesome blurb:

Terrance’s dad always said, “Never let your mother through that door.”  So when she comes in through the window, Terrance figures it’s okay.

His mom says, “Terrance, your dad doesn’t want me to show you the world. But we’re going – tonight, now."

Terrance, a naive yet astute 7-year-old, doesn’t know he’s being kidnapped by his mother.  Instead, he thinks she’s a secret agent, and he believes they’re on a mission to save the world. 

If that's not enough to get you interested, let me tell you why I personally loved writing Terrance.  He's absolutely silly.  He's one of the silliest kids in the world.  He constantly finds ways to undermine his parents (unknowingly), and he frequently misunderstands things.

It's currently priced at a small sum of $1.50.  It's 15k words, and I firmly stand behind the "99 cents per 10k words" philosophy.  If you don't feel like buying it, but are interested, you should head over to the giveaway and enter!  There's five chances to win (the two hardcover contests close tonight)!

NaNoWriMo

I really have no excuse for why I've been so quiet other than NaNoWriMo.  I don't even think that's a good excuse, but I'm still using it anyway.

We are nine days into NaNo, and I am almost breaking 20k on Good Criminal Heart.  Finally going to see this project come to completion after seven years of sitting on it.

At this point, I am standing on a finished novelette ("My Summer Vacation by Terrance Wade"), a finished novella (The Unanswerable), and three finished novels (RUHE, Where We Collide, and Rioss).   Which means I need some realistic goals for myself in order to get these all published/shopped.

I'm still aiming for "My Summer Vacation..." to be self-published prior to the holiday season. 

The next few months will be busy.  After NaNo, I will get RUHE queried again and work on getting Where We Collide ready for querying.

How is everyone's November going?  Are you participating in NaNo?

Also, side note, if you want to keep up with my NaNo progress, I'm posting Main Character Facts along with word counts on my Google+ Page.

What happened to October?

There's this month.  It's called October.  I don't know if any of you have seen it, but I certainly missed it.  What happened to all the goals I was going to accomplish?  The days flew by, and I'm wondering what the heck happened to October.

Just to clarify it to myself, here's the story of October:

Last weekend I joined the army of the undead.  That's right.  My husband and I did the Run for Your Lives race.  No, not as runners.  Never as runners - are you kidding me?  I couldn't run to save my life.  But I can stumble around and scare the living daylights out of people.  We signed up to be zombies during the race, and as you can see, our makeup was... delicious.  Highly recommended for any zombie fans.  It's a lot of fun being dressed up in goop with good people by your side.

This weekend, we got lost in a corn maze.  By lost, I mean I kept peeking at the map so we wouldn't get lost because I hate getting lost.  My accomplishment was peeking less this year than last year.  Next year's goal is to stick the map in my purse and forget it exists.

We carved our pumpkins for the holiday.  I almost thought it wasn't going to happen this year, because like I said, the month of October disappeared.  Mine's the one with the moon and the cat.  Last year it was an owl, this year it was a cat.  I'm going to attempt to carve Jack Skellington at work tomorrow - we'll see how that goes.

Other than that... I did some critique partnering.  I've been reading a lot of 2nd and 3rd books in a series for the "Let's Finish What We Started" Challenge by the MA-YA group on goodreads.  On the fifth book now, Promised by Caragh O'Brien, and I still love the series even though that amazon review ruined the ending for me.  (Thanks person who wrote a huge spoiler in the title of your review.  You rock.)

My beta readers got me back Terrance so now I have to sit down and actually edit his story.  It shouldn't be that hard, sitting at only 15k to edit, but editing is always taxing.  I have one more person to send it to, but I want it to be polished to receive some final, last-minute insight - just in case I missed something huge.

NaNoWriMo is creeping up around the corner.  I'm not ready for you yet, November!  Stay over there!

Though, I must say, I've been outlining Anthony's story this week, and I love his character again.  Everything that felt trite the first time around is getting knocked out.  The biggest conflict is better than ever (his own self-consciousness) and the people in the story now accentuate it, instead of derailing it into another plot line entirely.  Oh, and my husband likes the new developments.  These all bode well, and I'm excited to get my hands moving across the keys again...  But I still hope I can finish Terrance by the weekend, else I might not be able to finish him in time for Thanksgiving my absolute deadline.

How about you guys?  NaNoing?  Ready for it?  Was October just as busy for you, or did you manage to find a weekend to breathe?

NaNo is Coming!

It's October 1, and as such, I am required to do the obligatory NaNoWriMo post.  Anyone else out there participating?  If so, do you know what you will be working on?  Are you starting something completely new?

I'm still debating between three things. I think I'm in the mentality right now to write Olive's story, but I still really want to finish Anthony. He's been sitting in a box since I was seventeen because I didn't have the drive to rehash it. Though, these two stories would be rewrites. Complete rewrites, mind you. In the last year my writing has improved so much that I really need to clean out all the old writing on these two titles (both written well over two years ago, and then some).

Then there's 2042. Which is supposed to be a Douglas Adams like sci-fi comedy. Thing is, "Terrance Wade" was finished recently (currently rewriting for end of October self-publishing). Which is great, but it has that same comedic feel.  Something tells me I'll want a change of pace.

It's really between these two stories: Olive is intense, raw, emotional, and sometimes hopeless. But her search and struggle to get back what she believes is rightfully hers is powerful and endearing. Anthony's is also intense... raw... emotional and sometimes hopeless (seeing a pattern?) but his story is about finding love for the first time and losing it. But having the strength to find himself in all the mess - to become a better person.

Both of them are very similar, and intensely different. Olive tries to be proper, nice, treat others with respect. Anthony doesn't care who he steps on, or who gets hurt in the process.

Which makes writing each of them taxing. I'm leaning towards Anthony. To finish it, to finally get his story out of my head so it can be done, done, done.

December will bring rewrites to Rioss, as I really - really - need to finish that.

How's your NaNo prep going? Do you have a weigh-in on which character I should choose?

YA Sex and Other Things

Author and friend, Brooke Johnson, has this lovely blog and asked me to do a guest post.  I talk about the subtle side of YA sex, and also have an excerpt from one of my works in progress, A Good Criminal Heart.  I know that I wrote it, but I still say that it provides some insight to how to write YA sex, especially if you are going for a subtle feel and don't want to be so overt.

I submitted my story to the contest on a blog - and I'm sad to say that I didn't make it in... again.

I've decided to change my way of thinking of rejection.  Instead of a "no," I think of it as a "No from us."  Which, in a way, is healthy, but I worry that it's impeding the growth of my piece.

The intro probably isn't as strong as it could be.  I liked my old intro better, but a lot of people told me that it felt too promotional.

Which gives me the idea to incorporate the old intro into my query letter.  Right?

I really need to work on my query letter and get it out there again.  While this piece has received a few "No"s, it doesn't guarantee a no from everyone.  Making runner-up is a "mostly yes," and I did receive a partial request once.

In conclusion:  My piece is worth it.  I need to start submitting to other places and stop getting so hung up on the "No."  I need to stop expecting different results from the same people and circumstances (isn't that what they call insanity anyway?)

And as far as I can tell, I haven't gone insane (yet).