Chronicles of a Novice Writer

The File of Dead Ideas

2012-01-26T07:00:00.001-07:00

When do you know it's time to let go of an undeveloped idea? How long do you hold on to that idea that no longer inspires your imagination?

How long do you hold on to the past rather than looking forward to the future? When do you make that call, that an idea is no longer inspiring enough to pursue?

If you can't tell, I'm struggling with this very question. Currently I have five book ideas sitting in my queue to develop and write. I've been working on one of late, but as you may have read on Tuesday, I put the story into the dead idea file. I got the idea a couple of years ago and it lingered, but it was time.

I have one idea in the queue, however, that has been around longer. And it sits there still. I was thinking about the idea the other morning and while it did intrigue me all those years ago (when I was a senior in college, I'm pretty sure), it doesn't any more. At what point do I say, "I have too many ideas that intrigue me more and so I'm going to say goodbye to you"?

I have all these ideas but I'm not yet feeling inspired by any of them. Perhaps it's because I'm fresh off a round of edits and I'm currently finishing off the world-building for one of them.

But how do you know when it's time to let go?

Update Tuesday 1/15-1/21

2012-01-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

I've spent much of the last week working on world-building stuff for a book idea that I got a couple of years ago. I would spend my mornings in research for this idea, hoping and praying I would sometime start to see the light at the end of the research tunnel.

What did I do? I punched a hole through the tunnel and unburied myself. I've decided to permanently shelve the idea.

I talked last week about ball gowns and author image. This idea was definitely not my princess ball gown that is the world of fantasy I love to write in. This was more the sheath dress, not quite a flattering fit but not quite too ugly to be seen in.

So I have a whole week and more of work that is going into the drawer to collect dust.

How are your WiPs going?

Finding the Right Gown for You: Your Author Image

2012-01-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, my mom and I got sucked into the coverage of the Golden Globes, from the red carpet arrivals until Downton Abbey came on and I proceeded to break out the TBR pile.

While the ladies of the red carpet were mostly well-dressed, there were some complaints in our household.

Among the chiefest being that certain celebutantes always wear the same shape of gown. My argument for this is that they've decided on the image they want to project to the world and know that particular style suits them and that image.

Sometimes they'll branch out, take a risk, and it works and they land on the best-dressed lists left and right. Other times they crash and burn. Most understand this risk and thus stick to one style. (Which can in the long-run work to their detriment.)

The same principles can hold true in writing. Only, we're not looking for gowns, we're looking for genres.

Before you're published, agented even, you can explore. You can experiment. It's all about finding that right fit for you. Try on the gowns you think might work on you but aren't sure of.

For me, this gown is fantasy. I can write contemporary and traditional, but I like to stick to fantasy. That's where I want to be published. I am comfortable in my princess ball gown that makes me feel like the only one in the room. That doesn't mean I don't like to try on the mermaid or trumpet gown on occasion, just to see if maybe I've lost enough weight or the lighting has changed enough to make them look good on me.

But then I retreat to my ball gown. That's the image I want to craft for myself, that's where I want to be in the genre ring. Fantasy.

The ball gown is what I'll enter the publishing ring in. But down the line I may step out in that daring drop-waisted mermaid gown bedazzled with rhinestones and crystals.

Have you found your gown? Er, I mean genre?

Update Tuesday 1/8-1/14

2012-01-17T07:00:00.004-07:00

Hello again, friends! How has another week gone by already?

On to the updates.

Woven is officially through the first round of edits. Now it's time to dig in on revisions. I have lots of ideas and have gotten little tidbits of feedback that I need to address. Once that's done it'll be time to send this baby to betas for further input.

I've gone through title angst with this trilogy since the day I conceived of the idea. First it was the titles of the individual books, which let me tell you I wavered on a lot. Then I got the idea for the title of Woven and the other two books fell into place with their titles. But I still struggled with the old series title. Until the other night. Seriously, some of my best ideas come in that almost-asleep or almost-awake state late at night or early in the morning.

The new series title for the trilogy is Heirs of the Seven Realms. I'm smitten by the title so it's going to stick around until an agent or editor tells me otherwise. (Pipe dream, I realize, but still.)

Some stats on this second draft of the manuscript:

Words added from draft 1 to draft 2: 12,732
Total word count of draft 2: 68,005
Number of chapters: 21+epilogue
Body count: 1
Number of fairy tales woven into the world-building and/or narrative: 3

How are your WiPs going?

Also, I've started my very own Tumblr. It's titled "The Realms of My Imagination" and will largely be focused on the fantasy genre in various media. I plan on posting there Monday-Wednesday-Friday as time allows. Or whenever I am in the mood to procrastinate something.

Spending Gray Matter

2012-01-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

What will you spend your gray matter on today?

Daydreaming about falling in love?

Daydreaming about finding the perfect job?

Daydreaming about winning the HGTV dream home, selling it, and using the proceeds to pay off debts?

Daydreaming about a book deal that will break all records and shoot you to stardom overnight?

Daydreaming about the future you can't control?

Or will you spend it on what you can control?

The words on the page.

The characters in your head.

Dreaming up new ways to torture and stretch your characters.

Spending a little less time with the TV on and more time with a book open in your lap.

Planning lunch with writer friends.

Tweeting to build friendships with the writer friends you can't see in person.

Making the most of every day in your current job.

Making the most of every minute you get to spend with your family.

What will you spend your gray matter on today?

Update Tuesday 12/11-1/7

2012-01-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

Wow. That's a lot of time to update on.

But, really it's not. Because I took much of December off from writing I came into 2012 feeling rejuvenated and ready to tackle a lot of creative stuff.

And boy did 2012 start off with a creative bang. I don't quite recall how far I'd gotten in my edits before I took my hiatus. But I'm more than halfway through the first round of edits, taking my manuscript from draft 1.5 to 2.

But that's not even the biggest flash of creativity that 2012 brought me. I've been struggling of late to come up with a new title for this book. It had the working title of Mirror, Mirror which I really wasn't fully enamored with. Well, I am happy to say I now have a title which quite tickles my fancy and really fits the book.

The new title is...

Drumroll...

Woven

I'm still trying to come up with a better series title but that's a concern for another day. It's not as critical as a good title for the first book was. I'm hoping to finish up edits this week then I'll be in need of finding a couple of betas before I edit the next draft.

I'm brewing up another project, working on the research and world-building. This particular story has been hanging around the outer edges of my creative consciousness for a while and I think it's finally time I try my hand at it. I may fail horribly at getting the story out the way I envision it in my head, but that's what a first draft is for, right?

How are your projects coming?

My Greatest Fear

2012-01-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

I have one great fear. Greater than negative or even mean-spirited reviews. Greater than fear of rejection or inadequacy. Greater even than a fear of never archiving this great dream of becoming a published author.

What is my fear, you ask?

That secretly, I'm that person on American Idol. You know the one. The delusional singer wannabe whose close friends have never had the heart to tell them they aren't any good. They refuse to believe the judges when the inevitable crickets chirp and the judges breathe out their collective no.

I fear that I'm the one let through for the ratings, for the sensationalism. I fear that my writing isn't as good as people might say.

I fear what goes unsaid.

Books of 2011: A Retrospective

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Since I'm still on writing hiatus while I work out issues, our regular update post will be taken over by a reflective post.

These are the books I read or started to read in 2011:

Monarch by Michelle Davidson Argyle
Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
Herafter by Tara Hudson
Shifting by Bethany Wiggins
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn
To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
Supernaturally by Kiersten White
Possession by Elana Johnson
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Second Chance Courtship by Glynna Kaye
Scene of the Crime: Bachelor Moon by Carla Cassidy
My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
Witch Song by Amber Argyle
Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan
Firelight by Sophie Jordan
Matched by Ally Condie
Light of Epertase:Legends Reborn by Douglas R. Brown

Looking at this list I see a few things.

1-If you didn't know any better you'd think I had an affinity for a certain author. The truth is I just got that far behind on the books and ended up reading the first two in each series in the same year.

2- I tried to branch out but it so did not work. (Read, I read two straight up romances. I ran back to my YA fantasy world very quickly.)

3- It's a good thing for ARCs and contests and meeting people and just having conversations. Several of the books on this list came about that way.

4- Not every book is created equal and not every genre is my cup of tea.

Books of 2012

2012-01-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been on hiatus from writing of late. I'll get back to it soon. Soon as I stop wallowing in self-doubt and get my writerly act together.

Meanwhile, here's a list of books I'm a) looking forward to in the coming year and/or b) have blurbs intriguing enough to land them on my to-buy list.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (1/3)
Winterling by Sarah Prineas (1/3)
Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey (1/5)
Everneath by Brodi Ashton (1/24)
Bewitching by Alex Flinn (2/14)
A Breath of Eyre by Eve Marie Mont (4/1)
Magic Under Stone by Jaclyn Dolamore (4/10)
The Breakaway by Michelle Davidson Argyle (5/1)
Kane Chronicles Book 3 by Rick Riordan (May)
Dreamless by Josephine Angelini (May)
Until I Die by Amy Plum (5/8)
Enchanted by Alethea Kontis (5/8)
Fated by Alyson Noel (5/22)
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks (5/22)
Arise by Tara Hudson (6/5)
Endlessly by Kiersten White (7/24)
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan (Fall)
Queen of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (sometime this year)

Obviously this list is in no way complete or comprehensive. I just got tired of going through the Goodreads YA 2012 list so stopped there. What books are you looking forward to this year?

Here's to you...

2011-12-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

2011. Here's a toast to you.

I thought that as the year draws to a close I'd look backward. I posted my 2011 writing goals here on the blog.

I hit all but one of those. My poetry efforts have slacked off. And, if I'm being honest, my motivation to continue writing poetry has vanished since leaving grad school and no longer participating in poetry workshops, readings, and not having people around me to regularly read/critique my poetry and help keep me motivated on that front.

But I hit every other goal that I posted here on the blog.

I revised Lodestar to death.

I queried Lodestar, albeit only a little.

I wrote two books. Truth or Dare and Mirror, Mirror.

As the year ends, not only am I looking back but I'm looking forward. My goals for 2012:

1- Query Mirror, Mirror before mid-year
2- Write 2 more books this year
3- Edit at least 1 of those books and get it ready for querying
4- Attend at least 1 writer's conference this year
5- Participate in NaNoWriMo for the first time ever

So, what are your goals for the year of writing ahead?

Update Tuesday 12/4-12/10

2011-12-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

Another week gone by? How is it already nearly the middle of December?

Last week was actually kind of productive for me. I'm a little closer to picking out a new title for this book and a new title for the series, but I'm still so torn. I have a few options but nothing is really sparking for me. I've never had so much trouble titling a book as I have with this one. (At least of the ones that I've written. The ones that are in the pipeline, the ones I think I might write next, are another matter entirely.)

As for the actual revisions, I've been really slow on those. This past week I did manage to revise three chapters and outline two of those for my revision outline. But with the holidays I'm finding it rather hard to keep up. (And the fact that my car had to go into the shop, I'm working every day, my driver's license is soon to expire, I have a birthday coming up and pretty much everything else.) And I start to feel guilty when I get busy with all the real-life stuff that has to be taken care of right away and thus don't get to anything related to writing.

How are your WiPs going?

Structure

2011-12-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

I used to watch Project Runway. I stopped watching because I pretty much never agreed with the judges on what was the best or worst look of the night.

Occasionally someone would make a strapless dress and it usually ended in disaster. Why? Because the designer hadn't taken care in creating the underlying structure. I distinctly recall one of the judges complimenting one of the successfully made strapless dresses for its underlying dress.

Basically, what had to happen in order for the dress to be made successfully, to where it looked well-done and fit the model well, was that the designer had to make their dress twice. First in muslin and other fabrics and second with the actual fabric they chose out of the fabric store.

What does this all have to do with writing? With each book I write I have to discover just how much underlying structure I need prior to beginning the first draft. Depending on the genre and sub-genre it can vary widely, for me. With Mirror, Mirror I spent a week and a half building the world it's set in. Histories, maps, ruler lists, character sketches, magic systems, et al. Eventually, I needed to upgrade the project binder to a 1 1/2" size.

But then with a couple of the romance books I've written, I just started with an idea then picked names and researched places as I needed them. These are the worst books in the spectrum of the five under my belt at this point. I'm not saying Mirror, Mirror is my best work yet. I would hope so since it's the most recently written and I like to think I improve book to book. But it was the one I had the most structure for prior to writing the first word.

All this to say, I suppose, that I'm a pantser-plotter and proud of it.

Update Tuesday 11/27-12/3

2011-12-06T08:29:00.000-07:00

Wow, the holidays really aren't productive, are they? At least not for me. I think I added 600 words to the book last week.

I've been really struggling with this revision and I'm not sure why. I think part of the problem is that I feel a little overwhelmed. The book fell quite short of the mark in the word count department. It's YA traditional fantasy and draft 1 capped out at about 56K. So there are a lot of words to add in. But as I go through the book I'm noticing that I was very spare in my descriptions as I wrote that first draft. So there are a lot of places where I can add and beef up that word count.

The other major problem is that I don't like my title and I am finding it impossible to come up with an acceptable title. Mirror, Mirror is a good working title, I suppose, but the sooner I change it to a title that I adore and that works fabulously with the book the better.

How are your WiPs going?

Project Overload

2011-12-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

I realize I probably shouldn't say this, but I have too many projects in the pipeline.

*dodges rotten fruit and vegetables*

Right now I'm sitting on two projects that I want to revise and four that I want to world-build and draft.

That's not including the 4 short stories sitting on my hard drive unfinished and the 4 poetry collections I have in-progress and the 1 poetry collection I want to have published and the 1 collection that I want to write and submit.

Sometimes I wish my muse were an android I could rewire so she'd stop giving me story ideas and give me inspiration on the ones that are sitting there waiting to be brought into being. Some of these projects have been on my shelf for years. Others are much more recent additions. All of them are equally clamoring for attention.

All this to say, if you see me tearing my hair out or muttering to myself in a quiet corner of Twitter (while rocking back and forth and looking around shiftily), just smile and nod and maybe call the doctor. I'm likely going crazy from feeling overwhelmed.

How do you deal with project overload?

Update Tuesday 11/13-11/26

2011-11-29T07:00:00.002-07:00

11/13-11/19:

This is another fail week for me. I didn't do anything but a token bout of revisions on Saturday night so I would have something to report.

Mostly I spent the week in delaying tactics, for some reason, by looking for image inspirations on the web and figuring out what locations I still need to map out. Finally on Saturday I gave myself a swift kick in the rear and determined that only 3 of the remaining 11 or so locations needed to be mapped in order to effectively carry out revisions on this book in the trilogy.

So I revised a little and added about 110 words to the manuscript. I still haven't cracked 60K but it's early yet. There is much revising still to be done.

On top of that, I got a spiffy new book idea that really intrigues me so I'm going to start world-building for that at some point. I've learned that I can world-build and revise at the same time but it's hard to draft and revise at the same time. I have to put one aside for a time to do the other, which usually ends up being pausing drafting so I can revise.

Once I get Mirror, Mirror out to betas I can start drafting the new idea and then I can go on from there. But this idea really intrigues me. Which means all the other book ideas that still float in my head are being shuffled further down the priority list.

11/20-11/26:

I'm not sure I actually did any work on revisions this week. It was a holiday week and I had a lot going on. Will do better this week, I swear it.

How are your WiPs going?

Writing Longhand: Tips and Tricks

2011-11-17T07:00:00.002-07:00

I talked last Thursday about why I write longhand. Today I'm sharing my tips and tricks for effective longhand writing.

Now, writing longhand can get kind of messy. Especially if you're making changes later in the book that affect earlier sections. Also, formatting. Dialogue and such can all be formatted as you go, jumping down to the next line on the page, etcetera. Italics (for inner thoughts, writings, dreams, etcetera) gets tricky.

Here are some tips for writing longhand, if you're wanting to take the plunge and try writing longhand first.

Tip #1: Use college-ruled paper. Okay, maybe this is more of a personal preference, but the narrower lines allow more lines per page which equals more space in each notebook to write.

Tip #2: Use a notebook that feels right in your hands. For Oracles Promise (I won't let this project go), I used spiral notebooks you can buy at Barnes & Noble or other stationery stores. These one have hard fronts and backs with pretty designs and aren't always 8 1/2"x11" paper formats. Pretty, but expensive. For Mirror, Mirror, I used 70-sheet college-ruled spiral notebooks you can buy for cheap in the grocery store's school supplies aisle.

Tip #3: Find a good pen. I like to use Bic Ultra Round Stic Grip.* But that's only because Pilot stopped making my favorite writing pen ever. *sniff*

Tip #4: Learn BBC code to help with your formatting notes. The main one I use is the [i] and [/i] combination. (Using preview to see if that went wonky on me...sweet, using spaces worked.) This sets off passages as I transcribe so I know what needs to be in italics. If you need something bolded or underlined (I can't imagine) use the brackets with the letters b or u in them. This will help your transcription, I promise. (Unless you're typing late at night. Then you might just inadvertently literally transcribe your code and have to fix it several drafts from now.)

Tip #5: Do not transcribe as you go. The entire point of this is to focus on the narration and action not the word count number. If you transcribe at the end of each day, it sort of defeats the purpose. Sure you'll figure out what you can average per set number of pages and estimate that way, but try not to think about it. I do recommend transcribing when you finish a notebook. (My latest WiP took a little less than two spiral notebooks. When I finished #1 I typed it out and then wrote the rest of the story in #2. Now I'm typing it out.)

Tip #6: Enjoy your distraction-free writing time. The beauty of writing longhand is that it allows you to take your lightweight notebook with you wherever you wish so you can squeeze out some words while you wait somewhere on someone.

*No one paid me to say any of this or anything. I just like these pens.

That's it for now, folks. I'm taking a blog break next week because of the holiday but I'll be back at the end of the month. Happy Thanksgiving to all my US readers who celebrate. Happy rest of November to those outside the US or who don't do anything for Thanksgiving.

Update Tuesday 11/6-11/12

2011-11-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, is it Tuesday again already? Where does time go?

So, this past week was not so great for me, writing-wise. Why? I always struggle to get back to everything that I like to do, all the routines, when something new comes along that impacts my scheduling.

What impacted my scheduling? My job. I started last week and while I didn't work a full week I still struggled to get to my writing/revising projects. I did manage to get a little bit in though on Saturday night, finally.

I've started revising Mirror, Mirror and it's going okay so far. As I wrote the first draft there were definitely things that came up that I knew would need to be addressed in revisions. At one point I entirely redesigned the geography of a city my MC starts out in and returns to several times throughout the book and the trilogy. But only after I'd written the opening scene where she sneaks a prisoner of the crown out of the city.

I made note on the inside of the cover of each notebook when there was something that came up to be addressed in revisions. These included noting where I needed to revamp to match the new city layout, ideas that came up that need to be foreshadowed throughout what came before that moment, etcetera.

I'm dealing with those right now on this first pass through the manuscript. Hopefully that will also help me beef up the word count since this one ended quite short of the mark of where it should be. I'm aiming to bump the count up to somewhere in the 70-75K range. We'll see if people want it longer.

With what I started on Saturday night, and I didn't get too far, I added 564 words to the story. It now is just shy (by about 160 words, give or take) of 56K. So I have a ways to go. But I'm okay with that. When this pass is done I'll be going through and making a revision outline and then looking for beta readers.

How are your WiPs going?

Why I Write Longhand

2011-11-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

All right. It's no secret here on the blog that I love to write longhand when I'm working on a novel. I've pretty much alternated project-to-project with how I write it, whether it's straight into the computer or longhand first.

I've discovered time and again that I do prefer writing longhand first. Here's why.

1) Writing longhand helps me to focus on story over word count. I can estimate a word count, but that's only an average count. Some pages might come out with far fewer words, depending on how much dialogue is there. (I'm a classic under-writer and have to add in scenery so I have more than just floating heads.)

2) No internet. Internet=evil. Internet use is counter to productivity. If you write longhand you're not on the computer. Far fewer distractions.

3) Ease of editing. Okay, now I know what you're thinking. How easy can editing be when you're writing on paper and it's hard to erase? You don't edit when you're actually writing it. The quick edits come when you're typing it into the computer. So often as I'm transcribing I find that the saids which are so easy to write out when you're on a roll aren't necessary. Also, you get to really see just how conversations are working as you type it out fresh rather than looking at what's already typed in a future edit and wondering how the scene is working.

4) Portability. I can take my notebook and iPod pretty much anywhere I want. Yes, I do have the project binder sitting on my lap so I can reference maps and calendars and all the rest that I need, but the notebook is so much lighter than an actual computer.

Update Tuesday 10/30-11/5

2011-11-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Well, let's see. I've totally lost all resolve for taking November off from anything writing-related. I spent a couple of hours on Saturday figuring out some elements of the book that still needed filling in. There were lots of places in the draft where I'd just put [Insert such-and-such here] and moved on.

That is what I spent my time Saturday worrying about. And I finally figured out what I wanted there and am mostly satisfied with the results of such at this juncture. Sure what was added might change in edits. (I'm sure some betas will not like what I put in.) But that's what editing is for. I just needed to get it in there so I could actually have words to edit. After all, you can't edit what isn't on the page.

I really love this book and these characters. Almost as much as I love the characters from the first book I ever set out to write. (Which I'm still determined to save someday.)

How are your WiPs going?

Social Media Redux

2011-11-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

I know I already talked about ditching Facebook. Since then, I've done likewise to Google+. The same day I did that I culled my blogroll to just the blogs I regularly read. (And even then I'm sure I'm not faithful in my visiting of those blogs.)

Why?

It's just too much. Even Twitter I've gotten lax on. Partly it's because I've gotten a seasonal job which is taking a lot of my energy. (Way more than it rightly should, if you ask me. I'm just out of practice on this whole being employed thing.)

But a bigger part of it is that it's just too much. That's why I've pared down the blog schedule to only two days a week. Priorities are in need of constant reassessment. This is part of that process.

Yes, authors need a platform. But more and more I'm seeing agents and publishers talking about how it's not something fiction authors need to focus on before they're published.

Yes, it can help grab an agent's attention. It can be a good leg up when you do get a book published. But it detracts from what's really important in this process– WRITING.

I've learned a lot along the way in the two-plus years I've been blogging consistently. But I've learned even more with each book I've written in those years. But while writing has always been my goal and what I wanted to do, blogging took over. The pressure put on authors on the road to agent, editor, and finally book-on-shelf to be out there on the social media is overwhelming.

And it just got to be too much. So I decided to cut it back.

Update Tuesday 10/23-10/29

2011-11-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

October is over. It's now November. Winter is lurking at the door.

On to the updates.

Apologies to anyone who happened to read last week's late-posted update post. Technically that update week span wasn't when I cleared my top secret project off my desk. I cleared that one on the day that last post was supposed to go up.

Also, I'm terribly debating my "I'm taking a break from writing" resolve. But not a novel. We'll see what happens this month. (Holy cow, where did time go? How is it November already?)

(Oh, and winter lurking at the door? It's here. *shiver*)

Books of November

2011-10-27T07:15:00.000-06:00

Don't Expect Magic by Kathy McCullough (11/8)

I first heard about this when I got a bookmark for it in a prize pack when Elana's Possession launched. It sounds like a lot of fun and a fun twist on the fairy godmother tale.

Become by Ali Cross (11/11)

Well, how could I not want to read this? It's YA. It's fantasy. It's super ninja sensei extraordinaire Ali. And it's gonna be awesome.

Update Tuesday 10/16-10/22

2011-10-25T07:05:00.002-06:00

Another week gone. It's going to be full-fledged winter before I know it. *shudders*

I'm taking November off from writing and editing if I can develop the will power to do so. I am feeling the need for a break to recharge my creative battery. I'm feeling uninspired though I have several ideas floating in the idea nebula.

I just need to refresh everything so that I can get back into the swing of things. Plus some time away from the latest WiP before diving into edits will be good.

Author's Bookshelf: Witch Song by Amber Argyle

2011-10-24T10:35:00.000-06:00

Why I read it: I received a free copy in exchange for reviewing this book. It also intrigued me which is why of the five books I received free from the publisher this is the first one I chose to read.

Mini-review:

First off, this book is engaging. When I had to put the book down I thought it would be much later than it was, I was that engrossed. That said, I had to put it down for some other things and it was about three days before I picked it up again. While it's engrossing, I wasn't dying to get back to it.

Brusenna, the main character, is fifteen but seems much older than that at times. Yes, there are times where she seems to be her age, too. She's equal parts "I can do this" and "I can't do this, but I'm going to try anyway." Which is great for an MC. I do wish she'd had a bigger part in some of the story rather than being just a bystander or being acted upon.

There was a lot of focus on Brusenna through the story, to be expected when she's the MC, but I felt at times that was to the detriment of the secondary characters, and to a certain extent the antagonist. Overall this was a very enjoyable read and I'll probably pick up the next book from the author, as I'm assuming it's a continuation of some of the threads left open at the end of this one.

Final Say: Thumbs up. If you enjoy fantasy I think you'll enjoy this unique take on magic and sorcery. It's available now through the publishers and Amazon. (And probably other places.)

Experience and Practice

2011-10-20T07:15:00.000-06:00

It's no secret here on the blog that I've written a fair number of books and stories that have all gone into the drawer of practice.

It's all practice and experience. Sure, I could read craft books but they put me to sleep. (Great cure for insomnia.)

That's just not how I learn. I learn from practice, from seeing examples in living color (read: television and movies), and from doing.

I've written three fantasy novels, one steampunk/fantasy hybrid short story (which I later tried to transform into a novel. Still want to make it work), two romance novels, two romance short stories (one of which I transformed into a novel), and done world-building on another fantasy and on a contemporary adventure novel. I've the beginnings of three or four other short stories on my hard drive. Not to mention all the poems.

What's the point of confessing all this? To say this: For the first time in my short writing life (two years I've been going at this in earnest), I feel like I'm finally getting a handle on how I work as a writer and what's going to help me make a book as strong as possible.

When I set out to world-build and plot my latest WiP (and the second and third books in the trilogy), I knew where I needed to improve off my last attempts at writing a novel. Every word I've written has given me experience. Every word has shown me a glimpse of what works and what doesn't. Every word helped me to develop that eye and intuition for character and plot which are, in my opinion, so necessary for good writing and revising.

It may take 10,000 hours to become a master at something, but perhaps it only takes one 90,000 word novel to flip the switch on a lightbulb in the writer's mind.

Update Tuesday 10/9-10/15

2011-10-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

Okay, that time again!

Mirror, Mirror:

FINISHED!

Ahem. Sorry. Just a little excited. I stayed up uber-late on Tuesday night and finished the book. Estimated word count for notebook 2 on this one brings me to just under 60K for a total word count. It's okay, though, because there are lots of floating head scenes that need fleshing out after I finish transcribing everything.

NaNo Project:

Well, I've opted not to participate in NaNo this year. So this is the last you'll hear of NaNo for the year from me. The reason for this is that some other things have come up that make drafting a new novel the lowest of my writing priorities right now.

Top Secret project:

This is what's taken over. It's a project I've worked on before, but I'm not saying which one it is or what specifically is happening with this one. I'll tell you when I can.

How are your WiPs going?

Ideas

2011-10-13T07:00:00.001-06:00

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to attend a one-day conference at a nearby university. Dan Wells was the keynote speaker and he talked about ideas.

He said that the worst question you could ever ask an author is where they get their ideas. I agree with that, but if you ask me where I get my ideas I can always pretty much tell you.

Life.

That's it. He said pretty much the same thing as far as teaching us where to get ideas from.

The first novel I ever set out to write grew from a spark of an idea based on the meaning of the main character's name.

The second novel I set out to write, which became the first completed novel, was my exploration of identity. I guess. I mean, the main character was a girl who lives life as herself but lives her author life under a carefully guarded pseudonym. It's totally implausible but it was a fun story to write.

Novel 3 was the inkling of an itch to write something in a paranormal vein. Reading the Wikipedia page on my chosen paranormal being sparked the entire mythology when I read a two-sentence paragraph at the very bottom of the page.

Novel 4 was an expansion of a story I'd written that was sparked by a TV series I caught in syndicated reruns. There was a storyline that was prominent in its final season and I asked myself how it would work if the characters were LDS and lived a different set of standards than the characters on the TV show.

Novel 5 (current WiP) was a combination of a love of fairy tales (more the Disney-fied tales rather than the more original versions) and an idea that struck me while playing a demo of a video game.

In all of these instances, though, I twisted the inspiration around so I wasn't copy-catting something that, frankly, was under copyright or some other protection. I mirrored elements but I shaped them until they really don't resemble the original idea by the time the story gets through its final iteration. (In some cases that final iteration is the first draft as they're more practice at aspects of the craft and not intended for publication.)

Ideas come from everywhere. Sometimes we don't even know where in our real lives they come from. I have two sticky notes on my desktop (I'm a Mac girl, what can I say?) whose contents are dreams I had two nights in a row that I plan on merging together to form another novel. It might become the project I work on for NaNo. But I might work on the YA adventure novel I've had on the backburner for ages. (Which was also sparked by a dream.)

Writers are notorious hermits. Or so most people seem to think. The truth is we're quiet observers of life. My mom gave me a t-shirt for Christmas one year that reads "Be careful or you will end up in my novel."

If people knew how true that is they'd all become hermits to avoid their characteristics ending up in books. (Not that smart authors pull people wholesale from real life. But if you know an author you can bet they've thought about taking a quirk or tic you've exhibited and putting it into a character.)

Update Tuesday 10/2-10/8

2011-10-11T07:00:00.004-06:00

Another week gone by. Another week closer to my goal. And, yes, friends, I'm much closer to my goal.

I wrote two and a half chapters or so last week. My characters have finally caught a break and the distractions/diversions from their goal have vanished. Writing those chapters (I'd left off in mid-chapter the week before) left me with two chapters and an epilogue to write.

Which means that perhaps even as you're reading this I'm writing the last period on this manuscript. (I always put the epilogue after "The End" so it doesn't really work to use those two words as the final touch on the draft.)

I'm still debating which project to go with for NaNo. (Also, I really must sign up on the official website for that one.) I'll keep you updated on that once I finish the draft of Mirror, Mirror.

How are your WiPs going?

Social Networking and the Author

2011-10-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

I left Facebook.

I did. And I am not ashamed of this decision. For a while now I'd been realizing just how much control over my life that site had. Already I was trying to wean myself from using it so much.

Then they rolled out a few changes to the news feed and suddenly I didn't feel secure. Sure it was a public site. It is social networking after all. But suddenly I was seeing pictures and status updates of people I didn't know. All because someone I was friends with either commented on or liked something of their friends'.

In this day and age, there has come to be a certain expectation. An expectation on readers' part to be allowed to peek behind the curtain and see the real person behind the name on the dust jacket. There's an expectation on writers' part, too. One which sometimes seems to expect readers' rapt attention for everything they do.

The truth is people pay far less attention to us than we like to believe they do.

In part, social networking has contributed to the propagation of this attitude. Yes, authors are expected to get out there and do everything in their power to generate word of mouth. Yes, a big part of that is social networking.

And when the time comes I may create another account, or reactivate the old one, in order to do so. But that's a bridge I'm going to cross when it comes to it. For now I'm content with my blog and twitter. Occasionally I post something on Google+ but most of the time I forget it even exists.

Authors and social networking go hand in hand these days. But at what cost? Where do you draw the line? Sometimes, a little privacy goes a long way in creating balance and peace of mind.

Update Tuesday 9/25-10/1

2011-10-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

Hello, friends! Another week gone. And now we're in October. (Seriously, I think that some paranormal being sneaks into my life and steals days from my years. How is it already this close to the end of the year?)

I got much writing done this week, friends. Mirror, Mirror is coming along nicely. I'm fairly certain at this point that I'm going to have to brainstorm more rug-pulling events for my characters to build out my word count.

But that is where beta readers will come in handy. Because they'll be able to tell me where they want more information/details/etcetera and I can use that to round out my word count.

I love writing longhand, though, because it forces me to focus on the story and not word count. I'm telling the story as I see it in my head and not trying to throw in needless information just to reach a certain arbitrarily chosen number.

I'm aiming to finish this by mid-October as I've pretty much committed to participating in NaNoWriMo this year. Keep your fingers crossed that life doesn't blow up in my face, as it is wont to do, preventing me from accomplishing said goal.

How are your WiPs going?

October Books

2011-09-29T07:00:00.000-06:00

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick (10/4)

The conclusion to the trilogy. Sigh. It's always sad when something comes to an end, but then I remember I get to read the books again if I want and so it's not as sad.

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan (10/4)

This is the second book in his Heroes of Olympus series, the follow-up to the Percy Jackson books. I quite enjoyed the first book in this one, The Lost Hero.

Half-Blood by Jennifer Armintrout (10/18)

This one sounds interesting. I rather enjoy stories (see above) involving gods and mythology and this one sounds intriguing. Plus, she's a debut author and I love supporting debut authors.

Between the Sea and Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore (10/25)

I adored Magic Under Glass. (Sequel to that coming in April.) I think the story premise of this sounds really intriguing. A mermaid who wants to be a siren, the highest social/political position a mermaid can attain and who has the ability to change her tail to legs? Totally there. Add in mystery and romance and I'm sold.

Mastiff by Tamora Pierce (10/25)

This is the third book in this series. I've loved pretty much every single book by Tamora Pierce. Her books are a big part of my reading past. They're ones I re-read just for the sheer enjoyment of the characters and story. I started re-reading one to look at how she dealt with the passage of large spans of time and before I knew it the book was over. I'd completely stopped paying attention to the craft behind the story.

Update Tuesday 9/18-9/24

2011-09-27T07:00:00.001-06:00

I can't remember exactly where I left off at the end of the previous week. I do know that I fell into this trap where every time I sat down to write, I ended up spending my writing time working out some niggling little detail of world-building that I didn't think about when I did that initial push in that department.

This was both good and bad. Good in the sense that going forward I have a clearer idea of some things, but bad in that it means some revision in what's already been written. But then good because that'll actually beef up my word count some and really (I hope) make my world seem more vivid.

I'm pretty sure I wrote a couple of chapters last week. How's that for being accountable? I need to keep better track of my work each week if I'm going to continue doing these update posts. And I will track it more diligently. After typing this I've gone and written out a sticky note for myself marking where I'm starting the next week at.

I figure I need to fill this spiral notebook and one other to have an appropriate word count; but then I remind myself that the point of writing longhand is so that I'm focused on story and not word count. I can always find places to add in words. (I am generally pretty spare in my descriptions and I know readers would like to see more scenery so my characters aren't just talking heads.)

How are your WiPs going?

Priorities, Writerly and Not

2011-09-24T22:46:00.002-06:00

I've been re-evaluating my priorities lately. And I found I've been spending too much time online. Far, far too much time. The internet is distracting and so is real life.

I'd rather have more real life distraction than internet distraction. With that in mind, I've decided to make some changes around here.

First off, I'm no longer posting at my other two blogs. (The photography and food ones.) I have removed the links to them from my profile and my sidebar. (I also hid them in my blogger dashboard.)

Secondly, I will now only be posting here on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tuesdays will be progress updates (they keep me accountable) and Thursdays will be writing-related topics.

In relation to this, I'm limiting my time reading blogs to half an hour in the mornings. If I don't get to yours one day you might see a comment from me pop up at random later in the week.

I'll take time in the evenings as I have it to respond to comments on my blog. I will be doing this via e-mail as I have all comments e-mailed to me. If you don't have an e-mail attached to your comment account, that means I might not be able to return a comment until Sundays when I'm off from writing and most other things, so I would actually have a little bit of spare time to kill in coming to my blog and commenting.

I'm hoping that this will help me put writing back into the number 2 spot on my priority list. (Real life, including religion, being #1.)

Beginnings

2011-09-23T10:31:00.000-06:00

Beginnings are on my mind thanks to my blogging friends Windy Aphayrath and Chantele Sedgwick. These lovely ladies both posted earlier this week about the subject. They have excellent things to say about beginnings. Windy's posts are here: In the Beginning and It's a Start. Chantele's post is here: Beginnings.

For me, beginnings are what come first. Well, really, I have to have an idea of beginning before I can start writing. I'm a chronological writer. Sometimes as I'm world-building I'll get an idea for a scene that occurs later in the book or series. I'll write it down with a note at the top about where it falls in the timeline but then continue on with my chronological planning and writing.

There are a lot of different ways to begin a story. In school I had it drummed into my head to start "in medias res" but I haven't always adhered to this. Starting in the middle of things is a great idea.

But you know what? A book needs to start at the point where you can build enough knowledge to throw a monkey wrench in normal.

Sometimes this means you are fine to start off with action, start off with that moment which upsets your character's status quo.

Other times you have to show a few months of normal life in order for that upset moment to make absolute sense and pull emotions the way you need them to be.

Do you start with the beginning or do you write from the moment where you're inspired forward then go back and add in the start?

100 YA Books

2011-09-22T07:05:00.001-06:00

So, earlier this week I saw this post over on Chantele Sedgewick's blog with a list of 100 YA books that she'd marked up showing which she'd actually read. I thought it would be fun, since my muse is deciding it wants me to be a YA writer, to indicate which I've read. So, here goes.

Bold=Read it

1. Alex Flinn- Beastly
2. Alice Sebold- The Lovely Bones
3. Ally Carter- Gallagher Girls (1, 2, 3, 4)
4. Ally Condie- Matched
5. Alyson Noel- The Immortals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
6. Anastasia Hopcus- Shadow Hills
7. Angie Sage- Septimus Heap (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
8. Ann Brashares- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1, 2, 3, 4)
9. Anna Godbersen- Luxe (1, 2, 3, 4)
10. Anthony Horowitz- Alex Rider (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, 9)
11. Aprilynne Pike- Wings (1, 2, 3)
12. Becca Fitzpatrick- Hush, Hush (1, 2)
13. Brandon Mull- Fablehaven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
14. Brian Selznick- The Invention of Hugo Cabret
15. Cassandra Clare- The Mortal Instruments (1, 2, 3, 4)
16. Carrie Jones- Need (1, 2)
17. Carrie Ryan- The Forest of Hands and Teeth (1, 2, 3)
18. Christopher Paolini- Inheritance (1, 2, 3, 4)
19. Cinda Williams Chima- The Heir Chronicles (1, 2, 3)
20. Colleen Houck- Tigers Saga (1, 2)
21. Cornelia Funke- Inkheart (1, 2, 3)
22. Ellen Hopkins- Impulse
23. Eoin Colfer- Artemis Fowl (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
24. Faraaz Kazi- Truly, Madly, Deeply
25. Frank Beddor- The Looking Glas Wars (1, 2, 3)
26. Gabrielle Zevin- Elsewhere
27. Gail Carson Levine- Fairest
28. Holly Black- Tithe (1, 2, 3)
29. J.K. Rowling- Harry Potter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
30. James Dashner- The Maze Runner (1, 2)
31. James Patterson- Maximum Ride (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
32. Jay Asher- Thirteen Reasons Why
33. Jeanne DuPrau- Books of Ember (1, 2, 3, 4)
34. Jeff Kinney- Diary of a Wimpy Kid (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
35. John Boyne- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
36. John Green- An Abundance of Katherines
37. John Green- Looking for Alaska
38. John Green- Paper Towns
39. Jonathan Stroud- Bartimaeus (1, 2, 3, 4)
40. Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl- Caster Chronicles (1, 2)
41. Kelly Armstrong- Darkest Powers (1, 2, 3)
42. Kristin Cashore- The Seven Kingdoms (1, 2)
43. Lauren Kate- Fallen (1, 2)
44. Lemony Snicket- Series of Unfortunate Events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
45. Libba Bray- Gemma Doyle (1, 2, 3)
46. Lisa McMann- Dream Catcher (1, 2, 3)
47. Louise Rennison- Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1-10)
48. M.T. Anderson- Feed
49. Maggie Stiefvater- The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1, 2, 3)
50. Margaret Peterson Haddix- Shadow Children (1-7)
51. Maria V. Snyder- Study (1, 2, 3)
52. Markus Zusak- The Book Thief
53. Markus Zusak- I Am the Messenger
54. Mark Haddon- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
55. Mary Ting- Crossroads
56. Maureen Johnson- Little Blue Envelope (1, 2)
57. Meg Cabot- All-American Girl (1, 2)
58. Meg Cabot- The Mediator (1-6)
59. Meg Cabot- The Princess Diaries (1-10)
60. Meg Rosoff- How I Live Now
61. Megan McCafferty- Jessica Darling (1-5)
62. Megan Whalen Turner- The Queen's Thief (1-4)
63. Melina Marchetta- On the Jellicoe Road
64. Melissa de la Cruz- Blue Bloods (1-5)
65. Melissa Marr- Wicked Lovely (1-5)
66. Michael Grant- Gone (1-4)
67. Neal Shusterman- Unwind
68. Neil Gaiman- Coraline
70. Neil Gaiman- Stardust
71. Neil Gaiman- The Graveyard Book
72. P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast- House of Night (1-8)
73. Philip Pullman- His Dark Materials (1-3)
74. Rachel Caine- The Morganville Vampires (1-10)
75. Rachel Cohn & David Levithan- Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
76. Richelle Mead- Vampire Academy (1-6)
77. Rick Riordan- Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1-5)
78. Rom LcO'Feer- Somewhere Carnal Over 40 Winks
79. S.L. Naeole- Grace (1-4)
80. Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers- Princess of Gossip
81. Sarah Dessen- Along for the Ride
82. Sarah Dessen- Lock and Key
83. Sarah Dessen- The Truth About Forever
84. Sarah Shepard- Pretty Little Liars (1-9)
85. Scott Westerfeld- Leviathan (1, 2)
86. Scott Westerfeld- Uglies (1-4)
87. Shannon Hale- Books of a Thousand Days
88. Shannon Hale- Princess Academy
89. Shannon Hale- The Books of Bayern (1, 2, 3, 4)
90. Sherman Alexie & Ellen Forney- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian
91. Simone Elkeles- Perfect Chemistry (1, 2, 3)
92. Stephenie Meyer- The Host
93. Stephenie Meyer- Twilight Saga (1, 2, 3, 4)
94. Sue Monk Kidd- The Secret Life of Bees
95. Susan Beth Pfeffer- Last Survivors (1-3)
96. Suzanne Collins- Hunger Games (1-3)
97. Suzanne Collins- Underland Chronicles (1-5)
98. Terry Pratchett- Tiffany Aching (1-4)
99. Tonya Hurley- Ghost Girl (1-3)
100. Wendelin Van Draanen- Flipped

Okay, after putting together my list, I debated whether I'd actually post it. It's rather embarrassing when you look at this list and there are so few marked as ones I've read. In fairness, there are some on this list that I picked up and started reading but couldn't get into so I set them aside and/or gave them to my sister-in-law or to DI.

But if you look at my Goodreads shelf you'll see a ton of YA books. They're just not on this list.

What's your favorite from this list? Your favorite not on this list? What ones should I absolutely try to get my hands on?

WiP Wednesday 9/11-9/17

2011-09-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

So, yeah.

I probably only wrote like 1400 words in all of last week. If I don't step up my game I'm not going to finish this book before the end of the month.

Although, I did do something really important that will help me finish. (Not necessarily finish by the end of the day September 30th.) I realized I needed a little bit more going on in the book to flesh out a proper word count. So I let that thought simmer and when I wasn't looking the perfect idea struck me. It's not anything I have to weave into what's already been written, just a couple more stumbling blocks to throw at my characters before we reach the end of book 1.

One night instead of writing I ended up re-outlining the rest of book 1 so that I have a framework to build from. Which was important. Unfortunately, I kept getting sidetracked and didn't yet make it to sitting down and writing by the time the week was over.

How are your WiPs going?

Goals and Dreams as an Author

2011-09-20T07:15:00.000-06:00

Last week, Rachelle Gardner blogged about goals as a writer. (What? I write blog posts a week in advance so the rest of the week was full when this came up in my reader.)

I commented the following:

"I want to be read. I want to be respected as an author who has a valuable and worthwhile voice to contribute to the conversation of the genre I'm going to publish in. I want to touch the heart of someone who reads the words I write.

"That's all. I don't dream of J.K. Rowling fame or having my books made into movies. The money either of those would bring is just a mega-bonus to achieving my dream of seeing my name on a bookstore shelf. (It'd be nice, but I do try to stay realistic in my goals.)"

What I left off the comment was this:

One way that I've found helps me to define my goals in this publishing journey is to compare author events. Which one strikes the chord with me? The ones where literally hundreds of people show up, making it impossible to make a meaningful, if brief, connection with their readers as the author signs readers' copies of their book? Or the ones where a hundred and fifty people attend, equally if not more interested in the presentation the author is there to make than getting their copies of the authors' book(s) signed?

For me, it's the latter. I'm on this road to be read, to touch the heart of a reader and make them realize that maybe they have a voice, too, and if they can't express it themselves they can find the strength within to do so at some point. That's what reading and characters are, to me. They're meant to be larger-than-life explosions of what a reader may be facing, showing them that whatever demons are lurking can be vanquished.

Honestly, if one person reads something I wrote and they come out better for it, stronger for it, I've done my job as a writer. I've impacted them through words and that's the best gift I can receive as a writer.

My Life Revolves Around Him...

2011-09-16T07:05:00.000-06:00

and I might die if he doesn't reciprocate or if he does but then he leaves me.

Sounding familiar?

I've done my share of deriding this situation in YA books. That I wouldn't want my daughters to emulate that as a role model.

Re-reading my journals looking for whatever thoughts I put to paper following 9/11 made me absolutely cringe.

Every single entry is a laundry list of the random things that went on in relation to boys. Me reading too much into situations, me trying to contrive ways of being noticed by the latest crush, etcetera.

And I realized something.

I was that YA heroine whose life revolved around a boy.

And that scared me. There are times my journal entries haven't changed that much since those days. Recent times.

But then there are the gems of journal entries where I'm actually looking outside myself.

I don't know where those are but surely they must exist, right? I can't still be stuck as a teenager in an adult's body?

Maybe in some ways I do still have that sixteen year old inside me. But I know I've changed and grown. For one thing I no longer diagram movements of the boys I'm crushing on. (Seriously, I diagrammed. No lie.) For another, my journal entries aren't nearly as epic as they used to be. (I've had journal entries that went on for pages and pages.)

Re-reading my journals shows that in some ways I have changed and grown yet in some I haven't really. I do still use my journal to (over)analyze (to death) when I'm worried/wondering if a boy likes me. But then I also really use my journal to let out all my frustrations and worries and such. Reading through some of them is like reading a roadmap to major decisions.

So, deride the trope as I may have in the past, I guess I need to be a bit more understanding. Because I'm more Bella Swan than I realized, care to admit, or am comfortable with.

What about you?

Author's Bookshelf: Monarch by Michelle Davidson Argyle

2011-09-15T07:00:00.002-06:00

Why I read it:
Michelle is a friend of mine and I really enjoyed her novella, Cinders, which she published last year so I knew I was going to enjoy the ride this time. I've been waiting for this one since I read and offered feedback on Michelle's synopsis ages ago. When I got the chance to read an ARC of this one, too, I jumped at the opportunity.

Mini-review:
There is something entirely captivating about Michelle's writing. There's a lyric quality to it which pulls you along from page to page. (Taut pacing and excellent characterization help with that one, too.) I liked Nick and Lilian instantly and waited with bated breath to see if they'd get their happy ever after (or happy for now). I won't spoil anything for you, don't worry. The setting was spectacular, I felt like I was right there next to the characters, whether they were sweating bullets in Brazil or on a mountain in West Virginia.
This is a book I've not been able to get out of my head since I read it. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Final review: Thumbs up. Go. Buy. Thank me later.

About the author:
Michelle is a mother, artist, and writer who lives in the Rocky Mountains with her sword-wielding husband and energetic daughter. She writes contemporary, literary, and fantasy fiction.

Michelle believes imagination is the only rule in fiction. This is the foundation of her writing, and she plans to strengthen it with each and every story she writes.

Oh, and she likes peanut butter and tomato sandwiches. And cheese. Lots and lots of good cheese.

The all-important links:
Book Depository
Amazon
Website/Blog
Facebook
Twitter

WiP Wednesday 9/4-9/10

2011-09-14T07:00:00.003-06:00

Wow.

Okay, first off, the WiP posts are changing. These posts will now cover the calendar week previous to this rather than Wednesday-Tuesday following the last update. That way, I can write (hopefully) all the week's blog posts in one session and then move on. This is aimed at streamlining the time I spend social networking and freeing time for writing and real life duties, such as gouging my eyes out, er, job hunting.

On to the updates.

Mirror, Mirror

So, yeah. I finished typing out everything that I had written. That topped out at 31,230 words. I won't transcribe more until I've filled this second notebook.

I do still hope (*fingers crossed*) to finish this book by the end of day September 30. Hope.

How are your WiPs going?

Author's Bookshelf: Shifting by Bethany Wiggins

2011-09-13T07:00:00.001-06:00

Hi all! So, I know it's been a long time since I did anything under this category. But I've read a couple of ARCs recently that I just couldn't not talk about here on the blog. I'll be posting my own review of each of them (there are only two right now) this week.

Shifting by Bethany Wiggins

Why I read it:
I've met Bethany and her sister before. They're both amazing women so I always knew that when they debuted I'd read them. This is Bethany's debut novel and I had the opportunity arise to participate in an ARC tour for her book. (Thanks, Elana!)

Mini-review:

I struggled at first to connect to the character, but that's just a personal thing, I think. I mean, I've never faced the humiliations Maggie Mae goes through in this book, though I have faced bullies in the past. And I've never faced the foster care system so for me it took a couple of chapters to click with the MC. But I did click. And I liked that even though this is a romance, she never once feels like she's going to just die if Bridger doesn't reciprocate. She fights it and she fights back against the bad things she faces. I didn't once question whether this is a girl I'd want my (hypothetical) daughters to read and admire.

But I love, love, love, love anything to do with Navajo culture. My dad grew up in New Mexico, my Grandpa owned trading posts on the reservation, and it's always just been there as something I'm peripherally familiar with. So the idea of taking the paranormal romance genre and dropping it into that world was really appealing to me. Plus I'm often a sucker for a good YA romance.
The best thing about this is Bridger O'Connell, the love interest. He's a good guy. Not a "bad boy," not a player. Just a good guy who is trying to do the right thing.

Final review: Thumbs up. You should be pre-ordering this one or rushing to your bookstore of choice on September 27th.

About the author:

Bethany Wiggins has always been an avid reader, but not an avid student. Seriously!!! She failed ninth grade English because she read novels instead of doing her homework. In high school, she sat alone at lunch and read massive hardback fantasy novels (Tad Williams and Robert Jordan anyone?). It wasn't until the end of her senior year that the other students realized she was reading fiction – not the Bible.

Seven years ago, Bethany's sister dared her to start writing an hour a day until she completed a novel. Bethany wrote a seven-hundred page fantasy novel that she wisely let no one read – but it taught her how to write. Since then she has completed six novels, each one a little better than the one before.

The all-important links:
Book Depository
Amazon
Website
Blog
Twitter
Facebook

Ten Years: Never Forget

2011-09-11T11:16:00.000-06:00

What are my memories of ten years ago today and its aftermath?

I remember sitting in AP US History watching things unfold. I didn't see the second plane hit, that I can remember.

I remember my friend being too shy to ask, so I did, what the Pentagon is for when we heard about the plane hitting it.

I remember the silence when Mr. Ward told us the significance of the Pentagon.

I remember the TVs being on much of that day until the principal came over the loudspeaker asking teachers to resume their normal classes and please turn off the televisions.

I remember feeling safe and vulnerable all at once, tucked away in my little classrooms in Sandy, UT, hundreds of miles away from where the planes went down.

I remember still daydreaming of this being the year I'd get asked to homecoming instead of sitting at home on a Saturday night because I wasn't invited to the boys' choice dance.

I remember the opening ceremony of the 2002 Olympics here in Salt Lake City. I watched from home and marveled at the silence in the stadium when President Bush entered.

I remember the silence in the stadium when the flag came out.

I remember an assembly in my high school when, for the first time, there was absolute silence and devotion during the singing of our national anthem. No cheers, no applause to deafen the final words as the singer built to the crescendo of those last notes of the verse.

I remember a friend singing Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" and listening in awe as he made it through without a single tear shed or voice-cracked note.

I remember the next June in Washington, D.C., seeing the lighter stone of the Pentagon wall being rebuilt following that day. There may have been scaffolding but I can't remember.

I remember being on the National Mall seeing a poster of newspaper front pages with the images of that day from nations around the world.

One word stands out. I won't print it here but it's always there, burned in my mind above the image of the towers on fire, smoke billowing from their wounds, before they succumbed to the weight they could no longer support.

It was that June it became somewhat more real to me, seeing some of the aftermath and clean up.

I remember the next June, over a year and a half since that day, being in New York.

I remember getting on the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and seeing a plaque commemorating that vessel's role in the day's events.

I remember the eternal flame lit in Battery Park in remembrance of that day and those who lost their lives far too soon.

I remember going into Madame Tussaud's and seeing, in a room all by itself, a life-size wax replica of the three firefighters raising an American flag over the rubble.

I remember going to Ground Zero, seeing the fence protecting innocents from falling into the scar left behind.

I remember seeing the buildings surrounding Ground Zero, but I don't remember seeing broken windows or blackened facades. Those were gone or not registered in my head.

WiP Wednesday 9/7

2011-09-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

Well, it's that time again. This time I only have one project to update you on.

Mirror, Mirror (YA traditional fantasy)

I've made some progress. Thanks to a temp job and a sudden move across state lines, August was a rather unproductive month for me. I'm settling back into a semblance of normal and have been getting some writing done. Usually this happens at night right before bed. Which I'm fine with.

I filled the first notebook (I'm writing this one longhand) and moved into the second. When that happened I also started to type out what's already been written. I'm probably sitting around 29K-30K words right now so I am probably going to end up adding a lot in when I go through and revise. There is room for it as I tend to be pretty spare in my setting and action descriptions on the first draft. Especially in dialogue passages. The first revision usually largely addresses the floating head syndrome.

In all, I plan to be done with this book's first draft by the end of the month.

How are your WiPs going?

Inspiration in the Everyday

2011-09-06T07:50:00.000-06:00

Sometimes, I get jealous of people who have these amazing dreams that inspired their books. Twilight famously began with a dream. I see it all the time on Facebook and Twitter (or so it would seem).

Some people get sparked by a dream, some by a single question around a theme. For me, inspiration can come from the most mundane of things.

Oracles Promise started off the meaning of a name. The name became the MC's but I crafted the entire world and story to revolve around the meaning of her name.

Lodestar started with the itch of an idea to write a paranormal story of some sort. I researched paranormal beings and narrowed the list then a single idea hit me with regards to one of them and the entire crafted world sprang from there.

My current WiP was inspired by an element in a computer game I played the demo of. Add in a dash of Dorian Grey and a liberal sprinkling of both Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, with a base of Tolkien-esque milieu fantasy and you've got my current WiP.

I never know where my inspiration will come from. Right now I've got a dystopian setting brewing in my head (no idea where it came from as it's not a genre I love but I'm willing to give it a go if I can read more in the genre) that came about from a combination of an argument with my brother over teacher salaries and things I've learned about No Child Left Behind. I have an adventure novel that's been stewing for ages that was actually sparked from a dream, but that's unusual for me.

Most often my inspiration comes from the everyday around me. Where do you get your inspiration from? Do you know? Have you thought about it?

Google Alerts: Usefulness and Non-Usefulness

2011-09-02T07:00:00.001-06:00

A couple weeks ago, Sara Megibow, agent with Nelson Literary, tweeted the following:

It got me thinking about Google Alerts. For published writers I can imagine they're a lot more useful. (Or for writers with less, apparently, common names such as mine.) I have four alerts set up at the moment:

"Chronicles of a Novice Writer" brings in results that more often than not match to my blog (despite being hosted on its own domain now). But on occasion they take the words separately and I get very random results.

"Lodestar" (the title of my book that I'm currently possibly querying or not) has not once brought back a result from my blog wherein I talk about this project. This one by far gives me the most random results, none of which I actually understand because they're mostly talking about missiles and aircraft and other science-y stuff.

"Stephanie L. McGee" and "Stephanie McGee" is another hit or miss one. Back during awards season, I kept getting red carpet pictures of some producer or someone who was at the Golden Globes, the SAG awards, etcetera. Sometimes it'll bring up a random tweet of mine from a few days before but this one doesn't come very often as there aren't that many results to mine.

So where does this leave me? It leaves me questioning the usefulness of inundating my email inbox with emails of things that don't matter.

For any published writers out there who might be reading this, do you use alerts? Or do you avoid them like they're the black death poised ready to choke your writing career before it takes off?

Unpublished authors, what about you? Have you used alerts? If so, do you find them useful?

Clever Costuming to Convey Character

2011-09-01T07:05:00.002-06:00

A while back I was watching the movie "Sky High." It's a little cheesy, yes, but I think it's cute. I've watched this movie several times but this time something blatantly obvious smacked me in the face.

The main character and his love interest are always wearing the same colors. Not the same as each other, but always the same in different iterations. If you've seen this movie, you know that it's about a high school for superheroes-in-training (and their sidekicks-in-training) and that the MC's parents are pretty much the best superheroes there have ever been. His parents' colors are the same as the colors he's always wearing and they are quite often depicted wearing those same colors in their day-to-day lives.

This got me thinking about the subtle ways we can reveal things about our characters. To go off of the above example, the colors can become sort of an idee fixe. Their alter egos are so much a part of their lives that it seeps into everything, including their son's choice in fashion. On his side of it, we could view it as a manifestation of his want to live up to what's expected of him, to go into the family business. It doesn't have to be so complicated as that, but these are just some ideas.

I never consciously try to put a theme or moral into what I write. It's too easy to fall into preaching territory that way. But we can weave in subtle revelations about our characters and they way they view the world, and one way is through their costuming.

Think about it. Bella would have come off as a much different person if she'd gone and flat-out refused to abandon her Arizona wardrobe in favor of clothes that would be more appropriate to the Washington climate.

A guy who wears polos and sweaters tied around his shoulders is a very different character than a guy who wears wrinkled t-shirts and cargo shorts.

In the tv show, "Bones," as another example, there was an interesting subtext played out through clothing. Booth, the male lead of the show, is an FBI agent. Wears the suit and tie, all that, looks very buttoned-up and straight-laced. Except for the flashy ties, large belt buckles and wacky socks. One season, the FBI sent Booth to therapy after he shot an inanimate object just because it was annoying him. The therapist was there over a series of episodes (later replaced by another therapist who is now a cast regular) and at one point he made Booth stop wearing the ties, buckles and socks. Everyone commented on it and after a while the therapist told him to start wearing them again.

The therapist tells him one thing about these items, about why Booth wears them, other characters think other things, but it takes one line of muttered dialogue to really show the truth behind them, but the dialogue isn't important. You can take what you want from the clothing, be it they're his rebellion against the stricter wardrobe guidelines the FBI has in place in the show's world, his dislike of the "privileged" (read, wealthy and arrogant, the ones who think they're all that and a bag of pretzels because they were blessed to be born into a rich family), or him just trying to be the winning peacock. But the clothes say so much without one single word uttered by a character.

We can also use clothing to set up our readers for their expectations to be shattered. Take the guy who wears the polos and sweaters tied around the shoulders. Now, he might be the stereotype: wealthy, full of himself, pretentious, and would never be caught dead holding a toilet brush.

Or he could be the world's greatest superhero living on the lam after being framed for a robbery that was committed by his arch-nemesis.

See? You can take the guy with the cargo shorts and wrinkled t-shirts and turn him into anything you want if you're aiming to toss expectation on its head. You just have to know what sort of character you want.

Have you ever though much about clothing and such as a means of showing readers the sort of character they're reading about? I know I have, at least on a secondary level in much of what I write. Though with Lodestar it plays more of a role than in other works I've written.

Books of September

2011-08-30T07:05:00.004-06:00

Wow, September already?

Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars by Nick James (9/8)

I'm trying to branch out a lot in genres. I've given romance a try and while enjoyable I need more than just "I like him" plot. This is steampunk/dystopian and it sounds really like something I'd enjoy. I love sci-fi and fantasy so I don't think this is really a stretch. I just hope that it doesn't take a turn I'm expecting it to take.

Monarch by Michelle Davidson Argyle (9/15)

I read the ARC of this (my full review coming on release day). Michelle is a dear writer friend of mine and an amazing woman and mother. I'm thrilled beyond belief that y'all can finally read this book. Go buy a copy and enjoy it.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson (9/20)

Love triangles. Magic. Fantasy. Kinda has it all, it would seem.

Shifting by Bethany Wiggins (9/27)

I've met Bethany. She and her sister (whom I've also met) are awesome women and have a pretty cool blog. They're also part of the Bookanistas who regularly review YA (and MG?) books they love. This is Bethany's debut and I've been excited for it for a long while.

Blogging Hiatus

2011-08-09T07:08:00.000-06:00

I'll still be around, commenting on your blogs and such. But I am kind of at a loss for time right now for creativity and blog content. I'll be back with regular content in September, after I move and such.

Have a great August, everyone! (And while I'm away, please don't hesitate to read the archives. There are some gems there, if I may say so myself.)

Studying Characterization

2011-08-05T07:00:00.000-06:00

I'm a very visual learner. I will admit that right here and now. Never is that more apparent than when watching a movie or a television show gives me insight into my writing, and into writing in general.

Yesterday I talked about my binge on season 1 of "Haven." Well, aside from that special feature where I realized some things about my writing, about how I'm too connected and am letting my work control me too much at times, I got some great great insights into characterization.

I need to start doing this sort of binge to help with dialogue and stuff, too, methinks. Anyway.

There's this character on the show. He's your typical bad boy character. But really not so much. And one thing that I found myself continually doing, and I do this with a couple of my most favorite shows, was analyzing his character. Those rare times where I had to tear myself away from the DVDs because real life was calling, this character was in my head. And I was dissecting him, figuratively speaking.

Sometimes I find myself analyzing characters like this if I'm talking about the latest episode with someone else who is also a fan of that show. But even then it's hard to remember little nuances, to see patterns.

Watching 13 episodes of a show, almost entirely back to back, really makes those patterns stand out. And you start to see a character's tell, that indication that there's something just under the surface that's really influencing all their decisions. Or the thing that shows you the character is falling in love with another one, even if no one sees it. Just little things.

Watching that many episodes in a row is almost like reading a book. Every episode is a chapter, and at the end of a season, you get the climax that both concludes that book's arc and sets up the arc for the next in the series. (And sometimes it doesn't set up the external arc, it sets up an internal arc for one or more characters.)

A Precious Illusion

2011-08-04T07:05:00.002-06:00

Last week, I went on a binge. (More on this in tomorrow's post. It gave me a couple ideas for blog posts.)

Maybe three weeks ago, a little more perhaps, several people on Twitter started talking up the SyFy show "Haven." Its second season was about to premiere. I was home on a Friday night (shocker, I know) and so I decided to check it out.

The first two episodes of season 2 got me intrigued. Well, I couldn't just stop there. I went out and bought season 1 on DVD. I watched the entire thing in two days. (In my defense, the season only consisted of 13 episodes.)

Afterward, I watched one of the special features. It was a sneak peek into the writer's room for season 2. A bunch of people sitting around a conference table with their laptops out and someone at a white board at the front of the room. One of the writers said something that was cool. Maybe I'll have to get a white board for when I'm plotting/world-building.

Essentially it was this: "Nothing is too precious." (That's the only part I can remember directly.) After saying that he said they write everything up on the white board. They erase it and write something else to make it better.

I think this is my problem with Oracles Promise. I'm too attached to a handful of characters and can't bear to see their stories go away. Which is why I shelved the project. I don't have the ability to fix it. Yet. Someday I'll get there. Because every time I open that document and read through the story, looking for how to fix it and make it work, I fall in love with those characters all over again and they become too precious in my mind to fix.

But the truth is, the writers on this TV show have it right. Nothing is too precious to be tossed out the window in search of the better choice.

And, you know something? I think this can apply to life sometimes. (Obviously on a metaphorical level.)

WiP Wednesday 8/3

2011-08-03T07:00:00.002-06:00

First off, I'm thinking of taking a new picture to use for the WiP Wednesday posts. What think ye, friends?

Secondly, you might not be getting a photo of me any time soon. I've likely torn all my hair out over query package items.

On to the updates!

YA fantasy WiP:

I finally got the redesign of the capital city and the palace grounds and interior done so that meant I could actually go back to writing. Which is going slow, but I think that this chapter is really coming alive thanks to the time I took in redesigning everything. Plugging away at chapter 7 (there are currently 15 planned chapters) and trying to balance everything in my world right now.

How are your WiPs going?

Crutches: Do You Have Them?

2011-08-02T07:05:00.001-06:00

I'm sure you do. I know I do.

Last Tuesday I talked about how I decide how to deal with inconsistencies (aka plot dust bunnies) that show up in my work.

You know how I said that I didn't notice the inconsistencies until I was gearing up to move the story to my sixth draft?

Well, reading through the manuscript to highlight all those inconsistencies also illuminates another issue: crutch words, phrases, body language, etcetera.

If it's a crutch you'll spot it as you go through doing what I outlined on Tuesday.

My strategy for dealing with this? Well, first, you're going to be at the end of the manuscript before it really sinks in that, "Wow, my characters smile a lot." Or whatever crutch you find. When you know what your crutch(es) is(are), use the search function in your word processor. If it's a single word, take off any plural you might think is there. This will help you find the singular and plural forms and if it's something like eyed, taking the d off and using just the base word, will help you find most variants.

Pick a highlighter color (it's best if you're doing this highlighting after you've highlighted the inconsistencies but before you've gone and fixed them so that your colors don't cross-pollinate and such), and use it with reckless abandon. Sort of.

When the search function finds an instance of the inputted word, it is automatically selected in full so you can just click on the highlighter tool/drop-down menu and pick your color then hit the "Next" button. Also be sure to note it in your log.

Repeat this process for every crutch you identified in your reading.

Now, either before or after you've fixed the inconsistencies you can scroll through and find those crutches and figure out which get to stay and which have to go. Most times, and do as I say not as I do, stronger body language can be used, or a stronger word. I tried to fall into a rhythm of eliminating every other instance of the crutch. I wasn't always successful, but there you have it.

Books of August

2011-07-29T07:00:00.002-06:00

Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay (8/9)

It sounds like a fresh take on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. I loved Starcrossed and its take on the story so I'm willing to give this one a try.

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce (8/23)

This is a follow-up to her Sisters Red. Same world, new story. I am willing to give it a go.

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann (8/30)

I'm really not into dystopians. I can't explain it but they've just never been my thing. Until this year, apparently. It started with Elana's Possession and now this one has totally piqued my interest. Plus I want this book to do well. It's middle-grade with a boy protagonist. While I'd love to see YA with boy protagonists (in the ever-raging debate on how to get boys to read beyond middle grade), if we can get them loving reading, I think it's more likely to stick regardless.

The Dreaded Synopsis

2011-07-28T07:00:00.000-06:00

No, I'm not posting my synopsis here. That's something I'll only ever share via e-mail with trusted CPs.

What I'm talking about today is writing one. See, I've reached that point with Lodestar.

I started out, I don't know how long ago, writing a brief recap of each chapter as I read through the manuscript working on creating a new revision outline. That didn't go very far because I got sidetracked creating the outline. Then I got the manuscript back from a beta.

I finished up the last major revision on Monday. I was pretty stoked about it. I mean, I even bought myself some Swedish fish. This is the candy I use to celebrate milestones. Such as when I finally finished Oracles Promise a year and a half ago. I had the manuscript printed at one of those business solutions places so I could have a cardstock cover and have it coil-bound.

After I picked up the printed manuscript, I stopped off at the store and got those sticky notes that are large and lined and in pretty colors. (Colors not required. They just make this more spiffy.)

I sat down on my couch and got comfortable. The primary purpose of this printing of the manuscript was so that the format was changed in order to catch typos and formatting errors.

But, bonus!

I have to read through the manuscript to find these. Why not kill two birds with one stone? That's what the sticky notes are for. After each chapter, I wrote out (by hand) a brief recap of the chapter. I forced myself to keep it to one sticky note for each chapter. Synopses have to be brief so it's really just getting you one step closer to force yourself to stick to that limit.

These sticky notes get attached to the last page of each chapter. After the entire manuscript has been read, it's time to go to the computer and go note by note, inputting them into your word processing document.

Now you have a chapter by chapter synopsis that's very dry and boring. This is what revision is for. Each paragraph addresses some part of the plot, whether it's your character's internal arc or the external arc of the conflict. Combine the internal and external as you need to in order to create a smooth and engaging synopsis of your manuscript.

That wasn't so bad was it? *shoos the noose away from her and her blog readers' necks*

WiP Wednesday 7/27

2011-07-27T07:00:00.002-06:00

How is it Wednesday again? Anyway.

Lodestar:

I finished the final major revision. I had the manuscript printed and coil-bound on Monday and am using that for final proofreading and to help me with the synopsis. (More on that in tomorrow's blog post.)

It's exciting and unnerving at the same time to think that I might be sending this darling into the world as early as sometime next week.

I continue to revise and tweak my query letter. Hopefully I'm close. Once the main synopsis is done I'll have to set about contracting it to one page, two pages, and maybe even five, depending on how long it starts out at. My list of agents to query have varying requirements on the length of the synopsis they want, if one is asked for at all. So that adds an extra challenge to the process but I'm up for it.

Mirror, Mirror:

Well, first off, CHAPTER 5 IS DONE!

Ahem. Sorry.

Secondly, I have to come with a new (working) title. See, I discovered that a pretty popular author has already used this title for one of their books. I know you can't copyright titles, but I'm just not going to go there with this one. So, I'm back at the drawing board.

I decided over the weekend that I needed to re-design a palace and city that my characters are headed for in the next chapter so that's stalled me a little as I sit stumped at my computer trying to figure out a layout for both that will both be realistic and serve the needs of my characters and story.

Dealing with Plot Dust Bunnies

2011-07-26T07:00:00.001-06:00

I mean, inconsistencies.

Last week, I posted about my current revisions on Lodestar. In the comments of that WiP Wednesday post, The Empty Pen asked, "How do you decide what to do with your inconsistencies?"

First off, thanks for asking. It actually made it a little easier to deal with them because I actually had to think through the process before I started so I knew how to answer.

As to how I decide what to do, it's a 2-step process.

This works best after a few drafts so you're intimately acquainted with your dust bunnies. (Seriously those inconsistencies breed like dust bunnies. Turn your head for one minute and they multiply.) I honestly didn't catch these inconsistencies until I was reading through prior to my sixth draft in order to create a new revision outline. (Links to my outlining and revising process should be found in the sidebar.)

The first step is to note what the inconsistencies are. For me, I first noted them in that revision outline. After that I transferred the inconsistencies to a sticky note on my desktop. (I'm a Mac girl, sorry.) This was so that my revision outline was a little less cluttered.

On this draft, after I'd gotten my revision outline and gone through it highlighting as I saw fit and marking the pages with sticky flags, I started in on the revisions. The first thing I did was take care of any major cuts since those might affect any inconsistencies. After that was done, I got down to brass tacks.

I opened that sticky note so I could read exactly what my inconsistencies were. I picked a highlighting color (from the myriad color options in the word processing program I use) and everywhere that inconsistency shows up I highlighted. Repeat that process for all your inconsistencies, using a different color for each. (It's helpful at this point to keep a log of which color specifies what so your color choices are consistent.)

Any random issues that came up (for instance, this book deals a lot with gravity so I did sadly hit a couple of random issues that weren't really an inconsistency but needed my attention), I picked a color for each type.

After your highlighting is done save. Save after you fix each inconsistency and have eliminated one highlighter color.

Now it's time to scan through the moments where your inconsistency shows up. Read through them all at once so you know which directions you waffled in as you wrote. You know your story best and after X number of drafts, you're very intimately acquainted with it. This knowledge can illuminate exactly how making a decision in any direction you went will serve the story. Sometimes what serves the story best is taking the option which requires the least amount of words to actually describe in prose. Sometimes not.

Once you've decided which route to take, scroll back up to page one. Scroll page by page through your manuscript so you're working chronologically. (Assuming your book is written chronologically. It doesn't have to be. Ooh, shiny.) Make whatever fixes you need to that earliest instance of the inconsistency to set up why it's that way and then proceed to bring all the rest of the spots highlighted in that color into line with that decision. As you fix each spot, remove the highlighter.

For one of my major gravity issues, I decided it would work best if gravity were perhaps a bit malleable for a certain character. So I went in and added an explanation of how that would work for this character. I did that early on so that thereafter I wouldn't have to reiterate the explanation. It's established and so the reader can either suspend their disbelief or not.

With each inconsistency, start at page one. Save after each has been resolved.

More to come on Thursday about the use of highlighter in your word processing program and the manuscript file.

Fears

2011-07-21T07:05:00.000-06:00

"I'm afraid my book isn't ready to query and if I query it's too soon, ruining my chances."

"I'm afraid no one will like my writing or the stories I have to tell."

"I'm afraid I'll never land an agent no matter how many books I write or how many books on craft I read."

Not necessarily my fears, though I do worry about these sorts of things from time to time.

What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of failing, of rejection?

Me? I'm afraid of success. I'm afraid of being so successful it's no longer possible to have meaningful interaction with people who genuinely enjoy the books I publish. (In theory since I am neither published nor soon-to-be-published.)

I have been to four author signings in my life. Three of these were for the same author. Of these four, these three were my favorites.

These three were held in small-ish bookstores with a hundred people, maybe 150. Pretty small.

The other was in a high school auditorium. Probably the only place available for not much money that could accommodate the hundreds of people coming to this.

I got my book signed at teh three for the one author. I didn't get my book signed at the other.

I had a nice little conversation with the author at each of the three of their signings I attended.

I never even said a word to the other author at their signing.

This huge signing, where people would have been there well into the night (on a school night and the author was a MG/YA author), like 11, to get their book signed, left me with a fear of succeeding.

I came away from this signing with the decision that I wanted to be mid-list with a devoted fanbase who allowed me to keep publishing because I always brought reliable sales.

Is this fear rational? Probably not. Does this post kill my chances of publishing? Probably not though it might make it a bit more challenging when I go on the agent hunt. But I have to be honest with myself about my goals in my career and about my fears.

What about you? What are you afraid of in this whole publishing journey?

WiP Wednesday 7/20

2011-07-20T07:15:00.001-06:00

Lodestar (Adult fantasy WiP):

Revisions have begun in earnest. I'm hoping to get this polished and querying within the next couple of weeks. Fingers crossed.

This round is going pretty smoothly so far. But inconsistencies breed like dust bunnies. Going through the manuscript and highlighting (in a different color for each) the spots where my inconsistencies are showing up and/or where I need to address that element of the story has been very illuminating. (Pun not intended.)

I started off with one color. There was an inconsistency in whether these characters have a way of communicating over any sort of distance. Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn't.

That grew into 13 different colors for various issues. Some issues with the science behind the fantasy (using science in a very loose meaning), some random issues that only crop up in one or two spots, and then my crutch mannerisms. (Eye/eyes/eyed/eyelid, variations on smile/smiled, shrugging, and shaking of heads.)

Yeah. It's gonna take some time going through this and getting nitpicky. Oh well.

YA fantasy WiP:

I'm still stuck in chapter 5. This chapter will not end, I tell you. Soon. But not soon enough. This will be my biggest nightmare chapter when it comes time to revise.

The writing itself is going a little slow. I feel like there's something off with the book and so I think that's stalling me a little. I keep getting the urge to write a new chapter 1. But the new chapter I'm seeing in my head will drastically effect the rest of what's already written and that's putting me off making the change. I mean, I've written no few words on this book already and the thought of having to start over now makes me freeze.

I know, easier to restart now than after I've written 80K words.

Oh, and also? I decided on a title. It's a working title for now, but it works. *drumroll*

Mirror, Mirror

We'll see how long it stays but I needed the file to be named something more than "Draft 1" for locating purposes.

How are your WiPs going?

Oh, my, how convenient!

2011-07-19T07:00:00.000-06:00

Seriously, stupid conveniences bother me in reading and in television/movie viewing.

I was watching a tv show the other day. I won't say which so as to not overtly spoil anything. But there was a character whose estranged spouse conveniently showed up just to make this character's life more miserable/complicated and to complicate and effect the character's relationships with other characters.

Really?

I feel like this is a trope seen a lot and I'm a little tired of it. I'm tired of the characters just having up and left their lives without resolution on that past. There are so many ways the past can complicate the presence that we don't need a character who everyone thinks is single and then all of the sudden we find out they're really not.

Perhaps it's a symptom of the popularity through the years of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. Perhaps. It also may just be a symptom of the lax views of marriage and family that are running rampant in today's world. In a world where divorce is easy to obtain and more and more seems to be the first answer rather than a last resort after a couple has tried all they can to repair the marriage, picking up and leaving may seem like the common answer to make a character relatable.

I don't know if it's true, but I do know that relationships can be so complicated without this easy answer for character development.

YA Writers and the YA Community

2011-07-08T07:00:00.001-06:00

As I've walked this writer's path these last two years, I've been trying to find where I fit. My first book was not YA in that the characters weren't in their teens. My second book was and wasn't YA. It was traditional fantasy with a massive cast of characters who all took center stage as viewpoint characters at one point or another. My third book was decidedly not YA. I knew that going into it and I embraced that. I'd found where I belonged, I thought.

Then the current project came along and I'm pretty sure it can fall squarely in the YA category. I do plan on finishing it but I'm not entirely certain that it's one I want to publish. It's a realization I came to on Wednesday as I watched the beginnings of something unfold on Twitter.

A few weeks ago (I can't remember how long it's been), there was that article published in the Wall Street Journal about darkness in young adult literature. The vitriol that spewed forth onto Twitter and the internet in general disgusts me. It disgusted me then and it continued to do so on Wednesday. YA authors and those in the industry who took part vilified the author of that article when it hit the internet for the first time. They seemed to relish the opportunity to attack this one woman who dared to voice an opinion contrary to what is currently the loudest voice in YA.

Then on Wednesday they delighted in the opportunity to pounce on this author again when she and a YA author were both on a talk radio program. (There were other people, I think. I didn't tune in for the reasons I'm discussing in this post.) I shut down Twitter. I couldn't bear the vitriol spilling forth again against the article's author.

Do I believe censorship is a good thing? Absolutely not. It's not the industry's job or the government's job to protect my children (figuratively speaking since I'm not married) from things they might not be ready to handle or that would damage them more than help them. It's my job as a parent (again figuratively). I have two nephews. I buy them books for their birthdays and for Christmas. Some day they're going to be reading YA books and I know I'll have to be more careful when purchasing.

Do I get that darker content in YA isn't going to go away and that there might actually be a lot of kids who prefer that darker stuff? Absolutely.

Do either of these mean that I'm going to attack someone for voicing a differing opinion, for calling attention to a trend that simply means parents should be more diligent in being involved in and aware of their children's lives? Absolutely not.

I don't necessarily agree with everything written in the Wall Street Journal article. But I don't agree with how it was handled by the YA community within the publishing industry. Earlier in this post I said that I might not necessarily try to get my current project published when it's finished. The behavior of the YA community that I witnessed (major mob mentality) in the wake of the WSJ article and an article on Slate (though that one didn't garner near as hateful a reaction as the WSJ one) have made me question whether the grass really is greener on the YA side of the fence.

Is this sort of behavior indicative of the entire YA community in the publishing industry? Perhaps not, but it does appear to be the most vocal. And that voice isn't something I want to align myself with. It's making me question many things about my writing and about where I want to go with both my writing career and any career I'm hoping to obtain in the publishing industry. (The latter is probably shot to bits with this post. If that's the case, then it's probably not an industry I want to join as a professional on that side of the fence and leads me to think I should stick with writing and maybe go the indie route.)

A Day Late

2011-07-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

And many dollars short. Hee hee.

Sorry for not getting a WiP update to you guys yesterday. I've fallen into a funk. There's a lot going on in my personal life right now that is really dragging down everything else.

I'm plugging away at chapter 5 in the traditional fantasy WiP. This chapter has turned into a beast of a thing. It won't end right now. It just keeps going. I'm either too much a slave to the rough outline I wrote out for myself or I'm throwing in too much unnecessary stuff. Or both.

Revisions on the contemporary fantasy will commence when I've finished beta reading for two friends. Which I'm hoping to get done by the end of the weekend. (I'm sorry, guys. I'm a total fail at beta reading right now. :( )

Fortunately for me, the muse seems to be really focused on the current project. I haven't had an SNI hit me yet in this project. *knocks wood*

How are your WiPs going?

Literary Travels

2011-07-05T07:00:00.004-06:00

Someday I want to travel to spots significant to a lot of different books. The one that hits me right off the bat is the Lord of the Rings (and now Hobbit) sites in New Zealand. But I've already managed one trip. Harry Potter.

Bodelian Library. That corner behind me? Where Harry's infirmary bed sits.

Remember when Harry first met Malfoy? Right there where those people are standing.

What's thought to be the inspiration for Hogwarts' Great Hall, the dining halls of British Universities.

I love King's Cross Station. They went and put a luggage trolley partway into the wall with a platform sign.

St. Pancras Station, around which Harry and Ron flew in the Ford Anglia.

Another, quite awkward shot of St. Pancras Station. (This station is next door to King's Cross.)

What about you? What literary travels are on your wishlist? (I've got Narnia on mine. ;) )

Dreaming of Books

2011-07-01T07:00:00.003-06:00

My TBR Pile:
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde
The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde
First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
Gunn's Golden Rules by Tim Gunn
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
Bright Young Things by Ann Godberson
Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings by Helene Boudreaux
The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey
Monarch by Michelle Davidson Argyle (ARC, releases 9/15)
Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan
Clarity by Kim Harrington

My Book Wishlist*:

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

A Matter of Magic by Patricia C. Wrede

Fallen by Laren Kate

The Flavor Bible

Jane by April Lindner

Juliet by Anne Fortier

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Magic Below Stairs by Caroline Stevermeer

Matched by Ally Condie

The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K. Madigan

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

The Pasta Bible

The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison

Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer

Wildwing by Emily Whitman
The Shifter by Janice Hardy
The Map of Time by Felix Palma

*In addition to the lists of books I want found in this Start of Summer Reading Post, the Books of May post, and my July wishlist.

July Book Releases

2011-06-30T07:00:00.002-06:00

Supernaturally by Kiersten White

Sequel to Paranormalcy, which I devoured and adored. So looking forward to this.

Ripple by Mandy Hubbard

I heard about this one following Mandy on Twitter. I really enjoyed her book You Wish, so I'm totally looking forward to this one. And yay for underused supernatural creatures! (The MC is a siren.)

What books am I missing? (Note, I know there are some other notable sequels this month but I am so behind the times that I haven't read the starts to those series so I left them off of here.)

WiP Wednesday 6/29

2011-06-29T08:00:00.007-06:00

Yay for progress update day!

Short story:
FINISHED! As of yesterday, this story is done. I'm still undecided as to whether I'll attempt to get this one published. It ended up being just over 13K. Wordy for a short story, yes, but that's how all of mine seem to go.

YA fantasy:
I finished chapter 4. But haven't written past there yet. I focused heavily on the short story this week because I wanted to get it done so the creative energy could be concentrated on the YA. I discovered during the process of writing that story that I can't have two first drafts going at the same time. It just doesn't work.

Lodestar:
Still sitting, waiting for revisions. Which will start probably in the next week or so. Just to prove to myself I'm able to revise and draft at the same time. (Preparing for the eventual day when I hope to be writing under contract.)

How are your WiPs going?

And, please, if you missed yesterday's post on the Stories for Sendai Anthology blog tour, read it and put this anthology on your buy list. All proceeds are going to aid survivors of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan back in March.

Stories for Sendai Tour Stop

2011-06-28T07:00:00.015-06:00

Hey all! Today I'm hosting my friend Michelle and the "Stories for Sendai" anthology she co-edited as it's taken around the blog-world on tour to spread the word.

Back in March when the earthquake hit Japan, I have to admit that while my first thoughts did go out to the people in Japan, most of the morning my focus was on the tsunami racing across the Pacific toward Southern California. I have a poor sense of geography and worried about my family down there. (They were never in any danger.)

The stories that poured out of Japan (and continue to come) are heartbreaking enough without adding in worry about family or friends. I know I was barely affected by this aspect while so many were on edge for days, and perhaps still are, with worry over family or friends.

Anthology information:

One of the largest earthquakes ever recorded hit the city of Sendai in the Tohoku region of Japan on Friday, March 11. The magnitude 9.0 quake unleashed a deadly tsunami that slammed into Japan's east coast, leaving a swathe of devastation in its wake. Thousands of people lost their lives, and many are still missing or injured. Thousands more have been left homeless and destitute.

As a testament to the generosity of the world's citizens, emergency appeals have been swiftly set up in the aftermath of the quake, but I'm sure many of you, as we did, had the same thought: our donations seem so puny. There must be some other way we could make a difference!

With that in mind, Stories for Sendai was born!

The Stories for Sendai Anthology is a collection of 19 short stories and one poem. Some are inspired by the events of the earthquake in Sendai; others are simply stories of hope and inspiration. All are uplifting and worth reading. Please consider buying a copy of the anthology and spreading the word about this wonderful, uplifting little book. All proceeds go to relief efforts to aid Japan.

Stories for Sendai is available in paperback or Kindle format.

Paperback
Kindle [link tk]

You can find a list of the contributing authors and their stories here.

You can visit the Stories for Sendai blog here.

And...don't forget we're having a PRIZE DRAW! Buy the book, email us a copy of your receipt at stories for sendai (at) ymail (dot) com, and be entered for a draw for cool prizes! Here's what's on offer:

1 x $10 or £10 Amazon gift voucher
1 x First Chapter/Query/Synopsis Critique by Michelle Davidson Argyle!
2 x First Chapter/Query/Synopsis Critiques by J.C. Martin!
1 x e-book copies of Celestial Seduction by Jessica E. Subject, donated by the author!
1 x e-book copy of Middlewitch Mayhem by Heather Parker, donated by the author!

Turn of Phrase: Master It

2011-06-24T07:00:00.001-06:00

I started to title this as "dialogue" instead of "turn of phrase," but I made the change because I think that, while my examples will be dialogue from movies (readily available for me to find), it can apply to just about any word we write in our stories.

"I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day...This day we fight!"-Lord of the Rings

What do we learn from this one? That the dialogue, the description, needs to match the tone of everything. (Captain Obvious, here. I've taken over for Stephanie today on the writing.) Not just the mood of the scene that we're trying to convey, but the tone of the genre, of the world at large (the world we've created and fleshed out in the pages of our story). Plus, this is a nifty call-back to when the Fellowship is broken at the shores of Amon-hen.

"Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. 'Mankind.' That word should have a new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom. Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution. But from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: 'We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight!' We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!"-Independence Day

Just typing this one out gives me chills and makes me tear up. This has to be my all-time favorite movie speech. From this we learn that our turns of phrase, even if we're making them up for a fantasy world, need to have something the reader can relate to so they can feel the emotion you're trying to evoke.

"It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage."-Raiders of the Lost Ark

Does anything sum up a character better? (Okay, maybe "Why'd it have to be snakes.")

"It does not do to dwell on dreams, Harry, and forget to live."-Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

For me, this is one line that really sums up the entirety of Harry's emotional journey from book 1 to book 7. And if we master turns of phrase well enough, we can find these little gems in our own writing. And if we place it at just the right moment, from just the right character, it won't come off as pithy.

"That night, Clara's mother, the town witch, came to the Wilhurn house seeking revenge. She wanted these blue-bloods to feel the pain of rejection her daughter felt and commanded that the next Wilhurn daughter be born with the face of a pig. 'And only when one of your own kind claims this daughter as their own, 'til death do they part, will the curse be broken.'"-Penelope

It's this last one that really inspired this post. The way we word things can mask or reveal what's to come. I won't spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it. (Why haven't you seen it? I mean, James McAvoy? C'mon! Okay, so it's a really cute movie, too, and you should watch it. Especially moms with their daughters.)

So, any other great quotes (from books or movies) that I've missed that you think can teach us a great lesson? Have you watched Penelope? Any of these movies?

What Does Your Character Want?

2011-06-23T07:00:00.001-06:00

Does your character want something so badly it aches? Do they want something so desperately they cry thinking about it?

What are they willing to do to get that?

Are they willing to move across the country even if they really can't afford it? Are they willing to admit defeat and give up on the dream or desire?

At what point will they settle for second- or fifth-best because the odds against getting what they want are insurmountable?

Are you as the author willing to push them to that point and see if they break?

I'm going through this struggle in my real life right now. I know the point at which I'll break. I sometimes wonder if Heavenly Father wants to see if I break this time or if I can push to a new breaking point and not break.

Right now, I'm looking for a job. It's not pretty, the war that rages in my head every time I click through my links of various job boards. I went to a conference on Saturday that was not a writer's conference. This was a religious conference. One of the workshops I attended was on landing the job you want. Some 40,000 jobs created last month? That's great! Oh, but 220,000 new job seekers entered the market. Sigh.

At one point, the man teaching the workshop ran through a bunch of questions all meant to help us figure out what career we want.

Guess what my answers told me? Well, 2 things. Writer and agent/editor.

Crazy, right? But the answers were there plain and simple. You know what really stinks, though? The fact that there isn't a whole lot of publishing industry here where I live. It exists. There are some literary agencies and three magazines.

I'm at that point where I know what I want, I want it so desperately I want to cry, and I can't have it. The roadblocks are insurmountable.

Are your characters at that point? Are they headed for that point?

WiP Wednesday 6/22

2011-06-22T08:22:00.000-06:00

Let's see. Where should I begin.

Lodestar is still sitting pretty waiting to be revised. I have excellent (at least I think they are) ideas for where to go from here. I'm eager to jump back into the revising ring.

My YA high fantasy is trucking along. I'm in chapter 4 and and it's going remarkably smooth. The plot is still throwing some surprises my way, which is entertaining. (Mostly it's character stuff that's cropping up but those character things are having some impact on events of the plot and how things unfold.)

Over the weekend I had a couple of scenes from a brand new story pestering me so I started writing it. This one's just a short story. I'll probably cap it somewhere in the 8K-10K mark. Currently it is titled Blood Blessed though that might change after I finish the story. (I just needed a placeholder since I already have a story on my hard drive named "New story.")

How are your WiPs going?

High Fantasy

2011-06-21T10:01:00.000-06:00

So, it's no secret that I write fantasy. Usually it's high/traditional fantasy though I have tried my hand at the contemporary side of things.

Why do I love high/traditional fantasy so much? I've been thinking about it because while I write it I can't help but wonder about the genre distinction between the two.

I loved Lord of the Rings when I finally read it as a junior in high school. (Scandal, I know. I call myself a fantasy author but I didn't read the tomeliest tome of them all until so late? Outrage!)

What did I love the most about it? How immersed in the world I was when reading it. I did find it kind of hard to follow after Fellowship ended and we had the split narratives. But I dealt with it. I loved what I was seeing/reading.

Tamora Pierce and David Eddings were the two who really turned me on to fantasy, though. With the former, I got great and fun fantasy settings, she has two created worlds she writes in, with characters I could relate to. (Let's be honest, character was not the focus of Tolkien's work.) With the latter, we got epic, sweeping stories that spanned the entirety of the characters' known worlds. And still characters to relate to and root for.

I read the Hobbit and fell in love with Middle-Earth again, though this time there seemed to be more balance between character and setting.

Mercedes Lackey's books came through my hands and I devoured her fantasy setting and the horse connection aspect of her world.

There have been other authors and books that have served to entrench my love of high/traditional fantasy but they are not coming to mind.

I think what I love most about fantasy is that anything is possible as long as the author and characters believe it and there is a reason for why it can happen.

Guest post!

2011-06-20T09:54:00.000-06:00

Hey all! I know, it's Monday, and I don't normally post on Mondays.

But I'm guest posting over at Liana Brooks' blog today in her "Secret Lives of Authors" series.

So please stop on over at Liana's excellent blog and leave a comment. Hope Monday treats y'all right.

Small Techy Success

2011-06-17T07:00:00.001-06:00

Woohoo!

Totally not writing related, but it's blog-related.

I've finally succeeded in transferring my blog to a custom domain. Blogger should automatically re-direct.

The new url is stephanie-mcgee.com

And, yes, it'll work without the www. That was my second techy success of the day.

Next step will be figuring out the background image thing both here and on Twitter...

Have a good weekend everyone!

Under Construction

2011-06-16T09:11:00.001-06:00

Bear with me, folks. I'm attempting to move the blog onto a custom domain. If things are wonky when you visit, just please be patient.

WiP Wednesday 6/15

2011-06-15T07:00:00.001-06:00

High Fantasy Draft:

I still have no title for the book I'm writing. But that's okay.

I'm loving this story. It's kind of fun, trying to write a YA high/traditional fantasy. I'm worried that my MC isn't sounding teen enough, but it isn't like she's a contemporary teen. Her struggles will be the same, but I think I have a little room to play with the voice. So, yeah. We'll see.

I'm in chapter 3 right now. I know, slow progress, right? But the thing is this book only has 15 planned chapters. (Thereabouts.) So, there's wiggle room for adding chapters.

I'm writing this one longhand, off-computer. Which has its plusses and minuses. I've also decided not to type out what I write until I'm done with the book. Or when I've filled a notebook full of written material. I think I'll make that final call when I get there. But I think I need to fill about 3 notebooks, minimum, to have the book at a decent word count when it's done. Maybe four so there's room for making cuts that will be needed.

Lodestar

This book is in "let it sit" mode. When I finish the first draft of the above book, I'll return to revising this one. I had an excellent brainstorming session with a dear writer friend and now have some very good ideas for what to look at and change in the book.

It's weird, but I think I'm kind of excited to attack this round of revisions.

How are your WiPs going?

A Writer's Insecurity

2011-06-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

Rachelle Gardner's post today on the gift of insecurity got me thinking.

I posted a comment over there, but I think I want to expound upon what I said. In that comment I talked about my first (which became my second) novel, Oracles Promise. This book took a long time for me to finish that first draft. (Somewhere in the vicinity of 8 or 9 years.)

Why?

Well, a) I got stuck in revising mode. Instead of adding new story I tweaked and rewrote what was there. And b) I didn't have much confidence in the story. Especially when I'd read other published works.

In 2007, I graduated with my bachelor's degree. In celebration, my mom and I traveled to New York that summer. We'd done the same thing when I graduated high school and it was fun for me to sort of bookend my college years that way. While there, I had the chance to go to an author signing. The author was Jasper Fforde. (I'm sorry if you're groaning right now, but this was a huge moment for me in my writing journey.)

I'd been feeling really unsure of my story and the characters and everything at this point. Around this time I'd actually decided the book needed to be shelved and never finished. I asked Mr. Fforde if he ever read other peoples' books and felt like what he was writing was utter garbage. (I may not have been quite so eloquent. I was speaking to an author I admire.)

When he said all the time, I was shocked. Yes, I was naive enough to believe that authors don't doubt themselves. That they're not questioning everything they've written, even after it's published.

But he also said that you have to use it to motivate yourself to improve your own writing skills.

Fast forward to last March when I had the chance to see him in person again. This time I was rather a blathering idiot when I reached the signing table. I rambled on about how what he said those years before had stuck with me, kept me going, etcetera.

I'm still sitting here, insecure, doubtful, questioning every word I've ever written. But I'm realizing that I have the tools I need to overcome those insecurities and those doubts. I have very supportive writer friends who are there to encourage me. I have the dojo and my blog. I have my faith. I have the words of those wiser than I am, those who've traveled the path I'm just starting on.

I have my doubts and fears and insecurities, but I know I can get past them. I have in so many ways. Since that day when Mr. Fforde shocked me, I've finished the book I'd shelved at that point and written three others, with another well under way.

Miss You

2011-06-10T09:06:00.000-06:00

11 years and it still feels like yesterday sometimes.

Now I think I'm going to turn off the computer and try not to think about the sad stuff.

Narrative Dares

2011-06-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

Last night as I sat at my computer contemplating what I would blog about today, I pulled out my notes from an author signing three months ago. The author was Jasper Fforde, one of my favorites. (I will warn you that his books do have some language. So if you want to avoid that sort of thing his books aren't for you.)

I love going and hearing him speak at a signing. This was the third signing of his I'd been to, but only the second where he actually spoke prior to signing the books. He's just that entertaining. (What other author do you know who tells you to go to a restaurant and when the waitress asks if you have any questions, ask "In the end of Star Wars, why didn't Chewbacca also get a medal?")

One thing that really struck me, and I think that he mentioned it in the last signing of his I went to as well, was the idea of a narrative dare. In talking about his writing process, he says he always tries to start with an idea, a what if. That's the dare.

Then he challenges himself to create the world in which that dare is feasible and even inevitable. If you read The Eyre Affair you can see it. His heroine, Thursday Next (isn't that a great name?), is a police officer over literature. Then Jane Eyre goes missing from the pages of the book.

That's the narrative dare, what would happen if a famous literary figure went missing. (At least, one of the dares as I perceive them.) So then he had to create a world in which it would be devastating if this happened, where it could happen, and where the resources might exist to fix it. That's what he means by creating a world where the dare is inevitable.

I'm not sure if I've quite nailed the concept in my own writing but I think I'm getting there with the book I'm currently working on. Only time and beta reads will tell that much. How about you? Do you have a narrative dare that is the influencing factor of everything else that comes into the story?

WiP Wednesday 6/8

2011-06-08T07:00:00.001-06:00

Hello again! I hope you've all had a fabulous week of productivity when it comes to writing. I know I have.

Lodestar:

I've begun doing just minor edits, all very surface level. I think I'm avoiding dealing with the major issues for some reason. I know I can fix these issues but at the moment they're looking to be more work than writing the book in the first place.

Untitled fantasy WiP:

I finished world-building. Finally. My pantser brain was throwing temper tantrums at me every five minutes when I sat down to writ out my plot synopsis. I wrote the plot for the entire series, starting in Act 0 (as my Shakespeare professor liked to refer to the stuff before the play actually started) and through to the end. Twenty-one pages later I had the series start to finish. There'll be times as I go that I'll stray from that plot synopsis, but at least it's there and it feels cohesive. It feels like I've taken care of the major plot holes.

Except that plot holes have a funny way of breeding like rabbits when your manuscript is in rest mode. Sigh.

I looked through the synopsis and marked where the most natural breaks occurred. Turns out I've got a trilogy on my hands. Which is great because when the idea first hit me, the muse was telling me it would be seven. I'm so glad it was only three. Then I simplified my synopsis into an outline for each book.

I started writing book one. Not terribly far along. But I am also refusing to set a word count goal for this book. I'm just going to write until the outline tells me I've hit the end of book one. Which my planner brain is railing against but whatever. I can only please one side, pantser or plotter, at a time and this is not planner's time.

How are your WiPs going?

Book Birthdays and Writer Friends

2011-06-07T00:09:00.001-06:00

*If you can't bear anything that remotely resembles sappiness in any way, move on from this post.

Happy book birthday, Elana. If you haven't heard, today is the launch day for Possession, Elana's YA dystopian debut. (Try saying that five times fast.)

I've known Elana for about two years. Back in 2009 when my blog was still trying to find its footing, Elana was among the first to follow and start commenting on my blog. This in turn led me to her blog and to all sorts of other blogs and writing-related resources. It's impossible for me to trace the path I took to finding some of the blogs that I follow, but I know Elana's was probably instrumental in a lot of it.

I was such a n00b in those days. I was only just starting to get an inkling of what a real writing journey to publication would be like. I'd only barely heard of literary agents and had no idea how many words would be written in the coming months and years. One day, Elana made a passing reference to a conference being held down in Orem, Utah. I lived only a half an hour away at the time, something which no one had any idea.

Based off that one little mention, I did my research and found all the information I needed on Book Academy, the conference Elana and her writing friends would be attending. The cost wasn't exorbitant. $30. I had a little bit of money saved, though I was unemployed at the time. (Funny how some things never seem to change.) I alerted Elana that I would be at the conference. We planned to be on the lookout, but I have to confess I was probably more nervous and more excited than she was, I think. Sure I'd spent the last two years in an English graduate program, where writers abounded.

But to me, this was much cooler. I didn't operate on the same wavelength as many in my graduate program. While they wrote poetry (which I did, too) and heavy tomes of literary fiction, I created fantasy worlds and populated them with people who became as real to me as my fellow students.

Through blogging I'd found people on a similar brain wave. And I was soon to meet many of them. I didn't know who would be there with Elana. She'd mentioned her crit group was coming. So I kept an eye out for her all that morning before the conference started. I'm sure the other girls were wondering who the tagalong was, as I stuck pretty close most of the day, feeling really out of my element.

Of course they were gracious enough not to say anything. I met other writer friends that day. (Hi Angie and Windy!) But none of it would have actually happened if Elana hadn't started following my blog and then mentioned that one itty-bitty conference. (To this day the only one I've been too.)

I know I owe a lot to Elana and the hand of friendship she extended. So thanks, Elana.

And now she's published. I read the book. You should go buy it.

Oh, and I'm supposed to talk today, too, about a time I broke the rules for the greater good. And, you know, I honestly can't think of a time. I've never been rebellious, never been one to break the rules. I guess that makes me the opposite of Vi. And maybe not.

ETA:

I've thought of a rule I've broken. Lately I always tell myself that "This time will be different, I won't act the way I always have." This is when it comes to members of the opposite gender. I'm still looking for the guy who will just "get" me and with whom there's a spark and such that can lead to some sort of meaningful relationship. (Read: marriage.) Sure there are going to be heartbreaks along the way. (Oh, that's already happened.) But every time I meet someone new and I start to wonder if there's any potential, I relapse into old ways of behavior, doubting things, and generally worrying over what I can't control.

This despite telling myself that the rules are that I can't let these thoughts in my head.

So, yeah. Maybe there's a Thinker in my head that I don't know about.

Blurbs and One-paragraph Descriptions

2011-06-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

At these I fail. Horribly.

There's a reason the projects on the "My Writing" page here on the blog don't have blurbs or descriptions. And, yet, I do believe it's high time I remedied that.

So, yeah.

I think the reason I fail is that I try to put too much information in. But then when I take out information people get lost. It's a delicate balance to handle, especially in fantasy. (Not to mention trying to not confuse the reader but also not give away a twist.)

I've been working and re-working my query for Lodestar over the last month or more. It's no closer to being something that would grab an agent than it was when I first wrote it out.

When I wrote a query for Oracles Promise as a means of boiling down my plot in preparation for revisions, it just depressed me because it seemed to highlight so many problems that felt impossible to fix.

I think that killed blurbs/one-paragraph descriptions for me. And possibly queries.

And don't even get me started on a synopsis.

WiP Wednesday 6/1

2011-06-01T07:15:00.008-06:00

Hello, my lovelies! This has been a very interesting week. Last Friday evening, my muse took a 2x4 on steroids to my head and whacked me so hard with an idea that I haven't been able to do anything writing-related but work on this idea.

It's shiny and pretty and new. And I adore it. This story might be a challenge to pull off but so far it's looking less and less so.

Oh, the genre, you ask? Epic fantasy. Yes, epic. Sigh. What can I say, I'll always find my way back to my literary roots.

So that's been the focus of my week. How are your WiPs going?

And now on to the more important item of the day! Today marks my unofficial 2-year blog anniversary. While this blog began in October of 2008, it wasn't until June of 2009 that I began to blog with seriousness and regularity. In those first weeks of blogging I spoke only to the internet at large.

Then one day I logged on and discovered I had a follower. Then more followers came. And followers became friends while the blog grew and blossomed.

2 years later, here we are. And now it's time to announce the contest winners.

*drum roll*

Congratulations to Nisa and Kayeleen! Go ahead and e-mail that MS whenever you're ready for that feedback. This is open-ended so no deadline or anything. novicewriteranonymous(at)gmail(dot)com

Nisa's mashup was "Lord of the Terrier" and Kayeleen's qualifying entry (though she sent in several mashups after) was "A Tree Grows Across the Universe."

Congratulations again ladies!

Start of Summer Reading: A List

2011-05-31T07:00:00.009-06:00

I'm thinking of keeping this as a monthly feature. What say you?

Here's the list of books I'm looking at getting my hands on this month. What about you?

Possession by Elana Johnson (June 7)

Elana's a friend of mine but I'd buy it anyway because I'd trust her to maybe sway my mind on my like-hate relationship with dystopians. (I'm a Trekker, I'm a nerd, but it takes skill to get me to like a dystopian. I know Elana has that skill. And I'm not just saying it because she's my friend.)

Hereafter by Tara Hudson (June 7)

For fans of paranormal romance, fair warning: You will fall instantly in love with Joshua just as Amelia does. This one feels like such a breath of fresh air in the world of paranormal fiction. (Note, I won an ARC of this in a contest, but I'll probably buy a copy from the store.)

Flying Blind by Deborah Cooke (June 7)

Dragons, shapeshifters? It's fantasy with romance (or romance with fantasy or paranormal) so I'm intrigued from the blurb.

Fairy Bad Day by Amanda Ashby (June 9)

A main character who ends up in school learning to slay fairies instead of dragons? A different take on the fairy thing. It intrigues me.

Dragon Castle by Joseph Bruchac (June 9)

Um, dragons, castles, war, swords, maybe sorcery. Yeah, I'm sold.

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz (June 21)

This one seems like a breath of fresh air amid what is familiar. The main character starts dreaming of her past lives.

What about you? What book releases are you looking forward to this month?

Don't forget! There's still time to enter my contest to win one of TWO full manuscript critiques! Full details are in Friday's post.

Independent and Strong Female

2011-05-27T07:00:00.003-06:00

I've been seeing a lot of discussions lately bemoaning the strong female character who really isn't all that strong or independent. So I thought I'd take a day to explore what I think makes a woman truly strong or independent. Maybe someone will take something from what I have to say.

My Mom is the strongest, most independent person I know.

My Dad passed away almost 11 years ago. He was sick for half of my life, diagnosed with cancer when I was seven, getting Hodgkin's and Shingles, multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, a bone marrow transplant, two ruptured discs in his back, a heart attack, and ultimately succumbing, not to the cancer cured by the BMT, but to congestive heart failure of a heart damaged by too much chemotherapy and radiation and too little activity after rupturing the discs in his back.

Through those 8 years (he passed when I was 15), my Mom had to make a lot of decisions on her own, especially in the later years. After he passed, everything fell on her shoulders. They'd always made financial decisions together, big issues, all of that. Now he's not around. She had two choices: shirk the decisions because they were too hard or step up to the plate and live life.

There have been times where I know she's struggled. Where she's railed against what happened, wishing that my Dad were around. *coughteachingmetodrivecough* But then she's picked up and made the decisions that needed making.

But she's also always had help in quiet ways. Talking to her parents, her Bishop, learning from those around her.

In many ways I've picked up this same independence and strength. I can rely on myself to handle what life throws at me. Sure sometimes I want to cry. And I do. But then I blow my nose and make a decision.

Often times, though, I have to ask for help. I have to accept the fact that no one can get through this life completely on their own. Part of strength and independence, to me, is knowing when to ask for help. It's hard, but it's true. It's a lesson I'm taught nearly monthly sometimes it seems.

True independence and strength is knowing that you have the power to operate on your own but recognizing that you can't always do so and need the support, help, and strength of others to get what you want or need in this life.

Maybe if we start thinking of it this way, our female characters won't come off as total pains and alienate our readers.

*********************************************************************************

Today marks the 400th post here at Chronicles of a Novice Writer. And to top it off, next Wednesday will be the unofficial 2-year anniversary of my blog. I say unofficial because this blog was technically opened in October of 2008, but between then and June 1, 2009, there were maybe 3 posts. June 1 was when I began to blog consistently and with a vague purpose in mind. Over the years that purpose has shifted, as has the content, but I'm still here. I'm still talking. And maybe I'm talking to no one, but that's okay I guess.

So, in honor of both of these milestones, I'm holding a contest. The rules are simple: To be entered, simply tweet me your best mashup title between a classic and your favorite or least favorite book in the genre you read/write in the most. My twitter handle is @StephanieLMcGee and please use the hashtag #400posts2yrsmashup

Only the first tweet will be entered in the contest but tweet as many as come to mind. One title per tweet, please.

Don't have a Twitter account? (Get thee to Twitter!) That's okay. Leave your best title mashup here in the comments and I'll be sure you're entered.

The contest will be open from the time of this post going live until 11:59 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time on Tuesday, May 31. I'll announce the two winners (you read that right, two winners!) in my post on June 1.

What's the prize? Oh, I suppose I should tell you that if you really want to know. I'll be giving away two full manuscript critiques. Two. I'll allow adult, YA, MG, or anything in-between. Keep it clean and mild on the heat level. Acceptable genres are steampunk, science fiction, fantasy, and romance. If you really want the crit and you're in a different genre, leave a comment and I'll call it from there.

The Painfully Oblivious Parent

2011-05-26T07:30:00.001-06:00

You know the kind. Oblivious to the point of being absurd. Bella's dad in the Twilight books is one. The dad in Josephine Angelini's Starcrossed (a book which I far prefer to Twilight and a lot of other YA paranormal romance books that I've read lately) is another. (Though in his defense, because I really did enjoy the book, he's nowhere near as densely oblivious as Bella's dad.) But the one that takes the cake for me is Eliot's mom in "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial." (Yes, it's a movie, but the trope is the same.)

I'm tired of seeing this. Yes, kids do great jobs at hiding things from their parents. (Though I was never one. My mom's always been one of my closest friends.) But these parents and others like them are so dense and oblivious I groan when I read them. I realize it's a method of getting the parents' noses out of the kids' business so that the kids can be off doing their thing and conquering the world on their own. But in my mind it sometimes borders on the inane.

A solution is the parent who knows but can't do anything. Percy Jackson's mom comes to mind. She can't see any of the baddies her son has to face. He has to move away from home for his and her safety. But whenever they happen to have an interaction, she's 100% supportive even though she might be terrified out of her mind underneath her calm facade.

I'd like to see more YA where the parents are aware of the situation but can't do anything, as with Percy's mom, or are aware to the point of becoming a source of conflict that can deepen the internal and/or external arc. (I'm thinking of the mom in Sophie Jordan's Firelight here.)

What think you?

WiP Wednesday 5/25

2011-05-25T07:15:00.001-06:00

Wow, that time of week again, huh?

Updates:

Lodestar/When the Star Fell:

Still in total title flux. Can't decide on anything in this regard. I've finished and printed my revision outline for the next round of revisions. That will happen after the book comes back from beta. (For more on my process of revision outlines, see this handy post compiling all such items on outlining.)

Truth or Dare:

Well, it's finished. I'm still not sure I'll ever revise it in earnest and submit it anywhere. Not necessarily the genre that I want to start my career in so we'll see. Maybe someday with a pseudonym and different title.

How are your WiPs going?

Lodestar Soundtrack

2011-05-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

I've posted about soundtracks before. I've even posted a soundtrack for Lodestar. (Or When the Star Fell. We're still in title flux over here.)

Looking back over that soundtrack, and thinking about the soundtrack as it stands now, I've realized something. These soundtracks aren't so much what you'd hear if the books were turned into movies. These are tracks that when I hear them I think of one of my books or of a character.

So here's the updated soundtrack for my contemporary fantasy, Lodestar.

"In Her Eyes" by Josh Groban (pretty much how the MC thinks of his predicament and of how one character views him)
"Untouchable" by Taylor Swift (whenever I hear this song, there's one scene in my book that comes to life in my head as I sing the song, so vividly I sometimes want to cry)
"This Time" from the August Rush soundtrack (the first lines evoke one of the scenes at the end of the novel for me, the chorus evokes some of the internal conflict for the MC)
"You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban (basically how the MC feels about being thrust into this world he had no idea existed) *slight pause in soundtrack building to get lost in Josh Groban's voice*
"So Close" from the Enchanted soundtrack (pretty much every interaction between the MC and his primary love interest as there's a physical reason they can't touch, not even to hold hands)
"To Where You Are" by Josh Groban (evokes really the way the MC feels about the primary love interest, and a little bit of the emotion toward the end of the book) *pausing again for that gorgeous voice*
"Open Your Eyes (to Love)" from the Lizzie McGuire Movie soundtrack (there's a scene between the primary love interest and another character that is basically this and I think about this scene when hearing this song)

"Sacred Places" by Angie Lofthouse: Blog Contest Tour Stop

2011-05-20T07:00:00.001-06:00

It's my pleasure today to host my friend, Angie's, Out of This World Blog Tour and Contest. Angie has been around my blog almost since its beginnings. We've met in person and I can honestly say she's among the sweetest and kindest people you'll ever meet. She's a prolific writer and an editor to boot. (And be sure to check out her book Defenders of the Covenant from Walnut Springs Press, due later this year.)

"Sacred Places" first appeared in Irreantum Magazine's Winter 2003/Spring 2004 issue, after receiving an Honorable Mention in the 2003 Irreantum Fiction Contest.

Life on a distant planet with her archeologist husband is not all that Rachael Murray had hoped it would be. With two small children, a busy husband, and neighbors she's not sure she wants to meet, Rachael feels homesick and neglected. But if she opens herself up to the possibilities, she may find more to love in her new home that she ever imagined.

To enter The Out of This World Adventure giveaway, click on the story title to read the story, then come back here and answer the following question in the comments:

Have you ever learned to get along with someone you didn't think you'd get along with?

Your comment will give you one entry in the grand prize drawing (includes an Amazon gift card, free book and other fun stuff!), plus one commenter on this post will win a Milky War bar. Mmmm. Include your email address, if it isn't on your profile, so we can contact the winners.

Be sure to visit the other stops on the Adventure and good luck!

How I Came Into Writing

2011-05-19T09:42:00.000-06:00

I've been reminiscing lately on how I got started on this whole crazy journey. The start of my writing life is a little nebulous in my memory. (A fact which would shock my family. I'm known as the one with a mind like a steel trap.)

Basically, though, this is what I remember:

In ninth grade I was obsessed with a certain boy band. No, I won't say which. That would date me. I think at around the same time the movie, "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron" came out and, well, I've always been into horses. (I used to have one but we had to put him down last year.) Somehow I got the idea in my head to write a screenplay for an animated movie about horses. And since the member of said boy band with whom I was most obsessed was also into horses my brain had the casting down to a tee.

I started working on the idea, trying to learn how to write a screenplay, and coveting screen writing software that would automatically format the script properly. (You know, character names in all caps, action tags, to be used sparingly, in brackets, one minute of screen time per page, etcetera.) Boy was that software going to be expensive. And at the time, I of course didn't have a credit card. (Oh, to return to that time.)

Somewhere along the way between ninth grade and my junior year of high school (in Utah, middle school is 7th, 8th and 9th, while high school is 10th, 11th, 12th), the idea got abandoned. I'm sure somewhere in all the boxes of books and miscellanea at my mom's house I still have my basic notes that I took on the idea. (Casting alongside notes on who should do the music, since it was going to be classic Disney, singing characters and all.)

Also somewhere in here I was doing a lot of reading. Fantasy mostly. We're talking my first exposure to Tolkien (junior year); J.K. Rowling, Tamora Pierce, and David Eddings dominated. I know that thought crossed my mind, "I could do this. I could write a fantasy novel."

I launched into the world-building. My parents had years before bought a large encyclopedia set and it sat on our shelves. I took to thumbing through it for maps and pulling random place names for locations in my fantasy world. This was after I'd hit on the inspiration for my entire plot, the meaning of a name given to one of the principal female characters in the saga.

By senior year I was writing the story. My English teacher that year, Sly, was kind enough to offer me feedback on my chapters as I went. I spent down time in every class revising those first few chapters. My folder filled with the hard copies of those chapters and my special writing pen were never far from hand anywhere I went in my day. (Nor were the notebooks I wrote in at the time, even when I went to work that summer after graduation.)

Eight years later, after abandoning the novel on two different occasions (and some encouraging words from Jasper Fforde), I launched into a start-from-scratch world-building frenzy and rewrite of the first book in the series. I finished it after five or so months and the monkey left my back.

I have since shelved the book but I still think about it and the characters almost constantly. I know it can be saved, I'm just not there yet.

WiP Wednesday 5/18

2011-05-18T07:15:00.002-06:00

I FINISHED MY LATEST WIP!!!!!!!

Ahem.

It's far too short to be a book. (Even a category romance.) But it's done. It shall now sit on my hard drive waiting for me to decide whether I actually want to revise and polish it to a publishable state. Maybe I just want to leave it in the drawer as good practice at my craft.

As for When the Star Fell, well that's going to get a new title one of these days. (Or maybe I'll just go back to the original title because it really worked so well for it.) While I wait for the latest beta feedback, I'm working on a new detailed outline from which to revise. (A process I've detailed before.) I've received some feedback on the first chapter and first few chapters that will also influence the next set of revisions.

How are your WiPs going?

Background and Setup

2011-05-17T07:00:00.022-06:00

How much is too much when starting a book?

In my contemporary fantasy, When the Star Fell (or whatever I end up titling it), I have a bit of a dilemma.

Draft 2, which is the first complete draft of the book, takes until chapter 6 for the status quo upsetting moment to occur.

Draft 6 has that moment occurring in chapter 4.

I've tried to start the book with that moment, but it doesn't work for me. There are relationships to set up which are actually key to that moment having greater impact. (At least in my head the way I'm looking at the manuscript.) And I really have tried to start there. I wrote a new beginning, which still ended up in this current draft, just in chapter 4 not chapter 1. I hated it. It didn't grab me at all when I got to that upset moment.

I've recently received some feedback on the first chapter that has me absolutely waffling. This reviewer wanted more setup, more descriptions, more scenes happening in the start location. I haven't told this reviewer yet about the fact that two chapters of it got cut in revisions.

So at what point do you find the balance? How much setup is too much? Is it instinctive? Is it an inherent part of an author's style and voice, whether they start with a bang or ease into it?

For me, I really do prefer easing into it, both when I'm reading and when I'm writing. I can get engrossed in either form of opening. It just depends, for me, on whether the action heightens the tension and helps to draw me into the character or if I need to see them in their normal life for a bit to feel the impact of that status quo upsetting moment the way I should.

Rick Riordan's books are a prime example of this. The Red Pyramid starts a little slower. The two narrators show you a bit of what their normal is. Then he gets to the action and the upsetting of status quo. The Lost Hero jumps right into the crux of one character's arc. The kid has absolutely no idea where he is or who he is. This tension would be gone if we'd seen any bit of his normal reality.

Tolkien started off showing you how hobbits celebrate birthdays and what the Shire is like.

Jane Austen jumped right to the meat of it, a mother who wants nothing more than for her daughters to marry well, and one such opportunity has just moved into the neighborhood.

Kiersten White showed just how not normal Evie's normal is before turning her world on its ear.

I could go on, but I won't. I think what these examples are showing us is that, yes, it is instinctive and dependent on the story being told. I believe it is part of an author's voice, but more to do with the unique perspective an author brings to any story they write rather than a critical component of that voice.

What about you? Agree or disagree? Which do you tend to favor, jumping straight in or easing in?

Twitter Basics Part 4

2011-05-13T07:15:00.002-06:00

*This week I'm talking all about Twitter and its basics. If you're a Twitter pro, please read and leave any tips you have in the comments. Or skip these posts because it's nothing new.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Okay, so today we're going to talk about hashtags.

Here's where Twitter gets ridiculously useful for writers.

Hashtags are searchable keywords that users create and use to carry on larger conversations and engage with a wider audience. Those trends in the right-hand sidebar? Those are generated off of hashtags. So are your searches that you save.

There's a slew of hashtags for writers. (There is a really hand list of hashtags for writers here. I'd also recommend paying attention to what hashtags your friends are using, in case they're not on this list.)

The last thing I want to talk about is using a third-party client for Twitter. I currently use Tweetdeck.

You can use Tweetdeck to update Facebook as well, but I found it cluttering my columns so I removed it.

Tweetdeck's most useful feature is the column function. You can create columns for any hashtag search you want. There are also "core" columns to select from which include your direct messages and mentions feeds.

This is where your lists and hashtags become invaluable. My Tweetdeck currently has 5 columns. I have the main feed column, my mentions column, direct messages, and two hashtag columns.

My columns do tend to fluctuate from time to time. At one point I had eight columns going. Trust me, that gets unwieldy.

My favorite feature outside of the column organization is that new tweets pop up in a window in the corner so I can have Tweetdeck running in the background while I work in an internet browser or in my word processor. As tweets show up I can glance over, see if it's something I need to reply to or that is useful, etcetera, and keep going.

You can tweet from this pop-up window, too, which means that tweeting and working are no longer mutually exclusive.

There are several clients out there so I'd suggest looking around at various options and finding the one that suits you best.

So that's the end of our basics guide through Twitter.

Are you still railing against Twitter? Why? If you're there, you may want to leave your handle in the comments so that we can connect with you. Any tips you Twitter pros would add?

Twitter Basics Part 3

2011-05-12T07:00:00.002-06:00

*This week I'll be talking all about Twitter. If you're a pro at Twitter, you may want to skip these posts. But maybe read them and offer any tips I've missed in the comments.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 4

Okay, yesterday we talked about your main Twitter feed. Today it's all about the right-hand sidebar of your Twitter home page.

At the top, you have your picture, which links to your profile, with the number of tweets you've put out there in the Twitter-verse next to that. Here you're also shown what your latest tweet was.

Below here are the links to the pages showing you who you're following and who is following you.

Below this is where your favorites and what lists you've been added to are shown and linked to.

Next down are two columns: Trends and Who to Follow. The former can be changed to reflect a certain city or country, whatever your fancy desires. The latter is populated based off who the people you follow are following.

The tabs across the top of your actual Twitter feed are next:

@Mentions: These are the tweets that others put out there with your Twitter handle in them. To mention or reply to a user you simply put the @ symbol before their handle and continue on with the tweet.

A mention looks something like, "Check out @StephanieLMcGee 's blog posts on Twitter basics are crazy." A direct reply would start off with the @ symbol and only be visible to the user whose handle you used and users who follow you both. Mentions are visible to anyone in your feed, regardless of whether they follow the user mentioned.

Retweets: This tab gives you several options for viewing the retweets. Clicking the arrow will bring them up.

The first is "Retweets by others" and will show you all the tweets that are retweets from people you're following.

Second is "Retweets by you," which shows you the tweets you've retweeted.

Lastly is "Your tweets, retweeted," and shows which of your own tweets people have retweeted.

Searches: Any time you search a topic on Twitter you can save that search for easy access at a later date. These are saved here under this tab where you can pick which one you want to view from the drop-down arrow menu.

Lists: Lists are awesome. Especially if you're going to use a third-party client like Tweetdeck.

Every Twitter user can be sorted to a list of your choosing. You create the lists so you can organize them any way you want.

I have 5 lists. Two of them are not relevant to my author career so I'll not mention them by name here. The other three are "publishers," "agents," and "writers." Generally when I follow someone I put them into one of these lists.

You can also follow the lists created by other Twitter users. Lists are hand in that they will only show the tweets from people on that list so you can cut more quickly to the relevant information from those users.

I'm going to go ahead and mention here that you don't have to be following a user to add them to one of your lists.

Come back on Friday to talk about hashtags and third party clients.

Still averse to Twitter? Tell us why in the comments. If you're on Twitter, leave your handle so you can start connecting with new writers. If you're a Twitter pro and I've missed a tip, tell us in the comments.

WiP Wednesday 5/11

2011-05-11T08:51:00.000-06:00

I'm still working back into a good writing flow. Which will not happen today most likely. (Dismal and dreary weather seems to do that to me.) On to the updates.

When the Star Fell:

I'm debating my title, once again. I love this title, but I don't know if it's the right title for this book. I might have to hang on to it and use it for a different book from the same mythology that I developed for this one.

I've sent it off to another beta and have been getting some feedback on the first few chapters. Just what this means for the next round of revisions, I have no idea.

Truth or Dare:

I've added maybe 1600 words to this in the last few days. I want to finish this by the end of the month and I'm thinking it might happen. But I also think the story itself is going to fall far short of my word count goal so I'm thinking of scrapping the goal all together and just writing.

A very scary thought, I know.

That's it for updates on this glum Wednesday. (Seriously, it rained all night and the sun still doesn't want to show its face.) How are your WiPs going?

And don't forget to come back tomorrow for part 3 in my Twitter Basics for Authors series!

Twitter Basics Part 2

2011-05-10T07:00:00.001-06:00

*This week I'll be talking about Twitter. If you're already a pro at Twitter you don't have to read this. But maybe still read it and offer your tips in the comments.

Part 1
Part 3
Part 4

Back to the main feed. Each individual tweet in the feed (the ones that aren't yours) have the same buttons:

The little star is your "favorite" button. With this you're simply saving tweets to a private list for storage and reference at a later date. In the Twitter home page these will show up on the right-hand sidebar. They'll also show under their own tab list on your Twitter profile. (To access your own profile click on your Twitter profile picture in the right-hand sidebar.)

The recycler arrow symbol is the re-tweet button. With this you can share the tweet of someone you follow with the Twitter users who follow you.

What is the use of something like this?

1- It's a great way of finding and making new connections. There are several hashtag memes that enable this. (More on hashtags tk.) But the best use of the retweet is when someone tweets something you think your own followers will enjoy, such as a joke or article link.

2- Are you running a contest on your blog? Tweet about it. Ask others to tweet about it. Retweet other users' contests. (Karma makes the Twitter world go round sometimes.)

3- Did someone tweet about their latest blog post and you found the post really worth the time to read? Then send out a retweet.

The little curved arrow pointing to the left is the reply button. This is the basis of Twitter, in my opinion. It's also the button I use the most. Nothing turns people off faster than users on Twitter who do nothing but tweet and never engage other users.

The biggest complaint about Twitter I see is that it's so hard to engage people. That people feel like they're just shooting the breeze with themselves.

In response to this, I say use the reply button. Wear it out. If someone tweets something, don't just giggle or groan in sympathy. Reach out to that person with either a direct reply or a mention. (A mention is simply when you put the @ symbol and someone's Twitter handle anywhere but the start of your tweet.)

Lately on Twitter I've been getting involved in massive Twitter chats with friends I've made there. These connections I've made are invaluable to me.

This post is getting long enough as is so we'll end there. Thursday we'll be talking about the right-hand sidebar on Twitter and the tabs across the top of your main feed.

Are you on Twitter? What's keeping you from there? If you're on Twitter, leave your handle in the comments (if you want) and any tips you think I've missed here on this portion of Twitter.

Twitter Basics Part 1

2011-05-09T12:32:00.001-06:00

*This week I'll be talking about Twitter. If you're an old hand at Twitter, you'll maybe want to skip these. Or stick around and offer your own tips in the comments.

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Twitter, that oft-maligned and equally oft-lauded medium of social networking. Yes, it can become a massive time suck. But it can also be very effective in both marketing and making connections with other people, especially authors.

If you look at my Twitter profile (@StephanieLMcGee), I've almost eight thousand tweets. Yes, that's a lot. But I tweet as I do all sorts of things on my computer. So I'm totally multi-tasking. (I'll get to how I do that on tk.)

We'll start with the basics, for those of you who may not be terribly familiar with it (or unsure of its utility).

First off, the biggest challenge of Twitter: the 140 character limit. This can be the greatest tool, believe it or not, for an author who uses Twitter. Each tweet is a lesson in brevity. Yes, you can use abbreviations. And I often will if I'm in a hurry.

With 140 characters you need to get to the point quickly. Yes, you can spread your message across multiple tweets, but that gets tedious to follow.

On the basic Twitter homepage, you have many different options for what to click. We'll start off in your Twitter timeline, the main feed.

User names: Click on this and you'll get a pop-out of their basic information. (It takes over the right-hand sidebar on the Twitter main page.) Here you'll see their brief bio, location, how many users they're following, how many users are following them, etcetera.

You also get the option from this screen to send the user a message. You're still limited to 140 characters in direct messages on Twitter, but these don't go out to the general public like @ mentions and @ replies do.

Next to that is the pull-down menu to add the user to a list. (More on lists on Thursday.) And that last button is for all sorts of administrative stuff. From that drop-down menu you can mention the user, block them, or report them for spam.

In this same area you can choose whether their retweets will show up in your feed or if their tweets will come to your phone.

Come back tomorrow for more on the Twitter main feed. If you're on Twitter, drop your handle in the comments so we can connect with you. If you're not on Twitter, read tomorrow's post then tell us why you're not there. And as always, any thoughts you have are welcome in the comments.

Twitter Basics for Authors

2011-05-09T08:00:00.002-06:00

Here are the links to all of my posts on Twitter basics for authors.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Footloose and Fancy-free Friday 5/6

2011-05-06T07:00:00.001-06:00

It's Friday. And it feels like it should be a Friday much later in the month for some reason. Let's just say it's been a long week and not all of it pleasant.

I haven't done much by way of writing at all this week. Mostly I'm still feeling very uninspired in a lot of ways when it comes to all the projects floating around inside my brain. Combining poetry collections, books to revise, WiPs, books in development and planned sequels should I be so lucky, I have 19 projects in queue.

Very overwhelming most times.

Today is something to do with public gardens and celebrating their existence. There's a coupon at Better Homes and Gardens that will get you into a local garden free. (Many to choose from country-wide.) I'm considering it.

But then there's also a new movie out today that I really want to see. We're talking major want. I've been looking forward to this one for who knows how long. So there's my dilemma for the day.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Vocab Day #15

2011-05-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

lamina (lambuhnuh)

noun (pl. -nae):

a thin layer, plate, or scale of sedimentary rock, organic tissue, or other material

Derivatives: laminose (adjective)

Daring to Be Different

2011-05-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

We interrupt our regular WiP Wednesday post for something that has been bothering me of late.

All right, here's the deal.

I'm very devout in my religion, very firm in my faith. I have my own personal beliefs on angels. I know a lot of people have very very specific views on angels.

Guess what?

That doesn't mean you have to conform to that in your writing, if you choose to write about angels. A couple of years ago, I had the idea in my head to write something paranormal. I started researching all the different paranormal elements that I knew of. I narrowed it down to three, based off of what I read.

There was one idea on angels that I read that just stuck with me. It steamrolled and steamrolled until I had the basis for all my mythology of the book. There's a rich mythology that I've developed for this.

And it has come under attack a couple of times. Simply because it's not the standard view of angels. Yes, I pulled a very obscure description of angels on which to base my mythology. Yes, this view is not the same view I have on angels.

But you know something? I don't care. Does it mean that I might not sell this book? Probably. But I would rather be different than conform because two people screamed and shouted at me over my supposed lack of research. Because you don't know how much or how little research someone has done.

Books of May 2011

2011-05-03T07:00:00.002-06:00

New month, new set of book releases. Here are the ones I'm looking forward to getting my hands on this month.

The Steampunk Bible by Jeff VanderMeer (Already out)

I've been wanting to try my hand at true steampunk. This one seems like a good starter guide for generating ideas that I can research. Also good for helping grasp the basics of just what steampunk is. It traces the history of the sub-genre.

Throne of Fire (Kane Chronicles Book 2) by Rick Riordan (Released today)

I'm currently reading The Red Pyramid, the first in this series. I'm thoroughly enjoying it at the moment and so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Divergent by Veronica Roth (Released today)

I read about this one recently and it sounds interesting. Dystopian isn't normally my thing, but I'm willing to give it a try. Plus she's a debut author.

Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs (May 10)

This one sounded really pretty interesting when I read about it on Amazon. I think I'll give it a try. Plus it's about mermaids, and probably so much more. (Hello, loved "The Little Mermaid" growing up.)

Die for Me by Amy Plum (May 10)

Another debut author. This one sounded really intriguing, plus it's set in Paris. So I'm really going to have to find a way of getting this one.

Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow by Nathan Bransford (May 12)

Okay, totally want to read this one. It sounds so fun. And how can you resist a space ship traded for a corn dog?

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini (May 31)

If you're friends with me on Goodreads, you may have noticed I already starred this one. That's because I won an ARC of it. I really enjoyed it and she's a debut author so I want to support her. Which might just mean buying a copy once it's out.

How about you? What books are you looking forward to this month? (And feel free to link to the author's pages, if you so wish.)