Here comes June~

June National Novel Writing Month that is! 

I've got my outline mostly ready. (You never quite know about those last few chapters, if the beginning will actually take you to that ending, but it's enough to get started.) I wondered about what I should do for a long time. 

It's been in the back of my mind for months actually...what will I do for JuNoWriMo?? But an idea finally struck me that I like very much and I always try to write what I think will be the most fun for me. It's a return to my old fantasy roots, very much inspired by my Storyteller Series and various short stories I've written over the last few years. 

The working title is Troll Teeth and Other Bedtime Stories. 

Fun huh?

I always thought this was the best cover. I still love looking at it. :)

Makes me want to read Storyteller again.

Anyway, I may be a little scarce on the blog next month, but I wanted to leave all my #JuNoWriMo peeps with some wise words I recently heard from an orthodontist. Yes, a wise orthodontist. The message applies to those of my peeps who are not writing a novel in June as well. 

Here's the story~

My daughter recently got braces. If you've never had braces, you may not know how important it is to keep your teeth super clean while wearing them. If you don't, you can get lots of cavities and white spots on your teeth that will never go away. My daughter's orthodontist wants to be sure his patients understand the risks of not brushing well so he sits down with each one and has "the talk".

Now this orthodontist isn't like other dentists I've know that just lecture you. He's more of a life lesson kind of guy and this is what he said:

Effort = Success

or more exactly:

The amount of Effort = The amount of Success

It applies not only to brushing your teeth, but to a lot of things in life. The more you persist in your efforts, the more rewarded you will be, even when things get tough or boring or tedious. He called it the "messy middle". You're all excited when you start something new, but then you get to the middle and gets hard to keep going, even when you know you should. He compared it to getting through high school or college, but it made me think of writing books. 

He asked:

Have you ever heard someone say "I wish I never graduated from college"? "I wish I never graduated from high school"? or if you're a writer like me "I wish I never wrote that book and published it"? 

No, because the rewards are awesome once you've achieved your goal. But in the middle, it gets hard.

Don't quit. 

Don't even think about it.

You're a superhero.

You can do it.

Peace~

#MondayBlogs on Reading and Writing~

2014 has been a very busy year for me in terms of reading and writing. I did the JuNoWriMo challenge, the August writing challenge, and the September writing challenge. Whew!

JuNoWriMo was the toughest. It's essentially the same "write 50,000 words in a month" goal as NaNoWriMo. And I succeeded. I wrote a complete rough draft of a steam punk, archaeological adventure story. It still needs a lot of work, but I'm basking in the achievement anyway. I've never been able to complete NaNoWriMo before, probably because of the time of year. In June, my kids are out of school and I have more free time than in November.

When I realized the difference, I thought maybe I should make better use of my summer for writing? I started another new book in August and worked on it through September, with the help and encouragement of the folks at Writing Challenge.org . Their challenge is a little less rigorous - 500 words a day. That manuscript is still under construction, but it's at least 30,000 words already. Maybe by the end of 2014, I will have written 100,000 words? Exciting!

 

 

I've been feeling the past few years like I haven't been reading enough fiction, so I also signed up this year to read 20 books on Goodreads, another challenge. In all honesty, I'm behind on my goal (12 out of 20 so far) and I might not make it, but I've read some good books so I consider it a success too. If you want to see what've I've read recently, check out Goodreads and friend me there.

 

I was comparing and contrasting what I've enjoyed and what I haven't, trying to understand what works for me and what doesn't and pin pointing exactly "why".

 

Here's what I've found I like: overcoming adversity, seemingly unrelated stories that eventually relate, mystery, love/romance, fantastical elements, humor, strength of character, gothic creepiness, and the gothic/steampunky time period.

My reading dislikes: random gross elements for shock value, characters telling me what's happening without telling me how they feel about it, and stories with a complete lack of any characters with redeeming qualities.

 

I've read "adult" and "young adult" and come to the conclusion that the difference between the two is not the sophistication of the subject matter, but the general outlook. Young adult is usually more hopeful. Adult can be too, but sometimes it tends toward a more dour or realistic outlook. I myself tend to gravitate toward the hopeful end of the spectrum, which is probably why I write ya. I read and write to be delighted and entertained.

 

What do you like to read and why?

 



Here I go again~

It's August. Another month with 31 days,beginning and ending on a weekend. The other thing about August is it's my last month of summer without a lot of the familial obligations that come along with the school year. Why is this important? Because I was so inspired by JuNoWriMo (the 50,000 words in a month challenge) I've decided to do it again in August.

I've spent July outlining several books and settled on one to start writing. The working title is Crawdad. I know, I know! I haven't even typed up the entire book I wrote in June, but that can wait till winter. Editing can be done in short bursts, a bit here, a bit there. I've found I rather like writing a first draft in a focused, short timeframe. I'm not exactly sure if the result is any good, but I know it's far easier to fix a rough draft than a blank page. I figure if I can get another draft knocked out now, I can spend the school year fixing them and have something ready for submission next spring.

So here I go! Deep breath! Diving into my next story starting today. I may not blog much for the next month. I'm so far behind on my Goodreads reading goal I'll never catch up. But never mind all that! I gotta write! ~See you in September~

July is here!

July is here. July means many things: hot weather finally, my birthday, and this year it means the end of #JunNoWriMo - June Novel Writing Month.  I think I actually did it this time too. I've participated in NaNoWriMo before, knowing at the start I wouldn't finish the book I was working on, but this time I think I did it. I had to give up a lot to write 50,000 words in a month. I had to give up reading anyone else's fiction. I gave up my morning yoga time to write instead, which proved to be the best time for me to get some peace and quiet. I gave up some of my lunch hours too. I say I "think" I've done it because technically I don't know my word count, but I filled up 250 pages in a notebook, so it's probably close. I also got to write the words "The End" and I don't do that till a story is ended, so for me, that seals the deal.

Is it a masterpiece? a best seller? Probably not, but it's a rough draft and I can work with a rough draft, polish it up until it shines.  Therefore, I declare July is the month of reading, typing, editing, and outlining my next projects. It's also the month of exercise because I let that slip in June too. And it will be a month of introspection. Maybe I want to write my books this way from now on? I'm not sure, but I know I sure enjoy "instant" gratification (or at least quicker).

No word on The Color of Water yet, but I reread my query the other day and thought "dang! that's good!" What publisher wouldn't want that? :) They just haven't gotten to it yet.

K peeps~ July is here. Gotta get busy! Check you later!

The more I write…

I’ve been wrapped up in JuNoWriMo this June – a challenge to write 50,000 words in a month. I haven’t read any fiction, or edited any manuscripts, or even really typed up anything. I’ve barely blogged. All I’ve done is write long hand in my purple notebook. Now it’s June 23^rd and the end is nigh. When I figured out that 50,000 in a month = approx. 1,667 words a day, I made that my small goal. For me, I figure that’s 6-7 pages a day. I just focused on getting those 7 pages a day and put the big total word count out of my head. Now the story is closing in on its final climax. The main character is at her lowest point, wondering which way to turn. How will she ever get out of this? Luckily, I think I have a plan, but I can’t let up now with just a few days left to go.

I’ve written six books now- nearly seven- with outlines planned for more. I was musing on all my past projects and I realized I really do love the first draft stage the best. To me, there isn’t a better thrill than just throwing words on paper, when my creativity level is at its highest. I love those little ah-ha moments when I figure out a plot point or I write something particularly profound (in my opinion) or touching that moves me. I think I’ve finally learned how to turn off my inner editor in this stage and just enjoy the fun of it all.

Well, book number seven isn’t technically done yet, so I’d better get back to it.  I wish you all Happy writing~