My Thoughts Exactly

When numbers become more important than words

2011-07-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

Wow. I just looked back at the last time I posted. It's been a while, hasn't it? (I'd figured it was around three months ago, but didn't realize it was actually much closer to four. And I'm still quite proud of that lovely quote. Believe in your voice, people!) To say that a lot has happened over the last (almost) four months would be a major understatement. So I don't torture anyone by making you wonder if the "happenings" have anything to do with writing, I will be upfront and honest with you. They don't. (Though I wish that they did... I still long to be published some day, to be able to look at a book that I spent so much time changing, rearranging, and writing from the very depths of my heart, to hold it in my hands. But the things that have happened recently have changed all of that. I'm not sure if this is something that is only temporary, or if, in fact, I've gone down one of those paths in my life that doesn't have the option to be walked down again.)

Now, before you hit the "back" button and go perusing somewhere else because this post isn't making much sense, I suppose I'd better explain. You see, back in April, Lovemuffin became very sick. Not a sick that anyone would normally think of -- he didn't get the flu, he wasn't coughing, he didn't get mono and suddenly start feeling extremely tired, either. (Well he did get really tired and very weak, actually, but he had insomnia and couldn't sleep -- not your typical mono symptoms.) For the sake of this blog post I'm not going to go into extreme detail -- I don't want to bore anyone, nor do I want to turn this into a "feel sorry for me" post. So here's my quickest (yet still somewhat lengthy) summary:

On Easter Sunday, things with Lovemuffin went from physically bad and confusing, to much, much worse. An ER visit, few demanded blood labs later (by us, not the doctors) and emergency admission into the hospital after that, resulted in ITP as his diagnosis. I'm assuming that most of you don't know what ITP is, and frankly, I pray none of you ever have to come close to personally knowing what it is. You can Google it, if you like, but for the sake of saving time I'll put it in simple terms: ITP is an auto-immune disorder where your body actually attacks and destroys your own blood platelets. When your platelets get too low, there are many things that can occur within the body, including spontaneous bleeds in the brain (which seems to be the biggest worry when we see doctors -- the first question Lovemuffin always receives is "Do you have a headache?"). To put what Lovemuffin was dealing with in perspective, an average person's platelet count should be anywhere from 150-400 thousand. Usually, once you're under ten thousand (and for some people, even when your count is higher than that) your gums will bleed, you will bruise (and the bruise doesn't really "heal" -- he had that on his shin after being hit by a softball, I'm not kidding, it took three months for the bruise, which ended up covering the whole lower part of his leg, down to his ankle, three months to completely go away.) and other things can happen, like nosebleeds, for instance.

Throughout our dealings with all of this, Lovemuffin's counts have gone up and down so much (up only after treatments, which include infusions of IVIG -- another word you can Google if you're in the mood -- and insanely high doses of steroids) that he's had counts of 1,000 (yes, only ONE THOUSAND) and 309,000 (you read that right, too) within a time span of only a few weeks.

I won't go into detail and bore with you all of the symptoms and issues and hospital admissions and whatnot, there's really no point in that -- reliving it all isn't on my to-do list, and I guarantee you're not going to feel how we did when we were there without me explaining it -- but I did want to explain that, like I said, there's been a lot of happenings around here lately. It took a while, but we ended up finding a place we felt was "safest" to be during all of these issues. The sad part was, it was three hours away. Thank God for our family, because without them taking care of our girls (especially before school was out) for days upon days, I'm really not sure where we would be (well, stuck here where we didn't feel "safe", obviously). And thank God for our friends, as well, for helping us out with whatever we needed, listening to us vent, and continuing to pray.

And that leads me to my final point: while this was all happening, God found us. Yes -- I meant what I said -- that was not a typo, my friends! I did not mean we found Him. He found us. He surrounded Lovemuffin with His love. He took away pains and issues he'd been having for over a decade, took away habits (smoking, in case you're curious) Lovemuffin had been dealing with since he was fourteen years old! And I'd like to make this abundantly clear: Lovemuffin, at that point, didn't even ask for Him!

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying we didn't ask or hope or pray for divine intervention -- we did. But when He started to work in Lovemuffin, we hadn't asked yet. He was here before we even turned to Him. Before we even understood how bad Lovemuffin's health really was. We weren't even sure what was going on yet, when Lovemuffin began to feel His presence. And throughout the issues Lovemuffin's had, there has only been one consistency: No matter how terrible he was feeling, how dark or scared or angry or sad or frustrated or helpless he or I (or both of us) felt on a certain day, God was there.

Before this all happened, I believed in God--both Lovemuffin and I did. I've believed in Him since I was a little girl, and not once did I ever, no matter what insane or terrible things were thrown my way my whole adult life, never questioned if any of those situations were brought on by God. (If anyone reading this has ever wondered about that, I want you to know the answer is no way -- He'd never do that to you. God would NEVER punish anyone for anything they've done... that is a lie straight from the pit of hell.) He reached down and put His arms around Lovemuffin and hasn't let go ever since.

And now we are here, exactly three months after the worst of Lovemuffin's symptoms, and I'm not exaggerating when I say it feels as though it's been a year. This is one of those journeys that if I had the choice, I would definitely, with no question in my mind, NEVER EVER, EVER go on again. We still don't have all the answers that we'd like to have -- for one thing, no one really knows what causes it. For another, there are only three main "cures" (and I use that term very, very loosely) for ITP (along what he was diagnosed with later as well -- Evans Syndrome -- though we both believe he's been healed from that and are believing for complete healing and restoration with the ITP, the symptoms are just taking longer to disappear) one being the removal of the spleen, another being chemotherapy. We opted for the splenectomy, and it's been about a month and a half since the procedure. After recovery from surgery was over, it was time to finally be weaned off the steroids. (Yay! They did nothing for his ITP, and talk about dark... Tears still come to my eyes when I remember how terrible they made Lovemuffin feel -- and I'm not talking about physically, I'm talking about mentally and emotionally.) THEN, after being weaned from the steroids, it was time to be weaned off the pills that helped take the edge off the steroids.

It's been a week since Lovemuffin has been completely pill-free. His sleep still isn't what it used to be, the ITP symptoms still come and go on a daily basis, and just two weeks ago we were admitted back into the hospital for low platelets. (I'm at the point where I don't even tell most people, sometimes not even my closest friends, about what is going on here because things go up and down so much, even on an hourly basis.) But you know what? We continue to believe. We continue to believe in a God that is capable and willing and WANTING to give us health and well-being. We continue to believe that family is the most important thing ever, and that health is a blessing that we not only should have, it's a blessing He feels we deserve, because we're His children.

So back to the writing -- I don't know where I'm going. Some days I'm buried in the Word and some days I'm buried in the house cleaning and some days I'm buried in the "trying to help Lovemuffin keep his sanity" and some days I'm trying to keep the girls busy and some days Lovemufffin and I are both buried in the Word. Do I love reading? Yes. Absolutely. Do I love writing? Yes. More than most things (maybe even... *gasp*... coffee). Every single time I log onto facebook or see something on my phone happening on twitter, I feel my stomach fall, fall down so deep that it hurts profusely. I want to cry and yell that it's not fair, that I want to be this or that person, that I want to have the chance to do what they're actually doing. (Then of course I tell myself I need to be HAPPY for them, be proud of what they've accomplished.) But at this point, I can't tell whether or not that's me wanting to write because I love it and want to be a part of the whole thing, want to be right there in the middle of it all since I've taken so much time to learn about the entire process, or whether it's because the enemy (you all know who I mean) is grasping at straws now, and is trying to hit me where it hurts. He's flat-out losing by trying to hit me through Lovemuffin, because I BELIEVE he's being healed -- there's no question. So now he's throwing terrible thoughts and feelings at me: "You're never going to get any further with this." "You're an absolute failure." (I have plenty of verses to throw back at those thoughts though, and they make me feel better.)

Bottom line, I don't know. I don't know much about anything in the above paragraphs, other than the fact that God loves each and every one of us. I don't know what will become of the writing, so I don't want to up and delete this blog, as of yet. At times, when I think about how certain things have gone, or I read the beginning of FLORA, and see that, yes, I should re-work the beginning (but it's not THAT bad, really!), I wonder if God had a hand in all of this, and the fact that I've gone nowhere so far is because of what was going to happen with Lovemuffin. Who knows. But because I know I won't be on here again for a while, I just wanted to let everyone know where I was. I won't be able to be checking on everyone else's blogs either, so I ask in advance that you do forgive me for that. But each and every one of you will be in my prayers -- no matter what part of the writing journey you're currently in. And hopefully, someday soon, I'll be back, knowing what the next step in my own personal journey is.

HUGS,

Jessica

Friday Focus: Believe in your voice

2011-04-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

"Believe in yourself and in your own voice, because there will be times in this business when you will be the only one who does. Take heart from the knowledge that an author with a strong voice will often have trouble at the start of his or her career because strong, distinctive voices sometimes make editors nervous. But in the end, only the strong survive."

- Jayne Ann Krentz

Friday Focus: Great hearts

2011-03-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

Endurance is the crowning quality, and patience all the passion of great hearts. ~James Russell Lowell

Happy Friday! =)

Stuck on you like super glue

2011-03-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

I had this long post scheduled for today, but I decided to delete it. Why? Because I have a tendency, when trying to get my point across, to go way overboard. So here's the shortened version:

I love feeling so close to a character that it feels as though I'm stuck on them like glue.

The end.

(Maybe I should write shorter posts more often.)

Currently inspired by -- Grace Potter & The Nocturnals -- Paris (Ooh La La)

Friday Focus: Give the audience all you've got

2011-03-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

I've always seen it as the role of an artist to drag his inside out, give the audience all you've got. Writers, actors, singers, all good artists do the same. It isn't supposed to be easy.
~Henry Rollins

Lovefest: Muses

2011-03-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

Life is a song. Love is the lyrics.

Sometimes holding hands is holding on to everything.

All you need is one...

To the world you may be one person, but...

I believe that love cannot be bought except with love. ~John Steinbeck

A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous. ~ Ingrid Bergman

Forget regret, or life is yours to miss. ~Jonathan Larson

For you see, each day I love you more.

Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.

~Rosemonde Gerard

Currently inspired by: Jeff Buckley -- We All Fall in Love Sometimes

Lovefest: Words from the heart

2011-03-16T12:20:00.000-07:00

Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant? ~Henry David Thoreau

So today's post was going to have a lot of quotes from books and whatnot, but something happened late last night as I was typing this all out, and for some reason, the latest draft never got saved. =( Here are a few that didn't get lost, though.

Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant? ~Henry David Thoreau

Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs. ~William Shakespeare

You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. ~Dr. Seuss

Love is like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it. ~ Nicholas Sparks (A Walk to Remember)

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul. ~Judy Garland

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself. To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving. ~Kahlil Gibran

This was love at first sight, love everlasting: a feeling unknown, unhoped for, unexpected -- in so far as it could be a matter of conscious awareness; it took entire possession of him, and he understood, with joyous amazement, that this was for life. ~Thomas Mann

If you have any quotes/excerpts, feel free to share them in the comments. I'd love to read them!

Currently inspired by: The Black Keys - Everlasting Light

Loverly lovefest: Love in literature

2011-03-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

"I know the expression love bloomed is metaphorical, but in my heart in this moment, there is one badass flower, captured in time-lapse photography, going from bud to wild radiant blossom in ten seconds flat."
— Jandy Nelson (The Sky Is Everywhere)

Ah... love. It can make you feel as high as the sky, it can make you feel as though you've sunk into the deepest depths of despair. I, personally, love both reading and writing about love. When it's written well and inserted in just the right places, love can add the perfect dose of tension or suspense. It can even control a character's motivation or determine their decisions; and make us, as readers, understand why a character is behaving a certain way.

This week I'm going to be sharing a few loverly things that have inspired me, personally.

Recently, as I was trolling around on itunes looking for a new muse, I came across He is We. If you haven't heard of them, all I'm going to say is... Wow. The words in their songs are perfect--they encapsulate all those feelings that rush through us during love highs and lows.

So today's inspiration is the song All About Us, by He is We. (If the video doesn't work, here's the youtube direct link.)

What did you think? Did it remind you of any books or characters in particular that you love? What kind of songs inspire you? I love to hear about them in the comments!

Friday Focus: Make mistakes

2011-03-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

"Make mistakes. Make great mistakes, make wonderful mistakes, make glorious mistakes. Better to make a hundred mistakes than to stare at a blank piece of paper too scared to do anything wrong, too scared to do anything." -Neil Gaiman

Happy Friday!

It's all about love

2011-03-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

So most books -- especially YA (since that's the category my head has been submerged in for over a year now) have a love story entwined into the plot. Call me crazy, but I love a good old-fashioned love triangle. I know some people are getting tired of those, but I'm announcing right here, right now, that I'm not one of them. (This might come back to kick me in the backside later, but -- get it? ha ha. But. -- this is how I'm feeling... this month, anyway.)

For me, the love triangle doesn't have to be "she likes him and he likes her but this guy also likes her and she can't choose between the two of them", it just has to have one person the MC likes, a LOT, and another person that also has his/her emotions invested in the MC -- whom some readers will connect with, and possibly root for.

Now, why did I bring up the love triangle? Oh, yes. Because next week I'm going to be doing some short and sweet posts on writing about love. Now before you get all excited and think I'm going to talk about how to WRITE it, I'm not. I would much rather discuss ways we are inspired to write about it. Music. Pictures. Poems. Books. Things we see/hear on a daily basis that knock us in the head and give us wonderful, romantical ideas. You know. The mushy stuff.

So start thinking of a few things you'd like to share. It's going to be a love-fest! (Okay, maybe that's a bit extreme, but I think you know what I mean.) Oh, and if you're needing a little something to get you in the mood, check out the song below.

Currently inspired by: Florence + The Machine - Cosmic Love

WRITEONCON + tea & crumpets

2011-03-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

First, I'd like to announce to those who have been busy doing, you know, important stuff (and not stalking people on twitter, like, well, someone we know) that the dates for this year's WRITEONCON (AKA, the most awesome dates in the universe) have been released, and I'm quite the excited crumpet. (Odd word choice, I know, but I had to tie both parts of this post in somehow!) I'm pretty sure the kids will be at school and I'll actually be able to participate. So... yay! Anyway. It's August 16-18th. Make sure and mark ya calendahs, ya'll.

Second, and this kind of goes with the theme of WRITEONCON since there are so many awesome agent contests going on over there, I'd like to know what everyone envisions their dream agents doing on a daily basis. Personally, I see the ladies wearing lace gloves (and for some reason, some of them are also wearing corsets), sitting around their desks (which have been specifically placed to where everyone can see each other -- not sure why this is, but I imagine them all in one big room), and sipping on tea. Kind like this...

...but with tea, and crumpets. And they're sitting at desks. Not outside.*

And somehow, with all of this very old stuff going on (the corsets, lace gloves and whatnot), they still have their computers propped in front of them on their desks. Most of the lady agents are reading queries from their emails, but a few are completely engrossed in paper partials and fulls.

Then, the clock chimes that it's ten o'clock, everyone stops what they're doing, and the main, owner agent lady leaves for a moment. When she returns, she's holding an old, silver platter, and she says, "Tea? Crumpets, anyone?"

The rest of the agents smile politely, and nod -- some of them even say "Why yes, Main Owner Agent Lady, thank you, so much." (Mind you, this is all being done in some sort of accent -- preferably an English one.)

So everyone sips on their tea (pinkies raised, of course) whilst discussing their exciting secret double lives (secret agents of the governmental sort, food critics, authors themselves, people who crash cars and rate how safe they are, you know, that sort of stuff) and ultimately, their very strongly accented conversation gets around to the queries they've received that morning.

And they laugh, "eh-heh-heh" and "ooh-hoo-hoo"**, careful to keep their mouths closed so as not to spit out tea or crumpets on their computers or papers because, well, that would be a disaster, not to mention quite unladylike, then dab at their mouths with little hankies, having a quaint time listening to people's ideas and query faux pas. (Not in a mean way, just a... whimsical way.)

And that's what I see them doing. Allllll day. Talking, laughing, drinking tea, and eating crumpets. I'm not sure how this got into my head, because I know that's not even remotely close to how it actually is. I know there are male agents (heck, I've queried/am querying male agents!), but for some reason, I can't get the parasols (I forgot to mention those, didn't I?) and tea and crumpets out of my head.

How 'bout you? How do you envision the agents' daily lives? And are you as excited as I am about WRITEONCON??? =)

Currently inspired by: Hockey - Too Fake

*Incidentally, this book is on my TBR list.

** My try at writing quiet, practically closed-mouth ladylike-laughing was quite laughable itself.

Expectation vs. Aspiration

2011-03-07T07:21:00.000-08:00

Many moons ago, a wee little thirty year-old decided she was going to bite the bullet and start writing. She sat down at her computer, and every day for months (and many nights as well), she worked hard on her craft. She was going to be biggest, the BESTEST, writer ever -- no doubt about it. People were going to praise her for her work, agents would bow down to her brilliance, and books sales would be in the tens of thousands.

The wee little thirty year-old plugged away at her story, editing, changing it, even forcing friends to read it. (From what I've heard, she's quite sorry about the aforementioned torture.) Months went by, the book was polished, and she began to query.

What? She thought, as the rejections rolled into her inbox. (True, she stopped querying at around number ten, but still, the results from those ten queries were far from her expectations).

Expectations? Ah, yes, that is where we come in. For the poor little thirty year-old writer knew nothing about aspirations -- in fact, she dodged them whenever possible -- who needed such unnecessary contraptions?

And now, that little thirty year-old writer has become a thirty-two year-old one; and through her journey of more writing, more rejections and even more writing, she's come to learn a very valuable lesson:

Expectations can be killer, dear readers. They can make you up and quit doing what you love to do most when it becomes hard to reach them. But aspirations, yes readers -- those are the things of winners.

Let's take a moment to explore the difference between the two, shall we? (Whilst ignoring the fact that dictionary.com hates to be copied and pasted.)

Expectation (according to dictionary.com) - [ek-spek-tey-shuhn]

–noun

the act or the state of expecting: to wait in expectation.

the act or state of looking forward or anticipating.

an expectant mental attitude: a high pitch of expectation.

something expected; a thing looked forward to.

Often, expectations. a prospect of future good or profit: tohave great expectations.

the degree of probability that something will occur: There is little expectation that he will come.

Statistics . mathematical expectation.

the state of being expected: a large sum of money inexpectation.

Aspiration (also according to dictionary.com) - [as-puh-rey-shuhn]

–noun

strong desire, longing, or aim; ambition: intellectualaspirations.

a goal or objective desired: The presidency is the traditionalaspiration of young American boys.

See the difference in the meanings of those two words, my little grasshoppers? When you expect something, you pretty much know that it's going to happen without really preparing for it much. But aspiring is working toward a goal, a specific objective. And when you work toward something, you're going to do all you can to learn how to get that goal accomplished.

Now, let's put those two words to action. Expecting to get somewhere (without taking the necessary steps to do it right) lacks proper direction. I like to think of it as wanting to be an acrobat. Say I'm a decent gymnast. I can do a round off backhand spring, and I can do it well. But am I the best at it? Could I make it to the olympics based on my talent right this second? Probably not. Then why, for heavens sake, do I think that knowing how to do a few jumps on a balance beam will make me awesome in acrobatics?

As with most things in life, having expectations is completely natural. But we, as writers, need to make sure that our aspirations outweigh our expectations. It's important to remember that the only way to become great is to work on just that -- becoming great. And the best way to do that is by putting our aspirations ahead of our expectations.

I will close out this little life lesson, my dear readers, with an interesting quote.

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." ~ Henry David Thoreau

Did you see that? Did you see how Mr. Thoreau says "...he will meet with a success unexpected"? It reminds me of the quote "Build it, and they will come." Aspire to be what you want to be, strive to do it to the best of your ability, and, eventually, success will find you.

Currently inspired by: The Bravery - Believe

Friday Focus: It's not a profession

2011-03-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

"Writing is not a profession, occupation or job; it is not a way of life: it is a comprehensive response to life." ~Gregory McDonald

I thought this was a pretty good quote to conclude this week's WRITE FOR YOU series. =)

Happy Friday!

WRITE FOR YOU: Part 3

2011-03-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

“It never fails to surprise me, in conversations with writers who seek my advice as to what they should write, how many fail to see before their very eyes the hay that might be gold. Instead of honoring the subjects and forms that invade their dreams and diaries, they concoct some ideas about what’s selling or what agents and editors are looking for as they try to fit their odd-shaped pegs into someone else’s hole. There is nothing more refreshing for an editor to meet a writer or read a query letter that takes him completely by surprise, that brings him into a world he didn’t know existed or awakens him to a notion that had been there all along but that he had never much noticed. Some of the most striking and successful books in recent history were clearly born of a writer’s obsession and complete disregard of what, supposedly, sells.”

–Betsy Lerner, The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers, p. 17-18

Don't think there's really anything left to say!

Currently inspired by: Apocolyptica - Worlds Collide

WRITE FOR YOU: Part 2

2011-03-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

"Write what you care about and understand. Writers should never try to outguess the marketplace in search of a salable idea; the simple truth is that all good books will eventually find a publisher if the writer tries hard enough, and a central secret to writing a good book is to write on that people like you will enjoy."

~Richard North Patterson

Wow. I love this quote. And I came across this post I hate trends on the Dystel & Godrich blog yesterday, which pretty much sums up the quote mentioned above.

Bottom line, write the story you heart wants to tell, not what you think is going to sell. (Though both would be the perfect combination!)

Currently inspired by: Breathe Electric - Stay With Me

WRITE FOR YOU: Part 1

2011-02-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

"It was unavoidable, my writing. I feel I had no choice in the matter, no more than I had about an unfortunate bone structure and a healthy head of hair." ~Maureen Howard

Every writer tells a different story about what made them start their writing journey -- some have written their whole lives, and yet others didn't even begin to think of doing it until well into adulthood. There are writers who had ideas, who toyed with short stories here and there or thought about what they'd like to eventually write (but didn't truly start their writing journey until years later); and writers who write because, well, it's what they love to do.

A year and a half ago, one of my first posts on this blog was about what made me start writing, and like most writers in the early stages (she says, wondering what stage she must technically be in by now -- the slightly-further-along-than-early-stage?), I was excited, had HUGE plans for myself and my first MS, and was convinced that I had an awesomely awesome idea that was just going to blow agents right out of the water.

And now... it's been close to two years. That first MS has been shelved to be used as inspiration when I need to be reminded how far I've come (as stated in last week's post); and I've presently written another book, plus started two more. But I didn't mention what I've written because it matters for this post, really -- I've brought it up to share how much work I've put into writing in less than two years because I know there are tons of writers out there who trod along in these writing waters and either

1) Get frustrated by the way things work in the industry (queries, submissions, rejections for example) and feel like quitting

2) Just happen to feel somewhat alone in their love of writing and need to feel a bit of camaraderie.

So this week's posts are going to be short and sweet -- but they're going to focus on YOU -- all of you writers out there. Because, ultimately, we write for ourselves. We write for the thrill of it, for the sadness of it, for the satisfaction of saying what we need to say. We write because it's what we love to do.

Q for you -- What made you start writing? Was it a story that popped into your head one day? Or something that gradually morphed into an idea? I'd love to hear about it!

Currently inspired by: Escala - Palladio

Friday Focus: The pleasure of writing

2011-02-25T08:33:00.000-08:00

To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music that words make. ~Truman Capote

Happy Friday!

Catch up post #2

2011-02-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

Today's three facts to get you caught up on my last three months of bloggerhiding (doesn't that sound kinda like some sort of Sweedish word, like lederhosen?) are...

(shirt found at Zazzle.com)

1) Three weeks ago, Lovemuffin and I went vegan. Yes -- you read it right, folks -- vegan. We decided not to eat anything with animal products in it until, well, we're not sure. (In case you were wondering, no, it's not because of how animals are treated; and no, we did not force this diet change on the kids, because it's bad enough that we make them eat organic food already, you know? We are terrible parents.) I thought it would be really, really hard to stop eating eggs, and turkey and whatnot, but it's not that bad at all, surprisingly. My main complaint, actually, is that it's kind of hard to find vegan food that is organic (go figure). But hey. If Lovemuffin stays on this bandwagon like he has so far, I sure as heck am not going to do anything to stop him. I can't tell you all how proud I am of him for sticking with it -- fast food was his favorite thing *evAr* -- so you can imagine what a change this has been for him. Gone are the days of me grabbing a quick greek yogurt as I'm running around, or a piece of cheese (I loves me some cheese) when I'm in a hurry, but I will survive. And speaking of cheese....

These little varmints didn't get to eat any oreos.

2) Oldest kid and her classmate's science project, in which one group of mice were named "The Healthy Ones" (they only ate good food), and the other side were named "The Murderers" (because they were the ones who kept killing their tankmates, and they were fed junk food along with the healthy food -- you'd think they would have been named "The Junk Eaters" or something, but no, they're "The Murderers"), is officially OVER. I cannot tell you how awesomely awesome it is to breathe FRESH air again (the mice were living in our rec room). The poor kid cleaned that tank out every other day with bleach water (well, except for the last week, when she pretty much stopped even looking at the mice because she was so tired of them) and the tank would reek in less than 24 hours. If you thought mice were cute, I'm here to tell you... they are. (Domesticated ones, at least.) But that's where the cuteness stops. Those things poop more than any other animal I've seen before.

3) If you're ever in a writing slump (and the negative voice whispering in your ear is saying that you really suck), my suggestion is to back and read something you wrote ages ago. (When we have our heads buried deep in whatever we're currently working on, it's difficult to see how much time has helped us grow.)

I was shocked when I looked at my first project a few days ago. What on earth had made me think it was good? What on earth was I thinking, in general?

There are usually two reactions to a smack in the face like that, and luckily, I had the more positive one: Wow. I've really come a long way. This was crap! Look at me now! I felt really proud of myself. Inspired. Like the proof was right in front of my face -- hard work and perseverance does pay off. It reminded me that giving up is not an option. What a great feeling it was.

So if you're in a slump, do a little research to see how far you've come. I think you'll be surprised at how much better you've gotten. And that, in turn, will shut that whispering voice right up.

Currently inspired by: Reach - Andrew Belle

Catch up post #1

2011-02-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

This will be the first in a series of posts this week where I, in the least amount of words possible, catch you up on what I've been doing that past few months.

Today's topic?

Reading.

So a few books I read (while I wasn't, you know, blogging) are, in no particular order:

The Book Thief

Wither (Somehow, I'd had the ARC of this since like, November, and I didn't even realize it until a few weeks ago. And then when I realized I'd been sent an ARC, I couldn't get over how awesome it was. Can we say book nerd?)

Coffehouse Angel

Paper Towns (This one I'm currently re-reading aloud to Lovemuffin -- I'd like to say that my awesome reading skillz are the reason he laughs a lot, but really, it's because John Green is quite the funny guy.)

All four of those books are very different, but I loved them all. For those of you who've read these (or other books by the authors above), I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Currently inspired by: Corrine Bailey Rae - Like a Star

First post of 2011 and it's almost March

2011-02-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

Help I'm alive my heart keeps beating like a hammer... ~Metric

To those of you who noticed that I haven't blogged a *thing* in about three months, I'd like to clarify that yes... I am alive.

And to those of you who didn't notice that I haven't blogged in about three months, well good for you, it must mean you're doing a great job at keeping yourself occupied.;)

Obviously, an explanation is due to explain my (very long) absence, and I'm going to be completely honest with you when I say that the explanation part is one reason it took so long for me to come back on here. (Well, I have been reading more and commenting on other people's blogs from about two weeks now... just hadn't done anything on my own.) The more time that went by, the harder it was to get back on here and explain myself, mainly because I didn't want to sound like some weird melodramatic writer.

It's been soooo busy around here, and I'm working so hard on my work, and like, this blog just brings me down, and...

Actually, the blog doesn't bring me down, exactly... it just SLOWS me down. A LOT.

Saturday night, I thought about this as I fell asleep. I'd just finished watching The Last King of Scotland (Holy crap, people! Oh, and to my fellow James McAvoy fans: HOLY. CRAP.) and Lovemuffin was snoring away next to me, which wasn't really helping me relax. As things tend to go when you've just watched an emotional movie (and felt your heart pounding in your chest) until two in the morning, I was having a hard time winding myself down. So, naturally, a blog entry came to me.

I'm not sure what it was about that movie that inspired me to come back on here, but before I fell asleep, I thought of a couple of things.

1) Don't worry about the *insert The Twilight Zone music here* platform -- stop stressing so much that your blogs aren't GOOD ENOUGH!

2) Be yourself, remember? Just BE YOURSELF! Now refer to #1 again!

3) Stop letting the world of publishing/writing/reading control you. You used to love blogs... let them be your REWARD! (Am I the only one who immediately thought of Ursula on The Little Mermaid saying your eternal reward... Muaha-ha-ha...??)

Those three numbers above are pretty much me, in a nutshell. I tend to focus on things one at a time, before wearing them into the ground. And when I figured out that my blogging and tweeting and whathaveyou had totally and completely begun to make me stop writing because I was so focused on that stuff instead and I never had time to write, I knew I had to step back from the ol' internet for a while.

Now, I'm going to make sure coming on here is

a) a privelege -- meaning, I don't come on here until I'm DONE with my work

and

b) because I have something that I want to share -- and not because I feel like I should be on here).

And I'm going to try, really hard to remember that, though yes, you're supposed to be blogging FOR other people, I can't just let myself go. Thank you, Maggie Steifvater, for reminding me of how important it is to just BE YOURSELF. (If you haven't checked her blog out, you should. It's a breath of fresh air.)

Kay. That's enough for now. Tune in next time when I share a few tidbits about what's been happening to me the last three months. =)

Help I'm Alive - Metric

Friday Focus: You don't need anything else

2010-12-17T08:58:00.000-08:00

"You are a writer. Right now. With only what you have in your head as it is. You don't need anything else. You are a writer. You just need to keep writing. Don't let the Writing Fairy tell you that you aren't. That you need something more, that you're pretending to be something you're not. Hemmingway wasn't Hemmingway when he started. He was just a guy named Ernest who sat down at his typewriter."
~Joseph Devon, "The Myth of the Writing Fairy"

Happy Friday!

Description Rhyme

2010-12-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

Like the "i before e, except after c" rhyme to remember when spelling, here's one to remember when writing descriptions:

"When you are describing,

A shape, or sound, or tint;
Don't state the matter plainly,
But put it in a hint;
And learn to look at all things,
With a sort of mental squint."
~Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll)

Understanding rejections

2010-12-13T20:08:00.000-08:00

Today's post, which was supposed to be last Wednesday's, then yesterday's (the holidays have taken over and the days are just zooming by) is about something many writers who have their heart set on publication know all too well -- rejections.

A little over a week ago, there was a chat on twitter regarding queries and rejections. Following the chat, my friend Andi and I had a discussion about it, and I mentioned how I'd found myself feeling a bit confused as to what some of the writers had tweeted. At least a few had mentioned "helpful" rejections, and I wondered how many of those were actually different variations of the standard form letter, and how many of them truly were beyond the norm. Then Andi suggested that this would actually be a good topic to post on the blog, so here it is.

Can you tell me what these three rejections have in common?

Dear Ms. Brooks,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read THIS AWESOME BOOK. Though I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, I don't believe that my agency will have the opportunity to represent it at this time. Please know that this has nothing to do with your work, and that you may find an agent who feels completely different about your idea.

Best,

Agent So and So

***

Dear Jessica Brooks,

After much consideration of THIS AWESOME BOOK, I've decided I will have to pass. Thank you so much for allowing me to see your work, and I wish you luck in future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Agent So and So

***

Dear Jessica,

Thank you for thinking of me when seeking representation for THIS AWESOME BOOK. While we really like the concept of this book, we are unable to place it with our agency at this time. We believe your book may have market potential, and would like to thank you for considering us. We wish you the best of luck in finding an agent as zealous about your work as you are.

Best Wishes,

Agent So and So

If you answered standard form rejection letter, you were absolutely correct. The above three (fake) rejections were personalized and polite, but they were all standard form rejections.

I'm wondering how many first time writers who've just begun their plunge into the query process can actually tell the difference between a form rejection, and one that is not. Over the past few months I've noticed comments across the internet by writers stating they didn't understand how such a nice query could, in fact, be a rejection. The agency liked their work, thought it had potential, or appreciated the concept. So why was it then, that it was rejected, without the agent asking for at least a partial submission?

The answer is simple: Because that's their rejection letter.

I have to say, I do feel for agents. They receive a gazillion queries a year, and are, for the most part, doing their best to reply to most of them in a timely manner. If their response is short and to the point, a handful of writers will consider them rude. If they state that they enjoyed the premise but can't represent that specific piece of work at the present time, some writers see that as them being impatient and not giving the writer enough of a chance. So in a way, there's no right way for agents to reject. Someone somewhere is going to read into the words, or in between the words. They're going to want to know what it means, if maybe they should just fix it a little bit until it seems to fit the agency's particular style and then resubmit, or if it means something else.

Now, before I go any further in this post, I'd like to clarify that I haven't received a single rejection that I would deem helpful. Polite, yes. Slightly personal, sure. But helpful? As in, "this work could be better if this or that" or what other people have stated as rejections they've received that truly help them improve their work? No.

So you're probably wondering, what is a helpful rejection already, Jessica? You've gone on and on about these mysterious helpful rejections, and now I want to know what you're talking about! Well, the problem is, I actually don't know. But I do know that the above made-up rejections shared in this post do take the sting of the actual rejection away a bit, which is nice.

I guess the point of this post is

1) To point out that an agent can be polite and sound excited or appreciative in their rejection and still truly not be interested in your work.

2) I, along with other people, would love to hear an example of a helpful rejection.

How about you? Have you received a rejection that made you wonder just what it meant, exactly? Or have you received a helpful rejection that you could enlighten us with by paraphrasing here in the comments?

Friday Focus: Definition of Obstacles

2010-12-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.

~Henry Ford

(I need this quote hung in every room of my house!)

Keep those eyes focused, my friends!!!

Happy Friday!

You and me... and me and you...

2010-12-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

So here we are. You. Me. Henry. My desk, a stack of journals, lousy illustrations by yours truly, stacks of paper scraps with chicken scratch all over them, and of course, one steaming hot cup of coffee (thanks, Lovemuffin!).

Now what?

I feel as though I'm in a three-ring (Or is it ringed?) circus. (If you'd like to picture me as the clown, fine. I wear a size ten shoe anyway so my feet being humacious is something I'm used to. But I will *not* wear that big red nose. Sorry. I have to draw the line somewhere.) I have this women's fic piece I've been working on, the second book that would come after FLORA (which may or may not even go anywhere so is it really smart to work on it all of the time? Obviously not. I'm not writing it, anyway, just jotting down ideas as they come.), and the WiP that came to me not that long ago, which I think is a pretty darn good idea if I do say so myself but will involve lots of thinking and brain wracking and hard work and well, I'm in lazy mode because it's the holidays and whatnot -- you know how that is, right?

So when I get into this mode of ideas crashing through my head, I go back and forth constantly from journal to journal, and not a whole lot of actual writing gets done. (Plot points? Yes. Dialogue? Once in a while. But word count? Nuh-uh.) When the day is done, I pretty much have nothing to show for it. Very frustrating.

I'm trying to decide which project to focus my energy on, but this deciding stuff is for the birds. Lovemuffin wants me to work on the shiny new (YA) WiP, instead of going back to the adult one. He's proud of the idea I've come up with -- him actually saying "Well I think you should work on such-and-such" is quite a big deal. But... I want to be lazy! (How dare I want something like that, right? Writer's can't be lazy! Hello, Jessica! What are you thinking?)

Ooh look. Donuts... on an eraser. Do you think it tastes like donuts?

To spell check, or not to spell check... there's no question

2010-12-06T10:50:00.000-08:00

I had a great post idea for today, but this weekend was insanely busy, and my brain is mush. Therefore, I'm doing a switcheroo -- today's post is now what would have been Wednesday's, and Wednesday's will be the one I haven't begun to write yet. ;)

So... spell check, or no spell check? I say both, as long as you ultimately check everything yourself to make sure it's correct. Here's a great example showing how the spell check feature can be a crutch...

Eye halve a spelling checker
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques for my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it to say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
It's rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
Eye am shore your pleased two no
It's letter perfect awl the weigh
My checker tolled me sew.

~Margo Roark

Friday Focus: Just Write

2010-12-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

“You can sit there, tense and worried, freezing the creative energies, or you can start writing something. It doesn't matter what. In five or ten minutes, the imagination will heat, the tightness will fade, and a certain spirit and rhythm will take over.”

~ Leonard Bernstein

I thought this was pretty appropriate considering NaNoWriMo is over!

So in the words of Lady Gaga,

just write...

gonna be okay

da da doo-doo-mmmm

(Well, they're close to her words.)

Happy Friday!

Book Dominoes

2010-12-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

I came across this video last week and had to share -- it's an ad for a bookstore in Arizona*.

*For a little more info, check out the post from GalleyCat, here.

My brilliance is beyond brilliant

2010-11-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

I was ~~ransacking~~ going through my closet looking for Christmas bags (because Christmas is, you know, weeks away, and I need to know how many bags I still need to buy like, NOW) and I came up with this awesomely awesome and wonderful idea. Actually, I came up with a few awesomely awesome ideas. And the shock that rippled through my body as I realized just how brilliant I was -- I mean, we are talking BRILLIANT, people -- well, that shock just about did me in. I seriously could have been found by Lovemuffin, spread out on the closet floor, clutching an ugly Christmas bag and Scotch tape dispenser to my chest (it had a little bitty hole in it... I throw nothing away people... this has been passed down three generations... don't judge), that's how mind-blowing these ideas were.

Are you tired of waiting to hear about my awesomely awesome ideas? Well wait no further. Here they are, in no particular order. (Hold on to your seats. No not those... the chair, people... I meant the chair.)

Five wonderful books I am going to write:

1) My Pickled Life*: Chronicles Perry the pickle's life from seed plantage to pickage to being shoved into a bunch of vinegar and whatever else they use to turn cucumbers into pickles. It will be educational, and even hilarious at times ("Nooooo... vinegar stunts my growth! yelled poor Perry Pickle"). And best of all, with the magic of faster-than-ever publishing these days, the package will be out in time for Christmas with one (or maybe more than one!!!) of these nifty pickly gifts.

2) Attack of the Horn**: A cute, meaningful story about a unicorn named Foofie whose beautiful horn somehow dislodges itself from Foofie's head and tries to poke her in the eye. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry. And best of all, it will come with a strap-on one-size-fits-all-foreheads unicorn horn for the unicorn at heart.

3) Redundancy at a Glance: Saying the same thing over and over is *so* redundant, don't you think, right? So kick back and put up your feet and relax as you read Redundancy at a Glance. Things you never thought to think of will be sparking your interest, like these chapters, for example...

Eating cheese on a cold winter night that is freezing

Marshmallows are for hot cocoa and smores and for putting in between wedges of chocolate and graham crackers

I just said this and now I'll say it again

and

The best phrases to use *ever* (What? You'd like few examples? Well, sure! Try these out in talking conversations -- advance planning, same identical and free gift)

4) Noodles are so Noodly***: Inspired by my mother's phrase, "holding on like a wet noodle", Noodles are so Noodly is a compliation of photographs taken by yours truly showing the many things you can do with noodles (sorry, photos are copyrighted, or I would have posted them on here).

Here are a few examples to spike your interest:

Hair getting thin? Add a little bit o' noodles to that bare spot.****

Not sure what to stuff that Christmas turkey with because you're out of bread and crumbs and all that other stuff that goes into stuffing? Stuff him with noodles.

Out of cereal and the kids are screaming they're about to collapse from malnutrition? Give 'em noodles. (They won't even know the difference. I swear.)

Running low on icicles for the tree? Do not fear -- why not wrap your Christmas tree with noodles!? (Can we say beautiful, and yum?)

And last but not least...

5) How to Waste Time Writing Weird Blog Posts When You Should Be Writing Your Actual Book Instead***** (or, as I like to call it, HWTWWBPWYSBWYABI <--- much shorter).

Well what are you waiting for? Head over to your favorite bookstore and order these today! (And I will finish writing them... sometime in the very-near-possibly-soon-to-be future!)

*Slightly torn ugly Christmas gift bag optional for an additional $1.99.

**Inspired by Charlie the Unicorn. I don't know what makes this guy do what he does, but hopefully he never stops.
***Comes with three free noodles in the shape of your choice - elbow, pinwheel, long and skinny, or noodle
****Cooked, or dry. But if you use raw noodles, take care not to poke anyone in the eye.
*****No explanation available at the time of this post

A different kind of turkey

2010-11-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

Imagine, if you will, that you're at a bowling alley.

You think you're a pretty good bowler, but the strikes are evading you.

At first, you don't think much of it. At least you're knocking the pins down, getting that occasional spare once in a while, right? You'll just try harder when your next turn comes around.

Now imagine that each set of bowling pins stands for something -- in my case, they'll stand for a query -- but they could be a job you're applying for, something you've been striving to do in your life, whatever.

You keep rolling the ball, trying to knock down the pins, attempting to get somewhere with those queries/job applications/et cetera. But those darn strikes... they refuse to materialize.

Now, disappointment starts to settle in. Within a short matter of time, that feeling goes from being a thin, hardly noticeable vapor of frustration, to the heaviest fog EVER.

But here's the thing.

Does the bowler attempt that first strike, use his second chance to do it again, then say, "Forget this, I quit" and walk out of the bowling alley?

Nope.

How about after a few frames? Does he quit then?

Not at all.

The game isn't over until ten frames have been played -- that's twenty chances to knock the pins over. So if each set of pins is a query, that's a decent amount of opportunities!

Maybe you knock down a few pins, but the results aren't what you were hoping for. One pin gets knocked down -- one response after carefully analyzing the "perfect" way to throw the ball. It's not a bite, not a positive reaction as you'd hoped, just a reaction.

Time for another frame.

And if none fall down, or they do, but they aren't what you're looking for (rejections, someone else hired for that position, et cetera), you do another one.

And another.

And... another.

You keep practicing, sending that bowling ball in the direction it needs to go.

And eventually, though it may not be as soon as you want, you'll get that strike -- that request, that job offer. Heck, you may even get more than one. Maybe you'll get three. A query turkey, so to speak.

**For a much better query analogy, check out Amy's post, In Which I Compare Querying to Toothpaste.

Friday Focus: Your writing must have you

2010-11-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

"There's one thing your writing must have to be any good at all. It must have you. Your soul, your self, your heart, your guts, your voice -- you must be on that page. In the end, you can't make the magic happen for your reader. You can only allow the miracle of 'being one with' to take place. So dare to be yourself. Dare to reveal yourself. Be honest, be open, be true... If you are, everything else will fall into place." ~ Elizabeth Ayres

Happy Friday, everyone! =)

Heavenly Blessings

2010-11-24T11:41:00.000-08:00

I was going to post a query analogy today, but that will have to wait until next week. Today, I'm posting a few things I'm thankful for. But first, a quote...

"The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!" ~Henry Ward Beecher

A few things I'm thankful for:

I am thankful for the way Lovemuffin goes out of his way to make my life easier on a daily basis, thankful that no matter how much I correct him or forget to do the dishes, he still loves me. Thankful for no matter how terrible I look or insane my hair is or how dark the mascara rings under my eyes are when I wake up, he still tells me that I'm beautiful.

I am thankful for the friends who are there to listen to me, who let me ramble on and on about this writerly journey that has to bore them at (most) times, and yet, they keep listening -- who know they can trust me to keep their secrets, and know that I trust them enough to keep mine.

I am thankful for the way my oldest daughter laughs silently when she laughs really hard, who gets my personality and doesn't get embarrassed by me very often, whose usual response is a shake of the head and a "You're weird, Mom."

I am thankful for the way my middle daughter can be utterly frustrated and furious and yell and stalk off to her room, slamming her door and screaming about the unfairness of it all, only to come out minutes later crying and saying she's sorry for making me sad.

I am thankful that my youngest daughter forgives me every time I put her wallet in a new place, to be lost for weeks on end until I happen to come across it again -- for her OCD tendencies, because even though it drives me batty I can't imagine how much messier the house would be without her constantly picking it up.

I am thankful for the view of the sunset right above our back fence every evening -- for having the best seat ever to watch the glowing leaves, the pinks and oranges spread across the sky as the sun melts into the horizon.

I am thankful for books, for words, for creativity -- for people who didn't give up and pursued their dreams to get their stories out there on paper in order to entertain little ol' me.

I am thankful for music, for the lyrics that make me happy, sad, hopeful, energetic. Thankful that if words ever leave me and I'm not sure what to say, I can find a song that explains it perfectly.

I am thankful for the writing community, the huge group of people who not only strive to get their own work to publication, but who also strive to help others reach that goal as well.

I am thankful for a roof over my head, a car that runs, flannel sheets, coffee, clothes to keep me warm, food in my pantry.

I am thankful for hand sanitizer.

I am thankful for cameras -- for photographs of captured milestones, silly moments, the people you love.

I am thankful for trees orange as flames lining the neighborhood yards, for the crisp, cool air that hits my face and makes my head hurt -- because if I can feel it, I'm still breathing.

and finally...

I am thankful that I can see, that I can hear, that I can remember. Thankful that though there are many wonderful people who won't be physically here on Thanksgiving Day, they'll be with me forever in my heart, in my memories.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! =)

The Sky is Falling

2010-11-23T11:06:00.000-08:00

There's been some talk on the internet lately about the way the industry is going -- what publishers are looking for at the moment, and what's been overdone.

I read both articles (first this one -- scroll down to the Nov. 8th post -- then this) and my first thought was, Well, sh*t. (To be honest, I actually began to panic before I'd even read the second post.)

The main discussion in the first link was about contemporary YA, but she also said this: "It’s telling me I’ve got to be wary of paranormal. And that there are lots of stories around about teen girls with ‘an altered state of consciousness’ (ie, who transport somewhere else, switch places with someone, live an alternate life)."

But but... that's what I'm querying right now! Dreams! Fantasy! Not paranormal, but still... I mean... what? How was I supposed to know other people were writing the same thing, that the agents were feeling inundated with that sort of work? (Well I did know, because not too long ago I queried an agent who immediately tweeted that it was being done too much. But at that point, FLORA was done, so I was kind of stuck.)

I sat there, outside, in my chair holding Henry, shivering, and thinking, "Now what? What do I do? What do I write? How in the world am I going to come up with something entirely different?"

But you know, this sort of thing happens all the time. One person says things are in, another says they're not. The industry is entirely subjective. It depends on who you know, what you're writing, how you're writing it, and if your voice stands out. (At least, that's what I'm telling myself right now.)

I spent a better half of the day yesterday trying to change my new WiP into something that it wasn't. Into something more daring, more "high concept" than it really was. And for what? To make sure I covered the bases for something that will most likely change in a few short months? Way before I even finish this thing, that came two me a mere few days ago?

Then I remembered this post I read the other day - at the Getting Past the Gatekeeper blog. And it made me feel better. It made me remember that we have to do what we do, the way we feel like doing it. (Further proof of that is the ever-popular author Ellen Hopkin's response in the comments section on the Kidlit blog.)

Sure, FLORA may not go anywhere. Do I want that? Heck no. But if it doesn't, I'll keep writing, finish up this new WiP, and then I'll have yet another novel under my belt. Another piece of work I'll mention when querying -- that may or may not spark interest. But at least I'll be able to mention it, if they don't like the current piece of work. And who knows, by then it may be something agents are looking for again. At least, that's my hope.

We have to get to a point in this writerly journey where we're comfortable with who we are, comfortable with what we write. Because if every single article we read spurred immediate panic, and we all rushed around saying "Did you hear? Did you hear?" there's a whole lot of awesome work out there that would never go anywhere.

This is your brain...

2010-11-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

This is your brain...

This is your brain during the query process.

That is all.

Friday Focus: Follow your inspirations

2010-11-19T07:58:00.002-08:00

"Far away in the sunshine are my highest inspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see the beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they may lead." ~Lousia May Alcott

Talk about an inspiring point of view!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Slumpy Snuffalupakins

2010-11-15T18:58:00.000-08:00

So the past few days I haven't been me, or Snip. I've been Slumpy.

I'm not IN a slump necessarily, but this longline thing has me ready to poke my eyes out. Or cut off my fingers. (There will NOT be any removal of hair.) Between that and working on the ol' query thanks to Elana Johnson, who critiqued it a few days ago (check out her website, blog and ebook, From the Query to the Call, BTW, all three of which are AWESOME!), my brain is stuck on

FLORA FLORA FLORA DAHLIA FLORA ROWAN FLORA DREAMS FLORA CONFLICTS INTINCING INCIDENTS FLOWERS FLORA AMBROSIA and, well, duh -- FLORA!

Argh.

So I just wanted to say,

Hello

How are you

Hope you're doing well

Hope you're feeling creative and productive and smart and refreshed and appreciated and Nanocomplished

I'm sorry I haven't read any of your blogs but I promise I will be back next week to drive you all crazy with my boring comments

And

I will be back on here soon, too.

Much love,

Slumpy

Friday Focus: The way to resume

2010-11-12T10:11:00.001-08:00

“The way to resume is to resume. It is the only way. To resume.” – Gertrude Stein

Resume: to take up or go on with again after interruption; continue

Thought this was a good one after Wednesday's post.

Happy Friday!

RE: A renewed point of view

2010-11-10T08:36:00.000-08:00

Have you ever noticed that most words starting with re are positive words? They reenforce something. Make it better.

Think about it.

Revise

Rework

Redo

Rewrite

We use the above actions to make our work as good as it can be.

And then, there's another re word that we don't usually associate with good at all: Rejection.

Rejection: A gentle push in a new and better direction.

Yes. That definition is much better, don't you think?

Writers write, right? Right. Write.*

2010-11-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

*the above title was taken from urbandictionary.com

Oh dear. I believe the inevitable has happened. My brain has shut off.

This weekend was crazy and super boring at the same time. Two kids got injured, one by racing her sister on a bike WAY too small for her, then flying off (road rash sucks); and the other by going in the back of her dad's truck and slicing the bottom of her foot (no stitches, though it's going to be a crappy healing process). I finished doing the laundry, stayed caught up on the dishes (that never happens), worked on my query and logline (bugging my friend Andi so much she probably shudders every time there's an email from me in her inbox), and I even cleaned out a closet full of junk I never get rid of because "what if this is something I could use sometime in the future -- you know, like the next ten years".

Time must have slowed somehow, because by last night I'd found a way to get caught up on two missed Parenthood episodes and watch the newest Jacob's Patience installment on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. (The first one was with Will Farrell.)

And now, it's Monday. The sun is bright, the ground is wet from the rain last night, and a swift cool breeze is sweeping through the trees. The house is relatively silent (the dogs aren't barking at people pushing lawnmowers around the neighborhood for once -- oh wait, they do still bark when the mower is at OUR house), coffee is brewed... and my brain refuses to cooperate.

Friday Focus: The People Who Get Up

2010-11-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them."

~ George Bernard Shaw

And there you go.

Happy Friday!

Hunger and writerly advice

2010-11-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Advice can be a double-edged sword when it comes to writing - everyone critiques differently. I used to submit my work (queries, loglines, first whatever-amount-of-words, et cetera), then sit back and wait with the attitude that though it probably wasn't that good, it wasn't all that bad, either.

So when the advice/critiques/words of wisdom would pour in, I'd be shocked. It wouldn't take much for me to cringe, to freak out, want to cry, and feel as though I should have the right to defend myself, explain why I worded it this way or chose to do something a specific way.

But I am finally, finally learning. Maybe it's because I'm at that point (the point I thought I was at a long time ago, strangely enough) where I don't give a rat's whisker about what people say, as long as it will potentially benefit my work. I'm hungry -- close to starving. Considering how I felt a year ago (I was probably a tad unsatisfied back then), this is a wonderful thing. And I hope, even though I know it will mean I'll be more emotional and on edge, that in the next few weeks/months I will become ravenous.

I am ready to hear what people have to say, ready to take their advice in any way shape or form I can get it, to make it what it needs to be, get it where it needs to go.

None of this could be done without the tons of writers/agents across the internet offering logline contests and free critiques and query sessions and chats and so on. These people take time out of their busy schedules to pour over our work, to offer advice on how they think things can be improved. True, a few of them come across snarky, but for the most part, they are completely genuine in trying to help us improve. I can't even begin to imagine where I would be without these lovely people. Talk about appreciating so many people I've never even met.

So the next time you submit work looking for advice, remember this: none of us are perfect. We wouldn't be sending stuff their way if it was, right? And tone? Tone is hard to read. It's easy to take one person's point or question as rude or hateful, but that doesn't mean it was meant to be that way at all. Before you read what they have to say, take a deep breath. Make sure you have plenty of time for contemplation, and you're having a good day. Then make your notes, tally up those questions and points made, and go for it. Let it loose. Address everything, and decide what is worth changing and what isn't. Polish that sucker up, and send it back out again.

Be hungry. Heck, be voracious. That drive is what keeps us from giving up.

Bucket List

2010-11-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." ~Leonardo da Vinci

The other night I got together with some friends at a local restaurant for a couple of hours. Our lives have changed over the years, grown busier and led us off in different directions, but we've kept the tradition of getting together for birthdays (which basically means, three times a year we go out to dinner).

The three of us had a great time catching up, giving each other advice, venting about life's bumps, twists and turns, and near the end of our relaxing get-together, as my friends discussed similar interests in accomplishing the same goal - the kind you think you'd love to meet but know in actuality it probably will never happen - I suggested we make a bucket list.

Enter amusement, contemplation, and an immediate set up of rules.

First, there was no way we could make a bucket list that would span over a long number of years - it would take too long, and wouldn't that make us less likely to reach our goals?

Second, how many "big" things would go on that list? Ah yes. We all agreed. One big thing, and if it was crossed off, it would qualify for bonus points.

And third, wait - we need more time - how about we meet in a month with our lists completed, and go from there?

As our evening drew to a close, one of my friends pointed out that I still hadn't come up with a single item for my list. So of course, being stuck in the whole query process like I am, I jotted down land an agent. (After which, I promptly informed them that if I still didn't have one in five years, I would be needing a straightjacket.)

Later that night, as Lovemuffin and I were lying in bed and I was trying to come up with more items for my list, I found myself feeling frustrated. The minute I'd brought our idea up to him when I came home, adrenaline-wrought items for his own personal list flew from his lips. Sky diving. Climbing Mt. Everest (okay, he didn't really say that one, but that was the kind of things he was coming up with), et cetera. I told him we weren't looking at it like that - our bucket list was more of an inspiration to accomplish a few things that could actually be accomplished in a short amount of time. Sounds simple, right? And yet... aside from the agent goal, I had nada.

So as I lay there staring into the dark I thought, Holy crap. What's wrong with me? Why can't I think of anything?

Then I said, "Honey, do you think the fact that I can't think of anything means I'm content, or do you think it means I'm boring?"

He replied, "Maybe a little of both."

Of course, then I was so busy trying to figure out if I was boring that the bucket list got pushed to the back of my mind.

The point of today's post is this: We all have things we would love to do or try - and yet, I think most of us have never really thought to write them down. So today I'd like to hear a few goals you'd like to accomplish. What would you love to do? Are there places you would like to go? A marathon you'd like to run? A fear of something you would love to confront?

I'd love to hear about them in the comments... maybe your ideas will help me with mine!

Pitch me a fast one, me hearties!

2010-11-01T09:51:00.000-07:00

The internet is brimming full of pitch (also called a logline) contests right now. The Authoress on Miss Snark's First Victim recently held two critique contests for loglines, and will be holding another one this week (here's her post from last Friday), in preparations for her Baker's Dozen Agent Auction in December. (Note - the MG/YA category has been bumped from 40 up to 80 submissions.)

How important is it to have a logline ready? Pretty important. Knowing your logline ahead of time can give you a foot in the door when conversing with agents, and an agent who chooses to represent you may also use that same log line when trying to interest publishers.

Also, a lot of writing contests require a logline to be submitted with your work, including WRITERS DIGEST's seventh "Dear Lucky Agent Contest" (which ends November 3rd - YA genre only - you still have time to enter!), judged by Ms. Tamar Rydzinski of The Laura Dail Literary Agency. In this contest, a logline must be included in the entry of the first 150-200 words of your novel. (Quick side note: I am entering this contest, and was very excited to learn that Ms. Rydzinski belongs to the agency that represents Bonnie Hearn Hill, YA author of The Star Crossed Series. Ms. Hill is actually from where I live, and a few fortunate writers, including myself, received a quick critique from her a few months ago at my local RWA meeting! Kind of crazy that I'm now submitting the exact same thing to her agency!)

The ladies at the Operation Awesome blog are holding a one line pitch mystery agent contest (ends soon), so if you have one and it's for a novel in the genre they're looking for, head on over there!

For those of you who've spent countless hours of blood, sweat and tears trying to write a query or synopsis, the one sentence pitch is yet another opportunity to claw your eyes out (or, if you're a fan of Snip's poem, chew your own feet).

But what IS a one sentence pitch, exactly? Well, to put it simply, it's the summarization of the plot of your book in one sentence - a way to grab an agent, suck them in, and make them beg to read some (and hopefully all) of your work.

If you're wanting to learn more about pitches, here are a few links to check out:

* Nathan Bransford's How to Write a One Sentence Pitch

* Michelle McLean's How to Write a Hook Line or Log Line

* Holly Bodger's (who is helping critique Authoress's logline submissions) Loglines

* Angelica R. Jackson pointed out in the comments of Operation Awesome's contest that another good place for info on pitches is on Kristen Nelson's (of Nelson Literary Agency) blog, Pub Rants.

AND, JUST ADDED: Agent Miriam Kriss's post on the Guide to Literary Agents Blog - The Perfect Pitch.

So there you have it. Another feat to accomplish in the writerly world. (They never stop coming, do they?) After spending so much time working on mine (it's far from "good", but I'm going to keep trying), I've learned that from now on, before I even begin to write a book, I'm going to write the pitch first. Not only does it help give perspective on the plot and MC's goal as you're writing, but it also saves a lot of time when you're done and trying to figure out how in the world to put this story full of discoveries, twists and turns into a mere sentence or two!

Have any of you written a pitch for your current MS/WiP? Feel free to share them in the comments - I'd love to read them!

Friday Focus - let the beautiful stuff out

2010-10-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out. ~ Ray Bradbury

I love that. Let the beautiful stuff out - isn't that a great way to look at it?

Happy Friday! =)

Thirty-two years young

2010-10-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

So I'm thirty-two today. I'm not saying this so all of you will wish me a wonderful, lucky, writerly year (though, now that I think about it, feel free to send some of those wishes my way!), I'm bringing it up because it hit me last night that my thirtieth year was some sort of turning point.

By the end of that year I had cut my hair (which had been long for years), changed the color, and begun the tedious, fun, exasperating, exciting, educational journey of writing. If I'd known how different that year was going to be, I probably wouldn't have been so upset about the big 3-0. But I was. I didn't want to be older. I felt as though I was stuck in a rut of I don't-even-know-what -- with nothing to show for myself, personally. Sure, I had a wonderful family, a wonderful husband, and three beautiful girls. But something was missing. Come to find out, it was getting a story that I had on my heart down on paper.

Did that story turn me into this famous, awesome novelist with an agent and a book deal? No. Did I hold on to that first story for dear life and do what I could to try and make it get somewhere? Yes. But it didn't go anywhere. I moved on. I started another one, and even another. And now here I am, a year and a half into this journey, and though at times I feel frustrated and useless and as though I should be put into a straight jacket and thrown into a looney bin, I am loving it. I'm loving the process of all things writerly, loving the people I've met all over the internet who write, strive to keep their lives even by working their butts off and work/home and writing every chance they get, and are there to support their fellow writers and keep them informed and inspired along the journey.

Who knows where my thirty-second year will take me. I am hoping for great things. I am hoping for a synopsis that rocks at least one agent's socks, for a query that shows my vision for a wonderful book. I am expecting another year of laughs and tears and screaming between me, Lovemuffin and the girls. And I can't wait to continue this entire journey with all of you - my writerly friends - my friends who get me, who get IT - the constant, nagging feeling that we can do something, that we can put thousands upon thousands of words together straight from our hearts and create another world for readers everywhere.

So here's to another year, my friends. Here's to camaraderie and inspiration and accomplishments beyond our wildest dreams. Cheers!

(Also, my first *ever* guest blog is up at The Sharp Angle, titled Neglected Character Types in Women's Fiction. Lydia Sharp is a writer and great blogger of all things literary and I would love if you'd check stop by there and check it out! Feel free to follow her blog too, she's a great gal!)

Friday Focus: The Novelist's Ambition

2010-10-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

The novelist's ambition is not to do something better than his predecessors but to see what they did not see, say what they did not say.

~ Milan Kundera

Yes! Exactly!

Happy Friday!

I'm an acorn in a world of peanuts

2010-10-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

I'm having an epiphany here, guys. (Yes, I know. I have them a lot.)

I've been smacked. Smacked in the comprehensive part of my brain that has been reading, reading, reading, studying book flaps and websites and "this query worked and this is why" posts, trying to understand how to get it right. Trying to get FLORA to sound like it should. Trying to make FLORA sound good. (Because I really do believe that it is.)

I'm walking through Target, and there it is. BOOM. Right to the side of my head.

POW! Hello, Jessica! Glad to see you're back! Where have you been?

I've got it all wrong, people. I'm not supposed to be explaining FLORA. I'm not supposed to follow these other query samples to tell about mine. I'm supposed to be saying:

Mine is different. Here's how.

It isn't like everyone else's. You're not about to read the same words fifty other people have already used. This here is an acorn - a pretty, different, unique and original acorn, in a world full of peanuts.

Mine is different. Here's how.

You didn't know I'm a poet?

2010-10-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ode to Querying

Snippy Snuffalupakins

Queries are fun.

Synopsises are neat.

(I'm lying.

Both make me want to chew my own feet.)

He who types the last line laughs (or goes crazy)

2010-10-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah. I know. Two posts in a row pointing out my lack of sanity. But to be fair, yesterday's post was more along the lines of "this could/can/does happen", not "this just happened to me". (Course it had, but not right then. When I posted it. Did I clear that up well enough? Right.) So I say, I'm allowed to blog about sanity again. In a way I feel like a professional. An insane one. (You know, because we writers *are* professionals.)

Anyway.

The last line. The ending. The grand finale. Something *so* looked forward to for like, forever, and yet, when you find yourself there, looking over the cliff, about to wave sayonara to your *squee* - say it with me folks - finished novel, that longed for salute doesn't always go the way you'd planned it to.

Or does it? Is it just me? I don't know. Technically, I am done. I am done, finished, through. But this last sentence, it's driving me crazy! I know I should leave it alone, but I can't. Why is that? Why can't we let go, after so much time? I don't get it.

Oh wait. I just thought of another sentence...

*types it out*

*deletes it*

Noooooo wait.....

(I do believe I need help.)

Zero to panic in five minutes

2010-10-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

So. You've gotten that pinky down, and are back in front of the computer screen again, with renewed hope, refreshed eyes and a rejuvenated mind. And then...

*Word document

*click*

*Open

*Recent File

*hover over odd-named file that has nothing to do with the actual title because it's never been changed*

*click*

*sip*

*blink*

*scroll to current editing page*

*sip*

*yawn*

*read*

*highlight*

*delete*

*type out better description*

*read*

*pat self on back*

*save*

*scroll down*

*read*

*yawn*

*sip*

*scroll back up*

*highlight*

*delete*

*type out previous words that were just deleted because who do I think I am that was too much I'm no Hemingway how pretentious of me*

*sip*

*read*

*read some more*

*edit*

*embellish beginning of chapter*

*edit word that makes no sense and laugh har har har*

*yawn*

*blink*

*blink again*

*think, Oh my GOSH I am tired*

*think, Wait, am I tired, or am I bored?*

*feel heart racing*

*gulp*

*think, Am I? Bored? Really?*

*attempt to breathe*

*think, I am! I'm BORED! I've bored myself! I'm boring! IT'S boring! It's ALL boring! I suck! This is terrible! What was I thinking? I'm insane! I can't do this! I'm an idiot!*

*catch breath*

*sip coffee*

*read some more*

*choke*

*spit out coffee*

*go do dishes/walk the dog/watch TV/wallow in huge pool of misery and promise to never look at the computer again because there's no way I can face those lame stupid ignorant words any longer what a waste of a bazillion hours of my life I could have spent catching up on Malcom in the Middle reruns I give up*

Now what?

Friday Focus: Put your reader in the middle

2010-10-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

"The most improbable tales can be made believable, if your reader,through his sense, feels certain that he stands at the middle of events."

~Ray Bradbury

This is a good one for fantasy writers - I think we all need this kind of reminder every now and then! =)

Happy Friday!

Thursdays with Snip - contests & news

2010-10-14T22:30:00.000-07:00

(Whew! I'm finally getting around to posting this - it has been a crazy week, so the list is rather short!)

Writerly News

Turning Rejections into Acceptances: Turn that query frown upside down!

YA Free Reads Alert: The YA Addict blog has posted that Egmont is allowing Michael Grant's Gone, Hunger and Lies to be read for free! (Through October 22nd.)

Your First Chapter: Author Stephenie Perkins' blog post about your first chapter is a good one. Check it out!

Star Crossed Series: Local YA author Bonnie Hearn Hill, author of the Star Crossed Series, has been interviewed at Sarah's blog, The Lovestruck Novice, and will be doing a book signing in Fresno October 23rd!

Contests

10 Smart Questions about the query process & 2011 Guide to Literary Agent Giveaway: The First Novels Club has none other than Chuck Sambuchino as their guest, and he asks (and answers) 10 Smart Questions about the Query Process and is offering a 2011 Guide to Literary Agents to one lucky winner! (Contest ends October 29th)

FREE MONEY: Tahereh is at it again - she's giving away free money to buy shiny new books! Yay!

Where the Truth Lies: Jessica at Confessions of a Bookaholic is giving away a free ARC of Where the Truth Lies. (Contest ends October 26th.)

Oh to wake up and have it done already

2010-10-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Some people sleepwalk.

Some even sleep-eat.

A lot of people sleep-talk.

I'd like to sleep-write. (Do they sell a pill for that?)

Milk Eggs Vodka (or, Inspirations for Your Characters)

2010-10-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I was watching Jimmy Kimmel, and the guest, Bill Keaggy, was promoting his unusual book, Milk Eggs Vodka. (Warning - if you're going to check out the link, you've been forewarned that not everything on there is child appropriate.)

Milk Eggs Vodka is a compilation of grocery lists found by Mr. Bill Keaggy, himself, over a span of many years. Here's how the story goes: One day Mr. Keaggy found a grocery list, and after finding it a little interesting, he decided to keep it. Then he found another interesting one, and another, and so on. A few years later, the collection had grown to a whopping amount of almost five hundred lists. (I plan to get this book, eventually, because the lists he shared on the show really did make me giggle.)

Anyway. Characters with unusual quirks can make your story more interesting. Being the writerly person that I am, Mr. Keaggy gave me an idea about how to up the quirkiness with one of the characters in my women's fiction WiP. (No, she doesn't collect any kind of list.) And then I thought, I wonder what odd things have inspired other writers out there to do something different with their characters?

So today's question is:

What inspired you to write your characters the way you did?

I'd love to hear your stories!

A gross (but hopefully helpful) analogy by yours truly

2010-10-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

My youngest daughter has a Kenyan sand boa.

** If you like snakes, then you'll probably agree with me when I say that she/he (?) is the cutest thing *ever*. (I'm already imagining the wonderful comments that previous sentence is going to bring my way. Ha.)

Now, I like snakes. What I do not like however, is feeding time. In fact, feeding time makes me downright sad. My daughter knows how it works: I will take her to get the pinky (aka baby mouse/rat/or in last week's case, hamster -- still pink, not yet covered in fur), I will buy the pinky, and I will take her and the pinky back home. But after that, I sure as heck am not going to go into her room and watch what happens next.

I understand the whole circle of life thing (I *have* seen The Lion King a bazillion times, thank you very much). I get that it takes life to keep life going. Yes. I understand. But watching it actually take place? No thanks. You won't ever catch me in front of the TV with National Geographic shows playing because I simply cannot handle it. I can't see the entertainment in watching one animal eating another. (And don't even joke at the dinner table about the name of the cow I'm eating, or attempt to invite me fishing, because I'll refuse to hook that poor fish!)

Am I losing you? Are you wondering what in the world Snookie eating pinkies has to do with my (not mentioned at all yet) analogy? Well stick with me here. It's coming up next.

Even people who don't like snakes know what they have to do to survive - they have to eat - really big things. And unlike our meals, which can be broken into little bites and enjoyed at leisurely pace, snakes have to force one thing down, slowly. (Doesn't sound remotely leisurely to me.)

So here's my analogy:

We all come across issues during the writing process. The plot may have serious wrinkles, the chapters may be too short or too long, the dialogue may lack that realistic quality we're desperate for it to have. And of course, we end up getting frustrated. We want it all fixed NOW. It isn't fair when what we know in our heads so well won't go down on the paper/screen the way want. Or when those problems needing fixing just can't seem to be fixed.

When those feelings come over us - inadequacy or frustration, for example - then it's time to be like Snookie, my friends. The problem is our pinky. Figuring it out may not happen as fast as wolfing down a cheeseburger, but it will happen, eventually. (Sometimes Snookie doesn't like the way a pinky is going down and she spits it back out, then goes back for another try.)

We can take a breath and step away from our writing place. We can take a walk. We can invite someone out to ice cream or coffee. We can go get groceries, watch three movies in a row, get our oil changed. It's okay to chew on ideas for a while before coming up with a resolution.

So there you go - an analogy probably a little tough to swallow (I know, I'm sorry. I couldn't resist.), but an analogy just the same. Time isn't good time unless it's being spent the right way, and there's nothing worse than realizing many hours have gone by, and the only thing you've accomplished is upping the bite mark tally on your pencil.

I promise - the pinky will go down, in time. And when it does, you'll feel amazing.

How about you? What do you do when you feel stumped? Do you have a routine to help get those creative juices flowing again?

Friday Focus: You must want to enough

2010-10-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

"You must want to enough. Enough to take all the rejections, enough to pay the price of disappointment and discouragement while you are learning. Like any other artist you must learn your craft—then you can add all the genius you like."

~Phyllis A. Whitney

I know I want to enough.

How about you?

Happy Friday!

Thursdays with Snip - contests & news

2010-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's ten o'clock Wednesday night and I'm so behind with Thursdays with Snip it isn't remotely amusing. (I do have a very good reason, which includes not saving the blog post I started yesterday and therefore losing all of the links I was going to share, but whatevs. I won't bore you all with how that happened.) PLUS, I was a terrible blog friend, mentioned Forever's new cover and contest, then never brought it up again! (Bad me! Very bad me!)

So here are the links I could remember:

Contests:

The Forests for the Trees: Literary Agent Rachelle Gardner is giving away five copies of this wonderful book. You can read more about the contest on her blog. (Contest ends Saturday.)

The Never-Ending Scene Blogfest (manuscript/synopsis critique): Brenda Drake is having a cliffhanger contest - post a cliffhanger on your blog, and enter to win a manuscript/synopsis critique (and more) by Cassandra Marshall. Details here. (Entries need to be posted by 8:00 a.m. ET October 25th.)

Shiver/Linger contest: So here's the link to Maggie's blog, where she tells you how to win AWESOME Shiver and Linger stuff. (Contest ends October 19th.)

All White for Twilight: Speaking of awesome, Operation Awesome is holding a All White for Twilight contest to win The Twilight Series books (not available in the US!). According to their blog:

The white titles will only be published between October and Christmas 2010, replacing the usual black jackets. The titles will have crimson-edged pages and crimson back covers, with text confined to the spines.

Check out the contest and more info HERE. (Contest ends October 31st.)

Kidlit: Adventures in Publishing's interviews and contest: Check out the interviews and enter to win newly released books here. (Contest ends Friday, October 8th.)

Writerly News

When it's Not Hot, Passion Can Carry It : Agent Kristin Nelson shared some great thoughts on having passion for a project.

The Answers: Cristi Goddard had an inspirating post about figuring out all of those writerly answers.

Essentials in Women's Fiction: Lydia Sharp posted about how to keep your ideas original when you're writing about baby-making decisions.

Defeating Your Inner Critic: Carolyn Kaufman is on Query Tracker teaching us ways to defeat our inner critic. Check out Part 1: Track the Problem and Part 2: Put the Critic on the Stand

The Query Tracker blog's Publishing Pulse: Lots of great stuff in last Friday's post .

HAPPY THURSDAY!

Friday Focus: The professional writer

2010-10-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

"A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit." ~ Richard Bach

See! It isn't the perfect query, the well-worded synopsis, the requests for partials filling up our email inboxes, the contests we've won. It's not quitting when the going gets tough, when the words don't come, when everything looks jumbled and nothing makes sense and we think we're crazy for doing what we're doing.

So keep going, no matter what, my writerly friends! Be a professional! =)

Happy Friday!

Napkins, gum wrappers, receipts. I write on them all.

2010-09-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

I came across this the other day and had to share because it's *so* me (and probably a lot of you guys out there too) -

“I write down everything I want to remember. That way, instead of spending a lot of time trying to remember what it is I wrote down, I spend the time looking for the paper I wrote it down on.” ~ Beryl Pfizer

Ha ha. Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Book grabbing survey results

2010-09-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the results weren't THAT exciting. And I don't say that because I don't appreciate you voters out there... but I had another poll up at first, and for some reason it went all wonky on me and disappeared, so I think there were more votes than this is showing. Oh well. Thanks for voting, guys! (If this post comes out weird, I apologize. Copy and paste isn't always my friend.)

Here's the results to last week's poll (yes, I voted, too!) :

How many of you finish a book, even if it's not grabbing you?

I read it anyway.

4 votes

I skim through the pages to finish faster.

1 vote

I flip to the back to find out how it ends.

1 vote

I stop reading. Life is too short!

Tah dah! And there's the results. Were you guys surprised?

7 votes

FOREVER cover debut & pre-order signed copy info

2010-09-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

And here it is - Forever, the last book in the Shiver trilogy. I love the jacket design (to all three books, actually), don't you? You can pre-order your signed copy here.

Check back on this week's Thursdays with Snip to learn how you can enter to win some great Linger and Shiver stuff from Maggie. =)

When you have friends & interests but your interests are not your friends'...

2010-09-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

*Warning - the following post is a rant. If you do not have hours of time and at least one full cup of coffee, please proceed to the next "to do" thing on your list, and come back later. ;)*

Friends. Acquaintances. Pals. BFFS.

I have friends. ~~Not a whole lot, like, friends friends, but I have friends.~~

(Let's try this again. I feel as though I'm defending myself. That isn't what I'm trying to do.)

*ahem*

I have friends. I have a lot of friends, and a few close friends. (There. That's better.) I'm not *as* close with my friends as I used to be, due to kids/work/school/writing/life plus whatever it is that occupies their time and takes them away from the phone/computer, too. (For some reason I felt the need to make sure you all knew I had friends before I went into today's actual post. I'm not sure why.) And that doesn't bother me, us not being as close, not speaking all the time like we used to, really it doesn't. I get it. Life. Life happens.

Anyway. Even though I *do* have friends (and they mean a LOT to me), I've found myself, over the past year or so, moving into a completely different direction. As in, well okay fine, I'll just come right out and say it: I'm obsessed. Obsessed with reading, obsessed with writing. And I've always been obsessed with movies. Every single time I go to open my mouth, either

1) a movie

2) a book/author/story line

3) a writing idea/experience

tries to force itself from my mouth.

And I swear, I try, I try *really* hard not to do it all of the time, to say things like, "Uh, so, the sun is yellow, right?" instead of "Oh my gosh I was reading this book and the best idea came to me and I ran to my journal...", but it's hard.

It reminds me of new parents. (Now, I was one once, almost 13 years ago, so I know what I'm talking about here. And if for some reason you don't happen to know any new parents, and have not been a new parent yet, then please, think of it as new pet owners, instead. It's pretty close to the same thing.) When someone has just had a kid, and that kid is pretty much the only thing the parent/s are dealing with every day, then that kid, and the experiences with the kid, and the cute times and the annoying times and the "once, when she threw up all over my face..." stories (and everything else you can think of that you've heard/told over the years) come out. Constantly. Until you get to the point where (and don't deny it, people) you want to scream, I DON'T CARE HOW CUTE YOUR KID LOOKS WHEN HE EATS A FRENCH FRY!

It's not that the new parent/s are *trying* to only talk about their kid all of the time, but that's their life. All the time. It's all they know. They're absorbed in every little bitty detail of it.

Well that's me. It's not that I'm *trying* to think about reading/writing all of the time, it's just my life now. It's me. I read, write, parent, drink coffee, steal the occasional date with my husband, and breathe.

And so, in trying not to drive everybody bonkers, I hold a lot of the experience, the enjoyment (and of course, the dejection and frustration) INSIDE. Which is a good thing, I'm sure, for those who know me. Less rambling for them to hear.

BUT. I've found myself wishing, over the past few months, for someone to just sit with, someone I could have long conversations with about everything in the writer/readerly world... in person. It's not that I don't appreciate you all out there across the internet, because I do, I wouldn't have survived this past year without you, but to look someone in the eye, see their reaction, hear their feelings about this character or that ending, and get it... I don't know. After a while, the "oh I don't reads", and "it's only a book" looks just make me sad, you know?

There. Rant is over. A cup of coffee has been emptied, and I feel better now. Somewhat.

I came across this quote, and had to share it in today's post.

"One hasn't become a writer until one has distilled writing into a habit, and that habit has been forced into an obsession. Writing has to be an obsession. It has to be something as organic, physiological and psychological as speaking or sleeping or eating." --- Niyi Osundare

How about you? Does the solitary writer life get to you sometimes, too? What to do you to get over that lonely hump?

Friday Focus - successful writers

2010-09-24T07:59:00.001-07:00

"Successful writers are not the ones who write the best sentences. They are the ones who keep writing. They are the ones who discover what is most important and strangest and most pleasurable in themselves, and keep believing in the value of their work, despite the difficulties." --- Bonnie Friedman

Whoo boy is this a good quote for me this week!

Keep on writin' my writerly friends! =)

Happy Friday!

Thursdays with Snip - contests & news

2010-09-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

Contests

30 and under authors: Narrative Magazine is holding its annual Thirty and Below Contest.

THE DUFF and PERSONAL DEMONS: Author Lisa Deshrochers (Personal Demons) is giving both books away to one lucky winner on her blog! Enter here for a chance to win! (Contest ends September 24th.)

Hungry for Harper Teen contest: Great book giveaways going on at the Hungry for Harper Teen contest.

Critique/Mentorship Opportunity: Angela Ackerman at The Bookshelf Muse is throwing a contest as a thank you for reaching 1000 followers! Check it out here. (Contest ends Wednesday, September 29th.)

Beautiful Darkness ARC: The Page Turners Blog is giving away a Beautiful Darkness ARC & swag. Check this link for the entry form. (Contest ends October 1st.)

Dear Lucky Agent contest (Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy writers): Looking for a crit on your first ten pages? Winner will receive a critique by Marisa A. Corvisiero. Check out the Dear Lucky Agent Contest for more info. (Contest ends October 6th.)

***

News

Speak Loudly - I'm sure by now most of you know about the uproar on the internet over the past few days regarding Laurie Halse Anderson's SPEAK. If you haven't, please check out the link and show your support!

Looking for an agent? Elizabeth Craig had a great post on thoughts and resources for that very thing!

Deliberate practice can make you a better writer - When do most writers ever practice? Check out this great post by guest blogger Barbara Baig on the Writer Beware blog.

Time Management, Creative Productivity, and Multitasking - Debbie Ridpath Ohi (better known as @inkyelbows) talks about those three very things on her post for the MiG Writers blog.

Gauging Your Story's Marketability - Lydia Sharp at The Sharp Angle had a great post regarding the marketability of your book and making your pitch stand out.

Essence of Setting - The Writers Alley tackles the question, "Is the choice of setting really that important?"

Jane Austen fans, unite! - If you're a fan of Jane Austen, check out the Austen Authors website (comprised of 24 Jane Austen literary fiction authors). They're hosting a launch extravaganza - including giveaways - now through October 6th. (One of them just happens to be my pal, Sharon Lathan! Hi, Sharon!)

Happy Thursday!

Tense - There's no time like the present. Or is there?

2010-09-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

This morning I read an interesting article by Phillip Pullman regarding writing in present tense. Personally, I love reading present tense. It makes me feel up close and personal with the MC. In fact, my WiP, This Too Shall Pass (and other phrases that I hate) is IN present tense.

So I honestly thought I'd be annoyed, think the man was crazy, and move on to the next article on my list as I clicked on the link. Phillip Pullman Calls Time on the Present Tense? Puh-leese.

But you know what? He made some good points. This one was my favorite:

"It's an abdication of narrative responsibility, in my view. The storyteller, in film or novel, should take charge of the story and not feel shifty about it. Put the camera in the place from which it can see the action most clearly. Make a decision about where that place is. Put it on something steady to stop that incessant jiggling about. Say what happened, and let the reader know when it happened and what caused it and what the consequences were, and tell me where the characters were and who else was present – and while you're at it, I'd like to know what they looked like and whether it was raining."

Have I changed my mind, decided never to write in present tense again? No. I will, however, bookmark this article and refer to it often as a reminder not to sound like this:

"We were there when these things happened. They were real. We didn't have time to adjust the focus on that shot or swing round in time to see who said those words or keep the camera steady. It was all happening there right in front of us. It was all urgent and real."

How about you? Do you read present tense? Write it? Which tense do you prefer in writing or reading?

Last day to enter FREE EDIT contest!

2010-09-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to remind you writers out there (who, like me, would love to have your MS edited) that today is the last day to enter Cassandra's FREE EDIT CONTEST! (According to her blog, that's plot, pacing, character development, et cetera.)

Good luck to all!

~Jessica

Do you give books a chance?

2010-09-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

Last week I tweeted a question:

How many of you finish a book even if it's not "grabbing" you?

Now, I had two reasons for asking this.

1) Sometimes I start reading a book with (probably way too high of) expectations. These high expectations could be due to internet buzz, a good blurb by an author I like, a good review, or the fact that I've read other books by the author and am wanting to read another one just as great.

2) As a writer, I figured it would be nice to know how many people read on just to... read on.

I was surprised at how many people said they did not continue reading - if it didn't grab them, they were done - and thought it would be neat to see more responses.

So. I set a poll up on the sidebar last Thursday, and will be closing it at the end of this week. If you guys have time to vote, please do so. I think the results will be very interesting!

Happy Monday!

Friday Focus: Writing a book is a struggle

2010-09-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one was not driven on by some demon who one can neither resist nor understand.” ~George Orwell

Yep. I am totally loving this quote. Loving it.

Happy Friday!

Thursdays with Snip - contests & news

2010-09-16T11:48:00.000-07:00

Whew! There's been tons of buzz this week! Here's a few I thought I'd share!

News:

Requested Manuscripts -- Agent Sara Crowe give you a look into the requested manuscript phase on her blog, Crowe's Nest.

On Self Doubt -- Author and agent Mandy Hubbard shared her two cents on her blog with Self Doubt... getting it written instead of getting it right.

Rejection -- Need a rejection pick-me-up? Check out A Bestseller's Rejection Story on Dystel & Goderich Literary Management's blog.

How to Write & Sell Fantasy and Sci-Fi Webinar -- Agent Kristin Nelson of Nelson Literary is offering a webinar on September 30th. Check out this link for more info.

When Dreams Become Expectations: My favorite of agent Nathan Bransford's posts this week. Check it out here.

Contests:

Amazing Amazingness & Query Critique -- writeoncon is throwing contests galore this week, including a live event and epic giveaway and query critique, here.

ARC, Query Critique, Bookmarks -- YA Author Kirstin Hubbard is throwing a great giveaway! For a chance to win an ARC of her upcoming book, Like Mandarin, a query critique, or signed booksmarks, click here.

Signed copies of Sisters Red or Audrey, Wait! book giveaways - Check it out at See Heather Write (giveaway ends Friday)

Free Books -- Chuck Sambuchino at Guide to Literary Agents is giving away three books - 1) How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack 2) 2011 Guide to Literary Agent 3) Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript here.

(There are many book giveaway contests going on in the blogosphere, good luck to those who enter!)

* Don't forget -- YALITCHAT's Query Kick-Around contest (ends September 30th).

In which I brag about contests I lost

2010-09-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yes. I've decided, as I sit here bawling my eyes out (no not really, just feeling a *tad* dejected and fighting the urge to cram a few candy bars down my throat), that the best thing to do when one loses a lot is to brag about said losingness. How else would one be able to go on with one's day?

So first, the contest I entered last month. Yeah, I lost. (Are you surprised? Shoot. I think I set this up backwards, didn't I?) And I'm sad. Not surprised, which kind of sucks because it would be nice to have that "I'm awesome and am totally rockin' it" feeling (it does show up every so often, thank goodness, but why so many empty days in between?). But guess what? Oh well. I am going to be like Stephen King and add the loss to an ever-growing pile of misses on my wall (it's actually a manilla envelope in a drawer, but still. You get the point.) After all, I put myself out there. That's what we writers do, right? All the time? Over and over again?

Now for the second contest -- it was actually a random contest to will a full critique. Which I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY want/need/am desperate for. Lucky for my ego, being as both contest results were announced today, it truly was random. Take a picture of Natalie's friend Kiersten's recently released book, Paranormalcy, "In the Wild", and you will be entered into the critique contest. Judging not based on the actual picture, just a random draw, with the opportunity to have some fun and take a pic, to boot.

Neat. Quick. Simple.

I didn't win.

BUT. Natalie did put my picture on the announcement post, which gave me a smile (and I really needed that). According to her post, "there were a lot" of entries. So I'm going to use my imagination here and say that there were hundreds, thousands of entries, and mine was one of the few she chose to share with everyone.

Want to see it? Here you go. Natalie's blog post with Jessica's picture of Paranormalcy makin' raisins.

See? There *is* always a silver lining. It may be a thin, practically transparent lining; not a thick, fuzzy and bright one, but it's there.

Now excuse me while I go find more contests to lose.

Friends, readers, writers -- lend me your opinions...

2010-09-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

So today's post is going to be short and sweet. I need your opinions on three sentences. Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? ;)

I'm working on my query... and was lucky enough to receive some great feedback. Now. Here's the thing. As a writer, you tend to hold on to your original idea, even if it isn't necessarily the best one out there. I received a suggestion, and a good one at that, but I'm not sure which one sets up the query better.

Here's where you come in. Being as none of you really know much about it, I'd like to know which setup grabs you more, which one makes you think YA more... I think you get the point.

What do you think? 1 or 2?

1) Most teenage girls dream about their first love. Dahlia Kennedy's first love is the man in her dreams.

2) Dahlia Kennedy's first love is Rowan, the man in her dreams -- literally.

That's it! And... you're done!

And now, as my thanks, here's a virtual cup of coffee! *clink*

Blah blah blah... and now I like him. (Or, getting the moods in the right order)

2010-09-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

So last week I was trying to tell myself I was done with editing Flora. In fact, I tried to convince myself A LOT. I drank some coffee. I wrote a query. I drank more coffee. I messed around with Flora a bit. I messed around with Flora some more. I held my eyelids open with toothpicks and whined that the kids shouldn't always be on my computer because the caffeine was kicking in and I needed to get on there now. I did some laundry. Then I went back to the computer...

And, and...

Still. Something just wasn't right. =(

I was so angry with myself. See, I hadn't been getting much sleep. My eyes were burning for a few days straight, my head was mush. Lovemuffin even laughed at me as I tried to tell him the FIRST TWO sentences in my query. They made no sense. (They did on the computer, but my tongue and brain refused to work together, and I couldn't say them.) I couldn't make sense of anything after a while, and every time I went over two specific parts, I changed them up. And then I hated them even more. (This is when the I SUCK AND WHAT THE *insert whatever expletive word here* AM I THINKING I'M AN IDIOT I CAN'T DO ANYTHING thoughts started to pour in.)

And then... It dawned on me while I was doing dishes. It was the mood. It was the feeling, the way Dahlia, my MC was being. Basically, she wasn't being anything. She was blah, people. Completely blase (<--- I have no idea how to insert the little mark above the e). The reason for that, my dear readers? I am a very unorganized writer. As in, I never write in order, ever. Whatever comes to me comes to me and that's how it is. Only after all that do I tie everything together. So. I had written these emotional scenes, and then I had to go back and set it all up. No wonder I didn't have any emotion! I was thinking backwards!

Example: And then he slapped her in the face and she hated him for it, counted all the ways she could put him out of his misery right then and there, and he grinned, and it made her sick, and next thing she knew a hole puncher was flying through the air at his head.

Course, that is just something I typed out (without editing, to see how long of a sentence I could make... no, not really that last part) to show how things come to me. BIG HUGE DRAMA. So after feeling all that, and writing about the poor girl wanting to strangle Mr. Figment-of-my-writing-example, it's not always easy to go back and write the calm, getting to know-the-guy interest before she wanted to hole punch his eyes out. "And as she passed him in the hall, he nodded, and she gave him a quick nod back, pretending not to care, but the second they passed each other she allowed herself to grin. After months of being in the same office, he'd finally looked her in the eye."

So what is my point? My point is twofold.

1) Mood changes everything. It can make a story sound one way or the other, make the reader feel for the characters or not give a care. This is important stuff. Obviously we need to get it right.

2) If it weren't for Maggie Stiefvater's (hello Shiver and Linger!) post, More Wind, Less Snow: Revising for Mood a few days ago, in which she wrote about doing JUST THAT, I may not have figured out the problem at all. (I do believe I owe her a major thank you.)

Once I knew what the problem was, I went back and fixed the problem with ease. It was great. I felt great. And I had to share my little lesson with all of you. Hopefully at some point this may give someone else an a-ha moment, too.

Blogfest 2010 - contests galore

2010-09-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

Quick note to all you blog/book lovers out there, today is the last day of Blogfest 2o10. (I don't know how it happened, but I didn't come across this until Friday, so it wasn't in this week's Thursdays with Snip.)

Anyway, talk about your MAJOR giveaways! And the list of participating blogs is, well, there's no other word for it. It's INSANE! You can find all the info about the blogfest here, at A Journey of Books, and see the list of participants directly underneath their entry form. But if you haven't started until today, beware... I'm pretty sure you won't be able to hit all of the blogs by midnight. (Yes. That's just how many there are. I told you it was insane.)

Happy Sunday, and good luck to all of you who participate in Blogfest 2o10!

Friday Focus: Having the guts to write

2010-09-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

"I admire anybody who has the guts to write anything at all." -E.B. White

Perfect quote considering what time of year it is, don't you think? Submissions, queries, critiques... everyone's trying to get their stuff polished up and sent in, and amidst the chaos is a whole lot of frustration and disappointment. Well guess what? I'm proud of each and every one of you writers out there, because having the guts to write in the first place (and stick with it) is a wonderful thing!

Happy Friday!

Thursdays with Snip - contests & news

2010-09-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Thursday, everyone! It's been a busy week, so though I don't have much to share this week (normally I'm all over the blogosphere and twitter looking for stuff), what I do have is, I think, pretty good! (Especially the contests!) So, on with the show...

Writerly News

Query Advice: The always insightful Nathan Bransford had a great post Tuesday on How to Deal with Contradictory Query Advice. Great read.

I Should Be Ashamed: As usual, Tahereh has posted something I lurve. If you haven't see the I Should Be Ashamed post yet, check it out here. (You YA writers out there will appreciate it, and those of you who aren't will probably like it too.) And you may as well read her How to Write a Novel post while you're at it. *So* great.

Contests

Free Edit Contest: Cassandra Marshall is holding a free edit contest. Check this link for more info. (Contest ends September 20th.)

Teeth and Bones Editing Contest: The Novel Matters blog is hosting an aptly named teeth and bones editing contest, with the winner to receive a first chapter and synopsis edit by Bonnie Grove. Check this link out for the details. (Contest ends September 17th.)

* NEW: Signed copies of Lisa McMann's Wake, Fade and Gone: Late Bloomer Online is hosting a giveaway to win signed copies of Lisa McMann's Wake series. You can find the contest form here. (Contest ends September 12th)

Personal Demons prize package: Elena Johnson launched a book blog tour yesterday. Check out this link to learn how to be entered in the contest to win Personal Demons.

Decatur Book Festival Giveaway : Heather at See Heather Write is holding a contest and giving away two books -

SISTERS RED by Jackson Pearce or AUDREY, WAIT! by Robin Benway

Random Acts of Publicity

2010-09-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

Quick blog post guys, as I didn't want this to slip through the cracks by the time I posted Thursdays with Snip.

#BookLove/Random Acts of Publicity : According to Holly Cupala's blog, author and writing teacher Darcy Pattison is inviting authors, bloggers, and so on to participate in Random Acts of Publicity this week. Basically, it's a fun opportunity to spread the word about the authors and books you lurve.

Feel free to use the hashtag #booklove on your book tweets throughout the week, and there's even an event on facebook!

Sounds like a great thing to me! Well what are you waiting for? Let's spread the reader/writerly love, people! =)

Free Edit contest

2010-09-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

So here's a Sunday evening blog post for everyone, just in time to kick off your Monday!

Cassandra Marshall is offering a FREE EDIT CONTEST! (everyone ooh and ahh together now...)

Here's the proof, in her own words:

I'm giving away a FREE substantial edit! (That's plot, pacing, character development, etc, up to 100k words) to one lucky reader!

Check out this link to her blog for more info!

Good luck!

Desperately seeking betas

2010-09-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Desperately seeking betas who read more than five words per minute, know how to keep their red pen marks to a minimum, and are willing to laugh at my jokes (even if I have to point out where they are).

Who would write a want ad like that, right? In all seriousness, though, I'm at that point with Flora where I'm desperate to get a few people's opinions. Many of you writers out there are blessed with a few good betas, and my question is, how? How did you find them?

Now, before everyone raises their hands and blurts out the words critique group, I'd like to point out that, for many reasons, one being my fear of driving in large towns, going anywhere not where I live is pretty much out of the question. I read about writers singing the praises of their betas all the time, and can tell many of them have met over the internet.

So please, for my sanity, share the details if you feel even the least bit of pity. I'd love to learn how you out there met your beta peeps.

Friday Focus: The muscles of writing

2010-09-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

The muscles of writing are not so visible, but they are just as powerful: determination, attention, curiosity, a passionate heart. ~ Natalie Goldberg

I'd like to add another one to the list: faith.

Happy Friday!

Thursdays with Snip - contests & news

2010-09-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Thursday! As usual, feel free to add any contests or interesting news in the comments!

Writerly News (Ha ha, I switched the order on you this week!):

* Agents Who Blog - Lia Keyes has posted an awesome, insanely long list of Agents Who Blog, along with great query tips and even Pitch Workshop links (all in one post)! --> quick note... not all of the listed blogs have been updated recently.

* Twitter chat: TONIGHT, September 2nd at 7:00 CST, Kari Olsen of A Good Addiction will be holding a Twitter chat with at least six YA contemporary authors. Check out this link to find out the hashtag she will be using for the chat, along with names of specific authors. (And while you're over there, check out the contests listed at the top of her blog!)

* Operation Awesome: There's some awesomesauce (and a bit of Nutella) being spread over at Operation Awesome. Check it out. If you dare. To be aweseomed.

* If you haven't read Tahareh's Query like Shel Silverstein, you're missing out, my friends.

DL Hammond is on a quest - a quest to get followers from as many countries (and states) as possible. Check out this post to see if you could help him out.

* Check out Lydia Sharp's continuing On Queries, Part 2.

Contests

Query or One page critique:

Getting Past the Gatekeeper (deadline - this Friday at midnight).

YALITCHAT Query Kick-Around Contest (ends September 30th).

Books

* Enna Isilee is hosting a month long birthday bash on her blog, Squeaky Books. Twelve separate giveaways, twelve author interviews... this is one of those contests way too good to pass up! Check out the list of books being given away here.

* Grey Griffins Week Mega Giveaway: Shannon Whitney Messenger is giving away some great stuff this week. Check it out.

* Firelight: Win a signed finished copy of Sophie Jordan's Firelight at [Bloggers [[heart]] Books]. The interview with Will, the main character, and entry form is here.

* Win Books & Coffee: Shannon at Wringing out Words is hosting a contest for, well, a few reasons ! ;) Check out what's up for grabs (copied and pasted from her blog) below:

The grand Prize will be something that no true lover of books, whether it be writing or reading can do without. Coffee. Or, because of the postal system, a Starbucks Gift Certificate along with a copy of book one of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series, Guilty Pleasures.

Second place is two books from Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld Series, Bitten and Stolen.

Third Place is the first book in Jacqueline Carey’s series, Kushiel’s Dart.

A guest blog will be offered to places 4-6 on my blog, Wringing out Words. And if there are more than 6 people who enter this contest, I may find prizes for places 7-10. Thanks for checking it out and good luck!

Word count whoopsie

2010-08-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

Whoops. So in editing Flora last week, I realized there were more knots left untied than I'd thought. Right before starting, I'd debated whether or not to change the word count from 60K to 70K, but had figured (at 58,500 before starting the editing process) that by the time I filled in the little hole near the end, I'd be right at 60K words.

Yeah. Not so much. I'm now scarily close to the 70,000 mark. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I'm going to have to try and tighten (in a major way) in order to fill in that hole, and still keep it at 70K. And I'm only on page 225 of over three hundred. *gasp* I sure hope that my plan works.

Maybe it would be better to change my count to 75K. Or 80. Heck, I may as well turn it into a series and write all three of them in one book. ;) I'm just kidding. Kind of. But being as this is YA, I'm trying my hardest not to make it too long.

In other news, I read Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver yesterday. Yep. The whole book, in one day. (Sometime in the near future I'm going to attempt reading leisurely. I'm sure I would probably get more out of the book. But it's so hard, I want to know the ending, so I read as fast as I can so I don't have to wait!) Now, technically I'd read about five pages already, but I figure that's close enough to the beginning to where I could count it as reading from the beginning. And... wow. I can honestly say the feeling I was left with wasn't the feeling I thought I would have at all. Not going to say anything else, because I don't want to spoil it for anyone. ;) Now I'm trying to figure out which book to read next, The Sky is Everywhere or Linger. Guess it will depend on my mood.

The reason for me bringing up Before I Fall is because it has quite a long word count, and I am *so* going to do some research and find out how long it took her to write such a lengthy MS.

Which brings me to today's question: How about you, writers? Have you ever been surprised at your lengthy word count? If so, was it hard to decide what to cut? Or are you the opposite, struggling to come up with enough words?

Friday Focus: Figure out what you have to say

2010-08-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer. ~ Barbara Kingsolver

I *love* this quote! When you allow yourself the freedom of writing what's truly on your mind, there's so much more to say, isn't there? =)

Happy Friday!

Thursdays with Snip

2010-08-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

Uh, whoops! Somehow I/Snip got sucked into editing all day, and a few minutes ago I realized I hadn't published today's post!

Contests

Caroline at Carol's prints is having yet *another* ARC giveaway, and this one is in the double digits! Check it out here.

Oh, Hello, CONTEST: Kierstin White's first YA novel, Paranormalcy, comes out next week. To celebrate, Kierstin's having a contest to win a signed copy of Paranormalcy or an ipod, amongst other things. Check out the contest here. It ends September 1oth.

Paranormalcy Party: Natalie Whipple is holding a contest for Kiersten White's book, Paranormalcy, as well. Take a picture of Paranormalcy "in the wild" and enter it to win a full (say it with me, people) manuscript critique. Enter here. Contest ends September 7th.

Holly Cupula has an interview with Beth Kephart, author of Dangerous Neighbors, on her blog, and Beth is giving away a copy of her book. Check out the interview and how to enter the contest here.

Harper Perennial has a few goodreads giveaways going on. Check them out here.

Writerly News

Carolyn Kaufman had a neat post on QueryTracker yesterday about Controlling the Weather in Your Manuscript.

Lydia Sharp at The Sharp Angle blog is posting about *insert nail biting here* queries. Check out yesterday's post, titled On Queries, Part 1.

Nathan Bransford's post on Tuesday discussed The Package of Services Publishers Provide Authors and How This is Changing. Good read.

Happy Thursday to all of you on the west coast, and to you eastern coasters - it's officially Friday already!

Anxiety. Germs. Happy Wednesday?

2010-08-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Coffee. Anxiety. The flu.

What do these all have in common? Honestly, I don't have a clue. Now, I'm fibbing a bit here -- the coffee has to do with me, that's a given, you all know how I am. But the other two? Me = Stumped. I'm still scratching my head.

My youngest (almost ten) has been dealing with anxiety for years now. Luckily for all of us (her especially), it's not one of those on a daily basis kind of things. Change is the biggest problem, hence the issues right now. Changing classes, having new teachers -- it always throws her for a loop.

So being the *awesome* parental unit that I am, I've pretty must lost it over the past twenty four hours. Because while she's been exhibiting anxious tendencies since last week, this morning she also came down with the flu. (Enter parents feeling totally and absolutely terrible, here.)

Not that we believed her. Oh no. She was going to school gosh darnit, and she was going to be sick there too, if she had to. We've had to get tough about it. Put our feet down. Give her an inch, she'll take 5,280 feet.

Even when I got the call that she'd been sick, I thought it was the anxiety. And I should have, shouldn't I? She'd been complaining of stomach issues, begging not to go to school, since last week. Telling us everything she could think of (most of which didn't seem anxious-worthy, and I'm not saying this as a spineless mother, but as someone who knows what usually upsets her, kind of) to get out of going.

And now, I owe the school office and her classroom a bazillion bottles of Lysol, and at least that much hand sanitizer, too. Because the kid. Has. The flu. And boy did I feel guilty. Not only because I sent her to school like that (with no fever, I'd like to point out), but because who knows where she laid her germy little fingers for the three hours before I brought her home. Germs are my nemesis, people. I live on sanitizer. I even pour it into my coffee. (No, not really.)

The reason for this post? Uh, mainly, I guess it's because I feel a bit out of control. And dumb. Yes dumb too, for sure. And frustrated. Because it's hard, you know, to try to do what's best for your kid, when they're crying for days, and you're ready to cry for days, and no one really knows what to do. And you have this deadline you've set, and your house is a mess, and your kids are tired of hearing their sister cry, and the homework, and the dishes, and your dog has three tumors the size of tangerines and you still can't take her to the vet...

Well. Thanks for that. I feel a little bit better. Happy (ish) Wednesday. Oh and Thursdays with Snip is tomorrow. Prepare to be informed.

Editing in full swing

2010-08-21T20:16:00.001-07:00

“If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.”
– Elmore Leonard (b. 1925)

Last week was crazy. The kids started school again, and I plunged into editing Flora. I also entered two writing contests, and was able to get two separate critiques on the same WiP. (Which was a very big deal, as they were Flora's first two critiques.) I'm sure you writers out there will agree - that's quite a bit to cram into seven days! (Or maybe that's just me.)

This week I'll continue with the editing process, and hope to be finished by Friday. (Big aspirations I know, but I've learned that the sky won't fall if I'm not able to reach my goal. It doesn't help that I have fifth, sixth and seventh graders now. I'm talking three to four hours, of homework, people. On a nightly basis.) So I probably won't end up finishing this week, but that's okay.

I liked the above quote because I'm doing a lot of cutting to make things sound more realistic, so it sounds like a letter written to a friend, rather than pages upon pages of descriptive words.

Anyway. That's where I'm at, writerly speaking. Just wanted to share.

How about you guys? Have you reached any milestones, or accomplished anything you're proud of the past few days?

Happy Monday!

Friday Focus: Don't trim yourself to suit everyone

2010-08-20T16:30:00.000-07:00

He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away. ~Raymond Hull

Rejection is at every turn of the writing journey. Sometimes it's hard to stay true to ourselves and write from our hearts when we're given advice, rules and suggestions all the time.

Sometimes those little offerings are good, and sometimes they're bad. Once in a while they may even be great - the idea is perfect, and you think, now why didn't I think of that? Except there's one small problem: It just doesn't work, personally, for you.

That's why I like this quote. If we try to make everyone happy, try not to offend anyone, to follow each and every rule, we'll end up being nothing. And nothing can't write, now can it?