Writers' Chasm

I can't believe 2014 is over. It seems like just yesterday I was celebrating New Year's with my family. It's been a rollercoaster of a year and I know 2015 will be just the same. Keep track of my daily word count Success! I tend to have trouble remembering to record how many words I wrote in a day, but this year I managed to get in the habit of it.  Read 100 books Last year is no longer my worst reading year since I started keeping records.  Go for a run every morning three days a week I tried to get started over the summer but I also had to walk the dog and the dog won't run with me. I didn't want to go for a run, come back, and then go back out to walk the dog. Watch 50 movies So close. I know I watched way more than 50 movies but unfortunately too many of them were movies I'd already seen before.  Do five things I've never done before This is one of my favorite resolutions and I was able to check it off early this year. On the list for this ...

I don't have a ton to report on with writing this year. The year started off with a partial rewrite of Weredragon that I felt made the book much stronger than it was. It's still gathering dust at the moment while I try to decide what to do with it. I'll likely go over submission materials after the new year and think about querying again. It's been a while since I've jumped into that ocean. I also drafted my newest work in progress, nicknamed LP, and it rounded out at 75k. I'm really excited about it but I also know that it's going to need a lot of work. It's simmering for the time being. I don't have anything in the works at the moment, though I am toying with the possibility of returning to a couple old manuscripts. One of my goals this year was to keep more careful track of my daily word counts and I succeeded, although with some bumps in the road. My best month was easily June, with 32,628 words. My best day was November 23rd, with 5,572 wo...

As usual I set a new year's goal to read 100 books. I did not read 100 books. I didn't even come close to 100 books. I'm embarrassed for myself after crunching the numbers and subtracting unreleased, unpublished, and class-assigned books so I'm just going to talk about some of the highlights. I may not have read many books this year but there was no shortage of quality. My favorite book this year was: Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan This was easily one of the greatest books I have ever read. Now I've loved this series since the beginning. I remember the exact moment I picked The Lightning Thief off the shelf at the library. I remember quickly devouring the next two installments and going into the bookstore when the fourth came out. I remember reading The Last Olympian in one sitting and declaring it a member of my top five favorite books. I had very high expectations for this book and it was everything I wanted and more. On my personal records, it's rated ...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. I can't believe it's December already. It seems like New Year's Eve was just last week. What I'm Reading:  Last night I skimmed through two books about octopus for a presentation. In other words, no pleasure reading. What I'm Writing:  I read through an old WIP over the weekend just to see where it stands. It definitely needs a massive overhaul, especially in the middle, but that's going to have to wait. What Works for Me:  Keeping notes of future revisions while working on the first draft and then while it's simmering. I find that when I get an idea for revisions when I'm not actually working on them it's best to just write it down and keep it aside until I get to that point. I don't revise while drafting because I'd probably never finish but it makes sure that I don't forget. What Else I'm Up to:  It...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. What I'm Reading: Now that it's break I should read more. I feel like it's not working like it should be. What I'm Writing: Nothing! I finished LP in one big writing spree on Sunday. Once I got to the big climactic scene I just couldn't stop. It's rounded out at 75k and is on the back burner for a while. I'm taking a break from writing until, at least, the semester is over. Next up is going to be revisions, but on what I'm not sure yet. I have a few projects that have been on the sidelines for a while. What Works for Me:  Letting the words flow. On Sunday I almost stopped once I hit my 1k goal for the day so that I could work on something else. Instead I kept my Scrivener doc open and I just kept going until I wrote the final sentence. It meant that I had to put a couple of tasks on my to do list off for another day, but it was wo...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. This picture is very appropriate for this week. I don't think it's ever going to stop snowing. What I'm Reading:  Still Dead to You. I haven't had time for pleasure reading in a while. What I'm Writing:  I'm so close to the end of LP I can feel it. I have most of the remainder planned out and I can't wait to write it. Unfortunately I'm going on vacation for a week starting Saturday so it might have to wait. What Works for Me:  Instrumental music. Sometimes I need background music to help me block out everything that's going on around me but songs with words are even more distracting. Instrumental music is the perfect combination. I really like movie soundtracks because some of them (Pacific Rim, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings) have that undertone of urgency that works as an extra motivator. What Else I'm U...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. NaNo started on Saturday so a big "Good luck!" to everyone participating. I thought about doing a personal one, just writing 50k in general rather than on one new WIP (since LP is so close to being done) but then I remembered that I don't have time. What I'm Reading:  Dead to You by Lisa McMann. It's good so far, though I haven't been able to read it as much as I would like. What I'm Writing:  LP hit 60k and climbing this week. I have most of the rest of it outlined now so it's just a matter of putting it on the page. I thought up some really exciting things over the weekend and I can't wait to write those scenes. Some characters will be playing parts that I didn't expect. What Works for Me:  Getting out of my usual space. I've had so much to do the past couple weeks that I've found myself in the library a lot...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. What I'm Reading:  Still nothing for fun. I'm probably going to pull Wolf-Speaker by Tamora Pierce off the shelf tonight. It's a stressful week and I need an old favorite. What I'm Writing:  LP. I had a total brain blast in the shower this morning where I finally managed to figure out some very important components of the ending. It's mostly a matter of bridging the gap between where I am now and there.  What Works for Me:  Brainstorming sessions. If I'm stuck on what to do with a chapter, where to go next, or what needs to happen in the ending, I brainstorm. All it takes is an empty word document. I use bullets for organization and just type whatever comes into my head. If there are questions that I need to answer, I write those down too. What Else I'm Up To:  I watched How to Get Away With Murder over the weekend on my girlfri...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. Saw the first frost of the season this morning and snow over the weekend, though thankfully it didn't stick. I know winter is going to hit us hard this year, but I'd rather it wait until after Halloween at the very least. What I'm Reading:  Uh. I'm determined to move on from Blood and pick a book off my shelf today. I just haven't decided if I want to go for an old favorite, the next book in Game of Thrones, or something new that I've had for a while but haven't read yet. What I'm Writing:  After a week's hiatus, I'm back to working on LP, though with a word count goal of only 250 a day again because my to do lists are getting lengthy and I need to focus on other things. It's up to 55k and I'm starting to get the feeling it's going to end up being closer to 80k now all told. What Works for Me:  Reward system...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. I can't stop listening to Fall Out Boy's new song, "Immortals." It's actually getting a little worrying. What I'm Reading:  Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan (last book in Heroes of Olympus which is the sequel to Percy Jackson and the Olympians) arrived Friday. I started it around two and read it in one unstoppable spree of nine hours. I considered slowing down, actually savoring it since it's the last book, but it just wasn't possible. I wasn't going to sleep that night without finishing.  This could not have been a more perfect ending to the series. I don't think I have ever loved a conclusion this much, and that's including Deathly Hallows. I haven't actually started reading anything else since. What I'm Writing:  Still LP, though I've been taking this week off writing. What Works for Me:  To do ...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. What I'm Reading:  I finished Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher in a few days and I'm still reeling. I haven't been so absorbed in a book in a long time. It's not one I'll read often but it is one that I'll carry with me. Now I'm biding my time waiting for Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan to arrive. Really hoping it's going to be here Friday because I need it. What I'm Writing:  LP hit 50k a couple days ago. I'm aiming for 70k (my first drafts tend to be on the short side and I was hoping this one might be a bit more substantial, since it's high fantasy) but I think it might actually end up being longer. There's quite a bit left to go.   What Works for Me:  Brainstorming sessions. I got stuck on where to go with LP so I sat myself down with my little notebook (in class...shhh don't tell my professor) and jot...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch.   What I'm Reading:  I finished Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston over the weekend. It was good but underwhelming. I could definitely tell where Preston took over the writing. I loved the characters and the concept but the execution was a little disappointing. Now I'm on Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher to tide me over until Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan arrives next week.  What I'm Writing:  LP What Works for Me:  Keeping bulleted lists of future scenes. I've always been a pantser when it comes to writing fiction, but sometimes I get ideas for scenes or think of questions that need to be answered or bring up things early in the story that I can't forget to tie in later. Instead of writing out an outline, I just keep a bulleted list of these scenes in a rough order. That way I don't forget anything but I don...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. What I'm Reading:  I'm going to finish Micro this week. It's going to be a thing that happens. What I'm Writing:  LP is still progressing. I've also had a very strong urge the past few days to pull out an old WIP and just give it a read to see exactly how extensive revisions are going to have to be. Haven't given in to the urge yet because LP has my attention at the moment and classes have kept me pretty busy this week. What Works for Me:  Word count goals. Every day I write a goal on my to do list and then I use Scrivener's session target feature to keep track of how much I've written. I like to keep my goals small and manageable, between 250 and 1,000 words. When I'm really busy or having trouble finding the words, I shoot for 250. So far this semester I've been building up my goal, raising it every week. I'm up to...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. Leaves are changing, I had my first pumpkin spice latte on Friday (though I actually get more excited about the salted caramel mocha), and my denim jacket is hanging on the back of my chair. It must be fall. I swear summer was here yesterday but it seems to have run off again. What I'm Reading:  Still Micro. I really need to finish that. What I'm Writing:  LP hit 40k yesterday! I might have to do some more plotting soon. I know where it's going but I only have a vague idea of how . I have a few new characters thrown into the mix, one that I like and one that I'm really starting to hate. What Works for Me:  I completely missed this last week, but I really love the idea. Something that works for me is carrying around a little notebook for jotting down writing ideas and scenes on the go. I wrote 1k of a scene in class yesterday. I like keeping m...

The hardest thing about being productive and getting work done is blocking out distractions. Friends, family, TV, Internet, distractions are everywhere. With classes and work, I don't generally have much time to allow distractions to take away from my work time and then that cuts into my free time. First things first, change your workspace if you can. This might mean using a different computer, sitting at desk rather than the couch, going into another room, or maybe leaving home to hit the library or coffee shop. I like a low drone of background noise so I used to get a lot of work done in Starbucks. Then shut down the Internet. I like to keep a lot of tabs open to email, Facebook, forums, etc.and those tend to serve as major distractions for me when I'm using the computer for work. I think "I'll just check my email real quick" and twenty minutes later I find myself on Tumblr. Only open those tabs that are actually necessary for your work. Make a list of t...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. What I'm Reading:  Still Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston. I'm a little over halfway through and while I'm not sure about the writing style at times, I am enjoying it. What I'm Writing:  LP is coming along gradually. I've hit a major point in the story, although I only have a vague idea where things go from here. I'm also probably going to have to partially rewrite one of the scenes I just did because I didn't cry hard enough but I'll worry about that in revisions.  What Inspires Me:  Drawing a blank this week. Definitely not the weather. It's cold and pouring rain and I'm not looking forward to walking across campus in it. What Else I've Been Up To:  Playing a rather obsessive amount of Kingdom Hearts 2. I'm up to a major boss battle (Demyx, if anyone is familiar with the game) and despite havi...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. What I'm Reading:  I'm so happy to be able to say that I actually am reading again. I finished Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce last night, the first book I've finished since June 19. It may have been my billionth reread but that book never gets old. I have the whole quartet on my shelf and I will be doing a complete reread at some point. I've already started Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston. It's a tad-bit science heavy but also creepy and I'm enjoying it so far. What I'm Writing:  Slowly getting back in the groove of working on LP again. I have the whole next part planned out in my head, so it's just a matter of getting the words on the page. It's hit 35k, the halfway point of my goal of 70k.  What Inspires Me:  Today it's the weather. After several days of clouds and rain, it's sunny and warm today. Makes...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. This is the first WUW of the new school year and let me tell you it feels fantastic to be back. Random question: If you use Blogger, do you have trouble inserting images from links? I feel like I have to put in the link and click the button about ten times before it'll actually work. What I'm Reading:  I pulled out an old favorite, Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce. It's been one of my favorite books for about ten years now so I'm hoping that it'll help me get back in the groove of actually reading. Seems to be working well so far. I only fall more in love with Numair the older I get. What I'm Writing:  On hold while I get settled in. I was going to start working on LP again today but then I took a look at my "to do" list and decided to make that tomorrow.   What Inspires Me:  Being back on campus. Settling into a set routine. K...

It's the first day of the semester for me, the last one of my undergrad years as I am now a senior. I was so busy packing and making sure everything's in order for my own first day that I didn't have time to think of a post for today. So here are my two "first day tips" posts compiled into one easy list.    #1: Dress to impress Wear something simple but nice. The most important thing is wearing something that makes you feel confident. If you feel confident, you'll look confident. Don't wander into class on the first day wearing a hoodie and sweatpants. It's okay to walk around the dorms or your apartment like that, but it's important to be more professional in the classroom. #2: Leave early  This is especially important if  you aren't sure where your classes are. Don't worry about arriving early; there's nothing wrong with that. I typically give myself a half hour to find my classes for the first week or so. It's better ...

If you're thinking about writing characters with other sexualities besides heterosexual, there are many things to consider. Representation is very important but it can go badly. The most important thing when writing LGBT characters is that they're just like all your other characters. They have pasts, futures, hopes, dreams, motivations. They're playing a part in this story. Start with doing your research. Don't rely on stereotypes or misconceptions. Not all gay men are interested in fashion. Lesbians do not hate men. Bisexuals are not incapable of having monogamous relationships. Don't perpetuate myths and remember that everyone is different. LGBT people also experience different environments depending on the area in which they live, their family, and their friends. Some are only out to certain people, some are out to everyone, and some aren't out at all. Your characters don't have to have a label. Sexuality can be fluid and not everyone wants to put a...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. What I'm Reading:  Beta reading for a friend at the moment and that's it. Most of the books I want to read are currently packed away in preparation to take them with me back to school. Hopefully something will catch my attention once I'm there. What I'm Writing:  This is the worst writing month I've had all year, but I'm still making some progress on LP. I'm at a major turning point in the story so once I get through this rough patch, it should be easier from there. I tend to write quickly when I reach climactic points and I'm really excited about this one. What Inspires Me:  I'm feeling pretty uninspired at the moment. What Else I've Been Up To:  I took the GRE last week and just got my official scores today. I didn't do as well as I hoped and that's got me worried, but there isn't much I can do about tha...

Shopping for back-to-school supplies was much easier in grade school. There was usually a list detailing everything you needed, or at least a general expectation. Pencils, pens, notebooks, binders, folders, sometimes a calculator or a ruler. In college it's a lot trickier because what you need is determined by you. I prefer taking handwritten notes because I find that it helps me remember things better than typing or not taking notes at all. I've tried using a single notebook and keeping separate sections for each class;  writing all the notes into the notebook, coding them with the class name, and then tearing out the pages and putting them into individual binders; or leaving them in the notebook and typing the notes into individual documents. I haven't really found any of these methods to be very efficient. This year I think I'm going to just buy a notebook for each class. The important thing is to find the method that works for you. If that's handwriting, buy...

Each year I keep a list of the books I buy or check out of the library and in August I post a list of the books organized into why I picked them up. Past tallies can be found here going back to 2010.  My book buying has taken a hit over the past year. I've been so busy with class that I don't have much time to go to the library and, without a car, I have no way of getting the nearest bookstore when I'm on campus. Let's start with some percentages. Last year's stats are in brackets for comparison. Book in series: 37.5% [29%] Author: 25% [29%] Concept: 25% [N/A] Word of mouth: 12.5% [18%] I'm not surprised that book in series and author are so high. When I'm at school, I order books from B&N and it's a lot harder to say no when I'm already looking forward to a book and I know it's going to be good. I am surprised that concept is a category this year when it wasn't last year, but I shouldn't be because I spent so much time in...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. What I'm Reading:  Nothing at the moment. The Horse Boy is a DNF. I did really want to see how it ended but it was dragging on a bit and my library books had to be returned whether I was done with them or not. Now I'm just doing a lot of reading of my GRE study book and grad school application information. What I'm Writing:  LP is progressing slowly. I'm up to a major turning point in the story and I'm still not quite sure how I'm going to pull it off. I'm also rough drafting my personal statement for applications. I can write 100k about a world completely of my own creation but when it comes to writing 1k about myself all of that just flies out the window. What Inspires Me:  Less than three weeks until classes start! I'm actually really excited. I love my friends and my professors and the routine of having a set schedule. Wha...

"College" is a series of posts for college students, present and future. It's based entirely on my experience as a current college student and that of my friends. It's that time of year again and I figured that meant I should bring these back.  If you're new to college and moving into the dorms this fall, you're probably trying to figure out what you need to bring. Here are a few things to keep in mind when picking the furniture for your dorm. Read housing regulations Different dorms have different rules on what you can and cannot bring. Don't grab that George Foreman grill only to arrive and find out they're not allowed. I'm not allowed to have candles or clip-on lamps, because of the fire hazard, so some things would be obvious on what's okay and what isn't. Rules can even vary between halls on the same campus, so make sure that your hall doesn't have anything specific. For instance, on my campus, custom lofts are allowed only in...

And it's the first day of August which means here we are again. I had a fantastic July. I got my drivers' license, turned 21, and had a lot of fun. It was a very eventful month! Writing:  Word count: 19,688 words I've been so busy the past few weeks that writing has fallen to the wayside. Doesn't help that I've been spending entire days away from the computer, but I still got a good bit done. LP is progressing nicely and I'm almost to halfway my target word count of 70k. Reading: Should be: 28 I'm not anywhere near there. I don't know why I can't finish anything these days. I might need to dig out one of my favorites and see if that helps. Movies:  Watched: 6 Total: 28 Should be: 28 I continued to feed my Marvel obsession with Daredevil and Spider-Man. No, I've never seen the original SM trilogy. Working on remedying that. Also The World's End which was shockingly good, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind which was beautiful a...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. What I'm Reading:  I don't really know why but I've been horrible about reading. I can't even say it's recent because I've only read 20 books so far this year. I'm still on The Horse Boy. Every so often I read a few pages and then remember that I have something else to do. What I'm Writing:  Nothing much. Things have gotten crazy around here and writing has been falling to the wayside. My daily word goal is back down to 250 in the hopes of jogging something. What Inspires Me:  I was going to watch Inception today (because it's my favorite movie and it tends to inspire me) but then I realized that today is Neville's birthday and tomorrow is Harry's so perhaps a Harry Potter marathon would be more appropriate. What Else I've Been Up To:  I head back to school in less than a month so I've reached that time of ...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. What I'm Reading:  Over halfway through Horse Boy. I've also been doing a lot of reading on the GRE because I'm supposed to be taking that in the next month. What I'm Writing:  LP hit 25k this week. My MC and LI finally kissed and that was a lot of fun to write. I also had one of those "Eureka!" moments while I was out walking the other day where I figured out a plot issue that I've been having. The scene involved is still a long way off but it's nice to know where I'm going. What Inspires Me:  I've seen a fair number of show jumping rounds but nothing like this. Conrad's bridle falls off on the third to last fence and not only do they finish the course, but they jump clear (no poles down). What Else I've Been Up To:  Cleaning. Lots and lots of cleaning. I'm going to have company over in a week and a...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. Lots of storms this past week. A large branch almost fell on our garage and our neighbor's yard looked like a war zone for trees by the time the storm was done with us. I hope everyone is staying safe. What I'm Reading:  About a third of the way through The Horse Boy. What I'm Writing:  LP hit 20k and climbing. My characters are really starting to take shape and it's very exciting to learn more about them. I tend to have a very general idea of my minor characters so I enjoy learning about them as the story progresses.  What Inspires Me:  I live in the country so nature is always inspiring to me. I saw the first fawn of the year a couple days ago, a young thing trotting after its mother without a care in the world. I wish that I could post pictures here but I wasn't carrying my phone with me at the time. Yesterday we caught sight of a bald e...

Where did June even go? Wasn't I just writing May's check-in, like, yesterday? It was a good month. Certainly lots of things happened. Writing:  Word count: 31,451 This month easily broke the records set by the previous months. In fact, a third of my grand total for the year so far was written this month. It really does help to have a steady WIP. I haven't quite hit 20k yet but I'm loving it so far and looking forward to seeing how the rest of it goes. Reading:  This month: 2 Total: 20 Should be: 25 I've reduced my goal to 50 books once again for the year because I don't see myself getting caught up and making it to 100. I spent most of the month reading Son by Lois Lowry, through no fault of the book itself. I'm just having a really hard time settling down to read when there's so many distractions. Movies:  This month: 8 Total: 22 Should be: 25 I should be able to get caught up pretty easily at this point. Movies I highly recommend from...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. What I'm Reading:  I did actually keep my promise from last week to have a new answer to this question. I finally finished Son by Lois Lowry. I'm not going to write a review of it because I'm not sure what to say (and also because I took so long reading it), but I did enjoy it and it made me want to go back and reread the first three books. Next up, I've started a memoir called The Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson. What I'm Writing:  Progressing a little bit slower on LP this week. My word count is up to 16k and climbing. I have a good idea of where I'm going, but I'm not so sure of what's happening now and that's slowing me down. I am a pantser by nature but I do keep a rough list of future scene ideas and questions that need to be answered. What Else I've Been Up To:  Over the weekend, I passed my road test and got my dri...

There's a saying in the horse world that sometimes comes up, especially among young riders. "You're not a real rider until you fall off a horse seven times." I hit that point several years ago and here are the lessons I learned that I also apply to writing. Fall #1:  I was up on an old, bombproof gelding responsible for giving me the "horse bug." I wasn't experienced enough to know how to do much more than hold the reins. There was only a thick blanket between me and the horse. My gelding was following his pasture mate and, of course, they both decided to trot. The blanket started to slip and I landed right on my tailbone. I was completely fine and while I don't remember getting back on the horse, I must have at some point.  Moral: The first fall is always the hardest. It'll be a shock to your system but get right back up there and you'll be fine. Fall #2 and #3:  By this time, I was under the instruction of a professional trainer (i...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. My apologies for reading so few blogs last week. I use feedly to help keep track of posts and it was down for several days last week. What I'm Reading:  To hold myself accountable, I'm going to make a promise. Next week, I will have a new answer for this question. I need to get in gear because I've been informed by people who actually watch it that the Game of Thrones show has caught up to where I am in the books. Which means I need to take advantage of the hiatus to get ahead if I want to stay that way. What I'm Writing:  Making steady progress on my new WIP, nicknamed "LP" for the time being. I hit 10k at the end of last week and then took the weekend off writing, but I've started up again this week. The original premise that I had in mind is not exactly what's coming out now. While I'm excited about the change, I'm al...

When querying, you should read the submission guidelines for each agent carefully. While the basic process is typically the same, some agents do have some preferences on how queries should be sent and what they should include. 1. How? Some agencies use an online form for queries, so keep an eye out to see if this is the case. If it's not, then check to see how queries should be sent. Most agencies seem to accept e-queries these days, some of them exclusively. However there are still some agents that only accept snail mail. Whichever method you intend to use, make sure you're finding agents that accept it. 2. Agency policy on submitting to multiple agents There are some agencies that ask for a query to be submitted to only one agent at the agency. Therefore, a no from one is a no from all. Other agencies allow submissions to multiple agents, but not simultaneously. I keep notes on which agencies are "no one, no all" to make sure that I don't accidentally quer...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. What I'm Reading:  In books, still Son. I've been distracted lately in doing research into criticisms of Cesar Millan (you may know him as The Dog Whisperer from National Geographic). What I'm Writing:  Exciting news for this one for once. I finished Weredragon's polish a couple weeks ago and sent it to a friend who gave me some great comments and pointed out some things I'd missed. I've had a SNI  floating around my head for several months now but it was just a premise. I had ideas for two characters, but I was still lacking their basic personalities and that's the important thing to me when I start writing. On Sunday, I started writing and I've already hit just over 7k. There are dragons and sorcerers and captured princesses and I'm very excited about it. What Inspires Me:  New characters. I work with a vague outline to give...

No, this isn't one of those chicken or egg discussions because I can go on for far too long about that question. I started a new WIP yesterday and it got me thinking about what element of the story comes first when I get a new idea. Sometimes it's the characters. The people in my story are extremely important to me and usually they come first. They're personalities and sometimes looks pop into my head. I can hear the voices. Sometimes I get a feel for their story right away and other times it remains a mystery for some time. Most of the time, it's the premise. With Weredragon, I had the simple idea of a girl stuck in the woods because she transformed into a dragon at night. From there Helena and Tristian came about to take on that premise. That's what happened with my current WIP. I thought of the basic idea but the characters didn't come out to play until I had to come up with names so that I could actually start writing. Under this umbrella, is the occasi...

What do you mean we're halfway through 2014 already? May wasn't a bad month but it wasn't a great one either. I'm having a little trouble getting back into the rhythm of blogging and thinking of things to talk about. Writing:  Word count: 14,398 I'll be finishing up Weredragon's final polish today and then I have every intention of starting a new WIP that doesn't have a nickname yet but does also involve dragons. Reading:  This month: 1 Total: 18 Should be: 50 I just haven't been wanting to read lately. It's not for lack of books, I have entire stacks that I really need to get to. I'm planning a personal read-a-thon in the next couple of weeks so I can hopefully work my way through at least a few of them. Movies:  This month: 6 Total: 14 Should be: 25 This was a big movie month for me. My favorite for the month is a tie between The Normal Heart and Black Swan. Both movies were amazing but I love the for different reasons. Normal ...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. What do you mean it's Wednesday already? Where did the last week even go?  What I'm Reading:  Still Son. I'm supposed to return this stack of books to the library in the next week or two so I should probably get on that. I miss the days when I used to be able to roar through a book in a matter of days, even hours. What I'm Writing:  The holiday weekend threw a wrench in my plans to have Weredragon's polish done before today. I do only have six more chapters to go, though, so it shouldn't be much longer. After that, I'll take a look at the three trunked manuscripts I have in need of revisions to see if those spark anything and I do have a new idea if I can figure out how it starts.  What Inspires Me:  My mom and I went hiking over the holiday weekend and the deep valleys and thick trees reminded me of the inspiration being Weredrago...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. What I'm Reading:  Still on Son and Unprotected. I miss the days when I would read all the time and go through multiple books in a week. What I'm Writing:  I'm halfway through Weredragon's final polish and I'm very happy with the changes I made in revisions. I feel like it's a much stronger novel for them. I already have my next project in mind, if I can get a good feel for the characters and inspiration for the beginning.   What Inspires Me:  I was going to post videos this week but Blogger is being extremely uncooperative so I guess I'm just going to have to link them up.  First up is Amy Purdy and Derek Hough's quickstep performance from Dancing With The Stars . It's definitely one of my favorite performances this season (of which there are a lot). I'm going to miss watching her dance. Len put it best when he said...

This is it. Your manuscript is done except for one last read to make sure that everything is clean. You've probably read it so many times that you're ready to just shove it out the door. Here are seven things to keep an eye out for in that last read. If you use track changes, you may want to turn it off at this stage just to make sure everything is in order. 1. Multiple punctuation Sometimes there are two periods at the end of the sentence, sometimes it's a period and a comma, or sometimes it's something else. It can be easy to skip over there so check carefully. 2. Missing punctuation On the other end of the spectrum is missing punctuation. Under this umbrella is missing quotation marks. Keep a close eye on the beginning and ending of dialogue.   3. Extra spaces It can be so easy to insert an extra space between words or sentences. Between words often gets caught by spell check, but sentences is easy to miss. 4. Missing words Sometimes, in editing, a word ...

I have what I call a "drama threshold" also known as the point at which there is so much drama involved that I can no longer handle it anymore. I should probably note that this applies to books, TV, and movies, not life. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, how much drama is just enough and how much is too much. One of my favorite shows of all time is Castle. I started watching it my freshman year of college when season four was airing and I fell in love instantly. I marathoned the entire show over the course of about three weeks and then continued to watch at least an episode a day for the next week because I didn't want to let it go. Fast-forward two years to where we are now: season six. I haven't seen the last two episodes and I never intend to. From here on out, I'm done with the show. What changed? The show crossed my drama threshold. (I'll try to be vague in the interest of avoiding spoilers.) There was a main conflict that started all ...

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. I thought it had only been a couple weeks since I did one of these last. Turns out it's been almost a month. Whoa. Between finals, coming back home, and then the whirlwind of activity that comes with being home, the time flew by. What I'm Reading:  I'm midway through Son by Lois Lowry. I've pretty much been waiting for this book since eighth grade when I read the rest of the trilogy, so no pressure. At the moment it's living up to my expectations. I'm also reading Unprotected: A campus psychiatrist reveals how political correctness in her profession endangers every student by Anonymous. It's very interesting, but I find myself disagreeing with some points. It's not the easiest read so I've been making my way through it gradually. What I'm Writing:  Actually getting Weredragon ready to submit to agents hopefully before th...

It's one of my goals for this summer to start blogging regularly again. I haven't been doing very well at that for a long time. To help me do that, I'm also going to be starting a weekly series on grammar and mechanics advice. Storm season has arrived (though I have yet to actually witness a thunderstorm because I slept through the last one) and with it a common mix-up. This is lightning. The brilliant flash of electricity that accompanies thunderstorms. If you're on Facebook talking about storms coming in, this is probably the word you want. When something gets lighter, it's lightening.  Some examples: The lightning lit up the sky. That's just heat lightning. Lightning rods are meant to protect buildings from strikes. Lightening dark blue paint can be done by adding white. I am lightening the color of my jeans.  They don't have the same meaning and they shouldn't be used interchangeably. This has been my grammar-related rant for the we...

Last month I said the next time I did one of these it would be finals week and here we are. It's been a very busy month but a good one. Also, I'm hoping that once I get home I'll be able to start blogging regularly again. Writing:  Word count: 17,455 words I still don't have an official WIP, but that didn't stop me from easily setting a new word count record for the month. Hopefully that will be another thing that changes as soon as I get home. I do have some ideas. Reading:  Books read: 4  I did not, in fact, step up my game this month. The math says I'm going to have to read about 10 books a month from here on out to make it. Among those read this month were Battle Dress by Amy Efaw, which was easily my favorite for the month, and In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. Movies:  Watched: 3 Much better this month than previous but still not great. I finally watched the Veronica Mars movie and it was everything I wanted and more. I'm...