So I've been thinking a lot about NaNoWriMo. (Anyone have a countdown?) I've decided this year is not my year to participate. As I'm typing, I'm making a mental list of all my projects. Over-ambitious as I am, well I could fit NaNoWriMo in somewhere! Maybe this year. Having an imagination is good as a writer, right?!
What if I die young?!
What if I write a slamming novel during NaNoWriMo?!
What if I never get published because I didn't write said novel from the previous question?!
Okay, the last part is way out there, but still.
Here's the bottom line.
GO. FOR. IT.
Who cares if you work forty or more hours a week. Who cares what your home looks like. What matters is pursuing your dream of writing. I have let my love for writing fall, soar, and die at times in my life. But if I only dream about it, it won't ever happen. Doesn't matter what the "it" is.
I'm not sure how I will do participate in NaNoWriMo, but I will.
I'm not sure which started piece of scrap novel I should choose, but I will.
Hey there you should too. Best of luck to you as well.
#keepyourpenup
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Friday, September 16, 2016
My Promise to You
So you know all those websites that boast free stuff? You know. Books, e-courses, meal plans, & DIY-ers. Beware!
Now most of these places have good intentions, & I'm not trying to discredit them in any way. I enjoy reading some of the emails I receive from the mentioned sites. WHAT I cannot stand is this...every other email is SELLING something. I get it. Self-promo & all the things that come with it but lay off. I guess my big beef is don't claim you give free advice, help, and projects then pitch me all the items you need, want, or worse yet 'get a percentage' of a sale item. It gets better! The original sites/people first off promise to never "spam" you. Expect for it turns into that. Second, they start these other promotions "you would be interested in" so not only are you receiving one email 3x a week, it's 2 or 3 emails 3x a week. Oh added bonus emails: when the sale is ending, "hurry to get your copy now!" Seriously stop. You're starting to sound desperate. Trust me I'm unsubscribing from these pests. With my rant over, I promise you, my readers, once I do 'make it' not to email you more than once for any item. I will stay true to my reason for blogging in the first place. Sharing my journey & encouraging others on their own writing journey. Anyways, #keepyourpenup & have a great day.
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Query Letter for my latest Sci-Fi
As I promised, here is my query letter. I'm tweaking it here and there so feel free to tell me what you think!
I'm still plugging away typing it all out. I might, just might try NaNoWrimo this year but I already have plenty of irons in the fire. Anyways...
Dear Agent,
Sassy, brassy and gritty, Losi's reputation is one of her greatest assets. Once you break enough bones, snap enough cartilage, and twist enough tails others begin to notice.
She's got the set up: find the felons and turn them in for a paycheck. It all goes wrong just once. It's a meteorite shower from there.
Losi's high-ranking military father is murdered by Kos, the most wanted felon in her galactic realm.
She does what any revenge filled alien would do and tacks him down to the newly opened ETP156.
The slim thickens.
Losi is assigned protection due to circumstances beyond her control. As if she needs the protection!
One of two things Losi doesn't trust is hired help. It's just extra baggage for her to keep alive.
Losi doesn't find Kos on ETP156. She finds something bigger than the star in the solar system; a conspiracy. The same which killed her father. The same which will destroy the last stability in the universe if Losi doesn't stop him.
The Intergalactic Adventures of Losi: ETP156 with 165,000 words is offered for your consideration.
I'm still plugging away typing it all out. I might, just might try NaNoWrimo this year but I already have plenty of irons in the fire. Anyways...
Dear Agent,
Sassy, brassy and gritty, Losi's reputation is one of her greatest assets. Once you break enough bones, snap enough cartilage, and twist enough tails others begin to notice.
She's got the set up: find the felons and turn them in for a paycheck. It all goes wrong just once. It's a meteorite shower from there.
Losi's high-ranking military father is murdered by Kos, the most wanted felon in her galactic realm.
She does what any revenge filled alien would do and tacks him down to the newly opened ETP156.
The slim thickens.
Losi is assigned protection due to circumstances beyond her control. As if she needs the protection!
One of two things Losi doesn't trust is hired help. It's just extra baggage for her to keep alive.
Losi doesn't find Kos on ETP156. She finds something bigger than the star in the solar system; a conspiracy. The same which killed her father. The same which will destroy the last stability in the universe if Losi doesn't stop him.
The Intergalactic Adventures of Losi: ETP156 with 165,000 words is offered for your consideration.
Monday, August 22, 2016
The Hardest is Yet to Come
Hello!
So exciting news! I've finished my novel! That's right. Finished. Now comes the hard part. Reformatting it into a neatly typed font. Trying to find time to write was hard enough so finding time to type it out is harder yet. I'm focusing all my engery to simply typing. I'll edit and re-edit after the typing is done. Query letter is complete. I'll post it once I've read over it.
Feel free to give me your thoughts. I've matured in my writing, I'll be able to take criticism much better than when I was a fresh writer.
Anyways! I hope you all have a great day!
#keepyourpenup
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Every Day Matters
<What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while.>
- Gretchen Rubin
Guilty party of one. The realization hit me the other day. I've been working on my WIP for two years. Yes. TWO YEARS. Many thoughts crossed through my mind as I begin to question why/how this has happened. First, I'm surprised I stuck with a story for so long. (Inconsistency is my key!) Second, why?! I've read countless articles on, "How to Write Daily," taglines screaming, "GET YOUR WORD COUNT UP", "Daily Rituals to Get You Writing". I've even read, "You Better Write Daily or Else You Will Fail in a Fiery Inferno."
What did I "learn" from all these 'tried and true' methods?
Having good intentions is for not.
Yes it took me all those years, all those articles to come to this final conclusion. I was trying to motivate myself by reading all these self-helps but I was missing out on the ultimate self-help.
Only I can force myself to write. No one else. None of the authors with success. None of the tried and true methods work. Heck none of that even matters! What matters is what I'm doing on a daily basis.
How many of you have heard the "Write Daily" speech? I'll raise my hand. I've heard it so many times its truly exhausting. I'm a first time mother. I have a dog. I have a semi-demanding family (in a good way). I have a hard working husband who works over 90 hours a week. Once all this is added together it equals I'm tired. It's not an excuse. It's my life.
It baffles me how people find two extra hours to write. It really does.
So I've changed my approach to "writing daily". Physically, I write when I can. Otherwise I'm plotting (*gasp* It goes against all pantser rules). I'm thinking about what will occur next in my MS.
I figured thinking, plotting, and planning about my novel is just as good as writing it at this point. Maybe it will lead to more progress and lets face it; I've been wallowing in this story for long enough. Part of my lagging behind, I'm pantser. Because I don't plan I have a harder time figuring out all the nitty-gritty details needed to tie the end of the book up.
Maybe I'll convert to a planner.
Anyways, I've ranted long enough. Good luck out there!
Keep your pen up!
- Gretchen Rubin
Guilty party of one. The realization hit me the other day. I've been working on my WIP for two years. Yes. TWO YEARS. Many thoughts crossed through my mind as I begin to question why/how this has happened. First, I'm surprised I stuck with a story for so long. (Inconsistency is my key!) Second, why?! I've read countless articles on, "How to Write Daily," taglines screaming, "GET YOUR WORD COUNT UP", "Daily Rituals to Get You Writing". I've even read, "You Better Write Daily or Else You Will Fail in a Fiery Inferno."
What did I "learn" from all these 'tried and true' methods?
Having good intentions is for not.
Yes it took me all those years, all those articles to come to this final conclusion. I was trying to motivate myself by reading all these self-helps but I was missing out on the ultimate self-help.
Only I can force myself to write. No one else. None of the authors with success. None of the tried and true methods work. Heck none of that even matters! What matters is what I'm doing on a daily basis.
How many of you have heard the "Write Daily" speech? I'll raise my hand. I've heard it so many times its truly exhausting. I'm a first time mother. I have a dog. I have a semi-demanding family (in a good way). I have a hard working husband who works over 90 hours a week. Once all this is added together it equals I'm tired. It's not an excuse. It's my life.
It baffles me how people find two extra hours to write. It really does.
So I've changed my approach to "writing daily". Physically, I write when I can. Otherwise I'm plotting (*gasp* It goes against all pantser rules). I'm thinking about what will occur next in my MS.
I figured thinking, plotting, and planning about my novel is just as good as writing it at this point. Maybe it will lead to more progress and lets face it; I've been wallowing in this story for long enough. Part of my lagging behind, I'm pantser. Because I don't plan I have a harder time figuring out all the nitty-gritty details needed to tie the end of the book up.
Maybe I'll convert to a planner.
Anyways, I've ranted long enough. Good luck out there!
Keep your pen up!
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Creativity Bleeds
<Creativity bleeds from the pen of inspiration.>
- Anonymous
Let's talk inspiration today. What inspires us writers to do what we do anyways? Is it good? Is it bad?
My poetry is inspired most times at random. It literally could be anything that I happen to cross any given day. It isn't hard to channel my creativity into poetry. Writing a novel is totally different. I find myself grasping at times. Sure I have ideas but lots of writes have ideas. But where do they come from? I've taken a little piece of advice from an article I read about a very famous author. He stated a good deal of his novels came from his dreams. So what did I do? I kept a notebook and pen by my night stand and if I woke up in the middle of the night I jotted down anything good, different and/or obscure. Mind you not all of it turned out legible or even coherent! But I did find a few nuggets of gold among the rubble. One dream has unfolded to a nearly finished novel. Another I have started extensive research on the subject. I'm not quiet sure how it will progress or even who my protagonist is! All I have are bones. I'm pretty excited to Frankenstein this novel once my current ms is finished.
Anyways there is my take on inspiration and I imagine every writer is different. If you find yourself stuck on ideas, maybe try another method. Good luck!
As always, keep your pen up!
- Anonymous
Let's talk inspiration today. What inspires us writers to do what we do anyways? Is it good? Is it bad?
My poetry is inspired most times at random. It literally could be anything that I happen to cross any given day. It isn't hard to channel my creativity into poetry. Writing a novel is totally different. I find myself grasping at times. Sure I have ideas but lots of writes have ideas. But where do they come from? I've taken a little piece of advice from an article I read about a very famous author. He stated a good deal of his novels came from his dreams. So what did I do? I kept a notebook and pen by my night stand and if I woke up in the middle of the night I jotted down anything good, different and/or obscure. Mind you not all of it turned out legible or even coherent! But I did find a few nuggets of gold among the rubble. One dream has unfolded to a nearly finished novel. Another I have started extensive research on the subject. I'm not quiet sure how it will progress or even who my protagonist is! All I have are bones. I'm pretty excited to Frankenstein this novel once my current ms is finished.
Anyways there is my take on inspiration and I imagine every writer is different. If you find yourself stuck on ideas, maybe try another method. Good luck!
As always, keep your pen up!
Monday, April 11, 2016
Killing Dreams
<Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.>
-Suzy Kassem
Let me pour my heart out to you just for a minute. I know some of my posts seem crazy, a little out there, kinda goofy even, I have a purpose to all of the scattered-braininess (partly because I have a reputation of being easily distracted but lets put a pin in that). There are tons of negativity in our day-to-day lives. You can't help but hearing, seeing, reading some of it. I blame the media in part, the other is just people making bad decisions. With all this chaos running among your life I wanted to write something to distract you from the pain and sadness. Even if and only if my post for a millisecond makes you think, 'Whaaaaa'; I consider my job done. I'm an encourager and up-lifter by nature. I may not be front and center, but I'm there cheering you on every step of the way. I know what it's like not having support. More importantly, I know how it feels not to have someone believing in your dreams as you believe in them. They're real to you. If you could take that last step to...maybe if you stand on your tippy toes to brush the edge, of that magnificent aurora in the sky while balancing on the edge of the cliff.
I know this one is long & I promise to wrap it all together shortly.
The quote above reminds even me to strain every muscle I have to brush that aurora. In the moment of my fingertips touching the cooling, dancing colors, I won't be thinking of those who said I'm 'not good enough', or 'writing isn't a real job.' No. I'm going to be thinking, "I've made it. I always knew I could!" Deep down my pride was waiting to raise, as long as I kill my doubts. Please don't listen to your doubts nor the doubts other people give you. They will defeat you long before you will finish what you started. Let them spout all they want. Smile kindly to their "words of wisdom", but in your mind tell them, no. Then, then raise with me.
#keepyourpenup
-Suzy Kassem
Let me pour my heart out to you just for a minute. I know some of my posts seem crazy, a little out there, kinda goofy even, I have a purpose to all of the scattered-braininess (partly because I have a reputation of being easily distracted but lets put a pin in that). There are tons of negativity in our day-to-day lives. You can't help but hearing, seeing, reading some of it. I blame the media in part, the other is just people making bad decisions. With all this chaos running among your life I wanted to write something to distract you from the pain and sadness. Even if and only if my post for a millisecond makes you think, 'Whaaaaa'; I consider my job done. I'm an encourager and up-lifter by nature. I may not be front and center, but I'm there cheering you on every step of the way. I know what it's like not having support. More importantly, I know how it feels not to have someone believing in your dreams as you believe in them. They're real to you. If you could take that last step to...maybe if you stand on your tippy toes to brush the edge, of that magnificent aurora in the sky while balancing on the edge of the cliff.
I know this one is long & I promise to wrap it all together shortly.
The quote above reminds even me to strain every muscle I have to brush that aurora. In the moment of my fingertips touching the cooling, dancing colors, I won't be thinking of those who said I'm 'not good enough', or 'writing isn't a real job.' No. I'm going to be thinking, "I've made it. I always knew I could!" Deep down my pride was waiting to raise, as long as I kill my doubts. Please don't listen to your doubts nor the doubts other people give you. They will defeat you long before you will finish what you started. Let them spout all they want. Smile kindly to their "words of wisdom", but in your mind tell them, no. Then, then raise with me.
#keepyourpenup
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