Island dreaming

I've been a bit busy recently... hence no posting. Don't believe me? See below.

Oh, and I'll be back to posting about life, writing, and internships starting May 22nd(ish)...

Tidepools by the place we're staying. Incredible snorkeling

Lava Tree... created when lava engulfed wet, cool trees
in this forest.

Ube ice cream! Made from purple sweet potato. The color is
all natural!

Rainbow Falls in Hilo, HI

The Red Road. It really IS that color!

Black sand and a re-seeding project in an area that was destroyed
by volcanic activity.

Kilauea Iki Crater

Petroglyph in Hawaii Volcanoes NP

Baby wild boars... rescued by a permaculture farm after
a neighbor killed their mother.

Hilo has a zoo, too!

Two toed Sloth!!!

Namaste the white Bengal tiger.

Leibster award and internships abound

I'm starting off this post with a big THANKS to Dave at Dave Wrote This and Kathy at Imagine Today. Thanks to Dave for bestowing on me the Leibster Award, in all it's glory. And thanks to Kathy for nominating me for it!

Rules for accepting this award:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them.
2. Nominate up to five others for the award.
3. Let them know via comment on their blog.
4. Post the award on your blog.

I like the idea of awarding this honor to 5 people who have less than 200 followers on their blog. So! If you know someone who fits that criteria and deserves a shout out, I'm leaving it up to YOU to nominate them in the comments below. I will treat these on a first come first served basis, as well. So hurry and get your nominations in!

On the internship front... this is my last week with the Agency in NYC. I am so grateful for the experience I have had there these past two months. I think that the Agent would have kept working with me forever if I had let her... but I'm not necessarily in it for the long term yet. I'm still trying to figure out my path. I have read so many queries now... and I can tell you what mine WON'T look like... I have seen how to professionally submit a manuscript for review... and I have seen that even if your novel is really amazing it's not always likely to get picked up by a particular agent.

Everything I have learned so far will, I hope, make me a better writer in the long run. We'll see.

I'm leaving the internship with the Agency after only two months, though, because I have landed ANOTHER internship... with a publishing house satellite office only 30 minutes from my home (instead of a one and a half hour train ride). I'm excited because here's a new angle of the publishing industry I have not seen yet! I'm headed from the agent's world into the publisher's world! By the time I am done interning my resume will be thick with experience!

The next challenge is what to do with all that experience.

I have one more response request. A couple of you mentioned wanting to know more about my experience the past couple of months at the Agency. There's a blog post here, that I think sums up a lot of what I have learned, but I'd like to open the floor for questions. Please ask me questions regarding the internship and I will compile and answer them in a post next week!

I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

5 tips for writing from C.S. Lewis

I read an article today wherein a letter from C.S. Lewis to one of his fans was described. They listed the following 5 rules as Lewis recommended them to the young person who had written him for advice regarding her own WIP. I thought the rules were worth sharing with you:

1. Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn't mean anything else.
2. Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don't implement promises, but keep them.
3. Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean "More people died" don't say "Mortality rose."
4. In writing. Don't use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was "terrible," describe it so that we'll be terrified. Don't say it was "delightful"; make us say "delightful" when we've read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, "Please will you do my job for me."
5. Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

Good advice for any writer to live by. Thanks, C.S. We'll take these rules to heart.

In other news, I did NOT see the fabled Matt Smith and Karen Gillan... although they did arrive on set later that evening... around 10:30 p.m. with 1,200 other fans all clamoring for their attention... Yeah, I left earlier... because it's a long train ride home and because while I LOVE Doctor Who, I'm just not that kind of girl. If they had been there earlier I would have been excited... sigh... how complacent I have become.

Although... if I had been waiting for THE Doctor, not the man who plays him on TV, I would have stayed until he came and happily run away with him in the T.A.R.D.I.S. Ya know? If only...

Photo from Wikipeida

A girl's gotta have her Doctor Who dreams

I was totally on my way into the City today for my internship... but then what should pop up into my Facebook News Feed but a post from Doctor Who saying that they are filming in the City today! Eeek!

What is a girl to do? I could be responsible, yes... but I've done that before. And sometime's a girl needs to be ridiculous. So I ditched.

I'm crashing at a friend's place for the moment, and hoping to catch a glimpse of Matt Smith and Karen Gillan... or at least the T.A.R.D.I.S. a little later.

Likely I'll miss them altogether, but I'd hate to say I didn't try!

Diversion

In case you were wondering... this is what I do when I'm trying to distract myself from writing or obsessing over a scene that is getting me no where... (well, when I'm not lazy and watching re-runs of Doctor Who instead :)).

This is actually my first still life attempt.
I'm not usually so studious.

Noah decided he wanted to do a still life as well! Fun!

Insecure Writer's Support Group, yay!

Hi all! It's time for a monthly installment of Insecure Writer's Support Group, as hosted by Alex Cavanaugh.

I don't know about you, but I can't believe it's already April! Where does the time get to?

I wanted to post about blogging memes today... because they make me insecure. Currently, when I look through my blog reader, it seems like I am the only person I know who is NOT doing the A-Z Challenge, a monthly meme started here.

Now, part of the reason I didn't join in was because I've been doing an internship in the City (which ends April 19th). The internship has been intense and educational and I'm SO glad I have had the chance to take part, to get dressed up professionally, commute into NYC, and learn about the art of discovering a marketable manuscript. But it takes up a lot of time! So I haven't been posting very regularly, anyhow... and the idea of writing a blog post a day within the loose theme of the alphabet (much less the more planned out themes that I see some of you are doing)... well I'm not super woman.

But also, I don't want to be a joiner just because I think I'm supposed to attach meaning to something that everyone else does. I'm not just referring to this particular challenge. There are "blog awards" and weekly/monthly memes all OVER the place! How does a girl choose between them all without feeling like she's missing out on something, or more importantly, without feeling like she's losing her blogging identity?

Obviously I am choosing. I'm participating in a meme right now! IWSG has been very useful to me - from reading other writers' insecurities to sharing my own insecurities to receiving supportive feedback. I will definitely continue to participate in this one. I just wonder, does anyone else out there besides me feels overwhelmed by the flood of daily/weekly/monthly blog memes?

7 things you learn from interning with a literary agent

I've survived the first month of my internship! I don't know whether to be impressed by that fact or not. Overall I'm going to say that I'm impressed, because it's hard! For so many reasons, too...

I wanted to share with you the first few things that I've learned... because as a writer, I feel they are important. I'd love to hear your take on things as well, so make sure to comment and let me know what you think! It's possible that the things I'm learning here are NOT useful, and only apply to the agent I'm working with.

1. Your synopsis is important! Seriously. I know a few people have been posting recently and complaining about having to write synopses. They're hard to do. After all, your masterpiece of a novel is probably 50,000-100,000 words! How can you summarize the entire plot in just a few measly paragraphs? But, if an agent (or an agent's assistant) can't get the essence of your plot in a neat little package, the likelihood of your manuscript being picked up drops significantly. So craft them... craft them well, grasshoppers.
2. Building off of number 1., make sure to review and refine your pitch. Sending a query to an agent involves so much more than just copying and pasting your synopsis into the body of an e-mail and pressing send. Standard etiquette, people. Introduce yourself. Tell the agent why you're writing (This involves a synopsis of your synopsis. Madness!). Remember. There's nothing new under the sun. Don't bother telling the agent that your manuscript is one-of-a-kind. It's not. I guarantee it. Cheesy pitches and synopses get tossed right to the slush pile.
3. Find a way to graciously handle rejection. Agents receive hundreds of submissions a week. And in-depth discussions of the reasons for choosing not to take on your work is not on the top of their to-do list. Although, the one I've worked with is willing to take a little time to discuss it with you if you ask politely. Always remember, though, that whatever advice you wish to receive is a gift, not a right. (Maybe this is different with other agents. I don't know.)
4. Your first two chapters are key. Write well, little grasshopper. Hook your readers early. Introduce the characters and the plot in a way that grabs the reader's attention and draws them forward into the story. If the first 10 pages aren't amazing, you're looking at rejection.
5. Story arc. It's kinda important. If your novel wanders off in the middle, near the end... anywhere, really... it's going to get rejected, or at least asked for a rewrite. If you can catch this before the agent does, you'll save yourself the pain of opening that e-mail rejecting your work. The last two chapters matter just as much as the first two.
6. How can you catch things like a weak story arc? Get it edited. Well edited. Don't just have beta-readers look at your manuscript (although they're important, too). Have a professional look at your work and do an overview for you. It costs money, but it can mean the difference between a publishing contract and the slush pile.
7. Nothing is sacred. My friend Sarah Mebasser said that the other day, and it's true. Scenes that you've slaved over, that are your precious pets, that you think are pivotal to the whole story can be cut, likely WILL be cut. Language that you have deemed poetical will be criticized as ambiguous, vague, even bad grammar! Prepare yourself for this inevitability. Shelve your ego and go to work. (This goes as well for interns who work on projects/blog posts/etc., for their bosses. If you can get rid of your ego, you can learn a lot. Easier said than done, though.)

Well, that's all from the peanut gallery so far. I know that I'm a beginner, learning as I go. If you have any thing to add, I'm happy to listen and consider!

It's Young Adult and Teen Tuesday!

It's Tuesday and the YATT meme is hosted by S.A. Larsen at Writer's Ally. Yay!

I'm going to slip in a little post here this morning about Young Adult lit. I've been contemplating the differences between young adult lit versus books you read as a young adult. There are just a few things that puzzle me about the distinction.

See, I read "Of Mice and Men" when I was young, but I wouldn't consider that a "Young Adult" book. But, is it? Also, it's apparent to me that just because a protagonist is a youth does not make the book a YA book.

I'm sure someone out there much smarter than me has a wonderful, textbook answer for me and I'm hoping you'll leave it in the comments.

What I see as YA lit is defined by what you can and can't do with the characters. In YA, fantasy is much more acceptable, animals figure largely (or rather, IF they figure largely, it's considered YA... another confusing point), and the protagonists are often (though not always) in the YA age range of 15-24.

In "Adult" lit... I feel like there's a lot more pretended "realism" (although I know there's a lot of sci-fi/fantasy going on out there in adult lit), and more sex and violence. But this just seems disappointing to me. Also, I'm sure there's a lot more "thematically" to it than this.

And so I'm wondering where YOU draw the line.

Are there any of your beloved books that seem to defy definition?

Internship... you get out of it what you put in **UPDATED**

**Updated at the end.**

Quick post before I have to head in to the City this morning. I have been MIA the past week or so because I started this internship 3 days a week in the City with a literary agency. I would love to report that all is going well and I'm having the time of my life. Truth is, it's a mixed bag.

The thing I keep reminding myself is, I'm not getting paid. I'm volunteering time to learn about an area of the book business. I don't NEED a job. I WANT the experience.

And I am getting experience. I have read over a hundred submissions in the past 2 3 weeks, I would venture, the majority unsolicited. I could tell you right up front what will get through and what won't. Of what gets through, I couldn't tell you what will get picked up, though. This agent is finicky. She says she doesn't want to pass up on a really good manuscript. It's possible that we just have different ideas of what is good. 

However, that's an area for me to learn in, too. What do I know about what sells? I guess in the YA market, I have a bit of an eye. I've read a LOT of YA... but then, not as much as some of YOU. Still, I know what people are reading right now. In other markets not so much.

Sigh... on the other hand... I have had my patience tested over the past 2 3 weeks in ways I did not realize I might. I'm sitting on a hard chair at a kitchen table in a tiny Manhattan apartment, walking someone else's dog, commuting 3 hours a day... all to deal with a personality that I find less than appealing... trying to squeeze information about the business out of her... because it's more than choosing a good manuscript. Of that I am sure.

I guess I'm telling you all this, not to excuse myself for having been absent from the blogging world, so much as to say it's not all a bed of roses on the other side of the pen and paper... and I'm beginning to understand that actually means.

I hope to make it around and read some blogs this weekend. So write some good posts for me!

**I have to retract a statement. I really DO appreciate her personality... when she's not wearing her boss hat... and when she IS... I just have trouble dealing with her work style.

Today I found got better as I went... I'm sure in part due to the encouraging vibes you all are sending my way :)**

Making Time: Insecure Writers' Support Group

It's the first Wednesday in March! Can you believe it? That means it's time for Insecure Writer's Support Group, hosted by the fabulous Alex Cavanaugh, who, by the way, just published another novel, CassaFire! Yay Alex! Living the dream! And thanks for hosting us insecure writers. We need it.

I wanted to mention "Making Time" today. I haven't had to deal with this issue in a while. See, for the past year and a half I have been living the dream... not working, just writing. Except that I didn't really take advantage of the time while I had it. I was distracted by other things and allowed much of the time I could have devoted to writing to slip away.

Now that I am doing an internship in the City three days a week (on week two and it's going GREAT!) I am suddenly reminded of the value of time. I have less time for posting and less time for writing because other things are taking up the space (you know, like groceries, cooking meals, walking the dog, etc.).

It's only two weeks in, but I'm already worrying about how my creative outlets will suffer from neglect. Am I over reacting? This past weekend I did put down 900 words towards my WIP (in the new POV, too!). And that's huge! Because I have been stalling and recently got a bump of inspiration. But I wonder if that is an exception to the rule and if the urge to create won't be drowned out by the lazy monster or the "I have so many other necessary things to do" monster. I know I have to build better habits, but I'm a little at a loss as to how to do it without creating a crusty layer of guilt that I have to break through every time I want to write.

Ugh. Does anyone else ever feel this way? Damned if you do and damned if you don't... It's honestly one of my biggest barriers to moving forward with my writing, I think.

New post with some rambling about my internship on Friday. Thanks for listening.

An inspirational moment

I'm sitting here working on writing Lilith from a 1st person POV... and it's not quite as easy as I was hoping. But... I am not discouraged yet. I think I just need to rearrange my own POV, not expect things to go exactly the way they did the first time around, and keep moving forward.

And then I read this quote from the amazing Neil Gaiman's latest blog post:

"It's a weird thing, writing.

Sometimes you can look out across what you're writing, and it's like looking out over a landscape on a glorious, clear summer's day. You can see every leaf on every tree, and hear the birdsong, and you know where you'll be going on your walk. 

And that's wonderful.

Sometimes it's like driving through fog. You can't really see where you're going. You have just enough of the road in front of you to know that you're probably still on the road, and if you drive slowly and keep your headlamps lowered you'll still get where you were going.

And that's hard while you're doing it, but satisfying at the end of a day like that, where you look down and you got 1500 words that didn't exist in that order down on paper, half of what you'd get on a good day, and you drove slowly, but you drove.

And sometimes you come out of the fog into clarity, and you can see just what you're doing and where you're going, and you couldn't see or know any of that five minutes before.

And that's magic."

Thank you, Neil.

Weekend goals: It's gonna be one hell of a re-write

If you are looking for my campaign entry, go here.

Ugh... don't you hate it when somebody gives you a suggestion and at first you think, "Nah, that'll never happen." But then the more you think about it the more it seems like a good idea? And then you start to think, "Oh my god, what am I thinking? This'll take forever!" But you can't get the idea to go away... and so you eventually resign yourself to the fact that you are going to at least have to attempt it.

Well, my pal Julie over at rosewood pencil box made just such a suggestion. First, there are two things you should know.

1. I LOVE JULIE!

2. I completely respect her opinion. 

So, the other day she so sweetly suggested that I might think about writing my WIP in first person, because she liked the voice I gave Lilith in the character interview.

At first I laughed and said to myself "Yeah, like I haven't thought of that." But I have 50,000 words of copy! Why would I go back and just re-write the whole thing? Only... the more I get to know Lilith, the more I like her voice, too... and now I've had some feedback it's got me thinking... sigh.

So this weekend's goals are to relax and perhaps look at how a few of my scenes sound from Lilith's perspective. It's not a commitment... it's a "What if?". I'm just experimenting. Who knows what will happen, really?

In other news, I read 2 novels this week. Yep, 2... that haven't even been published yet! This new internship is scratching an itch, that's for sure. The work environment is quirky, but then, so am I so... I'll reserve my judgments for a little later after I see how much I'm learning. So far I've been learning lots... including how to, and how NOT to, solicit an agent to review a manuscript. Wow people. All I can say is, the more people that review your 'script, the better.

Also, I just wanna say thanks to Jess, who awarded me two different blog awards this week. If you don't already know Jess, hop on over to her blog Write.Skate.Dream. She's an amazing, inspirational, plucky young writer. I think you'll love her blog, too!

It's cold here right now... and I keep hoping spring is around the bend. Who's with me?

Knights of Micro-fiction and other Big News

So! News first and micro-fiction second :) If you are looking for my campaign entry, go here.

About a month ago I read a blog post by Brightened Boy. I love his posts because they feel so authentic and his observations on life are very astute. Anyhow, this particular post mentioned the fact that while he was in school (I assume... because he JUST graduated) he did an internship with a literary agency. I immediately thought to myself "How cool!" and then, for the instant that I always do, I lamented the fact that I was never brave enough or forward thinking enough to do this while I was in school myself. In all fairness, I really had no idea what I wanted when I was in school.

But that led me to thinking... why not now? Of course, there's the fact that a lot of internships are specifically for college credit... and there's also the fact that I'm well past the age demographic that most people want/expect an intern to be. But other than that I'm ideally situated. I know what I want to learn about now, what direction my life is leaning... and I don't HAVE to have a paying gig to survive.

So... because I always do things a little half-heartedly so as not to get my expectations up (which may not always be healthy, I acknowledge)... I sent out 6 resumes 10 days ago. Within a week I had an interview and landed a paying internship in the City. Ha! So starting tomorrow I'll be commuting to the City 2-3 days a week and learning all about the book business from a literary agent's perspective. Which will be EXTREMELY interesting and helpful for me. I can't even believe it happened that fast! I'll make sure to post regular updates here, for better or for worse, but I'm hoping for better :)

Now on to Knights of Micro-Fiction, as hosted monthly by the fabulous Jess and Kathy McKendry. the rules are: Write a micro-fiction/flash fiction story of 250 words or less beginning with these words:
After all this time, there it was...

Here's my entry:

“After all this time, there it was,” I said. “Right there in front of my face.” 

“Well you obviously weren’t looking hard enough, Lani,” Keegan shot back, rolling his eyes. He was always impatient with me, had been ever since we were little. 

“Hey, punk.” I took a swipe at him, which he dodged. “It’s not like it matters how long it took. I found it, didn’t I?” 

 “Yeah, but now what are you going to do with it?” he asked. 

I raised the shimmering amulet from its hiding place to eye level. Keegan’s spiky-haired reflection beamed out at me as it turned to face him. “What am I going to do with it?” I raised an eyebrow and threw him a mischievous grin. “Do you even know what this is?” 

“Of course I do,” Keegan rolled his eyes at me again. “It’s a transmuted teleport. Turn it three times in the direction the moon travels and it’ll take you anywhere you want to go. But not just anywhere… anywhere in time or space.” 

“Exactly,” I said. I had had a little time to ponder the thought. Years spent in a prison cell, your mind wanders. No, I knew exactly where I wanted to go and when. I had a score to settle. 

“You’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking, are you?” Keegan looked unsure. 

“’Course I am, Keegs,” I said, grabbing his wrist. “And you’re coming with me.” The amulet turned three times and I closed my eyes.

I hope you like, and I hope you'll take a few minutes and participate! Seriously, it's called Flash Fiction for a reason, people.

UPDATED: Campaign Challenge! Flash Fiction!

**Update at the end**
Campaign Challenge time! And just in time too! It's been a busy week... I'll work up another post this weekend to tell you why. In the mean time, here are the rules for the flash fiction challenge from Rachael Harrie's Fourth Writers' Platform-Building Campaign!

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “Shadows crept across the wall”. These five words will be included in the word count. If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), do one or more of these:

• end the story with the words: "everything faded." (also included in the word count)
• include the word "orange" in the story
• write in the same genre you normally write
• make your story 200 words exactly!

Here's my entry:

Shadows crept across the wall and the silence in the room was deafening. Lenore took in a deep breath and was surprised at how loud her lungs sounded. The last words she had spoken had been an oath… the name of her goddess. She had been frustrated. There was a blinding flash of light, and then everything went black. When she woke, she was the one who couldn’t speak and the mute little old woman she had taken in last week was gone. There were scorch marks on the hearth where she had been sitting… before the light… before the charm had broken. Was it possible that the little old woman had really been an all-powerful goddess in disguise? Had she waited that long for Lenore to name her so that she could break free? How had Lenore not noticed? She thought she was a better witch than that. Lenore rose and ran her fingers through her hair, still trying to make sense of it all. If she had just released the Sea Mither, it was possible that there was still hope for Lilith, as well. She had to find Steffan and tell him. There was work to be done.

It's 200 exactly (according to MSWord) and is a re-worked scene from my WIP.

**Oh yeah, and I forgot... if you like my entry, you can "like it" here... and I might win something cool :) I'm entry #193. Thanks!!**

Character growth and a blog award

Ok, blog award first. A big thanks to the fabulous kmckendry over at Imagine Today who bestowed the "Kreativ blogger award" (and the Versatile blogger award, I think) on me the other day! Luv luv luv!

Since I have some new followers, I'll give you some new facts about me... haven't done this in a while :) If you think you already know enough about me, feel free to skip to the end of this post.

1. I have 4 cats and a dog... this may not be new to you if you know me already... but... I didn't MEAN to have 4 cats... they just sort of multiply... (and yes they are all fixed... I mean multiplied in the magically appearing sort of way). I'm trying to re-home one of them, actually... so if you know anyone who wants a nameless, needy, talkative female gray tabby/muted calico kitty with a short-ish tail, please let me know.


2. I have mild depression and anxiety (mostly self-diagnosed, but I went to therapy for a little while, too). There are days when I can't convince myself that I am capable of doing anything at all, much less anything creative... I hate those days. I am actively combating them... one of the BLOGS that has been super instrumental in my warfare against the monsters is The Fluent Self. I heart Havi and Selma! Seriously... they're better than therapy. Also, I have not openly admitted the depression before (at least not that I can remember)... although I would tell you if you asked me.


3. I am a painter. I'm not saying I'm Vincent Van Gogh... I guess really I'm more of a visual artist... because I like photography, too. But some days I need color, canvas, and abstraction to help clear my head. I say abstract because none of my figures ever turns out as I see them in my head. Same goes for my writing, actually.


4. Last one, I am sprouting seeds in a terrarium on a bookshelf so that I can grow my own veggies this summer. Right now I have heirloom tomatoes, sweet yellow cherry tomatoes, and collard greens sprouting... but I have seeds to plant for cucumbers, okra, and carrots, plus some herbs and flowers. I'm crossing my fingers that this project is successful. Usually I buy seedlings already started... but I wanted to try starting them myself this year. Eeep!

I so love all the new friends I am making out there in the blogosphere! I hope you'll humor me and claim this award for yourself if you want it. I'm not going to tag anyone to pass it on. I think you're all pretty "kreativ" and versatile! Luv!

Just a reminder from my last post that I'm looking for some questions to ask my main character so that I can get a better grip on her. You can leave your questions in the comments here. Between your comments already and some from my fab friends in the Fairfield County Writers' Group, I'm up to 40 questions! 10 more to go before I hit my goal of 50, but if I have more than 50, I'll just have to answer them... then I'll post the questions and answers next Tuesday so that you can get a look at my MC... and hopefully give me some feedback.

11 questions and a bit of a YA request

First! Hi to all my new followers! It's so nice to have more people out there joining the conversation about life, the universe and everything... but mostly about writing :)

I was tagged by my new pal Hildred (great name by the way) to play along in this 11 questions meme. Thanks to Hildred for the creative questions! I hope you like my answers.

1. What is the single most annoying trope that makes you want to claw your eyes out? Ah... for me it's the "I'm helpless and my life means nothing without HIM..." I love a good strong female character, so to read so many roles that fit the trope makes me sick.

2. If you could alter history and claim credit for any book ever written, what would it be? Right now I'd say "Hunger Games"... Suzanne Collins wrote a great trilogy... and I wish it was mine :)

3. How many kids were in your HS graduating class? 500 kids in my graduating class, or thereabouts. 1996. Yep

4. If you were guaranteed massive success either way, would you rather traditionally publish or self-publish? I think... all things being equal...  I'd have to say I'd self-publish... because I wouldn't want to rely on anyone else for my success. I'd want to be strong, like one of my characters, and in charge of my own fate.

5. What's the most you've ever paid for an article of clothing...for yourself? Do shoes count? I bought a pair of Danskos for $120... because they have awesome arch support and will last a long time.

6. Singer, Model, or Actress - who you gonna be? I was, am, and will always be a singer.

7. Chef, Driver, or Maid - who you gonna hire? I'd hire a maid. I hate to clean.

8. Bath or shower? I'm a shower girl.... I get bored in baths.

9. You're scheduling for a delivery to your house during normal business hours. What time do you request, and why? Early as possible. Whatever I'm having delivered must be good. I'm sure I'll want it as soon as possible.

10. Could you survive a whole year or more in a traditional Japanese apartment? Sure I could survive. It would be cramped and I'd complain a LOT, probably... but I'd be in Japan, right? So I'd have a lot to distract me.

11. Favorite Pokemon. And you can't cop out with "i dunno pokemon"  because here's a link, pick the cutest one! I'm still going to cop out on this one and choose Pikachu... he's the only Pokemon I really know, but I like him.

Now... I'm not ACTUALLY going to tag anyone... why? Because I don't want to :) I WILL give you a list of 11 questions, though... at the very end of the post... and if you'd like to answer them, feel free to do so in the comments. I'd love to hear your answers!

The second part of my post today has to do with YATT (also know as Young Adult Teen Tuesday, a meme hosted by SA Larsen over at Writer's Ally)

And what I have for you today in the realm of Young Adult and Teen fiction is a request. My current WIP needs some character help... and I've decided I want YOU to help me figure out what I need to help my character out! I would love love love to have her answer 50 questions, any 50 questions you'd ask a 15 year old girl... and I'd like you to help me ask them. In the comments section, please leave me (along with your answers to MY 11 questions) 1, 2, or 10 questions you'd like to hear my character answer... that would be so amazingly fantastic! I'll collect all the questions submitted by midnight on Friday, February 17th, and post her responses NEXT Tuesday. I hope you'll play along!

Ok, now for the 11 questions I'd like to know about YOU.

1. What's your favorite animal and why? (If you don't like ANY animals, why?)
2. If you had an unlimited budget, where would your next vacation spot be?
3. Say you have an old, blind cat that lives in your attic... what's its name?
4. Do you like fruitcake? Why or why not?
5. What do you do to cure writer's block?
6. You're a super hero. What's your outfit look like?
7. Building on #6, what's your super power?
8. Doctor Who?
9. What's your favorite snack?
10. What book can you remember reading in your youth that had a major effect on you?
11. It's the zombie invasion and you're barricaded in a house with 4 other people. If you could choose those 4 people, who would they be?

I'm looking forward to your answers AND... your questions!!!

First drafts

I wanted to talk about first drafts today... because that's where I am... in my novel and in my life, I think. I wrote my second novel (gee that sounds weird) during NaNoWriMo last November. It's a great idea, for sure, and I think that at times I can be a great writer... but man this draft! I've been trying to get up the courage to edit/re-write the pile of jumbled up copy I produced in November... ever since I finished it, actually. I think I've finally gotten into a groove (this past Friday, actually) where I'm not afraid to look at it... but it's a MESS!

Anyone else feel this way?

So what I keep hearing from other writer friends is that first drafts are always a mess. That should make me feel better... really... it should.

Anyone else feel this way?

Author Annie Prouxl (Brokeback Mountain) says of drafts that "for a story like “Tits-Up in a Ditch” it was probably fifteen or sixteen drafts, with some paragraphs going through sixty drafts before they got right. Even then, when the story is apparently finished I see changes that must be made." Huh. Sixty drafts on some paragraphs. Boy wouldn't I like to see what the first draft looked like.

Anyone else?

I guess what it comes down to is that I am a closet perfectionist. So I'm utterly embarrassed every time I look at the mess that is my first draft, and HORRIFIED at the thought of showing it to someone else. I am worse than ashamed to think that my writing could start out looking as bad as I think that it does... and so then I lose the willpower to follow through and finish it.

Anybody... Bueller...?

I have been working on that feeling that everything I produce should be perfect right out of the box. Because.... damn it, it was a good idea! It still is a good idea! And yes, it needs work... and no, I'm not a prodigy... but that doesn't mean I can't get there given a little elbow grease. And it can be fun! And my self-worth is NOT based on first drafts. And Yours isn't either! Whew. There... I feel better now...

Anyone else?

Why YA?

It's Tuesday again... time to talk about Young Adult and Teen lit!

Why am I writing a YA novel? That's a question people ask me frequently... after "Oh, you're a writer" comes "What kind of book are you writing?" and then... "why Young Adult?"

And my answer is because there's so much more room for imagination!

I think my WIP is teetering between middle grade and YA... although mostly that's because the age of the protagonist keeps changing. I can't decide how old she should be, really... originally she was 7 or 8 and now she is 16. I felt like some of the situations she found herself in were a little too overwhelming for an 8 year-old.

Now, I know that YA can be serious and can deal with some serious issues, too. And I love, love, love that about the demographic. Teens deal with some heavy stuff. They also need YA to open their eyes to people living lives that are distinctly different from their own. I remember reading "Dicey's Song" by Cynthia Voigt when I was a kid... and loving Dicey so much... and feeling like the life she lived was so completely foreign to me.

But the ability to put my characters into a world of magic and folklore come to life is largely restricted to the MG/YA demographic. Yes there's sci-fi/fantasy for adults... but it's all so ... ADULT... and I don't know... I just feel like YA has more fun. Am I wrong?

Every author dreams of writing the next great American novel... of winning the Pulitzer or some other prestigious award... those are good things to dream of, for sure. But realistically... I just want to have fun with my characters, to enjoy their growth and progression through the story. So I guess I'll have to put off the Pulitzer Prize winning work for the NEXT NaNoWriMo. Ha!

What about YOU? Why do you write for YA/Teens/Middle Grade? Why do you choose fantasy for your WIP? I'm curious!!!

Busy busy busy

It's always a good idea to participate on the web... I've been a tentative voice from the beginning... saying things here on my blog where I only have a few followers... and shyly commenting, although I'm getting bolder. Well, I decided I want to expand my reach... I want to join more actively in the conversation of the writers' world in the blog-iverse. So I'm joining in the Rach Writes Writers' Platform-building Campaign. I mean, why not, right? If anything, hopefully I will meet some new people in the on-line world of writers. And that's my goal for the campaign... because... aside from that I'm not REALLY sure what it is... I am just jumping in and trying it!

Whee!

In other news... it's February... but this February could not be more different from the last. Last year, we had SO MUCH SNOW!!! It was everywhere... piled up... packed in... and it was sooooo ccccoooollllddddd! This year we've had so many 50 degree days that even the swans got confused, thought it was spring, and came back to the pond.

The water in front of the swan is actually ice!

One thing I have accomplished this winter that I'm proud of is this quilt. I am excited to have finished it and that it didn't fall apart when I washed it!

Now if I could just have the same experience with my WIP, I'd be golden. Hopefully I'll meet some new people through this campaign who will help me find the courage I need to get it done.

Insecure Writers Support Group

I know, I know... 3 posts in 3 days from me... it's almost too much to handle! It's the first Wednesday in the month and I'm joining in on Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group. If you're a writer and you have insecurities you would like to share, you should join us... and if you're a writer and you haven't got any insecurities, would you PLEASE share how you came to be so self-confident?

I guess my insecurity for this week has to do with copy, or frequent lack thereof. I find myself more often than not staring at a blank screen and not able to think of anything to say. Or worse, I don't even turn on the computer because I feel like nothing I could think of (if I COULD think of anything) would be interesting or worth putting down in print. And then I hear that oft repeated adage "A writer writes..." and I think to myself, well... I'm not writing, so I must not be a writer. And downward I spiral into a pit of deep despair.

So I guess that leads me to the problem of well meaning but ill timed/placed ... encouragement... for lack of a better word. As an insecure writer who has struggled with identity and where I fit in all this wide and varied world of blog posts, novels, novellas, poetry, short stories, news articles, etc., etc., etc., I can tell you that even "A writer writes..." can kill a budding creative spirit. Well... maybe not kill it, but definitely set it back.

The thing I keep coming back to is that she's different for everyone, the muse. For some lucky souls she is a slave driver, an unforgiving mistress that forces you to stay up late pouring words from your fingertips to the page. That's not who she is for me... for me, she's coy and fleeting, stifled by a wide variety of worries that need to be quelled and frightened of monster doubts that need to be re-captured and caged.

One way that I am finding help in these past few weeks is through this awesome network of writers on the web. Between IWSG, YA and Teen Tuesday, and Knights of Microfiction, there are some really great ways for me to stretch out my figurative vocal chords, get the words flowing, and encourage the muse to come out and play. And I keep working on my doubts and monsters... and keep my WIP open in the background to remind me that there is more to be done.