Monkey Madness Monday: NaNoWriMo

Yeah, so, um, I didn't blog at all last week. It was a busy week. I was coming off of a marketing conference, then there was Halloween, and then, yes, NaNoWriMo started.

For those of you unfamiliar with that term, it stands for National Novel Writing Month. It is a personal challenge for writers to write a 50k novel in 30 days.

Crazy, I know.

The point is not to produce a quality novel, it is simply to produce. To write. And this is something I so desperately needed right now. It forced me to finish revisions I'd been dragging my feet on so I could start something new. Something I'd been excited about for a long time but not started because of aforementioned unfinished project.

You must be asking yourself, what's the point of writing trash? Like I said, the point is simply to write, but also, with revision, your work can go from trash to treasure. I wrote Never Eighteen during the 2008 NaNoWriMo and look where it is now. In fact they have a whole section on published NaNo works (disclaimer: I have no idea if these are self or traditionally published novel and therefore cannot speak for the quality of said novels).

Are you NaNoing this year? If so, how many words in are you? What are you writing about? What's your NaNo handle?

I'm just over 10k (this is sure to slow down now), I'm writing YA fantasy, Here's my profile if you want to buddy up.

It's almost NaNoWriMo and I'm going to barf

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. 

To find out more about NaNoWriMo click here.

Wednesday Writing: An Unbalanced Line

From my rewrite and now round of revisions. I'm typing them up right now. This is toward the beginning when my protagonist, Chelsea, loses her mom to cancer. Tell me what you think.

By the time the doctors found the cancer, it was already widespread so the attempts at chemo and radiation proved to be futile. They gave her four to six months. We had no family to speak of. Mom’s parents were long dead, having been taken from this earth by a crackhead mugger. I had no aunts and uncles on my mom’s side, as she was an only child. My parents divorced when I was six and my dad lived a couple states away along with his sister and my Grandma Frankie—that’s short for Francesa. My mom had lots of friends though, and they took turns coming in and helping out, along with hospice, but mostly my mom’s best friend, Suki,.

I felt so helpless as I sat by her side and watched her hair fall out, as she disintegrated in her own bed, as her body grew weaker and more frail by the day, then finally as she silently slipped out of consciousness. Her already labored breath would catch, and her chest would heave when it became too painful even to breathe. I slept when she finally died after just three months, and I was glad for it. I wouldn’t want to have watched her take her last breath.

     Upon waking that morning, I went downstairs to find Suki and an odd pair of undertakers in my living room. The first undertaker was just like the ones you see in the movies. His name was George and he was very tall and pale with dark hair and a deep voice. The other’s name was George too. I know, too weird. He was the comic relief. It was almost like watching a vaudeville act instead of the men who were going to take my dead mom’s body out of my house forever.

     I stared, numb and feeling as if I was watching a movie instead of standing there in my own life. Suki paid attention as the undertakers delivered their monologues and then went about their duties. I stood there for a long time and Suki just let me, staying quiet, occasionally walking by and patting my arm or rubbing my shoulder between phone calls and cleaning and such.  I finally sat down when the undertakers rolled my mom out on a stretcher in a big black plastic bag with a zipper down the front. They handed Suki some pamphlets as they left. I went to the door, peeked out the peephole and ran my hand against the smooth oak. I watched them load up the plastic bag that held my mom’s body. I watched the Georges climb into their death mobile and drive away, then went to my mom’s room. The air was suffocating and musty. The scent of decay lingered.

F³A: 2nd Rejection

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"


Happy Friday!

Full frontal

I'm using it as a metaphor (is that the right word? I can never keep them straight.) for the unveiling of  truth about what I've been feeling lately. It will seem like this all has nothing to do with writing, but in the end it does.

Call it whining, call it self pity, whatever, but I've had all these feelings bottled up and I'm tired of feeling them.

Day job. It's hard. I've taken on more than I was ever supposed to. There is really no title or job description for what I do. I should be making the kind of money a professional makes, but I don't. However, I do enjoy it, so there's that.

Relationships. Me and the BF broke up. I did the breaking up though I liked him a lot. I had my reasons. I thought we could be friends, then I saw him, and I realized it was too soon because it's still very raw with me in fact I'm tearing up right now as I'm writing this because I really didn't want to let the relationship go, but knew for my happiness I had to.

Health. I've been exercising. I've been riding bike, playing soccer (I did pull a muscle, but getting back into it slowly, been stuck playing goalie), and walking a lot. I've found that I dislike running greatly (trying to stay away from the "H" word). I may try it again, but truly I can't stand it. I eat well. Pretty well. I like pizza every once in a while. I like to go to wing night, but I eat salads every week day for lunch, fruit, yogurt for breakfast. I never eat chips or other crap, I don't drink pop.

Money, let's just say ugh. Looking for more work or that second book deal.

I have been a little self destructive lately. I won't elaborate, but every so often I get in a funk, and I stay there until I feel like my own life is out of my control. And it doesn't matter if I'm trying to do good things for myself, as well, the bad always wins out. Because of this, my writing suffers.

I've tried to work on my revisions every day, I hate not seeing the stars on my calendar, and I've done okay, but I'm not very motivated and I've not done enough. I've been so tired. Sometimes I feel like the writing world is leaving me behind.

I started fresh Sunday though. I upped my game. I'm being good to myself, going to take time for just me (and my kids, can't ignore them I guess, right :)). I'm walking longer, (not riding bike right now because of a faulty tube, which I need to take back but haven't had time and can't afford to buy new tubes right now). I'm going to look at the positive in the things I do and try to ignore the negative.


And I'm going to finish these damn revisions and get it submitted. I'm going to get this second book deal.

*breathes deep, does Tadasana pose*

Liking What You Write

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.

Done!

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.

F³A: I've not written in weeks...

I always tell myself, whatever you do, never stop writing. Even if you get stuck, even if it feels like work instead of your passion, yadda yadda yadda. But lately, with this rewrite, I've felt so unmotivated. Plus, I've been so busy with other life stuff, kids, house, day job, exercise, general laziness, I just haven't been able to get myself to open that manuscript.

Work has been so hard lately, and mostly I sit in front of computer all day, the last thing I want to do is get back on the computer. I was determined to write yesterday. I had a coffee date with a friend, and had brought my laptop with me to write after our date was over, yet by the time it was, I was fading, my brain was void of all activity and I went home and slept beneath the sun, which felt really good by the way.

I did give my friend 20 pages of the manuscript yesterday, hoping that when I get her feedback it might get me excited about the project again, but I don't know if that will work.

I honestly don't know what to do to get myself to open up that manuscript. Any suggestions?

Totally forgot it was Friday. Almost forgot the Scribbles.

Random iPod shuffle song:

Book of the Week: Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf. I've not read a mystery in a long time and I'd forgotten how much I love them. I love sitting on the edge of my seat, not being able to wait to turn the next page, not wanting to put the book down. Jennifer's book was not different. Awesome.

Netflix of the Week: I've not watched anything, not a movie, not a show, nope, not even the Olympics. Not a minute open for TV.

Quote of the Week: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” ~ Winston Churchill

Millions of things to do so little time

Pretty sure I forgot to post a monkey this week.

I've not blogged in a couple days because I've been so scattered going this way and that way, I've not been able to focus on one task at a time. Here's what I've needed/wanted to do the last few days.

• Edit a 2k12 video
• Study and play with Adobe Creative Cloud
• Consolidate my bills
• Write book reviews
• Look for some contract work to make some extra money
• Practice my new Photoshop and InDesign skills
• Work on my rewrite
• Work on gathering more agents to query
• Clean my house
• Mow my lawn
• Weed my gardens
• Spray my blackberry bushes
• Pick up the box of books I ordered
• Clean out my inbox
• Probably some other crap I'm not remembering.

Instead of any of those things, this is what I worked on last night:

And just saw someone gave me a dislike!! >:(
Oh well. Chaos isn't for everyone.

Okay, I'm going to try to maybe do one of those things *points above*. Enjoy your Thursday night.

Never Eighteen Half Year Birthday Contest!!!!!

First, let me say, it's been a wild ride. Never Eighteen has been selling pretty good, especially here in the Pacific Northwest where the book is set. But I've actually sold copies all over the world.

It started out tricky, as the night of my release party we had a major snow storm, which kept some people away. We also started a little early, so people could get home earlier, of course, this pissed others off. Also, a box of books didn't come in because of the snow. Luckily I had a couple boxes of my own in my car, but we still ran out. There were a couple other snafus, but I told myself, especially after hearing about the snow, it is what it is.

I've done 1 Skype school visit to Illinois, 3 library visits, 6 book store events, 7 interviews (not counting blog interviews), 14 school visits, and many more online events and had fun with every one of them.

I've lost an agent. I've struggled to write a second book. It took me over a year, which is unprecedented for me. I don't have a second book deal, nor do I have any foreign rights sold for Never Eighteen. I've spent just about every dime I have marketing Never Eighteen. Those are the frustrating things about the business.

I've met tons of cool readers, writers, librarians, bookstore owners, teachers. I love those connections so much.

And that's pretty much how my last six months have gone.

Okay, I've figured out the contest. For Never Eighteen's Half birthday I want you to tell me in the comments below, 6 things on your bucket list. I will pick the winner. What will you win? A signed copy of Never Eighteen, a CD of some of the songs on the playlist in the back of the book, and swag. Always swag!!!

photo by Charlie Wolf

Here are some of the things on my bucket list.

1. Take my kids to NYC
2. Go to Australia
3. Apologize to people I need to apologize to and welcome anyone who thinks I've wronged them to step forward and talk to me.
4. Thank all the people in my life you has helped me along the way.
5. Participate in a triathlon
6. Yeah, throw the big party.

Your turn. Six things on your bucket list.

Wardrobe issues and other irritations

So, this week Thing Two had not one, but not wardrobe issues at school. The first was a wardrobe malfunction. She got a tear in her jeans in a not good spot. I had to leave work, run to my house, grab a pair of jeans, run them up to her school, and go back to work. Today, a very rainy day, she slipped and fell and got all muddy. Once again I had to leave work, run home, find jeans, run them to school, before heading back to work.

I swear that kid is going to be the death of me. I would also swear that she has probably caused 97.8% of my gray hairs. She is lucky she is a wonderful kid and I love her so much, or I might give her up for adoption.

Another irritation. I went for a walk on the waterfront yesterday and I find an obstacle of sidewalk dog poop. I mean, really. Can you not tell your dog is taking a shit on the sidewalk? Yeah, I bet you can, but if you act like you don't see him doing it, you don't have to pick it up, right? Inconsiderate not only to the people walking down the path, but to your dog. You should be ashamed of yourself. If you don't want to tend to your pet's basic needs, you should not have a pet. Bad pet owner.

More irritation: lack of sleep. I can't get past it. I'm taking Melatonin now. It seems to help me fall asleep, but I still wake up early and sometimes (most the time) can't get back to sleep.

Also, having a brilliant book idea while I'm struggling through revisions. sigh. I NEED TO FINISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's driving me nuts. I've given myself a deadline of the end of this month, and I honestly am not sure if I'm going to make it.

More irritation, sore legs. I started a running training class. Why you ask? Because I've always hated running, but I've always wanted to like it. It makes my lungs burn, my legs hurt, and makes me cough for hours. SO, I want to learn. My friend Alexa has been trying to talk my into starting her class, so I did. I had my first lesson on Tuesday. My legs hurt. Don't get me wrong, I know it will be worth it in the long run, but right now I'm in pain.

Now here's a bit of luck, I was about a centimeter and a second away from being crapped on by a crow.

Happy Thursday everyone. I'm treating myself to a pedicure and a night out with friends. Tomorrow, vacation!!!!

Turbulant Tuesday...um, I mean Friday

Yeah, I started this post on Tuesday. Um, little behind on the blogging this week, so without further ado...

Rewrites. My beta readers are coming back with their critiques. They're all very good, but now I'm finding it hard to breathe. Revisions, rewriting, reading a book yet again. You start to hate your own work when you've read it so many times. I'm not there with Sliced yet, but I'm sure it's coming soon. I just want one rewrite then I want to submit it.

I think it's good, but it needs some work. I think I'll just post some of it here. Right now. Total spontaneous idea. Tell me what you think. Or don't. :)

One morning when I was six-years-old, I woke up and found my mom’s telescope leaning against the wall. I remember looking around to see if I was in the right room because my mother never let me touch the thing. I climbed out of bed, walked over to it and stared for a moment. It seemed so big to me at the time, and gleamed shiny silver. I reached out and touched it—just with my index finger. I was afraid at any moment my mom would burst in and yell at me for touching her precious conduit to the stars. Nothing happened so I stroked it with my hand as if it were a kitten. Smooth and cold, I liked how it felt under my skin. My mom looked through it every night. If I asked nice and she was in a good mood, which was almost never, she’d let me, too.

I wondering again why my mom’s most prized possession was leaning against my bedroom wall. Then I saw the box. On my desk. It was my pre-school pencil box, pink with different colored flowers and Hello Kitty. I was afraid to open it, as if something horrible would jump out. I caressed the telescope again then decided nothing scary could probably fit in a Hello Kitty pencil box, so I opened it. There wasn’t much inside—her sparkly pink costume jewelry I thought was so beautiful back then, a few pictures of her and me. I don’t think I’d remember what she looked like without those pictures. I often considered burning them in effigy. The box held a letter, too. It said, Sorry, Sydney, but mommy isn’t happy. She has to go find joy. When I find it, I’ll be back. She didn’t sign it, there was no I love you, she. didn’t even draw a heart, or add any xo’s. And she never came back—which means maybe she never ‘found joy’ which is the only gratification I get from her abandonment—and of course the telescope, which took me exactly four years to the day to pick up and use.

Friday Scribbles:

Random Pandora Song: Break Even by The Script

Netflix of the week: Gray's Anatomy Season Seven. I just watched a musical episode. I love when shows do that.

Book of the week: I'm going with Scarlet by AC Gaughen and Lethally Blonde by Patrice Lyle, both are fellow 2k12ers and both release on Valentines Day

Quote of the week: I've been thinking a lot about relationships lately, so I'm going with this one “How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being." ~ Oscar Wilde

Monkey Madness Monday

I could not help but share this video for Money Madness Monday.  My friend Donna posted it to my Facebook last week and every time I watch it, I crack up.

Had a very busy weekend.  Lots of soccer.  Met my Harbingers of Doom for coffee at Elliott Bay Books.  Met my friend Jarucia for appetizers and drinks.

Other stuff happened, but I think that's better suited for a vlog.

Worked on my rewrite of Sliced.  The name is very apropos for what I'm doing to this novel.  I think I'm going to have to do another revision after the rewrite, I'm not sure how the flow is working with all the hacking I'm doing.  I think it will be an interesting novel when I'm finished though.

I'm still not able to comment on your blogs, so I'm sorry.  I'm reading them, I promise.

Happy Monday.

F³A: Seclusion

Okay, first off, who likes the new blogger look?  I'm trying to use it, but I think I prefer the old.  Why does everything have to change?  I fear change.

Okay, I'm in seclusion.  I have tons of work to do.  Put swag packs together, write 5 million postcards, send arcs, work on a discussion guide, make lists, and hopefully, some revisions.

I have three days. (I did a little last night, but I also made a video and had a 2k12 twitter chat last night, plus I was pooped)  I'm thinking with very little distraction (I am going to move away from the computer soon). I should be able to get most if not everything done.  Oh yeah, and I'm going to visit a couple bookstores and the library here and drop off some book marks.

That's it.  I have too much to do today.

Friday Nibbles. (I don't like the name nibbles, anyone got any other ideas?)

Random Pandora Song: Shattered by O.A.R.

Book of the Week: OyMG by Amy Dominy, yes I haven't finished yet, I've not had a spare moment to read.  I think I'll try to read this weekend to.

Netflix of the Week: Monk.  Still enjoying phobic, OCD Adrian Monk.  I have five seasons left.

Quote of the Week: "I have found that some people are meant to stay in your life while others you have to let walk away." ~ Cari of Cari's Book Blogs

I have been thinking about this myself this week, so when she posted it today, I had to share.

Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone!!