What’s Up Wednesday

June 19, 2013June 18, 201366 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.

Before I tell you about my week, an important note for those taking part in Ready. Set. Write!: Please make sure to link your What’s Up Wednesday posts to the list on Jaime’s blog each week. That way, other participants can visit your blog and check out what you’ve been up to. In that same spirit, I urge you to visit as many new blogs as you can every Wednesday. The most awesome aspect of Ready. Set. Write! is its built-in support system. Let’s make sure we’re rooting each other on and offering as much encouragement as we can. Who knows… You might make an awesome new writing buddy, or a find a fantastic beta reader, or hook up with an amazing critique partner. I’ve met my best writing friends through my blog and theirs, and I am grateful for them every day!

And now, here’s what’s up with me this week…

What I’m Reading: I finished Strands of Bronze and Gold the other day. It was a beautifully written story, though not so much my cup of tea. I do think people who enjoy historical fiction will like it; the descriptions of life in the 1850s are fascinating. Now, thanks to Tracey Neithercott, I’m reading an ARC of Where the Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller and I am LOVING it. It’s exactly my type of book, just as Tracey suspected it would be. Callie is an incredibly compelling protagonist, and I’m already smitten with Alex. I can’t wait to see how the story plays out. Because I’m borrowing Tracey’s ARC and can’t crack its spine so I can read it on the elliptical (I know some of you are shuddering at the thought of a cracked spine — sorry!), I also started The Particular Sweetness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. It’s an already-worn novel I checked out from the library, so I have something to read at the gym on the mornings I don’t run outdoors. So far, it’s a lovely story with a very unique concept.

What I’m Writing: I’m making forward progress on my WiP, and I give most of the credit to Ready.Set.Write! I’ve had so much fun writing with my buddies via Twitter. I met my weekly goal of 3K words on Sunday, then surpassed it, closing out the week with 4,390 words. I’ve knocked out a few scenes and, for the most part, I’m excited about how my story is coming along. Now that the manuscript has passed 13K words, though, I’m starting to suffer from occasional yet terrifying bouts of doubt. Is this story boring? Is it stupid? Will people hate it? Am I doing the concept justice? I’m doing my best to push those pesky uncertainties away, but you know how it is. Bleh…

What Else I’ve Been Up To: It’s been a busy summer already!

Last Friday I got to help my cutie prepare for a Father~Daughter Dance. She was so excited to get all dressed up and dance the night away with her daddy. I know I’m biased, but I think she looked pretty darn adorable, and she had a BLAST.

I’ve been doing lots of baking, as per usual. Last week I made an Almond Sheet Cake with Butter Frosting for a dinner party with friends and it was very well received. If you like desserts that are sweet and rich, you will love this relatively easy cake. Also, I bought a new cookie cooling rack. It slides together for easy storage and it is aWeSoMe. Thank you, Bed Bath & Beyond!

And I’ve been doing lots of this: Playing and laughing with my favorite girl. ♥

What’s Inspiring Me Now: I’ve mentioned a few times that my WiP’s plot is inspired by a Tim McGraw song. Well, that song is not Highway Don’t Care — it hadn’t yet debuted when I started working on my project — but I’m still loving this collaboration. The desperation and longing in the lyrics align perfectly with the tone I’m going for in my story, so I’ve been listening to it on loop. Let’s all take a moment to appreciate Tim McGraw’s perfection, shall we?

Tell me: What’s up with you today?

What’s Up Wednesday

June 12, 2013June 11, 201359 Comments

Awesome, right? Here’s what’s up with me this week…

What I’m Reading: I finished The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay over the weekend, and it was indescribably amazing. This story and these characters tore me apart, then slowly — slowly — put me back together again. My full review is coming tomorrow, but *spoiler alert* The Sea of Tranquility is a definite new favorite. Last night I finished Jessi Kirby’s latest, Golden, another lovely contemporary. Jessi is quickly becoming one of my go-to authors, and look how pretty her book is beneath its jacket…

Now I’m diving into Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson, a retelling of the Bluebeard fairytale. It’s interesting, different from what I usually read, but the writing is gorgeous and the concept is intriguing. We’ll see how it pans out.

What I’m Writing: I’m slowly immersing myself in my contemporary YA WiP again, the draft I’ll be focusing on for Ready. Set. Write! and hope to finish by the end of August. When I pitched this project to my agent, I shared the lyrics of the song that inspired it (still a secret!) and added this: …the story is basically the YA version of the song, with a lot of backstory and angst and tragedy, and it jumps back and forth from this night that’s inspired by the song, to all the events that build up to it. I’m aiming for something along the lines of Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone and Nobody But Us. To which my agent said: Proceed. Yay! My goal is to write at least 3,000 words a week. I know my limits when my girlie is at home, and I want to set goals that are reasonable and attainable, and leave lots of time for summer fun. That said, I’m hoping that once I hit my 3,000 word mark each week, I’ll have found so much momentum I’ll just want to keep going. 🙂

What Else I’ve Been Up To:

Need I say more? This girl is now officially a first grader!

I also met a HUGE running goal yesterday. I’ve been striving to get my five-mile pace down to 8 minutes per mile for months. That’s five miles in forty minutes for the math impaired (me). It’s also the Army Ranger Standard that my husband has told me all about. Well… YESTERDAY I DID IT. I very nearly threw up when I finished and I had to walk a half-mile before jogging the rest of the way home, but I totally rocked five eight-minute miles. So happy!

What’s Inspiring Me Now: Ready. Set. Write! is inspiring me, because it’s the perfect motivation for getting my booty to the couch and my fingers to the keyboard. And we had such an awesome response yesterday! Have you signed up yet? You can do so HERE. Trust me — it’s not too late to set your summer writing goals and show your WiP whose boss. As far as my WiP goes, the I’m finding the following images and words to be incredibly inspiring:

I can’t wait to get back to writing. 🙂

Tell me: What’s up with you today?

Ready. Set. Write! {Sign-Ups}

June 11, 2013June 10, 201338 Comments

By now you may have heard… Alison Miller, Elodie Nowodazkij, Erin Funk, Jaime Morrow, and I are hosting a summer writing intensive called Ready. Set. WRITE! (detailed explanation HERE), and we’d LOVE for you to join us. We’re kicking off our summer of writing today, and we’ll write, write, write for two full months. We’ll update about what we’ve been writing and how we’re progressing, and we’ll share our goals for the coming days, all in weekly What’s Up Wednesday posts. Ready. Set. Write! is meant to be flexible and customizable — set goals that work for YOU, and we’ll be here to cheer you on!

The fun starts today, but the goal-setting officially starts tomorrow. Join us for What’s Up Wednesday and tell us what you plan to work on this summer (in the What I’m Writing section). Set your weekly goal (or monthly or overall goals — again, whatever works for you!), and we’ll keep the awesomeness going every Wednesday until August 28th. We’re SO excited to find out what everyone’s planning to work on!

Some Other Really Cool Stuff…

We’re going to try to host weekly Twitter writing/revising parties in which we “meet up” at a predetermined time to write, and then pop back in to Twitter later to recap our progress using the hashtag #ReadySetWrite. But to do all of that, we need to be twitter-connected. I’ve listed my Twitter handle below, as well as the handles of my fellow Ready. Set. Write! hosts. You’re invited to leave your Twitter handle in the comments so I can make sure I’m following you as well. 🙂

@katyupperman
@commutinggirl
@alisonmiller20
@MorrowJaime
@ErinLFunk

#ReadySetWrite

AND… Since Alison, Jaime, Erin, Elodie, and I LOVE giveaways, we’re including one as extra motivation! Mid-way through Ready. Set. Write! (halfway through July), one lucky writer will win a Writer´s Care Package. The package will include all kinds of fantastic writerly treats that will help you meet your word count goals. Want to be eligible for the giveaway? Keep track of your progress and be prepared to update on the Rafflecopter we post July. You’ll get points for setting goals and achieving them, following us on Twitter, and spreading the word about Ready. Set. WRITE!

Are you ready to commit to a summer of writing? Sign up for Ready. Set. Write! on the linky list below…

Don’t forget tomorrow’s What’s Up Wednesday post — share your goals and tell us about what you’ll be working on this summer. In the meantime, write a little. Or a lot. And don’t forget to grab our button and encourage others to join in!

TAG! A moment in time…

June 10, 2013June 10, 201338 Comments

My friend (and Ready. Set. Write! participant) Juliana Haygert tagged me for a fun WiP post. (Hers is HERE and it’s fantastic.) The parameters are as follows:

Search for the words “moment,” “forever,” or “time,” in your work-in-progress, pick your favorite excerpt, post on your blog, and tag others!

Easy, right? Here’s a bit from the contemporary young adult WiP I started a few months ago. I’ll be working on it this summer for Ready. Set. Write!, and I hope to finish the first draft by the end of August…

******

Though eye contact seemed to pain her, the girl managed a sympathetic smile. “Ms. Parnell is a hard ass when it comes to schedule switches after the start of the semester,” she said, her voice soft, wispy. “But I hear flattery goes a long way.”

“Yeah? Thanks for the tip.” Tyler thought about introducing himself with a handshake, but the girl was staring down at her feet again, nudging a rip in the carpet with the toe of her shoe. Were they done already?

“I’m Tyler,” he said in an attempt to recapture her attention. He kept his hands to himself. “New to Clayton City by way of Cleveland.”

She glanced up. Her cheeks were stained pink, and Tyler had the distinct impression that she was thrown by his continued attempts at conversation.

“Oh,” she said. “Well, welcome to Small Town, USA, I guess.” She hesitated, then, like an afterthought, added, “I’m Jenna.”

Jenna. A sweet name. An innocent name. After his time with Kendra, Tyler was starting to think sweet and innocent were the way to go. And it didn’t hurt that this Jenna was a surreal sort of hot. She made him think of the nymphs he’d read about last year in English, shapely and elemental and sort of hypnotic. He liked her hair, its color and its length; he could imagine her thick ponytail wrapped around his hand. He liked her eyes, too, the way she looked at him through her lashes like she was playing at demure. Or, maybe she actually was demure—an intriguing notion. She was wearing a long dress with little flowers scattered about the fabric, and a denim jacket that covered her from collarbone to wrist. She wasn’t baring an inch of inappropriate skin.

Tyler was equal parts fascinated and frustrated.

******

And… I’ll tag Temre Beltz, Tracey Neithercott, and Katharine Owens. I hope you girls play along too!

What’s Up Wednesday

June 5, 2013June 4, 201344 Comments

I’m jumping in on “What’s Up Wednesday,” 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.

Awesome, right? Here’s what’s up with me this week…

What I’m Reading: I recently finished Nantucket Blue by Leila Howard, which is sweet and romantic, a lovely summer read. I’ll be posting a Bookanista recommendation of it tomorrow, so check back in. I’m currently reading The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. It’s a beautifully written adult literary novel with an incredibly unique premise. I’m about 3/4 of the way through and I’m really enjoying it. Also, I must mention that yesterday my most anticipated 2013 novel, The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay, came out in physical book form (it’s been available as an eBook for a while). I CANNOT WAIT to read it!

What I’m Writing: Jeez. Nothing. I haven’t touched my WiP in a week. *sad face* It’s been crazy around here. My daughter is getting ready to graduate from kindergarten and there have been lots of school-related activities to attend. Plus, some of our friends/neighbors are moving away soon and we’ve been trying to see as much of them as we can. Also, I’m beta reading a fantastic contemporary manuscript now and that’s taking up a fair chunk of time. There’s really no excuse for my WiP slacking, but yeah… It’s been a hectic week.

What Else I’ve Been Up To: My girlie performed in a guitar recital the other day and it was adorable! She played Lightly Row and Yankee Doodle and Rise and Shine, which she also sang along to. I love that she has not one iota of shyness when it comes to performing for a large roomful of people. Even as an adult, I’m terrified to speak in front of groups!

Just before the big recital…

What’s Inspiring Me Now: Ready. Set. WRITE!, the summer writing intensive I’m hosting with Alison Miller, Elodie Nowodazkij, Erin Funk, and Jaime Morrow. As you can see from the “What I’m Writing” section of this post, my writing habits need a good kick in the pants. I can’t wait to start summer off with a bang, and some serious WiP productivity. I’m so excited to become reacquainted with my characters and immerse myself in their story. I’m also excited to set some goals, and to write along with all of the other Ready. Set. Write! participants. 🙂

What’s up with you this week?

Ready. Set. WRITE!

June 3, 2013June 2, 201334 Comments

Recently, one of my CPs (and a favorite friend), Alison Miller sent me an email about how she’s been considering summer and how she really wants to do some serious writing on her new work-in-progress. She’s not really a NANO person, she said, but she thought she could probably manage to write 1000 words a day. She wondered if I’d be interested in setting some summer writing goals as well.

Of course I am! I have a new WiP that I need to do some major work on, and I could totally use the motivation (and peer pressure) of my writing friends to keep me on track. So when Alison suggested that we set up some sort of summer writing intensive, and WOW, wouldn’t it be cool if we got a lot of other people to join us so we could encourage each other and hold each other accountable and cheer, cheer, cheer each other on from our writing corners, I was totally onboard.

And so, Ready. Set. WRITE! was born.

Alison Miller, Elodie Nowodazkij, Erin Funk, Jaime Morrow, and I are hosting a summer writing intensive called Ready. Set. WRITE! and we’d LOVE for you to join us! We plan to kick off our summer of writing Tuesday, June 11^th and write, write, write for 2 full months. We’ll update weekly about what we’ve been writing and share our goals for the coming days.

Care to join us in our writing bliss?!

Totally what I wear when I’m drafting during the summer…

More specifics on Ready. Set. Write!

Purpose: Drafting/revising/writing novels, flash fiction, or short stories — whatever! As long as we’re writing!

What We’ll Do: Set weekly (or monthly or overall) goals — whatever works for each individual. We’ll update weekly on What’s Up Wednesday? (you know, in the What I’m Writing section). We’ll share what we’ve accomplished and set goals for the new week, and maybe include an excerpt or some gushing about our amazing works-in-progress. (Never heard of What’s Up Wednesday? You can check out some sample posts HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE.)

There’s More! We’ll also host occasional (optional) drafting/revising parties on Twitter, providing lots of support for each other, and… We’ll be sponsoring a fantastic writer’s giveaway!

Ready. Set. WRITE! will kick off Tuesday June 11^th with sign-ups on our blogs. We’ll set our first goals as a part of June 12^th‘s edition of What’s Up Wednesday? and update each other each consecutive Wednesday. In the meantime, start thinking about what you want to write/revise. Set some goals. Write a little — or a lot. Grab our button and help spread the word! And be prepared to…

Ready. Set. WRITE!