Brave new world. That phrase pops into my head a lot lately. As some of you know, I recently underwent a huge change in my life. And in addition to getting adjusted to my new life, working at least 40 hours a week, raising my son, and attending to my writing schedule, I've been trying to get serious about exercising and train my horse. Along with having a social life again. Yes, I'm totally Type-A :)
So that's the first part of this post: balance. Ignoring exercise and my horse for the most part, in the past I could usually get 1,000 words written a day. Which pumps out a first draft in about three months. And that's nice, but it's not a race. My horse is almost five and not yet under saddle, and of course my health is important. Over the last couple months it's been two steps forward, one step back trying to get a consistent schedule going to balance this all out. I'd exercise five times a week but only visit my horse once and write too little. Or I'd write more but exercise less - you get the point. I've been trying to find that sweet spot where I get a respectable amount of forward progress in all three without stressing out too much.
What I've come up with that I think will work is: M/W/F = exercise days, and T/Th = horse days in the evenings after work. I'll also write 500 words a day, including the weekends. That's a small amount, but it adds up pretty quickly. Weekends I can always add more in any of the areas as inspired, plus social time. And the good thing is that my son is twelve now, so he likes to exercise with me, and he can do homework while I write, and he likes to come to the barn with me, too. So, we get to spend time together while I'm working towards my goals.
As if all of that isn't enough, I've really been feeling a need to focus internally as well. I'm a very external goal-oriented person, and for the past many years I've let go of most focus inwardly. I'm not a religious person, but I am spiritual, and to me that simply means working towards peace and happiness so you can spread that as you go through life. So, I've been doing some simple things to work on inner me: a few positive affirmations, contemplating areas where I need to grow and learn, being more grateful for what I have.
Then today one of my coworkers mentioned that she's doing this 100-day happiness thing where you do at least one thing every day to make you happy - meditate, eat a pastry, whatever. You can post a picture every day of what you did for your happiness on Twitter, FB, Instagram and a couple other places. This really resonated with me, so I decided on my own little twist to the project: I'm going to tweet for 100 days the special things that I feel gratitude for that day. I'll leave out the standard things: being alive and healthy, my son being alive and healthy, roof over head, etc. Just extra fun stuff. It may be one thing. It could be several. I'm going to use the hashtag #dailygratitude, so hop over to Twitter if you want to join me! I'm starting tonight. I also found a cool website about a different happiness project here.
So, lots going on! Life is overflowing with opportunities to evolve. What kinds of things have you been working on lately? Here's a final fun link to a great song, and you can check out the 24-hour dance marathon that went along with it here. TTFN!
Showing posts with label musings of late. Show all posts
Showing posts with label musings of late. Show all posts
Monday, April 28, 2014
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
My Annual Shiny New Year's Post With Less Shininess
I'm not gonna lie, guys - 2013 has not been the best or most exciting year for me. It was a tough year for me as a writer. I really thought it was going to be the year I got an agent and my first pub deal, and it wasn't. But I'm not gonna whine about it beyond that - that's why writers have to be tough cookies. I'm just going to keep writing and it'll happen when it happens.
Here are some of the awesome highlights of 2013:
Here are some of the awesome highlights of 2013:
- I was a Pitch Wars contestant and me and my mentor won the middle grade category with my book Everdream getting the most MG agent requests. I got lots of awesome feedback on the book, even though it ultimately didn't pan out with an offer of representation.
- I did a ton of editing on two different books and wrote lots of shiny new words on some other projects.
- I queried one of the books I did a lot of editing on and got some really great feedback (your writing is wonderful, but I have something too similar; the market's not right for it but send me your next project, etc.)
- I got inspiration out of the blue (not from my existing idea list) and wrote my fourth novel in less than 6 weeks. It's an awesome concept which I love.
- I'm still in the running with one of my urban fantasies for the Harper Voyager digital submissions contest, the pool having been whittled from over 4,500 entries to less than 300.
I guess 2013 was a year of lots of agent near-misses. And I know that means I'm getting close to finding the right agent and making my break into the pub industry. So, I'll just keep on writing my ass off! I hope to query my latest WIP in the next couple of months and we'll see what happens from there. In my non-writing life, 2014 will be a year of lots of transition because I'm sad to say I'm getting a divorce. It's definitely for the best, but it's hard nonetheless. We need to sell our house, and my son and I will be moving into town and finding a place to board my horse. Lots of change on that front!
So, writer friends, what's your year been like? And what do you want to accomplish in 2014? I certainly am glad I have the support of such an awesome community of writers!
Happy New Year!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
In Which I Make Some Editing Resolutions
I don't really make New Year's Resolutions, I make goals, and you guys already saw that. This is different. I need to define my editing process a bit and you guys can be my witnesses. I'm great at writing a first draft. I can usually get it banged out in 3 to 4 months, and that's with a full time job and kids. Editing, however, not so much. I dislike it a lot more, first of all. And I've developed a very thorough, organized processed for the many rounds of edits needed on a good book, which is great. But I realized after writing Everdream that I tend to languish in this stage.
So, this is what I propose from now on, after my 2-4 week first draft breather so I can have a fresh perspective:
What about you guys? Do you have a particular editing timetable? Do you like deadlines?
So, this is what I propose from now on, after my 2-4 week first draft breather so I can have a fresh perspective:
- 2 days for the first read-through with basic notes - this is where I identify big problems and create a to-do list - no actual editing done
- 3 weeks for the first big work-through of edits (with mini timelines established within based off to-do list)
- 2 days for a second read-through - more notes/to-do list
- 2 weeks for the second work-through of edits (with mini timelines established within based off to-do list)
- 1 week for line edits
- 1 week for backwards read-through and edit (sentence by sentence, not word for word)
- 2 days for third read-through and polish
What about you guys? Do you have a particular editing timetable? Do you like deadlines?
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Remembering World Fantasy Con
This weekend I've been seriously lamenting the fact that I was not in Toronto at the 2012 World Fantasy Convention. Last year I went to WFC in San Diego, and it was amazing. Life changing even. For a few different reasons, which I'll share.
It was the first time I've done something really crazy like fly across the country (I'm in Florida, so literally coast to coast) all by myself to go to an event I'd never attended before with people I'd never met. Not a single soul. Luckily, fellow blogger Liz Briggs told me her and her husband were going, and we made plans to meet up. But they weren't driving in until the first day of the con, which meant I had a whole evening and morning to try and make friends. Kind of terrifying since I'm not the bravest of people in situations like this. But I did meet people, and they were great, and it was awesome, and I survived, and I grew as a person. My wanderlust increased exponentially, and I wanted to go on more adventures to meet more awesome writer people.
The second thing that changed me was Neil Gaiman. Cliche, sure. True, yes. I've told this tale before, but when I went to WFC last year, I had just started reading Neil's stuff, so I felt like a very inadequate and undeserving fan. But I gawked and swooned at his awesomeness nonetheless. In my defense, it really can't be helped. And during one of his many talks over the weekend, he said something along the lines of "I love WFC because when I'm here, I'm with my people. You are my people." And I realized, YES! I'm with my fellow fantasy writers at the premier fantasy literary con in the world. And I want to do this forever. And I want to do other cons. And I want to try to be even a fraction as rad and badass as Neil, traveling the world and doing cool writerly stuff. I've always known I wanted to be a writer, and that I would write until I am old and can't write anymore. But I'd never really been immersed in the vision of how exactly that could unfold, and all the awesome adventures I could have. Neil showed me that.
The third thing was my novel Everdream. The inspiration for it hit a week or so after I got back home from WFC, while I was still swimming in the inspiration high of meeting so many amazing writers, both published and aspiring. I wanted a brilliant idea, something very different from anything anyone had written. And walking out to feed my horses one night, under a bright splash of stars, it hit me hard. And my writerly brain started cranking out the details, and the plot and the characters, and a few months later it was written. Being with other writers feeds our souls, and helps us stretch to new levels. I know I have WFC to thank for that novel.
So, while I'm uber jealous of everyone that got to go to WFC 2012, I'm super grateful for what I learned last year. I'll be hopping around to hear about all the amazing panels and readings and meetings and awesomeness. And since I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna make it to WFC 2013 in Brighton, England (unless I win the lottery), I'll probably have to aim for WFC 2014 in Washington, D.C. I should be able to swing that.
What are your fave cons? Any world changing experiences you'd like to share? I hope everybody has an amazing week!
It was the first time I've done something really crazy like fly across the country (I'm in Florida, so literally coast to coast) all by myself to go to an event I'd never attended before with people I'd never met. Not a single soul. Luckily, fellow blogger Liz Briggs told me her and her husband were going, and we made plans to meet up. But they weren't driving in until the first day of the con, which meant I had a whole evening and morning to try and make friends. Kind of terrifying since I'm not the bravest of people in situations like this. But I did meet people, and they were great, and it was awesome, and I survived, and I grew as a person. My wanderlust increased exponentially, and I wanted to go on more adventures to meet more awesome writer people.
The second thing that changed me was Neil Gaiman. Cliche, sure. True, yes. I've told this tale before, but when I went to WFC last year, I had just started reading Neil's stuff, so I felt like a very inadequate and undeserving fan. But I gawked and swooned at his awesomeness nonetheless. In my defense, it really can't be helped. And during one of his many talks over the weekend, he said something along the lines of "I love WFC because when I'm here, I'm with my people. You are my people." And I realized, YES! I'm with my fellow fantasy writers at the premier fantasy literary con in the world. And I want to do this forever. And I want to do other cons. And I want to try to be even a fraction as rad and badass as Neil, traveling the world and doing cool writerly stuff. I've always known I wanted to be a writer, and that I would write until I am old and can't write anymore. But I'd never really been immersed in the vision of how exactly that could unfold, and all the awesome adventures I could have. Neil showed me that.
The third thing was my novel Everdream. The inspiration for it hit a week or so after I got back home from WFC, while I was still swimming in the inspiration high of meeting so many amazing writers, both published and aspiring. I wanted a brilliant idea, something very different from anything anyone had written. And walking out to feed my horses one night, under a bright splash of stars, it hit me hard. And my writerly brain started cranking out the details, and the plot and the characters, and a few months later it was written. Being with other writers feeds our souls, and helps us stretch to new levels. I know I have WFC to thank for that novel.
So, while I'm uber jealous of everyone that got to go to WFC 2012, I'm super grateful for what I learned last year. I'll be hopping around to hear about all the amazing panels and readings and meetings and awesomeness. And since I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna make it to WFC 2013 in Brighton, England (unless I win the lottery), I'll probably have to aim for WFC 2014 in Washington, D.C. I should be able to swing that.
What are your fave cons? Any world changing experiences you'd like to share? I hope everybody has an amazing week!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
An Ode to Autumn and Editing
Autumn has always been my favorite season, even though in Florida we don't have much of one. Cooler weather, the earthy smell of leaves and the spicy tang of burning fires. Pumpkins and pumpkin lattes and pumpkin cupcakes and pumpkin pie. Halloween, which is spooky and wicked and childlike and fantastic. Tall boots (and I have an amazing new pair) and leggings and sweaters and scarves. Full moons in cold, sapphire skies (like tonight).
I find myself reminiscing about this time last year, when I set off to my first big writing conference, World Fantasy Con, all by myself, not knowing a soul. I was about halfway through the first draft of Martinis with the Devil, and Everdream had not even crept into my mind yet. And now, a year later, I've finished both and am slowly editing, editing, editing the latter. Trying to get it as flawless as I can. And it seems like autumn is the metaphorical equivalent of editing. That slow, meticulous time of patience and steadfastness. If spring is the time of the bright, shiny idea and summer is the hot, fast-moving first draft, then autumn represents editing for sure. And winter? Maybe winter is when you're finally done and you feel like hibernating :)
What season of writing do you find yourselves in now? Do you love autumn as much as I do (literally or metaphorically)?
I'll leave you with a fun pic of me and my sister at a haunted castle last night being greeted by the doorman. I think I was ruining the mood with my peace sign...
I find myself reminiscing about this time last year, when I set off to my first big writing conference, World Fantasy Con, all by myself, not knowing a soul. I was about halfway through the first draft of Martinis with the Devil, and Everdream had not even crept into my mind yet. And now, a year later, I've finished both and am slowly editing, editing, editing the latter. Trying to get it as flawless as I can. And it seems like autumn is the metaphorical equivalent of editing. That slow, meticulous time of patience and steadfastness. If spring is the time of the bright, shiny idea and summer is the hot, fast-moving first draft, then autumn represents editing for sure. And winter? Maybe winter is when you're finally done and you feel like hibernating :)
What season of writing do you find yourselves in now? Do you love autumn as much as I do (literally or metaphorically)?
I'll leave you with a fun pic of me and my sister at a haunted castle last night being greeted by the doorman. I think I was ruining the mood with my peace sign...
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Have You Come Out Of The Closet?
I'm sure most of you have noticed that when you tell people you're a writer, you often get lukewarm responses. When I was writing novels in my teens, people would say, "Well that's nice, and what are you going to do when you grow up?" And as an adult I often get strange or even incredulous looks since my full-time job is as a department head at a non-profit corporation. Especially when people ask me what I write and I have to explain what urban fantasy is...
So, when I got back into writing in 2009, I kept it quiet at first. It was a fragile hope, and just easier not to talk about. But writing has gotten to be such a big part of my life that I can't keep quiet about it anymore. And so, my horrible secret has leaked out - I'm one of those dreamer-artsy people. I'm incredibly lucky in that my family and friends, and even the few coworkers that know about my secret life, have been very supportive. Then the only problem I have is that everyone wants to read my books.
See, the book I'm querying now is not exactly something I'd want my grandmother, aunt, or super sweet father-in-law with the Jesus decal on his car to read. It's laden with foul language, some pretty sultry scenes, and my own personal take on angels, demons and the Devil. And thinking about that makes me realize that once my baby is published, anybody can read it! Okay, so I can hear you muttering, "Well duh, Captain Obvious." I guess what I mean is that once I'm published, the secret is fully out of the closet. Then I guess I just need to advise some of my family that they may want to wait until my middle grade fantasy comes out :)
Are you kind of one foot in the closet, one foot out, like me? How far in or out of the closet are you?
P.S. No query news yet. Still sane (yay for me).
So, when I got back into writing in 2009, I kept it quiet at first. It was a fragile hope, and just easier not to talk about. But writing has gotten to be such a big part of my life that I can't keep quiet about it anymore. And so, my horrible secret has leaked out - I'm one of those dreamer-artsy people. I'm incredibly lucky in that my family and friends, and even the few coworkers that know about my secret life, have been very supportive. Then the only problem I have is that everyone wants to read my books.
See, the book I'm querying now is not exactly something I'd want my grandmother, aunt, or super sweet father-in-law with the Jesus decal on his car to read. It's laden with foul language, some pretty sultry scenes, and my own personal take on angels, demons and the Devil. And thinking about that makes me realize that once my baby is published, anybody can read it! Okay, so I can hear you muttering, "Well duh, Captain Obvious." I guess what I mean is that once I'm published, the secret is fully out of the closet. Then I guess I just need to advise some of my family that they may want to wait until my middle grade fantasy comes out :)
Are you kind of one foot in the closet, one foot out, like me? How far in or out of the closet are you?
P.S. No query news yet. Still sane (yay for me).
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Exciting Blog Updates, Present and Future
Ahhh! Woooh! What's happening? Who am I? Why am I here? What's my purpose in life? What do I mean by who am I? Okay okay, calm down calm down get a grip now...
For those of you who have seen The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a wonderfully weird and hilarious movie, you'll recognize that quote from the whale. If not, you can click here to watch it. Don't say I didn't warn you about the weird part.
Anyways, what is the purpose to this blog post? Well the purpose of this post is to explain the purpose of my blog. Since I've now been blogging for a smidge over a year, I've had time to get used to this whole blogging thing and wonder, what is the purpose of my blog? What do I really want to do with it?
First, I really want to be more active in helping to promote by published blog friends, whether they've published traditionally or non-traditionally. I've discovered that the writing community is such a supportive place, and to me, supporting each other is what all of this is about, more than just having an online journal. So, I created a new page, called Awesome Books (see link in menu bar at the top of my blog). I've added a few peeps who haunt my blog on a regular basis: Jennifer Hillier, Jai Joshi, Talli Roland and Alex Cavanaugh. They've all published great books (Jennifer's is coming out in a few weeks), and I've included a brief blurb about each of them. If you also blog stalk me and are published and would like to be added, please let me know! Unfortunately with a full-time job and kids and working on my WIPs I don't get to do as much blog hopping as I like, so I've undoubtedly missed news about someone getting published.
As for forthcoming changes to my blog, I'm going to be creating a monthly Urban Fantasy newsletter, and will probably add another page to my blog that's kind of a writing toolbox, with links to my fave resources on editing, querying, publishing and the like. I may also start doing a monthly feature on a non-profit or global issue. I'm not sure exactly when I will roll all of this out, but updates will be coming soon! I may have a contest to come up with a name for the newsletter and ask for feedback and what kinds of things people would like to see (new releases of the month, agent profiles, etc.).
So, that's it! It may not be the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything, but it makes me feel good and I hope you'll enjoy it, too.
For those of you who have seen The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a wonderfully weird and hilarious movie, you'll recognize that quote from the whale. If not, you can click here to watch it. Don't say I didn't warn you about the weird part.
Anyways, what is the purpose to this blog post? Well the purpose of this post is to explain the purpose of my blog. Since I've now been blogging for a smidge over a year, I've had time to get used to this whole blogging thing and wonder, what is the purpose of my blog? What do I really want to do with it?
First, I really want to be more active in helping to promote by published blog friends, whether they've published traditionally or non-traditionally. I've discovered that the writing community is such a supportive place, and to me, supporting each other is what all of this is about, more than just having an online journal. So, I created a new page, called Awesome Books (see link in menu bar at the top of my blog). I've added a few peeps who haunt my blog on a regular basis: Jennifer Hillier, Jai Joshi, Talli Roland and Alex Cavanaugh. They've all published great books (Jennifer's is coming out in a few weeks), and I've included a brief blurb about each of them. If you also blog stalk me and are published and would like to be added, please let me know! Unfortunately with a full-time job and kids and working on my WIPs I don't get to do as much blog hopping as I like, so I've undoubtedly missed news about someone getting published.
As for forthcoming changes to my blog, I'm going to be creating a monthly Urban Fantasy newsletter, and will probably add another page to my blog that's kind of a writing toolbox, with links to my fave resources on editing, querying, publishing and the like. I may also start doing a monthly feature on a non-profit or global issue. I'm not sure exactly when I will roll all of this out, but updates will be coming soon! I may have a contest to come up with a name for the newsletter and ask for feedback and what kinds of things people would like to see (new releases of the month, agent profiles, etc.).
So, that's it! It may not be the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything, but it makes me feel good and I hope you'll enjoy it, too.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Musings...duality...multi-colored glasses
Hello, fellow writers! Weekly update on rejections and other pertinent writing business: I’ve gotten a couple new form rejections. I’ve also sent out about five new queries. Just plugging away, trying to maintain my optimism. All of your lovely and insightful comments make me feel so much better! Also, since I got some questions about me and my MC, I've added a couple pages to the blog which I hope you'll enjoy.
My musings of late… duality. As I was updating my blogger profile a couple weeks ago, I realized that in so many things I hold opposite opinions or preferences simultaneously. For instance, two of my very favorite movies – Under the Tuscan Sun and The Matrix. One a sappy chic flick, the other an intense action film. Music, too. On any given day on the drive to work, I might listen to Vivaldi and Green Day… Natalie Merchant and Linkin Park… Madonna and Dropkick Murphys. Even how I dress is eclectic – one day I might dress a little preppy and sophisticated, another I might wear khaki cut-offs and a hippy top. Ideas are often the same. I might feel one way about something, but at the same time have a very differing opinion.
So, is this just me, or is it a writer thing? I’ve kind of wondered if writers are more prone to seeing things through multi-colored glasses because we’re open-minded, out-of-the-box storytellers. We often put ourselves in the different perspectives of our characters, so are used to seeing things in lots of different ways all at once. Does anyone else experience this, too?
My musings of late… duality. As I was updating my blogger profile a couple weeks ago, I realized that in so many things I hold opposite opinions or preferences simultaneously. For instance, two of my very favorite movies – Under the Tuscan Sun and The Matrix. One a sappy chic flick, the other an intense action film. Music, too. On any given day on the drive to work, I might listen to Vivaldi and Green Day… Natalie Merchant and Linkin Park… Madonna and Dropkick Murphys. Even how I dress is eclectic – one day I might dress a little preppy and sophisticated, another I might wear khaki cut-offs and a hippy top. Ideas are often the same. I might feel one way about something, but at the same time have a very differing opinion.
So, is this just me, or is it a writer thing? I’ve kind of wondered if writers are more prone to seeing things through multi-colored glasses because we’re open-minded, out-of-the-box storytellers. We often put ourselves in the different perspectives of our characters, so are used to seeing things in lots of different ways all at once. Does anyone else experience this, too?
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