Word count whoopsie

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

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

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?

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

“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

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?

Thursdays with Snip - This week's contests and writing tips

I've been informed by Snippy (my alter ego) that she would like to take on the responsibility of the Thursday blog posts. At first I was going to argue about it, but then I realized what a wonderful idea it was. I mean wow! Talk about a lot less pressure! No more worrying about typos, no stressing not finding enough interesting info. And if somehow I forget to do a post one week, it won't be my problem. No one will think *I* let the ball drop, they'll just blame Snip! (I can't believe how smart I am. It's amazing. Really it is.)

So here we go. Hope you enjoy Snippy Snuffulapakins' new column, Thursdays with Snip. (In which Snip shares contests going on in the blogosphere, and interesting writerly tidbits.)

Mega-Epic-Contest-of-Awesome: Shannon Whitney Messenger is holding a contest to give away 5 ARCs. It ends Sunday, August 22nd. Check it out here.

300's contest: While Lydia King is away on vacation, she's holding a contest. Enter to win a set of French-milled soaps, a unique New York City style coffee cup (being from California, I'm just going to take her word for it), or $15 Barnes and Noble gift card. (I'm thinking she needs to go on vacation more often!) Check out the 300's contest here.

A giveaway that's French-ish: *Snip is saying the following announcement in a French accent. She is also eating french fries and french toast*

In honour of BEDISHOA, Steph-y is geeving away zee ver-y last ARC of her debut YA novel, Anna and the French Kiss. (Okay forget the accent. She's terrible at this.) This book doesn't come out until December, so head on over to her blog and take a look at the contest.

Hearts on a String: Darlene at Peeking Between the Pages is giving away Hearts on a String by Kris Radish. Read her review and contest info here.

Saradise ARC Extravaganza - Sara at Babbling Flow is giving away nine ARCs on her blog. Check back with her on Monday to see extra ways to enter.

Free money: No seriously. Tahareh has gone marbles, and I am celebrating (is that wrong?). She's offering $100 on her blog. Have you already thought of the books you could buy with your winnings? I know I have. Check out the contest here. Start thinking of your favorite fictional character - you have until Sunday to enter.

And now for Snip's favorite writerly tidbits:

How to Write a Novel, by Nathan Bransford, has tons of helpful information. Definitely one of those you're going to want to bookmark for referencing later.

The Big 10 issue by Writer's Digest was great. My favorite issue so far. You can download it here. I really enjoyed the 10 Expert's Take on the Writer's Rulebook article. Good points of view on whether or not to follow the "rules".

100 top YA novels for 2010: I came across Persnikety Snark, an Australian blog, last night (or this morning, I guess I should say), and after feeling a little dejected that I hadn't gotten to vote (voting took place in April and May), I propped Henry on my pillow and had a nice time reading the list. Also, my Borders wish list just grew a little longer, which is obviously a wonderful thing. And, if I happen to win Tahareh's contest... *stares into space*

Creating queries couldn't be easier (*laughs at her own joke*) after you read this actually very detailed and helpful article, How to Write a Query Letter, by Ann C. Crispin from Writer Beware.

Happy Thursday, everybody!

**This just in - Nathan Bransford's post for today is How to Write a Query Letter! So between the two insightful posts I mentioned today, and the many other agent/writer/editor blogs out there chalk full of helpful hints, we should all have agents within the next few days or so! *yay*