Blog Archives
Top Five Things to Do While Waiting for Query Responses
This weekend I kicked off my official query search for an agent. And like always, I wanted to check my email every few minutes to see if my favorite agents were already drooling over my story premise. They, of course, all wanted to take me on as a client immediately.
But alas, each time I checked, my inbox sat empty, so I had to devise a way to keep myself from going insane. The product of my insanity was to create a list of the top five things to do when you’re waiting for query responses.
5. Go back through your Angry Bird* levels and try to top your previous high scores. *Note, you may use insert another time-wasting, but equally as addictive game.
4. Create a list of all the characters from the Harry Potter books and then alphabetize them. Oh wait, someone has already created the list here. I guess, you can create a list of death traps from The Hunger Games trilogy.
3. Run a marathon of your favorite movies/TV show. If you need to waste even more time, you can always host a party and create personalized memorabilia, invitations, etc. Check out this hub page on how to host a marathon (scroll down the page to find tips on creating themes by actor/actress, topic, etc. and must haves at your night).
2. Use those old sticky notes, telling you to check your email, as sticky note origami. Don’t know how, there are plenty of books. Stick Note Origami. But you can also check out Youtube. They have a whole list of videos on sticky note origami. (Sample Video Below).
Origami Star
1. You can create a list of fun, but useless, things to do while you wait for a response to your queries.
What do you like to do to keep yourself from checking your email every five seconds?
The other day, I was stalking reading agent sites. Their comments about queries and submissions in general made me realize getting published is a lot like driving a car.
Some of us are too fast, rushing through our first drafts, throwing words on the paper like a teenager. There’s nothing wrong with a little speed. We all want to make it to the finish line before we lose gas, but if we forget to slow down and run spell check or meet with our critique group before submitting to an agent–crash. The race is over before we’ve made it around the first lap.
Likewise, driving too slowly can be equally as dangerous. You know the people who get on the freeway going ten miles an hour? They cause just as many accidents, truly. If the fear of rejection has us editing our WIP for the hundredth time or we agonize over our manuscripts for five long years, the market will pass us by.
Publishing takes a certain amount of guts. We need to step on the pedal and put ourselves out there, but only after we’ve slowed down long enough to take in the sights.
I’m guilt of doing both (and playing my music too loudly while I’m at it). How about you?
Writing Maniac
Because I feel like a writing maniac, this will be a short post. I wanted to check in and say–yippeee! I’m almost to my halfway point. Over this past weekend I had to spend some time in the car by myself (a truly rare occurence) and the writing faeries blessed me with all kinds of gold nuggets. One mighty fine idea was spawned from Lady Gaga’s Poker Face–please no questions; you’ll have to wait for the book. 
I guess I should get back to writing.
Writer’s Block: Cause or Symptom?
It seems that I’ve been suffering from a common writing affliction recently. With my first novel, I churned out well over 100,000 words in about a month. The ideas flowed. I loved working on the story. Then something awful happened–
I learned there are rules to writing.
Since I wanted to get my story published, I read every bit of agent advice I could get my hands on. I read writing books and attended writing conferences. And in the end, I learned I have a lot to learn.
When I sat back down to write though, the rules all piled up in my head. I wanted to create the perfect book, one people (specifically agents) would just lap up. It had to be about a boy (boy protagonists are “in” right now). And it had to be different, but not too different. It needed to be urban fantasy, not sci fi, or was it supposed to be sci fi, not fantasy.
Recently, I read that writer’s block isn’t a cause. It’s a symptom. I had to figure out what was really causing the block. In my case, I think it was the pressure of being perfect, in combination with telling the story from the wrong point of view. Top it all off with a lack of goals= no writing.
So, I went back and added in another pov to my story. I’ve also given myself a deadline–June 4. And presto, I’ve managed to write more in the last three days than I have in months. I see the little status bar on my WIP moving and I’m excited, truly excited about my story again.
It may not be perfect, but at least I’m having fun. 
Teen Art Show
Tonight I had the opportunity to attend my school’s AP art show and it gave me another look at some truly talented people. Everyone’s heard jokes about how unreliable teens are, how impulsive or egocentric they can be. But, sometimes we forget that many of these young people are full of more promise, intelligence and hope than many adults will ever be.
Sure there will always be those stereotypical teens, but many of today’s young people work jobs, play sports, and/or participate in after school activities, while still earning an A in all their advanced classes. They work twice as hard as many adults I know, yet they still find time for a social life. They amaze me and inspire me to work harder. It is for these people I love to write. So, I’d like to take the time to say thank you to all those spectacular teens. You are awesome!!!
**Images are taken from the TVHS portfolio site. All copyrights belong to the individual artists.**
Priscilla the Great
I’m super excited to announced that one of my fellow TNBW.com writers, Sybil Nelson, has published her first book, Priscilla the Great.
Summary
Did you ever want a blowtorch for a finger? Meet Priscilla Sumner, an ordinary seventh grader with extraordinary gifts. As if middle school isn’t hard enough, not only does Priscilla have to fight pimples and bullies, but genetically enhanced assassins trying to kill her and her family. Armed with wit, strength, and a genius best friend, Priscilla must defeat the Selliwood Institute, a mysterious organization with a mission of turning children into killing machines.
Contest
It’s a fun story, especially for young girls who are getting ready to take on middle school and BOYS. It’s available on Amazon, but Sybil is also hosting a contest on Goodreads for a free copy of the book.
Book Trailer
Back from Vegas
Over the long holiday weekend, I managed to make it to Vegas. While I didn’t get much writing done, the music revived my excitement for Nox’s story. When Linkin Park’s latest album, Catalyst first came out last summer, I spent most of my writing days alternating between it and 30 Seconds to Mars. Together those songs, rallying people to fight for a cause, created the basis for the Andropodan in my story. All I can say is thank the higher powers above for music.
A little clip from the Vegas concert. **Warning: the song does contain strong language.**
Finding the Perfect Title
I can’t believe we are already into February. It’s taken a while this year, but winter has finally arrived. The cold and snow did help make it a good writing week. I made my quota and caught up on my critiques, whoo hoo.
But I continue to struggle with one part of my current story: the title.
It’s pretty early to start panicking, but I’ve found that I don’t get as many critiques on this story that I used to receive on other stories I’ve posted in the past. Most people probably believe it’s another robot story (the sci-fi tag doesn’t help), but the main thread has more of a YA romance feel. Most girls don’t want to pick up a book titled, Andropodan.
This week, after a writing friend suggested I should change the title, I’ve given it more thought. I could go with– Future Society of Pretentious Women Bent on Restitution for Past Injustices–A little much for the YA crowd? Yeah, I thought so too.
Or maybe I could use something like–Tea Parties, Space Disasters and Castrations–Catchy, isn’t it? But it’s inappropriate, you say. What’s wrong with Space Disasters? It worked for Star Wars.
Once again I turned to The Complete Handbook of Writing by the editors at Writer’s Digest. In “Chapter 22: The Perfect Title”, Steve Almond gives us aspiring writers some advice on creating the best title for our story/novel.
He says, “A title should serve three purposes: and introduction to the story’s crucial images and ideas, an initiation into the rhetorical pitch of the prose, and an inducement to keep reading.” My title, Tea Parties, Space Disasters and Castrations, does introduce some of the crucial images (space disasters–duh), and induces the audience to keep reading, but I’m not sure it initiates the rhetorical pitch.
I guess I have to take comfort in knowing “F. Scott Fitzgerald spent months fretting over the title of his novel…” He even considered, Trimalchio in West Egg. Luckily he ended up with The Great Gatsby.
Steve Almond suggests some title exercises:
- Underline phrases in the story which stand out. Could any of them work as a title?
- Make a list of your favorite novels and/or stories.
Almond also suggests things to avoid:
- Naming the story after a character.–Nox
- Using the last line of the story/novel.–The End.
- Obvious or clever puns.–War and Pieces: One Boy’s Fight Against the Harvest.
- Quoting Shakespeare or the Bible.–Taming of the Shrew.
I guess I need to keep working on my title.
Killer-Diller Cold Details
The big news across the country is the weather. Schools across the central U.S. are closed due to snow and subzero temperatures. I’ve never, NEVER, had a “snow day” due to the cold. But, there’s a first for everything.
The day off has given me some much needed writing time. Yesterday, I picked up the book, The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing 2nd Edition from the people over at Writers Digest.
This handbook is a treasure trove of writing tips and activities for those who want to better their writing. In Chapter 19–”Killer-Diller Details Bring Fiction to Life,” Donna Levin discusses how most people wander through each day without stopping on anything specific. An author, on the other hand, has to focus on each and every element in the world he creates. The details bring a novel and its world to life. But Levin cautions us from using “banal” ordinary details like the girl had blonde hair and blue eyes (a beginner’s mistake). Instead, we must use “killer-diller” details.
Toward the end of the chapter, she challenges us to complete “an exercise for detail spotting.”
There’s a technique for training yourself to produce these killer-diller details. Around dinnertime or later (if you’re a night person), take ten minutes to note the five most interesting things you observed that day. Make this a rigid habit for at least a month….the most specific, and sometimes off beat, details you see (or hear, or taste, or smell, or touch).
Yesterday I completed my first day of detail searching.
- Stepping from carpet to cold tile with bare feet.
- Burning one side of my body as it’s pressed to the fireplace, while the other side prickles in goosebumps.
- Steam swirled around the bathroom in a thick fog.
- The way my fingers stiffen as I pound on the cold keys.
- SUV weaving in and out of traffic to get around the “slow” people.
Yes, on the coldest day of the year, our furnace went out (around three in the morning). The backlogged technician did make it to our house before the end of the business day, so we have heat again. No frozen fingers today –yay.
Stay warm today as you work on those killer-diller details.
Silencing the Inner Critic
Because of yesterday’s post, I thought I take a look at some ways to help silence my inner critic and banish those handcuffs on my writing.
After some searching, I found a reoccurring theme. The consensus suggests that I monitor my thoughts and recognize the difference between criticism and condemnation. An inner critic can be helpful if the goal is improvement. Pscyh Central lists several ideas on how to control the self-criticism, including evaluating judgments, collecting objective data (in a thought log), and possibly re-evaluating values.
Alison Finch suggests embracing your inner critic in her article, “Challenging Your Inner Critic.” Instead of silencing her, Finch suggests several reasons why we need the voices in our heads. An inner critic might be trying to get you to listen to a better informed opinion. An inner critic might help you improve, either morally or with a specific skill or lifestyle.
I agree with Finch, my inner critic has helped me improve and reach goals I wouldn’t otherwise rise to. I need that little voice, sitting on my shoulder. She’s important. Maybe my problem isn’t the need to silence my inner critic, maybe my problem is the need for perfection, but that’s a whole different mental issue of mine.
