As promised, here are a few shots of my proof copy. Nothing fancy, but super exciting anyway!
I've been reading through it the last couple days and, you know what? It's not as bad as I feared. Don't get me wrong, there's some messy stuff between those pretty purple covers, but I was expecting much, much worse. Now I can't wait to revise!
I'm not sure how to function today. It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon and I'm not at work. I can count the number of times this has happened in the last couple years on one hand. I don't get Saturdays off. It's weird.
Granted, I have a reason for this Saturday off. A really great reason. I'm going to a concert tonight. Sugarland and Sara Bareilles.
Now, I love Sugarland. Jennifer Nettles is amazing. But I'm super stoked about Sara Bareilles. Anyone who's read my blog knows that. She's incredible and I can't wait to see her live. I just hope she does this song:
In other, non-fangirl news, I got the proof copy of my 2010 NaNoWriMo novel. Even though it's only a trophy for me, it's still so, so exciting to hold a book that I wrote in my hands!
I'll post some pictures of it on Monday. For now...what's wrong with this picture?
I'm so very sorry that I've been neglecting you over the last month or so. I don't know what I was thinking, taking all these summer classes. All the homework and studying have kept me away from you, and that makes me sad.
I mean, sure. School is important. And, sure, I'm learning a lot. But I just don't enjoy it the way I enjoy you.
I promise, Writing, that as soon as the semester is over, I will return. We will be BFFs again. Or, at least, we'll rekindle our usual love/hate relationship. After all, there are revisions in my near future.
I just wanted to stop in and let everyone know that, yes, I'm still alive. Just buried under a mountain of homework -- and that's NOT an exaggeration!
And, since it's Monday, and I haven't done this in a while, here's some music for you. Sugarland, because on July 9th, I'll be seeing them in concert!
This is my favorite Sugarland song. The lyrics are honest and beautiful and uplifting. And I really hope they perform this when I see them live next weekend!
Jennifer Nettles has a voice tailor-made for ballads. Like this one:
Hello, there! How is everyone this lovely morning? Is it as rainy and gray where you are as it is here?
I'm not here for long. There's a to-do list about a mile long for me to get started on. I just wanted to mention that the awesome Lyn Midnight, who I bonded with on Twitter over this LeAnn Rimes song:
is doing this really awesome series of blog posts. She's asked a bunch of writers to talk about their muses. The first post went up yesterday and the next will be up today, featuring yours truly. Make sure you check it out! It's a fun and fascinating read!
Oh, I'm such a bad blogger. Not only have I been MIA for a week here, I have been neglecting my visits to all your blogs, too.
But I haven't been in lazy summer mode. Oh, no. I have been one busy bee. School has pretty much swallowed any free time I used to have. Three in-class courses and one online. My head is swimming in new knowledge. My tummy is filled with nerves and anxiety. I went from two classes last semester to four this one. In eight weeks, I have to cram my head with tons of facts and figures. I'm kind of panicking. And by kind of I mean a lot.
There is good news, though. I finished my first draft! Last Tuesday actually. It's a disaster, I know. But it's done. And now I have a ton to work with. I really wanted to jump right into revisions, but...well, I don't have the time. So now it sits on my flash drive till the semester is over.
At least it's something to look forward to, right? (And yes, I'm that crazy. Who looks forward to revisions?)
Alright. Got to go catch the bus and then study Psychology flashcards. Happy Monday, everyone!
Today marks the first day of summer semester for me. I'm currently sitting on a bench in some really gorgeous weather, waiting for the bus to arrive and thinking about the goal I made three weeks ago.
You know the one.
The one in which I said I'd have my book finished by now.
Well, I could lie and say that I did it. That I have under my belt a finished first draft. But that would be wrong. A false victory. Then my first draft would be tainted and I wouldn't be able to share my excitement with you when I actually finished it.
So, no. I won't be lying about that.
I will say, though, that I'm only 1-2 scenes away from finishing. I thought I'd be able to wrap it up by Chapter 21 but I'm currently on Chapter 22. Which SHOULD be the last chapter.
So...I didn't make my goal. But I got awful damn close. And that should count for something...right?
Everyone has a routine, certain tools they need to have an effective writing session. As I'm settling down to attack the last two chapters of my book (yet again), there are a few things I need:
My flash drive.
My kitchen timer, for timed writing sessions (ya notice a theme?)
And a snack (these are the best thing since those chocolate-covered marshmallow eggs you can only get around Easter)
What about you? What are your writing necessities?
I'm sitting at my desk this morning, with two hours to spare before I head to work and two chapters left to write and I'm blanking. What if this whole thing sucks? What if I'm nothing but a hack, a fraud? What if I'm just not good enough?
So Blogger hasn't been very nice lately. I haven't been able to sign in or comment on people's blogs for days and it's kind of irritating. I've had visions of machine guns and machetes dancing through my head...and I don't write thrillers!
I've got to head to work soon, but I wanted to post an update on my quest to finish my novel before Summer Semester. Here are the stats:
Added: about eight thousand words Deleted: about six thousand words Rewritten: about five thousand words
I'm at around 76k right now, which isn't too shabby. I think I've just got about two chapters to write and I'm finished. Unless my characters go off on a tangent again and decide that I, as their creator, have no idea what I'm doing. It's been happening a lot lately. You'd think that these people would just listen to me, seeing how I gave them life and all. But nope. My MC has a mind of her own. Which, I suppose, is a good thing. It's what I wanted for her. She's a handful -- in the story and out.
With each word I write, I get more excited. I can't wait to type "The End" Of course, I won't have time for revisions before I submit my WiP for my proof copy. But it's just a trophy for me, anyway. A great motivation.
I just may make my deadline, after all. As long as I don't delete anymore words, anyway...
So, how are you all doing? Have you had thoughts of Blogger-cide, too? And WHAT the hell is wrong with it, anyway?
So, at some point today, the world is supposed to end. At least that's what I keep hearing. I really hope it's not true, because I work all day and I really don't want to die at work. That would suck. A lot.
Besides, I would really like to finish my book before the world is overrun with flesh-eating Zombies.
Right now, I'm just over 75k on my WiP. Which means that, over the last few days, I've added about 6k. The problem is, I had an outline. I had a very detailed, scene-by-scene outline. But my characters have decided not to heed this outline. No, they'd much rather make it up as they go. So I've written myself into corner after corner after corner and I'm about a hundred more wrong words away from tearing my hair out.
So, how about you? Where will you be when the world ends today? Have your characters ever gone off script? How did you manage to get back on track?
So, I've been on vacation for almost a week now. You want to take a stab at how much writing I've gotten done? Maybe --MAYBE -- ten pages. And most of it is crap. Utter crap.
This does not bode well for the rest of my vacation. Or the rest of my book for that matter.
But I'm trying to stay positive. Being a Debbie Downer never got anyone anywhere.
So. I'm about to whip out my notebook and pen and go at it the old-fashioned way. Without the distractions of the Internet. Wish me luck!
So it's Monday morning. The sun is shining (finally!) and birds are chirping. Spring just may have sprung. But this is Michigan, so I'm not holding my breath!
Today marks the last week of Spring semester for me. I've got one last final on Thursday and then I'm done. For three weeks, anyway. I've decided that, since I'm not getting many hours at work due to construction (damn you, construction!), I'd go to school full-time. So I'm taking 4 classes over the summer. I'm sort of nervous about it. I don't want to overload myself. But I'm sure I'm just being paranoid. It happens.
Anyhoo. This is my plan. After Thursday, I'm free for three weeks, aside from 20-30 hours of work. So, this is what's going to happen. Yes, GOING to HAPPEN.
I.
Am.
Going.
To.
Finish.
My.
Damn.
Book.
After months of not even glancing at it, I'm going to write the final few chapters of the book I started last November for NaNoWriMo. And maybe I'll be able to squeeze an edit or two in there somewhere. We'll see. For now, I just want to type The End.
Also, I've gone on a shopping spree lately. In the last month and a half, I have purchased almost 30 books, between online (thank you, half.com) and the used book sale in the basement of my local library (holy crap, there were tons of books!). And I haven't found the time to read any of them. In fact, I've had my friend's copy of Jennifer Weiner's new book sitting on my night stand for at least two months. Now, I love me some Jennifer Weiner, so the fact that I haven't devoured that book yet says a lot.
But I'm hoping to make my way through at least five books over the next few weeks. We'll see how that goes...
Anyway, it IS Monday, and I haven't shared a song with you in quite a while, so here we go. This is one of my favorite songs right now. Hope you enjoy!
Good morning! How do you all like my new layout? I wanted something spring-y to cheer me up since it seems like spring will never come to Michigan...
This is just going to be a quick post this morning, since I've still got to finish up some homework before heading to the day job. I just wanted to share with everyone this adorable award that Elizabeth Mueller made for all of the A-Z participants.
She is currently making her rounds through the almost 1300 participants to personally give them this award. Now THAT'S dedication! Thanks a million, Elizabeth!
Also, during the chaotic month of April, Deirdre over at A Storybook World, gave me this gorgeous award:
Thanks, Deirdre!
Alright, so that wraps up this post. I'm off to take care of some business! Happy Monday, everyone!
So, who else is absolutely exhausted after this month of madness? Between wracking my brain to come up with something to write about to scrambling to get to the computer and post, I am ready for a nap.
Not to mention, I've got finals to study for and a presentation to finish up in time for Tuesday (yeah, I'm a procrastinator). So, I am happy to come to the end of the A-Z Blogfest. Although, I have to say, I had fun with it. It was a great experience and I met a lot of pretty awesome fellow-bloggers.
So, off I go to take a nap. Are you going to do the same?
No, not that little plastic spool attached to a string (although I've had hours of fun with those). Yo-Yo as in the confidence of a writer. One minute, you're on top of the world, the next you're sure you suck and you'll never finish another sentence. You know what I mean. Up and down. Up and down.
"I'm awesome."
"I suck."
"This book rocks."
"This book is trash."
And on and on.
I have dealt with this from the moment I decided to write fiction. And although the down moments are hard and painful, the up moments more than make up for them. There isn't anything like my fingers flying across the keys, my confidence soaring high, my adrenaline pumping through my veins. It's almost the best feeling in the world.
How about you? Do you experience yo-yo confidence? How do you deal with it?
I mulled over what to write about for this post all night last night and all morning. There are so many great W's out there, including my favorite of all, Writing. But I decided to go with an equally as writerly post instead. Words.
We all love words. We wouldn't be here if we didn't. We love reading them. We love writing them. We love rolling them over and over in our minds. We love the way they feel on our tongues. We love words.
So, my question is: do you remember when your love affair with words began?
As for me, I've always loved words. I read books constantly when I was a kid. By the time I was eleven, I had my nose stuck in VC Andrews novels (and if you know anything about VC Andrews, you know those books weren't written for eleven-year-olds). That's about the time my Language Arts teacher, Mrs. McDaniel, told me I had a knack for writing. The following year, in middle school, Mrs. Potter said the same thing. And that was it for me. From then on, I embraced the gift my beloved teachers told me I had.
I spent around 5 years focusing on writing lyrics. I wanted to be a singer. Or, at the very least, a songwriter. I loved crafting lyrics and dreaming up melodies. But I only ever learned to play the violin and it was extremely difficult to write music to go with my lyrics on a violin.
When I was about 15, I became addicted to Harlequin Romance novels. After about a year of devouring hundreds of them, I decided to try my hand at writing one. My first attempt was clumsy and dramatic but I knew from the beginning that it was love. Fiction stole my heart and I haven't looked back ever since. Although, hopefully, my writing has improved a lot since then!
What about you? When did you first fall in love with words? Did you have a teacher or parent or friend tell you you were talented? What other forms of writing have you tried?
We all have 'em. Things we love that we know we shouldn't. Things we do that would be seen by others as a waste of time. Foods, TV shows, hobbies. You name it, there's a vice somewhere in there.
My vices include chocolate-covered marshmallows, The Sims 3 and reruns of Friends. I've seen every single episode numerous times, but that doesn't stop me from watching it anytime I see it on.
