1. No baby, yet. I'm hoping she waits until AFTER I watch The Hunger Games.
2. I was able to get some writing done, along with some other writing related things. Success!
3. Any of you have a book or series you enjoy revisiting? I love rereading Jane Austen works every year and the Sevenwaters Trilogy by Juliet Marillier.
4. I love Groupons. You get great deals for half the price! One groupon we just purchased is for a bowling night at a local bowling alley. I'm super excited. I love bowling. Have I ever mentioned that before? I know, watching a nine month pregnant woman bowl is a sight to behold, but I don't care.
5. The weather here is being awfully confusing. It rains all morning, then clears up in the afternoon, warming up enough to play outside, after which it rains for another hour. By the time dinner time hits it's all clear again, but it's cold. Confusing. Hopefully the weekend it bright with very little rain and some warmth.
Have an awesome weekend everyone!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
False Alarms
I've been having a lot of those lately. This past weekend I thought I was going into labor on at least three different occasions. Yes, this is my fourth baby. No, I still can't tell false labor from true labor. Every pregnancy is different, and so is the labor part of it. But I'm sure when it ACTUALLY happens, I'll know for sure.
I've also had quite a few false alarms with my finished manuscripts. You know that feeling you get after the first draft, the 'yes, I'm finally done!' one. Except then you realize there's this called editing, and you're not quite as done as you think you are. Then, after the editing you say 'phew, that was a little brutal, but at least it's over'. But then you remember you still need to get feedback from critique partners and betas, and it dawns on you just how wrong you are. After doing ALL of that, you think, 'yes, I can finally query!'. Well, have you written that query yet? And if you have, did you get outside opinions on it? So you go back and work on that little bump, smoothing it out to the best of your ability. Did you do all of that? Are you finally at the end of this very grueling and long process? Well, congrats, now you can start sending your baby out into the world. Everything would be sunshine and rainbows if it wasn't for that nagging feeling that you could make your story better. There's that one scene you never got quite right. You start itching to get back into your story and make it even more perfect, except there's no such thing as perfection when it comes your perception of your own writing.
It's incrediby frustrating, and we've learned that published authors often go through this cycle even AFTER their work is out in the world being read and judged by others. Sometimes you just have to step back and let things roll the way they are meant to. Now, if you're not getting the response you would like from agents, by all means go back and tweak your story here and there, work on making it better, but we have to distinguish between our own insecurities and the flaws in our writing. I've had plenty of false alarms, and I'm grateful to have realized that it's not just in my head, but I do need to work on my story. And now it's finally coming to the point where those false alarms are coming up less and less. Pretty soon the real deal is going happen, and the querying process will begin. For real this time. Scary, but true. I'm sure you're all in a similar boat, trying to figure out if it's time, or if another false alarm has struck. Wherever you may be in your journey, I hope you succeed.
I've also had quite a few false alarms with my finished manuscripts. You know that feeling you get after the first draft, the 'yes, I'm finally done!' one. Except then you realize there's this called editing, and you're not quite as done as you think you are. Then, after the editing you say 'phew, that was a little brutal, but at least it's over'. But then you remember you still need to get feedback from critique partners and betas, and it dawns on you just how wrong you are. After doing ALL of that, you think, 'yes, I can finally query!'. Well, have you written that query yet? And if you have, did you get outside opinions on it? So you go back and work on that little bump, smoothing it out to the best of your ability. Did you do all of that? Are you finally at the end of this very grueling and long process? Well, congrats, now you can start sending your baby out into the world. Everything would be sunshine and rainbows if it wasn't for that nagging feeling that you could make your story better. There's that one scene you never got quite right. You start itching to get back into your story and make it even more perfect, except there's no such thing as perfection when it comes your perception of your own writing.
It's incrediby frustrating, and we've learned that published authors often go through this cycle even AFTER their work is out in the world being read and judged by others. Sometimes you just have to step back and let things roll the way they are meant to. Now, if you're not getting the response you would like from agents, by all means go back and tweak your story here and there, work on making it better, but we have to distinguish between our own insecurities and the flaws in our writing. I've had plenty of false alarms, and I'm grateful to have realized that it's not just in my head, but I do need to work on my story. And now it's finally coming to the point where those false alarms are coming up less and less. Pretty soon the real deal is going happen, and the querying process will begin. For real this time. Scary, but true. I'm sure you're all in a similar boat, trying to figure out if it's time, or if another false alarm has struck. Wherever you may be in your journey, I hope you succeed.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Five for Friday
1. I'm still making progress in the writing front with almost two thousand words this week! Woohoo! I'm trying to get as much in before D-Day.
2. My oldest had his first two t-ball practices this week and they went very well. He had a ton of fun, and the coach seems really nice. Both of his two little girls are also playing on the team.
3. I have a busy weekend ahead. Saturday morning is my baby shower, then right after I'm taking my little brother to the airport (he's flying back to visit my mom for spring break), and then we're making some serious switches with the bedroom situations in our home.
4. How many of you are going see The Hunger Games this weekend? I'm betting quite a few of you. I'm holding off, only because I hate the huge crowds when it comes to big blockbusters. I'm dying to see it, but I can wait...although I'm not sure how the husband feels about it.
5.The weather is finally starting to cooperate and the forecast looks pleasant. I think it's gotten to the point where it shouldn't get below 60 degrees around here. I'm so excited about spring, not only because of my birthday, but because it always makes me happy to see the flowers begin to bloom and the grass turn green. It puts me in a good mood.
Hope you all have an awesome weekend filled with lots of sunshine.
2. My oldest had his first two t-ball practices this week and they went very well. He had a ton of fun, and the coach seems really nice. Both of his two little girls are also playing on the team.
3. I have a busy weekend ahead. Saturday morning is my baby shower, then right after I'm taking my little brother to the airport (he's flying back to visit my mom for spring break), and then we're making some serious switches with the bedroom situations in our home.
4. How many of you are going see The Hunger Games this weekend? I'm betting quite a few of you. I'm holding off, only because I hate the huge crowds when it comes to big blockbusters. I'm dying to see it, but I can wait...although I'm not sure how the husband feels about it.
5.The weather is finally starting to cooperate and the forecast looks pleasant. I think it's gotten to the point where it shouldn't get below 60 degrees around here. I'm so excited about spring, not only because of my birthday, but because it always makes me happy to see the flowers begin to bloom and the grass turn green. It puts me in a good mood.
Hope you all have an awesome weekend filled with lots of sunshine.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Campaign Tag: Seventh Meme
I was tagged by Jennifer in the new campaign tag going around.
Here are the rules:
1. Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP
2. Go to line 7
3. Copy down the next 7 lines – sentences or paragraphs – and post them as they’re written. No cheating
4. Tag 7 authors
5. Let them know
I'm about thirty thousand words into my WIP, so page 77 is really...rough. And the placement of such page will probably move quite a bit once I'm done with the draft and start editing. The excerpt is from CURSED, where my MC has a curse placed on her by the local witch legend.
For a split second the world disappears into a haze of darkness, stars sparking in front of my eyes when I open them.
Reaching back, I slap Jordan as hard as I can, trying to free myself from his hand, which is still tightly secured around my arm.
He barely flinches from my hit. He’s not even all that surprised. Instead of pushing me again, I see him raise his arm. His hand turns to a fist, and I can’t believe what’s about to happen.
His arm starts to move down, and my eyes close, as I brace myself for the oncoming attack.
I wish I could tell you exactly what's happening in this scene, but it's a pretty crucial moment. And pretty vague. Sorry about that.
Now for the tagging. I'm having a really hard time choosing seven people because most of you have already been tagged. Here are the lucky seven:
Melanie Stanford
Melanie Fowler
Kitty Hietala
Morgan Shamy
J.A. Bennett
Melissa Maygrove
Jessica Salyer
I look forward to reading all of your excerpts.
Here are the rules:
1. Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP
2. Go to line 7
3. Copy down the next 7 lines – sentences or paragraphs – and post them as they’re written. No cheating
4. Tag 7 authors
5. Let them know
I'm about thirty thousand words into my WIP, so page 77 is really...rough. And the placement of such page will probably move quite a bit once I'm done with the draft and start editing. The excerpt is from CURSED, where my MC has a curse placed on her by the local witch legend.
For a split second the world disappears into a haze of darkness, stars sparking in front of my eyes when I open them.
Reaching back, I slap Jordan as hard as I can, trying to free myself from his hand, which is still tightly secured around my arm.
He barely flinches from my hit. He’s not even all that surprised. Instead of pushing me again, I see him raise his arm. His hand turns to a fist, and I can’t believe what’s about to happen.
His arm starts to move down, and my eyes close, as I brace myself for the oncoming attack.
I wish I could tell you exactly what's happening in this scene, but it's a pretty crucial moment. And pretty vague. Sorry about that.
Now for the tagging. I'm having a really hard time choosing seven people because most of you have already been tagged. Here are the lucky seven:
Melanie Stanford
Melanie Fowler
Kitty Hietala
Morgan Shamy
J.A. Bennett
Melissa Maygrove
Jessica Salyer
I look forward to reading all of your excerpts.
Monday, March 19, 2012
What's With The Break?
Sometimes breaks are vital to our wellbeings as writers. In a world where connecting with others is just one click away, it's easy to get caught up in the online world. Don't get me wrong, I love meeting other writers and reading your blogs, but it can be easy to forget WHY it is we're all connected- because of our writing. We all share a passion that brings us together, and we can lose sight of that. Instead we focus on what to post about next, what other people are working on, and trying to come up with some witty tweet for others.
I for one am a born procastinator, and surfing the net is my number one de-motivator. It's so easy to just scroll down on websites and let time fly by. I took a break because I wanted to stop worrying about all those online things that were bombarding me, and instead work on my writing. It was a nice break, I 'll be honest. And I highly recommend it to anyone struggling to focus.
What did I do with my week off? I added to my WIP (I'm about halfway done!), revisited my query letter, and played with my kids. It was a great week. If any of you are struggling to focus, or just feel plain old overwhelmed, take a break, it won't hurt. You can come back whenever you want, the writing community isn't going anywhere. And we totally understand why you might disappear from the interwebz for a bit.
I for one am a born procastinator, and surfing the net is my number one de-motivator. It's so easy to just scroll down on websites and let time fly by. I took a break because I wanted to stop worrying about all those online things that were bombarding me, and instead work on my writing. It was a nice break, I 'll be honest. And I highly recommend it to anyone struggling to focus.
What did I do with my week off? I added to my WIP (I'm about halfway done!), revisited my query letter, and played with my kids. It was a great week. If any of you are struggling to focus, or just feel plain old overwhelmed, take a break, it won't hurt. You can come back whenever you want, the writing community isn't going anywhere. And we totally understand why you might disappear from the interwebz for a bit.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Breaks
Just wanted to let you all know that I won't be very present this week. I'm going to be focusing more on writing, and doing the blog can be draining on my brain energy at times, so I need to conserve it for my WIP. I might pop by and leave comments on your posts when I'm feeling like procastinating. Hope you guys have an awesome week. I'll join you all next week
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Lots of Tagging and Bloggy Awards
I've been tagged...again...by more of you! And I recived awards as well. So I'm combining the two and telling you even MORE about myself and passing along the honor to others.
A list of the taggers: Nick Wilford, and Lori M. Lee
And I got awards from: Julie Daines, and Leigh Covington
Like last time, I'm going to pick and choose questions from each person to answer.
1. What is your best time to write, and why?
Whenever the kids are playing in their play room, giving me some quiet time. It can be in the morning, afternoon, evening, or nigh. But I prefer some time later in the day because by then my brain is starting to function a bit more.
2. What is your favorite cartoon?
Batman- the one from the '90s. I love Batman, he's probably my favorite superhero. I'm pretty excited about The Dark Knight Rises.
3. If you could choose between having six months to yourself to pursue your art in a great area with beautiful landscape to write and no worries on money, food, living arrangements but would not be able to have any communication with the outside world whatsoever, would you do it?
No. I can't imagine being away from my family for that long. Not being able to say goodnight to my kids, or sing them bedtime songs, it's not worth it to me. Now if I could bring them along, I would do it in a heartbeat.
4. What is the food/drink item you go to most when stressed/upset/irritated? What is the food/drink item you go to most when happy/exuberant/celebratory?
Chocolate, in all of its forms. Ice cream, bars, cookies. You name it, I go to it.
5. What's your favorite number?
Nine. My bff is the ninth kid out of ten (I know, 10!), and it was Brady Anderson's number back when he played for the Orioles. Fun fact: I shook Cal Ripkin's hand in his final season and got his autograph!
6. Getting or receiving presents?
I love both, but I think I enjoy giving gifts more than receiving them. It's the way I express my love for someone, by gettng them stuff. If I were rich, I would spend copious amounts of money on the people I love.
I'm going to stop there, because you guys already know way more about me than most people. And I'm running out of interesting answers.
Okay, here are a list of people that I've chosen to play tag with and pass along the award to. I'll let them decide which one they would like to do. They can do both if they like.
Deserae McGlothen: she's sweet, insightful, and hilarious. Check out her blog, Almost (not quite) There
Melodie Wright: I met Melodie through the Campaign, her blog Forever Rewrighting has great interviews with fellow writers, tips to help you along the way, and she's also participating in the Campaign so you can go read her entries.
Tamara Narayan: On her blog, Get Your Giggle On, Tamara shares her experiences in life, likening them to what we experience as writers. And she used to work at the zoo, how cool is that?
These are the questions you guys can answer (the same ones from my previous tag post):
1. What's your favorite book?
2. What inspires your writing?
3. Where's your favorite place to write?
4. If you could plan ahead, what would want your last meal to be?
5. If you had to participate in one extreme sport, what would it be?
6. What's your biggest fear?
7. Vampire or werewolf?
8. Favorite writin snack?
9. What's your favorite scary movie?
10. Why did you start writing?
11. Your favorite day of the year?
A list of the taggers: Nick Wilford, and Lori M. Lee
And I got awards from: Julie Daines, and Leigh Covington
Like last time, I'm going to pick and choose questions from each person to answer.
1. What is your best time to write, and why?
Whenever the kids are playing in their play room, giving me some quiet time. It can be in the morning, afternoon, evening, or nigh. But I prefer some time later in the day because by then my brain is starting to function a bit more.
2. What is your favorite cartoon?
Batman- the one from the '90s. I love Batman, he's probably my favorite superhero. I'm pretty excited about The Dark Knight Rises.
3. If you could choose between having six months to yourself to pursue your art in a great area with beautiful landscape to write and no worries on money, food, living arrangements but would not be able to have any communication with the outside world whatsoever, would you do it?
No. I can't imagine being away from my family for that long. Not being able to say goodnight to my kids, or sing them bedtime songs, it's not worth it to me. Now if I could bring them along, I would do it in a heartbeat.
4. What is the food/drink item you go to most when stressed/upset/irritated? What is the food/drink item you go to most when happy/exuberant/celebratory?
Chocolate, in all of its forms. Ice cream, bars, cookies. You name it, I go to it.
5. What's your favorite number?
Nine. My bff is the ninth kid out of ten (I know, 10!), and it was Brady Anderson's number back when he played for the Orioles. Fun fact: I shook Cal Ripkin's hand in his final season and got his autograph!
6. Getting or receiving presents?
I love both, but I think I enjoy giving gifts more than receiving them. It's the way I express my love for someone, by gettng them stuff. If I were rich, I would spend copious amounts of money on the people I love.
I'm going to stop there, because you guys already know way more about me than most people. And I'm running out of interesting answers.
Okay, here are a list of people that I've chosen to play tag with and pass along the award to. I'll let them decide which one they would like to do. They can do both if they like.
Deserae McGlothen: she's sweet, insightful, and hilarious. Check out her blog, Almost (not quite) There
Melodie Wright: I met Melodie through the Campaign, her blog Forever Rewrighting has great interviews with fellow writers, tips to help you along the way, and she's also participating in the Campaign so you can go read her entries.
Tamara Narayan: On her blog, Get Your Giggle On, Tamara shares her experiences in life, likening them to what we experience as writers. And she used to work at the zoo, how cool is that?
These are the questions you guys can answer (the same ones from my previous tag post):
1. What's your favorite book?
2. What inspires your writing?
3. Where's your favorite place to write?
4. If you could plan ahead, what would want your last meal to be?
5. If you had to participate in one extreme sport, what would it be?
6. What's your biggest fear?
7. Vampire or werewolf?
8. Favorite writin snack?
9. What's your favorite scary movie?
10. Why did you start writing?
11. Your favorite day of the year?
Monday, March 5, 2012
Time, wherefore have thou gone?
First off, it got pretty beautiful here over the weekend. It turned into spring. It was glorious. Our family spent the majority of it outside, taking advantage of the sunshine. Then reality set in. It's March. Freaking March. I know, it's only five days into the month, but it was just enough to let reality sink in. I have a month and a half until the baby gets here, and I'm nowhere near my writing goal.
Okay, so life gets in the way. There were outside forces at work that kept me from...well, my work. It sucked. I'm getting back into the game, but it feels like I have no time left at all before I don't have ANY time left for much of anything but baby and kid duty. I know, I got myself into this mess. And I'm super excited to have one last baby, but I feel time slowly slipping away from me.
Ever feel like that? Like the whole world up and decides to conspire against you by taking away those few precious hours of you time. My you time is filled with writing. And I don't have much left before the drops dry out.
You know, I just need to suck it up. At times, that's all you can do. Stop whining about all the things going against you and just get back to work. Take care of those things you need to (like family, work, house stuff) and make time for you somewhere in between. It may sound like an impossible task, but it can happen...if you let it.
Okay, so life gets in the way. There were outside forces at work that kept me from...well, my work. It sucked. I'm getting back into the game, but it feels like I have no time left at all before I don't have ANY time left for much of anything but baby and kid duty. I know, I got myself into this mess. And I'm super excited to have one last baby, but I feel time slowly slipping away from me.
Ever feel like that? Like the whole world up and decides to conspire against you by taking away those few precious hours of you time. My you time is filled with writing. And I don't have much left before the drops dry out.
You know, I just need to suck it up. At times, that's all you can do. Stop whining about all the things going against you and just get back to work. Take care of those things you need to (like family, work, house stuff) and make time for you somewhere in between. It may sound like an impossible task, but it can happen...if you let it.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Five for Friday
1. I got 1,000 words down this week! Woohoo! It's not the 2,000 I try to aim for, but I'm getting there.
2. I'm looking forward to Once Upon A Time returning this Sunday. I used to LOVE the Oscars, but over time I think I've just grown out of it. So yeah, can't wait for some more awesome retellings of classic fairy tales.
3. I feel the need to read... I'm itching to go back to library since the last time I didn't find a book that made me salivate for more. I'm thinking Monday or Tuesday I'll attempt to make the trip.
4. It snowed again here this week...more specifically yesterday, the first day of March. I'm all for snow in the winter, but I think March is pushing it. I'm ready for warm weather, flowers blooming, and rich, green grass.
5. I've been running around town all day and now I finally have time to sit and relax. I think often we take moments of peace and quiet for granted. Right now all I want is some lunch with a side of chocolate.
Have a great weekend!
2. I'm looking forward to Once Upon A Time returning this Sunday. I used to LOVE the Oscars, but over time I think I've just grown out of it. So yeah, can't wait for some more awesome retellings of classic fairy tales.
3. I feel the need to read... I'm itching to go back to library since the last time I didn't find a book that made me salivate for more. I'm thinking Monday or Tuesday I'll attempt to make the trip.
4. It snowed again here this week...more specifically yesterday, the first day of March. I'm all for snow in the winter, but I think March is pushing it. I'm ready for warm weather, flowers blooming, and rich, green grass.
5. I've been running around town all day and now I finally have time to sit and relax. I think often we take moments of peace and quiet for granted. Right now all I want is some lunch with a side of chocolate.
Have a great weekend!
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