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Thursday, September 30, 2010

WARNING: MAJORLY DEPRESSING POST

I watch The Jersey Shore. It's entertaining. Each episode, someone gets in a fight or someone does something stupid or says something hilarious. It's brainless television.

And now Snooki, the star of the show, has a book deal. I'm not sure if it's YA or not but it sounds like it, considering it's being compared to Lauren Conrad's books (I like Lauren Conrad by the way. I think she's pretty smart and has it together).

But Snooki? A book deal? Eh? I AM SO DEPRESSED.

That is all.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Excerpt Tuesday!

So I totally just made up this feature. Excerpt Tuesday! Why not, eh?

Here's a little snippet from the YA Contemporary I've been tinkering with:

She never pictured her first kiss, too afraid to jinx it, but she knew, as his soft lips melted with hers, that this moment was exactly how she wanted it to be with exactly who she wanted it to be with. Strange how she ended up here, without analyzing or even wishing for it. The moment manifested itself without a single push from her.

His lips changed her.


Sometimes I feel comma crazy. And adjective crazy. I'm trying to simplify things and not get so carried away in my writing. Feel free to edit that! Ha! I'm making changes in the third act right now that I forget to do earlier. Yeah, the third act doesn't fit with the rest so I must fix before other eyes will see...And I'm still tinkering with The Moon Dog. And flash pieces. I'm in one of my ruts again where I can't seem to finish anything, including a book. I am determined to somehow finish the pile of books I have started before beginning another.

But then I get an e-mail informing me that The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon that I pre-ordered just shipped! Aw! Excited for that one. Looks awesome. Will likely move that to the front of the pile. I'm such a mess.

Happy Excerpt Tuesday!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Why Universe? Why?

So I've decided to give National Novel Writing Month another go this year. Brand new manuscript. A dark, sad story churning in my head that is sure to leave me very depressed. Joy! Last year, I failed. Didn't make the word count but that's where The Moon Dog Inn was born. (Have I really been working on that manuscript on and off for almost a year? Yep! Still chugging along on edits...)

But I have a problem. On October 26, a mere 5 days before the start of NANO, this is being released:



Why Universe? WHY?

When I got my new computer, this game has been amazing. It's smooth and quick and awesome, works just how it should. I've been playing The Sims since high school. I've always loved it. Perhaps because I like creating stories and characters? Anyway, The Sims 3 got too slow on my old PC (but I had created a Melody Shine! Ha!) which was annoying and I lost interest for a bit. But now? Addicted again! Either I play the crap out of the pack for 5 days and switch over to writing or I somehow, someway, resist even getting it until December. BUT! BUT! BUT!

THERE ARE VAMPIRES.



And these, I read, are Twilight-ish vampires. Sexy, cool vampires that can read your thoughts...and turn you if you so wish...

ACK!

This is going to be trouble. Trouble. Trouble. Trouble.

I'm going to have to try very hard to pretend it doesn't exist until December...or perhaps, given it's called LATE NIGHT, just give up sleep for November? Sleep's over-rated right?

Le sigh.

Friday, September 17, 2010

PANK!

If you feel bored and want to waste more time not-writing (who doesn't love to do that) then check out this month's issue of PANK! They published a little piece I wrote. Happy, Happy, Happy!

Everybody Knows Promiscuous Girls Cause Earthquakes

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

VOICES YOU SHOULD IGNORE VERSUS VOICES YOU SHOULDN'T

So I don't think my last post posted right, so I deleted. Nothing special anyway! But this one is! It's about the voices in our crazy, writer heads!

Admit it, we've got them. Some are bad, bad, bad. But some are good! I think I've sorted mine out and know which ones to ignore and which ones to consider listening to.

IGNORE

SUCKAGE VOICE: "I suck at writing and I shouldn't do this and I'll never get any better..."

GREEN-EYED VOICE: "So-and-So Author/Writer is so much better than me and I would be happier if I had her book deals...agent...so on...Why can't that be me?"

NO ONE IS GOING TO READ THIS STORY VOICE: "Why am I writing this? No way anyone will want to read it! It has no vampires in it!"

WHAT'S THE POINT OF WRITING THIS IDEA VOICE: "I should test the waters first. Query early before polishing to see if the idea is even worth pursuing anymore..."

MY FAVORITE AGENT REJECTED ME AND NOW I MUST QUIT VOICE: "If X Agent doesn't like it, no one will!"

MUST WRITE A BOOK THAT MATCHES WHAT IS ON THE NYT BESTSELLER LIST VOICE: "This type of book is what is selling...I must write something similar!"

LISTEN

DON'T SELL OUT VOICE: "Don't write a story in a way that doesn't fit you just because it's what is popular. Go with your own voice and your own style! Don't sell out!"

DON'T QUERY EARLY VOICE: "If you query early, one of two things will happen: You will get a request and you will send crap work. Or you won't get a request and your passion for your story could be in jeopardy as the SUCKAGE VOICE takes over...wait until you are done with your story and ready to move on to a new one to send out."

IF I LIKE THIS, SOMEONE ELSE WILL LIKE IT VOICE: "If I love this story, someone else will. Somewhere. Out there. Keep writing. You might learn something."

Finally, this is what I call THE TINGLES SILENT VOICE: .........................This is just a feeling in the pit of your stomach. One that can't really be described but you know you're so in love with your story that you've got to keep writing it, even if just for practice. (This is how I feel about the YA Contemporary I started a few months ago.)

So that's it! Sort out your voices, dear writers. Know which ones to throw away and which ones to treasure. The bad ones--in my case--out weigh the good but I'm pushing them aside and moving forward.

Happy Tuesday!




Thursday, September 9, 2010

Is Writing a Competitive Sport?

I'll give you the short answer: NO.

We're not COMPETING with other writers. I think sometimes it can feel that way but...each story is so different. Even if they are in the same genre, or side-by-side on the book shelf, how in the world can you POSSIBLY compare? Ya know?

I guess we can use different measurements to compare. Who got the agent first. Who got the "better" agent. Who got most money for the book deal. Who gets the book deal first. Who got the "better" publishing house. Who got the "better" editor. Who hit the bestseller list. Who hit higher on the bestseller list. Who got the most awards. Who got the blurb from John Freaking Green. Who got the best reviews. Who got the most respect. Who get the movie deal. Who got...WHATEVER. It all comes down to how you measure success. (Personally I would freaking love a blurb from, like, say Melisa Marr or John Green over a NYT Bestseller Spot. Is that WIERD? Ha!)

Writing is not a competition. At least not with anyone but YOURSELF. It's okay to push yourself. Stretch. Just try to block out that little voice that says, "I SUCK," and replace it with a nice, fairy godmother voice that says, "Okay, I wrote that. Now how can I make it better? Hmmmm...."

Writing is a puzzle. Is there such a thing as competitive puzzle-doing? Probably. Maybe. I don't know. Uh, I'm thinking of another book idea now...But it seems odd. I think of a puzzle as a solitary thing. You compete with yourself. But I guess you can add a clock into anything and make it competitive. But look at this way: EITHER WAY BOTH PLAYERS FINISH THE PUZZLE.

All we can do is write what we want to write. Worry about the story. The characters. Just write something good (sounds so easy, right?) Forget about the business side of it. Forget about the market. All things not in your control. That's all so yucky anyway. I mean...BUSINESS? Ick. Just another joy of not being published yet. You don't have to worry about all of those hoops and marketing stuff. I imagine at that point it feels like a JOB. Maybe that stuff can be fun but we're writers because we write. And read. Period.

I've learned a ton about writing this year. I would love, love, love to be published. But if I never make it there, I think I'll be okay. Does this mean I'm giving up? Nah. But I'm letting go a little. I'm slowing down a bit. I'm drifting away from the agent/business blogs and sticking to what applies to me NOW and not LATER.

Story. I love stories. I'm awful at structure. Good news, I hear, this can be learned. So I better be learning it.

Onward, dear writers!

Oh, and Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

YIPPEE!

So I'm sure I missed some awesome agent news or book deal news while I was away on my vacation and if so, please leave such news in the comments! I love success stories but it's hard to keep up with them all, yo.

So I had a great week off and away from the internet--sort of--and I basically just wrote and read and wrote and read and...GOT ANOTHER DOG!

I'm a huge animal lover. We're now up to two dogs and two cats. A full house! The new dog adjusted so well. She's a 2 year old yellow lab and she's sweet and patient and entertains Izzie, still a young pup, for hours. I get up and walk them every morning, which I won't be able to do much longer when it gets dark and cold but for now it's super duper.

I didn't get through my entire pile of books but that's okay. My favorite read was It's Kind of a Funny Story, which is being turned into a movie! I'll be seeing it. There has been a major drought in movies this summer. Inception was basically the only one I was uber excited about but now there's some coming up in the fall I'm looking forward to. Check out some of the trailers below, yo.







HAPPY WEDNESDAY!