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!

1. I finally got my ms. back from my agent.  He's recommended one small revision (which I am so glad he did because it was a part of the book that I knew needed work and wanted to fix anyway) in addition to the line edits.  Yesterday I revised the first two chapters.  Seven more chapters to go!  Then we'll be sending that baby off into the sub world.

2. I recently moved back to my home state, and my writers group has welcomed me back with open arms.  We meet next week!  Woohoo!  I love these people.  I am so excited about seeing them all again!  And while I've been away they've added some new members, so I am excited to meet new writing friends, too.

3. Yesterday my husband and I took the 5 kiddos shopping for new shoes.  Have you ever tried to help 5 little kids pick out shoes, all at the same time, in a crowded mall shoe store?  I don't recommend it.  I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off as one yelled, "Mom, I can't get these on!" while another danced down the aisle in new shoes while the third said, "Get back here, Mom!  Don't leave me!" (and the littlest one was pulling all the shiny ones out of the boxes and the oldest was pouting since they didn't have the shoes he wanted in his size).  And once we got to the register, the lady behind us kept throwing daggers at us with her eyes since she had one pair of shoes and we had 10, and she was forced to wait while we were helped.  And each child wanted to pack their own shoes out of the store so the poor lady at the register had to bag our items in five different bags.  It's always an adventure when we take our kids anywhere.

4.  I really don't like the cliched phrases, "running around like a chicken with my head cut off" or "throwing daggers at us with her eyes," but I'm too lazy right now to think of something original and fresh.

5.  I meet with my web designer next week to go over ideas and decide on a plan of action for my website.  We're going to try to have it up and running by September, though I think it may take a bit longer than that.  I'm hoping it will be a rockin' website!

6. Sweet Pea, my littlest one (she's 18 months old), has just crawled up on my lap for a little snuggle time.  And now she's singing to me.  It's complete gibberish but so cute.   Aw.  I love little kids, especially mine.

Yesterday evening I participated in my first Twitter chat (#kidlitchat) and had a great time learning all sorts of great things (once I wrapped my brain around it all--it was like sitting in the middle of a room and trying to listen to thirteen conversations going on at once).

But one thing I heard/read from Elizabeth Law (a publisher with Egmont USA) that I thought was interesting was this:

"A thing I learned from Alice Pope: you have to be participating in social networking and can't leap in just to promote your book."

It made me wonder about this whole blogging experience.  I resisted getting a blog at first, but only because I knew that once I started I'd love it so much I'd never be able to give it up.  (And as usual, I was right.)  But are there people out there who jump on the blog bandwagon just for the sake of promoting themselves?

Well, obviously there are.   I've even known some.  And I think they have missed the point.

Blogging, for me at least, is a way to share a bit of myself with anyone who will listen.  I'm silly some days (just read those recent pity party posts if you don't believe me), other days I'm really excited about what's going on in my life, and there are other days when I just need to vent about my frustrations or tell someone about how nervous I am.  And sometimes I do want to teach someone something I've learned and want to pass on.  I don't mind promotion on a blog, but it should be a natural extension of you sharing what you love (and of course we writers love what we've written).

So this is my shout out to all those who love blogging as much as I do, and who do it for the right reasons, not just the promotional reasons.  Blog on, Bloggers!

Okay, off my soapbox.

So it's Sunday night.  The SCBWI Conference is winding down, with only one more day of classes to go . People there are spending their last evening together (though I suppose some may check out Tuesday), reminiscing about the last few days.

So I thought we'd do the same.

This has been a great pity party.  The best I've ever had (well, except for those We Hate Men parties I had back in high school for all my friends who didn't get asked to the prom--though oddly enough we had an equal amount of guys and girls at those parties because we all hated attending school dances--but I digress).  We've complained at the unfairness of it all, sighed at the boredom we've experienced, and even turned green with envy a few times while reading the Official SCBWI blog and staring at the photos of all those happy people schmoozing without us.

I'd like to give out a few awards, just like those somebodies did at the conference this weekend.  So, first off, we need the Chocolate Award.  This is for those who brought chocolate to our party.  (No party is complete without chocolate.)  This year, a three-way tie between olmue , patesden , and christine444 (who actually brings chocolate everywhere she goes as her avatar)!  A round of applause for these winners!

Next, the Berrylicious Award goes to two very special recipients, lyon_martin and annasander , for bringing the berries.  You know you have an upscale party if there are berries and chocolate.  WOOHOO!

The Peanut Butter Pie Award goes to sharimaurer !  Yummy!

The On the Fence Award goes to  macaronipants for not going to the conference but still sneaking out to dinner with the somebodies afterward.  I thought that deserved a special award so she'd know we really aren't holding a grudge.  Much.  (Just kidding, really.  Glad you came to the party, macaronipants!)

And the coveted Next Year Award goes to both kimmiepoppins and cynjay !  See you at the conference next year, ladies!

I saved the best for last, however.  The highly coveted Elissa Cruz Award for Excellent Compliments to Make Me Feel Better During My Very Own Pity Party goes to two special people, the first is jo_no_anne  for telling me I'm not a nobody, and the second is juliakarr for choosing me over Sherman Alexie and all those other somebodies!  Virtual hugs all around!


Congratulations to all our winners.  And I hope to see you all at my next pity party. 

When is the next conference, anyway?     (These parties don't plan themselves, you know.)

That title sounds like a bad pun.  Wait?!  It is a bad pun!  (ha!)

I've followed Twitter occasionally (like during #queryfail) but have never joined.  But this weekend, while I sat on the couch eating bon bons and potato chips (aka, during my Pity Party), I was supremely bored. Everyone who is anyone in kidlit (excluding you Pity Party Participants, of course) are NOT online this weekend.

So, what the hey, I said, let's join the tweet train and see what all the fuss is about.

So when all you somebodies get back to your computers next week, I'm hoping some of you will help clue me in on Twitter.  I need followers, apparently, and people to follow.  I have no idea how to do any of this, really.  So take pity on me and help me hook up with all y'all.

(BTW, totally OT but I did live in Texas for three years, and the only thing I brought back was "y'all" and the correct plural form, "all y'all."  Oh, and my second son, who was born there.  So I'm not a true Texan, but I've got a piece of it in my heart.  Texas Rocks!)

You can find me here on twitter (I think).  Any help much appreciated.

1.  I should be working on my WIP.  Not sure if I've said anything, but it's a sequel to the first book.  A big thanks to my awesome crit partner, inkstaind_stars , who has been putting up with my grundles of brainstorming emails while I work out the plot.  (You're AWESOME, C!)

2.  At my agent's recommendation (boy, I love being able to say that), I've been researching getting a website.  At first I thought I would do a cheap, static placeholder site just so I have something out there other than this blog.  But I'm a design snob (all those years doing layout and design for both newspapers and desktop publishing has spoiled me) and the thought of have a boring, same-old same-old site was very unappealing.  Luckily for me, my sister knew a young mom in her neighborhood who does web design, so I emailed her to find out what she could do.  Things are looking up!  I showed her some of the sites I adored but knew I couldn't afford in a million years, and she not only is a Flash guru and could pull it off for me, but is thinking about swapping her services for chiropractic care from my hubby (yes, he's a chiropractor if I haven' t mentioned that before).  SWEET!  We'll see how things go, but I have high hopes.

3.  I should get my ms back from agent man early next week.  (eek!)  Once I finish the edits, the manuscript will be ready to sub.  I can't decide if I'm nervous or excited!

4.  All the really cool kidlit people are schmoozing right now at the SCBWI Summer Conference.  Poo.  (Well, except for me and my cool Pity Party Participants.  You guys rock!)

5.  I really should be working on my WIP. 

I know a few amazing writers who have published more than one book, and quite often I hear how they like to revise while they are writing the first draft.

But me?  Well, I used to do that.  I also have 7 (yes, count them, SEVEN) unfinished novels to prove it.  This is how the conversation used to go between my Inner Editor and my Muse:

( Read at your own risk... )

It's horrible, I know.  IE is very loud and obnoxious.  So revising while I'm writing is not a good idea.  That conversation proved it conclusively, don't you think?

I still haven't figured out a way to keep good old IE and M in the same room together. I have to separate them or IE walks all over my delicate M.  So, now I stick IE in a room with some chocolate and the remote to the television, and let M get to work.  I have a completed manuscript AND an agent to prove it works for me.  

'Nuff said.

(But I do wish I could be just like those amazing writers who have figured out how to get their IE and M to work together.)

Yes.  I'm throwing one right now!  Come and join me!

Tomorrow or the next day, anybody who is anybody in the kidlit world will be headed to LA for the annual SCBWI Summer Conference.

Sadly, I'm still a nobody.

So, welcome to my pity party!  Here, we nobodies can get together and commiserate the fact that we are not going to be schmoozing this weekend.  Instead we will be sitting at home on our pitiful couches eating bon bons and potato chips.  (Actually, I'm not one to waste money on gourmet chocolate, so most likely I will be snacking on ice cream or a Hershey bar.)

But, as most pity parties go, we need to know what we are missing.  So here's all the links I could find that would help us pity ourselves even more this weekend.

The Official SCBWI Conference Blog: this place should be rockin' soon.
The Official SCBWI Twitter: for those who want the official tweets.
Twitter Search : for those who want to keep up with all the SCBWI tweets, even the unofficial ones.
Conference Site: for those who want to check the schedule, so you'll be able to know what you are missing at any given moment.
The Lineup: a list of the biggest somebodies.

We will have sighing, pouting, and maybe even a few tears, as all great pity parties do.  So join in when you can!

The more I write, the more I realize how much I can get done in a day.  But honestly, I have a lot going on in my life.  I have five young kids, we homeschool, I have a sister who is not in the best of health and so I'm watching her son almost every day, I have a house to clean, a yard to keep up, and piles and piles of laundry and dishes.  I change poopy diapers, trip over Lego creations, mediate fights, and do my best to find clean clothes for the little ones.

So, for me, writing 500 words a day is a good goal.

It's a good thing I write MG (middle grade for those who aren't familiar with what MG means) because at 500 words a day, I can still get a draft done fairly quickly.  I also try to sneak in a few full days of writing, when I can bully talk my husband into watching the kids for the whole day.

Anyone else a member of the 500 Club?  Or is this a party of one?

With all the excitement around here lately, I've been doing a whole bunch of thinking.  Now that I'm agented, I guess that means I really need to buckle down and work, right?

So, I've been rethinking my writing routine.  Right now it is helter-skelter, whenever I get around to it, though mostly in the evenings once my husband is home to watch the five distractions children.  But I think I'm getting older or something, because by the time the kids leave me alone and hubby remembers to take them off my hands, I'm ready for a night-long nap.

In other words, I don't think it's working for me anymore.  Time to change routines.

The problem is, I am SOOOOO not a morning person.  My head is still fuzzy until at least 9am, if not 10.  It's a disaster in the making to even contemplate switching my writing time to the crack of dawn. Writing during the day could, theoretically, work, but since we homeschool the luckly little devils kids, it would be at the expense of their eduction.  Not willing to go there, either (though I am able to sneak some in occasionally in the afternoons).

So I think I need something to wake me up, get me energized, right before I sit down to the computer.  Maybe I need to start walking after dinner, or join the local gym and take an aerobics class or something.  Because the chocolate right before I sit down to write is not keeping me awake or doing much for my hips.

Any suggestions?

Anyone?  Anyone?

Heads up, people!  I have GOOD NEWS!

I am dancing with joy because this week I signed with Josh Getzler of Writers House!

OMG! I have an agent!

And, for the record, he was the agent I talked about a few months ago that was so nice and went the extra mile.  So I am very happy.  (You can read that post here if you need to refresh your memory.)

I'll post more later, but first I've got to write a nice little thank you note to Authoress of Miss Snark's First Victim blog.  Since she was the one who had the Secret Agent Contest that brought my agent and me together, I really need to let her and her readers know.

(BTW, I am totally going to have to update my goals for this year.  I've crossed off most of them.  How awesome is that?!)

Because I was procrastinating doing some research online today, I came across this post by my writing friend, inkstaind_stars .  I loved her link to Carolyn Jewel's post about her writing process (and the lack of respect it gets.)  You can read Carolyn's post here in all its glory.

I'm a total panster, which, if you think about it, is not such a good thing to be when you're a mystery writer.  But it works for me.  In fact, the few times I have plotted, I've hit a brick wall.  I like the easy, breezy, flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants feeling I get when I sit down with a blank computer screen and let the ideas (and word-count) flow.

Sure, I start with an idea and then do some serious thinking.  Then comes a short synopsis to solidify the direction I want to take.  Then I dive in.

And usually by page two I have already deviated.

I used to think this was a bad way to write.  But thanks to Carolyn's post, I'm feeling much better about the process.  My process.

And, luckily for me, even if my conscious brain has no idea where the story is going to lead, somehow I always end up with a good mystery.  (Word of warning: I've only written one mystery book, so this "always" is a somewhat skewed assessment.)

So, if you are a pantser, EMBRACE IT, I say!

Oh, and you plotters are cool people, too.

Two days ago I wrote a whopping 27 words on my WIP.

And today I don't even feel like opening the file.  I've got a serious case of Sophomore Slump.  The WIP is a sequel to my first book.  I'm still not sure if I want to write a sequel, because I haven't sold the first book and I don't want to waste a lot of valuable writing time on a sequel to a book that may never sell.  But I do love the characters and I'm really excited about some new characters I'm introducing and the setting and, well, the whole book really.

I just can't quite grasp the plot.

Arrrgghh.

And I have also made a small breakthrough in another book idea that's been rattling around in my brain for three years now.  I've tried to write it before but didn't get very far, but last week I think I realized how to fix it and now I'm getting excited about writing that book as well.  It's a ghost mystery with a fantasy twist.  At first I thought it should be YA but the main character wasn't working.  I think if I make him younger and change it to a MG book it will fix most of the trouble I was having.  And before I was focusing mostly on the fantasy elements but I really think I should play up the mystery part instead.  It will make it more intriguiing and be easier for me to write. 

Because I've had to face facts.  I'm a mystery writer.  Always have been, probably always will be.  Even the 2nd book I've written (kinda--you know, the one I put away to get back to later) is all about the mystery, really (and that's the part I want to play up because it's so intriguing to me).  So even though I long to write a fantasy, or a gripping romance, or a great drama, it will always have a mystery element to it because I just can't help myself. 

(I even started a romance once.  By chapter three the characters were on the run for their lives, and desperately trying to figure out who was after them.  Yep.  Sigh.)


Anyway, the whole breakthrough with the other book is not helping me write this sequel.  And my mind is otherwise occupied by the hopefully good news I am hoping I get next week.  (I'd say more but I don't want to look like a fool if nothing actually happens.  Stay tuned next week when I will hopefully be able to spill the beans.  If there is anything to spill, that is.)

So I'm officially taking a break this weekend.  I vow not to write anything on my WIP until Tuesday or Wednesday.  I need a break.
 

I'm really determined this year to actually look at my goals I set in January (at least quarterly, anyway).  I missed the halfway point, but a little late is better than not at all, right?  So here's another look:

1. Write every day, no matter what.  A 300-word daily minimum is the goal when I'm working on the initial writing. 

What a joke.  Not only did I not do this, I stopped writing altogether for the month of June.  Extenuating circumstances, but still...

I will try to do better.  I promise.

2. Find an agent by:
     a. Compiling a list of agents that interest me (I did this yesterday and stopped at 22--I may add more later)
     b. Querying until accepted or have exhausted the list. 

I plan on having 5 queries/subs out at all times.  And if I get a no from everyone on my list, then I will write a new book (see #3 below) and start over again.

Well, I am down to one full, one partial (that has been out so long that I should cross it off my list), and I did send one other query recently.  But that one full is looking very promising, unless I am reading way too much in the obscure emails I have received from the agent.  But it has been more than one email, so that's a positive, right?  Besides, this is the same agent I posted about a few months ago that I said I was leaning toward anyway.  Definitely a plus.

But if this one turns out to be a false alarm, then I am trying to decide between revising or sending it to editors as is.  That will be a tough decision.  I'm hoping it's one I won't have to make.

3. Write and polish a second book.  I haven't decided yet if this will be one of the many I already have started or a brand-new project.

I've written (mostly) a second book, but put it aside and will not be polishing it until I get another book finished.  I loved the characters, loved the adventure, but too much of the book was cheesy (and that's got to go).  So I stopped writing it at the climax and will come back to it later.  So this one's checked off, but not.

4. Write a rough 1st draft of another book for NaNoWriMo in November.

Obviously, I won't tackle this one until November. 

5. Polish two PBs (picture books) I currently have floating around on my computer and prepare them for submission to editors, following the guidelines listed above in #2.

Well, obviously this one has been set aside.  Plans change, and I have decided to focus on my MG mysteries and adventures and put the PBs away.  I'm not really a PB writer anyway.

6. Write 10 PB or puzzle ideas and choose one to write a PB first draft or make a completed puzzle.

I've crossed this one off my list, too.  See #5 above.


There you have it.  Though most of this list isn't done, I do feel really good about how everything is turning out.  I've learned a lot about myself and what I really want.  Isn't that what goals are supposed to do, anyway?

Okay, so it's been WAAAAY too long since I posted.  After all the overheating issues with my computer were fixed, my husband informed me that he was quitting his job and moving back to our home state of Utah. 

Uh.  Okay.

So I put the writing aside for awhile as I packed the house and stressed about the lack of income we would soon have.  (Oh, did I fail to mention he quit his job BEFORE he had another one lined up?  Crazy, you say?  Yeah.  Tell me about it.)

But life has a way of working out the kinks.  We are now (nearly) happily settled back near family.  My husband started his own business instead and is making more money than the job he quit.  And I went shopping for school supplies today and didn't have to worry about whether or not we could afford them. 

And I am this >< close to starting the writing back up again.  Like tonight, maybe.  Seems like a good day (er, night) to start, doesn't it?

Yes.  Life is good.

And maybe soon I'll have some good news to report. 

(I can always dream, can't I?)