Like most beginning writers, I work a day job so that I can continue to write without worrying about pesky things like paying the bills. It's not something I particularly enjoy doing. First of all, it involves customer service, and those of you who have been in customer service know how annoying that can be. People tend to be even more stupid than you originally think.
Next, I work in a registry. That means that I do things like issue drivers licenses, car registrations, marriage licenses, birth certificates and lots of other things that people associate with government buildings and long lines. Except that in Alberta Registries are privatized, so I don't actually work for the government. I don't get any of the benefits of a government job, but still have to deal with things like fines on accounts that people don't want to take responsibility for and getting yelled at for policies and laws that I obviously had nothing to do with getting them put in place.
It's not horrible either. I've worked some pretty bad jobs, especially in the years where I didn't know what I wanted to do. Those years were a string of bad jobs while I settled on five different career choices I could have before moving on to another one.
Still, if there's one thing I've learned over the last year and a half, it's that I want to be a writer. I'm never happier than when I'm writing my current project. Even editing, tedious as I may find it, leaves me at least with a feeling of accomplishment. I'm sure that my family probably thought it was going to be a temporary idea of a career path when I first started on this journey, just like all of the other ones. The thing is, this is the first thing I've found that I can actually see myself still doing in three years, ten years, even when I'm old and ready to retire. This is what I want to do.
Unfortunately, writing isn't one of those careers that you can throw a resume at, hope for a good interview than work your way up. Instead it takes spending a lot of time on a manuscript, query letter, tag line and synopses. It requires you to send out this project that is basically you baring your soul to complete strangers and praying that they like it as much as you do. It means getting rejection letter after rejection letter until you find the right fit with an agent, publisher or even just deciding that you would rather self publish.
It's a grueling process that not everyone can get through, and I sometimes wish that I could find something easier to do with my life, but I know that this is what I want to do.
For example, last Wednesday there was an incident that brought down nearly all of the systems that we use at the registry. We thought it would be up the next day, but in fact we didn't get up and going until yesterday morning. That means that I basically had 5 days where I was either off or worked shorter hours.
I was worried about the money at first (we worked it out in the end, so I'm not worried about it anymore.) but that was until I realized how I was actually feeling about this break. I used the extra time to write, to plan and to edit. I basically buried myself in the writing process, and by the end of the day on Monday, I was in a great mood. I mean, I don't remember the last time I was in this good of a mood.
Going back to work on Tuesday and working 10 hours took away from that feeling, but now that I've had the tiniest taste of life where I'm not working two full time jobs making sure that my bills are paid while still doing all the writing I can, I know that this is all I want to do. I want to be published. I want to make enough money to survive off of writing. I don't want to have to dread going into work every single day for 8 hours, just to feel too drained to do anything when I get home.
While I can't rush the process of writing, I can commit to it. I will be published one day. Eventually you're going to see D.C. Menard on the shelf at your local bookstore, and I'm going to be able to go down to part time or even quit, and then I think I will be pretty damn happy.
Showing posts with label query letters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label query letters. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
So Little Time
My goal, as can be seen by looking at my progress before section, is to have The Commons to a completed second draft so that I can send out to my beta readers by the fifteenth. That's a whole nine days away, and guess how far I am from finishing it?
If you guessed not anywhere near close, you were right! I'm stuck around chapter 22 (in which I have to rewrite the first scene) of 35. In the last two days I've barely gotten anything done. It's a sad fact for me to admit, as I was actually planning on doing at least two chapters a day. Of course, I was hoping to be done a bit early so I could take one more look over it and see if I missed anything, but that's definitely not going to happen now.
Nine days and thirteen chapters. Which means I no longer have time to procrastinate. I can't let myself get distracted by all the shows I want to watch. I don't have the time to waste, anymore. If I do get distracted, I'll end up missing my deadline. And that's not something I'm willing to let happen. If I don't get my manuscript out to my betas on time, then they wont get it back to me on time. If I don't get it back in time, then I can't use the feedback to go through it one last time and start sending out queries.
It's the domino effect, writer style.
Now, I suppose you're asking: 'What does it matter if you get your queries out on time?'. That's a very good question to ask. The answer is, I was really hoping to do both Camp Nano sessions being held this year. I also need to plan out the novels I'll be writing during nanowrimo. If my editing isn't done, and if the queries aren't sent out, then I have to sacrifice one of those things.
In June I'll be taking part in the first session of Camp Nano, where I'll be writing Pandora, I book that I was supposed to write about a month ago. Procrastination got the better of me then too, and I only managed 25,000 words in the time I should have been able to write 100,000 words. I've been trying to figure out a way to get motivated when it's no nano...but that's another post.
The point of the matter is, I've already put off writing this novel once. I can't do that to the characters again. They've been awfully patient while I've been editing. Mostly because I promised them that I would be finishing their story in June. I'm afraid of what would happen if I tried to put it off again. There might be a riot.
In August, I'm hoping to write The Techs which is the second book in The Commons series. I've just barely begun to plan it, but I already have a bit of the story line going on, so I'm getting excited. Of course, I don't want to write the novel until I'm completely done editing the first one. I'm a little too wary of the changes that I could make which would mean far more work in editing the second one. I've done that once, and I'll never do it again.
In August I'll need to write about 100,000 words. I'll have even less time to work on the novel which should, by then, be completed.
After that comes the planning for the three novels I'm going to be writing during nanowrimo. Yes, three. I'm a little crazy like that. I'll only have two months instead of the planned three.
All of this means that I only have so much time to get my editing done. I only have so much time to get my queries out. And I don't have time to be acting like I have all the time in the world.
Nine days to finish thirteen chapters. It's going to be tight, but I think I can do it. What's my motivation? In November I'll be taking a trip down to San Francisco to go the The Night Of Writing Dangerously. And when I'm down there introducing myself to people, I don't want to tell them that I'm still working on the novel that I'm going to be sending out real soon. I want to tell them that I have queries out and waiting for responses. Or maybe, just maybe, that I found an agent
If you guessed not anywhere near close, you were right! I'm stuck around chapter 22 (in which I have to rewrite the first scene) of 35. In the last two days I've barely gotten anything done. It's a sad fact for me to admit, as I was actually planning on doing at least two chapters a day. Of course, I was hoping to be done a bit early so I could take one more look over it and see if I missed anything, but that's definitely not going to happen now.
Nine days and thirteen chapters. Which means I no longer have time to procrastinate. I can't let myself get distracted by all the shows I want to watch. I don't have the time to waste, anymore. If I do get distracted, I'll end up missing my deadline. And that's not something I'm willing to let happen. If I don't get my manuscript out to my betas on time, then they wont get it back to me on time. If I don't get it back in time, then I can't use the feedback to go through it one last time and start sending out queries.
It's the domino effect, writer style.
Now, I suppose you're asking: 'What does it matter if you get your queries out on time?'. That's a very good question to ask. The answer is, I was really hoping to do both Camp Nano sessions being held this year. I also need to plan out the novels I'll be writing during nanowrimo. If my editing isn't done, and if the queries aren't sent out, then I have to sacrifice one of those things.
In June I'll be taking part in the first session of Camp Nano, where I'll be writing Pandora, I book that I was supposed to write about a month ago. Procrastination got the better of me then too, and I only managed 25,000 words in the time I should have been able to write 100,000 words. I've been trying to figure out a way to get motivated when it's no nano...but that's another post.
The point of the matter is, I've already put off writing this novel once. I can't do that to the characters again. They've been awfully patient while I've been editing. Mostly because I promised them that I would be finishing their story in June. I'm afraid of what would happen if I tried to put it off again. There might be a riot.
In August, I'm hoping to write The Techs which is the second book in The Commons series. I've just barely begun to plan it, but I already have a bit of the story line going on, so I'm getting excited. Of course, I don't want to write the novel until I'm completely done editing the first one. I'm a little too wary of the changes that I could make which would mean far more work in editing the second one. I've done that once, and I'll never do it again.
In August I'll need to write about 100,000 words. I'll have even less time to work on the novel which should, by then, be completed.
After that comes the planning for the three novels I'm going to be writing during nanowrimo. Yes, three. I'm a little crazy like that. I'll only have two months instead of the planned three.
All of this means that I only have so much time to get my editing done. I only have so much time to get my queries out. And I don't have time to be acting like I have all the time in the world.
Nine days to finish thirteen chapters. It's going to be tight, but I think I can do it. What's my motivation? In November I'll be taking a trip down to San Francisco to go the The Night Of Writing Dangerously. And when I'm down there introducing myself to people, I don't want to tell them that I'm still working on the novel that I'm going to be sending out real soon. I want to tell them that I have queries out and waiting for responses. Or maybe, just maybe, that I found an agent
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Teaming Up
My multiple projects have been the subject of a couple of my posts now, and it seems that this one is going to be no different. Probably because I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed by how much work I've managed to create for myself. The fact that I actually want to add more projects to that list is really not the point. The point is that despite how much I have on the go, I have yet to get anything completed.
I'm not the only one with this problem. A friend of mine on twitter recently commented on a post a made. It was a random one about having to finish my critiques before going away for the weekend. She asked if I could look over some of her work, and I happily agreed (because I'm not nearly busy enough, I need to add a couple of more things to my schedule). She told me that she wasn't close enough to being finished right at that moment, but she would be eventually.
The conversation went on in that direction for a while until she said something about another twitter friend telling her she needed to actually finish a project. Pick one thing and actually focus on it. It was so close to my own situation where I just keep project hopping, and never really settling in to get one done, that I couldn't help but tell her I had the same problem.
Of course, us being the writers we are, this realization that we had the same problem when it came to our writing quickly escalated into us have Wonder Twin-Multitaskers Powers. Don't ask, it was late.
Anyway, while this may seem like nothing more than a random conversation, it was a lot more than that because of what came out of it: accountability.
I don't exactly have a great track record when it comes to being accountable to myself. I tend to let myself off the hook more often than not, and that leads to things like entire weekends being spent getting caught up on TV shows as opposed to writing the book I was already 40,000 words behind on (no...that book is still not finished. I no longer have and ETA on that, but I'm hoping eventually, as I have some serious plans for that series.)
Anyway, the point is, it was obviously not working. Finishing a project isn't the same as doing something like nano. There I have a chart I have to update daily, I have a word count goal that pretty much everyone in the city whose doing nano knows about. I have other people working toward that same goal (Yeah, okay, maybe not exactly the same...theirs might be just a bit lower than mine...) that I can compete with to keep myself going. Right now, though? Right now I have nothing to keep that motivation. And if I'm slacking on keeping myself accountable, nothing is ever going to get done.
That's where Moni comes in. Since she's been having the same problems as me, we've decided to team up. Create a system where we will be accountable to each other, and with any luck that will be what we need to get our projects moving forward again.
Of course, we haven't started yet. With travelling over the weekend and critique group, not to mention the fact that we're in different time zones, we've decided to try and get started on Tuesday. I'm hopeful that this will work. There's nothing more encouraging than knowing there's another writer out there working on their projects at the same time as you and struggling just as much with the same issues.
Come Tuesday we'll see if we can actually get our projects done. (I will be working on The Commons and getting it ready to be sent out, even though Pandora isn't done being written yet. I would love to spend all of my time in Jayne's world, but it's really not fair to characters and plots I've already started. Only once The Commons is out to beta readers will I allow myself to be pulled back into Pandora. Sorry Jayne.)
I will, however, be doing Camp Nano in June this year. I don't know yet if I will just be writing the end of Pandora or if I will be writing something new. I need to see how quickly I can get through my editing. Either way, though, I'm glad that I found another writer than can hopefully help me through the multitasking cycle of starting a new project without finishing the last.
I'm not the only one with this problem. A friend of mine on twitter recently commented on a post a made. It was a random one about having to finish my critiques before going away for the weekend. She asked if I could look over some of her work, and I happily agreed (because I'm not nearly busy enough, I need to add a couple of more things to my schedule). She told me that she wasn't close enough to being finished right at that moment, but she would be eventually.
The conversation went on in that direction for a while until she said something about another twitter friend telling her she needed to actually finish a project. Pick one thing and actually focus on it. It was so close to my own situation where I just keep project hopping, and never really settling in to get one done, that I couldn't help but tell her I had the same problem.
Of course, us being the writers we are, this realization that we had the same problem when it came to our writing quickly escalated into us have Wonder Twin-Multitaskers Powers. Don't ask, it was late.
Anyway, while this may seem like nothing more than a random conversation, it was a lot more than that because of what came out of it: accountability.
I don't exactly have a great track record when it comes to being accountable to myself. I tend to let myself off the hook more often than not, and that leads to things like entire weekends being spent getting caught up on TV shows as opposed to writing the book I was already 40,000 words behind on (no...that book is still not finished. I no longer have and ETA on that, but I'm hoping eventually, as I have some serious plans for that series.)
Anyway, the point is, it was obviously not working. Finishing a project isn't the same as doing something like nano. There I have a chart I have to update daily, I have a word count goal that pretty much everyone in the city whose doing nano knows about. I have other people working toward that same goal (Yeah, okay, maybe not exactly the same...theirs might be just a bit lower than mine...) that I can compete with to keep myself going. Right now, though? Right now I have nothing to keep that motivation. And if I'm slacking on keeping myself accountable, nothing is ever going to get done.
That's where Moni comes in. Since she's been having the same problems as me, we've decided to team up. Create a system where we will be accountable to each other, and with any luck that will be what we need to get our projects moving forward again.
Of course, we haven't started yet. With travelling over the weekend and critique group, not to mention the fact that we're in different time zones, we've decided to try and get started on Tuesday. I'm hopeful that this will work. There's nothing more encouraging than knowing there's another writer out there working on their projects at the same time as you and struggling just as much with the same issues.
Come Tuesday we'll see if we can actually get our projects done. (I will be working on The Commons and getting it ready to be sent out, even though Pandora isn't done being written yet. I would love to spend all of my time in Jayne's world, but it's really not fair to characters and plots I've already started. Only once The Commons is out to beta readers will I allow myself to be pulled back into Pandora. Sorry Jayne.)
I will, however, be doing Camp Nano in June this year. I don't know yet if I will just be writing the end of Pandora or if I will be writing something new. I need to see how quickly I can get through my editing. Either way, though, I'm glad that I found another writer than can hopefully help me through the multitasking cycle of starting a new project without finishing the last.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Ick
I had a blog post all planned out for today. I was actually looking forward to writing it, but something happened that completely changed what I wanted to talk about.
Most of you probably don't know this, but I don't get sick very often, and even when I do I actually find it hard to make myself call in sick to work. It's dumb, but I feel bad when I don't go into work, because all I can think about are the people at work being busy and I'm just laying in bed. It's horrible. Anyway, the point of the matter is, I'm sick.
Let me tell you about me trying to plan a novel while I'm sick.
I talk to my characters in order to figure out what's going on in the books I"m writing. Yes, I know, this makes me sound crazy. Nevertheless, this is the way I do things. Normally 'talking' to them consists of them showing me scenes or pictures that I interpret. Very rarely they actually speak. When I'm sick, though, that connection is a little like trying to watch television back in the rabbit ears days. If that's not bad enough, it's also when it was snowing outside, so the reception is terrible. The sound is gone, and even the pictures are fuzzy.
It's frustrating to say the least, and I'm pretty sure that even my characters are starting to feel it at this point. My poor Jayne Pheare is in complete distress, because I've been promising her that I would be seriously planning her story starting this week, but nothing that she's trying to tell me is actually getting through. (Though I did finally figure out her assassin name last night, thanks to Eric.)
Needless to say, it makes planning a novel rather impossible. I can sit with that notebook open in front of me for hours, and have Jayne yelling at the top of her lungs in the back of my head, and I still can't figure anything out.
This, of course, leaves me with a bit of a problem. As I said in my last post, my goal for having the first draft of Pandora written is the end of March. That means it needs to be ready to deliver into the hands of my critique group (at least the first chapter) by the second day of April.
How am I supposed to do that when I can't even plan right now? Planning takes much longer for me than the actual writing does, so right about now I'm actually beginning to freak out. Being sick was not in the plan! In fact, now is pretty much the worst time for me to be sick. I need this stupid cold to go away so that I can get back to the important things. Like writing down everything my character's trying to tell me about her story.
I suppose the best I can do it try and get better as fast as I possibly can so that I can have as much time as possible to get the planning done. I just hope that this one ill timed sickness doesn't completely set me back, because I plan to have The Commons in the hands of beta readers by the end of April, and querying it no later than the beginning of June.
Good luck to me.
Most of you probably don't know this, but I don't get sick very often, and even when I do I actually find it hard to make myself call in sick to work. It's dumb, but I feel bad when I don't go into work, because all I can think about are the people at work being busy and I'm just laying in bed. It's horrible. Anyway, the point of the matter is, I'm sick.
Let me tell you about me trying to plan a novel while I'm sick.
I talk to my characters in order to figure out what's going on in the books I"m writing. Yes, I know, this makes me sound crazy. Nevertheless, this is the way I do things. Normally 'talking' to them consists of them showing me scenes or pictures that I interpret. Very rarely they actually speak. When I'm sick, though, that connection is a little like trying to watch television back in the rabbit ears days. If that's not bad enough, it's also when it was snowing outside, so the reception is terrible. The sound is gone, and even the pictures are fuzzy.
It's frustrating to say the least, and I'm pretty sure that even my characters are starting to feel it at this point. My poor Jayne Pheare is in complete distress, because I've been promising her that I would be seriously planning her story starting this week, but nothing that she's trying to tell me is actually getting through. (Though I did finally figure out her assassin name last night, thanks to Eric.)
Needless to say, it makes planning a novel rather impossible. I can sit with that notebook open in front of me for hours, and have Jayne yelling at the top of her lungs in the back of my head, and I still can't figure anything out.
This, of course, leaves me with a bit of a problem. As I said in my last post, my goal for having the first draft of Pandora written is the end of March. That means it needs to be ready to deliver into the hands of my critique group (at least the first chapter) by the second day of April.
How am I supposed to do that when I can't even plan right now? Planning takes much longer for me than the actual writing does, so right about now I'm actually beginning to freak out. Being sick was not in the plan! In fact, now is pretty much the worst time for me to be sick. I need this stupid cold to go away so that I can get back to the important things. Like writing down everything my character's trying to tell me about her story.
I suppose the best I can do it try and get better as fast as I possibly can so that I can have as much time as possible to get the planning done. I just hope that this one ill timed sickness doesn't completely set me back, because I plan to have The Commons in the hands of beta readers by the end of April, and querying it no later than the beginning of June.
Good luck to me.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Time To Prioritize
I have never been someone that can have just one project going at a time. I get bored with it and start wondering off to do other things, such as reading or catching up on tv shows. (The fact that I do these things even when I have multiple projects on the go is completely besides the point...)
Anyway, I currently have about 6 projects on the go, each at a different stage of the writing/editing process. I have my Dangerous Waters, a fantasy novel that I wrote last year and didn't look at for a few months until we started critique group. I've also written the second novel, Changing Tides but as I haven't finished the edits on the first one, you can bet that I haven't even so much as glanced at the second one. Considering how many chapters I'm having to rewrite, or just add altogether, I'm actually a little afraid to find out how bad the second one is.
I have The Commons, a YA dystopian that is set in a world where more than three quarters of the population was wiped out in the fourth world war. The remaining people have separated into two societies. The Commons and The Techs. This novel is the one that I finished and thought 'I'm going to get this published.' I have absolute confidence in it and can't wait to test the waters and see what agents and publishers think of it. I currently have it going through critique group.
Wolf's Blood is an urban fantasy that I started writing with a friend some time last year. Unfortunately, we're both quite busy, so we've only managed to write a whole 5 chapters, but as we're still talking to each other I'm counting it as a success.
Since November I've had this idea for a book bouncing around in my head. It's about a werewolf assassin, and her name is Jayne Pheare (That's her real name, don't know her assassin name yet.) The book itself is, unfortunately, untitled. I have lots of work to do on it, as I'm still in the planning stages for this novel (including working out a brand new city for it with the help of my dear friend Eric) I'm very excited for this novel, but I just haven't had time to sit down and really connect with Jayne. (I have to say, she's being very patient. She only got annoyed that one time when I pulled out a brand new character and started paying attention to her...)
I also have two more collaborations in the works, but both are untitled and in the planning stages with only the bare bones placed, and not even nailed down yet.
This past week, though, I've had some time to think about these projects, and the priority I've been giving each. (This 'time' has been while at work, or travelling back and forth between different social engagements...not actual time that I had to sit down and plan or edit. Trust me, that's what I would have been doing if it was.)
Much as I love Dangerous Waters, lately I've been finding it harder and harder to concentrate on it. In fact, on more than one occasion, I've actually considered shelving it indefinitely. That there was just too much work that needed to be done on it to conceivably finish the series, and it's time to move onto greener pastures. I don't actually want to do that, though. I love the series, and I do think that it has some serious potential. But I've been so frustrated with it, I can no longer see the potential, all I see is a pile of crap that needs be thrown out.
In order to keep myself from doing that very thing, I decided that it's time to re-prioritize my writing projects. Instead of throwing two full manuscripts in the trash and walking away, I've decided that they should be shelved only for a little while. This will (hopefully) give me enough of a break from the project to clear my head and allow me to see what needs to be done without wanting to bang my head on a desk. Repeatedly.
Unfortunately, this leaves me with nothing to be working on so I can send out some queries, come May. In order to fill that, I've decided to pull The Commons from the critique group. This book is one that I'm actually quite excited about. I can see it on the shelves for sale, and I want it to get it out there. I'm hopeful that this is the right move, and I can't wait to finish editing the rest of the novel so I can start working on those queries.
That, of course, leaves me with an opening on what I'm sending into critique group. So I've decided that for the next month or so I'm going to have a strong focus on my Jayne Pheare book. (I can get a first draft written in about 10 days, but I have to have it completely plotted out, which takes quite a bit of work.)
As for my collaborations, those will stay the same. I can't just sit down and work on them all day, so I will do what I can when I can, as I have been doing thus far. I just hope that my next chapter for Wolf's Blood doesn't take me 4 months again...
Now I just need to get my critiques done so I can get on top of this planning. The goal is to have Jayne Pheare written in full by the end of march so I can get started on some serious edits for The Commons. Let's hope this works, because this is the Epic Year of Querying, and I need to start getting some work out to agents and publishers!
Anyway, I currently have about 6 projects on the go, each at a different stage of the writing/editing process. I have my Dangerous Waters, a fantasy novel that I wrote last year and didn't look at for a few months until we started critique group. I've also written the second novel, Changing Tides but as I haven't finished the edits on the first one, you can bet that I haven't even so much as glanced at the second one. Considering how many chapters I'm having to rewrite, or just add altogether, I'm actually a little afraid to find out how bad the second one is.
I have The Commons, a YA dystopian that is set in a world where more than three quarters of the population was wiped out in the fourth world war. The remaining people have separated into two societies. The Commons and The Techs. This novel is the one that I finished and thought 'I'm going to get this published.' I have absolute confidence in it and can't wait to test the waters and see what agents and publishers think of it. I currently have it going through critique group.
Wolf's Blood is an urban fantasy that I started writing with a friend some time last year. Unfortunately, we're both quite busy, so we've only managed to write a whole 5 chapters, but as we're still talking to each other I'm counting it as a success.
Since November I've had this idea for a book bouncing around in my head. It's about a werewolf assassin, and her name is Jayne Pheare (That's her real name, don't know her assassin name yet.) The book itself is, unfortunately, untitled. I have lots of work to do on it, as I'm still in the planning stages for this novel (including working out a brand new city for it with the help of my dear friend Eric) I'm very excited for this novel, but I just haven't had time to sit down and really connect with Jayne. (I have to say, she's being very patient. She only got annoyed that one time when I pulled out a brand new character and started paying attention to her...)
I also have two more collaborations in the works, but both are untitled and in the planning stages with only the bare bones placed, and not even nailed down yet.
This past week, though, I've had some time to think about these projects, and the priority I've been giving each. (This 'time' has been while at work, or travelling back and forth between different social engagements...not actual time that I had to sit down and plan or edit. Trust me, that's what I would have been doing if it was.)
Much as I love Dangerous Waters, lately I've been finding it harder and harder to concentrate on it. In fact, on more than one occasion, I've actually considered shelving it indefinitely. That there was just too much work that needed to be done on it to conceivably finish the series, and it's time to move onto greener pastures. I don't actually want to do that, though. I love the series, and I do think that it has some serious potential. But I've been so frustrated with it, I can no longer see the potential, all I see is a pile of crap that needs be thrown out.
In order to keep myself from doing that very thing, I decided that it's time to re-prioritize my writing projects. Instead of throwing two full manuscripts in the trash and walking away, I've decided that they should be shelved only for a little while. This will (hopefully) give me enough of a break from the project to clear my head and allow me to see what needs to be done without wanting to bang my head on a desk. Repeatedly.
Unfortunately, this leaves me with nothing to be working on so I can send out some queries, come May. In order to fill that, I've decided to pull The Commons from the critique group. This book is one that I'm actually quite excited about. I can see it on the shelves for sale, and I want it to get it out there. I'm hopeful that this is the right move, and I can't wait to finish editing the rest of the novel so I can start working on those queries.
That, of course, leaves me with an opening on what I'm sending into critique group. So I've decided that for the next month or so I'm going to have a strong focus on my Jayne Pheare book. (I can get a first draft written in about 10 days, but I have to have it completely plotted out, which takes quite a bit of work.)
As for my collaborations, those will stay the same. I can't just sit down and work on them all day, so I will do what I can when I can, as I have been doing thus far. I just hope that my next chapter for Wolf's Blood doesn't take me 4 months again...
Now I just need to get my critiques done so I can get on top of this planning. The goal is to have Jayne Pheare written in full by the end of march so I can get started on some serious edits for The Commons. Let's hope this works, because this is the Epic Year of Querying, and I need to start getting some work out to agents and publishers!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Two Months Already?
Yesterday I went to our first nano meet since November. Our group is awesome, as we don't like to wait an entire year to see each other, so we meet up once a month, except for December, when we're all pretty nano-ed out (and with Christmas, it makes it hard to find a time.)
Anyway, it was fantastic. While we didn't have quite the turn out that we have during November, I got to see more than a few people who I have been missing. And it hit me while I was there...it's been two months since I've seen everybody last.
Two months. Really? I don't know about you guys, but my Christmas is always busy. December is stuffed full of shopping that no one really wants to do, travelling that leaves you tired only to see the family for maybe two days before you find yourself back to reality and trying to get back into the swing of things. For me January was nearly as busy, with me trying to keep up on the ridiculous amounts of editing I have to do for my Dangerous Waters book, along with critique group stuff. And then losing my grandfather last week and having to drop everything I was doing to go down and see the family again.
These last two months have been crammed full. They were tiring, and in some cases not all that pleasant, and I should be glad to have them done. And I am glad. I was glad that I could see the people that I am quickly coming to see as my family. I was glad to be back in the atmosphere of a group of writers just wanting to get that book done. While there wasn't the competitive nature that there is during November, just being there and seeing those people helped to remind me that just because nano is over and everything is changing, doesn't have to mean that it's all bad.
Despite how busy I've been, though, when I was sitting in that restaurant yesterday, looking around at the room full of writers that have the ability (and have managed to do so in the past) to scare waitresses and make them worry about us, I couldn't help but think 'wait, it's been two months already'?
Two months since I wrote three novels (and I'm not even done editing the one I started before nano)? Two months since I've seen everyone. Two months where I've barely written anything!
It's sad, really, that all I've written since nano ended is a single chapter that I owed a friend for a collaboration I'm doing. I try to remind myself that I've been editing, but that's not really true, either. I've been procrastinating. I've been blogging (Which I love and wont stop doing. In fact, you can start looking forward to two posts a week instead of one, at least for next month). I've been critiquing. But I haven't been doing what I should be doing, at least not with the seriousness that I should have.
So as of right now, I'm going to set this goal for myself: I am going to finish Dangerous Waters by the end of April. (Beta readers allowing, of course.) I'm going to have a new book (thus far untitled) written before the end of July (To the first draft.) And I am going to update my blog twice a week.
To be honest, I don't know if I can do all of it, but I'm certainly going to try. Because if I don't take myself seriously and force myself to do the work, can I really expect other people to take me seriously?
Wish me luck!
Anyway, it was fantastic. While we didn't have quite the turn out that we have during November, I got to see more than a few people who I have been missing. And it hit me while I was there...it's been two months since I've seen everybody last.
Two months. Really? I don't know about you guys, but my Christmas is always busy. December is stuffed full of shopping that no one really wants to do, travelling that leaves you tired only to see the family for maybe two days before you find yourself back to reality and trying to get back into the swing of things. For me January was nearly as busy, with me trying to keep up on the ridiculous amounts of editing I have to do for my Dangerous Waters book, along with critique group stuff. And then losing my grandfather last week and having to drop everything I was doing to go down and see the family again.
These last two months have been crammed full. They were tiring, and in some cases not all that pleasant, and I should be glad to have them done. And I am glad. I was glad that I could see the people that I am quickly coming to see as my family. I was glad to be back in the atmosphere of a group of writers just wanting to get that book done. While there wasn't the competitive nature that there is during November, just being there and seeing those people helped to remind me that just because nano is over and everything is changing, doesn't have to mean that it's all bad.
Despite how busy I've been, though, when I was sitting in that restaurant yesterday, looking around at the room full of writers that have the ability (and have managed to do so in the past) to scare waitresses and make them worry about us, I couldn't help but think 'wait, it's been two months already'?
Two months since I wrote three novels (and I'm not even done editing the one I started before nano)? Two months since I've seen everyone. Two months where I've barely written anything!
It's sad, really, that all I've written since nano ended is a single chapter that I owed a friend for a collaboration I'm doing. I try to remind myself that I've been editing, but that's not really true, either. I've been procrastinating. I've been blogging (Which I love and wont stop doing. In fact, you can start looking forward to two posts a week instead of one, at least for next month). I've been critiquing. But I haven't been doing what I should be doing, at least not with the seriousness that I should have.
So as of right now, I'm going to set this goal for myself: I am going to finish Dangerous Waters by the end of April. (Beta readers allowing, of course.) I'm going to have a new book (thus far untitled) written before the end of July (To the first draft.) And I am going to update my blog twice a week.
To be honest, I don't know if I can do all of it, but I'm certainly going to try. Because if I don't take myself seriously and force myself to do the work, can I really expect other people to take me seriously?
Wish me luck!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The Commons - A YA novel
Alright, I know that I just posted yesterday, but I have been shown a very interesting link by a friend. One that brought me to a contest. And, as I pointed out in my blog yesterday, I may be slightly competitive, and so find that I am unable to resist entering this. Check out Brenda Drake's Blog for further details. Unfortunately the contest ends tomorrow, but I'm hoping that at least some of you get to see this. Anyway, the entry is requested on the blog as well as in the comments, so here goes:
Title: The Commons
Genre: YA dystopian
Word Count: 101,000
Pitch: At the end of the Great War, the world split into two societies: The Commons and The Techs. Now the two worlds are about to collide, and neither will ever be the same again.
First 150 words:
Title: The Commons
Genre: YA dystopian
Word Count: 101,000
Pitch: At the end of the Great War, the world split into two societies: The Commons and The Techs. Now the two worlds are about to collide, and neither will ever be the same again.
First 150 words:
Once these streets had been filled with tall buildings. Large concrete structures where the people went to work every day. Streets that spanned for miles that were constantly jammed with an endless stream of cares. It was hard to believe that this was all that was left. Only one grey building stretched up to the sky, but even the top of that one was jagged and unstable. The rest of the street consisted mostly of piles of concrete.
It was an all too familiar sight to Arisa, who had been travelling to all the city ruins. Each one seemed to be worse than the last, until she had arrived here. She did not know what city it had once been, but from the remains she would guess it had been hit hard in the great war.
Arisa let these thoughts run through her head as she stared around herself.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Shiny New Ideas
First things first. I must give props and respect to both L. S. Taylor and J. Larkin for getting some queries out and officially starting out Epic Year of Querying. Much as I hate the fact that I'm losing (I may be just a little competitive...) I love that we have some numbers up there! Can't wait to see how well we do with these queries this year. (Especially once the rest of use get our acts together and get them out there.)
Moving on. This week I have managed to not get any editing done. You may recall in my last post I talked about how I had to rewrite about 13 chapters in the last half of my novel. I wasn't exactly looking forward to all of the extra work, of course, but I also wasn't planning on never getting around to it.
In the last week I have caught up on three or four shows I've been putting off since November. I've started reading a book that I just got in and is the sequel to a book I really liked. I've cleaned my room and organized all of my writing stuff. I've set up the new printer my boyfriend bought me. I even just barely managed to get the two critiques I need for tomorrow done. (The feedback I give to the other three that I don't need to critique are barely started, however)
After that, why don't we all take a wild shot in the dark about how much editing I've gotten done.
None. Zilch. Nada. Zero. I haven't even brought my manuscript with me in an effort to make it look like I might be getting some editing done. Oh no. Instead it's sitting on my desk awaiting the arrival of my motivation (which I'm seriously starting to think is on an extended vacation.) Two months after nano, and I still can't get my motivation together enough to carve my novel into something that people actually want to read. The fact that the first half of it is out with beta readers doesn't even begin to touch the motivation I need to gather up in order to get those chapters done.
So why is it that I don't have this motivation? Well, I think I've got a pretty good idea.
Back in November, I ordered a journal from nano. I love it. It features a sturdy cover, plenty of lined paper, an elastic to keep it closed and a place to store a pen. The outside reads 'There's a book in you that only you can write.' A quote by the one and only Chris Baty. I took one look at this journal, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. This book was going to be the place where I wrote down all of those shiny new ideas that I can't get to while I'm working on other things. They don't have to be good ideas, just anything that's occurred to me. Then, when I have time to write another novel, I can just flip through it and see which ideas stand out.
This has been working pretty well, but there's one tiny problem. One of the ideas that I recorded in this book is not letting me shut it away. The main character is more vocal than the characters from a series that I've written two books in! She doesn't go away. She just keeps talking and talking. Telling me details about her life, which I don't want to know yet.
It's distracting. All I want to do is sit down and write it all out. I want to work out what's going on with her, and who the antagonist is. I want to know more about her love interest (who isn't yet named.) I want to see where the book goes, and what kind of plans I can come up with for future books. I want to write her story.
Unfortunately, I also know that I have to finish this editing, because I need to start querying this year. No ifs, ands or buts about it. This is the year that I am going to get my stuff out there. Whether it's liked or not, people are going to see it.
So the guilt doesn't let me work on the new project, but with my mind so distracted by it, I can't work on the old project. The combination of the two are leaving me with no motivation to do anything but catch up on shows that I have been wanting to catch up on for months.
Next week, though, I can't let myself fall back into this pattern. I want this book out by the end of april. That means I need to get it to my beta readers by the beginning of February at the latest. Sorry Jayne, but I can't listen to you right now, much as I might want to. I have to get back to what I was doing.
I'm going to throw all of my shiny new ideas back into my book and leave them there. Ignore those voices and hope they're willing to talk again when I'm done. Much as I love telling new stories, I don't want to do it at the cost of my old stories. I can't give up because there's too much work involved. I need to keep going no matter what, and I'm going to do that starting tomorrow!
Moving on. This week I have managed to not get any editing done. You may recall in my last post I talked about how I had to rewrite about 13 chapters in the last half of my novel. I wasn't exactly looking forward to all of the extra work, of course, but I also wasn't planning on never getting around to it.
In the last week I have caught up on three or four shows I've been putting off since November. I've started reading a book that I just got in and is the sequel to a book I really liked. I've cleaned my room and organized all of my writing stuff. I've set up the new printer my boyfriend bought me. I even just barely managed to get the two critiques I need for tomorrow done. (The feedback I give to the other three that I don't need to critique are barely started, however)
After that, why don't we all take a wild shot in the dark about how much editing I've gotten done.
None. Zilch. Nada. Zero. I haven't even brought my manuscript with me in an effort to make it look like I might be getting some editing done. Oh no. Instead it's sitting on my desk awaiting the arrival of my motivation (which I'm seriously starting to think is on an extended vacation.) Two months after nano, and I still can't get my motivation together enough to carve my novel into something that people actually want to read. The fact that the first half of it is out with beta readers doesn't even begin to touch the motivation I need to gather up in order to get those chapters done.
So why is it that I don't have this motivation? Well, I think I've got a pretty good idea.
Back in November, I ordered a journal from nano. I love it. It features a sturdy cover, plenty of lined paper, an elastic to keep it closed and a place to store a pen. The outside reads 'There's a book in you that only you can write.' A quote by the one and only Chris Baty. I took one look at this journal, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. This book was going to be the place where I wrote down all of those shiny new ideas that I can't get to while I'm working on other things. They don't have to be good ideas, just anything that's occurred to me. Then, when I have time to write another novel, I can just flip through it and see which ideas stand out.
This has been working pretty well, but there's one tiny problem. One of the ideas that I recorded in this book is not letting me shut it away. The main character is more vocal than the characters from a series that I've written two books in! She doesn't go away. She just keeps talking and talking. Telling me details about her life, which I don't want to know yet.
It's distracting. All I want to do is sit down and write it all out. I want to work out what's going on with her, and who the antagonist is. I want to know more about her love interest (who isn't yet named.) I want to see where the book goes, and what kind of plans I can come up with for future books. I want to write her story.
Unfortunately, I also know that I have to finish this editing, because I need to start querying this year. No ifs, ands or buts about it. This is the year that I am going to get my stuff out there. Whether it's liked or not, people are going to see it.
So the guilt doesn't let me work on the new project, but with my mind so distracted by it, I can't work on the old project. The combination of the two are leaving me with no motivation to do anything but catch up on shows that I have been wanting to catch up on for months.
Next week, though, I can't let myself fall back into this pattern. I want this book out by the end of april. That means I need to get it to my beta readers by the beginning of February at the latest. Sorry Jayne, but I can't listen to you right now, much as I might want to. I have to get back to what I was doing.
I'm going to throw all of my shiny new ideas back into my book and leave them there. Ignore those voices and hope they're willing to talk again when I'm done. Much as I love telling new stories, I don't want to do it at the cost of my old stories. I can't give up because there's too much work involved. I need to keep going no matter what, and I'm going to do that starting tomorrow!
Monday, January 9, 2012
A Snag In Editing
Before I start this week's post, there were a few things I wanted to say. First and foremost, I would like to point out that there are now six writers participating in the Epic Year of Querying. You can get to any of their blogs from the side bar, as well as find the link to get to more information about it. I'm very excited to see what this year brings, and how we will all do on this challenge. Of course, it goes without saying, any other writers who wish to join in the fun can, just give me a link to whatever site (be it blog/twitter profile/website, whatever you wish) and how many queries you have sent out since Jan. 1, 2012, and I will gladly add you to the list. You can also follow the fun on twitter using the hashtag #YEQ2012.
Second, there will be an extra special post going up on Wednesday of this week. I'm not going to give away any details (cause it's a surprise) but make sure you look out for it. I'm excited to see this blog becoming something other than me talking to myself, and this is just one of many such things I'm hoping will happen this year.
Alright, onto the post. So, I was editing today. I planned on getting about three chapters done so I could catch up with my goal. It was something I knew I was going to have to do, because I spent all day yesterday doing things like getting my hair cut and hanging out with friends. So when I finally got around to it today (instead of working on my blog like I wanted to) I sat down ready to edit.
I'll admit that I may not have been as anxious to edit as I could have been. In fact, I was rather reluctant to start. I may not have been editing as fast as I could have, and I kept getting distracted, but that's besides the point.
The fact of the matter is that after all of that, I got through half of the chapter and realized just how much I was changing, and how unhappy I was with what was left. After all of that I ended up throwing the chapter out completely and starting over.
With that realization, however, came the certainty that I had hit the point in my book where I knew I was going to have to do some major overhauling. See, I had already come to the conclusion that I had to change quite a few things in the second half of the book. I hadn't written a very important scene, and that scene couldn't be written the way the book was already done. So I knew that there was going to come a point where I would have to start rewrites.
Unfortunately this point came a lot earlier than I had thought it would. In fact, I had been hoping that I would make it at least another five or six chapters before I would have to start completely changing what was written.
Alas, I cannot change what I have come to realize must happen. Well, I suppose I could, but then the book just wouldn't be as could as it could be, and I definitely don't want that. This is the book I want to get published. The one that I already have half of out with beta readers. The one that I have already gotten a second round of beta readers for. I can't just not fix it. This is my baby we're talking about. I want it to be all it can be.
So, while editing is my least favorite part of writing (and yes, I will continue to complain bitterly about it for the rest of the time that I'm doing it) I will continue to do it. Because, you see, I love my work, and I don't intend to let it be less than what it could be only because I don't want to do the editing.
Now I've gone through the rest of the book and have decided which chapters I need to rewrite, and which ones just need editing. I've also decided what I need to add to make the story complete. I now have a clear idea of what I need to do to make this book ready for my beta readers. On one hand this gives me a sense of relief. I know what I'm doing now, and I don't feel so much like I'm stumbling around in the dark. On the other hand, rewriting is somehow so much more work than editing.
Wish me luck, because in the next month (okay...maybe two) I plan to whip this novel into shape. Even if that means rewriting half of it.
Second, there will be an extra special post going up on Wednesday of this week. I'm not going to give away any details (cause it's a surprise) but make sure you look out for it. I'm excited to see this blog becoming something other than me talking to myself, and this is just one of many such things I'm hoping will happen this year.
Alright, onto the post. So, I was editing today. I planned on getting about three chapters done so I could catch up with my goal. It was something I knew I was going to have to do, because I spent all day yesterday doing things like getting my hair cut and hanging out with friends. So when I finally got around to it today (instead of working on my blog like I wanted to) I sat down ready to edit.
I'll admit that I may not have been as anxious to edit as I could have been. In fact, I was rather reluctant to start. I may not have been editing as fast as I could have, and I kept getting distracted, but that's besides the point.
The fact of the matter is that after all of that, I got through half of the chapter and realized just how much I was changing, and how unhappy I was with what was left. After all of that I ended up throwing the chapter out completely and starting over.
With that realization, however, came the certainty that I had hit the point in my book where I knew I was going to have to do some major overhauling. See, I had already come to the conclusion that I had to change quite a few things in the second half of the book. I hadn't written a very important scene, and that scene couldn't be written the way the book was already done. So I knew that there was going to come a point where I would have to start rewrites.
Unfortunately this point came a lot earlier than I had thought it would. In fact, I had been hoping that I would make it at least another five or six chapters before I would have to start completely changing what was written.
Alas, I cannot change what I have come to realize must happen. Well, I suppose I could, but then the book just wouldn't be as could as it could be, and I definitely don't want that. This is the book I want to get published. The one that I already have half of out with beta readers. The one that I have already gotten a second round of beta readers for. I can't just not fix it. This is my baby we're talking about. I want it to be all it can be.
So, while editing is my least favorite part of writing (and yes, I will continue to complain bitterly about it for the rest of the time that I'm doing it) I will continue to do it. Because, you see, I love my work, and I don't intend to let it be less than what it could be only because I don't want to do the editing.
Now I've gone through the rest of the book and have decided which chapters I need to rewrite, and which ones just need editing. I've also decided what I need to add to make the story complete. I now have a clear idea of what I need to do to make this book ready for my beta readers. On one hand this gives me a sense of relief. I know what I'm doing now, and I don't feel so much like I'm stumbling around in the dark. On the other hand, rewriting is somehow so much more work than editing.
Wish me luck, because in the next month (okay...maybe two) I plan to whip this novel into shape. Even if that means rewriting half of it.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
The Epic Year of Querying
As some of you may have noticed, I didn't post last week. I was planning on it, I truly was, but I was also at my grandmother's house, which doesn't have wireless internet. So, instead, I decided to skip the week and take a Christmas vacation.
This year I'm going to be doing a few things different on my blog. First of all, if you will kindly look to the sidebar, you will see a box entitled 'The Epic Year of Querying'. This is where I will keep all of you updated on the progress of my writing/editing/querying. I will update it every week along with my blog post.
Also, this year I will be doing my best to put my blog more in the eye of the writing public. This means that you could see things such as guest blogs, character interviews, reviews on books, and participation in blog scavenger hunts. I'm very excited for the first of these which should be happening in the next week or two.
This will be the year that I put myself out there. That I look at my blogging as another step in my writing goals, rather than something I'm doing because it looked like fun. Where I start to truly take myself seriously as a writer. Where I don't give up on a writing project because I'm starting to feel like it needs far too much work.
It has been over a year now since I came to the realization that I am, in fact, a writer. Since the beginning of nano 2010 I have written 9 novels. 5 of those have been pushed aside as not worth the time to edit, but the rest I'm going to do something with. It may take a lot of editing. It may make me want to rip the hair out of my head, but I am going to get them published!
I have two close friends also taking part in the Epic Year of Querying with me:
Eric Satchwill
B.A. Matthews
I'm excited to see how each of us do in this challenge.
I would also like to invite anyone else who wants to join in the adventure to do so. Comment here and leave me your blog address. I'll make sure to add you to the total counts!!
2012 is going to be an awesome year (right up to when the world ends, of course...) I can't wait to see what it will bring!
This year I'm going to be doing a few things different on my blog. First of all, if you will kindly look to the sidebar, you will see a box entitled 'The Epic Year of Querying'. This is where I will keep all of you updated on the progress of my writing/editing/querying. I will update it every week along with my blog post.
Also, this year I will be doing my best to put my blog more in the eye of the writing public. This means that you could see things such as guest blogs, character interviews, reviews on books, and participation in blog scavenger hunts. I'm very excited for the first of these which should be happening in the next week or two.
This will be the year that I put myself out there. That I look at my blogging as another step in my writing goals, rather than something I'm doing because it looked like fun. Where I start to truly take myself seriously as a writer. Where I don't give up on a writing project because I'm starting to feel like it needs far too much work.
It has been over a year now since I came to the realization that I am, in fact, a writer. Since the beginning of nano 2010 I have written 9 novels. 5 of those have been pushed aside as not worth the time to edit, but the rest I'm going to do something with. It may take a lot of editing. It may make me want to rip the hair out of my head, but I am going to get them published!
I have two close friends also taking part in the Epic Year of Querying with me:
Eric Satchwill
B.A. Matthews
I'm excited to see how each of us do in this challenge.
I would also like to invite anyone else who wants to join in the adventure to do so. Comment here and leave me your blog address. I'll make sure to add you to the total counts!!
2012 is going to be an awesome year (right up to when the world ends, of course...) I can't wait to see what it will bring!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
A commitment
Now that NaNoWriMo is officially over, I have decided to recommit myself to my blog. In November I took on the insane challenge of a blog post a day. Unfortunately that it not something I can keep up with on a permanent basis. For one thing, by the end of the month I no longer had any topics to write about. And without any writing to complain about, I'm going to have even less to write about.
Instead, after coming to the conclusion that I want to post more often, I have decided to post once a week. That day is going to be Sundays, starting today. (Yes. I do realize that it's almost midnight and I should really have done this earlier, but as I was at a hockey game with my boyfriends parents, it was a little difficult.)
My commitment is to have it posted every Sunday no later than midnight. I cannot guarantee that they will all be the greatest posts in the world, but I can guarantee that they will help you to follow my incredibly exciting journey to being published. (2012 will be the epic year of querying.)
The next year will include a submission to ABNA (Amazon Breakout Novel Award), NaNoEdMo, and the sending out of my first query letters. Therefore you can expect to hear all about how much I hate editing...why I hate my characters...and the arrival of my first rejection letter.
I know you're just as excited as me, and I hope that hearing about my journey will help you to start (or continue) yours. But, if all this blog brings you are a few laughs, I'm happy with that too.
Instead, after coming to the conclusion that I want to post more often, I have decided to post once a week. That day is going to be Sundays, starting today. (Yes. I do realize that it's almost midnight and I should really have done this earlier, but as I was at a hockey game with my boyfriends parents, it was a little difficult.)
My commitment is to have it posted every Sunday no later than midnight. I cannot guarantee that they will all be the greatest posts in the world, but I can guarantee that they will help you to follow my incredibly exciting journey to being published. (2012 will be the epic year of querying.)
The next year will include a submission to ABNA (Amazon Breakout Novel Award), NaNoEdMo, and the sending out of my first query letters. Therefore you can expect to hear all about how much I hate editing...why I hate my characters...and the arrival of my first rejection letter.
I know you're just as excited as me, and I hope that hearing about my journey will help you to start (or continue) yours. But, if all this blog brings you are a few laughs, I'm happy with that too.
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