A New WIP Snippet

First of all, I might have bought, like, four books in the last three days on my Nook. Can you blame me?

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Lola and The Boy Next Door

The Name of the Star

Everybody Sees the Ants

So. Many. Good. Books. Coming. Out. Can't. Breathe.

Anyway.

I wrote this little exchange today. A rough snippet from My New Lovely Sparkly Romantic WIP:

"It's possible to go through life without being completely love-crazy you know."

Emma's blue eyes sparkle. "True, but it's a lot less exciting that way."

Is it FRIDAY yet?

The Chosen One

So I have chosen a new story to pursue! HOORAY! It's a YA Contemporary Romance. I do love my dark paranormal stories, but after my last manuscript, I need something light and fun to chew on for a few months. Let's put it this way: Nobody will die horrible painful deaths in this new story. Again, Hooray!

Disclaimer: Okay - don't hold me to that. Because who knows where the story will go!

So far, I have written 7,000 words. Aw, the first 10,000 words fly by, don't they? This time, I'm writing whatever scene I want to write. It could be in the middle, or the end. I've even started writing the last chapter. You see, I have a problem with middles and endings. I love beginnings. I obsess over beginnings. But then I let the middle sag and the ending disappoint. But if I use some of that fresh energy I have when first starting a story and put that into the middle and the end, I'm hoping this might help solve my problem. So I guess you could say I'm kind of outlining. But I'm outlining by writing out the scenes. And then I'll sew them together later.

I don't know if the idea is something that would "sell." That's not my job to know that. I have no way of knowing that. All I know is that I like my characters, I like the plot, and I'm having fun writing this baby. It makes me laugh. I want to hang out with my main character. I wish I could call her on the phone. I wish I could invite her over for a BBQ. I'm still getting to know everyone else, but I'm hoping to make every single person come to life.

I love starting a new story. This one is already brightening the dreary fall days, which is perfect writing weather. I imagine I'll use November to keep writing this one, although I know that's technically cheating for NaNo. Even though this story doesn't have magic in it, it feels magical to me.

ONWARD!

Don't you love the start of a new project, when fresh butterflies sprout within your fingertips, itching to just write, write, write?

Identity Crisis?

In case you can't tell, I'm having a bit of an identity crisis around here. Don't mind the changing templates as I try on some new outfits.

My blog background tends to match the current WIP I am immersed in. =)

Happy Days

I've been listening to this song all morning. It makes me happy:



I'm looking forward to this:


No writing will be happening after October 18. I can pretty much guarantee that.

And I'm off to grab a Pumpkin Spice Latte!

Happy. Smile. Happy.

I Can't Choose!

As I've mentioned before, I've been bouncing around between a couple different manuscripts, not quite finding a steady rhythm in either of them yet. I love both, in that I-Just-Met-You-Oh-My-God-You're-So-Hot-Way. But I'm finishing up a completely-for-fun screenplay, trying to get it out of my mind and off my plate, and then I've got to choose which manuscript I want to pursue next, as in try-to-get-published.

Manuscript #1: A YA Contemporary Romance

Manuscript #2: A Middle-Grade Adventure

I've done the YA Contemporary before, which crashed and burned, never quite becoming what I hoped it would. Middle-Grade Adventure is very, very new to me. I'm very nervous that I'm not doing it right. I read middle-grade from time to time, but not nearly as often as I read YA. It's been a while since I've been a teenager. But it's been even longer since I've been a kid, naturally.

I don't want to be insulting.

I don't want to sound stupid.

I don't want to be boring.

Who ever said writing for kids was EASY? God, it's so freaking nerve-wracking! Anyway - I'm finishing up the screenplay first. It's an idea that's been itching me for a few years, and I want it done, gone. This will be my break, but at the same time keeps my writing muscles in shape. In the mean time, I might write a bit in both manuscripts, here and there, and when November rolls around, hopefully I'll be ready to use NaNo to go full steam ahead!

How do you decide which idea to pursue? It's a big decision, knowing how much time and effort goes into one book. It could take up your entire year!

IN WHICH I GUSH

For a while there, I was in a major reading slump. Every book I picked up, I couldn't stand, couldn't finish. I was just in one of those moods. Finally, my slump was broken by Nicholas Evans The Divide. I love all of his books, so I'm not surprised that he finally got me going again.

But now I've got 2 books that I'm reading that I am completely obsessed with. Guys, I am in love with these!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

and

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (technically not out yet, but Nook provided a free 14 chapter preview that I am devouring).

These books are so magical, so beautiful, that I seriously think I should give up writing because I will never be able to write this kind of loveliness. Check them out. They will both transport you to another world.

Happy Reading!

The Guilty Pleasures I Watch and Second, Third, and Fourth Chances

Do any of you watch The Rachel Zoe Project? Okay, I do. This year, I have turned into a major Bravo junkie. Pretty much any show they put on the air, I will watch. My favorites are The Real Housewives, Flipping Out, Top Chef Just Desserts and The Millionaire Matchmaker. Yes, I watch way too much reality TV, and it all comes from Bravo!

Anyway - back from that tangent - back to Rachel Zoe. On the last episode I saw, she was getting ready to launch her new clothing line. Do I know anything about fashion? Nope. Which is why the show fascinates me. But Rachel said something along the lines of, "If no one buys my collection, that's it. I'm done. I'll have to stand on a street corner and ask people passing by if they want to buy a jacket from me."

Rachel Zoe has her own TV show. I think it's safe to say she's established. But even she was freaking out about putting her creation out into the world. But the part that caught my attention was that if she failed, that was it. She got one chance to sell. ONE. (How true that is for her, I don't know, but from what I can gather from also watching The City, it seems to be this way in the fashion world. One chance.)

At least we get more than one chance. In fact, we get many chances. If one book fails, we write another. We aren't shut out of the publishing world forever. Agents will look at a new project.

Another example is from the movie Airheads. For those of you who have not seen this classic piece of cinema, I suggest you turn off your mind and rent it. It's about this band called The Lone Rangers (yes, that is meant to be plural) and they want what any band wants: A Record Contract.

At the beginning, Chaz (Brandon Frasier) sneaks into a record company and tries to hand off his demo to a record executive, who, of course, won't take it. And then some things happen and la-dee-da before you know it The Lone Rangers are holding up a radio station (with water pistols, however) until the radio station plays their demo and hilarious and idiotic things ensue.

Publishing is hard. But at least publishing professionals give aspiring authors a CHANCE. They give our demo a LISTEN...and then reject it (kidding, um, but not really?). And there are so many contests and opportunities for writers. There's self-publishing. It seems the chances are endless for a writer to get work out there.

PLUS you can always hand out your manuscript on the street corner to people passing by! Hey, the options are endless!