Thursdays Children...Inspired by work

Thursdays Children, hosted by: Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez.

This week I feel inspired by the simple act of working. I've been busy with a lot of other things. Sometimes life gets in the way of writing. And, for some reason, the more days I spend away from my desk, the easier it becomes to stay away. There are always a million other things to do and the act of writing starts to seem more difficult than it is.

I find myself dreading scenes that need to be reworked. But, once I make myself get to it, I'm always surprised by the simple joy of it. I don't know how I forget that in between. I guess because there are certain issues with my current book that I feel I can't overcome (wordcount. ugh). Sometimes that seems a little overwhelming but I know if I just take it step by step, sooner or later I'll figure it out.

And, in the end, I know the most important thing to do is just keep working at it. So that's what I'm doing this week...I'm being inspired by work. :) How about you guys? Do you get lazy with the writing sometimes? What inspires you?

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Teaser Tuesday...

TEASER TUESDAY hosted by Miz Biz at SHOULD BE READING

Make sure you check out her site if you want some great book recommendations. In the meantime, if you want to play along just:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My tease for this week is from an absolutely adorable book. If you are looking for a light, fun, feel-good romance, I'd highly recommend The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller. I'm not going to lie, the premise struck me as totally unbelievable when I read the back but the story is so damn cute and appealing that it sucked me in anyway. And who knows? I suppose a popular girl could be embarrassed to be a comic-book-loving"nerd." At any rate, I had just gotten done reading a bunch of heavy, make-you-think-and-cry books and this was exactly what I needed. It was refreshing to read a fluffy YA book about a girl whose biggest problem is that she desperately wants to kiss the swoon-worthy and charmingly-awkward dork who works at her favorite comic-book store. (Plus she has both parents and neither are alcoholics or control freaks!) haha. I guarantee you won't get through this book without smiling!

His fingertips touching the side of my neck are the only thing I feel as the dice are totaled behind me. The creases between his eyebrows disappear as the smile that struck me as irresistible the first time I saw it in The Phoenix appears. 

Seriously?

So lately I’ve been watching episodes of Bones. Early in the series they really made a big deal about the main character, Temperance Bennan, being a mystery writer—a New York Times bestselling, mystery writer. So one episode she mentions that her publisher gave her a sports car as a bonus. Another time the publisher gave her a Rolex.

Seriously?

I remember years ago when I first saw this I wondered if it really happened. I went so far as to ask literary agent Kate Testerman, aka, “Daphne” if any of her clients had received these kinds of perks. Basically she said no. Any “perks” or gifts for her authors should be given in the form of money. *my thoughts exactly*

But this still puzzles me. Bones is based off of novels by Kathy Reichs. She is also executive producer of the show. Could she not have said, “No, no guys, that’s not how it works.” Not to mention, literary agents are NOTHING like agents for actors. Yet each time I see a literary agent portrayed on screen they are these fast talking, Armani suit wearing, Ferrari driving jerks.

I don’t know, maybe these things are minor in the grand scheme of the plot, but it really bugs me. So my question is for all of you published authors. Have you ever received a “perk” from your publisher? Car, house, watch, boat? Or do you know someone who has? Inquiring minds want to know…

Thursdays Children...Growing as a writer....

Thursday's Children: Hosted by Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez

Yesterday I read a prologue (teaser release) of a book called, "The Dream Thieves." It's the sequel to The Raven Boys, written by Maggie Stiefvater. And it's perfect. Personally, I thought it was some of the best writing I've read in a long time. Obviously, it's a subjective thing. I mean, I LOVE Maggie's writing style, but I'm sure it's not for everyone. That's not really the point though. The point is, the prologue to Maggie's newest book sounds (to me) like her best writing to date.  

Mind you, I've always enjoyed her writing. But from Maggie's first series, The Book of Faerie, up until now, she's grown immensely. In fact, it would be impossible to read her first book and her most recent back to back and not see the growth. Some writers don't seem to change much. While one book may do better than another, their style stays the same throughout their career. Maggie's writing, however, just keeps getting better. 

And, what I want to know is HOW? Someone answer that for me! Because I want to keep getting better, but I don't feel like I am. I'm working on my fourth book and I don't think my talent level is vastly different from the book I wrote last year, or even the year before. I kind of feel like I've plateaued and I'm definitely not ready to.

I tried to get some books on writing, but all of them seem to cover pretty much the same sorts of things. How to write a book. What not to do. How to plot a story. Stuff I feel like I already know. 

So now what? Do I take a class? Does anyone know of any writing books that aren't for beginners? How do you guys improve? 

If you want to join the awesome group at Thursday's Children click HERE 

My First Time

So I’ve been thinking about the first novel I ever wrote. A friend asked me about the writing process. My first answer was, “I sit down and write.” And then I went a bit deeper. When I was halfway through, my friend gave me a confused look. I realized I’d been telling her all of my rookie mistakes. My first novel was a true work of passion. I wrote because I was a lonely 19-year-old in a new college and hadn’t made any friends yet—my roommate was not my cup of tea!

So I wrote. It kept me company, filled up my days, and made me okay with not being so popular anymore—I was pretty well known in high school and at my first university. I’d just transferred to this school and wasn’t taking to my new environment as immediately as I thought I would. Nevertheless, my writing made all of that tolerable. Then I made friends, got a social life, and forgot my writing for a while.

When I went back to that story at the ripe old age of 23, I couldn’t believe how juvenile it was. I hadn’t had been lied to, had my heart broken, or flunked a class when I’d written that novel at 19—all of which had happened to me by the age of 23. So got back into my writing and plugged away at it for a long while. It took me FOREVER to let someone else read what I’d written. Only when I was contemplating getting published, like a decade later, did I finally let someone read my novel. My mom and my sister. With there stamps of approval—no one else, mind you—I was ready to get on with this writing thing, I mean, there were millions of dollars to be made. Here are the things I did when I stepped my virgin toes into query hell. Tell me how many mistakes you count. J

1. I italicized, bolded, and changed the font of all the dialogue. *It’s gotta stand out, right?*

2. The manuscript had a word count of nearly 200k. *That’s passion!*

3. To reduce the page numbers I used 10pt and 1.5 spacing and .5 margins. *My eyes are bleeding just remembering that!*

4. The main character was 17 years old so I should’ve queried it as YA, but I queried agents who were looking for adult novels only because they mentioned they liked ethnic fiction and my characters were black and Hispanic. *I’m still laughing about that one.*

5. And finally, I got a copyright. *No one was going to steal my precious work! Mind you, my mother is still telling me to get a copyright on each novel I finish, no matter how many times I tell her I don’t need it.*

It wasn’t until I submitted my novel to a small publishing house that the woman who read it pointed out all of my mistakes. I am, until this day, grateful for her kind words. After I received her positive, yet informative denial I became a researching maniac! I really felt stupid when I realized so much information was out there about manuscripts and how to format them. But I am forever grateful for my mistakes too. I think back on that first manuscript fondly. It will probably never sit atop a bookseller’s shelf, but it’s mine. I created it and I am proud of it…all 669 pages of the YA master piece.

How did your first novel come about? Did you make a lot of mistakes like me, or did you do your homework?

Inspired by Rejection...Thursdays Children

Thursdays Children/hosted by:

 Rhiann Wynn-Nolet and Kristina Perez

So, it's really funny that last week I wrote about how I like waiting to hear back on things and then, this week, I heard back on two major things I was waiting on forever and they were both rejections (one of them on a full, which are always the worst) and it sucked. 

But, even though it's common sense, I really took the time to sit down and remind myself why I do this. It's so easy to get caught up in the query/rejection cycle and lose track. So I asked myself, in all honesty, is it the thought of getting published that keeps me writing? And the answer is no. It’s the joy I get from it. It’s the story and the characters and their world. 

And, no matter how many rejections I get, nobody can ever take the three manuscripts I've written away from me. Nobody can steal the happiness I felt while writing them. Writing has given me more consistent joy than anything else I've ever accomplished. And that is worth some pain.  

 So I decided it's okay to feel like crap for a little while. But then I have to remember that this rejection isn’t going to ruin my life. It’s just a speed bump. A hurtle. How many of those have I had? How many of those have I beaten? God knows I’ve handled things a hell of a lot more painful than a rejection. I've handled them and overcome them. And if I can do that, I can do this. 

Also, there is no way I can believe that not a single book I’ve written is worth reading. That’s bullshit.  

I've read all the books on all the main reasons people get rejected. I'm not doing any of those things wrong. It's always just a matter of personal taste. And all I have to do is keep reminding myself that, if I love the books I've written and my critique partner loves them then, eventually, I will find an agent who loves them too. 

And besides all of that, I decided one last thing. Like I mentioned up top, I asked myself: Is this going to ruin my life? Obviously the answer is no. And then I thought to myself: If it's not something that's going to ruin my life, why should I let it ruin my day? 

I think that's a pretty good motto to live by. Especially when it comes to rejections. 

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Writer's Butt

If you don’t know what writer’s butt is, get to the gym immediately because you probably have it! :-)

I seem to have come back from vacation with a renewed since of health and wellbeing. I’ve always been a rather healthy eater, but my problem lies in the physical part of the health regimen.

My day job is sedentary. Writing is sedentary. So now I’m really worried that I’ll wake up one day and will need to have the side of my house cut away so I can get out—I’m not trying to make fun of those poor souls, just saying I don’t want to end up that way.

My plan to avoid further writer’s butt—you’ll know if you suffer from this affliction by the wide flatness of your hind-parts—I am going to the gym three times a week and taking walks three times as well.

I really love walking. I do a lot of writing in my head and have solved plotting problems, dreamed up awesome scenes, and developed characters all while taking a stroll.

How do you avoid Writer’s Butt? Do you have a workout regimen? Do you find taking walks opens up your mind to your writing?