I'm revving up to try my hand at NaNo agian this year. I didn't "win" last year (http://iwroteabook.blogspot.com/2010/10/nanowrimo-and-bliss-of-delusional.html), but I had a great time, met my current writing group, and wrote many more words than I would have if I'd just spent November the way I spent September and October.
I had hoped to be completely done editing Power Trio (Book 1) before starting into Book 2, but the plot is pretty set, so I don't think there will be any major problems. I've also heard that you shouldn't start "Book 2" until you've sold Book 1. I can see the logic- obviously you don't want to spend a ton of time on a series that will never be published, but I'm so attached to the story and the characters I don't think I could not finish it.
How's that for great English? Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Scott Pilgrim: "Double negative... it's tricky."
Anyway, I'm feeling good this year. I might take a little time tomorrow and do a quick outline, so if I get stuck, I'll know where to head. Wish me long, and forgive me if I'm around even less frequently. I have to save all of my amazing wit for those ~1,600 words a day! Ha!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
My Life
My life in five bullets:
· Just got back from an Infectious Diseases conference in Boston and I loved it (the city and the conference)
· My foster cat is having major ear infection issues (I hate staph...)
· Power Trio edits are going well, but I’m thinking about pausing for November to start on Book 2!
· I am addicted to the new Korean shows (previously on Netflix but now on Hulu). Mostly the ones based on Japanese mangas (like Boys over Flowers), but especially Lie to Me. Looooves it!
· I’m a Tweeter: http://twitter.com/#!/MakeARumble
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Reinvigorated
A month since my last update! Bad blogger. Bad. Bad.
I've had some exciting adventures in the meantime, so can you forgive me? I've meet a lot of new little ones- there is definitely a baby boom among my friends right now (If you live in Atlanta, do not drink the water! I'm convinced that's where all of these babies are coming from). I've helped TribeOne prepare for a month long tour. And am burning his CDs as we speak. I've also been looking for a new place to live, since my lease is up soon.
And, in actual writing news, I also attended the GA Romance Writer's annual convention. After I had to miss the Emory writing course when the schedule changed, I was pretty bummed about missing an opportunity to learn some new tips and meet some other writers. Luckily, a coworker told me about this conference (on the day registration closed- talk about a snap decision). I was really nervous about it, because I don't really consider myself a romance writer. But my paranormal YA contains a good bit of it, so I figured I'd learn something. I spent last Friday and Saturday attending sessions on crafting a villain and the importance of premise. I met other writers of all varieties. I survived my first pitch. I even had a request from an agent for the first fifty pages. Nifty! But I hear not uncommon for conferences and I'm not sure if I'm ready to send them yet- especially after the feedback I got from....
One of my favorite activities was the first five pages critique. We sat at a table with 3 others and gave honest feedback on the opening chapters of our books. I'm excited to make some changes (ahem, correct the rookie mistakes). I am also convinced more than ever I need to find a critique group. I'm torn between finding a local group that meets in-person or reaching out to the network of wonderful writers I've met through this blog. I think I might take criticism better over email (or at least the critique giver won't see my eyes well with tears and watch me run for a glass of wine), but I also sometimes need to have things explained to me a few times before I understand, which I could see getting very annoying over email. What do you think? Do you have a preference for in-person or e-critique groups?
I've had some exciting adventures in the meantime, so can you forgive me? I've meet a lot of new little ones- there is definitely a baby boom among my friends right now (If you live in Atlanta, do not drink the water! I'm convinced that's where all of these babies are coming from). I've helped TribeOne prepare for a month long tour. And am burning his CDs as we speak. I've also been looking for a new place to live, since my lease is up soon.
And, in actual writing news, I also attended the GA Romance Writer's annual convention. After I had to miss the Emory writing course when the schedule changed, I was pretty bummed about missing an opportunity to learn some new tips and meet some other writers. Luckily, a coworker told me about this conference (on the day registration closed- talk about a snap decision). I was really nervous about it, because I don't really consider myself a romance writer. But my paranormal YA contains a good bit of it, so I figured I'd learn something. I spent last Friday and Saturday attending sessions on crafting a villain and the importance of premise. I met other writers of all varieties. I survived my first pitch. I even had a request from an agent for the first fifty pages. Nifty! But I hear not uncommon for conferences and I'm not sure if I'm ready to send them yet- especially after the feedback I got from....
One of my favorite activities was the first five pages critique. We sat at a table with 3 others and gave honest feedback on the opening chapters of our books. I'm excited to make some changes (ahem, correct the rookie mistakes). I am also convinced more than ever I need to find a critique group. I'm torn between finding a local group that meets in-person or reaching out to the network of wonderful writers I've met through this blog. I think I might take criticism better over email (or at least the critique giver won't see my eyes well with tears and watch me run for a glass of wine), but I also sometimes need to have things explained to me a few times before I understand, which I could see getting very annoying over email. What do you think? Do you have a preference for in-person or e-critique groups?
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Take a deep breath and let go
DragonCon was so fun, and it was awesome to watch TribeOne performing. A good group of my friends from college came out to see him too and seemed really into it. Unfortunately, the event was at the one hotel that wasn't connected to the others and it was raining a bit that night, so the crowd wasn't as huge as we had hoped. But there's always next time, and there's a big show coming up next month (at one of my favorite venues- The Drunken Unicorn- how hilarious is that name?) that should be totally awesome.
I love every performance, not just because I get to watch someone I care about do what he loves (that's a big part), but because I also get to use the experience in my Power Trio story. I'm constantly editing the music-related scenes and I've started noticing the quirky aspects of his shows that meant nothing to me a few years ago. What about you? Any aspects of your life serving "double-duty"? Do you cram writing time in at any random moment? Do you get inspired while grocery shopping?
On an unrelated note, after almost two years of updating the website for the cat shelter that I volunteer at, I've decided to step down from that role. It was a tough decision that I know was right. I spend all day at work sitting in front of a computer, only to come home at night and spend hours updating our 500 cats' bios and photos. And after all that was done, I had nothing left in me to sit down in front of the computer and work on my story. I loved the experience, getting to know all of our cats, but I am really excited to let it go and pass the torch along to another "crazy cat lady." And I hope it means that I'll have more time for the blog and more time for my writing. Life is all about setting priorities. I have a hard time letting things go, and I'm know I'm not going to be able to look at the site, because I'll want to change every little mistake I see. But I'm ready to take those hours and wrap up Power Trio!
I love every performance, not just because I get to watch someone I care about do what he loves (that's a big part), but because I also get to use the experience in my Power Trio story. I'm constantly editing the music-related scenes and I've started noticing the quirky aspects of his shows that meant nothing to me a few years ago. What about you? Any aspects of your life serving "double-duty"? Do you cram writing time in at any random moment? Do you get inspired while grocery shopping?
On an unrelated note, after almost two years of updating the website for the cat shelter that I volunteer at, I've decided to step down from that role. It was a tough decision that I know was right. I spend all day at work sitting in front of a computer, only to come home at night and spend hours updating our 500 cats' bios and photos. And after all that was done, I had nothing left in me to sit down in front of the computer and work on my story. I loved the experience, getting to know all of our cats, but I am really excited to let it go and pass the torch along to another "crazy cat lady." And I hope it means that I'll have more time for the blog and more time for my writing. Life is all about setting priorities. I have a hard time letting things go, and I'm know I'm not going to be able to look at the site, because I'll want to change every little mistake I see. But I'm ready to take those hours and wrap up Power Trio!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Adventures in Beta Reading
Sorry for the radio silence, but things have been hectic. I just hopped on for half a second to share the exciting news- I sent my first chapter to a beta reader! She's a friend who is a journalist turned stay-at-home mom. Now the downside- she really liked it and only had a few minor changes. But that's not unexpected, considering I've spent the last two months working on the chapter (due to my getting hung up on minor things instead of looking at the bigger picture). And now I'm scared to send her the second chapter, because it's nowhere near as good! *insert Cathy-style ARGH here* Does it ever get easier to put yourself out there?
On a related note, my super talented boyfriend has been invited to perform at DragonCon this year. He'll be doing nerdcore hip-hop at the Kingdom of Loathing event (KoL is an online game that I've been playing since 2005! I get to meet the game's creators!!). For those of you not in the Atlanta area, DragonCon is our big sci-fi convention- a long weekend of autographs, comic books, video games, and general nerdiness. This is the first year I've gone as a participant, but I've been a few times to people watch before. I'm excited (not just to watch him perform) but also because there's a YA panel on Sunday morning that Beth Revis is part of. And about a billion other interesting things.
All this lead to a realization. Watching TribeOne (my boyfriend's "rapper name") get prepped and ready over the last few weeks, I've discovered a new respect for him. I've always been the shy one, and I've admired his ability to get up in front of a crowd. But now that I've writing something and gone through the nerves and the anxiety that come with sharing my writing, even with close friends, I can see how difficult it can be to put not just your physical self out there, but your thoughts and words as well... man. I have oodles of respect for him and for every other artist out there who takes a risk and shares something with the rest of us. Which of course applies to all of you out their in cyberland- thank you for sharing with me- via your blogs and your books. Looking forward to reading more from all of us!
On a related note, my super talented boyfriend has been invited to perform at DragonCon this year. He'll be doing nerdcore hip-hop at the Kingdom of Loathing event (KoL is an online game that I've been playing since 2005! I get to meet the game's creators!!). For those of you not in the Atlanta area, DragonCon is our big sci-fi convention- a long weekend of autographs, comic books, video games, and general nerdiness. This is the first year I've gone as a participant, but I've been a few times to people watch before. I'm excited (not just to watch him perform) but also because there's a YA panel on Sunday morning that Beth Revis is part of. And about a billion other interesting things.
All this lead to a realization. Watching TribeOne (my boyfriend's "rapper name") get prepped and ready over the last few weeks, I've discovered a new respect for him. I've always been the shy one, and I've admired his ability to get up in front of a crowd. But now that I've writing something and gone through the nerves and the anxiety that come with sharing my writing, even with close friends, I can see how difficult it can be to put not just your physical self out there, but your thoughts and words as well... man. I have oodles of respect for him and for every other artist out there who takes a risk and shares something with the rest of us. Which of course applies to all of you out their in cyberland- thank you for sharing with me- via your blogs and your books. Looking forward to reading more from all of us!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
The Girls in the Band
As you know, I'm in the midst of editing Power Trio. I can see the finish line. It's right over there on the other side of this big ol' mud puddle. No big deal, right? I mean, I don't want to get dirty. I wish someone would come and carry me over there. But that's not going to happen, so I rolled up my pants and started walking. Only after jumping in with both feet did I realize that it wasn't mud; it was quicksand, and with each passing day I feel like I'm sucked in deeper.
Sorry for the melodrama (I am writing YA afterall), but I really do feel like I'm not making much progress. So, this morning I set my computer up at the kitchen table, instead of on my couch like usual, poured a big glass of Diet Coke, and got my soundtrack ready. The three main characters are in a band, so I love listening to music while I work. I thought I'd take a moment to share the inspiration songs I used to create a Pandora station for each one:
Kay (lead vocals, guitar):
Addison (vocals, bass, keyboard):
Sofie (drummer):
http://www.ilovemetric.com/ffpreorder/
http://www.daftalive.com/
http://www.theshirelles.com/
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Can't hug every cat
Can someone explain to me how it is that my boyfriend can't listen to me talk about cats for three hours straight, but he has no problem listening to this song three hours a day for an entire week? I have earplugs in, and I can still hear it. I think it's made a permanent impression in my brain.
I think the part of me that is a little bit of a crazy cat lady doesn't like people making fun of this, but then I watch that cat play on the keyboard and it's all worth while.
P.S. Pretty sure the original interview was a fake, but still a very entertaining song.
I think the part of me that is a little bit of a crazy cat lady doesn't like people making fun of this, but then I watch that cat play on the keyboard and it's all worth while.
P.S. Pretty sure the original interview was a fake, but still a very entertaining song.
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