RSW Update 6

July 21, 2014July 21, 201450 Comments

Ready. Set. WRITE! is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at in our writing—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are Alison Miller, Jaime Morrow, Erin Funk, and myself. Find the rest of the details HERE.

* How I did on last week’s goal(s).

1. Complete a revision of my contemporary-ish YA, Where Poppies Bloom.

2. Complete the first draft of my contemporary YA, The Road So Far, by the close of RSW… IN PROGRESS. I did a complete read-through of the 39K I already had, cleaned it up, and added another 2K words.

3. Read (on average) one YA/adult novel per week… YES! I read Burn For Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian and thought it was excellent. I’m now reading the creepfest that is Lindsay Currie and Trisha Leaver’s upcoming debut, Creed.

4. Read (on average) one MG novel with my daughter every two weeks… YES! We finished The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. This was a reread for me, but the first time my daughter has heard the story. She loved it like I do.

5. Maintain my tan… YES! We spent last Thursday at the pool on the AFB near our home. I love swimming with my girl!

* My goal(s) for this week.

Write every day. Add at least 6K new words to my WiP. Brainstorm conflict issues with Alison (and hope she has a solution for my problems!).

* A favorite line from my project OR a word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.

(I had an f-bomb riddled excerpt here initially, but at the last minute I swapped it out for a sweet one. Why am I totally comfortable cussing like a sailor in stories [and in real life], but not on my blog?)

I edge across the expanse of mattress between us and brush her long hair off her face. She shifts. Her eyes don’t open, but her hand relaxes, releasing its bundle of sheet, and she reaches with purple-tipped fingers to brush my arm. She does it in sleep, on an instinct ingrained in her unconscious mind, and I feel minutely better because even when she’s dead to the world, she’s still confident that I’m an arm’s length away.

* The biggest challenge I faced this week.

This was a FUN challenge, though still a challenge… I beta read Jennifer Pickrell’s fantastic contemporary YA romance, and I kind of wanted to work on her story more than I wanted to work on my own writing. Oops. 🙂

* Something I love about my WiP.

My MC, Tucker. I think he’s my favorite of all the book boys I’ve written. He’s just so inherently good, and he adores his girlfriend so completely. He’s High School Katy’s dream boy (and not so dissimilar from my husband, come to think of it).

In other news… July is the month of RSW giveaways!
Congrats to last week’s winner… Stephanie Allen!
Two Stephanies in a row! If that’s your name too, the odds of winning this week are forever in your favor. 😉

During the four weeks of July, Erin, Jaime, Alison, and I will be giving away some spectacular Writer’s Care Packages. All you have to do to be eligible to win is participate in Ready. Set. Write! and enter via the Rafflecopter link below.

A Rafflecopter Giveaway!

***NOTICE: We’re changing the entry process in order to make it easier and quicker… You no longer need to provide a link for each of your entries, though we will be verifying the winner’s participation upon selection.

This week, I’m giving away a fantastic package including an owl mug, chai tea, dark chocolate, Smarties, a “Think. Write. Create.” journal, a candle, owl notecards, pens, lip balm, and the latest Writer’s Digest.

I can’t wait to read about how Ready. Set. Write! is going for you. Don’t forget to share the link of your latest post below!

What’s Up Wednesday

July 16, 2014July 16, 201438 Comments

“What’s Up Wednesday” is a fun weekly meme started by my friends Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk. From Jaime: It’s similar in some respects to the Currently… post, but it’s been whittled down to only four headings to make it quicker and more manageable on a weekly basis. You’re invited to join us if you’re looking for something to blog about, a way to let your blog friends know what’s been going on with you. If you’re participating, make sure to link your What’s Up Wednesday posts to the list on Jaime’s blog each week. That way, others can visit your post and check out what you’ve been up to.And now, here’s what’s up with me this week…And now, here’s what’s up with me this week…

What I’m Reading: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and and Siobhan Vivian, which I’m loving (no surprise — I’m a huge fan of both authors). I’m also beta reading for Jennifer Pickrell. Her contemporary YA has been delightful so far.

What I’m Writing: Now that my Where Poppies Bloom revision is complete, I’m back to working on my road trip manuscript, The Road So Far. Normally I much prefer revising to drafting, but after the challenges Poppies presented, I am more than happy to be pounding out new words. More about it all HERE.

What Else I’ve Been Up To: I’ve skipped the last few What’s Up Wednesdays because things have been crazy with family and revisions and life, but I’m happy to be back. Here’s what’s been keeping me busy…

We spent Independence Day at the (insanely crowded) beach with my parents, Nana and Poppy, and then we met up with my brother and his girlfriend for BBQ and chocolate cake.

We had tons of fun hanging with Nana and Poppy in humid Florida for a week. 🙂

I spent last week shuttling my girlie to and from Zoo Camp, which she loved. (Win-win for Mama, who had tons of extra revising time!)

And, we’ve been taking advantage of Destin’s shopping, restaurants, and beautiful sunsets.

What’s Inspiring Me Now: Author Sara Zarr‘s “This Creative Life” podcast. I’m new to podcasts (if you have any recs, please do leave them in the comments!), but I’ve been catching up with this one obsessively. It’s awesome because it’s about as close as I’ll ever get to having a National Book Award finalist as a personal mentor. Sara is so wise and gracious and real, and I’ve learned so much from her and her guests (Stephanie Perkins, Nina LaCour, Siobhan Vivian, Nova Ren Suma, Sarah Dessen and Bennet Madison, to name a few). The conversations she has about creativity and balance and why/how/when creative people do what they do make me feel so… normal. And inspired. And like part of a community. All of the anxiety and doubt and fear and joy that’ve bounced around in my head as I try (and try and try) to get published are pretty standard, it seems. If you’ve yet to give “This Creative Life” a listen, I highly recommend it.

Tell me… What’s up with you today?

What’s Up Wednesday

June 25, 2014December 9, 201444 Comments

“What’s Up Wednesday” is a fun weekly meme started by my friends <a Continue reading →

RSW Update 2

June 23, 2014June 23, 201447 Comments

* How I did on last week’s goal(s).

1. Complete a revision of my contemporary YA, Where Poppies Bloom… IN PROGRESS. I revised seven scenes.

2. Complete the first draft of my contemporary YA, The Road So Far, by the close of RSW… IN PROGRESS. I wrote about 4K new words.

3. Read (on average) one YA/adult novel per week… IN PROGRESS. I’m reading Laini Taylor’s Dreams of Gods & Monsters. It is epic and looooong. What I’ve read so far is probably equivalent to one average-lengthed YA. 🙂

4. Read (on average) one MG novel with my daughter every two weeks… IN PROGRESS. We’re working on one of Sara Mylnowski’s Whatever After books.

5. Maintain my tan… YES! I’ve spent most of the last week poolside at my parents house in Phoenix. #HappyPlace

* My goal(s) for this week.

I have BIG goals because I’ll have A LOT of Katy Time over the next week. Specifically, I hope to finish my revision and begin a read-through of Where Poppies Bloom, as well as add at least 5K to The Road So Far.

* A favorite line from my project OR a word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.

From Where Poppies Bloom…

I’m not sure what to do with this information, but my heart’s skipping around in my chest, joyfully, and Tucker’s passing me the kitten and I’m accepting it like I’m prepared, like people gift me living, breathing creatures all the time. The kitten’s little body is warm and delicate, and I snuggle him against my chest, a mixture of gratitude and confusion and elation making soup of my thoughts.

* The biggest challenge I faced this week.

I’ve been hanging out with my daughter and parents all week and we’ve been doing lots of fun things that don’t involve reading or writing. I think that’s okay though, because I rarely see my parents and family is so important. My reading and writing goals will be waiting for me after this trip, which ends tomorrow. 😦

* Something I love about my WiP.

Both of my WiPs are set in the same world and follow the same two main characters, Callie and Tucker. My very favorite thing about their stories is their romance. They have all sorts of issues, but they’re still incredibly respectful and supportive of each other, and they have great chemistry (I think!). I love to see relationships like that in YA.

How did RSW go for you this week?

What’s Up Wednesday

June 18, 2014June 18, 201433 Comments

What I’m Reading: I finished Jandy Nelson’s I’ll Give You the Sun (September, 2014) and it’s now on my short list of YA favorites. It is gorgeous, guys, and I can’t wait for you to read it! My daughter and I also finished Katherine Applegate’s The One & Only Ivan. We both loved it dearly. Over the weekend, I read Tammara Webber’s Breakable (a companion to Easy, of which I am a fan). I was a little worried that it would be gratuitous retelling from Lucas’s point of view, but the story was deeper than that. It gave a lot of insight into Lucas’s past and his character. It was also, like, seriously steamy. Now, I’m reading Laini Taylor’s Dreams of Gods & Monsters, the conclusion to a series I’ve loved from day one. The writing is predictably beautiful and brilliant!

What I’m Writing: Still working on my Where Poppies Bloom revision and my The Road So Far first draft. For all the details of my last week of writing, you’re welcome to check out my RSW update HERE.

Knocking out words at the local music store, where my girl takes guitar lessons.

What Else I’ve Been Up To: My girl and I are off to Phoenix to visit my parents, so pardon my slow blog responses. We’re excited to see Nana and Poppy, and to leave the muggy heat for dry heat — yay!

Last week we visited the Gulfarium and met lots of water-dwelling creatures. It was tons of fun, and if you’re ever in the Destin area, you should check it out!

We also enjoyed a beach day with our neighbors/friends — I’m sure you’re shocked. 😉 My daughter and I are going to be in for a rude awakening if we’re ever stationed in a land-locked state. Yikes.

What’s Inspiring Me Now: This video, which I’ve watched about a dozen times. I adore a good deployment homecoming clip (trust me: there are few things better than seeing your significant other after a long stretch of time apart) and this one is up there with the best I’ve seen. The couple is adorable, they’re at a kick-ass fraternity party, the soundtrack rocks, and the girl is so obviously shocked… I bet you’ll cry happy tears for these two!

I also read two super inspiring blog posts this week. The first was from Jessica Love, who spoke about the death of her friend Laura (who was clearly an amazing person), as well as kindness and thoughtfulness and trying to be better. I love this beautiful post, and now I’m inspired to be kinder and more thoughtful. And the second, from Leila Austin at YA Highway, about writing and anxiousness and letting go of the things we can’t control. Very timely for this writer.

Tell me… What’s up with you today?

RSW Update 1

June 16, 2014June 19, 201468 Comments

* How I did on last week’s goal(s).

1. Complete a revision of my contemporary YA, Where Poppies Bloom… IN PROGRESS. I revised five scenes.

2. Complete the first draft of my contemporary YA, The Road So Far, by the close of RSW… IN PROGRESS. I wrote about 5K new words.

3. Read (on average) one YA/adult novel per week… YES! I read Jandy Nelson’s I’ll Give You the Sun (glorious) and Tammara Webber’s Breakable (smexy).

4. Read (on average) one MG novel with my daughter every two weeks… YES! We finished Katherine Applegate’s The One & Only Ivan (beautiful and inspiring).

5. Maintain my tan… YES! I mowed and edged my lawn, a two hour job, and soaked up plenty of sun at the beach on Saturday.

* My goal(s) for this week.

Same as above. Specifically, I hope to revise at least six scenes in Poppies, and write at least 3K new words in Road. I’ll be spending the week in Phoenix with my parents and my daughter, though, so we’ll see how that goes.

* A favorite line from my project OR a word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.

It was hard to pick just one line. I picked two — sorry! From The Road So Far…

She smiles, but her expression’s flat. “Chelsea has this whole past with you—she and Drew both do. I feel like such an outsider when I’m with the three of you.”

“You hold your own pretty well,” I tell her, which is the truth. “And besides, who cares if they have my past? My past sucks. You can have my future.”

* The biggest challenge I faced this week.

Adjusting to having my daughter home. She’s on summer break now and even though she’s super low-maintenance (ha! like she’s a plant or something ;-)), I find myself wanting to have fun with her more than I want to sit down with my WiPs. Still trying to figure out how to divide work and play.

* Something I love about my WiP.

I love Where Poppies Bloom deeply and irrationally, which is why I’ve yet to let it go. That said, it’s former version had issues, hence the revision. And I seriously love everything about The Road So Far. I can’t work on it enough!

How did RSW go for you this week?

What’s Up Wedesday

June 11, 2014June 11, 201432 Comments

What I’m Reading: I finished my friend Elodie Nowodazkij’s up-and-coming YA debut, One, Two, Three, and adored it. It’s the perfect read for fans of Simone Elkeles and Katie McGarry — angsty and sexy, with layered characters, a quick pace, and ballet(!). Now, I’m reading Jandy Nelson’s I’ll Give You the Sun (September, 2014). Guys, it is gorgeous beyond description. I’m savoring every sentence — every word. I’m mesmerized by the way Jandy Nelson plays with language and spins a fairly basic plot into this lovely and arresting web of a novel. I’m so looking forward to purchasing a finished copy. And finally, my daughter and I are reading The One & Only Ivan together and oh my goodness, it is making my heart hurt. What a profound and beautiful story. (Fact: The Ivan in Katherine Applegate’s novel was based on a real silverback gorilla — also named Ivan — who lived in a tiny glass “domain” in a sketchy Washington mall for 27 years. That sketchy mall was close to where I grew up, and I have very vivid memories of visiting Ivan with my family and musing, even way back then, about what a sad life he must’ve lived.)

What I’m Writing: The same two projects I’ve been working on for months. I revised a couple chapters from Where Poppies Bloom, and added a few thousand new words to the WiP I’m drafting, The Road So Far. Slowly but surely, friends. Slowly but surely. (You can read more about my Ready. Set. Write! summer writing and reading [and tanning] goals HERE.)

What Else I’ve Been Up To: Well, I’m the proud mama of a SECOND GRADER. Not sure how that happened already, but I’m very excited for my girl.

I feel like she went from six to sixteen overnight! *sob*

She was awarded a Super Reader certificate, which obviously makes me all kinds of proud. She was also voted “Class Encourager” by her classmates, and my heart bursts with pride knowing that she’s sweet and kind to her peers. Also, her teacher named her Most Inquisitive, which she totally gets from her daddy!

First day of summer break. We love the beach!

I made Spritz Cookies, because when I’m stuck on a writing project, I bake. I normally make Spritz around Christmas time. I use tree, wreath, star, and heart shapes, and color them green, white, and red. My daughter suggested doing summery flowers this time, and I think they turned out so cute! The yellow flowers are lemon, the red are almond, and the blue are coconut. Yum!

What’s Inspiring Me Now: Oh, just THIS from YA author Trisha Leaver…

“With the release date of CREED rapidly approaching, Lindsay Currie and I have been fielding questions about what our co-authored voice sounds like, how psychologically twisted our collective mind is, and do I need to read all of your co-authored pieces with the lights on?

Rather than simply answer those questions, we thought we’d take it one step further and actually show you! We toyed with writing a prequel-type novella to set the stage for CREED, but you know us…why write a novella to CREED when you can give them entirely different book to enjoy!

After much discussion with our agents and an enthusiastic ‘go for it’ from our publisher, we have decided to utilize Wattpad to give the world a sneak peek at what they can expect from our co-authored voice. So here it is, a new, psychologically twisted, co-authored YA Thriller.

“The darkness would’ve scared me years ago, but not anymore—if you couldn’t see it, then you didn’t know it was there to be afraid of.”

~Jake Holloway, SILO

Starting today, we will be sharing a chapter a week of our co-authored book, SILO, on Wattpad for the world to enjoy, hate, question our sanity, run screaming from… The last chapter of the book will drop the week of November 8th, 2014, the same week CREED releases!

So, go forth and be appropriately frightened as you realize just what our twisted minds of capable of. Spread the word, leave a comment on Wattpad or simply enjoy the book in the dark confines of your own home.”

SILO on Wattpad

Trisha Leaver lives on Cape Cod with her husband, three children, and one rather irreverent dog. Her co-authored, YA Psychological Horror drops November 8, 2014 from FLUX. Her solo YA Contemporary, THE SECRETS WE KEEP, releases April 28th, 2015 from FSG/ Macmillan.
www.trishaleaver.com, Goodreads, Twitter, & Facebook

Lindsay Currie lives in Chicago, Illinois with one incredibly patient hubby, three amazing kids and one adorable, but irreverent Bullmastiff named Sam. She graduated from Knox College in the heart of the Midwest and has been writing for as long as she can remember. Today, Lindsay is an author, as well as a freelance editor for young adult, new adult and middle grade fiction. She is a proud member of SCBWI, The YA Scream Queens and OneFourKidLit.
www.lindsaycurrie.com, Goodreads, & Twitter

Tell me… What’s up with you today?

Ready. Set. Write! {Goals}

June 9, 2014June 8, 201457 Comments

Today I’m setting my RSW goals…

1. Complete a revision of my contemporary YA, Where Poppies Bloom. I’m currently about a 1/3 of the way through the heavy overhauling, and then I’ll need to do a read-through. I’d like to have the manuscript CP-ready by the end of June, and agent-ready by the end of July.

2. Complete the first draft of my contemporary YA, The Road So Far, by the close of RSW. This WiP is currently plotted and sitting at 30K words. I am super verbose in my first drafts, so I suspect it will be “done” at around 80K. Yikes.

3. Read (on average) one YA/adult novel per week.

4. Read (on average) one MG novel with my daughter every two weeks.

5. Maintain my tan. (Yes.)

That’s it! Simple, right?

Don’t forget… this year we’ll be using headings for our weekly updates, which will take place every Monday. The headings are as follows…

* How I did on last week’s goal(s).
* My goal(s) for this week.
* A favorite line from my project OR a word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.
* The biggest challenge I faced this week.
* Something I love about my WiP.

We’ll see you next week for our first official progress posts. Until then, best of luck with your writing/revising, and please do link your own goals post below…

What’s Up Wednesday

June 4, 2014June 4, 201437 Comments

What I’m Reading: I flew through Gayle Forman’s Just One Night, the eNovella follow-up to Just One Day and Just One Year, and it was a complete joy. I am so, so happy she decided to put a cap on Allyson’s and Willem’s story. I also read Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State, which was the exact opposite of joyful. To be honest, I feel sort of terrible recommending it because it is absolutely brutal. But, it is also brilliantly written and completely haunting (I had nightmares) and, I think, a must-read. Now, I’m reading my friend Elodie Nowodazkij’s up-and-coming YA debut, One, Two, Three, and I am loving it.

What I’m Writing: I’m still puttering away at my two related projects. I was going strong on my revision for several days, but then a plot element tripped me up and I realized I need to spend some time thinking on it. So, I’ve switched over to the WiP I’m drafting. I’m hovering at about 27K words and I’m still loving the story. It’s a road trip, so every scene is set in a fresh location and has new minor characters to be introduced. There’s also a mystery to unfold, and helping my main characters along as they discover clues is making it feel as though I’m flying through the drafting process. Also, the romance… This couple is my favorite of all the couples I’ve written. ❤

What Else I’ve Been Up To: Tomorrow is my girl’s last day of 1st grade. *sob* I’m struggling with how quickly she’s growing up, so I’ve been spending more time than usual helping at at her school. So fun to see her in her element!

Hula hooping at recess, and an end-of-the-year Water Day celebration.

Last week the Scholastic Book Fair was held at my daughter’s school, and then we took a trip to Books-A-Million over the weekend. We’ve amassed a nice little summer reading pile. (Thanks for the excellent recommendations, Temre!) Looking forward to diving into these with my girl! Where should we start?

What’s Inspiring Me Now: My friend Jessica Love, whose debut novel Push Girl (co-authored with Chelsie Hill) released yesterday. I adore this book, and I enthusiastically encourage you to read it. My Bookanista review is HERE. Also, Ready. Set. Write! Have you heard about the summer writing intensive I’m hosting with Alison Miller, Jaime Morrow, and Erin Funk? We’re setting goals and cheering each other on through a summer of fun and productivity… Join us!

What’s up with you today?

Ready. Set. WRITE! {2014}

June 2, 2014June 2, 2014106 Comments

It’s that time of year again! Time for Ready. Set. WRITE!

Ready. Set. Write! will kick off with an initial goal-setting post on June 9^th. This time around, our RSW check-in posts will be on MONDAYS. The start of the week feels sort of appropriate for goal-setting, don’t you think? To change things up a bit, we’ve decided on a format for our weekly check-in posts. Using headings should allow for a quicker and more concise rundown and will give other participants specific ways to offer encouragement.

Here are the headings we’re using:

1. How I did on last week’s goals.

2. My goal(s) for this week.

3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week (ex. finding time to write).

5. Something I love about my WiP.

**As mentioned, Week #1 will only be goal setting.**

Something we noticed last year during RSW was that we spent a lot of time blogging about writing, instead of actually writing. Accountability and goal setting are super important, but we don’t want RSW to detract from writing, which is, of course, the whole point of this summer intensive. All of that to say, with respect to our weekly check-in posts, THE BRIEFER THE BETTER. Your hosts will be limiting their answers for each heading to 2-3 lines at most, and we encourage participants to do the same. (Save the words for the WiPs!)

Each Monday there will be a linky sign-up on all of the host blogs. Leave the link to your check-in post, hop around to other participants’ blogs, and spread encouragement like sunscreen. (This is a summer writing intensive after all. ☼)

Here are the RSW 2014 buttons, courtesy of Jaime, who’s amazing. Click the link below the collage for your choice of button (Polaroid or non-Polaroid style).

Click HERE for the RSW 2014 buttons!

Stay tuned for info on giveaways and be sure to watch Twitter for spontaneous #RSW writing parties. Ready. Set. WRITE! will kick off on Monday, June 9^th with our first goals post followed by updates every Monday thereafter until August 25^th. In the meantime, decide what you want to write/revise. Set goals. Write a little. Or a lot. Spread the word! And be prepared to Ready. Set. WRITE!

Leave questions in the comments and tell me…
Are you planning to participate in Ready. Set. WRITE!?