And the winner is... Blog Award Night at the Mobbies!

Last night I had the opportunity to mingle - MINGLE! - with some local Baltimore bloggers at the Baltimore Sun's 5th Annual Mobbie Award ceremony. I get excited about mingling as I've been quite the shut in this year...

Mobbies. That's pronounced MOB-by...as in the MOB with a y. (Yes. Yours truly was corrected a few times last night ;)

The Mobbies awards go out to Maryland's Outstanding Blogs. It was a pretty big crowd last night, considering most writers prefer the queit solitude of, well, a hermit's corner. And there were some bloggers who blog anonymously that didn't come to receive their award. But on the whole, I realized bloggers are a pretty chatty group.

I found some new blogs to follow, namely a local food blog Let's Give Peas a Chance who won two awards last night. The most creative blog title IMO was a Baltimore dating Charmed & Dangerous, who's anonymous blog writer was definitely charming yet sweet ;)

Last night I went to the award party with fashion blogger Dana Renee Style who found too many Cleavland ex-pats in the crowd - kidding, but seriously, she's like a magnet. She came in 7th place in her category! Congratulations :)

It was my first time at the Mobbies - I didn't even know something like that exsisted! So I am definitely going to keep my eye out for next year's event. Maybe even see if I can get my B&B blog nominated...

;)

GIVEAWAY! and Interview with Featured Guest Author Sharon Short, author of MY ONE SQUARE INCH OF ALASKA

Welcome to Lia Mack's BB Writers Retreat series!

As part of our November BB Writers Retreat, I am excited to have with us published author Sharon Short.

Sharon Short, author of MY ONE SQUARE INCH OF ALASKA

Sharon Short is the author of eleven books in all so far, plus stories and essays, including:

• MY ONE SQUARE INCH OF ALASKA
• Three mysteries in the private eye Patricia Delaney "eGumshoe" series
• Six mysteries in the comedic Josie Toadfern "stain expert/laundromat owner" series
• A collection of humorous essays entitled Sanity Check

Lia Mack: Thank you so much for being part of the BB Writers Retreat series, Sharon. 

Please start us off by telling a little about yourself.

Sharon Short: I live in Ohio with my husband, beagle, and two spoiled cats. Our daughters are mostly grown; they're both away at college.  I grew up in the Dayton, Ohio area. In high school, I swore I'd never live in my hometown or get married, and ended up happily married to my high school sweetheart and (after living for a time in northern Ohio, New Orleans, and California) moved back to the very town I foreswore. I'm very glad to be here and glad that things turned out differently than I wanted when I was 16! I greatly love the arts community of Dayton. In addition to writing fiction, I am the Executive Director of the Antioch Writers' Workshop in nearby Yellow Springs, Ohio, and write the weekly Literary Life column for the Dayton Daily News. The column is about writers, readings, literary events and literary history in the greater Dayton area.

Lia Mack: You know, I've been dreaming about attending the Antioch writing workshop for years. How exciting that you spearhead it.

Now, for the ultimate question...

Why do you write?

Sharon Short: It's how I make sense of the world--through story. My head lives in story. I can't imagine NOT writing. It would be like trying to live without breathing: impossible after a very brief time.

Lia Mack: How do you feel you've grown as a writer?

Sharon Short: I attended Wright State University for my undergraduate degree. I tested out of freshman English, but had to take sophomore composition. I admit I was annoyed by this requirement, even as an English major, since I just knew that I didn't *need* the class. Why couldn't I just plunge right in to the interesting literature survey classes?

On my first paper, I received the first "B" of my life, at least in an English class. (I flunked bowling in high school, but that's another story.) I stormed into my professor's office, explained I'd never received a "B" before, and that I just knew I was a better writer than any other students in his class. Looking back on that hubris makes me shudder, but if Dr. Whissen was offended, he didn't show it. He merely pressed the tips of his fingers together, gazed evenly at me, and said, "I'm not grading your work based on what you've done before. Or based on how you compare to other students. I'm grading you based on how well I think you're doing compared to what you CAN do."

Somehow, I understood--my goal should always be to improve upon what I've written before... not to compare myself to others or rest on past achievements. So, that's been my goal ever since then. As proud as I am of my first novel published nearly 20 years ago, I think my dedication to this goal shows in my work. MY ONE SQUARE INCH OF ALASKA is a deeper, more from-the-heart novel than I could possibly have written when starting out.

Lia Mack:  I love what your professor said and how you've used that to your advantage.

What made you decide to write as a career?

Sharon Short: Again, we go back to that whole writing=breathing analogy.  I discovered books and almost immediately wanted to be a writer. In fact, I wrote and self-published my first book at age 6. Of course, I didn't realize that's what I was doing at the time, but I wrote a little book called "The Fireman," illustrated it, bound it with red construction paper and staples, wrote 1 cent in the upper right corner of the cover and "Published by Little Golden Books" on the inside front cover. I then promptly sold it to my aunt. Years later, after she passed away and her husband remarried, his second wife found the little book in an box of greeting cards. This was shortly after my first novel, ANGEL'S BIDDING, was published by Fawcett Books. My step-aunt returned The Fireman to me. I was really touched, both that my aunt kept it and that my step-aunt knew I'd want it back. Getting that little book back confirmed for me that my life's journey and my writing journey are intertwined.

Lia Mack: That is so heartfelt.

Can you describe a bit how your venture into writing looked like?

Sharon Short: After "The Fireman" I wrote many stories as a child, in high school and in college. My husband has commented that it's telling that I wrote so much outside of my assignments. After college, I wrote part of a confused and confusing literary novel, a romance novel that kept getting rejected because, as one editor noted, my hero was "a wimp," and numerous stories.

I finally realized that the genre I most loved at the time was mystery, so I decided to write a mystery novel. I took opening chapters of that to the Antioch Writers' Workshop in 1990, eager to study with the featured fiction lecturer that year... Sue Grafton. Sue (not realizing she was in a way echoing Dr. Whissen) reviewed my manuscript and told me all that she thought was doing well (character development, pacing, plot) and all that I really needed to improve (realistic dialog, researching police procedure.)

Again, I've patterned my own assessment of my work on her method of giving feedback: rejoice in what's working, but honestly accept what isn't and strive to improve it. That is how I approach writers now in workshops when I'm called upon to give feedback. I followed Sue's advice but realized that, even after attempting to improve the manuscript as she suggested, this novel was the novel I needed to write to learn how to write a novel. I put it aside, and started my next novel, ANGEL'S BIDDING.

Our first daughter was born in 1992. ANGEL'S BIDDING came out at the end of 1993. Since then, I've striven to improve with each piece of writing. I've also learned a lot about the publishing business, although in some ways I still feel like a novice in that arena. Writers need to learn craft AND they need to learn about the publishing business, but the two are very different areas of expertise.

Lia Mack: Can you tell us a little about your book?

Sharon Short: MY ONE SQUARE INCH OF ALASKA is a novel very much written from my heart. I'd wrapped up the Josie series and written several false starts on other novels.

In February of 2009, I was at a book club meeting. Someone said, "Does anyone recall those deeds to one square inch of Alaska you could get in cereal boxes?" The question didn't have anything to do with the book we were discussing and I didn't recall the deeds (the promotion was a decade before I was born), but the phrase "one square inch of Alaska" literally took my breath away.

I was immediately taken with the concept of what one tiny bit of land in a vast territory could represent. Within minutes--again, literally--a young woman and her little brother showed up in my imagination and seemed to be saying, could you please tell the story of *our* one square inch of Alaska?

By the time I was home, one of the final scenes had, for lack of a better term, downloaded itself into my imagination. I rushed to my desk and wrote it down in my journal. And then I tinkered with the idea, not fully committing to it until September of 2009.

The novel went through many drafts after that; in the process, I realized that the novel was about the power of dreams, of what happens when we embrace them, follow them, encourage others to do so, ignore them or pick 'false' dreams. Though it is set in 1953 Ohio and (at the end) Alaska, I think it is a story that is rather timeless, because the human need to dream--and the sorrow that comes from cutting ourselves off from our dreams--certainly is timeless.

Lia Mack:  I'm so glad someone asked that question as your novel turned out to be a gem.

What was the most challenging aspect of writing this particular story?

Sharon Short: Realizing that the story was NOT a Young Adult novel (although it is certainly fine for readers 10th grade and up). For awhile, I labored under the incorrect notion that because the novel is coming-of-age and features a 17-year-old female as the protagonist, that it was YA. After feedback at a writing conference in Jan. 2011, I realized that I was writing from the sensibility of a young woman looking back on events.... not from the viewpoint of a 17-year-old as the events unfolded. Aha! So I revised with that realization in mind. I think it makes the work much stronger.

Lia Mack: It most certainly did! And that is great advice to keep in mind when working with certain characters in our novels.

What are you working on now?

Sharon Short: A literary suspense novel.

Lia Mack: What does your typical writing day look like?

Sharon Short: It really depends on where I am in a project, but when I'm working on something new, I try to write new material for the first few hours of each morning. I usually start by looping back to the previous day's work (or the last 2 pages) to do some light revising to get momentum going forward for the next set of new pages. I really prefer the revising stage of work. When I'm in that stage, I admit I tend to neglect other areas of my life (e.g., housecleaning, exercising) because I love the process of revising so much!

Lia Mack: I think you're the first writer I've known who's admited to loving the revising stage of the craft! :)

Do you read a lot while you write?

Sharon Short: I read a lot of research materials for the work I'm writing. I also refer to writing books I find helpful and inspirational, particularly Hooked by Les Edgerton and Seven Steps on the Writer's Journey by Nancy Pickard and Lynn Lott. I do read others' fiction, but tend to do so much more in between my own projects. However, I always am in the process of reading fiction to some degree.

Lia Mack: Can you share a photo of what your writing space looks like?

Sharon Short: Well, I can... although it might scare your readers. Note the candle lit for inspiration; if my mind starts wandering while I write, I focus on the flame. The Snickers pumpkin wrapper, the coffee cup, the bobble heads (Tim Gunn, Hermey and James Thurber.) Everything on my desk has a story or purpose to remind me about how fantastic this writing journey really is. (Except the Snickers. I just like Snickers...)

Sharon Short's writing space ;)

 Lia Mack: What are your thoughts on the necessity of writers building a platform? Any advice?

Sharon Short: Nonfiction writers must have a platform of subject matter expertise as well as for connecting with readers. Fiction writers need a platform for connecting with readers. I think it's important to have a website, with perhaps a blog built in, and a Facebook Author page (IF the writer has been published). I also have an email Newsletter and  use Twitter and Pinterest and LinkedIn. But I think it is important to set a time limit each day for these pursuits (note the kitchen timer on my desk); I try to stick to 15 minutes twice a day, and think of it as the virtual version of going to a break room to chat with colleagues. It's also important to post/tweet etc. about more than your own work or events--occasionally toot the horn for other writers, or share interesting opinions and stories for example. But it's also fine to post photos of events and so on. Readers follow writers on these sites because they WANT that insight into the writers' lives.

Lia Mack:  I like that analogy - using it as a "break room".

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself if you could speak to the aspiring writer you once were?

Sharon Short: Shortly after my first book came out, an older more seasoned published author pulled me aside at a conference and told me that publishers don't care about writers unless they're making a ton of money, that publishing was dying, that since my first novel was a paperback original, I'd never publish anything considered literary. It was brutal.

I was disheartened for months by this negativity. And it made me second-guess everything I did for a long while. I'm not at all sure what this writer's motivation was. Perhaps she thought she was being helpful? But it was really disheartening. I let it affect me to the point that at the conference, when my editor's boss took me out to lunch, I was gawky and half-mute and didn't see the lunch as the compliment and opportunity it was.

I wish I could travel back in time and say to myself, "Look. I don't know that this other writer's problem is. It doesn't matter. But the truth is, yes, publishing can be brutal. So what? Can you name anything, anything at all, that is worth doing that is EASY? Eating Cheetos is easy, for pity's sake. Writing and finding outlets for your work is not easy, but so? It's still who you are and what you believe you want to do with your life! So, ignore the super-negativity just as much as you'd ignore naive positivity, figure out what's realistic, and keep writing! Oh, and for Pete's sake, chat with your editor's boss about what kinds of writing she sees you doing in the future!"

I really wish I'd asked my editor's boss that. But, as it turns out, of course the super-negative writer was wrong. Publishing is still here; it's just changing. Sure, publishers want writers to make money, but I've been blessed with very helpful agents, editors and mentors.

And in terms of publishing anything considered literary... I think in many ways, MY ONE SQUARE INCH OF ALASKA fits that. The novel has received an Ohio Arts Council Literary award for the work, a Montgomery County (Ohio) Arts & Cultural District fellowship, great critical reviews, and I was an Ohioana Book Festival Featured Author this year.

Lia Mack:  Wonderful advice you'd give yourself..."ignore the super-negativity just as much as you'd ignore naive positivity, figure out what's realistic, and keep writing!"

Thank you so much for being our guest author today. Where can BB readers go online to find you and your work?

Sharon Short:

• My web site and blog are www.sharonshort.com. 

• My Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/SharonShortAuthor. 

• My twitter handle is @SharonGShort. 

I'd love for BB readers to follow me on Facebook and Twitter, and to consider signing up for my quarterly email eNewsletter. (As a thank you to those who sign up, I send a humorous essay--available exclusively for subscribers--explaining just how I managed to flunk bowling in high school... and my experiences as the non-athletic mom of two athletic daughters.) Readers can sign up for my eNewsletter--which includes recipes, stories, and other fun tidbits in addition to book news--via my web site or by emailing me at sharonshort @ sharonshort DOT com.

Sharon Short, author of MY ONE SQUARE INCH OF ALASKA

How to Write a Novel during NaNoWriMo, IMO...

Ever wonder how that novel idea in your head will ever make it to those illustrious bookshelves of your bookworm heaven? B&N bookstores, Amazon bestseller list, the library bookshelves. Whatever your idea of where all the good books live, have you ever wondered how on Earth YOU are ever going to get YOUR book there?

Aspiring authors and published authors alike have, at least once at the beginning of their careers, have wondered, hoped, dreamed. I do it too. All day long sometimes. But dreaming and hoping and praying only gets you so far, no matter what it is that you wish to do. 

Write a novel. Write a self-help book. Write a children's book series. Whatever your goal, it's not just to get the words on paper. It's to get them published and up onto that shelf of your dreams.

But the main ingredient that some writers forget that will make their dream come true is something that some writers don't have. 

The guts to do it. 

Fear. Doubt. Self condemnation. Call it what you will, but it holds us all back at one point or another. I see it all the time, in people who have high hopes but not a spine to do anything about it with.

"But this... But that..." So many excuses they could write a book on how to keep yourself locked in a perpetual state of motionlessness.

NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month - starts November 1st. NEXT WEEK!!! It's a great time for all those held back by their fear to JUMP IN with both feet and give their guts a real work out. Forget the fear of failure. Forget the doubting monster keeping you locked up in your writing closet. All you have to do to participate is WRITE!

Just write.

No rules. No editing. No grammar gurus lurking in the shadows.

Just write.

NaNoWriMo is all about getting your words onto the page. Period. And the more the merrier. 50K words in a month is the ultimate goal BUT you don't have to hit the highest peak to summit your own fear of starting something great.

10K words in a month. Even 2k words. It'll be more than you have done now, no? Do you have a novel in you? Do you want to write it? Are your characters banging on the door of your imagination, begging to get out?

Then do it! Write till you heart's content. Everyday, make it a task on your To-Do List and do it.

Just write.

IMO - in my opinion - all you have to do is write and you'll make it. You'll start that writing project you've always dreamt about. And you know what? By writing EVERYDAY, even just 10 minutes a day, you'll find strength, confidence, determination.

And you'll create momentum.

By the end of November, you'll have written the beginning of your novel and you won't be able to stop. The story, the characters, they won't let you stop. And neither will your new self - your writer self - let you stop.

So write.

Just write.

And look me up at NaNoWriMo. If ever you need someone to get out and push because you hit a roadblock or your engine won't start that day, I'll push for you! I'll help you combat your writer demons! I've worked long and hard to keep mine locked up tight, so I know how to do it, IMO.

;)

NaNoWriMo Starts Next Week... Are You In?!

In honor of NaNoWriMo, which begins next week, I wanted to take a few lines to try to drive up the excitement that's igniting the air in the writing world. Novel writing world, that is.

NaNoWriMo, for those who are new to it, is National Novel Writing Month. 

A whole month dedicated to getting those words of your story onto the page, screen, notepad...anywhere that gets them out of your head and into written form.  

And it starts November 1st, NEXT WEEK!!! :))) 

The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write 50,000 words in the month of November. You can start a new novel. Continue writing your WIP. Or just start something and see where it takes you, so long as you write 50,000 words by month's end.

How do you write 50,000 words in one month? 

Simple. You just write! And write. And write! Don't stop for edits. Just keep writing! 

At least that's the way most people do it. The whole point is that all first drafts suck. They do, no matter who you are or how great a writer you can be. Even the best of the best admit that their first drafts suck. And who cares if it sucks! It's a first draft! You're not going to publish your first draft, traditional route or self. You'll edit and rewrite and edit and rewrite until it's polished and shined to be worthy of putting your name on the front cover... Unless, of course, you're the author of the unreadable 50 shades of grey and you have no shame... but I digress...

"I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter." 

~ James Michener

I think this is a great quote to remember and keep in mind as you write and attempt to summit the 50K words in a month goal. Just write. Keep up the momentum. Don't turn back until you hit your daily goal, whatever you set it to be. 

For the past NaNoWriMo's that I've done, I've been working on and through Waiting for Paint to Dry. This year NaNoWriMo just happens to coincide with my starting a new project, so it's kismet, perfect timing, and all that jazz! I'm a mix between a "seater" and a "panster" so I've got some notes and a rough outline done'ish for Caught By The Sun, the second in the Bell Sisters Series. 

I'm so excited to get started and can't wait to meet some new writer buddies to enjoy the ride with.Are you coming too?!

Just remember... even if you only write 5,000 words or 10,000 words come November 30th, it's more than most people ever write! 

The whole point of NaNoWriMo is this: just write :)

So sign up for NaNoWriMo today and find writer buddies to enjoy the ride with!

:) 

Introducing: The Writing Retreat at Lia Mack's Blissfully Begiuling B&B!

I'm excited to introduce the BB Writing Retreat series here at my B&B.

Yes, this is just a blog. No, you can't physically stay at the BB B&B. Yet...

BUT... you CAN attend a BB Writing Retreat all the same ;)

Here's how it works:

Writing retreats are all about finding a cozy, quiet space to write; getting together with other writers for comradery and an exchange of ideas; and also a place to meet guest authors and listen as they talk about all they love and hate of the craft of writing.

Then take all that new, wonderful information and momentum and start. Write that story, poem, novel that's been swimming inside of you, just waiting to get out.

A writing retreat is all about YOU getting some writing done after all ;)

All are welcome here at the BB B&B Writing Retreat. Aspiring writers. Closet writers. Published authors. Anyone who loves the craft of writing or is just getting acquainted with what that means. And loves to write.

And writes ;)
 
So, pull up a seat, help yourself to the tea and treats, and settle in for a wonderful meet and greet of some fine guest authors here on the BB B&B blog. 

Of course when the BB B&B is up and running (as in brick and mortar) these retreats will be in person, on the premise, as well as online. But I think, instead of waiting for that mortar to dry, let's start getting together now and write today.

That novel isn't going to write itself after all.

;)

A Novel from a Dream...When Your Subconscious Does All The Work

I woke up about forty-five times the other night - okay, more like five or six times - and each and every time I woke up, I wished I could return to the dream that was interrupted by the wakefulness. I've had dreams before where I was eating or shopping or skiing down a mountain, dreams that I'd love to dream forever, only I'd wake up during the best parts, never to return again. No matter how hard I tried, how much I begged my brain to get back to that place of pure joy, it's never worked.

Until the other night.

Each time I woke, I hoped, fell back to sleep, and returned to the exact place the dream had left off, multiple times over, until the last time I awoke, bright and early in the morning, the dream - the story - was finished. Beginning to end. Like a movie. Or a novel.

I wrote the story down the next day, just in case it was a good one, as all story ideas are great when you're half asleep. Ninety-nine percent of them turn out to be outrageous, hideous, hilarious bad ideas. And you trash them. No biggie. It was just a dream.

However, well, this idea? It's good. Real good. And funny. I just can't believe my subconscious came up with it, totally without my help. And that's what's bothering me...

Who's story idea is this anyway?

It's not mine, is it? I mean, I wasn't actively thinking of which actions, which characters would do. I wasn't the one who came up with the story line. The location. The lessons learned. Hidden messages.

I was just a spectator. Watching the dream unfold, like a movie goer. Only thing I lacked was the fresh popped popcorn. Organic popcorn, of course. No GMO's for me, thank you very much...

But I didn't come up with this idea. I didn't. I wrote it down, yes. But I didn't come up with any of it. I did add a few things here and there to make sense of bits and pieces, so to that I can lay claim. And getting it down on paper. Well, yes. I did that. Wow, I can write words. Go me...

Yet the actual story line. The characters. The dialouge. The setting, plot, description. Everything else... It just happened, came to me for my viewing pleasure, in a dream.

Knowing this, is it safe to say, then, that this was team work? A joint effort between me and my most beloved writer buddies of all time - my subconscious? Then why do I feel as though I found this idea in someone else's closet? I don't even feel a connection with the person - thing - that came up with it all.

I don't feel like it was me...

Yet it was.

Intuition.
Drive.
Spirit.
Soul.

Nothing you can touch, but all that you feel.

Character.
Ego.
Essential Nature.
Inner Self.

That which makes you you.

Inherent.
Instinctive.
Involuntary.
Innate.

All of this. This is your Subconscious. It is You.

In Waiting for Paint to Dry, I had no conscious idea that I had, while writing the first draft, interjecting multiple plot lines and themes that carried through the entire story, through different characters, all to come out in the end with a dramatic conclusion. That wasn't me doing it on purpose. Again, it just happened. It was my subconscious that made it all happen.

So I make peace with the notion that I'm not totally the one in control here. That I'm not the only one putting the pieces so creatively together - even though, yes, my subconscious is me and I am my subconscious...so confusing...

The thing is, there's no way any of us could ever consciously do what our subconscious does without even lifting a finger. Like it or not - no matter that you're wide awake, spending hours upon hours honing your craft, working your magic, fingers sore, butt tired - it's your subconscious doing most the work. All the work even. So who is it that gets the credit in the end? Even though you and it are one in the same, although at times it feels as though it's outside of you and not you, but you still???

...

Sign your name with care, folks.

;)

5 Reasons to Attend a Writer's Conference...

For the longest time, I thought Writer's Conferences were merely a day spent trying to network and mingle with a room full of introverted writers.

Painful.

So I steered clear. Kept my nose to my manuscript. Edited away. Who needs networking when I've got work to do. Then I saw a posting for a nearby conference boasting classes, informational sessions, and, yes...food. Breakfast, lunch, snacks. Oh, hello. I'm there!

Turned out to be more informational, and dare I say, fun than I had anticipated. Best part, I learned that not all writers - myself included - are total freakish introverts. We just can't yap about our craft with just anyone. We need to be around other writers!

Which brings me to my #1 reason to attend a writer's conference:

#1 Meet Other Writers
Find others in your genre. Form a critique group, a reading group, a writer's meet up group with them. It's great fun and good exercise to involve yourself in the art of talking about writing with other writers.

#2 Practice Your Pitch
This is my main reason for going to future writer's conferences. I found out quick that the pitch I had thought was pitch-perfect was a total flop. And hurt. I saw the person I pitched to flinch at the 'r' word. I don't want any flinching when I'm pitching my novel to agents. I've revamped what I had - killed it, rewrote it - and am ready for my next round of pitches.

#3 Take Home Lessons
Writer's Conferences are filled with classes taught by authors, editors, authors who are editors, editors who are authors. In other words, people who live and breathe the craft.

#4 Find an Editor
So there will be classes taught by editors...who are pitching themselves, their services to all us aspiring writers. Take a class with editors you want to see in action, find one you like, and hire them if you want someone to go over your manuscript.

#5 Agent Sessions
At the conference I attended, you could pay an additional fee to meet with an agent to review your first 25 pages. Other conferences offer different deals. Pitch sessions, where you go around and have 5-10 minutes with a room full of agents and pitch, pitch, pitch. Others where you can submit your whole manuscript before hand and schedule a session with the agent of your choice.

I had fun. Got a day to immerse myself in my craft sans little hands. Next month, there is yet another conference within driving distance. I think I might go ;) Bring my business cards, practice my pitch, meet local writers. Can't wait.

Do You NaNoWriMo?

If you're doing NaNoWriMo this year, how's it going? So far, so good here. This graphic above will track my progress for the National Novel Writing Month. 30 days, 50K words.

Will I make it...?

Who knows, probably at the very last second, but it's been fun so far. I hadn't even thought to start writing this novel for another couple months, so it's nice to get an early start. And, honestly, I'm liking where it's going.

Check out my synopsis and chapter 1. I'm writing this one with no written direction. No outline. Just what I've envisioned 'movie style' in my mind. Seems to be how I work best. Outlines for me are kind of constrictive. I've got my protagonist and she's got her problems. Now let's see if she can find her way to happiness.

Buddie me if you're NaNoMo'ing!

;)

What If?... Getting in the Mood for NaNoMo!

What if?.... The question gets me in the mood every time.

To write.

Have you ever had this happen to you? You're walking down the street or sitting in a crowded room, watching what's going on, involved in something or other. Just minding your own business. When, all of a sudden, you see or hear something and wonder for a split second...what if?

What if...? You ask yourself. And, in a split second, you mind swirls around this intriguing idea until - BAM! - you've thought of a story idea for a novel. Or that article you need to write. Poem. Whatever your medium.

If that's ever happened to you, or you've been waiting for inspiration, go out and search for it. Or just let it happen. For my first book - Waiting for Paint to Dry - I was in the airport, trying to hurry through security, and all of a sudden I had to ask myself...what if? What if I were a character in a novel and this very thing that is happening to me in real life happened to her? What would her story be? How would she react? What would have happened right before this? After? What if...? And that's how it happened :)

For my next book - Caught by the Sun - even though it's the sequel to Waiting for Paint to Dry, the idea that sparked the story for the second book came from a what if moment in my own life. I was stacking firewood with my husband, got a piece of wood in my eye, he had to get close to help get it out...once out, there were sparks - oh la la ;) - and I thought, hmmm...what if?... and then - BAM! - my next novel idea was born!

Next month is November and I've decided to do NaNoMo - National Novel Writing Month - this year! Yes, I'm still editing novel #1, but I've learned a VERY important lesson in doing so. Don't take too long writing the first draft because editing it to the point of it being perfect to send out to agents takes sooooo long. Writing a novel in a month sounds like the best plan to me. My goal is going to be 50K words. I've never done it before, but I'm excited!

And once November is over, I'm going to put novel #2 aside, and finish my edits for novel #1. When I'm done with that, I'll read through my atrocious first draft that I wrote during NaNoMo and go from there. All first drafts suck. Why not churn it out in a quick, fun way? If you've never NaNoMo'ed before, check it out. We can be writer buddies ;)

Oh, and check out the synopsis I wrote for Caught by the Sun. I'm super proud of it and super exited to get started!

Hope to see you there :)

Critique Groups...When to Say Good-Bye

I'm free!

I just quit my critique group and I feel so free and alive and able to write and think and be creative again! I started feeling smothered about 6 months ago, but I trekked on, thinking I'd be a quitter if I left. Other people love critique groups, so I should stay, right? I'm learning a lot about good and bad writing, enjoying getting together with other writers, so I should stay, right?

But after the last round of critiques, I knew I had to cut the rope. I no longer heard my characters in my head. I couldn't think of one new story idea, when before I'd usually come up with one or two a day, just out of no where. My creativity was dying. For the past 3 months, I haven't been able to think of anything. No new ideas, no new characters, nothing!

So I decided to just do it. FOR ME. I knew it was the right thing for ME to do and for MY writing. I just felt like my writing style and voice were being distracted, changed... Although I learned how to edit thoroughly and how to just get to the point, say what I wanted to say in my writing, I no longer heard/felt my writing. I knew I'd miss the writing friendships I made, but I also knew it was time to move on.

Do I regret quitting?

The moment I drove away from my final meeting, a new story idea popped into my head. And I felt I could breathe again, write for myself again. I felt free.

I don't want to step on anyone's toes, of course. I know some people live by their critique groups. And I applaud every writer for doing for themselves and for their writing what works for them. I do. I did learn some great lessons while in the group - what good and bad writing looks like and how to read for the craft better. 

But I also had to do for myself what works for me. I need to only hear my own voice in my head (and that of my characters). Otherwise I can't do it. I can't take my story where I want it to go. 

Every writer is different. And everyone writes differently.

Taking my time, waiting my turn to be critiqued, waiting to edit based on others input... it all started to feel like 'a hobby', casually going through the motions, taking my sweet ol'time... Personally, I know I'll never get anything done that way. 

I can't go slow. 

That isn't my speed. And I found that when I went slow everything stopped. Internally, externally. I couldn't write anymore. The way I finished my first draft was to write, every day, like a job, taking no breaks, no turns, no excuses.

Yet, every path is part of the process. I tried it out, liked it for a while, then found it wasn't working for me anymore. So, even though I walked away, said good-bye, I know I'm not a quitter. I chose to take charge and get back to treating my writing like a career. To get back to writing for me. Writing every day. Write, write, write.

So, time to get back to work. No more hiatus.

!

Celebrating the Breeze!

I'd like to dedicate this blog post to one of my writer buddies, Carolyn Parsons. Not only has Carolyn (aka: Breeze) published her fist book (ya!)...today is also her Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Breeze!!! :)

If you haven't already, check out her book, Wind Rhymes: Poetry from the Breeze. It's a wonderful compilation of inspirational and practical poetry. Every time I read one of her poems, I feel empowered and lifted, ready to be the change I want to see in the world ;)

Carolyn also turned me onto a free writing course online that I just started. F2K: Fiction Writing for the New Millennium. I'll tell you more about the class once I finish my first assignment (they are small writing assignments given on Wed, due the following Wed, then you submit and critique others and they critique you.) To me, that sounded like fun!

If you're a writer and have yet to find some writing buddies to hang out with - on or off line - get some!!! We're an interesting lot, which means we need to get together with like minded folk once in a while to feel, well, normal ;)

I am very honored to have Carolyn as one of my writer buddies and call her my friend. It's great fun being able to talk openly about characters talking in our head, killing darlings, and building pent houses... Who else could I do that with? ;)

So, here's to the Breeze. Have a great Birthday! And congratulations on your new book :)