Hello everyone!
I just wanted to let all of you know that I am moving blogs. This one will remain alive so that old posts are not lost, but new content will not be updated here. I truly hope that you will join me at my new location: A Quid for the Quill.
Why am I moving? Part of it is that I want to develop a somewhat more professional look. Also, I am no longer really the Nanowrimo Quest. Everything is expanding far beyond just the crazy month of November. I will still be participating in Nano, I will still be posting about Nano, but it's time to make a new blog and start over with what I really want my blog to be.
Thank you for the past year here and please, join me at my new location and pick up a subscription so you can stay tuned. Thank you for everything!
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Monday, August 8, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
So Many Projects!
Alright, does anyone have a secret time management strategy? If so, I could certainly use the tips. There just seems to always be too much going on. Between running an insurance office, taking care of our home, writing projects, photo projects, and so much more....I just feel like I need 3 of me. But for now, more about the writing projects.
Yahoo! Contributor Network
Definitely still working on this and having moderate amounts of success that I am quite happy with. For now, however, I'm taking a short break. There will be the occasional article here and there, but for the most part this is not my focus. Good timing too, or so it seems, since some of the technical workings of YCN have been rather glitchy lately. You don't see it on the reader's end, but on the writer's? It's driving some people a bit bonkers. Not giving up here though. I still log in frequently, trolling about for any assignments that seem interesting. I'm still brainstorming ideas for future articles too. I'll be back to this in a few months perhaps. Maybe less time. We shall see.
Contests
THIS is my primary focus right now. Just like I usually enjoy having a steady stream of articles in queue for YCN, I want to begin a steady stream of entries to contests to the point that hopefully, after a few months, I'll have built up a string of entries to where I'm getting results on something every 1 to 2 months.
Have any of you entered writing contests in the past? What were your experiences with them?
I'm excited to be putting more focus on this. The way I see it is that the worst case scenario is I've either properly edited old content or created new content...which is always a good thing even when it ends up being useless. A writer should always be creating new content, even if it is discarded later. Best case scenario? I place and win prizes or publication. It's really a win/win situation for me then. I can't lose here.
October 21st is the official day the 80th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition results are due by. I've got 4 entries in there this time around, both in rhyming and non-rhyming poetry. There's an earlier article on this blog discussing this competition. The top 100 people in each category are recognized. Last year I took 98th in Rhyming Poetry. My goal this year? To place again. I don't care what number I get; I just want to place. We shall see.
I missed out on the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest last year, but I have an entry ready and waiting for this year's contest when it opens to submissions on August 15th. The only downside? Results on that won't be released until August 15th, 2012. A full year away. I feel extremely confident in my entry however, so perhaps good things come to those who wait!
There's a whole mass of other contests I'm working on right now as well. I have a poem to edit for the Rattle Poetry Prize. I have a story to edit for the Main Street Rag Short Fiction Anthology Contest. I also have a poem still in rough stages to complete and edit for the International Little Red Tree Poetry Prize. There are two other short story contests I'm contemplating entering and I'll be on the hunt for more contests after I get a few of these current submissions in. All of this is definitely keeping me busy. Hopefully, in time, they will produce some good results.
NaNoWriMo
So as much as I love Camp NaNoWriMo, it just isn't working out for me this summer. I quickly learned I do not write non-fiction in the same crunch time I can turn out fiction. I also learned how much I thrive on write-ins and group support from my local Nano-ers. And I simply wasn't ready to work on a novel this summer. Not when I have such detailed and high expectations for this November.
The story to which all time will be devoted later this year is a novel that has been floating around in my head for the past 10 years. Not even kidding with that. It's haunted me for a decade.
Last year's NaNoWriMo taught me a valuable lesson. I can write 50,000 words in a month. In fact, I know I can write well above that if I put my mind to it. I needed last year to prove myself to, well, myself. That means this year my goals are a bit more serious.
Last year's novel quickly turned into a trilogy and I am still very overwhelmed by it. It will be finished one day, that much is certain. I don't think I could handle not finishing it. But I need to prove to myself now that I can finish a large project (though one smaller than a multi-book, high fantasy series). I need to show myself that I can see something bigger than a 5,000 word short story through to completion. I need to learn the set of habits that accompanies longer, more detailed work. Then I can return to the partially written story that I so adore.
So what's this year's goal? 50,000 words of course, but something a bit more. I've been given the goal by a dear friend and local NaNo coordinator to not only reach my word count, but to finish the rough draft of this novel, no matter how many words over 50,000 it takes.
Can I really push myself to the point that I'm ready to start drafting agent queries by the end of 2012?
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Yahoo! Contributor Network
Definitely still working on this and having moderate amounts of success that I am quite happy with. For now, however, I'm taking a short break. There will be the occasional article here and there, but for the most part this is not my focus. Good timing too, or so it seems, since some of the technical workings of YCN have been rather glitchy lately. You don't see it on the reader's end, but on the writer's? It's driving some people a bit bonkers. Not giving up here though. I still log in frequently, trolling about for any assignments that seem interesting. I'm still brainstorming ideas for future articles too. I'll be back to this in a few months perhaps. Maybe less time. We shall see.
Contests
THIS is my primary focus right now. Just like I usually enjoy having a steady stream of articles in queue for YCN, I want to begin a steady stream of entries to contests to the point that hopefully, after a few months, I'll have built up a string of entries to where I'm getting results on something every 1 to 2 months.
Have any of you entered writing contests in the past? What were your experiences with them?
I'm excited to be putting more focus on this. The way I see it is that the worst case scenario is I've either properly edited old content or created new content...which is always a good thing even when it ends up being useless. A writer should always be creating new content, even if it is discarded later. Best case scenario? I place and win prizes or publication. It's really a win/win situation for me then. I can't lose here.
October 21st is the official day the 80th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition results are due by. I've got 4 entries in there this time around, both in rhyming and non-rhyming poetry. There's an earlier article on this blog discussing this competition. The top 100 people in each category are recognized. Last year I took 98th in Rhyming Poetry. My goal this year? To place again. I don't care what number I get; I just want to place. We shall see.
I missed out on the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest last year, but I have an entry ready and waiting for this year's contest when it opens to submissions on August 15th. The only downside? Results on that won't be released until August 15th, 2012. A full year away. I feel extremely confident in my entry however, so perhaps good things come to those who wait!
There's a whole mass of other contests I'm working on right now as well. I have a poem to edit for the Rattle Poetry Prize. I have a story to edit for the Main Street Rag Short Fiction Anthology Contest. I also have a poem still in rough stages to complete and edit for the International Little Red Tree Poetry Prize. There are two other short story contests I'm contemplating entering and I'll be on the hunt for more contests after I get a few of these current submissions in. All of this is definitely keeping me busy. Hopefully, in time, they will produce some good results.
NaNoWriMo
So as much as I love Camp NaNoWriMo, it just isn't working out for me this summer. I quickly learned I do not write non-fiction in the same crunch time I can turn out fiction. I also learned how much I thrive on write-ins and group support from my local Nano-ers. And I simply wasn't ready to work on a novel this summer. Not when I have such detailed and high expectations for this November.
The story to which all time will be devoted later this year is a novel that has been floating around in my head for the past 10 years. Not even kidding with that. It's haunted me for a decade.
Last year's NaNoWriMo taught me a valuable lesson. I can write 50,000 words in a month. In fact, I know I can write well above that if I put my mind to it. I needed last year to prove myself to, well, myself. That means this year my goals are a bit more serious.
Last year's novel quickly turned into a trilogy and I am still very overwhelmed by it. It will be finished one day, that much is certain. I don't think I could handle not finishing it. But I need to prove to myself now that I can finish a large project (though one smaller than a multi-book, high fantasy series). I need to show myself that I can see something bigger than a 5,000 word short story through to completion. I need to learn the set of habits that accompanies longer, more detailed work. Then I can return to the partially written story that I so adore.
So what's this year's goal? 50,000 words of course, but something a bit more. I've been given the goal by a dear friend and local NaNo coordinator to not only reach my word count, but to finish the rough draft of this novel, no matter how many words over 50,000 it takes.
Can I really push myself to the point that I'm ready to start drafting agent queries by the end of 2012?
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Friday, July 1, 2011
I'M BACK!
Well sort of, but I realize I simply can't leave all of you for more than a month. So consider this an update at the least. I don't know how regularly I will start posting again for now, but I just know I need to at least give you all occasional insight into what's going on.
Today is July 1st, that means Camp Nano started today. Camp Nano is still in Beta testing for this month, but I'm excited nonetheless. It's essentially Nanowrimo all over again, but in July and August and not just November. November is still the biggest month full of pep talks, regional get-togethers, and such, but Camp is offering the same 50k word challenge for those wanting to be accountable more than once a year.
Ironically I was bursting at the seams to write yesterday, but knew I had to wait until today. Now my brain is currently on vacation it seems. I'll shake something out of it today if it's the last thing I do! (And it might very well be since I have a habit of writing just before bed.)
I am not, however, writing a novel this month. I'm going to save my noveling for November and I have very, very big plans for this year. I'll write some of those details a bit later.
For July I am keeping the 50,000 word goal, but I am applying it to my freelance work for Yahoo's Contributor Network. I'm starting to find some moderate success there and I really want to work hard before I get caught up in novelling later. It of course depends on the article, but I am guessing this works out to me writing 50-60 articles in July. That's a lot. In fact when I look at that figure, I wonder what I've mentally signed myself up for. (If you're a frequent reader, you should know by now I often wonder that.)
For August I have other plans for using the word count. I'll fill you in on those in a couple of weeks.
If you are interested in Camp Nano, check them out here.
Rather than posting loads of articles, I'm just going to post my profile if you would like to follow my work. Remember, pageviews help me! =) You'll find my profile here.
Please also check out my friend Rebekah's profile. She's been working on a series for tips with fiction writing that I think many of you would find interesting. You can find her profile here.
I do plan on checking in at least a couple of times in July. If there are articles you would like me to write or blog post topics you'd like to see me cover, please comment and tell me! This is how I find out what YOU want to hear.
As always...
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Today is July 1st, that means Camp Nano started today. Camp Nano is still in Beta testing for this month, but I'm excited nonetheless. It's essentially Nanowrimo all over again, but in July and August and not just November. November is still the biggest month full of pep talks, regional get-togethers, and such, but Camp is offering the same 50k word challenge for those wanting to be accountable more than once a year.
Ironically I was bursting at the seams to write yesterday, but knew I had to wait until today. Now my brain is currently on vacation it seems. I'll shake something out of it today if it's the last thing I do! (And it might very well be since I have a habit of writing just before bed.)
I am not, however, writing a novel this month. I'm going to save my noveling for November and I have very, very big plans for this year. I'll write some of those details a bit later.
For July I am keeping the 50,000 word goal, but I am applying it to my freelance work for Yahoo's Contributor Network. I'm starting to find some moderate success there and I really want to work hard before I get caught up in novelling later. It of course depends on the article, but I am guessing this works out to me writing 50-60 articles in July. That's a lot. In fact when I look at that figure, I wonder what I've mentally signed myself up for. (If you're a frequent reader, you should know by now I often wonder that.)
For August I have other plans for using the word count. I'll fill you in on those in a couple of weeks.
If you are interested in Camp Nano, check them out here.
Rather than posting loads of articles, I'm just going to post my profile if you would like to follow my work. Remember, pageviews help me! =) You'll find my profile here.
Please also check out my friend Rebekah's profile. She's been working on a series for tips with fiction writing that I think many of you would find interesting. You can find her profile here.
I do plan on checking in at least a couple of times in July. If there are articles you would like me to write or blog post topics you'd like to see me cover, please comment and tell me! This is how I find out what YOU want to hear.
As always...
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Friday, June 10, 2011
Hiatus
Rather than just disappearing for a little while, I figured it best to TELL all of you that I'm disappearing for a little while, so you don't think I've given up on blogging.
I'm working on several projects right now and am beginning to feel a little unfocused. Rather than constantly feeling guilty for not updating this blog, I've decided to post a note letting all of you know it will be 1-2 months before I begin posting regularly again. Please don't go anywhere! I do promise to be back, just need some time to refocus and regroup, then come back better than ever.
Thank you for all of your support and I look forward to the discussions we'll have to come!
I'm working on several projects right now and am beginning to feel a little unfocused. Rather than constantly feeling guilty for not updating this blog, I've decided to post a note letting all of you know it will be 1-2 months before I begin posting regularly again. Please don't go anywhere! I do promise to be back, just need some time to refocus and regroup, then come back better than ever.
Thank you for all of your support and I look forward to the discussions we'll have to come!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
My 1st Month as a Paid & Published Writer
Today officially marks my first full month of writing for Yahoo's Contributor Network. I started the project in the hopes of someday getting my name out there. I also started it simply because it sounded fun (after all that's why I write, it's my passion). And I started it to give me something to work toward that is much smaller than the often-overwhelming task of working on my novel.
Completing articles, getting pageviews, taking assignments...those are all small victories I can achieve in just a week or even a day. It makes me feel like I'm getting somewhere. And while I love my big projects and refuse to give up on them, I need something small along the way. It's like floating down a river in a canoe all by yourself. The finish line you're searching for could be days or weeks away, but if you didn't hit the occasional checkpoint you'd drive yourself mad, feeling like you're going nowhere.
My goal for the first month of writing for YCN was to write what I could, as often as I could (while still ensuring quality, not just quantity) and to reach 1,000 pageviews. I felt like I could achieve that, though I expected the pageviews to be a little difficult. I was really going to have to do some self-promotion there. (Speaking of self-promotion, I'm going to link my profile for anyone interested.)
Yet now, looking back on my first month, I am in complete and utter awe of the achievements I've reached. I never dreamt so much could happen so fast. While I don't "expect" that it will always be this way, that I've done this in just 30 short days excites me beyond belief. It makes me wonder just what I can really achieve.
1) We'll start with pageviews since that was my original goal. I hoped and strived to reach 1,000. There was one day I even got 81 page views just in that day. I couldn't believe it! Then I had a hit article entitled Sports Meltdowns: When Pro Talent Meets Amateur Behavior that suddenly made my page views jump. And I don't mean that I was getting 100 or 200 page views then, though I would have been thrilled beyond belief with just that. No, I was getting thousands. Per day. Granted I know people love to read about stupid things other people have done, especially famous other people, but thousands? It took me about 3 days to even realize where this article was posted to receive so much attention. That was my next shock.
2) When you go to the Associated Content home page, it looks much like any other news home page. You have your front page articles, then you have 11 main categories with subcategories under each. It's a quick and easy way to get noticed if you're lucky. I got lucky. My sports article became the #1 featured article of AC's Sports page for just over a week. It was finally taken down today. But just before someone else received the coveted sports spot....I received the #1 featured article spot on the Creative Writing page...another one of the top 11 categories. How to Write a Sestina, which I've posted on this blog before, took off. One of the biggest reasons? One of the assignments released to contributors linked back to my article as the "how to" for completing the assignment. I felt honored. I truly can't even put into words how excited I was to see that.
3) I broke out of being published only on Associated Content. My sports article found its way to Yahoo! News and I currently have two local articles published on Yahoo! Sports with a more generic one I just submitted tonight for the same. It really is like everything is falling into place at just the right time.
My 1,000 page view goal was dwarfed in this month. The final count as of last night was 50,575 page views on Associated Content with 275 views on Yahoo! News and I'm not sure how many on Yahoo! Sports (that site has not updated reports for me yet).
Writing on Yahoo is a joy. I get to write about all sorts of topics and things that I love. I'm allowed to turn everyday articles full of facts into fun articles with a bit of whimsy tossed in for good measure. I get to achieve something every time I have an article published. And now that I'm finally participating in forums, I'm meeting some other pretty amazing authors as well.
So to sum it up...this month has been magical and I fully encourage anyone interested to trying writing for Yahoo. Work as little or as much as you want. Write what you want. Be what you want. I'm only one month in and I'm not about to give up on this experience any time soon.
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Completing articles, getting pageviews, taking assignments...those are all small victories I can achieve in just a week or even a day. It makes me feel like I'm getting somewhere. And while I love my big projects and refuse to give up on them, I need something small along the way. It's like floating down a river in a canoe all by yourself. The finish line you're searching for could be days or weeks away, but if you didn't hit the occasional checkpoint you'd drive yourself mad, feeling like you're going nowhere.
My goal for the first month of writing for YCN was to write what I could, as often as I could (while still ensuring quality, not just quantity) and to reach 1,000 pageviews. I felt like I could achieve that, though I expected the pageviews to be a little difficult. I was really going to have to do some self-promotion there. (Speaking of self-promotion, I'm going to link my profile for anyone interested.)
Yet now, looking back on my first month, I am in complete and utter awe of the achievements I've reached. I never dreamt so much could happen so fast. While I don't "expect" that it will always be this way, that I've done this in just 30 short days excites me beyond belief. It makes me wonder just what I can really achieve.
1) We'll start with pageviews since that was my original goal. I hoped and strived to reach 1,000. There was one day I even got 81 page views just in that day. I couldn't believe it! Then I had a hit article entitled Sports Meltdowns: When Pro Talent Meets Amateur Behavior that suddenly made my page views jump. And I don't mean that I was getting 100 or 200 page views then, though I would have been thrilled beyond belief with just that. No, I was getting thousands. Per day. Granted I know people love to read about stupid things other people have done, especially famous other people, but thousands? It took me about 3 days to even realize where this article was posted to receive so much attention. That was my next shock.
2) When you go to the Associated Content home page, it looks much like any other news home page. You have your front page articles, then you have 11 main categories with subcategories under each. It's a quick and easy way to get noticed if you're lucky. I got lucky. My sports article became the #1 featured article of AC's Sports page for just over a week. It was finally taken down today. But just before someone else received the coveted sports spot....I received the #1 featured article spot on the Creative Writing page...another one of the top 11 categories. How to Write a Sestina, which I've posted on this blog before, took off. One of the biggest reasons? One of the assignments released to contributors linked back to my article as the "how to" for completing the assignment. I felt honored. I truly can't even put into words how excited I was to see that.
3) I broke out of being published only on Associated Content. My sports article found its way to Yahoo! News and I currently have two local articles published on Yahoo! Sports with a more generic one I just submitted tonight for the same. It really is like everything is falling into place at just the right time.
My 1,000 page view goal was dwarfed in this month. The final count as of last night was 50,575 page views on Associated Content with 275 views on Yahoo! News and I'm not sure how many on Yahoo! Sports (that site has not updated reports for me yet).
Writing on Yahoo is a joy. I get to write about all sorts of topics and things that I love. I'm allowed to turn everyday articles full of facts into fun articles with a bit of whimsy tossed in for good measure. I get to achieve something every time I have an article published. And now that I'm finally participating in forums, I'm meeting some other pretty amazing authors as well.
So to sum it up...this month has been magical and I fully encourage anyone interested to trying writing for Yahoo. Work as little or as much as you want. Write what you want. Be what you want. I'm only one month in and I'm not about to give up on this experience any time soon.
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
YA vs. Adult -- Part 2
I received some awesome comments and emails from you guys regarding this matter. Thank you so much! I love to hear from my readers. You guys are a big reason of why I blog in the first place.
I heard several conflicting opinions and that's precisely what I was hoping for. I wanted to see what you thought as the reader. I heard that YA literature only deals with young people while adult lit is for characters that are older. I heard just about every degree of whether or not YA lit includes sexuality/sensuality, foul language, and violence. And much much more.
For what it's worth, I'll give my opinion now:
1) I think YA lit does deal almost exclusively with younger characters, but adult lit does not necessarily exclusively with older characters. It often does, but there are plenty of adult fantasy series dealing with younger characters (late teens, early twenties perhaps). Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" series comes to mind. There are certainly many older characters, but plenty of younger ones as well. Yet it is still marketed as an adult series. Interesting...especially if age is the only thing we're looking at. But it's not!
2) I do definitely agree that a lot of YA lit deals with coming of age while the themes of adult lit might be a bit more wizened. You probably won't find many adult lit books dealing with prom and first love, but then again you probably won't find many YA lit books dealing with the death of children, retirement, financial independence and careers, etc. There are always going to be exceptions, but I feel like you guys hit this one pretty spot on.
3) Violence, foul language, and sexuality. This one is tough. It used to be that this was mainly reserved for adult lit while YA lit got the watered down or glossed over versions, but I don't think that holds nearly as true now as it used to. I don't think you're going too find many YA books written like Stephen King novels where the language can be as plentiful as weeds and as colorful as the rainbow, but that's not to say YA authors are getting shy. The same goes for sexuality. I probably will not find many Laurell K. Hamilton-esque steamy sex scenes in YA lit, but don't look for those YA moments of sensuality to be as glossed over as they used to be either. As for violence, I think it depends on the genre and the mind behind the violence more rather than YA vs. adult anymore, though YA is more prone to carry fewer scenes of intense violence when adult books may be a bit more prolific with it.
All in all I don't think there is any straight answer and all of your opinions reflect that. Sometimes it is very easy to say which category a novel falls into, but too often there is a gray line. I'm probably thinking about this a lot more right now than normal because I am definitely one of those gray-area authors. The NaNo novel I plan on working on this upcoming November is definitely YA. But my NaNo novel from last year (that while I am still working on the first book has already informed me it demands to be at least three books)...is a bit funny. Younger characters. Some YA-friendly themes, some more adult-friendly themes. No gross amounts of heavy violence, sex, or cursing, but all three of those are definitely in there. I don't like writing those things in just for the sake of shock value or marketability, but I will write them in where I think it is very true to character and necessary for that character to stay IN character.
I suppose it all boils down to I just need to keep writing and see what directions the story takes. Yet even if my story ends up being easy to classify, there are so many more out there that are not so easily classified. Lots to think about!
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
P.S. Tomorrow will be a long post about my first month's experience with Yahoo! Contributor Network. I know some of you have been asking for more details and I have plenty to give!
I heard several conflicting opinions and that's precisely what I was hoping for. I wanted to see what you thought as the reader. I heard that YA literature only deals with young people while adult lit is for characters that are older. I heard just about every degree of whether or not YA lit includes sexuality/sensuality, foul language, and violence. And much much more.
For what it's worth, I'll give my opinion now:
1) I think YA lit does deal almost exclusively with younger characters, but adult lit does not necessarily exclusively with older characters. It often does, but there are plenty of adult fantasy series dealing with younger characters (late teens, early twenties perhaps). Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" series comes to mind. There are certainly many older characters, but plenty of younger ones as well. Yet it is still marketed as an adult series. Interesting...especially if age is the only thing we're looking at. But it's not!
2) I do definitely agree that a lot of YA lit deals with coming of age while the themes of adult lit might be a bit more wizened. You probably won't find many adult lit books dealing with prom and first love, but then again you probably won't find many YA lit books dealing with the death of children, retirement, financial independence and careers, etc. There are always going to be exceptions, but I feel like you guys hit this one pretty spot on.
3) Violence, foul language, and sexuality. This one is tough. It used to be that this was mainly reserved for adult lit while YA lit got the watered down or glossed over versions, but I don't think that holds nearly as true now as it used to. I don't think you're going too find many YA books written like Stephen King novels where the language can be as plentiful as weeds and as colorful as the rainbow, but that's not to say YA authors are getting shy. The same goes for sexuality. I probably will not find many Laurell K. Hamilton-esque steamy sex scenes in YA lit, but don't look for those YA moments of sensuality to be as glossed over as they used to be either. As for violence, I think it depends on the genre and the mind behind the violence more rather than YA vs. adult anymore, though YA is more prone to carry fewer scenes of intense violence when adult books may be a bit more prolific with it.
All in all I don't think there is any straight answer and all of your opinions reflect that. Sometimes it is very easy to say which category a novel falls into, but too often there is a gray line. I'm probably thinking about this a lot more right now than normal because I am definitely one of those gray-area authors. The NaNo novel I plan on working on this upcoming November is definitely YA. But my NaNo novel from last year (that while I am still working on the first book has already informed me it demands to be at least three books)...is a bit funny. Younger characters. Some YA-friendly themes, some more adult-friendly themes. No gross amounts of heavy violence, sex, or cursing, but all three of those are definitely in there. I don't like writing those things in just for the sake of shock value or marketability, but I will write them in where I think it is very true to character and necessary for that character to stay IN character.
I suppose it all boils down to I just need to keep writing and see what directions the story takes. Yet even if my story ends up being easy to classify, there are so many more out there that are not so easily classified. Lots to think about!
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
P.S. Tomorrow will be a long post about my first month's experience with Yahoo! Contributor Network. I know some of you have been asking for more details and I have plenty to give!
Monday, May 9, 2011
YA vs. Adult
This is something I've been curious about for quite awhile and I've heard multiple debates on the matter, but no one ever seems to be able to completely agree. All genre specific advice aside, what exactly is the different beteween young adult fiction and adult fiction? What separates one from the other?
I'll give you my thoughts in the next post, but for now I would really love to hear what YOU think. How does a publisher tell the difference between YA and adult fiction? How do you as the reader tell the difference?
(For the record, when I say YA I'm talking probably at least the 15 and up crowd, not the younger end of YA which falls around 12.)
I look forward to the responses; let's start our own debate on this!
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
I'll give you my thoughts in the next post, but for now I would really love to hear what YOU think. How does a publisher tell the difference between YA and adult fiction? How do you as the reader tell the difference?
(For the record, when I say YA I'm talking probably at least the 15 and up crowd, not the younger end of YA which falls around 12.)
I look forward to the responses; let's start our own debate on this!
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Online Writing
I am quickly discovering more and more about the world of online writing as well as doing my best to soak up and learn all I can right now about the behind the scenes work that goes into both it and blogging. I won't bother you with all of the boring details in that JUST yet. I'll wait until I understand them more and can make them vastly more interesting to you as the reader.
In the meantime, writing for Yahoo's Contributor Network is really kicking off. Taking assignments, turning out articles, waiting through the submission process (anywhere from a few hours to a few days), and the final thrill of acceptance each time...it's becoming one giant roller coaster full of mini-rushes and excitement. It's revving me up to be more focused on my own projects, and I'm loving the feeling.
Two more articles came out today about writing and hopefully you'll find some interest and use in them as fellow writers and readers.
How to Write a Sestina
The Top 5 Podcasts for Fiction Writers
In honor of the first article, I thought I'd share a sestina that I've written and give you all one more excerpt of some of my writing before I dive back into the hole of working on the novel.
Just remember, for better or worse, I LOVE feedback!
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
"Death Doth Follow Me"
I arose that day and thought, "Death doth follow me."
It was an inexplicable feeling that I did not question
And I felt it deep down in my heart.
The heat rose in my blood
And I remembered last night's wine
And my lover, my sweetheart, dear Robin.
A knock rose at my door and then entered my Robin
Who spoke sweetly as he said unto me
That the kitchen was all out of wine
And the servants had many a question,
That they'd cleared the counter of blood
And thrown to the dogs the nobleman's heart.
Then rising to a faster pace my heart
Took in the cool countenance of Robin
And racing like a torrent of rain, my blood
Echoed that, "Death doth follow me."
Again all silenced were my questions
And my mind remained muddled in wine.
The counter had been half wine
And not all sustenance from his heart,
But that would hardly answer the questions
For well as I knew, and so did my Robin,
That the blame should all fall to me,
And my conscience wallow in blood.
But my hands held not just the lord's blood
And they were not stained in wine,
Though I remembered that Death doth follow me
The fear turned blue in my heart
As I watched my beloved, my Robin,
Open his eyes wide in question.
In silent tongues he spoke his question
As the gleaming dagger soaked up his blood,
He crumpled upon the floor and Robin
Lay in his own red wine.
The ghostly murderer flew and my heart
Stood still, repeating, "Death doth follow me."
No more have I the taste for blood-red wine,
It reminds me of Robin's heart,
And though I should have, I never did question why Death doth followed me.
In the meantime, writing for Yahoo's Contributor Network is really kicking off. Taking assignments, turning out articles, waiting through the submission process (anywhere from a few hours to a few days), and the final thrill of acceptance each time...it's becoming one giant roller coaster full of mini-rushes and excitement. It's revving me up to be more focused on my own projects, and I'm loving the feeling.
Two more articles came out today about writing and hopefully you'll find some interest and use in them as fellow writers and readers.
How to Write a Sestina
The Top 5 Podcasts for Fiction Writers
In honor of the first article, I thought I'd share a sestina that I've written and give you all one more excerpt of some of my writing before I dive back into the hole of working on the novel.
Just remember, for better or worse, I LOVE feedback!
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
"Death Doth Follow Me"
I arose that day and thought, "Death doth follow me."
It was an inexplicable feeling that I did not question
And I felt it deep down in my heart.
The heat rose in my blood
And I remembered last night's wine
And my lover, my sweetheart, dear Robin.
A knock rose at my door and then entered my Robin
Who spoke sweetly as he said unto me
That the kitchen was all out of wine
And the servants had many a question,
That they'd cleared the counter of blood
And thrown to the dogs the nobleman's heart.
Then rising to a faster pace my heart
Took in the cool countenance of Robin
And racing like a torrent of rain, my blood
Echoed that, "Death doth follow me."
Again all silenced were my questions
And my mind remained muddled in wine.
The counter had been half wine
And not all sustenance from his heart,
But that would hardly answer the questions
For well as I knew, and so did my Robin,
That the blame should all fall to me,
And my conscience wallow in blood.
But my hands held not just the lord's blood
And they were not stained in wine,
Though I remembered that Death doth follow me
The fear turned blue in my heart
As I watched my beloved, my Robin,
Open his eyes wide in question.
In silent tongues he spoke his question
As the gleaming dagger soaked up his blood,
He crumpled upon the floor and Robin
Lay in his own red wine.
The ghostly murderer flew and my heart
Stood still, repeating, "Death doth follow me."
No more have I the taste for blood-red wine,
It reminds me of Robin's heart,
And though I should have, I never did question why Death doth followed me.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
A First
So for all my talking of writing, I have yet to actually post anything of my own work on this blog. I suppose I've always been a bit wary of publishing anything of mine on public domain such as blogs or social networking, but there's a first time for everything.
So in celebration of the several new followers I've received, here is a copy of "Exploitation of a Chair", the poem I wrote about two posts ago when mentioning the Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition. This was the 98th place rhyming poem in 2010!
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
P.S. I love feedback, so send me your comments!
"Exploitation of a Chair"
You do not love me.
You love the slobbering mass wreaking delicious chaos upon my
Lysoled plastic cage, stuck with french fries and cherry pie.
You do not love me.
You love the peace you enjoy when your cooing child slips
Into Sandman's slumber as I rock like sailing treasure ships.
You do not love me.
You love the discipline enforced when your feisty four-year-old
Learns not to throw toys, but instead do as he is told.
You do not love me.
You love the chef's hard work and your senses' delight,
Scraping me across harsh tile before relishing in the first bite.
You do not love me.
You love my streamered convenience in a celebratory crowd;
You even make games where only so many of me are allowed.
You do not love me.
You love the boost I give to your step.
When nature made you too short for the job, I will always abet.
You do not love me.
You even shroud and embellish my pathetic metal frame;
Just for bride's delight, I have been defamed.
You do not love me.
You adore your novels, philosophies, and arts,
Not my broken leather that warms all of your parts.
You do not love me;
You love only my purpose.
So in celebration of the several new followers I've received, here is a copy of "Exploitation of a Chair", the poem I wrote about two posts ago when mentioning the Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition. This was the 98th place rhyming poem in 2010!
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
P.S. I love feedback, so send me your comments!
"Exploitation of a Chair"
You do not love me.
You love the slobbering mass wreaking delicious chaos upon my
Lysoled plastic cage, stuck with french fries and cherry pie.
You do not love me.
You love the peace you enjoy when your cooing child slips
Into Sandman's slumber as I rock like sailing treasure ships.
You do not love me.
You love the discipline enforced when your feisty four-year-old
Learns not to throw toys, but instead do as he is told.
You do not love me.
You love the chef's hard work and your senses' delight,
Scraping me across harsh tile before relishing in the first bite.
You do not love me.
You love my streamered convenience in a celebratory crowd;
You even make games where only so many of me are allowed.
You do not love me.
You love the boost I give to your step.
When nature made you too short for the job, I will always abet.
You do not love me.
You even shroud and embellish my pathetic metal frame;
Just for bride's delight, I have been defamed.
You do not love me.
You adore your novels, philosophies, and arts,
Not my broken leather that warms all of your parts.
You do not love me;
You love only my purpose.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Getting Published....at least on your own time
This post is an update to my adventures with Yahoo Contributor Network. I'm finally published! But it's not without its moments.
I submitted my first article on Friday of last week, and it drove me absolutely crazy waiting to hear back on it. The first 3 articles you submit are carefully reviewed for content, writing style, grammar, and more. While anyone can write for YCN, they want to make sure they have contributors putting up quality articles as well. I knew that little if anything getss accepted over the weekend, but it was a very long weekend, let me tell you.
Then came Monday. I waited all morning when finally at 1:20 PM, there in my inbox, was their response! I was so excited I could hardly stand it so I hurried to open it and read.......rejected.
I was surprised and crestfallen for about 5 seconds before I gave myself a mental reminder of my last post. "This stuff happens," I told myself. "Stop feeling bad and read their feedback so you'll know how to do better next time."
It turns out they loved the content, hated the title. That was all. And they were giving me a chance to resubmit since that was their only issue with it. I went and wasted 5 seconds of self-loathing for absolutely nothing. =)
You see, I'm learning that there are different types of titles. This is something I should have already known, probably did already know, but somehow just now came to the conclusion. I am so focused on creative writing and thus creative titles, that I didn't think for a minute about online content and keywords and search engine optimization. Didn't even cross my mind. No wonder they read it and thought, "There's no way someone will find this article if we leave it like this."
So note to self, just in case you didn't already know:
Creative Writing = Spiffy titles. Just about anything you want even remotely related to what you're writing about as long as you think it will get readers' attention.
Online Writing = Just get to the point and make sure it's something people will actually Google. Don't be fancy. Save that for the article.
Anyway, I resubmitted it Monday night and by Wednesday morning I had my acceptance.
I won't bombard this blog with every trivial article I post, but anything that relates back to writing I'll defiintely link here since you'll be much more interested in that sort of stuff. (You're here already, right?)
This week's article is in honor of National Poetry Month and it's about America's first poet. Silly me took this assignment and starting writing it with Anne Bradstreet in mind, not even realizing she was the FIRST of our country to be known as a poet! She's super interesting and my article is just a shortened version of her life and one of her poems, but I highly encourage you that after reading the article, check out more information on her. She's a fascinating woman.
National Poetry Month: Anne Bradstreet
I have two more articles I am currently working on about writing, and will post those links when they are published. Happy Writing!! I've got a new post in store for you soon!
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
I submitted my first article on Friday of last week, and it drove me absolutely crazy waiting to hear back on it. The first 3 articles you submit are carefully reviewed for content, writing style, grammar, and more. While anyone can write for YCN, they want to make sure they have contributors putting up quality articles as well. I knew that little if anything getss accepted over the weekend, but it was a very long weekend, let me tell you.
Then came Monday. I waited all morning when finally at 1:20 PM, there in my inbox, was their response! I was so excited I could hardly stand it so I hurried to open it and read.......rejected.
I was surprised and crestfallen for about 5 seconds before I gave myself a mental reminder of my last post. "This stuff happens," I told myself. "Stop feeling bad and read their feedback so you'll know how to do better next time."
It turns out they loved the content, hated the title. That was all. And they were giving me a chance to resubmit since that was their only issue with it. I went and wasted 5 seconds of self-loathing for absolutely nothing. =)
You see, I'm learning that there are different types of titles. This is something I should have already known, probably did already know, but somehow just now came to the conclusion. I am so focused on creative writing and thus creative titles, that I didn't think for a minute about online content and keywords and search engine optimization. Didn't even cross my mind. No wonder they read it and thought, "There's no way someone will find this article if we leave it like this."
So note to self, just in case you didn't already know:
Creative Writing = Spiffy titles. Just about anything you want even remotely related to what you're writing about as long as you think it will get readers' attention.
Online Writing = Just get to the point and make sure it's something people will actually Google. Don't be fancy. Save that for the article.
Anyway, I resubmitted it Monday night and by Wednesday morning I had my acceptance.
I won't bombard this blog with every trivial article I post, but anything that relates back to writing I'll defiintely link here since you'll be much more interested in that sort of stuff. (You're here already, right?)
This week's article is in honor of National Poetry Month and it's about America's first poet. Silly me took this assignment and starting writing it with Anne Bradstreet in mind, not even realizing she was the FIRST of our country to be known as a poet! She's super interesting and my article is just a shortened version of her life and one of her poems, but I highly encourage you that after reading the article, check out more information on her. She's a fascinating woman.
National Poetry Month: Anne Bradstreet
I have two more articles I am currently working on about writing, and will post those links when they are published. Happy Writing!! I've got a new post in store for you soon!
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Friday, April 15, 2011
Remember This Excitement
Alright readers...have you ever submitted your work anywhere? I don't necessarily mean your novels and anthologies to publication houses (though that too), but I'm curious about the little things. Does your library have a creative writing contest? Does your school? What about creative essays for scholarships? Have you written for your local newspaper? (Doesn't count if you're part of the normal and paid staff!)
What was it like for you? Did you win? Were you published? What did you get from that experience?
I ask because today I'm reminding myself of how much all the little things really do mean and just how much they can boost your confidence.
Last year I finally entered the Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition after watching it drift by for several years. I decided it couldn't hurt to try. My goal wasn't winning. I knew it was a huge national contest and my chances were ridiculously slim. (Not to say that winning things is a bad thing!) So instead my personal goal was to place. There are 10 categories and I entered 2 of them. In the rules, Writer's Digest stated that they would recognize the top 100 entries in each category. There are thousands that get sent in for each category, so being recognized at all is pretty exciting.
And lo and behold...I placed. I got 98th place in the Rhyming Category for my piece "Exploitation of a Chair". (If there's enough interest, I will be happy to post the poem.) 98th place can sound rather discouraging, but I didn't take it that way. I did exactly what I set out to do. I placed! That means out of the thousands of submissions the editors read through for months, I stood out enough for them to set aside my name. Wow.
This year I plan on entering again. It can't hurt, only potentially help. My goal is the same. I want to place. I want to get a number next to my poem and not end up in the discard pile. And if I want to take that goal a step farther, I want 97th place, one better than last year!
You can enter too! Go to Writer's Digest and check out the contest. May 2 is the deadline, though there is a late deadling of May 20. It's not just a poetry contest, there's something for everyone. Best of luck to all!
The Writer's Digest competition isn't the only thing that got me thinking about the excitement of accepted submissions. A good friend of mine Tea & Yarn recently started writing for Yahoo's Contributor Network and referred me to it. (This used to be called Associated Content if that is more familiar to you.) It's a fascinating service in which people post articles or bits of creative writing and get paid as people view them. But the payment isn't the big reason we started with the service. (Because let's face it, you probably won't get rich off this service anyway.) But it's the joy of being able to submit our work on something other than our own personal blogs. It's also the encouragement we get from actually have writing projects to work on outside of our own long-term goals.
Today I submitted my first article and I'm as eager as a kid on Christmas watching it sit there with it's status saying "Submitted" and waiting for it to say "Approved" instead. Once it does, I'll post a link here for all of you!
What was it like for you? Did you win? Were you published? What did you get from that experience?
I ask because today I'm reminding myself of how much all the little things really do mean and just how much they can boost your confidence.
Last year I finally entered the Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition after watching it drift by for several years. I decided it couldn't hurt to try. My goal wasn't winning. I knew it was a huge national contest and my chances were ridiculously slim. (Not to say that winning things is a bad thing!) So instead my personal goal was to place. There are 10 categories and I entered 2 of them. In the rules, Writer's Digest stated that they would recognize the top 100 entries in each category. There are thousands that get sent in for each category, so being recognized at all is pretty exciting.
And lo and behold...I placed. I got 98th place in the Rhyming Category for my piece "Exploitation of a Chair". (If there's enough interest, I will be happy to post the poem.) 98th place can sound rather discouraging, but I didn't take it that way. I did exactly what I set out to do. I placed! That means out of the thousands of submissions the editors read through for months, I stood out enough for them to set aside my name. Wow.
This year I plan on entering again. It can't hurt, only potentially help. My goal is the same. I want to place. I want to get a number next to my poem and not end up in the discard pile. And if I want to take that goal a step farther, I want 97th place, one better than last year!
You can enter too! Go to Writer's Digest and check out the contest. May 2 is the deadline, though there is a late deadling of May 20. It's not just a poetry contest, there's something for everyone. Best of luck to all!
The Writer's Digest competition isn't the only thing that got me thinking about the excitement of accepted submissions. A good friend of mine Tea & Yarn recently started writing for Yahoo's Contributor Network and referred me to it. (This used to be called Associated Content if that is more familiar to you.) It's a fascinating service in which people post articles or bits of creative writing and get paid as people view them. But the payment isn't the big reason we started with the service. (Because let's face it, you probably won't get rich off this service anyway.) But it's the joy of being able to submit our work on something other than our own personal blogs. It's also the encouragement we get from actually have writing projects to work on outside of our own long-term goals.
Today I submitted my first article and I'm as eager as a kid on Christmas watching it sit there with it's status saying "Submitted" and waiting for it to say "Approved" instead. Once it does, I'll post a link here for all of you!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
How to Use the Labels for This Blog
I've decided to rework the tags on this website to be more reader friendly. In other words, there will be a lot fewer of them and they'll finally be organized so that you, the reader, can find exactly the posts you want to find. Below are the categories I'll be using and what you can expect to find in each!
NaNoWriMo = These are my posts during November, or National Novel Writer's Month, the exciting 30 days and nights of literary abandon that prompted me to begin this blog in the first place. There may also be a few posts that are not written in November if something NaNo-specific occurs at another time in the year.
Progress Report = This blog is, after all, the journey of a first time novelist. Any time I mention my current progress in a given story in a post, I'll use this tag.
Editing = My thoughts and my experiences with the editing process.
Characters = Anything character-specific.
Plot = Anything plot-specific.
Excerpts = If I ever choose to post an excerpt of my writing, you'll find it under this tag.
Inspiration = Just what it sounds like, my musings about my muses.
Nine-to-Five = Writing isn't always inspiration, it's work too. Posts about the not-always-fun parts of writing, but the parts that pay off!
Publication = Any posts written about being published or the process of trying to be published.
Curiosities = Posts that have to do with writing, but not so much with me or my experiences.
Reader's Corner = I often like to ask things of my readers and get their input on me, this blog, and their own experiences with reading and writing. If a post contains a question to my readers, it will be marked with this tag.
Personal = Posts that have little or nothing to do with writing. There aren't very many of these, but they do show up from time to time.
And there is your introduction to this site! I will keep this post under the tag "Introduction" to (hopefully) make it easier to find in the future.
NaNoWriMo = These are my posts during November, or National Novel Writer's Month, the exciting 30 days and nights of literary abandon that prompted me to begin this blog in the first place. There may also be a few posts that are not written in November if something NaNo-specific occurs at another time in the year.
Progress Report = This blog is, after all, the journey of a first time novelist. Any time I mention my current progress in a given story in a post, I'll use this tag.
Editing = My thoughts and my experiences with the editing process.
Characters = Anything character-specific.
Plot = Anything plot-specific.
Excerpts = If I ever choose to post an excerpt of my writing, you'll find it under this tag.
Inspiration = Just what it sounds like, my musings about my muses.
Nine-to-Five = Writing isn't always inspiration, it's work too. Posts about the not-always-fun parts of writing, but the parts that pay off!
Publication = Any posts written about being published or the process of trying to be published.
Curiosities = Posts that have to do with writing, but not so much with me or my experiences.
Reader's Corner = I often like to ask things of my readers and get their input on me, this blog, and their own experiences with reading and writing. If a post contains a question to my readers, it will be marked with this tag.
Personal = Posts that have little or nothing to do with writing. There aren't very many of these, but they do show up from time to time.
And there is your introduction to this site! I will keep this post under the tag "Introduction" to (hopefully) make it easier to find in the future.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
The Stories of Our Lives
Warning: This post may offend some people. I do not write it with that intent nor do I write it hoping to cause any type of frustration, disagreement, or upset; this is truly nothing more than a writer's musings. Please take it as such and if this upsets you, I am truly sorry.
This post is about religion. But not about my beliefs. More this is about the STORY of religion.
What exactly do I mean by that you may be asking now. I am not here to debate who is right or who is wrong. I am not here to ask you to believe anything other than that which you already do. But I am here to question what part of the STORY drew you in?
After all, let's think for a moment. Whether you are Jewish (one of the oldest still practiced religions on Earth) or perhaps Mormon (one of the more recent belief systems), or anything conceivable in between, none of us have lived the creation of any of our religions. To us they are all stories. Some of them are simple, some of them are infinitely complex, but they are all stories that caused us to believe in something. I'm not sure about you, but when a story causes you to believe, I think that is the most powerful story of all.
We read our novels, our works of fiction that we so carefully treasure and some of the best cause us to believe. Some make us believe in love, some cause us to believe in hope. There are stories to make us believe in every human emotion we could possibly imagine. Those are powerful and amazing works of art.
But then we have stories that make us believe not just in emotion, but in salvation. Stories that direct our life. Stories that push and pull us along every step of our waking path. What do those stories have that others don't?
Some people are raised with a specific set of beliefs. Some fall into their beliefs simply because it feels "right". Some are persuaded by other believers. Some believe because they have nothing else left. There are so many reasons for people to believe the things they believe. It's intriguing. It's fascinating. It's incredible.
To my readers: I don't ask to know your religion. I don't ask to know what you believe. I don't even necessarily ask how you came to believe it. You can share if you'd like, but this is not what I ask.
What I DO ask is what about your religion's story draws you in? Look at the story and nothing more. What about the Torah sings to your heart? What about the Bible or the Koran or the Tao Te Ching or any other religious text fills your soul with absolute belief?
Don't think about what you've been told. Don't think about how you were raised. Don't think about what your minister or preacher has said. Don't think about what you believe.
Think about what the STORY says to you. The story and nothing more.
Why does the STORY tell you to believe?
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
This post is about religion. But not about my beliefs. More this is about the STORY of religion.
What exactly do I mean by that you may be asking now. I am not here to debate who is right or who is wrong. I am not here to ask you to believe anything other than that which you already do. But I am here to question what part of the STORY drew you in?
After all, let's think for a moment. Whether you are Jewish (one of the oldest still practiced religions on Earth) or perhaps Mormon (one of the more recent belief systems), or anything conceivable in between, none of us have lived the creation of any of our religions. To us they are all stories. Some of them are simple, some of them are infinitely complex, but they are all stories that caused us to believe in something. I'm not sure about you, but when a story causes you to believe, I think that is the most powerful story of all.
We read our novels, our works of fiction that we so carefully treasure and some of the best cause us to believe. Some make us believe in love, some cause us to believe in hope. There are stories to make us believe in every human emotion we could possibly imagine. Those are powerful and amazing works of art.
But then we have stories that make us believe not just in emotion, but in salvation. Stories that direct our life. Stories that push and pull us along every step of our waking path. What do those stories have that others don't?
Some people are raised with a specific set of beliefs. Some fall into their beliefs simply because it feels "right". Some are persuaded by other believers. Some believe because they have nothing else left. There are so many reasons for people to believe the things they believe. It's intriguing. It's fascinating. It's incredible.
To my readers: I don't ask to know your religion. I don't ask to know what you believe. I don't even necessarily ask how you came to believe it. You can share if you'd like, but this is not what I ask.
What I DO ask is what about your religion's story draws you in? Look at the story and nothing more. What about the Torah sings to your heart? What about the Bible or the Koran or the Tao Te Ching or any other religious text fills your soul with absolute belief?
Don't think about what you've been told. Don't think about how you were raised. Don't think about what your minister or preacher has said. Don't think about what you believe.
Think about what the STORY says to you. The story and nothing more.
Why does the STORY tell you to believe?
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Monday, March 28, 2011
Just Sit Down and Write
At last...I found a new template for the blog that I like and has no random black boxes hanging out in annoying places or difficult html hiding around the corner just waiting to cause me trouble. I think this is what I'm going with for awhile. What do you guys think?
There will still be lots of little updates. I plan on updating my profile, reorganizing tags (so they aren't so haphazard), and more behind the scenes work. But for you readers the biggest change is the general look and that's finally done.
Moving on.....I figured it was time I get back to blogging about writing, something I haven't done this past week, but that's beside the point. (haha)
I have a question for you...
What is it that makes you sit down and write? I'm not talking about your inspiration for a story right now, but instead what makes you physically stop with work and chores and other life 'duties' just for the sake of writing. What makes you pick up that pen or grab that keyboard? What makes you willing to stop doubting yourself long enough to actually write the next word in the grand adventure that your soul lives everyday?
I think a lot of us struggle with this, and I am very much a part of that group. There is always something I can think of that I should be doing instead of scribbling. Especially since publication and a career are still only distant dreams. Time itself can be very discouraging.
I have a very bad habit of sitting down to write, but only giving myself five or ten minutes to actually start writing. Then if nothing comes I abandon the endeavour and go back to whatever I was doing before. Let me just tell you this is a terrible terrible idea. And people who write for a living will tell you the same thing even more adamantly.
Nanowrimo actually taught me the value of sitting down to write, even when you feel no inspiration. This is a lesson I already knew, but one I had not lived. (And I don't know about you guys, but more often than not I have to discover for myself what I already know before I truly believe it.)
I read back through my posts on my first Nano experience over the weekend. It was fascinating to me to read my own highs and lows, something that seems like a blur now. And what was even more fascinating to me? I don't remember the lows, but I remember the highs. And I definitely had more lows than highs. Days I didn't write, days I barely wrote, days I wrestled with characters behaving badly, days I doubted myself... But I don't really remember any of them. I just remember the handful of days that took me on an amazing adventure. Days that surprised me. Days that proved this story is infinitely bigger than I ever will be. Those are the days I remember.
Some of those days I sat for an hour or more, staring at a page with nothing on it, feeling like the few words I eked out where written in blood and sweat. But some of those words were the best parts of the plot. I have to be patient. We all have to be patient. No matter how much we bubble over inside with our stories, we have to be patient with writing them. We have to tend them, care for them, feed their inspiration, nurse them when they're ill-written or they'll never be the pride and joy of ours that we imagine them to be.
So back to the question for you. What makes you stop everything and step back into the world you know is begging to be written?
For me: the soundtrack to Pan's Labyrinth. Such beauty, such delicate grandeur...if I turn it on I refuse to stop staring at my blank page of writing until the soundtrack ends. For the next hour and fifteen minutes I am transported to my world. I may come out victorious; or I may come out beaten and bare, dragging my broken mind away to the infirmary for rehabiliation. But no matter what, I spent and hour and fifteen minutes in my world. Living it, breathing it, and existing in an ever-present state of awe. And at the end of the day, isn't that what we strive for more than fame? More than money?
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
There will still be lots of little updates. I plan on updating my profile, reorganizing tags (so they aren't so haphazard), and more behind the scenes work. But for you readers the biggest change is the general look and that's finally done.
Moving on.....I figured it was time I get back to blogging about writing, something I haven't done this past week, but that's beside the point. (haha)
I have a question for you...
What is it that makes you sit down and write? I'm not talking about your inspiration for a story right now, but instead what makes you physically stop with work and chores and other life 'duties' just for the sake of writing. What makes you pick up that pen or grab that keyboard? What makes you willing to stop doubting yourself long enough to actually write the next word in the grand adventure that your soul lives everyday?
I think a lot of us struggle with this, and I am very much a part of that group. There is always something I can think of that I should be doing instead of scribbling. Especially since publication and a career are still only distant dreams. Time itself can be very discouraging.
I have a very bad habit of sitting down to write, but only giving myself five or ten minutes to actually start writing. Then if nothing comes I abandon the endeavour and go back to whatever I was doing before. Let me just tell you this is a terrible terrible idea. And people who write for a living will tell you the same thing even more adamantly.
Nanowrimo actually taught me the value of sitting down to write, even when you feel no inspiration. This is a lesson I already knew, but one I had not lived. (And I don't know about you guys, but more often than not I have to discover for myself what I already know before I truly believe it.)
I read back through my posts on my first Nano experience over the weekend. It was fascinating to me to read my own highs and lows, something that seems like a blur now. And what was even more fascinating to me? I don't remember the lows, but I remember the highs. And I definitely had more lows than highs. Days I didn't write, days I barely wrote, days I wrestled with characters behaving badly, days I doubted myself... But I don't really remember any of them. I just remember the handful of days that took me on an amazing adventure. Days that surprised me. Days that proved this story is infinitely bigger than I ever will be. Those are the days I remember.
Some of those days I sat for an hour or more, staring at a page with nothing on it, feeling like the few words I eked out where written in blood and sweat. But some of those words were the best parts of the plot. I have to be patient. We all have to be patient. No matter how much we bubble over inside with our stories, we have to be patient with writing them. We have to tend them, care for them, feed their inspiration, nurse them when they're ill-written or they'll never be the pride and joy of ours that we imagine them to be.
So back to the question for you. What makes you stop everything and step back into the world you know is begging to be written?
For me: the soundtrack to Pan's Labyrinth. Such beauty, such delicate grandeur...if I turn it on I refuse to stop staring at my blank page of writing until the soundtrack ends. For the next hour and fifteen minutes I am transported to my world. I may come out victorious; or I may come out beaten and bare, dragging my broken mind away to the infirmary for rehabiliation. But no matter what, I spent and hour and fifteen minutes in my world. Living it, breathing it, and existing in an ever-present state of awe. And at the end of the day, isn't that what we strive for more than fame? More than money?
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Updates
As you guys have noticed by the new layout, I'm in the process of updating this site. I threw it together in a very basic format when I first started, but now it's time to clean it up and make it look much better. Things may look funny at times during the process because to be honest....I have no idea what I'm doing. lol If you notice a link not working or something looking odd, please let me know. For now at least I am currently aware of the gaping black box to your right....hopefully I can figure out how to fill that soon. =)
Also, I'm still looking for suggestions:
1) I need suggestions on how you'd like the site to look, especially if you are a blogger yourself. I need help! I've updated the layout, though it needs tweaks. I've been told to set up a profile and bubble too. (Bubble in this context is a new word to me, but I'm learning.) Any other ideas, let me know! I want to try to get this blog out there more.
2) I still would be interested in receiving more suggestions on what YOU as the readers want to read. So far I have one suggestion: talk about the process of writing more, both what works for me and doesn't, what goes well and what falls short. That's a subject I can easily delve into. haha
Any other subjects you want to read??
As always, thank you for all of your help. Hopefully I can get this looking better in the next week or two and find out more about what you want, then get back to posting about writing! =)
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Also, I'm still looking for suggestions:
1) I need suggestions on how you'd like the site to look, especially if you are a blogger yourself. I need help! I've updated the layout, though it needs tweaks. I've been told to set up a profile and bubble too. (Bubble in this context is a new word to me, but I'm learning.) Any other ideas, let me know! I want to try to get this blog out there more.
2) I still would be interested in receiving more suggestions on what YOU as the readers want to read. So far I have one suggestion: talk about the process of writing more, both what works for me and doesn't, what goes well and what falls short. That's a subject I can easily delve into. haha
Any other subjects you want to read??
As always, thank you for all of your help. Hopefully I can get this looking better in the next week or two and find out more about what you want, then get back to posting about writing! =)
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
A Question to My Readers
Now that NaNoWriMo is over (at least for a few more months), I'm curious about something. As my readers, what would YOU like me to post about? Obviously as I've said before I'll continue posting my progress on the novel, but are there certain things you'd like to see? Questions you'd like to ask? Let me know!
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Sunday, March 13, 2011
"The Happiness Project"
I can't even remember where I heard about this book by Gretchen Rubin, but I'm already in love with it and I've only read the intro and first chapter. I probably love it so much because (at least so far) it sounds so much like me!
The book is about Gretchen deciding that while she is happy with her life, she could be much happier, and her journey throughout one year to increase her happiness. She tackles a different resolution each month (and they build on each other too, when she gets to February she still has to keep up with January). January's task was to boost energy.
She talks about how she's a gold star type of person. This means that without praise or a way of rewarding herself she tends to not get much done. Sound like someone else we know? (Me.) But it's funny how she describes her gold stars, because they're just like ones I give myself.
1) When she decided to exercise more and found out for good health a person should walk 10,000 steps a day, she bought a pedometer. And the very fact she was wearing a pedometer made her walk more. Because she was getting the "gold star" of seeing the number of steps she took. (I did this very same thing last fall, until my pedometer broke. I should get another. It would be good for me.)
2) She has clutter and it drives her crazy but she can never seem to get rid of it or take care of it properly. My husband and I moved into our new apartment last June. We still haven't completely moved in. Yes all the clothes are put away, electronics nestled where they should be, furniture arranged. But then there's the Iron Man action figure, the box of old Alfred Hitchcock mystery magazines, the box of freebies (that we'll technically use but have no need for until we go on vacation or something)....random things strewn about that we're keeping, but what on earth do I do with them? There's no drawer just for things like that, no special box or corner, so they've ended up deposited where they first landed. I also have the terrible habit of not wanting to hang things on the walls and vacuum and such til all the clutter is taken care of. Then I can never get the clutter taken care of. (Though I am proud of myself. I went through a LOT of our things a few weeks ago and got rid of two bags of clothing and about four bags of trash that I have no idea why I'd left around.) Anyway, it's a vicious cycle. And like Gretchen if I can manage to really clean and organize one closet or one drawer or one corner I'm instantly thinking "Hooray! Mark that off the list!" I'm a mess with messes. Really I am.
3) She puts off tasks that she doesn't want to do FOREVER. Including an email that took her less than one minute to type and send. I am exactly the same way. Let's not get into that one. It circles back into the cleaning issue.
4) She will make extensive lists. CRAZY extensive lists down to points most people wouldn't even think of. And she will purposely write down things that only take five minutes to complete, something most people would never put on a list of projects, just for the pure joy of marking it off. I do this at work. Half the stuff I write down on my weekly list are things I do not need to remind myself to do. But I write them down just because I feel better KNOWING there will be things I can cross off. (This is especially helpful when a lot of my job involves waiting on other people to call me back, to fax me paperwork, to email me information...and several tasks I can never complete on my end until the other people do their work first. Meaning I'm helpless to wait for them.) If I can mark 50% of my list off at the end of each week I am happy. That means it was a good and productive week. Silly, I know. My household list actually tells me to "pick up the hallway". The only thing in the hallway was laundry so my husband asked me why I'd even bothered to list it. The reason? I know I can mark that off in two minutes. He just laughed at me and shook his head.
So why am I rambling about all of this? Because it all goes back to Nano and my novel I suppose. Especially the first point. I would stay up writing more in November just to see my word count go up, just like I'd take extra steps just to see my pedometer smile at me. Then November ended and there was no race for word count and frankly I have no bloody idea what my final word count would be so there's no goal there either. But this "happiness project" made me realize that while I need to be better about some things (like cleaning) to increase my already relatively happy life, writing is also a HUGE part of my happiness. So I have to make time for it. Whether there is a gold star waiting for me each day or not.
I won't keep a constant word count on here like I did during Nano. I'm sure you'll hear from me when I reach certain milestones and I'll continue to blog about the journey of writing. But I have written on 3 separate occasions this month. Not very much each time, but the act of sitting and writing feels good again. (There's my little update on writing this time amidst the other rambling.)
Take from this what you will, but it was all on my mind so I figured I would share.
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
The book is about Gretchen deciding that while she is happy with her life, she could be much happier, and her journey throughout one year to increase her happiness. She tackles a different resolution each month (and they build on each other too, when she gets to February she still has to keep up with January). January's task was to boost energy.
She talks about how she's a gold star type of person. This means that without praise or a way of rewarding herself she tends to not get much done. Sound like someone else we know? (Me.) But it's funny how she describes her gold stars, because they're just like ones I give myself.
1) When she decided to exercise more and found out for good health a person should walk 10,000 steps a day, she bought a pedometer. And the very fact she was wearing a pedometer made her walk more. Because she was getting the "gold star" of seeing the number of steps she took. (I did this very same thing last fall, until my pedometer broke. I should get another. It would be good for me.)
2) She has clutter and it drives her crazy but she can never seem to get rid of it or take care of it properly. My husband and I moved into our new apartment last June. We still haven't completely moved in. Yes all the clothes are put away, electronics nestled where they should be, furniture arranged. But then there's the Iron Man action figure, the box of old Alfred Hitchcock mystery magazines, the box of freebies (that we'll technically use but have no need for until we go on vacation or something)....random things strewn about that we're keeping, but what on earth do I do with them? There's no drawer just for things like that, no special box or corner, so they've ended up deposited where they first landed. I also have the terrible habit of not wanting to hang things on the walls and vacuum and such til all the clutter is taken care of. Then I can never get the clutter taken care of. (Though I am proud of myself. I went through a LOT of our things a few weeks ago and got rid of two bags of clothing and about four bags of trash that I have no idea why I'd left around.) Anyway, it's a vicious cycle. And like Gretchen if I can manage to really clean and organize one closet or one drawer or one corner I'm instantly thinking "Hooray! Mark that off the list!" I'm a mess with messes. Really I am.
3) She puts off tasks that she doesn't want to do FOREVER. Including an email that took her less than one minute to type and send. I am exactly the same way. Let's not get into that one. It circles back into the cleaning issue.
4) She will make extensive lists. CRAZY extensive lists down to points most people wouldn't even think of. And she will purposely write down things that only take five minutes to complete, something most people would never put on a list of projects, just for the pure joy of marking it off. I do this at work. Half the stuff I write down on my weekly list are things I do not need to remind myself to do. But I write them down just because I feel better KNOWING there will be things I can cross off. (This is especially helpful when a lot of my job involves waiting on other people to call me back, to fax me paperwork, to email me information...and several tasks I can never complete on my end until the other people do their work first. Meaning I'm helpless to wait for them.) If I can mark 50% of my list off at the end of each week I am happy. That means it was a good and productive week. Silly, I know. My household list actually tells me to "pick up the hallway". The only thing in the hallway was laundry so my husband asked me why I'd even bothered to list it. The reason? I know I can mark that off in two minutes. He just laughed at me and shook his head.
So why am I rambling about all of this? Because it all goes back to Nano and my novel I suppose. Especially the first point. I would stay up writing more in November just to see my word count go up, just like I'd take extra steps just to see my pedometer smile at me. Then November ended and there was no race for word count and frankly I have no bloody idea what my final word count would be so there's no goal there either. But this "happiness project" made me realize that while I need to be better about some things (like cleaning) to increase my already relatively happy life, writing is also a HUGE part of my happiness. So I have to make time for it. Whether there is a gold star waiting for me each day or not.
I won't keep a constant word count on here like I did during Nano. I'm sure you'll hear from me when I reach certain milestones and I'll continue to blog about the journey of writing. But I have written on 3 separate occasions this month. Not very much each time, but the act of sitting and writing feels good again. (There's my little update on writing this time amidst the other rambling.)
Take from this what you will, but it was all on my mind so I figured I would share.
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Overcoming the Path That Kills Dreams
I know I promised months ago to start writing again. But that was me still coming down from the high of hitting 50k words in November.
I will be the first to say it, but I am by far my own worst enemy. A few years ago I never would have admitted that. I wanted to find reasons anywhere but within me for why I couldn't do things. Needless to say I never found those reasons outside of me. The real world does give occasional legitimate setbacks, but never does it give an outright denial of possibilities.
Paulo Coelho, one of my favorite modern authors, said it perfectly. There are three steps to killing your dreams:
1) The lack of time. We always say we will do what we truly want to when we have the time. We allow the mundane tasks of the world to rule over the ones that give us passion. Instead, we should try to find a balance because there is never enough time. That's what NaNoWriMo is all about...making the time.
2) Being too certain. This does not mean being certain in what you can do, but being certain in what you can't. In my case this means being certain that I'll never finish a novel. That the task is too daunting. And that if I ever do finish it, being certain I'll never finish editing. And that I'll never find an agent. And that I'll never get published. And that no one will ever read it. How do I know any of that if I don't try?
3) Being at peace with the routine. We accept the world for the simplicities, never try for more, never ask for more. In some ways I do love the routine. This routine is something I have grown up wanting in many ways, I'm not about to work against it now. But to be truly at peace we must renounce our dreams, and as Paulo says it, eventually those dead dreams that are still within you begin to eat away at your soul. I can't let that happen. I know what those dreams feel like. I know what those dreams could be. That means I cannot allow myself to be completely at peace. Because if I do, that will mean I have castaway my dreams. I know the unrest of chasing after something, and sometimes the disturbance is more beautiful than the peace.
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
P.S. By the way...I wrote 656 words today. I'm back.
I will be the first to say it, but I am by far my own worst enemy. A few years ago I never would have admitted that. I wanted to find reasons anywhere but within me for why I couldn't do things. Needless to say I never found those reasons outside of me. The real world does give occasional legitimate setbacks, but never does it give an outright denial of possibilities.
Paulo Coelho, one of my favorite modern authors, said it perfectly. There are three steps to killing your dreams:
1) The lack of time. We always say we will do what we truly want to when we have the time. We allow the mundane tasks of the world to rule over the ones that give us passion. Instead, we should try to find a balance because there is never enough time. That's what NaNoWriMo is all about...making the time.
2) Being too certain. This does not mean being certain in what you can do, but being certain in what you can't. In my case this means being certain that I'll never finish a novel. That the task is too daunting. And that if I ever do finish it, being certain I'll never finish editing. And that I'll never find an agent. And that I'll never get published. And that no one will ever read it. How do I know any of that if I don't try?
3) Being at peace with the routine. We accept the world for the simplicities, never try for more, never ask for more. In some ways I do love the routine. This routine is something I have grown up wanting in many ways, I'm not about to work against it now. But to be truly at peace we must renounce our dreams, and as Paulo says it, eventually those dead dreams that are still within you begin to eat away at your soul. I can't let that happen. I know what those dreams feel like. I know what those dreams could be. That means I cannot allow myself to be completely at peace. Because if I do, that will mean I have castaway my dreams. I know the unrest of chasing after something, and sometimes the disturbance is more beautiful than the peace.
Yours Truly,
Mrs. C
P.S. By the way...I wrote 656 words today. I'm back.
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