NaNoWriMo ends today!

I am not a winner, however. I really didn't write much at all this month. I've been sick, and something had to give. So, my total word count this month hovers somewhere between non-existent and really, really low. I'm not sure. I stopped keeping track when it became abundantly clear I wasn't going to be able to participate like I wanted to.

But congrats to all those who did win! And congrats to all those who participated!

I've been trying for days to decide how I was going to spend a $75 gift card I had at Overstock.com.

In the end, I bought 10 books. All MG/YA. For me.

Yep. I'm a book junkie.

Since I'm a nobody, it seems like there's not a lot of people knocking on my door asking for an interview. I feel left out. Plenty of my writing friends are all over the blogosphere, telling their secrets and sharing their newly published books. Why can't I?

Well, granted, I don't really have any secrets (or a published book, for that matter), but I figure now it as good a time as any to get started on my interview answers.

So, I have gracioulsy offered to interview myself. Isn't that nice of me? You are in for a real treat, let me tell you!



Well, I guess my interview skills need a little work. So it's a good thing that I'm still a nobody. Being a nobody means I've got time to work on my answers. (And, boy, do they need work.)

I've been slogging through a first draft of a book for awhile now.  It's made me ponder which is the best way to write that initial story down.

I wrote my first book chronologically.  Of course, I left a lot out and so I ended up going back through it a million times to add new scenes, new characters and the setting (seriously, my MC mostly lived in a bubble that first draft).  My first draft was more of a glorified outline.  One that was missing half the story.

This time around, though, I'm all over the place.  I wrote the middle of the book first, then wrote the beginning (which I threw out and rewrote), and now I'm trying to write the ending and weave it in with the beginning and middle I have.  Though this time around I'm taking more time to work through the plot, so I don't have to do what I did the first time and go through a million or more drafts to get a real working first draft finished.

First drafts are HARD for me.

I'm curious to know how everyone else works on their first drafts.  Anyone care to share what works for them?  Because I'm not sure I've found the right way to write yet.  In fact, I'm sure of it.  Please share your first draft process with me!

Word Count: same as last time

Well, at least my kitchen is now clean.

Sigh.  Time to get to work.

Word Count: so abysmal I'm not even going to share.

I'm still dealing with the last of the illnesses in our house, and trying to get ready for a big party at my house on Saturday for my son.  So obviously there hasn't been much time for writing.  I'll have to catch up soon. 

After I clean the kitchen.

I confess.  I'm addicted to NaNoWriMo.  Granted, I don't ever get to the 50K word-count finish line, but I love it all the same.  Days/weeks of BIC, non-crumby and non-melty snacks, and sheer torture as I join the world in cranking out word after useless word.

And I know all the tricks to keep the word count up.  These are not cheats...but they certainly feel like it.

Non-Cheating Trick #1: Write all contractions out.  Don't use "don't," but use "do not" instead.  Voila, two words instead of one.

Non-Cheating Trick #2: Make sure your characters talk.  A lot.  Make sure that every time they open their mouths, something completely useless comes out.  Occasionally you can mix in something really important to be pulled out later and polished during the revision process.  

Non-Cheating Trick #3: Describe all settings in excruciating detail.  Make sure you get all five senses in there.  For everything.  Don't know how dirty socks taste?  Well, fake it.  Or you could try sticking some dirty socks in your mouth, but I wouldn't recommend it.  Besides, it will take time you don't have right now.

Non-Cheating Trick #4: Throw in lots of backstory that you can cut later.  Who cares if your character loved a pink polta-dot umbrella when she was 6?  You do, if it bumps your word count up.  (And it could possibly be important later.  You never know.  That umbrella could be the key to solving the mystery, or the weapon used to bring down the villain, or the gift that brings an estranged father and daughter back together.)

Non-Cheating Trick #5: If all else fails, stop writing the story and start another one in the same file.  (Okay, this one might be cheating.  So it might be worth your while to forget I wrote this one and stick with #1-4 above.)

Oh, and Non-Cheating Trick #6:  (THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT, SO PAY ATTENTION)  Let the words come.  Don't force it.   The point is to keep writing, even if it is irrelevant or seems to take you away from your original plan.  Let your creativity lead.  You might be pleasantly surprised at what comes out.

I can't wait for November 1st!


For more info, visit www.nanowrimo.org. 

(Are you close enough you can hear me whispering to you?  Good.  Just wanted you to know that I actually wrote something today.  This is big news, especially since I've been wrestling with that darn WIP for awhile now.  It wasn't much, about 500 words, but more than I thought I had in me earlier today.) 

Yay me! 

(Oops. I mean yay me.)

Okay, people.  Move along.  Nothing to see here.

Do any of you remember watching that adorable '60s film starring  Hayley Mills, titled That Darn Cat!, when you were younger?  Granted, it was the '80s when I saw it as a child, but I do remember loving it.  That could be because Mills' character was solving a crime, and I love me a good mystery.  It could also be because I really liked any Disney movie starring Hayley Mills, with The Parent Trap at the top of the list.

For those who haven't seen the movie, you can read all about it here.

Anyway, right now I am lamenting about the comical chase I am having to nail down my WIP.  That Darn WIP is wandering all over the place, getting into trouble and basically misbehaving on all levels.  It's as stubborn as a mule, refusing to gel together on the most basic of plot points.  The bones of the story are there, but they won't let anything more substantial stick to them.  And I write a scene only to realize afterward that it needs to be rewritten to make sense with the scene before it.

Its a comedy of errors. 

And I'm not laughing.

The plan is to get a working draft ready to share with my agent by the end of October (my goal, not his).  But at the rate I'm going, the end of October is looking less and less likely.  I've got to get to the bottom of things if I'm going to keep on schedule.

That Darn WIP!

1.  I challenged a few of my friends on the Blueboards to a race to write 1K today.  I started at about noon and had cranked out 1200 words by 1:45.  I should do more but I'm hungry right now.  I'm taking a break to get some food and write this entry.

2.  Speaking of hunger, my hubby is taking me out to an early dinner tonight with his chiropractor friends and their wives.  I should be happier about it than I am, but only because I had plans to write the rest of the day, and knowing I have to stop and take a shower and get ready is really cutting into my ability to focus.  I keep checking the clock to see how much time I have left.  Not good.  Not good.

3.  Why is it that when I ask for a quiet day to write, the entire household decides to reenact World War II?  I love my husband dearly, but his peace-keeping skills need a little help.

4.  We lit the pilot light for our furnace two nights ago.  And the whole evening I walked around thinking how much my  house smelled like my grandmother's house.  Old and dusty.  Which is weird because my grandmother cleans incessantly, so I'm certain she tackles the dust in her house quite a bit.  Which, come to think of it, is probably why it is floating around in the air so much and smells dusty every time I visit.  Just like my house did yesterday because the vents had been collecting dust for quite a few months.

5.  My hubby has now enlisted the kids in a friendly half-hour of exercise.  He passed out some cans for weight lifting, and Sweet Pea (she's 18mo) got the tomato paste.  She's now lifting them up and down just like her older siblings.  Aww.  It is adorable!

I just had to point out the fact that after going userpic-less for (wait, when did I start this blog again? Oh golly!  I missed my first anniversary!) over a year, I have finally found one that I kinda like.

Tada!  (see userpic attached to this post)  Isn't it pretty, with the green leaves and rain?

I've made no secret of the fact that I adore the Pacific Northwest, rain and all.  I loved living there, surrounded by grass that never had to be watered (okay, maybe I watered a few times in the really hot month), evergreen trees that towered above me, and green green everywhere.  I was devastated when my husband decided to move back to our home desert state of Utah.  And after the first month or two of being back here in Utah, I had to admit that it was too hot, too dry, and completely too sunny to make living here anything less that torturous.  (Sorry, Utah lovers.)

So this userpic is in honor of the rainy green I left behind.  Plus it's just a really cool animated pic. 

(Oh, and I should mention the weather here has turned a bit colder and more gray.  And that makes me very very happy.)

So much for that weekly post idea.

But I've got nothin' to say.  Nothin' to report.  Nothin' at all.

Nothin'.

Well, except that I've done nothin' lately as well.  The WIP was sidelined when I was sidelined with a bad cold, then problems with my lower back (which made it impossible to sit for more than three minutes at at time without sharp, shooting pains attacking my backside--thank goodness I'm married to a chiropractor and with his help I only had a few days of lying around), but I'm happy to report that is all behind me now and I'm back in the chair again.  And there are too many puns in this paragraph, but I'm willing to ignore them if you will, too.

BTW, my October goals:

Get a complete, working first draft of my WIP done.  I want to be able to participate in NaNoWriMo but I need this manuscript completed first.

So I guess I'd better stop doing nothin' and get to work.

Oh, geez.  I've been trying to blog weekly but it's been EIGHT DAYS since I posted last.  Oops.

Nothing much to report around here.  Here's some randomness I thought I'd share.

Randomness #1:  I've been dealing with a head cold.  It has made me tired and a little bit irritable.  Poor hubby and kiddos have had to put up with me.  I'm on the upward swing now, though.  Hope to be back to my usual chipper self by the weekend.

Randomness #2:  Hubby and I gave the kiddos a choice to either go to the amusement park near our house or go to the State Fair.  Guess which one they chose?  If you guessed the amusement park, you are so wrong.  They actually refused to go there and begged to go to the state fair instead!  They're all wacko. 

Randomness #3:  Secretly I am so happy they like the state fair.  I love going to the state fair myself.  Always have.  But I would rather be a country girl than a city girl, so I guess that makes sense.

Randomness #4:  I am hoping to be able to sit down and do some serious writing on my current WIP soon (the sequel to the book on subs).  I want to get the first draft done and then I plan on setting it aside until the first book sells.  Besides, I think I'm ready to work on some new characters and a new setting for awhile.

I think that's enough randomness for one day! 

First off, let me just say that I have the most remarkable agent ever.  This is all still new and a bit terrifying, and I have been a little nervous about what to expect for this whole writing business.  I keep putting my foot in my mouth with him, but he thinks I'm still worth keeping around.  A public thanks to agent man for putting up with my foolishness.

So, in honor of agents who have to deal with nervous-types (and I have apparently turned into one of these, though I suspect  for me it' s just a phase I'll grow out of soon enough), I thought today would be a great day to post something upbeat and inspirational.

But in the end I thought it better to share my take on how to get, and keep, an agent.  Though this applies to editors, too, so go ahead and insert "editor" anywhere you see "agent."

Plenty of people have posted on how to get an agent--from polishing work, to writing a stunning query letter, to the endless waiting or the pile of rejection letters you may end up with.  You will not find that information in this post.  This post is all about etiquette.  No, I'm not the Emily Post of Publishing, but I do think I've made enough mistakes in this department that I wanted to share some things I believe are just as important as a stunning query letter or good advice about dealing with rejections.  I think agents are more likely to want to work with writers who have good manners.  So, here are some things you can do to show an agent you have good manners (in no particular order):

1. Put yourself in the agent's shoes. 

You all should know by now that I am a pantser.  But way deep down somewhere inside me, I've always wished I could sit down and at least get a basic synopsis written BEFORE I start writing.

BTW, agents are good for more than submitting manuscripts, you know.

A while ago I asked my agent for his feedback on the direction I wanted to head on my new WIP, and in the process wrote a pseudo-synopsis.  He gave some great pointers and I went back  to the drawing board for a good chunk of the book. And I'm sure you read all about the inspiration that struck a few days ago.

Today I finally finished writing an almost real synopsis of my WIP.  In my pantsing defense, I did write the first chapter before I felt solid enough about the plot points to sit down and finish the synopsis.

But, people, I PLOTTED THE WHOLE BOOK!  Yay me!

Granted, this doesn't mean I will stick to said synopsis.  I know me well enough to know something BRILLIANT will hit me while I'm in the middle of writing, and I will happily throw the synopsis out the window and skip to the unknown yet must-be-greener pastures. 

Because--say it with me--I'm a pantser.  But, apparently, I can be a pantser who plots.  Who knew?

Late last night I couldn't sleep.  The day before I had sprained my ankle a bit, and of course it swelled to the size of a watermelon, so I spent most of yesterday sitting on the couch letting it rest.  (Okay.  Truth be told, it wasn't THAT swollen.  I could still walk on it, but it was a little puffy and I didn't want to take any chances.)  That, of course, meant I had waaay too much energy when bedtime rolled around.

So what did I do?  Thought up another book, of course!

Well, actually, I spent time letting my Muse work her way through the sequel to my book on submission.  My agent is pushing my manuscript as the first in a series, so he wanted to let editors know I am hard at work on Book 2.

Two thirds of the book had fallen nicely into place weeks ago.  The last two thirds.  I've been totally stuck on the first part.

But last night, while I tossed and turned and wondered why I didn't just get up and do something useful, then remembering I still needed to keep off my ankle since the swelling wasn't completely gone (btw, feeling much better today), I suddenly had an idea about what would work for that first third of the book.  But my Muse didn't stop there.  I also worked my way through figuring out Book 3.  Hey!  A Two-for-one!

Thank you, Muse.

Yes, it's Thursday.  Yes, it's been almost a week since I posted anything.  It's been a busy time for me.

I've been battling the "don't want to write" blues.  Combine that with the "my book is going out on submission!" hoorahs and the "I've got to figure out my kids' homeschooling year" panic, I've been getting less than nothing done.

But I have been thinking about the next book.  And the more I think the more I realize that I just need to dive in.  This thinking and plotting and all around orderliness is DRIVING ME INSANE.  Back to the pantsing, I say!

Gotta get to work.

1.  Hubby just took the kiddos to the store to buy a basketball hoop.  You know,  the freestanding ones you park in the driveway.  Kiddos, (especially our oldest, the tween) are EXCITED.  Personally, I was always a baseball gal.

2.  Revisions have officially been accepted by my agent (at least I think so). He is now hard at work compiling the final submission list (which makes me assume revisions have been officially accepted).  WOOHOO!

3.  I've been emailing an old friend recently (okay, weird confession: she's the mother of a dear old friend of mine) who I've admired for years because she was the first official author I personally knew.  Plus this woman can write!  She's recently signed with agent Jessica Regel, and her YA book, The Third Freak, is currently on submission.  I wanted to give a shout out to all you people so you can get to know her.  www.katekaemyers.com.  I've been trying to talk her into joining me on Verla's blueboards.  She would be a remarkable addition to that fine establishment.  Anyway, yay Kate Kae Myers!  (Kate, if you read this, I hope you're not embarrassed about this shout out.  Just want the world to bask in your genius like I have all these years.)

4.  "School" should be starting soon.  Since we homeschool, however, the first day of school has only been penciled in.  I'm still trying to work out the whole "writer" vs. "homeschooling mom" roles, so that each gets equal attention.  And then there's the curriculum we need to finalize and the schedules to work out.  It'll be Dec. 1st when I'm ready.  :)

5.  Stayed up until 4:30 this morning talking with my husband about life (us), the universe (our kids), and everything (the plan for this upcoming school year).  Got up at 9:00 am.  No wonder I'm tired.  Nap time is definitely in order.

I've been thinking a lot about the changes that have happened now that I have an agent.  Here are some good (and not so good) things I've noticed.

(DISCLAIMER: None of the not-so-good things have to do with my agent.  They are all about me.  My agent ROCKS.)

GOOD: For the first time in a long time, I feel validated as a writer.  I can't tell you how many years I've watched friends/family/complete strangers I've stopped on the street let their eyes glaze over as I talk about my writing.

NOT SO GOOD:  Since when did I ever become so needy?  My agent sends me a note that says, for example, "I liked this," and I want to email him back and beg him to tell me every minuscule reason why I am the greatest writer in the world, and to lie about it if I'm not.  That can't be normal.

GOOD: I don't feel as guilty about doing writing-related things such as attending my writers group or writing conferences, or telling my husband we need to spend money on my writing business for a change.

NOT SO GOOD: My house is messier than ever.  Sorry, hubby dear.

GOOD: I actually have a writing business now.

NOT SO GOOD:  So far, my business has not been very profitable.

GOOD: I really enjoy the collaboration process.  That surprises me.  I've tried collaborating before and it always felt like a lot of work to mesh two people's thoughts and ideas together.  Not this time.

NOT SO GOOD: I feel a little guilty calling it "my book" when someone else has made some mighty fine suggestions to make it better.  I feel like his/her name should go on the title, too.  (Though this has always been a problem for me.  Now it's just been magnified a hundred-fold.)

GOOD: There are real superstar editors out there, reading MY manuscript! Awesome!

NOT SO GOOD: There are real superstar editors out there, reading MY manuscript?!  Are they nuts?!

(Oh, UPDATE: agent man is sending my manuscript today [hopefully] to some editors. He liked the revisions I sent him a few days ago.  Whew and YIPPEE!)

But in all honesty, this has been the most exciting/frightening/nerve-wracking/validating process.  I'm really enjoying it, nerves and all.  Though it will be nice when things settle down a bit, so I can stop tossing and turning all night long (I don't sleep well when I'm excited).


 

Today I finished the revision my agent requested.  I thought that was pretty fast work considering I overhauled one character 100%.  Seriously.  The only thing that stayed the same was his name and occupation.

Funny thing: my agent didn't ask me to overhaul the character.  But the character wasn't working the way he was, so I knew he had to go.  At first I was worried, because he provided a lot of tension in the book, but I think (hope) the new character still provides the tension I needed, but in a different way. 

I sent it off to my agent to see what he thinks.  *fingers crossed*

I'm hoping he gives the green light so we can start subbing it.  But I'm also ready to go back and do a little more tweaking.  I'd rather revise than write a first draft.  I hate first drafts.

Wish me luck, everyone!