I've decided if I'm ever going to complete this book, A Tattered Life (still not sold on the title), I have to set a deadline for myself. A couple weeks ago I realized I had not finished writing a book for two years when I completed Dissected. I've started many projects, none of which have come to fruition.
I have approximately 26k in on this novel. I'm figuring most of my young adult books hit at about 50k, so I'm about half way there. I've set myself a deadline of June 30th. That gives me 3 months, which I think is realistic.
However, I'm also redesigning my website, which I want to launch soon, and that is taking up part of my time. I'm about half way done with that as well. I have a goal of launching it on my birthday, which is April 11th. For now, that is the plan. It may not happen that fast, so I'm not making huge announcements about it. It will be a completely different design and brand than I've been using. It's time for Megan to grow up.
Last thing, I was interviewed by Ethan Pariseau for his podcast, Xposing Me. He talks to people about experiences they feel have changed their lives. Give it a listen at here.
So I read this article on the Huffington Post this morning, 19 Daily Habits of Artists That Can Help Unlock Your Creativity, and here's what I have to say.
1. Let go of your idea of "perfect."
Um, yeah, done.
2. Allow yourself to have fun.
The problem with this and me is that I write stuff about the bad things that happen to people. I have fun when I'm done. Either that or drink. 3. Don't be afraid to silence your inner critic.
I know some writers who edit as they write and I can only imagine that can only stifle your creativity. I do not do that. I just write. That is what a first draft is for. It is supposed to be shit. You take the following drafts to make it better and publishable. 4. Realize that you can be your own worst enemy. Not the work.
Do not comprehend. No seriously. Duh. If my manuscript is a mess, and I have a couple that truly are, what, I'm going to blame the book? No, I blame me. And I am the only one who can fix it. 5. But not all self-inflicted boundaries are bad.
Oooh, I'm not good with parameters. Maybe I should try setting some deadlines for myself again. I just realized the other day I have not finished writing a book in over 2 years. I've started a LOT of them, finished, um, nope.
6. Find your mantra and keep it close.
Yeah, I seem to change my mantra about once every six months and I usually forget it in about a day. I guess I should write it down on a sticky note and attach it to my computer with all my other notes. 7. Establish your "me" time.
What is this "me" time you speak of?
8. And indulge in some vices to reset.
I thought vices were bad things. Believe me, I have vices and I indulge. 9. Humble yourself from time to time.
Yes, when I want to humble myself I just go read all my 1 star reviews. Really? Humble myself? I think as artists we are all masochistic my nature. Is that not humbling in itself? 10. When in doubt, ask for help.
I have no problem doing this. If you want to be a beta reader, find me on Facebook. I always just put out an SOS there and pick from the litter who offer.
11. And be prepared to find inspiration in mundane places.
I find inspiration in music, when I take walks, when I'm out to dinner, at the grocery store...I am always looking for a story, or quirky character, or even a glimmer of an idea no matter where I am. 12. To clear your mind, maybe you need to clear your work space.
Um, that will never happen. My workspace is a chaos magnet. I clean it, 2 seconds later it's messy. 13. Find another perspective, even if it's physical.
And if it's writing...? 14. Let yourself be impulsive!
I love when I get a new idea, or a revelation on a novel I'm working on and I just have to get to a computer or notebook and write it down before it leaves me. Most awesome feeling in the world. ALWAYS have something to write on and with on you at all times. 15. Don't be afraid to see the adventure in a challenge.
I love a good challenge. I love when someone tells me I can't do something. It just makes me want to succeed even more. 16. Because failure is only one moment before success. Failure just means you are taking risks and trying. How will you know you can do something if you don't try it first. I don't want to live with any more regrets in life. I did it far too long. 17. Don't be afraid to alter your process.
As writers, if we get stuck, it's so important to do something different. Write the middle, write the end, try a different POV, a different tense, take a walk, get inspired. Do something to break through the block.
18. Sometimes, there won't be a "finished product." And that's ok.
Um, yeah, the 15 unfinished manuscripts on my computer tell me that. 19. Because creation can come from destruction.
I've taken thousands of words out of a manuscript and built it back up from nearly nothing. I've pulled them apart, sliced them in half, torn them to shreds. You can always start over.
Don't forget, if you're in the Tacoma/Seattle area I'm going to be doing a wine tasting and book signing on 6th ave. Click here for details.
Happy Pi Day, Happy Friday.
Song I'm digging this week: Arctic Monkeys, Do I Wanna Know
My debut year is over. Now what? Things haven't exactly worked out like I'd hoped. I'd hoped to have another book deal by now, but instead I find myself querying agents, continuing to revise manuscripts, and struggling to finish the current work in progress.
So, how am I going to make things work? Well, I'm waiting to hear back from one agent. Once I hear from her, I will decide what to do with Dissected. The ABNA contest is coming up in a couple weeks and if she rejects me by then, I think I'll enter that in the contest. If I don't hear from her by then, I'll enter An Unbalanced Line, which I'm currently revising.
Also...I told myself that if I didn't find an agent by the end of the year, I would self publish. I still want to do that, but I may wait until after the Amazon contest - see how far I get there. I think it is inevitable that I do it though. I think I've said before, I can't imagine waiting another two years for a book to be traditionally published. People who liked Never Eighteen will be saying, "Megan who?" by then.
That's where I'm at.
Wait to hear from agent
Enter ABNA
Finish WIP
Self publish
Yes, my plan is to do NaNo this year. What is NaNoWriMo you ask? It's a 30 day challenge to writers to write a 50k book in 30 days. Perfectly doable,right? It is, but it takes dedication. Oh, and 1667 words a day. Um, my plan was to finish typing up these revisions first. *cough* cue the tumbleweeds. I'm still hoping to do that. I have a couple days vacation ahead of me and I hope to clickity clack at the keyboard. But it's sunny. And there's a pool. And a casino close by. And cookie dough vodka. okay, I may be taking the ms and laptop out into the sun to get this motherf*@ker done. I think my NaNo project is pretty cool. It's a series I'm starting. It was a toss up between the two series I want to write, a dystopian, and this one. I asked opinions and this one won out. Not giving anything away. I think it's an original idea and I want to keep it that way.
Are you doing NaNo? Do you want to share your project? I've not signed up on the website yet, I'll do it tonight, but find me and lets connect.
Last week, talented and funny author Allison Dixon talked about her work in progress, Strings,
as part of a little "blog hop" tour. She then tagged five other authors. Yours truly being one of them, to do the same. The Rules: Answer these ten questions about your current WIP (Work In Progress) on your blog Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.
Okay, I'm going with Helen Landalf, who I met through the Elevensies, my fellow 2k12er, J. Anderson Coats, my co-prezzie for the Class of 2k12 Caroline Starr Rose, a friend I met a few years ago through the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest Hart Johnson and, hmmmmm...how about another fellow 2k12er who was just recently release, Kimberly Sabatini. Okay ladies. Bring it. Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing: What is the working title of your book?
I wasn't sure which one to talk about because you know, I have about a million manuscripts started, but I decided to go ahead and talk about the Revelations: Book One of The Divinity Chronicles. Where did the idea come from for the book? It's a combination of things. I'm actually take the first books I wrote, A superhero series, and morphing them into this dystopian series. So, it's kind of the same story but not. The characters are the same, but the story has become older and darker. What genre does your book fall under? Young adult dystopian fantasy. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? This is hard, something I've not really thought of for this book. Hmmm,
Danica: India Eisley
Mary: Jennifer Lawrence
Rachel: Chloe Moretz
Oliver: Garen Boyajian
Ian: William Mosely
Hazzard: Kodi Smi-McPhee
The Protector: Jeffrey Dean Morgan
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Oh good lord, I mentioned this was going to be a trilogy, right? Hmmm
After a bloody civil war between Paranormals and humans leaves her country in turmoil, one girl, living toward the bottom of the new caste system, finds she may be the key to bringing the Paranormals to their knees and peace back to her iniquitous nation. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I'd love to have this book published traditionally, but I'm not afraid to go the self published route if necessary.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Work In Progress means Still In Progress. The original manuscript took about 6 months I think. This one will take more I'm sure. It's on the back burner until I finish a revisions of an other book, but I'm definitely getting back to it soon. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Hmmm, not really sure. I've not really seen one like it. There are aspects of it I didn't give away in the summary. Not sure it's comparable, at least not to something I've seen before. Who or What inspired you to write this book? Originally it was my girls. I wanted to write a story with them as a couple of the characters. I've kept them in this version. They were friends in the original, I've made them sisters in this one, more to real life. I've changed their personalities to fit who they've become rather than to who they were when I first wrote the book, which was when they were very little. It's going to be very fun to write. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? It's kind of a superhero book. There's also a bit of a take on combing church and state, though in a very fantastical way. There will be adventure, intrigue, romance, everything. :)
This is the kind of rejection I can take. A nice one. One that gives feedback.
She didn't like my main character. She was too...bitchy.
The scene in the teen psyche ward was too heavy.
She did say I'm a talented writer. So there's that. I think I'll try a few more agents while I'm working on revisions of An Unbalanced Line and if I get no bites I'll work on another revision.
What are you working on right now? Get any good rejections you want to share?
Okay, Friday Scribbles
Next Pandora Song (the one on right now I hate, I'll need to "thumbs down it"): Muse Uprising
Book of the Week: The Belly Fat Diet By John Chatham. I read it for a job interview. I liked it. I'm trying it.
Movie of the Week: Snow White and the Huntsman. I've not seen it, but I'm wanting to and it just came out on DVD.
Quote of the Week: A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success.
~ "Bo Bennett"
Doesn't it make you feel good? I took a couple days away from my novel after finishing, and now I'm at the point where I'm reading it aloud, and I must say, I like it.
I did a lot of research, which a lot of people would probably say I'm crazy, but I like to get even the littlest details accurate. Of course this one took me on a google road trip from Jackson, MS to Abilene, TX, trying to find pit stops on the way. It was no easy task.
I also did a lot of football research. I mean, I know a lot about football, which is why I wrote a football story in the first place, but I didn't know names of passes, or anything about Powder Puff, or what a college coach does in the off season.
I like my characters voice, she's southern, but I don't use too much dialect to distract from the story. She's a bit feisty, she has kind of an attitude, which I hope doesn't make her unlikeable to others, but we'll see.
I already know there are things I have to add and cut, I figured many of those things out while rewriting the story. So I'm going to do my read, to revisions, then send it out to beta readers.
But really, so far I like it. It's always scary writing a book and wondering, is it good or is it crap.
I finally finished my rewrite of An Unbalanced Line. But I'm not done. I made some notes on the manuscript along the way, which I want to fix, then I print it out and read it aloud. Reading aloud helps me get the voice and dialogue right and it also is useful for finding little mistakes, typos, punctuation problems. Then I do revisions. The step after that, I get some beta readers. I usually pick four or five people. A couple readers, a couple writers, and I have one friend who is a writer and an excellent editor. After that, I do another set of revisions, then maybe another. I do as many as it takes to get it to a place that I feel is good enough to send to agents. How do you get feedback on your work? Who do you count on to give an unbiased opinion? Do you read aloud? I'm interested in other writer's process.
I'm deathly scared. I've sent another query out today. I'm sick to my stomach. I know the feeling will pass shortly, but I always feel this way after I hit the submit button.
For those of you who've not yet made it to the query process, let me give you a rundown. A query is nothing more than a one page letter. It should state book title, genre, and word count.
Then you need to summarize your book in a way that gives them a feel for your writing and makes it pop off the page.
Any credentials, list them. Of course first time writer don't normally have any, so there's that.
Lastly, you need to personalize the letter. Tell the agent why you chose to write to them. This tells them that you know who they are, what they represent, who they've sold.
That's it. You're done. Most of them don't want to even see a page of your work. They judge you on that one page letter, so you better make it good.
This is why I'm sick to my stomach. I think finding an agent is the hardest part of the business. Writing, awesome, revision, not as fun, but a necessary evil. Getting published? I only have one experience with that and it was less than two weeks. But it took me a long time to find an agent. Over a year for the superhero book, which is now being transformed into something else. Probably about six months with Never Eighteen.
Be prepared. Thicken your skin. You will get rejected. Don't take it personally, agents get thousands of queries a year, have piles of manuscripts on their desks to read, plus have to represent the clients they already have.
If you're getting ready or are already in the process, good luck. If you could send some good vibes my way too, I'd sure appreciate it.
...you're in the middle of writing a novel you think is different and new and the best thing since white chocolate, and no one will have ever thought up the idea, and then you come across a book (or a movie, or TV show) with the same general premise?
I do. I hate that.
After I wrote the superhero book, out came The Incredibles, Sky High, and Heroes.
Last year a book came out with the same subject matter as a book I wrote a few years back.
Then last week I found out there was a middle grade book with the same fantasy theme as one I just started writing!!!
The thing is, even though it's kind of annoying, it doesn't matter. Give two people or five or ten for that matter the same character, same setting, same plot line even and you're still going to get ten different manuscripts. No one will write the same story.
So next time you have that great next big idea, then find out someone's already writing it, don't get discouraged, don't stop, keep going. That other person and you can never write the exact same book. And hey, yours may be better. :)
It's been a long time since I've had to do this. I really didn't think I'd have to do it ever again. Yeah, right. A few weeks ago (3, maybe 4) I queried two agents I had met at the SCBWI Western Washington conference in April. (if write for children and you don't belong to SCBWI, you should join).
I've not heard from one. Which is understandable. She works for one of the biggees, and as we know agents are very busy.
The other, after I wrote him telling him what I had and what I wanted to work on, thought maybe we weren't a good fit after all, so he referred me to a colleague.
I wrote her about a week ago and she requested 20 pages. Well yesterday she wrote back and asked for the full manuscript. Some people think telling others something like this is bad juju, but I like to keep it out there because I know I'm not alone. I know there are others out there in the same boat and we need people to commiserate with.
So wish me luck, keep your fingers crossed, rub a clover, stick a rabbit foot in your pocket or whatever for me.
Well, blogger was down for a while yesterday and by the time it came up, I was deep into other things. So, it's Tuesday. I think I'll talk about writing today.
As you know (if you read me on a regular basis, which you should if you don't ;) I've just finished my first set of revisions on Cheesy, and am now working on my untitled dystopian. The problem, I have tons of book ideas, and I feel not enough time to write them all. Do you have this problem?
I've got at least three more YA started, a couple women's lit pieces, with one constantly on the brain, and of course, I have five shelved completed books I'd like to edit.
I'm excited about all of them. It's been hard to choose which to work on when. Of course, I needed a follow up to Mending Fences, and Lockdown apparently didn't cut it, so I tireless wrote Cheesy, and everyone so far is liking the dystopian, including my agent, so I've decided that should be the next project, but then which do I work on?
How do you decide which project to focus on? What you're hot on? What the market is calling for?
Do you choose the next project for yourself, or your audience? Discuss. :)
