Dear Novel...

In Which I Reveal A Few Things I Love Because I Know You Totally Want To Know About Such Things

2011-11-29T12:34:00.001-08:00

1. Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley.

2. Billie Holiday (Holiday) Pandora radio station.

3. Gingerbread lattes.

4. The dreary weather that forces me to stay inside and write things like stories and such.

5. Dan in Real Life.

What's keeping your spirits up?

I Never Win Contests! Ever!

2011-11-11T07:42:00.001-08:00

I won a contest! Yeah! I enter them all the time, whether writing something is required or just simply a comment. I never win, I swear, and yet I continue to enter them because that is the nature of me.

This time! I won a 30-page request from an agent! Yeah!

Check out the Operation Awesome Blog, if you don't already. It's pretty cool. Every month they have these Mystery Agent contests and what an amazing opportunity not only to get your work in front of an agent in a different way other than Query World, but I really love to see what other writers are working on. If you check out the entries you'll see what I mean. There's such a wide range of amazing work out there. Pretty cool stuff and it makes me wonder what bookshelves will look like in another year or two.

Anyway. I entered my completed strange little manuscript Slumber. My Twitter pitch and the first 500 words are up on Operation Awesome, if you be curious about this dark wierd book.

Happy Writing! Happy Friday!

Patience

2011-11-09T06:35:00.000-08:00

Ugh. I'm losing patience again. What is my problem? I want to finish this new book NOW. I want to query it NOW. I want an awesome agent NOW. I want the book deal NOW.

I'm not ready! I know this! I need to prove to myself that I can write a good book. A book I'm totally completely mega-hotness in love with. A book that doesn't sag in the middle and fizzle out in the end. A book that stirs. A book...A book I can see on the shelves. I'm not there yet. I'M NOT.

Someone smack me across the face already!

Sometimes I think I've given up on my books too soon. I finish it, I'm done, and then I don't want to look at it ever again. I'm ready to move on to the next idea. But I refuse to give up on the current manuscript. I will exhaust all options for this one. I will make the BEST BOOK IN THE WORLD. Okay, exaggeration. How about the best book I've written? A book with a strong plot? With conflict all the way through?

33,600 words y'all...moving right along...but I want to see this baby shine already!

Are you patient?

Progress

2011-10-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm writing slow, but really I'm going at a pretty steady pace! Maybe it seems like I'm writing slow because I read about other writer's chucking out first drafts within a month, sometimes two weeks, two days, two hours (okay, maybe not).

I believe progress on a draft is more than word count. I'm getting out about 500 new words a day, but I'm also brainstorming, figuring out the structure, moving things around, fleshing out characters, jotting down notes for edits.

This story is following me around more than any other one I've written. It's always in the back of my mind. Cutting words is progress. Dumping a bad scene is progress. Figuring out a new plot point is progress, even if I don't write a word of it yet. Each day, this book is feeling more and more like THE ONE. Have I felt this way before? Sure...but this feels a different. I can't explain it.

I'm not sure where I got all this optimism from. It's annoying, isn't it? Do not worry. Another couple thousand words and I'll hate this book. I'll be sure to grumble here. Happens every time!

How do you measure progress?

National Novel Writing Month

2011-10-24T10:50:00.001-07:00

So I don't think I'll be doing National Novel Writing Month this year. I feel kind of sad about it. I've done it for the last few years. I really like the manuscript I wrote last year for it, although it sits untouched right now because it needs a lot of fixing and I don't want to do that right now. Go me. I am now 25,000 words into my new romantical WIP. It's slow-moving, folks. The words drip out like honey, but do not always taste so sweet. I wrote large chunks out of order, and am now in the process of filling in the blanks, threading scenes together. I edit slightly as I go along. I'm enjoying it. I think I finally found a process that works for me. I figure if I didn't have a day job, the process would go faster but alas I have a day job. I do hope to have a solid first draft by December. I figure I'll let it sit over the holidays. Edit in January...Perhaps! Perhaps! I shall query in February. In fact, maybe I shall send out a small batch of queries on Valentine's Day...which would be kind of perfect for the story. Oh, I love that idea!

What's your writing process? Are you writing a novel this November?

Re-Reading

2011-10-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

Do you re-read books? It's a rare thing for me. Honestly, most of the books I read are okay, entertaining enough. But I don't love, love, love them enough to read them again. This is sad, I know. I'm a tough audience I guess.

There are those precious few that I will pick up again.

1) The Bell Jar (I read this at least once a year.)
2) The Dogs of Babel
3) Catcher in the Rye
4) This weekend I re-read The Disreputable History of Frankie-Landau Banks. I love this book.

Are you a re-reader?

I'm Sick...But Check This Out...

2011-10-10T06:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm sick. Which means writing is going to be super hard. Bleh.

Anyway.

PLEASE GO CONGRATULATE SHANNON MESSENGER ON HER AWESOME BOOK DEAL! HOORAY!

Shannon's an inspiration and mega-awesome!!!!!

Young Adult...The Movie

2011-10-07T05:51:00.000-07:00

How great does this movie about a slightly (or completely) unstable Young Adult writer sound?

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/youngadult/

Synopsis

Academy Award(R) winner Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who hasn't quite gotten over high school, either.

I can't wait for this one! But I would just like to say that not all Young Adult writers are stuck in the past. Really. Some of us are kind of stable adults. I'm not saying that I'm one of those or anything, but they do exist.

Still. This movie looks funny. I love hot mess characters.

The Writer Life

2011-10-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

I took a few days off work. And I pretended that I write for a living. In two days I wrote 1,000 words in a first draft.

Huh.

Maybe it's a good thing I have a day job to force me to use my time more wisely.

I'm feeling like this publishing thing is taking me FOREVER. The people who start writing their first book today will likely be published before me. Ugh. My patience is dwindling. But I must trudge forward. I keep learning. I keep trying. I keep growing. I feel like I can't quit now. I've come a really long way. I've had a ton of set-backs. Each manuscript I write gets better than the last. I just need to have faith that this will happen for me. I have faith that it will happen for all of us dear writers. It's just a matter of when. And what book. The publishing stars must all align.

Onward, writer warriors.

A New WIP Snippet

2011-09-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

First of all, I might have bought, like, four books in the last three days on my Nook. Can you blame me?

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Lola and The Boy Next Door

The Name of the Star

Everybody Sees the Ants

So. Many. Good. Books. Coming. Out. Can't. Breathe.

Anyway.

I wrote this little exchange today. A rough snippet from My New Lovely Sparkly Romantic WIP:

"It's possible to go through life without being completely love-crazy you know."

Emma's blue eyes sparkle. "True, but it's a lot less exciting that way."

Is it FRIDAY yet?

The Chosen One

2011-09-26T06:33:00.001-07:00

So I have chosen a new story to pursue! HOORAY! It's a YA Contemporary Romance. I do love my dark paranormal stories, but after my last manuscript, I need something light and fun to chew on for a few months. Let's put it this way: Nobody will die horrible painful deaths in this new story. Again, Hooray!

Disclaimer: Okay - don't hold me to that. Because who knows where the story will go!

So far, I have written 7,000 words. Aw, the first 10,000 words fly by, don't they? This time, I'm writing whatever scene I want to write. It could be in the middle, or the end. I've even started writing the last chapter. You see, I have a problem with middles and endings. I love beginnings. I obsess over beginnings. But then I let the middle sag and the ending disappoint. But if I use some of that fresh energy I have when first starting a story and put that into the middle and the end, I'm hoping this might help solve my problem. So I guess you could say I'm kind of outlining. But I'm outlining by writing out the scenes. And then I'll sew them together later.

I don't know if the idea is something that would "sell." That's not my job to know that. I have no way of knowing that. All I know is that I like my characters, I like the plot, and I'm having fun writing this baby. It makes me laugh. I want to hang out with my main character. I wish I could call her on the phone. I wish I could invite her over for a BBQ. I'm still getting to know everyone else, but I'm hoping to make every single person come to life.

I love starting a new story. This one is already brightening the dreary fall days, which is perfect writing weather. I imagine I'll use November to keep writing this one, although I know that's technically cheating for NaNo. Even though this story doesn't have magic in it, it feels magical to me.

ONWARD!

Don't you love the start of a new project, when fresh butterflies sprout within your fingertips, itching to just write, write, write?

Identity Crisis?

2011-09-23T13:14:00.000-07:00

In case you can't tell, I'm having a bit of an identity crisis around here. Don't mind the changing templates as I try on some new outfits.

My blog background tends to match the current WIP I am immersed in. =)

Happy Days

2011-09-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to this song all morning. It makes me happy:

I'm looking forward to this:

No writing will be happening after October 18. I can pretty much guarantee that.

And I'm off to grab a Pumpkin Spice Latte!

Happy. Smile. Happy.

I Can't Choose!

2011-09-21T07:48:00.001-07:00

As I've mentioned before, I've been bouncing around between a couple different manuscripts, not quite finding a steady rhythm in either of them yet. I love both, in that I-Just-Met-You-Oh-My-God-You're-So-Hot-Way. But I'm finishing up a completely-for-fun screenplay, trying to get it out of my mind and off my plate, and then I've got to choose which manuscript I want to pursue next, as in try-to-get-published.

Manuscript #1: A YA Contemporary Romance

Manuscript #2: A Middle-Grade Adventure

I've done the YA Contemporary before, which crashed and burned, never quite becoming what I hoped it would. Middle-Grade Adventure is very, very new to me. I'm very nervous that I'm not doing it right. I read middle-grade from time to time, but not nearly as often as I read YA. It's been a while since I've been a teenager. But it's been even longer since I've been a kid, naturally.

I don't want to be insulting.

I don't want to sound stupid.

I don't want to be boring.

Who ever said writing for kids was EASY? God, it's so freaking nerve-wracking! Anyway - I'm finishing up the screenplay first. It's an idea that's been itching me for a few years, and I want it done, gone. This will be my break, but at the same time keeps my writing muscles in shape. In the mean time, I might write a bit in both manuscripts, here and there, and when November rolls around, hopefully I'll be ready to use NaNo to go full steam ahead!

How do you decide which idea to pursue? It's a big decision, knowing how much time and effort goes into one book. It could take up your entire year!

IN WHICH I GUSH

2011-09-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

For a while there, I was in a major reading slump. Every book I picked up, I couldn't stand, couldn't finish. I was just in one of those moods. Finally, my slump was broken by Nicholas Evans The Divide. I love all of his books, so I'm not surprised that he finally got me going again.

But now I've got 2 books that I'm reading that I am completely obsessed with. Guys, I am in love with these!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

and

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (technically not out yet, but Nook provided a free 14 chapter preview that I am devouring).

These books are so magical, so beautiful, that I seriously think I should give up writing because I will never be able to write this kind of loveliness. Check them out. They will both transport you to another world.

Happy Reading!

The Guilty Pleasures I Watch and Second, Third, and Fourth Chances

2011-09-16T11:28:00.001-07:00

Do any of you watch The Rachel Zoe Project? Okay, I do. This year, I have turned into a major Bravo junkie. Pretty much any show they put on the air, I will watch. My favorites are The Real Housewives, Flipping Out, Top Chef Just Desserts and The Millionaire Matchmaker. Yes, I watch way too much reality TV, and it all comes from Bravo!

Anyway - back from that tangent - back to Rachel Zoe. On the last episode I saw, she was getting ready to launch her new clothing line. Do I know anything about fashion? Nope. Which is why the show fascinates me. But Rachel said something along the lines of, "If no one buys my collection, that's it. I'm done. I'll have to stand on a street corner and ask people passing by if they want to buy a jacket from me."

Rachel Zoe has her own TV show. I think it's safe to say she's established. But even she was freaking out about putting her creation out into the world. But the part that caught my attention was that if she failed, that was it. She got one chance to sell. ONE. (How true that is for her, I don't know, but from what I can gather from also watching The City, it seems to be this way in the fashion world. One chance.)

At least we get more than one chance. In fact, we get many chances. If one book fails, we write another. We aren't shut out of the publishing world forever. Agents will look at a new project.

Another example is from the movie Airheads. For those of you who have not seen this classic piece of cinema, I suggest you turn off your mind and rent it. It's about this band called The Lone Rangers (yes, that is meant to be plural) and they want what any band wants: A Record Contract.

At the beginning, Chaz (Brandon Frasier) sneaks into a record company and tries to hand off his demo to a record executive, who, of course, won't take it. And then some things happen and la-dee-da before you know it The Lone Rangers are holding up a radio station (with water pistols, however) until the radio station plays their demo and hilarious and idiotic things ensue.

Publishing is hard. But at least publishing professionals give aspiring authors a CHANCE. They give our demo a LISTEN...and then reject it (kidding, um, but not really?). And there are so many contests and opportunities for writers. There's self-publishing. It seems the chances are endless for a writer to get work out there.

PLUS you can always hand out your manuscript on the street corner to people passing by! Hey, the options are endless!

The Moon Dog Inn Snippet

2011-09-15T07:47:00.001-07:00

I really like to share my writing. I do. Even if someone hates it, I like to put it out there every now and then because, well, just because! Perhaps this is why I am pursuing (whoa, it took me a minute to remember how to spell that word) publishing! Sometimes it can feel like everything is so secretive in the writing world, so here's my heart on a platter. Just kidding.

Here's a little snippet of The Moon Dog Inn Rewrite:

Chapter One

The purple man standing on the other side of the desk smelled like peanuts. As he yawned, revealing his sharp teeth, I tried to swallow my panic. I was deathly allergic to peanuts. The smell alone triggered symptoms, although Ma would say it was all in my head. But I felt the hives forming. I felt my throat closing up...

"Excuse me?" the purple man asked, tapping his fingernails along the wooden desk. His touch scattered glitter across the reservations book. "Can I please get a room sometime before the sun rises? As you can see, my glamour has faded, and I would like to keep my head, thank you very much."

I coughed and brushed the glitter away, plastering on a smile to hide my annoyance as I opened the dusty book and checked for his name. Ma would call me a terrible actress. When I'm irritated, it's written all over my face, no matter how hard I try to hide my feelings, and guests don't like to know how annoying they are. Ma, on the other hand, parades around here with an air of happiness despite the werewolf hair constantly clogging the shower drains and the smell of blood-flavored pillow mints hanging around the storage room. Her attitude, while comforting to our often running-for-their-lives guests, makes me wonder how we could possibly be related. But the guests love Ma. I guess that's why she has won employee of the month every month for all seventeen years of my life. That, and I'm her only competition.

I swiped a silver key from the wall behind me, and said, "You've been upgraded to The Fairy Suite this evening, Mr. Tinkerbell." His name, I hoped, was a cover. "There will be no additional charge."

"But I requested a standard room," Mr. Tinkerbell said, flapping his purple wings. Glitter flew everywhere. As he leaned across the desk to get in my face, the smell of peanuts caused my throat to close up again. "I don't need special treatment," he spat. "Do I look special to you?"

For a fairy, no, he didn't. Bright, colorful skin. Glittery wings. Predatory teeth. A sharp dresser, wearing a pin-striped suit and a silver tie. Glowing, yellow eyes that gave me the chills. He also carried a complex many supernaturals had these days. Supernaturals wanted to be normal. They didn't want special treatment. They didn't even know how lucky they were. What I wouldn't give to trade my average, frumpy looks for a pair of wings and purple skin.

"As you are probably aware, sir, there was a full moon last night," I replied, as calmly as I could. "Your standard room is no longer available, unless you like your furniture shredded by cranky werewolves, in which case, sure, you can have your original room. Be my guest."

The fairy backed away, and tilted his chin upward. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a half-empty bag of peanuts, popping a few into his mouth as if they were pills. He chewed obnoxiously and shrugged. "I supposed the suite will do, " he murmured.

Damn right.

As he followed me down the maroon-carpeted hallway, candles flickering along the stone wall, a chill rubbed the back of my neck. I shivered and pulled the sleeves of my over-sized sweater over my hands. The Moon Dog Inn had a serious draft problem because the various creatures who stayed here all enjoyed damp, cold places. Probably because they were forced to hide in them to avoid the hunters. As I opened the door leading to the basement, where all of our suites resided, the fairy decided to speak to me.

"Why do you dress like that?" he asked, practically breathing down my neck. "You've got curves, girl. Show them off."

It took all of my will power not to slug him in the face.

What's Your Favorite Scary Movie?

2011-09-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

As fall descends upon us, I like to curl up with a scary book or a scary movie. I love scary movies, but the old-fashioned simple horror type, maybe even a little cheesy (as you might see from some of my choices below!) I do not like human centipedes or houses on the left, if you get what I'm saying. I like psychological horror over pure torture. Scare me, yes, but let there be a point if you are going to cross any lines. I like to be scared, a little freaked out, but not scarred for the rest of my life, thank you very much. I am a sensitive soul.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite scary movies, in no particular order, of course.

The Descent

(I cannot remember ever being so scared in a movie theater. My adrenaline was pumping throughout this movie!)

The Grudge

Seven
(Is this considered horror? Well, it was scary.)

I Know What You Did Last Summer

The Dawn of the Dead

The Silence of the Lambs

Pan's Labyrinth

The Ring

Scream

The Sixth Sense

And there you have it! I'm sure I missed some.

As for books, you can't go wrong with Stephen King, in my humble opinion. But fall breeds a plethora of good books, scary or not, so there is rarely a drought!

I'm currently diving into The Night Circus.

Do you have any scary movie suggestions for the season? Any good book suggestions out there?

Manuscript-Speed-Dating

2011-09-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

Man, I can not keep working on one manuscript. I am all over the place. It's kind of driving me crazy. I wish I could focus but I keep dipping into old works, new works, screenplays, flash fiction. I guess this is the fun part, trying to worm my way into a comfort zone with one. I'm manuscript-speed-dating right now.

Today, I started re-writing The Moon Dog Inn. Any old followers remember that one? I loved that little book, but the manuscript was a mess. I figured a total re-write couldn't hurt, and even if it's too late for anyone to be interested in it, it could be good practice, a reminder that over the last year I have learned some things about writing, that I know how to improve, to keep moving forward.

I do this same thing with reading. I jump from book to book until I find one that I can settle in with. Speaking of, there are so much great releases coming up this fall. Have I mentioned that I love this time of year?

Happy Friday!

Why the Synopsis Doesn't Have to be THAT Evil

2011-09-08T10:32:00.001-07:00

I'm bouncing around between a few different projects right now, kind of depending on my mood. I've been spending the most time with a new middle grade project, which is explosively fun for me. I've only written adult (okay, that novel is about ten pages long and eternally unfinished) or young adult (a few manuscripts), so I'm excited to try a new genre.

I've noticed that a main problem that I have with my stories is that I let the middle sag. I suffer from that boring middle syndrome, so I thought I would try sort-of outlining. I've started working on a synopsis for the middle grade book, and I'm kind of loving it because it forces me to push the story forward, to make it exciting, and hopefully when I get to really working on it (about 4,000 words in right now), I won't wander away from the focus and let things get boring. It's also the first super-action-packed book I've written, which could be why I'm having such a blast with it. I tend to write softer, more psychological stories, I guess? But this one certainly isn't staying in one place.

So maybe using the synopsis as an outline will help. It sure has gotten me excited about the story. I keeping thinking, "I can't wait to write that scene!" I'm definately not a detailed outline person, but writing a few pages that describes the story event-by-event will remind me where I'm going, and why. Otherwise, my characters may end up sitting around and simply talking about stuff. Boring!

We've got some great, dreary writing weather here now. I love grabbing a Pumpkin Spice Latte, slipping on my sweater boots, and letting words fly from my fingertips.

What's cooking in everyone's writing oven this fall?

An Old Manuscript

2011-08-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

So I just started reading some of my old manuscripts today, which is never easy for me to do. The first one made me cringe and I immediately stopped reading. The second one I started revising, because I totally saw the issues with it from page 1, but also some potential there. The third...the third...

I COMPLETELY FELL IN LOVE WITH.

This has never happened to me before! This is the novel I wrote for NaNo last year and I haven't touched it since then. It's a mess, sure, but I LOVE THE MAIN CHARACTER SO MUCH.

EEK.

Me thinks I shall give this one another go.

By the way - HI!

Break

2011-06-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Sorry - I've been absent. I'm taking a break from blogging for awhile. While I do hope to return--it's such a great way to meet fellow writers--I just don't have the time for it right now. But, hopefully, I shall return sometime. I wish that everyone gets an agent and a book deal while I am away.

Thanks!

Lisa

First Draft Done! Kind of!

2011-05-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

Okay - so I'm not technically done with the first draft. The ending's still not written. And I'm only at 43,000 words. BUT. So much has changed about my world. It's taken me some time to understand how it works. I think I have a better grasp on it now but I want to go back and start editing that stuff in, cutting old stuff out, etc.

First Draft: Take 2.

Or I guess you could call it a Do-Over.

Yeah - I have saying that: Do-Over. Rewrite. It sounds so daunting. But I can do it! I've got the characters in my head now, the world. Do you want to know what the Core of the story is?

One word.

ESCAPE.

Have a good one all! I may be in and out of the blogging world. I want to nail this story, guys. Seriously. I love it. I think it could really work. I'm not an agent or an editor or anything so that may be my delusions talking. But my delusions keep me going sometimes. Don't judge!

My Character's Body Has Been Found...

2011-05-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

I killed a character, remember. She was once breathing. Now she's not. But her body has just been discovered...and the RUMORS are flying. What happened to her? Was she murdered? Did she kill herself? Was it an accident?

Can I just say that this story is SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE. =)

Happy Friday!

I Killed a Character

2011-05-18T08:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I killed a character yesterday. I don't mean that I cut her from the story. I mean she's in the story. But she's dead. Oh, yeah. This story is turning out SUPER happy! =)

Congrats Kasie West!

2011-05-16T12:38:00.001-07:00

First of all, congrats to Kasie West! Who is getting published! Yeah! I follow her blog and she's awesome. I don't know much about her book, other than that it's called Pivot Point, which sounds cool! Yeah!

A new idea came to me the other day. I was laying in bed and these details starting raining down on me. I struggled to catch them all but I managed to write some things down. FOR. LATER. Because I'm determined to finish my new WIP! I'm still so in love with it - although the first half now needs to be completely changed. So, yeah, I'm at 32,000 words but...a lot of the words are gonna get cut. But I'm exploring the world, getting to know it, answering the questions about it, slowly. The pacing is picking up, probably a bit too late. So more words will get cut. But I'll also be adding words. I try not to worry too much about word count in the beginning. It's going to change a thousand times. I guess I want to make sure I have enough going on!

Happy Monday!

My New Plan

2011-05-12T07:01:00.000-07:00

My new plan:

1) Finish first draft of WIP by June 1.
2) Revise first draft by July 1.
3) Revise second draft by August 1.
4) Revise third draft by September 1.
5) Revise fourth draft by October 1.
6) By November 1 - Query WIP (if all goes well with it, that is. FINGERS CROSSED.)
7) November - Work on a new WIP for National Novel Writing Month. A much happier, peppier, brighter manuscript.

Anyway - that's the plan. I'm giving myself at least the summer to whip this WIP into shape (ha!). But if there's one thing I've learned about writing, it's that nothing ever goes according to plan.

News!!!!!!!!

2011-05-10T05:39:00.000-07:00

Do you like how I did that? How I added a million !!!!!! to the title to make it seem like AWESOME news? And it is good news. Sort of. Depending on how you look at it.

No - I am not getting published. Yet.

Yes - I did part ways with my agent.

*GASP*

It's totally cool. I've decided to take things in a different direction. I'm returning to supernatural YA, which is sort of where I started. But I'm going dark and creepy and eerie. Basically - the complete opposite of my YA contemporary.

My YA contemporary manuscript WAS NOT WORKING. I still think it's kind of cute and sweet but I wrote it last summer as a break...a fun project. I never expected big things from it. I queried it a little on a whim and got lucky.

But I'm so ready to make things happen this year, you guys. I really am. Not like I haven't been trying so far but I feel like I've got more in me. When I feel like I've done all I can -- I may stop. But I don't feel that way yet. I need to really buckle down and chug out the best manuscript that I can. I've already got a query in the wings for the new WIP. Of course, it may change as I keep writing because who hasn't changed plots in the middle of a first draft?

I think it's important to remember this: Agents are there to work for you. If they can't do anything for you, it may be time to move on. No hard feelings. It's a business. It can really feel sometimes like agents are hiring you, because of the query process. But you are hiring them to help with your writing career. It's a partnership. A two-way street.

So I'm starting fresh. Hey - I've done the query world before. It's kind of fun. (AM I CRAZY? Possibly). I've developed a pretty thick skin over these years of writing, whether through rejections through queries or rejections through literary online magazines. It's tough, yes. But right now, it's the manuscript I need to work on. I love my new WIP. I think this could be THE ONE. (I might have said that before...) I'm only about halfway through a first draft so I've got a ways to go.

If you have any questions about my experience, please feel free to e-mail me or leave in the comments! Happy to answer!

I'm oddly relieved about this. I swear I'm not being falsely optimistic. I like starting fresh. Which I think is a good sign. =)

What Did I Miss?

2011-05-09T07:23:00.000-07:00

Hi! I'm back! Did you miss me? I missed you!

What did I miss? Any big book news?

I'm now at 23,000 words on the new WIP. Yep. I'm moving that SLOW. But I'm eager to move full steam ahead on it now. I just need to focus on it. Get in the GROOVE. I love writing in the summer time (even though the new WIP is very much WINTER. DARK. COLD.)

I'm feeling good these days y'all. I don't really have a reason to. But I just am.

Hope everyone had a great week! The weather around here is finally looking up! =)

Blog Break!

2011-04-29T08:05:00.001-07:00

I love the Royal Wedding! What a happy joyous occasion. And how cool that a crowd that huge can be pleasant. Yeah!

Anyway - I will be on a blogging break. I have business to attend to elsewhere. I shall return in about a week!

Happy Spring!

First Drafts versus Editing

2011-04-27T06:16:00.000-07:00

Create your own For Dummies cover!

New WIP In Pictures

2011-04-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

WIP Excerpt

2011-04-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

Felt like sharing a little excerpt from my new WIP today! Here it is! Happy THURSDAY! It's almost the weekend! YEAH!

She grabs my wrist and yanks me over the edge. I open my mouth to scream but the cold rush of air silences me. Her nails dig into my wrist so hard, pellets of blood slowly rise from my skin. She stares at me, a hard look on her face as we fall, fall, fall through the vanilla sky. Now I'm sure of it. There's madness in her eyes.

What is it about 20K?

2011-04-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

What is it about 20K? Why do things SLOW WAY DOWN at that word count? It feels good to hit that number. I'm almost half way to a decent word count! Not really! But that's what I'm telling myself! But then I just...stare.

And stare.

And stare.

I'm working a little differently with my new WIP (my main new WIP. I've got another one, tucked away for now.) Now that I've hit that number - I'm going back to edit those 20K words before I go on. AM I CRAZY? I don't know. But I feel like what happens at the beginning of a story severely effects the end. So I'd like to try to have a solid beginning before I head further into the trenches that is story. If that makes sense.

I'm excited about this story. Like MAJORLY EXCITED. (*Please refer back to this statement in about, oh, three weeks. I predict I will be contradicting it by then.)

I LOVE NEW DRAFTS. LOVE THEM. I FEEL HOPE RUSHING THROUGH MY VEINS! This is it, I think. THEE BOOK. You know, the one that will magically fly off bookshelves like little paper bats. The one that will pay my bills. Allow to me to quit the day job. This book is my SAVIOR.

Wow. Maybe I shouldn't have drank that Dr. Pepper. I'm a little wired. And delusional.

HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYBODY!

THANK YOU FOR READING ABOUT MY PAINFUL JOURNEY TOWARD PUBLICATION!

Onward.

P.S. Apologies. In a wierd mood. I blame in on the twisters around here. (On a side note: I was sitting in the bathroom with my two dogs (who are not little, both over 50 lbs) last night because the tornado sirens went off. My husband stays on the couch. Chill. I can't be chill in storms. I freak. I want my animals safe. Everyone safe. Me and my dogs were like little sardines. I think my animals also think I am crazy.)

Rewriting is Not Starting Completely Over

2011-04-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

One thing I learned during revisions this year is that Rewriting, whether only a chapter or a scene or the entire book, doesn't mean Start Over. It can sure feel that way. Yes, I'm staring at a blank page, just like at the very beginning of this journey. Yes, my word count is dangerously low.

But I'm not starting over.

Because I have things from that first draft, or whatever it was, that I didn't have before. They are in my head. I know my characters now. I know what needs to happen. But I can forget all the original words weighing me down. Sometimes I feel like scenes from the first draft keep me from improving. Because I don't want to let them go.

A blank page can be scary. And daunting. But it can also mean freedom.

Sometimes I'm scared I'm going to delete something good. And I have done this, actually. But I save everything. I don't say good-bye forever. So I can go back and fix this.

But sometimes my original draft really feels like a road block, if that makes sense. I feel like, "Hey, I spent a ton of time writing this thing. I don't want to delete a word!" But I've got to sometimes, you know! Some things don't work. They need a rewrite. But pieces of that first draft will always shine through! Hopefully, just the good parts.

A rewrite is simply reworking. Not starting over. That sounds a lot better, anyway. =)

Cravings

2011-04-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get book cravings? I do. Sometimes I crave something light and fluffy. Sometimes I crave something dark. Something sinister. Something clouded in death. Oh, cheery me. Sometimes I crave a quick read. A long one. One stuffed with so much beautiful language I might explode from it. Sometimes I crave The Sims Medieval. Sometimes I crave my Nook. Sometimes a real book that's been sitting, waiting for me for months. Sometimes I crave the supernatural. The realistic. The tragedy. The comedy. The short story. The screenplay. The novella.

There's very little I don't crave at one point! Right now? I'm craving something murky and dark. I've got The Body Finder waiting for me at home!

Forever

2011-04-14T07:25:00.001-07:00

It feels like I've been trying for this publishing thing forever. But really, when I think about it, it's only been about 2 1/2 years. Which is nothing in the publishing world, right? And not all of those 2 1/2 years did I know what I was doing. It's taken me a lot of time to find my voice, where I fit, where I'd like to be. Some people know that from the beginning. I didn't. I started out writing about my study abroad experience in Europe. After researching, I figured it belonged in YA. It sort of did, I guess. But that book was a mess. I tried writing in like a million point of views. Yeah. IT WAS AWFUL. And made no sense. In fact, I may not even consider that a book. Just a bunch of ramblings I put together during National Novel Writing Month.

I think I've come a long way!

I'm scared to look back at those early books. But it might be educational. And hopefully make me feel better to see that, yes, I have IMPROVED! And I hope in another 2 1/2 years that I will look back on my writing now and think I have IMPROVED!

It's so easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing. But they had a journey too. Maybe they started before you. Maybe after. I don't want their story. I want my own.

And I hope my story ends with...

AND THEN I WAS PUBLISHED.

The End! Or The Beginning...

The Hunger Games

2011-04-11T05:58:00.000-07:00

My Hunger Games books have really been making the rounds lately. I loaned them to my co-worker (a 50 year old man). He loved them. And now they're with my mom. She called me on Saturday and said, "PLEASE CAN I STOP BY AND PICK UP THE SECOND BOOK? I HAVE GOT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!"

It just always amazes me the way a book can transcend a genre. Yes, they are Young Adult books. But anyone can enjoy them! I think it's so rare that a book can do this. It's a very special thing. Not even Twilight hits this, I don't think. So I base this on if my parents will read the book. Which they won't read Twilight. The real test will be if my dad likes The Hunger Games. =)

It's just really neat. And I'm happy to be spreading The Hunger Games love! I just hope I get the books back. My copy of Water for Elephants was making the rounds, another fantastic book, and it is disappeared! Like magic! Ha!

Happy Monday! If there is such a thing.

UPDATE: My mom has finished Catching Fire. I gave it to her Saturday. She couldn't wait for Mockingjay so she went out and bought it, even though I have it! LOL!

HI!

2011-04-05T11:57:00.001-07:00

*Waves from the depths of revision recovery.*

I'm Gonna Go All Medieval On Your...

2011-03-23T12:40:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure the makers of the Sims 3 franchise plan the release of their new games around the worst possible time for me to play it.

Last time, they released it on October 26 or something like that. Right before National Novel Writing Month.

Now. They release it while I am in the middle of my edits. OF COURSE.

There are WITCHES. And QUESTS.

AND CASTLES.

It will be reward for finishing the edits. And making me story pretty.

I will not get it until I AM DONE.

Sigh.

It's Who We Are!

2011-03-18T06:33:00.000-07:00

So I am big fan of Deb Caletti ever since I read Honey, Baby, Sweetheart. Here is what she has on her Web Site about advice for aspiring writers. Very inspirational!

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

"I think being a writer is about who you are, more than about the task itself. It is a way of looking at the world, a state of observance coupled with a deep need to make sense of the life and the people around you. If this is truly you, you won’t be able to help the desire to write, but you’ll need to learn to write and write well. Read everything you can. That is the best way to learn – reading the bad stuff, reading the great stuff. Write, write and write some more, and submit your work wherever you can. More than anything else, focus on the goal and don’t let go. Being an author is one of the Big Dreams. You have a better chance of becoming a rock star or an astronaut, so persistence is everything. QUEEN, the first of my books to be published, was the fifth book I wrote. If I didn’t have this feeling that being a writer was who I most was, and that giving up on the dream would be giving up on myself, I likely wouldn’t have kept going. I was (and still am) motivated by my profound love and respect of books and the feeling that being a writer is the ultimate PRIVILEGE. If you want to be a writer, have the determination of a dog with a knotted sock. Sink your teeth in and don’t give up. Become who you are, as Nietzsche said."

This is seriously how I feel. I've tried to find other occupations I could enjoy. Even a little. Because writing is freaking hard. But the truth is, I always come back to writing! I can't seem to let it go!

Chapter Titles

2011-03-17T07:17:00.000-07:00

Some books name their chapters. Some just number them.

This seems like such a minor thing but sometimes it really bothers me. If I name my chapters, I think I lose some focus sometimes because I'm trying to stay true to what I name it? Or something? I don't know. But in my latest edit, I am just numbering them, concentrating on hitting an emotional note for each chapter. Just trying to make it flow more easily because it gets kind of choppy at times.

And I feel better about this round of edits. I think that has something to do with the weather, which is finally kind of glorious.

Yesterday I sat at my kitchen table as a soft breeze blew through the screen door. It was strange. I guess I really felt like, I don't know, a writer. Sitting in the gentle glow of the approaching evening. Starbucks coffee cup to the right of my computer. A black cat to the left. My eyes squinting at the tangled pages in front of me while somewhere outside dogs barked with glee and strollers scraped against sidewalk.

It was just so...oddly peaceful.

If only things were so peaceful for Leslie Lee Baker...=)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Fact about me: I am not Irish. I am Welsh!

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

2011-03-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

So last night I ate Chinese food.

I want to bed.

I had crazy wierd dreams about very cheesy pizza...

And a title came to me.

This kind of bizarre, magical title not linked to anything.

I want to write a story around this title. I want to create this character.

How wierd, right?

Sometimes phrases come to me in dreams. I'll get maybe a cool sentence and that's it. I don't dream about vampires in meadows or anything like that.

But I dreamed of this title last night. I wrote it down. And I still like it! Aw!

Where do you get ideas from? Do you write around a character? A book title? A single scene? It's always so fascinating for me how a whole story can spring up from a single seed of something.

For Leslie Lee, I had the hook first. I then created Leslie. And she drove the story. Everything else came after.

What Goes On In My Head During Editing

2011-03-15T12:22:00.001-07:00

So, as I mentioned, I am editing.

Editing can be...awesome. And awful. At the exact same time.

I thought it would be funny to give you all an idea of my thought process during editing. While I didn't write my thoughts as I had them (that would get in the way of editing you know) this is probably a pretty close representation to my editing last night:

*sits down*
*crack knuckles*
*winces in pain*
*wiggles in chair*

I am ready to tackle this chapter!

Oh, wait. That's out of character for her...better rework...

There. That's better. Oops! Typo!

Maybe I should outline.

Okay, I will outline a little since some things are moving around...

A rough outline so I need a better idea of structure...

OH MY GOD! I FORGOT TO WALK THE DOGS!

*walks dogs. Thirty minutes later...*

*sits back down. Ready to tackle next chapter...*

I am exhausted. THIS STUPID TIME CHANGE.

I need to fix this chapter...

I need to make this smoother...

I need to work on this transition...

Wait. WHERE THE HECK DOES THIS CHAPTER FIT?

Sets Mystery Chapter aside to see if might need to be cut...

And on and on.

Oh, goodness.

ACK!

2011-03-14T11:47:00.001-07:00

Well, I hate this time change. I lose an hour. Doesn't the world know that I am editing? I CAN'T LOSE AN HOUR!

That is all.

Somewhere Between...

2011-03-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

Today I decided to use my little code from National Novel Writing Month and order a paperback copy of my book! I had so much fun creating the cover for it and I can't wait to see it! EEK! I am such a dork. It's not like it's even ready to be seen in print yet but whatever. It was fun to design a cover and as I tried to design, it always reminded me of what the focus should be.

Sometimes imagining a cover can help with that. Or imagining where it will sit on a book shelf. I think THE MYSTERIOUS ENLIGHTENMENT OF LESLIE LEE BAKER would sit between:

And...

Both great reads!

Anyway...I'm just writing along...keeping my fingers crossed that something amazing might happen this year...

Random Excerpt Monday! And The Adjustment Bureau!

2011-03-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

Hi!

So as I gear up for another round of edits, I've been reading A TON. I have now been banished from my Nook for a few weeks because, well, I have a book buying problem. You're welcome, publishing industry and authors!

But don't worry! Turns out I've got some books sitting on my shelf I haven't read yet. So I'll be okay. Phew.

Also, I've been writing a new WIP. A NEW NEW WIP? An old WIP? I don't know. I've just been writing! Would you like to read a random snippet?

I know he’ll crack but I don’t know when. I’m amazed he’s held out this long for me. Amazed he’s trying to save me. He’s the only person who ever really understood. The only one paying any kind of attention.

And then I know.

I love him.

Oh! And go see The Adjustment Bureau. It is made of awesome. Think of The Adjustment Bureau as authors. And Matt Damon as the main character. Just keeping throwing obstacles in the way! It's great. Really. And very romantic!

Have a great Monday everyone!

Author Names

2011-03-03T10:25:00.001-08:00

So I've never thought my name sounds like an author name:

Lisa. Aldin.

Hmm. It just doesn't sound very author-y.

It seems like everyone else out there has an author name. For example, a few of the favorite blogs I follow:

Marsha Sigman

Stephanie Faris

Natalie Whipple

There are more, of course, but those are just a few I picked out. There are more. They sound so AUTHOR-Y!

I can see their names so easily on a book. Mine? Eh.

I was thinking that if I ever do get to that glorious stage of publication, maybe I could swing one of these pen names:

THE AUTHOR
THE OTHER STEPHANIE MEYER BUT WITHOUT VAMPIRES AND STUFF.
THE PEN FAIRY.
LOOK AT ME. I WROTE SOMETHING.
READ THIS BOOK PLEASE.
SALLY MANDER.
IVANA TINKLE.

I could totally see any of those on a book cover!

Old Shiny Idea

2011-03-02T10:21:00.000-08:00

So we all love Shiny New Ideas. Things that suddenly push aside our current WIP and scream LOOK AT ME!

But like the good little writers that we are, we know to not always be so distracted by Shiny New Idea. We have work to do on WIP. So, during these are times when we resist temptation, we tuck Shiny New Idea into a drawer and work on WIP.

And so Shiny New Idea transforms into Shiny Old Idea.

I like Shiny Old Idea's. But they can be just as distracting! Like...why haven't I written this yet? THIS MUST BE WRITTEN NOW!

Well, anyway. I have no news to report. I feel like I'm getting pulled into a million different directions and I'm just standing still and...I don't know.

In kind of an odd mood today. I blame it on Shiny Old Idea.

Saving and Publishing May Fail...RETRYING...

2011-03-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

So I had this cute little post all ready to go but I got an error message from Blogger:

"Saving and Publishing May Fail...Retrying..."

STORY.

OF.

MY.

LIFE.

In other news, my house did not get damaged from the nasty thunderstorm/possible tornado the other night. I feel blessed and lucky that my dogs didn't fly away like that cow in the movie Twister. I hate natural disasters. Hate them. There is no control, sometimes no warning, and the results are completely devastating. Praying everyone effected makes it through the muck.

In other other news...

Happy March! So long February! I will NOT miss you.

In other other other news...

Welcome New Followers! This is a happy place. I promise. Sort of. Really. It's happy. Thanks for stopping by!

NO!!!!!!!!!

2011-02-25T07:15:00.000-08:00

I had a dream last night that I was on a tropical island. Not only was I there but I had, like, MOVED there. All of my animals were present and the house I lived in was huge. I went swimming with my dogs (although I was worried my Izzie didn't know how to swim but she did!) It was a happy dream full of crystal blue water, white sand, and horse back riding. It was so vivid my skin felt sun-kissed...

Then I woke up.

To the sound of my neighbor's snow blower.

Which could only mean one thing.

MORE SNOW.

UGH.

More Ice. More Snow. BLAH. I had my winter coat put away Winter!

Thus is the life of living in the Midwest. One day it feels like spring, the next it's a white wonderland.

WHEN IS SPRING GOING TO GET HERE? SERIOUSLY?

I need to move where it doesn't snow. Any suggestions?

The Romantics

2011-02-23T05:59:00.000-08:00

So I watched this movie the other day called The Romantics:

It's got Sookie Stackhouse and Joey Potter and That Guy Married to Fergie in it. I actually thought it was pretty good. It wasn't anything majorly new but it was sweet.

Basically it's about a group of college friends (who were known as The Romantics because they all basically dated each other at one point) who are reunited for the marriage of Lila and Tom (Anna Paquin and Josh Duhamal). Laura (Katie Holmes) used to date Tom. And she's the maid of honor. She never got over him. He might not be over her. Awkward!

Needless to say that that toast that Laura gives at the rehearsal dinner is awkward. But there's a part of it I really love. She talks about her friendship with Lila. I don't have the exact quote but it goes a little something like this:

We became friends. We fell in love with each other. Because that's what friends do. They fall in love with each other. And then they fall out of love. And then fall back in love. And this happens over and over again for the rest of their lives.

I think this happens with my manuscripts. I fall in love with my manuscript. I fall out of love with my manuscript. And this happens over and over again until something gives.

But we're friends, my manuscript and I. And we fall in love with each other, fall out of love, but we try and stick by each other. Sort of!

Hey Izzie?

2011-02-22T05:55:00.000-08:00

Hi! I'm back. Did you miss me? No? Could you pretend that you missed me? Thanks!

Sometimes I just need a break from the internet. Honestly, it gives me a headache sometimes trying to keep up with everything! So I did a ton of reading over the last week and spent quality time with my plethora of animals. We had some decent weather although now we're back to February ugliness. Poo.

Anyway, the weekend was really rainy and boring and so once I finished the yummy books I was reading, I decided to play around with i Movie. I freaking love it. So I give you the product of my boredom during a three day weekend, a video I made of my dog Izzie. I have a life. Really I do. I promise. Er.

Blog Vacation!

2011-02-15T13:17:00.001-08:00

Hi! I'm taking a Blog Vacation this week. At least that is the plan. See you soon!

Today...

2011-02-14T11:38:00.000-08:00

Is a good day. Why?

1) It's semi-warm. I can see GRASS.
2) My sick cat finally, finally, finally, for the first time in about two weeks, USED THE LITTER BOX. JOY. JOY. JOY!
3) These arrived:

4) Did I mention I could see GRASS outside?

5) Did I mention I did not need my winter coat today?

6) Hub is taking me to get a delicious Very Vanilla Milkshake from Cold Stone Creamery later, probably my favorite thing ever (I literally have DREAMS about this milkshake).

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Dear Hollywood...

2011-02-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

THANKS FOR DEAR LEMON LIMA! THIS LOOKS ADORABLE. Although I do get tired of the word 'quirky.' But a Snowstorm Survival Competition? AWESOME. And I get tired of comparisons to Juno but, you know, all must be compared to something I guess. Also, I have heard this a lot today: TGIF. And I concur.

The Lisa Simpson Book Club

2011-02-10T06:40:00.000-08:00

Check it Out! The Lisa Simpson Book Club!

http://lisasimpsonbookclub.tumblr.com/ (I think my favorite one is the Dream Denied Magazine. Gee. Ever feel like that? LOL.)

Lisa Simpson and Penny from Inspector Gadget are two of my favorite cartoon characters. Growing up, I so wanted to be Penny. She had a book that was really a computer! And she was the one always saving the day. Her and the dog, Brian. Awesome.

Awesomeness.

Hide the Pain

2011-02-08T11:50:00.001-08:00

First of all, thank you to Stephanie Faris who gave me a Stylish Blogger Award! THANK YOU!

This is a short post to basically say I AM EXHAUSTED. I think I'm getting sick because I can barely keep my eyes open. But I am still here. I've been nursing a sick kitty (Luda) back to health. There is something wrong with his liver and he's had, um, issues. Let's just say my upstairs carpet is completely ruined. He has to be in pain. I'm very worried about him. But he ACTS just fine. He still plays and cuddles and is utterly adorable. He's still eating, which is a good sign. But cats really know how to hide their pain.

And because this is a blog about writing and all...I will link that to writing...

Writers hide their pain.

Through all the good news and deals and everything...every writer has some pain. Some worries. Frustrations. Anger. Insecurities. But they hide it so well, don't they?

Is it Friday yet?

In Which I Eat Speech Sounds that Communicate a Meaning

2011-02-04T12:35:00.000-08:00

I can't seem to find a home for this little flash piece I wrote many moons ago so I will just post it here! Plus I don't know what else to post about today! =)

On a side note: Please be careful if you are in an area where ice has run rampant. People fall. Hard. No one is invincible! Just saying...I may be speaking from experience...

In Which I Eat Speech Sounds that Communicate a Meaning

I lick the dictionary page and into my mouth tumbles glance, gland, and glans. I chomp up the letters, let them tickle and dance on my tongue, and spit them out. Onto the bleeding and muted silver paper slithers can leg, gland, and slang. I roll the saliva-coated letters around in my hands like dice, blowing into my crusty pink palms, and throw them into the air until they disintegrate into wrestling embers in the sable hole above.

A downpour of knife-edged letters strike my head like rocks pounding a deviated river and the As and the Gs and the Ls break skin and black ink jiggles free from my head wounds. I lick the page again and into my mouth plunges death and debacle and dearth and I swallow them before they can become hated or ace bled or thread or hatred. All the way down my hot and suffocated throat the letters rumble and crumble and tip and turn and high-five and cheer and now they are a part of me as my blood runs dented with permanent ink.

I Survived the ICEpocalpyse And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt

2011-02-03T08:36:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I survived. Two days off work and I have rejoined the world. But I have to say, I rather enjoyed because a recluse. I would seriously like to be one. Because it's kind of awesome (with the exception of restless dogs!) I guess you could say I am bit of a loner. Okay, so my husband was home too so I guess I wasn't TOTALLY alone. But still. There's something to be said for quiet time.

I spent most of my time iced in with JANE EYRE. I majored in English in college and somehow I never read this one. Heard of it, of course. Never read it. I guess because I never had to. But I am about halfway through it now and LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. It's so creepy and romantic. J'adore!

I also worked a bit on Shiny New Idea. I wrote a little synopsis for it and started to get to know my characters a bit. Writing bits and pieces here and there.

This post has no theme. Just random thoughts from the former recluse.

It feels like Monday.

But it's Thursday.

AWESOME.

DEATH TO FEBRUARY

2011-02-01T09:50:00.000-08:00

Greetings from The Ice Storm! The office is closed today so guess what I am doing? Reading and writing and reading and writing! YEAH! (*and checking work e-mail from home of course...)

It's a mess out there. And I just pray we don't lose power! Nasty freezing rain coming down as I write this. Icky stuff. I am not sure I will be able to go anywhere tomorrow either. Welcome, February. Which reminds me...

Have you read this book?

IT IS AWESOME.

A description:

Jones's brief and bewildering war fable pursues the plight of a town battling to free itself from the brutal hold of the month of February (also sometimes a person or a force or merely a metaphor), a meanie that has not allowed its wintry grip to lift for hundreds of days. When the despairing townspeople, led by valiant Thaddeus Lowe and his wife and daughter, suffer reprisals from February and the priests for trying to break the weather, a group of former balloonists don bird masks and, calling themselves the Solution, instigate a rebellion. Thaddeus's daughter, Bianca, is kidnapped, along with other children, leading Thaddeus to plot ways to deceive February: townspeople walk around pretending it's summer and secure light boxes around their heads to simulate the sun. February, meanwhile, may simply be feeling unloved by his wife, the girl who smells of honey and smoke and who seems eerily like Bianca.

The prose is lyrical and sparse and beautiful. It's a quick read and it's one of my favorite books now. I shall read again and again and again.

Highly recommended! (Especially during February!)

STAY WARM!

MY QUERY WORD CLOUD

2011-01-31T12:06:00.000-08:00

Courtesy (wow, had major trouble spelling that word...), of Wordle, I give you...a word cloud of my WIP Query!

These things are addicting...

46 FOLLOWERS!

2011-01-28T08:17:00.000-08:00

AW! I am so excited to have 46 FOLLOWERS! When did this happen? YEAH! What a GREAT NUMBER!

Some facts about the Number 46, for your reading pleasure, in PURPLE:

46 is the number of different arrangements (up to rotation and reflection) of 9 non-attacking queens on a 9×9 chessboard.

It is believed that Shakespeare was 46 around the time that the King James Version of the Bible was written. In Psalms 46, the 46th word from the first word is shake and the 46th word from the last word is spear.

Valentino Rossi, an Italian professional motorcycle racer, has always raced with the number #46 in his motorcycle grand prix career.

46 is a Wedderburn-Etherington number, an enneagonal number and a centered triangular number.

Note: (I have no idea what any of this means but I intend to find out. INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY IS GOOD!)

46 is the natural number following 45 and preceding 47.

Note: (This last one BLEW MY MIND).

I do Love Google. How did people learn stuff without it?

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Delusional Me

2011-01-27T06:50:00.000-08:00

Listen, I have given up on this writing thing so many times, it's not even funny. But I always come back to it. It's like the minute I throw up my hands and turn on the TV...my mind gets going again. What about this story? And pretty soon my fingers are typing again. I'm an addict!

I'll let you in on a little secret: At the beginning of December, when I went away on my business trip, I used that time to distance myself from writing. Sure, I had some queries out there, and a full request, but I was trying to picture myself doing something else.

But on the third day of my trip...I took out the little notepad the hotel gives you and wrote a little scene. Just like that. I couldn't stay away!

And when I got home...I had a very special e-mail waiting for me about that full manuscript request. The entire experience was very strange, very surreal. And no matter what happens down the road, I don't think I can stop writing. I write a little each day in the evenings or whenever so it's not like I'm a mad woman scribbling away into all hours of the night. It fits into my day now. It's part of my routine!

I may not be the best writer. But I try to improve everyday. I try to read a ton of different things. I would love for writing to be my career one day. Frankly, if there was something I felt more passionate about than writing, I would choose that for my career (although I am close, I get to work with books).

Well, anyway. I used Query Tracker during my query process and I did a little interview about finding my agent! I love reading their success stories so I wanted to do one when they asked. So cool. I guess my point of this post is...Don't Give Up. No matter what happens in the future, I don't think I will. And I don't care if that makes me sound pathetic or delusional or whatever. Because I want to be a published writer. There. What do they say about the first step?

I'm going after it. So sue me!

A Little Interview

NEW SHINY IDEAS

2011-01-25T10:54:00.000-08:00

I love new projects. LOVE. THEM.

Thanks to spending so much time in the query wars, I now write out a short synopsis before I really start writing. I might have a chapter done because a character's voice is itching to get out but I find that a short summary--something you might find in, oh say, a query letter--really helps me focus on the main arc of my story.

I hate writing the long synopsis. You know the one that's supposed to tell all the main events of your book. But it's so HELPFUL. Once I get writing and lose where I want to go, I will write the longer synopsis to help reel me back in. I guess it's kind of like an outline. It's a pain, yes, but it is extremely helpful to me. I have this habit of sort of combining two books into one. I've got two different main threads going on, both dominating to be the main one of the story, when really, one needs to take a back seat or disappear altogether (perhaps to be used for a different book.)

FOCUS. FOCUS. FOCUS.

There are always subplots but the main thread is what I would find on the back cover. What is the main plot? The hook? It should be, I think, one main idea.

I've written out a short synopsis for this SHINY NEW IDEA. I love playing around with it and imagining all the places it could go. It's such a cool place to be, at the beginning, and it's just what I need to warm me up on this cold, cold, cold days.

In Which I Uncover My Manuscript's Secret Plot To Kill Me

2011-01-20T07:07:00.000-08:00

It was a dark and stormy night. The animals were tucked into bed, my husband snored lightly on the couch, and the wind outside beat against the window frames with mighty fists. It was just my manuscript and I now, face to face at the kitchen table, two boxers with gloves raised as the overhead lights flickered.

First draft complete before midnight, I felt I had won. "Finished!" I cried to the heavens, waving my arms in a gesture of victorious delight. From the couch rose a grumble, "People are trying to sleep here!" And so I shout-whispered the words every writer longs to utter, "THE END."

Oh, how naive I had been.

Weeks passed.

The manuscript and I did not speak. We did not even look at each other, for I had won, you see, and my manuscript should be sulking in the dish water of defeat. Or so I thought.

Alas, one fateful night, I dusted off the manuscript and peered inside. The wind was quiet tonight. The lights did not flicker but watched in silence as I read over the words written weeks ago, the words I had been proud to squeeze out like honey. It was then that I realized--in one sickening flash--how much danger I was in.

For this was the night I uncovered my manuscript's secret plot to kill me.

His weapons of choice were nearly invisible but as I read the words, the pit in my stomach growing deeper as the minutes wore on, I knew what he was trying to do. Oh, what a trickster he be, making me believe I had a hint of a publishable story. That I could write. He wanted me to hope. So that he could crush my dreams with one solid punch, the most evil of villainous tools.

Below lies a list of a few of my manuscript's powerful weapons. Be warned. Your manuscript may be plotting to use them as well...when you least expect it:

1) Sleep deprivation. He begins simple. He slithers into my head as I lay down to sleep, often jerking me back into consciousness with a new idea, a new character, something that I feel I MUST WRITE DOWN RIGHT NOW. I get up and stumble through the dark for a pen...

Which leads to his next weapon of choice...

2) Disorientation. As the manuscript consumes my thoughts, I am unable to function properly as a human being. I spill drinks daily. I run into walls. I trip. I fall. I can't remember where I put my car keys. I can't let him get the best of me. I need to whip him into submission...

More editing ensues...and then he hits me with...

3) Adverbs. Like landmines, they are scattered throughout the pages, ready to explode, to weigh down the narrative, to reveal my amateur writer status. They grip my ankle like a bloody bear trap...and yet...I push through...I shave them away...clean it up...smile...for I have alluded him once more...until...

4) Cliches. Like poison, my manuscript pours them down my throat...they slip into everything I write...including blog posts...I spit them out, wipe them away, take a breath...and come face to face with...

5) Flat characters. The horror. Like something out of a zombie flick, paper dolls are walking and talking all over my story. They are limp and lifeless, nothing going on behind their eyes. I must give them CPR...give them the gift of dimension...save their lives...

But then I fall into...

6) Plot holes. I am lost in them for days, weeks, months. I crave water. My hair is matted. But I dig my way out and fill them...one by one...my finger nails caked with dirt...until...

Light. Another edit is complete. I lived.

I LIVED! My weapons? Time. Perseverance. Gummy Bears.

My manuscript tried to kill me.

But I live to see another edit.

Dear Hollywood...

2011-01-18T06:19:00.000-08:00

I am thinking about making this a regular feature as I have a lot to say to Hollywood and I am sure that they are so wanting to hear from me. I bet Hollywood even reads this blog! HA!

Dear Hollywood,

Sometimes you really do get it right. Sometimes I love you so so so much! This is a happy letter to thank you for this:

HAPPY THANK YOU MORE PLEASE

No, seriously. HAPPY. THANK YOU. MORE PLEASE!

I love movies like this, character-driven movies that may sound so simple but it's the details, the little things, the characters that bring so much life to it. I aspire to write stuff like this and I know I am far off but I love these stories, I do. This movie looks so sweet and wonderful and I can't wait to see it! Yeah!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Happy Friday!

2011-01-14T10:55:00.000-08:00

My Nook and I got in a fight. I wanted to download A.S. King's Please Ignore Vera Dietz.

Because the books looks like something would love, love, love. And it is a 2011 Printz Honor Book. Which makes me want to read it more.

Epic fail! It didn't download! Gasp! The very first issue with my Nook! And I can't just start over and re-buy it because it says I already purchased it. It should be fixed soon, according to the third Customer Care Rep I talked to. Blah! I feel so betrayed, Nook!

I could download the biography of Benjamin Franklin just fine! But not Vera! Get your priorities straight, Nook!

Look - I've got plenty of books to keep me company. But there is something to be said for a physical book in your hands. It doesn't leave you. It doesn't not download! That is all.

Happy Friday and Happy Three Day Weekend. YES!

Meet My Cats

2011-01-13T06:04:00.000-08:00

I completely forgot to blog yesterday. The horror! The horror! It was a massively busy day crammed full of work things and more work things. I couldn't even get home for lunch thanks to the snow so my dogs were extra hyper when I got home. But on days like that, when it feels like I barely get a moment to breath, there's nothing I love more than playing with my dogs in our snowy back yard. They are a very excellent source of stress relief, that is, when the yellow one isn't running away, thus becoming the cause of my stress. An hour walking them and playing with them wipes away the irritation caused from a day of sitting in a cubicle, hunched over, staring at a computer screen until my eyes dry out.

That being said, meet my cats. They relieve stress in a very different way than my dogs do. They are my comfort. They curl up with me on rainy days (okay, the black one isn't the cuddle type, at least not with me, but he does occasionally purr and rub on my hand to let me know he cares. A little.) Without further ado...Meet:

SALSA
Loving. Adorable. Sweet. Has Terrible Balance. Possible brain damage...

And...

Luda.
Short for Ludacris. Believes he is master of the universe. May have a plot to kill me and the dogs. Adores my husband with all his being.

So there you have it. My house full of animals. I may have overdone it on the pets but I love them all! I especially love writing on snowy days with one of the cats right next to my computer. Although Salsa has a terrible habit of stepping on the keyboard but maybe she wants to be a writer herself. A little something she wrote the other day:

qqqqqqqqqqqqqqq

Beautiful. I think there's a poet inside her.

Have a great day!

Dear Hollywood...

2011-01-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

First of all - I may have sounded whiny in my last post. Believe me, I know that things could be worse. I am very lucky and happy that the people (and pets) in my life are healthy and well. So what if the Colts lost Saturday? So what if we were stuck in the parking lot for an hour before finally moving? So what if my husband and I had a serious case of road rage when some jerk cut us off FOR NO REASON? You should have seen us. We were both FUMING. We were about to go all Bonnie and Clyde on that tool box. Karma. I hope that person gets some serious Karma.

Little annoyances keep creeping up on me and they are very annoying but sort of funny but I can deal with little annoyances. (I am rubbing off on my husband. He scratched up his car with the garage door yesterday. So something I would do!) Anyhoo. On to my letter to Hollywood...

Dear Hollywood,

In regards to this Adam Sandler movie, Just Go With It:

Are we supposed to believe that Jennifer Aniston is not attractive with glasses and a ponytail? Are we supposed to believe that Adam Sandler is not attracted to her until she gives herself a makeover (which involves letting her hair down and ditching the glasses...) This is the impression that I am getting. I hope I am wrong and this is just the way trailer looks. Because you must believe the American Public to be idiots if we are expected to believe Jennifer Aniston is not pretty because of glasses. And a ponytail.

Goodness.

That is all.

Sincerely,

L.

You Know You Are Deep Into Revisions When...

2011-01-07T11:06:00.000-08:00

1) You spill candle wax--somehow, someway--all over your carpet, clothes, new stuff, wall.

2) Birds try to build a nest in that ball of frizz on top of your head that you call hair.

3) Your dog runs away. Okay. So this could happen anytime but revision time, naturally, is when it does.

4) You lock yourself out of the house...as snow falls heavily outside. And you're wearing a light fleece jacket. No hat. No gloves. Your cell phone is inside the new purse your mother-in-law got you for Christmas. You can see it through the window, shining, perfect, on the kitchen counter. Your cat stares back at you through the glass. You can swear, SWEAR, the cat is chuckling to herself as she licks her paws, pleased she is inside. Warm and fat and happy. And you--and the two dogs--are stuck outside in the freezing cold, stranded. Oh. And it's lunchtime. So the likelihood your neighbors are going to be home to let you use their phone right now? Slim to none.

The good news is...

Revisions are going well. They are moving along and I am excited to keep going. I wrote some of my favorite new scenes yesterday. And I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Almost there! Almost there! Yeah!

FYI - All of the above are true. I don't know why these things happen to me. I am a walking disaster. Except the birds trying to nest in my hair. But I don't doubt that they have THOUGHT about using my hair as a nest.

Happy Friday!

Meet My Dogs

2011-01-06T10:32:00.000-08:00

So my dogs are a big part of my life. I also have two cats. My house is full. And hilarious. One of them is always entertaining. I'm pretty proud of myself for being able to write with these personalities in the house.

Since I will probably mention them a lot, here they are:

Izzie and Lila
(Lila's nickname: Yellow Dog. Just a little FUNNY FARM reference for you. It was on the other day. I especially appreciate the Runaway Dog part and Yellow Dog. Lila is a mix of the two.)

We've had Izzie for over a year and got her when she was a puppy. We acquired Lila in August. She's over 2 and a sweetheart (besides the running away and not coming when called problem that we need to work out...)

Sometimes I think having them has improved my productivity with writing. I read once on Jennifer Weiner's site that if you want to be a writer, you should get a dog. Why? Discipline. Dogs require discipline and routine. I walk them every day. Feed them. Brush them. Play with them. I can't take a break from my dogs. They need me. They are part of my routine.

And if I can do all that, I can sit down (or stand up, which I sometimes do at the kitchen counter) and write. I wouldn't say I have a solid writing routine but I sort of do. I write a little at lunch but do most on weekends and in the evenings, while the dogs sleep beside me on the couch, one on each side. The point is: I write every single day. It's part of my routine. Sure, there are breaks in routine, the holidays for example, but writing and re-writing and revising is part of the norm now. Some days it feels like a chore I need to do and some days I look forward to it. But I always do it and push through the rougher days!

I swear I get more done on days when it feels like I have no time than on days when I have all the time in the world. It's almost like I need to be forced into managing my time accurately rather than channel surf, which is what I tend to do with too much free time. It's like after school activities for kids -- I need something to fill my time to keep me out of trouble. To keep me from not writing.

So. Yeah.

Go Colts.

That is all.

Greetings from Revision Land!

2011-01-05T11:18:00.001-08:00

Hi! I'm over half way done with revisions on The Manuscript. I think. Way excited. Here's a secret: I am a slow writer. At least I think I am compared to what I read about other writer's finishing first drafts in 3 weeks and finishing revisions in 2 weeks. I need to give myself a month for revisions at least! Now this may have to do with the fact that I have a day job and day jobs are major time sucks. Jobs get in the way of life! I got a huge chunk done over vacation. But I'm slow. At least I feel that way.

I've got such a bad case of Revision Hair. I need a hair cut. BAD. Hair cut or revise more? Hmmm. I'll pretend I am going for the crazy frizzy Hair Woman look on purpose.

Onward!

Dog-Gone It and Greenberg

2011-01-03T13:08:00.001-08:00

My dog, Lila, got out last night. And ran like hell. She's a yellow lab and she's so sweet and wonderful but when she gets loose...she runs like a greyhound. I can never catch her. She eventually wears herself out and returns on her own but it's still scary. There are cars out there! I chased her for a while and gave up, hoping she was smart enough to stay away from the large objects with headlights zooming toward her. She started to make her way back to the house because she was found just down the street, by a wonderful man who caught her. She just plopped down right in front of him, exhausted. And happy. Very glad she is safe. I need to take her to a huge dog park where she can get some of that running out of her system. My other dog, Izzie, also got out. But she didn't go anywhere. That's my girl.

Anyway - I think somewhere along the line of panic I thought, "I don't care if I never get published! Just bring my dog back!" Oh, universe. Don't hold me to that, okay? Can't I have a safe dog and a published book? Pretty please? I've been good.

Transition.

I watched part of this movie the other night with Ben Stiller. It's called Greenberg. It looked like my kind of movie, indie and moody and all, but I couldn't finish watching it. And I think it was because it's pretty depressing, really. I kept worrying something horrible was going to happen to the German Shepherd, not something I want to watch as I cuddle on the couch with my two labs. It's a good movie to watch when you are angry at the world--and Greenberg is an AWESOME character--but I just wasn't in the mood for it.

But as I was watching, I kept wondering who the lead actress was, who played Florence. Dang. She looked so familiar...what else had she been in? Or did she simply remind me of someone?

Twenty minutes later...it hit me! That's Diane Court from Say Anything! One of my favorite movies ever! Except...it wasn't her. I looked it up. But dang. Did it look like her for a minute and I got all excited, although I don't know why.

Anyway. That was a tangent. Greenberg is a great character and I learned a lot by watching just a part of that movie. He hates the world and he likes old things and he writes letters to establishments that irritate him. Little quirks like that can make all the difference. Your characters can drive the story.

But...stuff still needs to happen. And there wasn't a whole lot happening in the movie which may be the real reason I lost interest. I like character movies. But something was missing from this one. It started out well. Had a decent conflict. But eventually it was the same thing over and over again. It felt like a hamster running on a wheel, cute and fun to watch at first, but boring if that's all it is.

I never know how to end my blog posts. Do I say...See You Later! Bye! Happy Tuesday! Seacrest Out? Peace and Love?

How about this:

Do you make secret deals with the universe in hopes you will get you want?

The Importance of Setting

2011-01-03T06:08:00.001-08:00

First of all -- I forgot to participate in Frankie's No Kiss Blogfest.

I suck.

I was so excited about writing something for it too! AW! But I'm reading the other entries and they are so tingly! I was going to write about a boy and a girl stuck on Mars together. Yeah. Like the planet. I was going for something way out there. Maybe some other day!

So I am excited for this:

I love this book. It's been passed around my family and everyone loves, loves, loves it. It's something we can see together! Yeah!

But it got me thinking about the importance of setting. Water for Elephants takes place during the Depression era, set within a circus. The setting is another character. It is integrated into the story. You couldn't change a single thing about it without changing everything.

I'm from a small town. So that's where I tend to place my stories because it's something I know. But the setting doesn't have to be something as spectacular as a circus to become part of the story. Setting can be used to show character. I wonder how my characters feel about where they live, which can reveal something about them, and something about the town. I can't start really writing without knowing where and when the story is going to take place. That's something I need to have set up very early on because it's a big deal! The setting will breed the events! Where do you characters first kiss? Where do they fight? Where do they cry? Where do they runaway to? Where is their secret place? Setting can also move the story forward. It brings it alive.

Stephanie Perkin's Anna and the French Kiss wouldn't be the same if it weren't in Paris! All of those romantic moments and all of that wonderful food. The city was another character.

Where things happen is just as important as what happens and why things happen.

Setting is so much more than the where and when!

EARTHQUAKE! (And more about the Nook...Just Kidding).

2010-12-30T07:28:00.000-08:00

I live in Indiana. It is flat. There is corn. There is also a lot of pretty things like flat land. And corn. And chalk-scratched skies. And...

EARTHQUAKES!

We had an earthquake this morning. It was all over the news and the radio. If more people were at work, I am sure they would be swapping stories. Did I feel it? Nope. But a lot of people around me did. It was in my area. I probably should have felt it. I wonder if I didn't feel it because I am in a revision daze and when one is in the middle of edits, well, every day sort of feels like an earthquake. Right? The whole world is shaking! Aw!

The way I figure it, if my dogs don't freak out, I didn't miss anything.

It also got really warm here all of a sudden. Like I don't need my winter coat anymore warm. The snow is now this mushy translucent mess. Birds are everywhere. Very odd. Could this be the end of days? Or is a little teaser? I am ready for spring now. After Christmas, I'm always ready for spring. It can come now. I welcome it, despite the oddity of its early arrival.

Something tells me this is just a cruel joke. Probably by February, the most evil month ever.

Happy Thursday! May you not experience any earthquakes today!

NOOK!

2010-12-29T06:57:00.000-08:00

So...I got a Nook Color for Christmas! It's hard to pick between the e-readers and honestly it's taken me some time to warm up to them. And I still love holding a real, live book in my hands. But...I LOVE MY NOOK. Seriously. Love it. I can't stop playing with it! It's so cute and pretty! And books appear out of thin air! With one little tap of my finger! AW! And it's all so...organized!

Here's the thing: I read more than one book at a time. I can't help it. I like to "Book Hop." This is considerably easier with the Nook. I still have random books scattered all over my house and it may stay like that for a while, until I catch up on reading all of those. But when I do, books can go on the bookshelf. My husband and my dad did build those pretty bookshelves by hand, after all! Might as well use them! (I love my bookshelf, BTW). The Nook is portable and I have this adorable case for it that says, "Choose an author as you choose a friend" - Sir Christopher Wren.

I can take more than one book with me wherever I go! Without cramming my purse until it bursts! I can take MILLIONS of books with me wherever I go, in one little device! (Okay - I am not quite up to that amount. Yet. I have downloaded two books. And tons of free samples of others I plan to buy.)

I like to share quotes from books, too. This is pretty easy to do with the Nook. It posts right to Facebook or Twitter!

There are a million ways to read and it hasn't replaced regular books. I still have a pile of those I need to read and will probably switch between the formats. Why not? Who says we have to do things one way? But...gosh...I never thought I would love the Nook so, so, so much. And it has extras! I can play crossword puzzles! And because I am so awful at crossword puzzles, it gives me hints! So I can totally cheat! YES!

My mom also got a Nook. The Nook has a little LEND ME application so we can swap books. Now not ALL books are Lend-able. But plenty are, I think. We haven't tried that out yet. Hopefully it works.

So...enough about the Nook. I like it. It's cool. So I still love the smell of old books and the feel of paper between my fingers but...the thing that really matters is the story. What I am reading. That's not going to change.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2010-12-22T14:04:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to take the time to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday! Blogging may be sporadic over vacation. But that seems common. I will leave you with one of my favorite videos from this year. I've watched it about a million times:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Books Books Books

2010-12-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of 2010, I made a list of books I wanted to read. I decided I would also keep a list of the books I actually read. Um. That didn't happen. I am not too great at lists but maybe next year I will accurately document my reading habits. Or maybe pigs will start flying. Who knows?

But, from what I can remember, here is a list of books I read in 2010. Chances are, if I finished reading the book, I loved it!

In no particular order...

1) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2) Room

3) I'd Know You Anywhere

4) The Perks of Being a Wallflower** LOVE. Can't believe it took me so long to get to this book...

5) Will Grayson, Will Grayson

6) Anna and the French Kiss

7) Paranormalcy

8) Hex Hall

9) Story of a Girl

10) The Disreputable History of Frankie-Laudeau Banks*** FAVORITE. LOVE. FAVORITE.

11) Honey, Baby, Sweetheart

12) Nothing

13) The Duff

14) The Search (Nora Roberts)

15) The Help

16) Stay

17) Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks

18) I Am the Messenger *SPECIAL LOVE.

19) It's Kind of a Funny Story* SPECIAL LOVE.

20) The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon

21) Thirteen Reasons Why

22) Cracked up to Be

23) Eat, Pray, Love

24) Fireworks Over Toccoa

25) Going Bovine

26) Al Capone Does My Shirts

27) The Smoke Jumper

28) 13 Little Blue Envelopes * LOVE! (This book and Anna and the French Kiss pretty much sums up my experience in Europe many years ago...love them both!)

29) If I Stay

30) The Spectacular Now

31) The Dogs of Babel *LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS BOOK!

Okay, so I could've been LOVE by all of them because I enjoyed all of the above. And that's all I can remember! Or maybe that's it! I feel like I read a lot more this year than I usually do. I took a big break from writing to just read, read, read.

I'm looking forward to great new books in 2011! Yeah!

Happy Holidays!

A MEOW-TASTIC Announcement!

2010-12-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

Happy.

Hi! It's been awhile! You might have noticed some changes around here. Or maybe not. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't notice. It's hard to avoid the holiday daze. You might be asking yourself: Why the changes, Lisa? Well, I am sure glad you asked, dear reader. It's time to start fresh. I'm going in a new direction.

And I'm thinking about asking for this for Christmas...

BUT WHY? BECAUSE...

I HAVE AN AGENT!

You read that write, er, I mean right...

I HAVE AN AGENT!

I am now represented by the wonderful Katie Shea of the Caren Johnson Literary Agency!

You might be wondering (or maybe you are wondering where all the hot guy pictures are...I don't know...): But, uh, WHAT? How did this happen? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

The wonderful Katie represents the YA Contemporary Novel I wrote over the summer, this special little story that I thought might be too odd for anyone to like. I was worried about sending it out...but I did...

There is a lesson in here somewhere. I think...Oh, yeah! Write what you love!

I am happy and excited to start the New Year fresh and to work with Katie on my story! I'll also be happy to answer any questions! In the meantime...I will leave you with this:

Testing...

2010-12-13T12:06:00.001-08:00

Testing...the...new...blog...

I'm Still Here

2010-12-03T11:42:00.000-08:00

Hi! I'm here. Just got back from business trip. Sounds fancy. It isn't. My car battery died last night. I have jury duty next week. Painting bedroom, resulting in a mess of a room. Laundry piling up. Pet hair piling up. Blog reading piling up. E-mail piled up. Books to read. Christmas shopping to do. Yep. That kind of time.

In other news...

I won NANO! Yeah! 50,000 words, barely. I got it in before my trip. Yeah! Time to let that manuscript sit for some time. It was a fun one to write.

Holla. I'm alive. I'm alive. I'm alive. And wiped out. Must use weekend productively...

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

???

2010-11-10T11:54:00.000-08:00

32,000 words in. Not kidding. I don't how or when this happened. But it did. I had some major writing days. And now it's slowing down...

I still have no idea what I'm writing. It's sort of LOST inspired? Maybe? No? All I know is my MC is a teenage male. And a lot of weird stuff happens. But this weird stuff is supposed to happen because it all leads to something. I've got my ending. I like my ending. It's a sweet, strangely happy ending? Maybe?

I don't write in order. I skip around a lot. And because I managed to get ahead, I might use some days to finish up edits on Moon Dog. That story has really shaped up, in my humble, completely unqualified opinion. =) And perhaps I will take that draft and dive back into querying, after sending out to betas, of course!

Anyway. Rambling.

More weird stuff to write...=)

?

2010-11-05T08:27:00.000-07:00

What the heck am I writing?

The Last Free Weekend

2010-10-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

To My Fellow NANO-ers:

What shall ye being doing on your last free weekend for one whole month? Let's face it, weekends are a big deal for NANO, especially those of us who have day jobs. Those precious few days are vital in hitting word count goals!

This is the last weekend before that little NANO voice will be whispering over your shoulder every time you turn on the TV and try to chill....

GET WRITING! USE THIS TIME!

This weekend I shall be watching Roller Derby! And playing computer games! And watching horror movies! And passing out candy! And cleaning! Okay. That last one didn't sound so exciting. But cleaning takes a back seat to NANO. Must get in a good scrub now. And then, on November 1, I shall dive into my new, shiny story. I'm all stocked up on Coke, tea, marsh mellows (yes, you read that right), comfy socks, comfy pajama pants, and ideas! Let the good times roll.

I'm thinking about blogging every day about my NANO experience, complete with photos of my bashing my head into the computer. Maybe that wouldn't be such a wise idea. The posting and the bashing head...Sometimes I get ideas and ambitions that are too big for me. I think: I'll do this and this and this! And then I basically don't do any of it. I am the queen of not doing things I say I will! Hence, the fact that I have yet to finish the next edit on Moon Dog. Almost there. Uh. I think. I work on it every day. But some days I quite literally only write one sentence. Go me!

Happy Halloween!

Chomping at the Bit!

2010-10-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

First of all - If anyone received a SPAM e-mail from me, I am very sorry. I do not know what the heck happened there but something got my g-mail account and sent a weird e-mail out to everyone. Including, well, agents I've queried before. I think...Crap. Way to go me. I just hope I'm not blacklisted from the publishing world now. I think I fixed it but if it happens again, I'm changing my e-mail. Hate that. So sorry!

Anyway, today I donated an arm full of books to a nonprofit agency here providing counseling, safe shelter, and education for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other life crises. They were collecting at work and asked for new and used books for adult and children. I had both!

I know it's not much. But I hope someone gets some escape from those books. I gave away some good ones, ones I enjoyed, but I knew I wouldn't read them again. Maybe someone else could get a little bit of happiness from those pages, those characters.

Is it November yet? I'm so chomping at the bit, ready to get started! I love the beginning of NANO. Oh, the possibilities. I'm going to try and finish by the 24th, before Thanksgiving. I've got a business trip on the 29th so I definitely need to be done by then. In the past, I used to try and crank out 2,000 words a day, all in one sitting to "get it over with", and I'm not sure this was the best method. The writing suffered for it, although I know GOOD writing isn't the goal. But I know I can write 50,000 words in a month. I've done it before (although I failed last year. DOH!) But this year, I'm going to spread it out, weave it throughout the day, try to get a somewhat decent first draft. This sounds impossible, right? But that's the goal! Maybe 500 in the morning, 500 at lunch, and 1,000 at night. And I'll sort of outline as I go along.

Trying a new approach!

We'll see how this goes...

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Word Riot and Monkeybicycle

2010-10-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

Hey!

I got two more flash pieces published. Yippee! It's funny. I got the acceptance for the Venice story a day before I received a rejection for it. Oh, how they balance each other out! What an odd thing this writing thing is...

Check them out. They are short and sweet, well, mostly sweet. =)

The Dangerous and Heart Breaking Effects of Paper Cup Champagne on a Girl in Venice

The Waltz

Happy Monday!

Gearing Up for Nano...

2010-10-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know why...but I am MEGA excited about Nano this year. I think I'm ready to just set aside all of these writing projects and concentrate on one, new thing.

I've already got a T-shirt picked out for my MC:

I know, I know. He's not a bad guy, I swear. It's a shirt from a comedy show...and doesn't really tell the whole joke. Anyway, my MC is pretty mortified that--in the situation that he is in--he's wearing this offensive T-shirt, the T-shirt his uncle bought him one drunken night, the T-shirt he is wearing because nothing else is clean.

Me so ready to start FRESH! Sort of the theme of October for me: clean, clean, clean everything out! Start new!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

THE NOVEL: LIVE!

2010-10-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

You guys gotta check this out...and spread the word!

Basically, watch some amazing writers write a novel in 6 days...LIVE! Here's the summary describing the event:

About

In a stunning, never-before-attempted marathon of literary wonder, 36 Northwest authors write a complete novel in just six days under the watchful eyes of Fairy God-author Nancy Pearl. Come watch and cheer on your favorite authors as the likes of Garth Stein, Susan Wiggs, Jamie Ford, Kevin O'Brien, Jennie Shortridge, Erik Larson (and more) take their turns at the keyboard in Hugo House's Cabaret. Happy hour and drink specials Monday-Thursday from 5:00-7:00 p.m. and 8:00-10:00 p.m. Go to www.thenovellive.org for a more information and to watch the novel progress as it streams live! Brought to you by Seattle7Writers.org, Hugo House, and Amazon.com.

And here's the link to the live web cast:

http://www.thenovellive.org/novel/live/

How awesome is that to see how other writers do it? They use the backspace key A LOT!

ENJOY!

milk a cow and you get milk

2010-10-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

I found the most perfect, perfect poem that captures how I feel about writing! It's called milk a cow and you get milk by Charles Bukowski, which can be found in his collection The Night Torn Mad with Footsteps.

I, however, still worship writers. But I understand that writers are normal people doing a very, very difficult job!

*Warning: Some language at the end... ENJOY!

milk a cow and you get milk

I've mostly stopped worshipping
other writers now
past or present
but I was a writer junkie for
a long time.
I think I read every
book about D.H.
Lawrence, and those great
photos:
there was D.H.
actually milking a
cow.
and there was
Frieda and there was A.
Huxley
and all
the others.

I once thought
writing was magic
something that
magic people
did.
I didn't think it would
be like this.

I thought it would be
natural
simple
like
making toast or
skiing down hill.

it all looked so fucking
easy from that
distance.

Welcome to One of THOSE Days...

2010-10-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

I want to completely start over. I want to wipe away everything that I have ever written--but keep everything I learned--and start completely fresh. I want to stop trying so hard because trying so hard is getting me no where. I want to stop caring. I want to let go. I want to be better. I want to be the same. I want to know what kind of writer I am. I want to have something to say, something meaningful, something important, something fun, something funny. I want to be seen. I want to be invisible. I want to grip a reader like a vice. I want to know what I am doing. I want to have purpose. I want to show you something new.

The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon arrived in my mail box yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised to see it as a paperback. I like that. I think all books should be paperbacks. Books should be folded up and stuffed into the back pocket of your baby blue jeans, ready to guide you with a flick of your hand. Books should be highlighted, shared, passed around like a stale cigarette. Books should be worn--not from carelessness or vandalism--but from use. All of those eyes, skimming the words that have been skimmed before, that melted into someone, the same words, melting into you...

Books should be scattered, left on a park bench or buried in the sand like a treasure map for anyone to find. Books should be quoted. The words fly from lip to lip. Books open doors that otherwise remain locked and sealed. Books are keys. Books are a business. And a passion. And a life preserver. Books are transportation units. Books are time travel machines. Books are coloring books, color in the blanks, stay inside the lines...

Books are mirrors, sometimes cracked, sometimes shiny, sometimes covered in an old paint cloth. Books are jolts of electricity that bring us back to life. Books are havens. Books are caves. Books are flash lights poking through a storm...

Books are trouble-makers.

Hope you all had a great Banned Books Week!

Happy Friday!

P.S. If you can't tell, I'm in a super weird place about my writing these days...I'm in limbo or something...can't wait for November so I can use that to get pumped up again. This writing this is hard...but is it supposed to be THIS hard? Le sigh.

WARNING: MAJORLY DEPRESSING POST

2010-09-30T06:06:00.000-07:00

I watch The Jersey Shore. It's entertaining. Each episode, someone gets in a fight or someone does something stupid or says something hilarious. It's brainless television.

And now Snooki, the star of the show, has a book deal. I'm not sure if it's YA or not but it sounds like it, considering it's being compared to Lauren Conrad's books (I like Lauren Conrad by the way. I think she's pretty smart and has it together).

But Snooki? A book deal? Eh? I AM SO DEPRESSED.

That is all.

Excerpt Tuesday!

2010-09-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

So I totally just made up this feature. Excerpt Tuesday! Why not, eh?

Here's a little snippet from the YA Contemporary I've been tinkering with:

She never pictured her first kiss, too afraid to jinx it, but she knew, as his soft lips melted with hers, that this moment was exactly how she wanted it to be with exactly who she wanted it to be with. Strange how she ended up here, without analyzing or even wishing for it. The moment manifested itself without a single push from her.

His lips changed her.

Sometimes I feel comma crazy. And adjective crazy. I'm trying to simplify things and not get so carried away in my writing. Feel free to edit that! Ha! I'm making changes in the third act right now that I forget to do earlier. Yeah, the third act doesn't fit with the rest so I must fix before other eyes will see...And I'm still tinkering with The Moon Dog. And flash pieces. I'm in one of my ruts again where I can't seem to finish anything, including a book. I am determined to somehow finish the pile of books I have started before beginning another.

But then I get an e-mail informing me that The Last Good Place of Lily Odilon that I pre-ordered just shipped! Aw! Excited for that one. Looks awesome. Will likely move that to the front of the pile. I'm such a mess.

Happy Excerpt Tuesday!

Why Universe? Why?

2010-09-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to give National Novel Writing Month another go this year. Brand new manuscript. A dark, sad story churning in my head that is sure to leave me very depressed. Joy! Last year, I failed. Didn't make the word count but that's where The Moon Dog Inn was born. (Have I really been working on that manuscript on and off for almost a year? Yep! Still chugging along on edits...)

But I have a problem. On October 26, a mere 5 days before the start of NANO, this is being released:

Why Universe? WHY?

When I got my new computer, this game has been amazing. It's smooth and quick and awesome, works just how it should. I've been playing The Sims since high school. I've always loved it. Perhaps because I like creating stories and characters? Anyway, The Sims 3 got too slow on my old PC (but I had created a Melody Shine! Ha!) which was annoying and I lost interest for a bit. But now? Addicted again! Either I play the crap out of the pack for 5 days and switch over to writing or I somehow, someway, resist even getting it until December. BUT! BUT! BUT!

THERE ARE VAMPIRES.

And these, I read, are Twilight-ish vampires. Sexy, cool vampires that can read your thoughts...and turn you if you so wish...

ACK!

This is going to be trouble. Trouble. Trouble. Trouble.

I'm going to have to try very hard to pretend it doesn't exist until December...or perhaps, given it's called LATE NIGHT, just give up sleep for November? Sleep's over-rated right?

Le sigh.

PANK!

2010-09-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

If you feel bored and want to waste more time not-writing (who doesn't love to do that) then check out this month's issue of PANK! They published a little piece I wrote. Happy, Happy, Happy!

Everybody Knows Promiscuous Girls Cause Earthquakes

HAPPY FRIDAY!

VOICES YOU SHOULD IGNORE VERSUS VOICES YOU SHOULDN'T

2010-09-14T07:25:00.001-07:00

So I don't think my last post posted right, so I deleted. Nothing special anyway! But this one is! It's about the voices in our crazy, writer heads!

Admit it, we've got them. Some are bad, bad, bad. But some are good! I think I've sorted mine out and know which ones to ignore and which ones to consider listening to.

IGNORE

SUCKAGE VOICE: "I suck at writing and I shouldn't do this and I'll never get any better..."

GREEN-EYED VOICE: "So-and-So Author/Writer is so much better than me and I would be happier if I had her book deals...agent...so on...Why can't that be me?"

NO ONE IS GOING TO READ THIS STORY VOICE: "Why am I writing this? No way anyone will want to read it! It has no vampires in it!"

WHAT'S THE POINT OF WRITING THIS IDEA VOICE: "I should test the waters first. Query early before polishing to see if the idea is even worth pursuing anymore..."

MY FAVORITE AGENT REJECTED ME AND NOW I MUST QUIT VOICE: "If X Agent doesn't like it, no one will!"

MUST WRITE A BOOK THAT MATCHES WHAT IS ON THE NYT BESTSELLER LIST VOICE: "This type of book is what is selling...I must write something similar!"

LISTEN

DON'T SELL OUT VOICE: "Don't write a story in a way that doesn't fit you just because it's what is popular. Go with your own voice and your own style! Don't sell out!"

DON'T QUERY EARLY VOICE: "If you query early, one of two things will happen: You will get a request and you will send crap work. Or you won't get a request and your passion for your story could be in jeopardy as the SUCKAGE VOICE takes over...wait until you are done with your story and ready to move on to a new one to send out."

IF I LIKE THIS, SOMEONE ELSE WILL LIKE IT VOICE: "If I love this story, someone else will. Somewhere. Out there. Keep writing. You might learn something."

Finally, this is what I call THE TINGLES SILENT VOICE: .........................This is just a feeling in the pit of your stomach. One that can't really be described but you know you're so in love with your story that you've got to keep writing it, even if just for practice. (This is how I feel about the YA Contemporary I started a few months ago.)

So that's it! Sort out your voices, dear writers. Know which ones to throw away and which ones to treasure. The bad ones--in my case--out weigh the good but I'm pushing them aside and moving forward.

Happy Tuesday!

Is Writing a Competitive Sport?

2010-09-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

I'll give you the short answer: NO.

We're not COMPETING with other writers. I think sometimes it can feel that way but...each story is so different. Even if they are in the same genre, or side-by-side on the book shelf, how in the world can you POSSIBLY compare? Ya know?

I guess we can use different measurements to compare. Who got the agent first. Who got the "better" agent. Who got most money for the book deal. Who gets the book deal first. Who got the "better" publishing house. Who got the "better" editor. Who hit the bestseller list. Who hit higher on the bestseller list. Who got the most awards. Who got the blurb from John Freaking Green. Who got the best reviews. Who got the most respect. Who get the movie deal. Who got...WHATEVER. It all comes down to how you measure success. (Personally I would freaking love a blurb from, like, say Melisa Marr or John Green over a NYT Bestseller Spot. Is that WIERD? Ha!)

Writing is not a competition. At least not with anyone but YOURSELF. It's okay to push yourself. Stretch. Just try to block out that little voice that says, "I SUCK," and replace it with a nice, fairy godmother voice that says, "Okay, I wrote that. Now how can I make it better? Hmmmm...."

Writing is a puzzle. Is there such a thing as competitive puzzle-doing? Probably. Maybe. I don't know. Uh, I'm thinking of another book idea now...But it seems odd. I think of a puzzle as a solitary thing. You compete with yourself. But I guess you can add a clock into anything and make it competitive. But look at this way: EITHER WAY BOTH PLAYERS FINISH THE PUZZLE.

All we can do is write what we want to write. Worry about the story. The characters. Just write something good (sounds so easy, right?) Forget about the business side of it. Forget about the market. All things not in your control. That's all so yucky anyway. I mean...BUSINESS? Ick. Just another joy of not being published yet. You don't have to worry about all of those hoops and marketing stuff. I imagine at that point it feels like a JOB. Maybe that stuff can be fun but we're writers because we write. And read. Period.

I've learned a ton about writing this year. I would love, love, love to be published. But if I never make it there, I think I'll be okay. Does this mean I'm giving up? Nah. But I'm letting go a little. I'm slowing down a bit. I'm drifting away from the agent/business blogs and sticking to what applies to me NOW and not LATER.

Story. I love stories. I'm awful at structure. Good news, I hear, this can be learned. So I better be learning it.

Onward, dear writers!

Oh, and Happy Thursday!

YIPPEE!

2010-09-08T06:36:00.001-07:00

So I'm sure I missed some awesome agent news or book deal news while I was away on my vacation and if so, please leave such news in the comments! I love success stories but it's hard to keep up with them all, yo.

So I had a great week off and away from the internet--sort of--and I basically just wrote and read and wrote and read and...GOT ANOTHER DOG!

I'm a huge animal lover. We're now up to two dogs and two cats. A full house! The new dog adjusted so well. She's a 2 year old yellow lab and she's sweet and patient and entertains Izzie, still a young pup, for hours. I get up and walk them every morning, which I won't be able to do much longer when it gets dark and cold but for now it's super duper.

I didn't get through my entire pile of books but that's okay. My favorite read was It's Kind of a Funny Story, which is being turned into a movie! I'll be seeing it. There has been a major drought in movies this summer. Inception was basically the only one I was uber excited about but now there's some coming up in the fall I'm looking forward to. Check out some of the trailers below, yo.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

NIGHT SHADE

2010-08-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

Last night, my dog got into some night shade that was apparently growing in the very corner our back yard. Yeah, we had to make an emergency trip to the vet.

Izzie is just fine. I hope. I panic first and think later. And then I continue to imagine the worse possible things happening to my dog. Maybe this is a writer thing? My imagination runs away with me?

Anyway. Night Shade. I thought of the upcoming book, Nightshade! I'm not sure where I'm going with this. =)

Next week, I'm on vacation. And I have a stack of books ready to be devoured! Yeah! Just a few below...

I'm ready to get back into reading good stuff. I also have The Body Finder and, DUH!, Mockingjay. I just finisheed I AM THE MESSENGER. Loved. Loved. Loved.

I'm taking a little writer vacation. I'll just pretend like it's my job to write. It's going to be awesome!

HAPPY THURSDAY!

And stay away from Night Shade. The plant, not the book. =)

The Private Life of Melody Shine

2010-08-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

I watch Mad Men. I love Mad Men. In fact, I may have blogged about this character exercise before, which is inspired by Mad Men. Mad. Men. No, I don't have a problem with repetition. Not at all.

Every character needs to have a public life, a private life, and a secret life. For example...

Don Draper

Public Life: He's a successful dude at an ad agency. He's a creative genius, mega-sexy. He's smooth. Admired by many. People want to please him.

Private Life: Cheats on his wife. Now divorced. Has, um, ladies of the night visit his apartment.

Secret Life: Who is Don Draper? Where did he come from? How did he grow up? He keeps these things a secret. His past is one, big question mark right now.

Try it out on your characters. It'll deepen them a bit. I'm working on this with Melody. There's more to her, I know it. I just need to dig a little deeper as I edit.

Also! I got a new computer. Now my writing is all organized and such. Makes me feel a bit better without the mess that was my old hard drive.

Happy Tuesday!