Blog Neglect = Writing Deadline

I realized that I hadn't posted here in a while...and there's a very simple explanation for my absence; I'm finishing up Bad Blood! It's due in September, so I'll be back then with lots of posts about the Among the Shadows Anthology and general writer-ness. See you then! :-)

My First Ever Panel & Writing Summer Flings!

So Sunday is my first panel and I'm really excited. If you're in Chicago, head down to the Printer's Row Lit Fest. Here's the details:

June 9th (Sunday) - Printer's Row, Chicago 10am
Panelist - The First Chapter: Debut Children's Authors
Located - 525 S. State Street - University Center/Park/Foundation Room - Printer's Row neighborhood on the blocks surrounding Dearborn and Polk Streets.

Also, the blog topic this week is:

Have you ever written a summer fling? Or are all your fictional relationships the deep, forever kind? If you did write one, how would it begin (the meet cute)? Where would it be set? Give us a few paragraphs sample.   


I am horrible at romance, and have never written a summer fling...or a fling of any kind for that matter. I feel my romance turns out all soap-opera-y and I think romance should be left to others. What about you all, have you written a summer fling...would love for everyone to post a sample!

The Blog Chain – Too Many Smiles

The Blog Chain Topic this week is:

What are your "go-to" scenes or phrases? You know, the ones you have to remind yourself NOT to use too frequently? What do you do to keep yourself from being overly reliant on them?                                          

While I don’t have any “go-to” scenes, I definitely have go-to facial expressions…as in smiling. When I’m in the early rough draft stages of my writing, I always use smiling as a filler reaction/action/expression.

 

For example:

She looked at him with a sad, tight smile.

“It’s not what you think,” he said with a friendly smile.

She smiled bravely. “I know…it’s just…”

He took her hand and offered her a smile. “I had to do it.”

 

Okay, so that’s an over-the-top example (from a soap opera perhaps?) but you get the idea. I always have to back in and make sure people aren’t smiling so damned much, cause really, if you think about it, it’s kind of creepy.

I think it’s easier to edit out your “go-to” words and phrases then to try and banish them altogether. In edits you can more clearly see a scene and work in what people would actually do in a situation.

That’s all for now, (she said with a smile.) J What are your go-to scenes or phrases?

 

Keep following this topic on the chain and check out Michelle’s blog on Monday, or look back at Katrina's post from yesterday.

 

The Blog Chain - The Balancing Act

I'm so lucky to have joined an awesome group of bloggers that post about various writing topics. The blog chain follows the same topic for two weeks, through ten different blogs, then starts all over with a different topic! I'll be posting bi-monthly, every other Friday.

And my first ever blog chain topic is…(drum roll please)…

The balancing act. How do you balance your writing time with everything else in your life--including, kids, job, book promotion

This one is a tuffy. Before I became a full time writer, I wrote when I could. Usually on weekends and on my lunch break. Now that I’m a full time writer I feel that writing needs to come first, especially when I’m on a deadline. I’m not going to lie, sometimes other aspects of my life suffer, including but not limited to: laundry, changing out of my pajamas on any given day, seeing friends and family, and remembering to eat. I don’t have children, so don’t worry, I’m not a neglectful parent, although I do rely on my husband a little more than is fair to take care of our dog.

I’m trying to get out of the bad habit of shutting out the world when writing/editing. I’ve actually got myself on a schedule now which helps me fit everything into a day, including meals and time spent outside the house. Although writing still comes first I make sure to set aside time for other things as well. Hopefully when my book two edits come in, I won’t become a hermit again, but I’m not making any promises. J

Want to read more on this topis? Follow the chain and check out yesterday’s blog post with Sandra. The next stop on the blog chain is Monday with Michelle.

Okay guys…how’d I do on my first ever blog chain post?

Woohoo 2013!

So 2012 was pretty awesome. I finished writing IN THE AFTER, wrote a first draft of book 2, plotted out a 1.5 novella, joined two awesome writers groups, and in non-author related stuff, got married!

But 2013 should be twice as great. My book is out June 25^th and I don’t think anything can beat that (ummm…don’t tell my husband I said that J )

As a debut author, I get to read a lot of ARCs…books that won’t hit the shelf until later this year and a few that will be out very soon (more on that on Wednesday.) So I can’t really do a looking forward to debut list, because I’ve read so many I was looking forward to.

A few new books in a series that I’m psyched for are:

 

 

What books are you looking forward to in 2013?  

Writing vs. Editing

I just turned my first draft of book 2 in last week and am happy to have a few days off before I dig into editing. I learned A LOT from editing the first book, and where as editing used to be really intimidating, I’m looking forward to starting my book 2 revision.

I know some people absolutely hate editing and some people love it. How do you feel? Is editing harder than writing?

Also, IN THE AFTER is now available for pre-order on Barnes& Noble so check it out! J

 

Finishing Up Book 2!

I'm working on finishing up book 2 for my November 1st deadline so I'm going to be out of commision for the next two weeks. I'll be back Monday, November 5th (probably after sleeping for five days straight).

I'll still be around on twitter and commenting on blogs though, so if you spot me, yell at me to get back to work :) 

In the Home Stretch(ish)

I’m now on part three of the three part book two. It feels really amazing to have book two almost completed. I know (just like with In the After) they’ll be edits, line edits, copy edits, galley pages, and a million other things I have to do before it’s ready, but right now it feels really good to have a story on paper (or more accurately, on monitor).

Where is everyone at with their WIPs?

I’m still over at @TheClassof2K13 on twitter today, so come check us out.

Back Friday!

 

Books That Made Me Want to Write

Thank you all for being so supportive, I’ll definitely have more next week on my submission journey. Until then, I wanted to share some of the books that made me want to be a writer.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis – This is one of the first chapter books I ever read. I actually ended up reading it once a week for my entire third grade year. I was so intrigued by that world, and actually also adored The Magician’s Nephew one of the more overlooked Narnia books that tells the story of Narnia’s creation. This book gave me my love of reading.

Sabriel by Garth Nix – Whenever I think about this book, I get goose bumps. The world and the characters are so vivid, it makes you think of them as real. The idea of different levels of death and someone being able to control spirits through bells…how did Nix think this up? This book made me realize what I could achieve with my overactive imagination.

The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer – I made myself read this book a chapter a day, not wanting it to end. The pacing is perfect. There is such a sense of place, Farmer meshes modern day Africa with a futuristic world. This book made me think of putting old ideas with new ones, folklore with the future.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood – I read this book in fifth grade…a little young for the subject matter, but I fell immediately in love. Although I was just a girl, and didn’t understand all the gender issues at the time, it spoke to me. The world Atwood created was so bleak, so dark, but I could just imagine our country going that route. This book made me understand the importance of believability, even in dystopian fiction.

Those are a few of the books that made me want to write…what about you guys?

About Writing YA – Word Choice

I am a dork. I have always been a dork. I love sci-fi and fantasy. I still watch Star Trek reruns (yes, any season, that’s how big a dork I am.) I collect comic books. I can tell you which robots come from which movies. I am a dork.

Here’s the problem…teens don’t say dork anymore. I don’t think they did even when I was a teen (not that long ago.)  In my manuscript I said dork, dweeb and a couple of outdated words from the 80’s…not sure why, as I was a little kid then.

I had to face the facts, as much as I like being a self-proclaimed dork, using it in my manuscript was a no no. I needed to freshen up my dialogue so I substituted words like tragic and freak. I even discovered that douche-bag is coming back into style, though for the life of me I don’t know why.

I realize this makes my manuscripts sound a bit negative, but really it’s not. My positive words were fine, even made one up, but I was having trouble with the few instances that I needed characters to be, well, a little mean.

So what do teens say instead of dork? What positive slang do they use? I’m curious what you all think, especially those of you who are teens or have teenaged kids.

Places I Know

I was watching a movie partially set in Edinburgh (no, it wasn’t Trainspotting) and I realized I could name all the streets the actors were walking on and had been in a fair amount of the buildings. I know that city so well, not only because I lived there, but because I loved living there. It got me thinking about place when writing.

My YA novel, In the After, takes place in an unnamed city that greatly resembles Chicago. Some of the street names are the same, as well as a park near my house. Although it is meant to be an “every city,” I think basing it on the city in which I lived helped me visualize the action a bit better.

What are some of the places you know? Places that are a part of you. Here are mine; they’re all cities, but yours don’t have to be.

Miami (where I grew up)

Edinburgh (where I love to be)

Chicago (where I’ve made my home)

What about you? How do you all utilize place in your writing?

What I Need When I’m Editing

I think an important part of editing (and writing for that matter) is having a space that is yours. It can be your favorite comfy chair, your desk, your home office, but you need to make sure the conditions work for you.

I can write/edit with music blaring, my boyfriend yelling at a football game, the phone ringing, dogs barking…noise just doesn’t bother me. I’m able to tune all that out, but I do need easy access to snacks. It’s sad, but no matter where I’m writing, I have a glass of water to my right and a bag of twizzlers (or other candy) to my left. I know this sounds crazy (and I don’t always eat the candy…okay, who am I kidding, I do) but just having these things around makes me able to focus on the task at hand.

I have a laptop and I work better on the couch then at my desk. I like to be comfortable so I can “zone into” my work. I think a big part of buckling down and writing or getting around to that edit is making yourself happy in the space that you have.

Tomorrow – Tips on Self Editing

Read, Read, and Read Some More

So you want to be a writer. You joined a critique group, took writing classes, and attempted to sell your soul to the devil to get published. You're on the right track...well, except for the soulless part. One more suggestion...read.

So, say, just off the top of my head, you want to write YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, you have read everything you can get your hands on in the genre. You don't have to love every book, but think about what works and what doesn't. The more you read, the better your writing will be. I've read books and wondered, "How did this get published?!" then gone back through my writing to make sure I haven't made the same mistakes.

Next week (after the holiday) I'll go through the process of getting an agent, starting with queries. There's a ton of info on queries out there, but I'm going to break it down. Soon you'll grab an agent's attention and be on the road to becoming published.