Be In The Know

So much going on this week, guys. At least for the writer who has a finished manuscript and is ready to query. :)

It's the last day to submit a query for Write On Con's Pitch Fest. Need more information? Go here.

Then we've got Brenda Drakes Pitch Madness kicking off this Friday. Check it out here.

Also this Friday, those writers who submitted a snarky sample of work to Liz Pelletier in hopes of being chosen to write her spec book, will be notified as to who made it to the next round--the interview round. Haven't heard about this one? It happened really quickly. I think it started on Twitter then turned into a blog post and then BAM the submission window was over. Still, Liz reported receiving 118 samples. Want to be in the know? Check it out here.

If you're thinking about entering Pitch Fest and/or Pitch Madness, let me encourage you to do it. If your manuscript is query-ready, of course. I entered Pitch Fest, I plan on entering Pitch Madness, and I threw my sample in the ring for Liz's spec book opportunity. And let me tell you, I am NOT LUCKY at these blog contest things. Thankfully, I've done well in regular conference writing contests, but for some reason I fail miserably with the whole online avenue.

But it's fun, anyway. I get to meet other writers. I get to encourage and critique. I get to receive encouragement and critiques. :) And I think it helps me to become a better writer and build that thick skin everyone's always talking about.

Is there anything else happening this week in a writerly way? Have you entered any of these?  

*And now an adorable picture that made my morning.*

Readjusting My BIG-GIRL Tights

*sigh*

I think it's time to readjust my big-girl tights. (They're black with sparkly mermaid tails, by the way.)

For the last eight years my family has been moving around the country. A lot. Every six month to two years, in fact. During that time I did not work outside the home. Oh, I did births as a doula and taught childbirth classes, but that wasn't even part time. It was here and there. 

But before all the moving around, I was an optician. 

And now we're done moving. We're settled. My kids are both in school. 

It's time to go back to work--part time--as an optician. 

Ask me how I feel about this and you may get different answers from one moment to the next. Because despite the fact that I've been looking forward to joining the workforce, I'm incredibly scared that it'll do away with my writing time. That the responsibilities of life will gobble up my dream and spit me out. 

I know this doesn't have to be true.   

My best friend and critique partner works full time. Many authors have careers outside of writing. I get that. So why do I feel as though I'm unwillingly trading one future for another? 

Because I'm sick of these flip-flop feelings, I need your help. Do you work outside the home? What do you do? How has it changed your writing? Good or bad? Thanks guys! I really look forward to hearing about your experiences! 

The THING I Do

There's this thing I do. 

No. Not that. 

*Blushes*

The OTHER thing. 

I do it when I'm having a tough writerly day. Or maybe even a good one. I do it for inspiration to keep pressing on. Or the guts to dare to dream. 

You can do it too. 

Think of one of your favorite authors. They have to be living and breathing and fairly current. Okay, got one in mind? Next go to their webpage. Find their blog. Scroll down to see when they started their blog. Click on it. The very first month of the first year. And read. Was it before their first book came out? Was it before they even had an agent or a first book? 

Yeah, those are the best. 

Read their hopes and wishes to one day get an agent. To one day get a book deal. Note the lack of comments they received on their posts. Connect with them in their frustrations over waiting and desperately wanting. 

And then read their good news. The day the planets aligned for them. And how they got there. 

I promise, it'll plaster a hopeful smile on your face. That fire burning inside, pushing you to introduce the world to those characters in your head, will increase till it's a roaring blaze.      

A Rough Week

Last week was rough. And yes, you can go ahead and assume what type of rough, because it was such a hard week, I'm sure more than one explanation applies.

So I vowed something to myself. I vowed not to check my email all weekend. And since it's become such a regular part of my day--like every five minutes--I even moved the email icon on my phone to the last app page. Did I still pick up the purple iPhone to check? Yes. But by the time I swiped to the last page in a fog of email addiction, I was coherent enough to remember my vow.

I can't say that this impromptu weekend fast from all things email has given me any perspective. But it has temporarily lifted the weight of the "What's in my inbox? Is it a rejection?" burden.

And you know what? Maybe it has given me an ounce of perspective.

In my four years of trying, I have not had as rough a week on my path to publication as I did last week. I think that counts for something. It's another notch in my belt, if you will. An algae covered, slippery stepping stone on a river whose stream I'm traveling against, and I didn't fall. I slid a little. But I quickly gained my footing, stilled myself to correct my balance, and decided more than ever to press onward.

My critique partner/best friend recently reminded me of my favorite saying: The darkest hour is before dawn. And I'm hoping this time, it's true. :)

Does that saying encourage you? Have you been on a writing high lately, or a writing low?  

PS. After you comment, this post is VERY good. I suggest giving it a read, especially if you're in the query trenches or submission hell.

Re-Introduce Myself

Today is the Re-Introduce Myself Blog Fest in which I tell you a little bit about myself and hopefully make a few friends in the process. :) If you want to join in on the fun you can go here to sign up.

So here's a little about me you may not already know:

I don't like to cook, but most nights I prepare dinner from scratch. While taking classes to become a doula, I learned the risks of eating processed, chemical-filled meals. So I try to give my family nutritional foods with a side of yummy. But, last summer when my kids went to CA for two weeks to visit their grandparents, my hubby and I made a trip to the grocery store and filled our cart with quick-cooking junk food. And we chemicaled it up for those two weeks! So yeah, I highly dislike cooking, but I do it because I care. And because when those breaks from healthy-eating come, they are totally worth the wait! ;)

Liebster Questions Answered

I've been chosen to receive the Liebster Reward.

Man. I haven't gotten one of those since I started my blog. Feels like forever ago...

I met a friendly YA writer on Twitter and we've been chatting since. She listed me as #1 to receive this award, so I am grateful. If you want to visit this friendly YA writer, her name is Amber and her blog is here. :)

Here's the 11 questions Amber's given me to answer:

1) Describe your current manuscript in three sentences.
     That still, small voice isn't your conscience, it's your Watcher. By Watching seventeen-year-old April's life sphere, Lucas knows the outcome of every decision before she makes it. But when he sees a deadly consequence coming April's way, he skips the small voice part and goes straight for rule-breaking, leaving her life sphere shattered and his Watcher status ruined.

2) What is the most important thing you try to achieve in your writing?
     Assuming we've already included the necessities like character arc, conflict, voice, plot points, and all that, I'd say I try to focus on pacing. That's a huge deal to me. I want to open my ms at any point in the story, and immediately get sucked in. I want my books to be unputdownable. :)

3) What has been your biggest writing high?
     The writer's conference I attended in October. Before that, I'd entered Dark Waters in blog contests and not done so well. I had started to think maybe my story wasn't as unique as I had thought. But at the conference, published/seasoned authors taught me the correct way to pitch. And I learned it wasn't my story that had issues, it was the way I introduced it. And the excited feedback I received from agents and authors once I started pitching my story correctly was super encouraging. Dark Waters also won 2nd place in a writing contest during the conference so it was a weekend of writing highs.

4) What are your three favorite books?
     I can tell you my three favorite series, if that's okay. Right now I'm addicted to J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I absolutely loved the Twilight series; it made me bawl my eyes out, guys. And I couldn't put down Julie Kagawa's The Immortal Rules.

5) What's the primary focus of your blog?
     When I started it three years ago, my focus was to share the well-traveled road to publishing. Since then I've realized posting query and request stats is unprofessional unless you're telling your "how I got my agent" story. So now I try to share anything I've learned about writing, make connections, and talk about books. Oh, and dogs. I always want to talk about dogs. :)

6) Name three interesting bloggers/Tweeters you'd like to get to know better.
     Can't do it. In one way or another, I want to get to know as many writers as I can. We can all learn from each other and encourage one another.        

7) What is the single best piece of writing advice you have ever heard/read?
     When I first started writing, I bought "how to" books and searched the internet for tips. I quickly learned writing is an art, and everyone approaches it with a different set of brushes. So I went straight to the canvas to study the colors. I bought bestsellers in my genres and read them. If I loved them, I read them again...with a highlighter and a pen, making notes on pacing, character growth, dialog, and plot points. If I didn't love them, I asked myself why. So the best piece of advice is to read in your genre. A ton.

8) How would you sum up your writing experience?
     I'm not sure how to answer this. I've written since I can remember. In elementary school I won first place in my school district for best novel. In high school I took every journalism and creative writing class I could, and when I was a senior and had completed my English credits early, I spent my 4th period class time at the local community college taking their English class. But I had babies and traveled and didn't start writing fiction again until the summer of 2009.

9) What's your plan for publication?
     I'm currently seeking agent representation. :)

10) What's been your biggest challenge as a writer?
     That's easy. Confidence in my work.

11) What keeps you going?
     My CPs who guarantee me my stories will one day be in print. Plus, I adore making stuff up and telling love stories, so I can't not write.  

Whatcha Reading?

Hi! What are you all reading this January? I'm half-way through City of Bones, and enjoying it.

And today I just picked up a book I've been waiting to read. I'm a member of RWA, and so is the author. When I found out she was going to attend the Emerald City Writer's Conference last October, I had every intention of meeting her. I even used all my raffles tickets on her basket containing a copy of this book and swag! Yet, when she walked up to my part of the check-in table and told me her name, I searched for her packet, gave her her badge, and COMPLETELY failed to make the connection that this was the same name on the book cover I'd been drooling over on Goodreads! Oh, well. Maybe next year. :)

 Here's the premise, doesn't it sound fun?

Celia Wird and her three sisters are just like other twenty-something girls—with one tiny exception: They're the products of a curse that backfired and gave each of them unique powers that make them, well, a little weird…

The Wird sisters are content to avoid the local vampires, werebeasts, and witches of the Lake Tahoe region—until one of them blows up a vampire in self-defense. Everyone knows vampires aren't aggressive, and killing one is punishable by death. But soon more bloodlust-fueled attacks occur, and the community wonders if the vampires of Tahoe are plague-ridden.

Celia reluctantly agrees to help Misha, the handsome leader of an infected vampire family. But Aric, the head of the werewolf pack determined to destroy Misha's family to keep the area safe, warns Celia to stay out of the fight. Caught between two hot alphas, Celia must find a way to please everyone, save everyone, and—oh, yeah—not lose her heart to the wrong guy or die a miserable death. Because now that the evil behind the plague knows who Celia is, he's coming for her and her sisters. 

This Wird girl has never had it so tough.



Oh! And I almost forgot to tell you. I came across these sites and they're fun. Okay, continue on your day.
How to dress like a Disney princess is here.
How to dress like a Disney villain is here.

But tell me, which page are you going to first? The princess or the villain page?