Category: Wisdom

2011 IN REVIEW…

32 Comments

Lots of people do wrap-ups at the end of the year, but lovely posts by Jessica Love and Erin Bowman in particular have inspired me to do one of my own. Fair warning: This is a LONG post. It’s also full of pictures, many of which include my daughter. If you’re getting bored with those, please accept my apologies. She’s just so darn cute!

All in all, 2011 was a strange year, full of very high highs and some super low lows. Here’s what sticks out…

JANUARY

High – Revised and started querying my manuscript, Where Poppies Bloom, in hopes of snagging a fantastic literary agent.

High – Cheered on the Seahawks, a sort of last hurrah with my husband before he headed out to Ranger School.


Low AND High – Said a sad goodbye my hubby and began a year of serious bonding with my favorite girl.

February

High – Sent more Poppies queries, received some requests, then some encouraging rejections, revised, queried some more.


Low – Turned thirty… Eep! I’m old! (Though the Ben and Jerry’s was a high.)

High – Took serious inventory of my eating and lifestyle habits and decided to make some major changes. I’ve since become a healthy eater and happy runner and yoga-er. I’ve lost a significant amount of weight and feel amazing.

March

Becoming a Low – Had a few close calls with Poppies, revised, queried some more. (Are we beginning to see a pattern here?)

High – Welcomed Spring with open arms.

Low – My girlie lost her first tooth. (Okay, it was knocked out. She cried. I did too.)

High – I acquired a niece! I’d already been blessed with three nephews, so this was a VERY exciting event! Isn’t she sweet?

High – While Poppies was in the hands of several agents, I decided to give it a mental rest in favor of something shiny and new. This idea (creatively entitled Bus WiP) resulted in a detailed outline that’s still awaiting a first draft.

April

High – Celebrated Easter with my Sweet Pea.

High – Trekked across the country to watch my husband graduate from Ranger School in Georgia. So proud of him! (Also, he’s not normally this thin. Ranger School is grueling.)

High – Received an offer of representation from an amazing agent while on vacation! Notified others who were reading. Waited…

High – Visited Disney World with my parents, my husband and our girl, and my in-laws. Such a wonderful trip!


High – Visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Hogsmeade! Butterbeer! Rollercoasters! Dream come true. 🙂

May

High – Received a second offer of representation. Contemplated. Made a challenging but thrilling decision. Signed with Agent Vickie. Celebration ensued!

Low – Watched and worried as my dad’s health mysteriously deteriorated, culminating in TWO brain surgeries and a discouraging diagnoses. I can’t really describe what this was like, except to say that watching a man who’s appeared invincible your entire life rapidly decline is absolutely heartbreaking.

Low – Waved a tearful goodbye to my husband as he deployed to Afghanistan. Again, it’s hard to express how horrible a feeling it is to say farewell to the person you love most, especially knowing there’s a possibility he could be hurt or killed while away. It’s the very best part of yourself, ripped away.

June

High – Happily welcomed Summer!

High – Got down and dirty with the Poppies revision ideas Agent Vickie suggested. Fleshed out characters. Upped the mystery. Added detail to the setting and backstory.

High – Watched the world’s hammiest little hula girl dance the Hukilau.

High – Fell in love with my small town all over again.

July

High – Successfully completed my first 5K, and my first round of revisions.


High – Celebrated the Fourth of July with family and friends.


Low – Dealt with this hideous creature cock-a-doodle-dooing all day and night for weeks. (I found out later that my neighbor shot him. Yikes.)

High – Dove into another round of revisions. (Yes. I am freakishly pragmatic.)


Low – Said goodbye to Harry Potter. The end of an era, I tell ya!

High – My girlie and I visited my parents in Phoenix. My dad was weak but beginning to recover, thank goodness.

August

High – Celebrated my girl’s fourth birthday…

…with a very Tangled Birthday Bash!

High – Completed a second 5K, and submitted another revised version of Poppies to Agent Vickie. Getting close!

Low – Rushed my Sweet Pea to the ER after she fell face-first on the pavement. Tears all around. A terrifying night, but luckily there was no lasting damage.

High – Discovered yoga and became a total junkie.

High – Contemplated and planned for a rewrite of a previously “finished” manuscript. This one’s still in the works, and it’s one I’m really excited about.

September

High – My girlie began another year of preschool. Where has the time gone?!

High – Got our country on and traveled to the Tacoma Dome to see…

Taylor Swift!

October


Low – Begrudgingly accepted that Fall was on its way. We’re sunshine girls… What can I say?

High – Our annual trip to the local Pumpkin Patch.

High – Halloween with Rapunzel. (I was Hermione Granger, obviously.)

High – I was invited to join the Bookanistas, a group of writers who review exceptional picture, middle grade, and young adult literature.

November

High – Finished revising Poppies! Embraced my next project.


High – Lots of bonding with fantastic friends, especially this girl, who I adore!

Low – Realized that I’m a compulsive book buyer. Yeah…

High (sort of) – Had all kinds of fun with my family, cheering my beloved Cougs on to an Apple Cup… LOSS. *sigh*

High – Got all dolled up to see Cinderella at the Fifth Avenue Theater in Seattle. (Loved.)

December

Low – Accepted Winter for its frigid days and early nights. Boo. Still, with sunrises like this one, it’s not all bad. (How cool is the shadow of Mt. Rainier on the clouds?)

High – Rediscovered my love of baking. Now I just need my husband to return so he can eat all my confections!

Low – Speaking of my husband, I came to terms with the fact that my daughter and I will be spending another holiday season without him. Painful, but I’m so thankful this deployment is winding down.

High – Reconnected with old friends. I’ve known these girls since I was sixteen (one since I was ten!).

There you have it… My 2011. The highs, the lows, and everything in between. This post (while incredibly time consuming to put together!) was a fun trip down memory lane. It’s reminded me how lucky I am, how much I’ve grown in twelve months, and, most importantly, that the highs always outnumber the lows.

Tell me, what was your highest high of 2011? Your lowest low?

Deja Vu Blogfest

36 Comments

Today, thanks to inspiration from DL Hammons, Katie Mills (Creepy Query Girl), Lydia Kang, and Nicole Ducleroir, I give you my post for the…

This post is from September, 2010. I was just beginning the first draft of the manuscript that eventually landed me Agent Vickie, and I was clearly going through a bit of an identity crisis. I like this post, though, because most of us have been in this place of uncertainty and insecurity, and it makes me feel like I’ve grown up a bit. I also like The Family Guy clip at the end. 🙂

I have to admit, I’m something of a closeted writer. Other than my online writing friends, only my closest family members know that I’ve written a few stories and am in the process of seeking representation for my work.

Don’t get me wrong: My writing isn’t a secret, exactly. I have a blog (obviously) and a Twitter account. If someone were so inclined they could Google me and they’d know all about what I’ve been up to. But, I don’t really like to bring my writing up in conversation. It just doesn’t feel REAL yet. I talk to my husband (at length!) about my projects and querying and submissions, but he’s really the only one.  

Part of it is that I feel a little pretentious and a lot insecure telling  people I’m a writer. Inevitably, their next questions is, “What have you written?” Well, I’ve written a lot of stuff, but you can’t buy it. It’s not in the hands of any publishers yet. I don’t even have an agent. In fact, I’m still incredibly early in the process.

And then there’s that weird obligation to update the people who ARE in the know, which at this point is a lot of, “She asked for a partial,” or “He requested the full,” or “She passed.” It’s all exciting for ME (well, except when they pass), but to anyone else, it probably seems that all I do is a lot of emailing, then waiting… and waiting… and waiting.  

I know I’m a writer. It’s what I’ve spent the last few years consumed by and stressed over and excited about. Pretty much every emotion in between, actually. I know I’ll continue to write, even if it takes years to meet my goal of publication. But at what point do you get to CALL yourself a writer? When your first manuscript is complete? Or when you land an agent? The day you sign your first book deal? Or maybe on release day, when your literary baby is born into the world?

When did you come out as a writer to your friends and family? (And is being out better or worse that being in hiding?) 

An aside: I do not watch The Family Guy (I actually don’t watch any cartoons, ever, unless they’re stamped with the Disney seal of approval), however my husband and younger brother are big fans. In fact, my brother and I have a running joke involving Stewie (the baby) and Brian (the dog and aspiring novelist). Just about every time we talk he asks me (in very exaggerated, Stewie-esque tones) about my novel and protagonist and whether my story has a beginning, middle and end. Check out the clip below… it never fails to makes me laugh. 🙂

Now wasn’t that little blast from the past fun? Please do visit the Deja Vu Blogfest headquarters to check out the rest of the under-appreciated but awesome posts!

Looking for more blogfest fun? Why not check out the one I’m co-hosting with Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott, and Alison Miller? The Class of 2011: YA Superlative Blogfest is a fun and interactive way to highlight and share your favorite YA novels, covers, characters, and story elements published in 2011. It will span four days, beginning Tuesday, December 27th and culminating Friday, December 30th. Click on the banner below to find out more and to sign up!

RTW: How Far Would You Go?

34 Comments

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where the ladies at YA Highway post a weekly writing- or reading-related question for participants to respond to on their own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

Today’s Topic: How far would you go to get published?

“We writers can form quite an attachment to our characters and stories. But we also know publishing is a business, and sometimes to make it in said business–to really build a career from it–we have to bend a bit. How far would you go to break into the publishing world?”

Hmm… Honestly, I’d consider doing anyone of those things, and I have done a few of them (genre-jumping, agent requested revisions). BUT, before you start to wonder if I’ve sold my soul, let me say that I only made changes I truly believed in, changes I could fully get behind.While I do enjoy the privilege of making the final call when it comes to my work, I don’t believe I’m the end-all-be-all expert on writing. I believe there are publishing professionals (many, probably) who know much more and much better than I do, and I am not above listening to them, considering their advice, and applying it to my work–as long as their advice inspires me.

Sure, I made agent-suggested revisions when I was querying (who isn’t dying for a revise-and-resubmit at that stage of the game?), but I also declined to make such changes when I wasn’t feeling them, when I wasn’t certain they were the direction I wanted to take my story. Stressing about revisions is normal, but when I started losing sleep and making myself sick over the thought of taking my story to a place that made me incredibly unhappy, I respectfully refused to revise. I think I’d do the same with major revision request from an editor, should the situation ever arise: I’m willing to rework and alter and improve if the ideas resonate with me. If not, then I believe I’d pass on the opportunity.

So, I’m willing go FAR to get published. I will seek out sound advice. I will consider any and all advice that comes my way. I will work hard to make changes that excite me, changes that make sense, changes that I envision taking my work to the next level.

But I won’t do anything that doesn’t feel 100% right.

What about you — How far would YOU go to get published?

Oh! And have you heard about the Class of 2011: YA Superlative Blogfest I’m hosting with Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott, and Alison Miller? It’s a fun and interactive way to highlight and share your favorite YA novels, covers, characters, and story elements published in 2011. The Class of 2011: YA Superlative Blogfest will span four days, beginning Tuesday, December 27th and culminating Friday, December 30th. Click on the banner below to find out more and to sign up!

Thankful…

23 Comments

Pinned Image

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

One year ago I was full of dread concerning 2011. I knew my husband would be spending the year in a war zone halfway around the world, I was frustrated with the seemingly stand-still status of my writing, and overwhelmed by family stuff that seemed too big to ever improve. In my mind, 2011 was nothing to get excited about. And, looking back, 2011 has had some incredibly trying moments. This deployment has, in fact, sucked. My writing still has its challenges. A few members of my family have gone through some very scary health scares. But, 2011 has had some amazing moments as well, and in hindsight, the good far outweighs the bad.

This last year has given my so much to be thankful for:

1) My husband, who’s brave, selfless, loving, and forever supportive of me and my writing. He’s also the world’s best daddy. And my daughter, who makes me smile every day–no matter what!–and is the sweetest, funniest, smartest little girl around.

2) My family, the people who love me no matter what and endlessly remind me that things will be okay–good even! On a daily basis, my family members reassure me that I’m capable of getting through anything, but without them, I’m not sure I would be!

3) My friends, those I’ve known for years and those who’ve come into my life more recently. You (if you’re reading this, you know who you are!) make the days go by quicker and add great heaps of fun to the most mundane activities: Project Runway, dinners at Red Robin and Los Pinos, long bike rides, shopping trips, and so much more! Thanks for being there through thick and thin!

4) My agent, who believes in my work  like I do, envisions it on bookshelves in stores everywhere, and works her tail off to get it there. She also has excellent taste in books and food and accessories. 🙂

5) My generous and gracious CPs and betas, who’ve slaved over my writing with their metaphorical red pens, gracing it with their genius. I’m a better writer (and a better reader!) because of you. Thank you for your time and support and brilliance!

6) Books, because they’re equal parts professional development and escapism, and I can’t go a day without spending at least a few minutes lost in a good one.

7) My writing friends, the lovelies I’ve come to know through blogging and Twitter. I love talking books and social media and writing and healthy food and hot boys with you. You make this wild ride so much more fun, and you make me feel just a *little* less crazy. 🙂

8 ) My wonderful blog readers, who take a moment from their days to drop by, read my ramblings, and leave thoughtful comments. To echo the eloquent words of Alison Miller, I HEART you!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I anticipate a little blogging break over the long weekend, but before I go, here’s a friendly reminder to check out the football-inspired book giveaway Sarah Enni and I are having this week! Sarah’s prize pack includes copies of The Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Shatter Me, and I have copies of Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door up for grabs. All you have to do is guess the TOTAL POINTS SCORED for Saturday’s Apple Cup football game (the combined score for both the Washington State University Cougars and the University of Washington Huskies). Sarah and I will pick a winner from our respective comments–whoever came closest to the actual final total score. (This means you don’t have to know anything about these teams or football to have a great chance to win!). Enter to win HERE!

Pardon me for getting deep…

31 Comments

This year I’ve been making grand attempts to ditch my comfort zone, and not just with my writing. I’ve read books in different genres. I’ve branched out socially in my “real life” and in the way of social media. I’ve altered the way I eat and the way I exercise. I’m even (slowly) reorganizing my closets and kitchen cabinets. Anything to make life different or healthier or easier or… fuller, if that makes sense.

Call me crazy, but I think the magic really is happening. I can genuinely say that I feel better: more relaxed, more accomplished, and, simply, happier. I also feel motivated to continue stepping out of my comfort zone. I mean really… what’s the worst that can happen?

I’m curious: How have you left your comfort zone lately?

RTW: For the love of writing…

36 Comments

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where the ladies at YA Highway post a weekly writing- or reading-related question for participants to respond to on their own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

Today’s Topic: What’s your numero-uno reason for writing?

I write because I love it. I really, really do. I think you HAVE to love writing to make an honest go at a career in it. All of the challenges, all of the nos, all of the endless hours and sleepless nights and blank pages with their blinking, taunting cursors. All of the aggravation and doubts and deleted words… Writing is hard. If you don’t genuinely love it, you’ll throw in the towel the moment the going gets too tough.

But, even though I do really and truly love writing, I don’t think that’s numero-uno reason I do it.

Simply, I write because I can’t NOT write. 

I write for the same reasons many people go to church. Writing grounds me, centers me, calms me. It drains my frustration, is an outlet for bottled up emotion, and it allows me imagine fantastical possibilities. Writing lets me create and discover new people, new places. It gives me something to focus on when life becomes disorderly. Writing gives me a tiny fraction of control over what is essentially a wildly disobedient world.

Also, writing can be such fun!

What about you? What’s the number one reason YOU write?

RTW: A Winding Road (And congrats, YA Highway!)

42 Comments

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where the ladies at YA Highway post a weekly writing- or reading-related question for participants to respond to on their own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

Today’s Topic: YA Highway’s Road Trip Wednesday has reached the 100th mile marker. How has YOUR writing journey gone so far?

One-hundred Road Trip Wednesdays?! Huge congratulations to YA Highway and its contributors on their longevity and all their success. Thank you so much, Highway-ers, for bringing your genius to the YA community, for doling out wisdom and expertise, for sharing insightful, informative, diverse, and entertaining posts, and for inviting aspiring authors like me to participate your fantastic Road Trip Wednesdays. I’ve met tons of incredible people since I first joined in over a year ago, and I’m so thankful for this outlet, and for this chance to belong to such a friendly and supportive community. Here’s to another hundred Road Trips!

Um… my writing journey? It’s going. 🙂 I’ve met some goals, for sure, and I’ve set some new ones. I’ve grown in many areas, and I’ve identified others I’d like to improve upon. I’ve signed with a brilliant agent. I’ve made some amazing friends. I’ve read some inspired books. I’ve written some beautiful words. I hope my writing journey continues in its forward motion (no reverse, please!), and I hope it continues to give me a sense of self and accomplishment no matter where my final destination may be.

How’s YOUR writing journey going?

7X7… An Award!

8 Comments

My blog received an award! Coolness!

The deal with the 7X7 Award is to share seven past blog articles that fit the superlative given. Then you, lovely reader, get to go and check out those posts, if you’re so inclined. I’m also supposed to share the award with seven other bloggers.

First, thank you so much to Alicia Gregoire for passing this award on to me. She’s adorable and her blog is all kinds of fun (and funny!). Definitely check it out if you’re not already a member of her Lurkdom.

And, without further delay, I present you with my 7 blog posts…

Most Beautiful: This is a hard one! I’m going with my entry for Campaign Challenge #1 – Last Kiss, a piece of flash fiction I’m pretty proud of.

Most Helpful: Probably my hints On Querying or To Plot or Not to Plot, in which I discussed my views on (duh) plotting.

Most Popular: My How I Got an Agent story… I always love to read these too! Good news, good news, GOOD NEWS!

Most Controversial: Hmm… I’m not really a controversial kind of gal, but I last year I did a post on some Bad Advice I heard at a local writing event. You may or may not agree with my thoughts.

Most Surprisingly Successful: Ha! It’s Cookie Day! My readers love their treats. 🙂

Most Underrated: Probably a Tales From the Trenches post entitled To Be, or Not to Be, which is chock-full of fantastic questions writers might ask an agent during The Call. I spent a good, long while compiling those questions!

Most Prideworthy: An oldie but a goodie: A brief but enlightening conversation about publishing…  And a new post about inspiration, plagiarism, and Making It Yours.

And I’d like to share the 7X7 Award with the following fantastic bloggers:

Katharine Owens
Lindsay Currie
Erin Schneider 
Tracey Neithercott
Rebecca Behrens
Chantele Sedgwick
Kirsten Lopresti

Hope you girls have fun with the 7X7 Award!

On making it yours…

20 Comments

You may have seen my tweets about the local writing seminar I attended on Saturday (Sumner, Washington’s Write in the Valley, in case you’re wondering). It was a fun event; small and intimate, with a diverse panel. There were traditionally published authors (Kimberly Derting! Love her books!) and self-published authors, authors of fiction and nonfiction, and a Book Doctor who shared all kinds of useful information.

The audience was full of writers, both starting out and experienced, and some fantastic questions and conversations came up. One topic that seemed to dominate much of the discussion, though, was that of plagiarism. People seemed very afraid of copying another writer’s work (unintentionally, I presume) and getting called out on it down the road. They used gentler words to discuss plagiarism (“borrowing” and “honoring”), but the gist was pretty much the same: How can a writer ensure that their work is original when there’s so much published material already out there? 

To be perfectly honest, I’ve never worried about this. There are hundreds of ghost stories on the market, thousands of books set in old houses, innumerable protagonists dealing with the loss of a loved one, countless teens sent to live with relatives, zillions of girls forced to choose between two boys. Yet, I know my story, Where Poppies Bloom, is unique. It’s told from my perspective, with my life experiences to back it up. My characters are original, the setting is my own creation, and my inimitable author voice carries the story. I did the creative work to draft, revise, edit Poppies, and I’m certain that no one else has written (or will write) a story quite like it. Nobody can tell Callie’s story the way I can.

People have been writing stories since they dwelled in caves. To think that you’ve come up with an idea that’s never been done is a little presumptuous and a lot arrogant. My mom and I were just talking about this the other day: She mentioned that every piece of women’s or literary fiction she’s picked up lately has been about a middle-aged, middle-class woman with a cheating husband who has to rebuild her life from scratch. Gosh, I feel like I’ve read that book one or two (or one-hundred) times.

I mean, really… How many fictional YA girls are there out there who have an exceptional ability and are fated to save the world? How many dangerous paranormal boys have we seen fall in love with a Mary Sue? Was Stephenie Meyer the first author to write about vampires? Of course not. Before her was Anne Rice, and before her was Bram Stoker, and before him was John William Polidori. I’m willing to bet every subsequent author drew inspiration from those who came before them. But did they commit an act of plagiarism? No way. They each gave the old vampire tale a spin of their own. Edward Cullen sparkles in the sun… didn’t you hear?

That said, there are only so many basic plots. I’ve found arguments for the idea that there is only one (ONE!) plot with millions of variations. I’ve also seen research that claims there are three (The Basic Patterns of Plot by William Foster-Harris), seven (The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories by Christopher Booker), twenty (20 Master Plots: And How to Build Them by Ronald Tobias), and thirty-six (Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations by Georges Polti).

We can subscribe to whatever idea of maximum number of basic plots we want. What’s important is that we embrace that fact that, when boiled way down, there are only so many original ideas. Every story, at its very core, can be sorted into one of these: man vs. nature, man vs. man, man vs. the environment, man vs. machines/technology, man vs. the supernatural, man vs. self, or man vs. god/religion. It’s what we DO with the fundamental “plot” we choose that makes our stories innovative and imaginative and  memorable and ours.

Tell me… What, in your opinion, makes a story unique? 

I’m Rewriting!

21 Comments

So, I had an epic blog post planned for today, one in which I was going to discuss my on-going rewrite of a book that was “done” a year ago. Then my daughter fell on her face (literally) while we were walking our dogs last night and I ended up spending two hours at the ER, then another at Denny’s because she wanted late night pancakes, sausage, and ice cream. Who am I to deny?

*SADNESS*

Anywho… I actually AM starting a rewrite. And good news–it’s getting easier. Know why? Because I’ve finally figured out the trick to a successful rewrite. Ready for it?

You must first be willing to let go of what the story used to be.

All my past struggles with rewriting stem down to one crucial mistake: I wasn’t rewriting. I was shifting, revising, tweaking, patching, replacing–anything and everything I could do to add new material while still hanging on to the essence of what the story was. And it wasn’t working.

So, I’ve let go of the original story. In fact, I’m treating it as if it’s not even mine. I’m viewing it as subjectively as possible. Those words I spent all last summer slaving over? They’re simply raw material I’ve stumbled upon and hope to improve. Sure, I’ll pick up the few scenes that happen to work and fit them back in, and I’ll flesh out characters who are worthy, and maybe steal back some of the dialogue that’s particularly witty, but other than that, I’m REWRITING. Completely. And that’s good, because I’ve spent months mulling over ways to make this story what it needs to be, and I think I’ve finally got a handle on it. This is exciting!

Because I’ve been incredibly overwhelmed by this undertaking, and because I’m an incredibly visual person, I’ve started with a crude, simplistic plot map:

See? Very simple.

That’s poster board and Sharpie, and those star Post-It notes are the major plot points. I’ve got smaller, color-coded ones that I plan to start working on tonight, Post-Its that will stand in for subplots, character notes and setting descriptors. Hopefully my little chart will serve as a jumping off point and make this rewrite more manageable and–God willing–more fun.

Have you ever attempted a major rewrite? Any tips or tricks to share?