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A blog tracking my journey as a writer. |
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A New Writer's Thoughts I'm starting down the path of writing, picking up from pieces I started putting together well over a decade ago. I sometimes have gotten the creative itch to write again, but never put in the effort to follow through. Now, I'm at something of a turning point in my life, and have decided to put some effort into this itch at last. I'm hoping to write with some amount of regularity, and believe this website will be an excellent source of motivation. Here, in this blog, I hope to keep track of my struggle, successes, and motivations. |
| Week 56 / Prompt 7 - Tell us about one person in your life who makes life better. Part of me wants to discuss one or two of my close friends that have helped bolster me, especially over these past few months. And Part of me doesn't want to talk about my significant other, who I often feel like I talk about way too much. But, when I consider who is currently doing the most to make my life better right now, there is only one answer - Collin (the aforementioned significant other). Five and a half months is all that I have known this man, and yet he has turned my life around so drastically that I simply am not sure I could live without him. I have never been happier. My friend, D, tells me that in all the time she has known me, which includes the entirety of the time I was married to my ex, she has never seen me this happy. Somehow, not even really knowing me when she attended my wedding to my previous husband, she could tell even then that we weren't right for each other. She could tell I was depressed, way back then, when I didn't even know it. But since the divorce, and now amplified with Collin at my side, I am a thousand times happier. It shows in my smile, in my attitude, and in my personality. Hell, I can now manage to take pictures of myself and actually like the way I look - which is a milestone for me. Collin and I have fit together so well in the short few months we've been together, that we're constantly expecting something to go wrong, because it just can't be as perfect as it is. D tells me to wait and see how the second six-months go, as that's the time when you start to recognize the little things that you'll have to put up with and whether they are relationship breakers. She's right, and I know I need to be cognizant of what she tells me (wished we'd been friends just one year longer..), but I'm still in the "holy crap he's awesome" stage. Right now, I can only wish I'd known this man a decade ago. Oh wait, am I supposed to talk about HIM? Umm.. he's tall, dark and handsome... likes video games.. learning to love board games... chivalrous, sweet, thoughtful... Yeah, that's Collin :) |
| Week 56 / Prompt 2 - Who is your favorite villain? My favorite villain is easily Melisande Shahrizai, from the Kushiel Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey. I probably mention this book way too much, but when you've got a favorite book, it's not a surprise that so many characters from it keep popping up as a favorite. Melisande Shahrizai is a noble within Terre d'Ange, wealthy, powerful, and influential. She plays the Game (of Houses) better than anyone else within the world. Her political intrigues are so deep in scope that it takes three books for Phedre to untangle them all. She taught Phedre's teacher the skills that he eventually taught her, and as a Scion of Kushiel, she is the epitome of the perfect antagonist for Phedre to struggle against. I love that this character is portrayed as intelligent as she is, without simply going out and saying "she was the smartest woman in all of Terre d'Ange", because it becomes incredibly apparent throughout all of her political intrigues and plottings. Never does the character seem weak or forced, she always has a reason for what she is doing, even if it is just "because I can", because to her, to play the Game of Houses is a way to make life interesting, and you never play to lose - you always play to Win. And she plays the Game exquisitely. I also love her role as the ultimate Scion of Kushiel. Kushiel is the God of ultimate punisher. In this series, Kushiel is the god that some worship when they need to atone for their sins. Phedre is "kushiel's dart", an anguissette who both enjoys and can handle pain that others would find unbearable, while Melisande is the ultimate in providing punishment. Again, a perfect match up. Melisande's ability to artfully practice bedroom punishment is exquisitely written and portrayed, while not overtaking the book at all. Week 56 / Prompt 5 - If you won a million dollars what are the top five things you would do with the money? First thing I would do is buy a house. A house is already on the agenda for this year, but to be able to get one without a mortgage, and get one the size and quality that I would like would be amazing. I wouldn't go overboard and spend all of my money on it, maybe just a quarter of it. But I mean.. no mortgage would be incredible. Second thing I'd likely do is buy a new car, maybe two. My SO's car was just in a wreck, and we're currently waiting to find out if it is totaled. And my car is slated to be replaced this year. If I could put enough down on two cars and get 0% financing, I might just do it that way, and continue to pay on the cars for a few years, so that a larger amount of money could be put away for investing (see below), but that would require some tax chat and money math. Third, I'd give a chunk to my parents and to my brother. Not certain how much, but I'd give them some of it. My parents were absolutely amazing to me while I was growing up, paid for my college out of their savings so I didn't have to take out loans, and all around giving me almost anything I could have wanted. I'd at the very least pay them back for all of my schooling so their retirements were a bit more lucrative with maybe some interest. And while my brother is doing better for himself, I'd feel terrible if I didn't at least share some portion of it with him. Fourth, I'd pay for my wedding, because it would mean I could actually have a full wedding again, if I wanted it, without stretching the bank. And finally, I'd put at LEAST half (if not nearly 2/3rds) of the money into saving/investing/money making ventures. I'd have to learn how best to invest money, obviously, but I'd want to somehow make the money make more money for me down the road. Week 56 / Prompt 6 - What five books would you bring with you to a desert island? Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe -- because if you're gonna get stranded, might as well have a book about a guy that's been there done that - right? Okay, no, not really.. I've got better book suggestions than this one. Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey. By far my favorite book, and I'd probably read it over and over until the pages all fell out. But it's a staple for me if I'm going somewhere where I can only have so many things and I will need to be able to handle re-reading a book over and over as I'll have pretty much nothing else to read. It's got enough hardship and trials to make the book interesting, and plenty of hope to keep my spirits up. The Survival Handbook by Colin Towell. If I'm stuck on a desert island, I'm assuming I'm there without any modern conveniences. And I know that I am far from capable of surviving anywhere on just my own skills, no matter how many survival shows I may have watched. I'll need some sort of a guide, and might as well be in book format, if I can't have Bear Grylls there with me. Okay.. third and fourth books I'd have would be Kushiel's Avatar and Kushiel's Chosen. Cuz.. I really really really love that trilogy. And I can't right now think up two other books I'd want with me. Grins. And finally, (warning, some of you may consider me a blasphemer for this one) a copy of the bible, preferably one of the expanded editions, because it's got enough pages to provide me with toilet paper for a good long time. |
| Week 55 / Prompt 4 - If you could be any age again for a week, what would you choose and why? I would be two. Two years old. I would love to go back and stop having to worry about everything. At two, you seriously don't have ANY responsibilities. You can walk around playing with everything you can reach, and the only thing that gets said is "look what she did!" You aren't old enough to really get reprimanded for anything, instead they think you're smart for figuring something out. You don't have to do anything yourself. If you don't feel like feeding yourself, just wail and mom will do it for you. You don't even have to walk to the toilet - feel the urge, just let it out! I mean, the main thing your learning to do is talk legibly. Hell...that's easy enough to focus on. So much less than we have to worry about these days!! It also means I get to spend all my time with mom again. I know she's just two hours away (much better than the past 13 years when she was five hours away), but I work all day, and I can't just ask her to come spend all her time with me. I miss her, but I'm a grown up, and I don't get to be home doing crafts with her just whenever I want. I miss those days when we could though. Seriously miss those days. (Granted, being two years old does not allow me to do crafts with mom, as I'm not cognizant enough to do crafts, but at least I could be with her more.) But, the MAIN reason I want to be two years old again is because I would hope to change the one thing that defined my little one-year-old-self. My little brother had been born a year before and was just now starting to learn to walk. And me, being the super sweet older sister, thought it would be hilarious to run by and push him over Every Single Time he stood up to try and walk. I single-handedly served to keep my brother from walking until he was much older than he should have been. I couldn't tell you what my two-year-old-brain was thinking at the time, only that I thought he shouldn't be allowed to walk. Jealousy, probably. I have heard non-stop stories about that year in all my time growing up. We also blamed my brother's constant beating me up in ALL of the following years of our youth on his payback towards me for that one year of pushing him down. hehe Okay, so changing me so that I didn't push him down every time he tried to stand up probably wouldn't change much of anything at all. I'm sure my brother would probably still have beaten me up all the years following, in standard brother-sister habit. But.. at least I could try to be nicer to him. |
| Week 55 / Prompt 3 - Write a "day in the life" of being you post. A day in the life of me. Well, I'm not promising it'll be exciting... Wake up around 6 or 6:30 a.m., turn my favorite music on, shower, dress, and head out the door for an hour commute to downtown. I usually listen to NPR on the way in for my daily dose of news. I park, then walk four blocks to my office on the 32nd floor. It's a small internal office, no windows, and the door stays shut pretty much all day, but it's private and I like it. Lunch is anywhere between 11:30 and 2..and I tend to vary it just dependent on when I get hungry. I either read while I'm eating, or scarf my food and knit for the rest of my lunch break. There are tons of restaurants near my office, but sometimes I just bring something from home. I work for about 30 lawyers, handling their billing, and do a great job of getting the work done efficiently. I tend to tool around on WDC or FB, or write when I'm all caught up. I get off at 4:30, walk the four blocks back to my car, and head home for another hour. I tend to listen to a different book on the hour commute home. I either head to my apartment, or I go to my SO's. If I'm visiting the SO, it's a slightly shorter drive, and I plop myself down in his oversized chair to either play games on his laptop or wii, or knit, until we curl up on the couch to watch something together. Dinner is often in there somewhere..ordered in, or cooked by either of us. If I go to my place, I'm welcomed immediately upon entering by two incredibly affectionate cats. I change into pj's, and curl up on my couch with my laptop and my knitting (and my cats). TV goes on to watch whatever marathon show I'm watching on netflix or amazon, and I while away the evening enjoying my gaming and knitting hobbies. I have a bad habit of forgetting to eat (well or at all) on these nights. When my SO comes to visit at my place, I definitely eat better ;) Sleep usually comes between 9:30 and 11. A book sometimes helps me fall asleep, but others I just curl up with either my SO or my two kitties (or both). |
| Week 55 / Prompt 6 - If you could have dinner with five fictional characters from your favorite books, who would you choose and why? As I was building my list, I realize that my choices fall into two distinct categories: Strong female characters, or sexy male characters. I want to meet the strong female characters because I admire them and would love to know their secrets. I want to meet the sexy male characters because, well, I want to meet that sexy hunk of male and drool over them in person. Grins. 1) Phèdre nó Delaunay, from Kushiel's Legacy series, by Jacqueline Carey -- She is by far my absolute favorite heroine of all time. I have actually always admired her strength, conviction, and skills. Hands down I would give just about anything to meet her in person for dinner. 2) Egwene al'Vere, from Wheel of Time series, by Robert Jordan -- Egwene was an extremely strong woman in the Wheel of Time series. Her ability to manipulate women and men much older than herself, even when things continuously went against her, showed a strength of character that I simply have to admire. I'd learn a lot from her, I would think. 3) Joscelin Verreuil, from Kushiel's Legacy series, by Jacqueline Carey -- Drool factor 10. I'm sure I have a different image in my head than what Jacqueline actually wrote up for Joscelin, but seeing as I connected with Phedre so closely while reading the books, I couldn't help but fall in love with Joscelin. I want to meet him and drool.. and celebrate their union. And drool. 4) Matthew Clairmont, from All Souls Trilogy, by Deborah Harkness -- Another drool factor character. Fell in love with this guy as well, because Deborah did such an amazing job describing him. I actually fell in love with a lot of him, other than just his looks, but his protectiveness, smarts, and much more. I'd love to meet him and talk history!! 5) Harry Dresden, from the Dresden Files series, by Jim Butcher -- This character is fun. I think he'd be a blast as a dinner buddy, maybe at Mac's over one of his awesome beers. Yep, that needs to happen. |
| Week 55 / Prompt 5 - Which of the four seasons suits your personality? I know there are probably lots of websites out there that offer personality traits to match each season. But I really don't feel like using those to answer this question. Instead, I just brainstormed some words that I associate with each season and I'll use those to determine which one matches me best. Also, one thing I did this past fall was do a lot of brainstorming about the Four Elements in preparation for writing my novel. Each element has an associated season, and I'm pulling a lot from that brainstorming session to get my ideas for this. I'd say my most suitable season for my personality would be Winter. And not because it is cold outside - I actually despise the cold. No, I think I match Winter best because Winter is a time for solitude, internal thinking, growing stronger within oneself. It is a time for creativity and self reflection. And I believe these things are central to my own personality. I value my time alone or with a very few tight knit group of friends and loved ones. I enjoy reflecting upon my self, my day, my friends, my life, and find this to be an important part of my day. Those times that I neglect this reflection period often send me into a period of uncertainty and unbalance, as I flow from moment to moment without a proper heading and eventually find myself lost and bewildered. I need the reflection in order to ensure that my mind and my heart are on the same page with every thing I do, and I am a much more balanced and happy person when I succeed in this. I am a very creative person with personal, solitary arts. I love knitting and writing, and both of these are things I perform alone. I love showing off my work, of course, but the creation is solitary. I consider Winter a solitary season because the cold usually keeps us from getting out and doing very much with our friends and family. The Christmas holiday of course being the exception to this rule, but then it is so early in the season to almost not be worth including with the remainder of the cold and lonely months to follow. Spring -- New Beginnings, Fresh, Crisp, Air Summer -- Fun, Hot, Stale, Fire Fall -- Focused, Curious, Dying, Water Winter -- Internal, Intuitive, Solitude, Earth |
| Week 55 / Prompt 2 - If someone gave you a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world where would you go and why? This is actually a difficult question for me right now. Back in college, I visited France and England. It was my first trip abroad, in my first year of college. I got so homesick! While I somewhat enjoyed the trip (and the second half in England was better than the first half), I was definitely caught up in my homesickness more than anything. And that one trip abroad sort of scarred me for future trips. I'd about decided if I'd had a loved one (boyfriend/husband or parents) with me, I wouldn't have gotten so homesick, but I don't really know. Which has left me somewhat scared to go overseas again. And I haven't been since. On the other hand, there are places I want to see. I want to visit Hawaii, Scotland, Prague, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Caribbean, Fuji. Part of me wants to visit a few more places, but a larger part of me is scared to as well: Japan, Russia, China, Egypt... My SO has been overseas more than I have. He's visited Scotland and Japan, I know, and maybe somewhere else. He really wants to go back to Japan, but isn't sure he'll be able to get back there (especially if we're talking kids). He swears I'd like it.. but it's definitely on my list of "not certain I could handle it" places. Because honestly, I already got scared just visiting France.. and Japan is SO different. I'm sure it's beautiful in the mountains, but there are SO many people there. And I actually have a little bit of a phobia when it comes to places with too many people. I manage my current city okay because it's spread out and somehow traffic doesn't bother me. But if I'm in a street with tons of people swarming on it (like sometimes happens in NYC), or at a concert or party with tons and tons of people.. I get really overwhelmed, sometimes start hyperventilating, and normally just have to get out of the situation where there are so many people. I'm pretty sure that may mean I can never go to Japan or China. Just too many people. I think in all truth, if I were to get a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, my first choice would probably be Hawaii. I had a chance in high school to go, but ended up losing out due to an ill-timed move. My parents have been and I am insanely jealous. I just really want to see Hawaii. And it offers the least amount of 'scare factor' for me from cultural differences. I am pretty much a homebody, and big changes can be difficult for me to work with. I know that is sometimes the POINT of traveling overseas - to experience different cultures.. but that doesn't mean its necessarily easy. So yeah - Hawaii. |
| Week 54 / Prompt 7 - We are fast approaching the end of 2014 what are your goals/hopes/wishes/dreams for 2015? I've got a few big goals for myself for this year. It's not going to be hard to have a better year than I did in 2014, as the last two years have been probably the worst of my life so far. But, I'd really like for 2015 to be leaps and bounds better, and take the seeds I have planted in the last few months of 2014 and turn them into a beautiful masterpiece. I have decided my attempt at selling jewelry did not go as well as I planned. Yes, women love the jewelry. But I am simply not extrovert enough to go out and seek bookings. I don't like imposing myself on others. I don't want to do it anymore. Instead, I want to focus on writing. I love writing. I want to get better. I want to succeed. It matches my personality so much better than the jewelry selling did, and gives me an outlet for my creativity in a way that satisfies my needs. My specific goal for 2015 is to finish writing my first Cinra novel, that which I began during NaNoWriMo. If I can convince myself to do another month of fast paces writing to try and get another giant chunk of it written, then great. Otherwise, I just hope to plod along on it over the course of the year. I'd love to get it done so I can start revising it, getting it ready for sending to an agent/publisher. But right now, i just need to get it written. And that's my concrete writing goal for 2015. I want to begin a life shared with my SO. We are currently dating, living apart. I want to move in with him; get engaged, and start planning a wedding. Yes, I honestly want all of that. I'd marry him this year if I didn't think it was too soon. Funny, really; we've been dating for about 5 months now. But I honestly feel like this is the man I should have been with ten years ago, instead of my horrible ex. It just feels too perfect. I've been away from my ex for about 11 months now; formally divorced for 7. I haven't been with my new SO for long but.. I'm of an age that I know what I want, and so far he is fitting every bill. And no fighting. When do couples start fighting? If you don't fight in six months.. is that telling enough? Yeah.. I want to marry this guy. And I think after one year (say..August?)..that should be long enough to know, right? Grins I also plan on buying a car this year. I want to save money every month so I can put a sizeable down payment on a new car by July. Oh, and I need to lose a bit of weight. I know my SO and I intend to work on that together over the next few months. |
| These questions are big ones for me, and ones I've actually been considering a great deal as of late. And even more appropriate given the closing of 2014 today. I'm going ahead and combining these two into one (probably very long) entry, because today is New Years Eve, and it's appropriate to look back as well as forward. I've also been considering the second question a great deal as of late, but answering the second question automatically has me answering the first.. so might as well combine. Week 54 / Prompt 6 - What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome in 2014? This one is easy - obviously this is the divorce. It started formally at the beginning of this year in January, took several months to get through, and more months to get past. if there is one thing that describes 2014 it is that divorce. In other blogs I've dealt a lot with the gritty details of the divorce, so I don't wish to delve into all of it here, but rather more in the abstract. I had been with my husband for near ten years by the time we split. Not all of that married, of course, but still considering him my SO. That was a solid third of my life to this stage. Part of what drifted us apart was the very act of growing older. We became different people than who we were when we first met. And while some couples can accept the differences and grow together, we did not. There were too many distractions, 'grass is greener on the other side of the fence' items, that inevitably led to our separation. But this created a serious opportunity for me to discover who I am at this stage in my life, or rather who I have become. I am not the same person I was, and I needed to determine exactly what I had become. And the entire episode allowed for me to become a much stronger person. I discovered that I am capable of being alone. I am capable of doing things myself. I do not need someone if I do not want them. I am actually a much better person - much happier, friendlier, prettier - now that I do not have him at my side. My life is looking much better now that I have cleared the chafe from my world. Goodbye to my ex, and to those years lost while I was with you. Thank you for putting me through the tribulations you did, as I have emerged a stronger more beautiful woman because of it. But now, I no longer need you, and am a better person without you. Week 54 / Prompt 4 - Where do you want to be in five years? (personally, professionally, health, education, family, friends etc.) This is the question I really wanted to delve into. It's something I've been considering a lot over the past six months, as my life took a major change for a new direction. I've considered a lot of avenues for myself and where I want to go. And here is a great chance to lay it all out. In five years, I want to be re-married. I've thought about this seriously, following my divorce. Do I really need a husband? In some ways, yes. I am capable of being alone. But I don't really want to be. This goes hand in hand with the next big thing that I want to accomplish in five years - that I want to have at least one (probably 2) children. And this is Really big for me. All throughout my marriage with my ex-husband, we never wanted children. We couldn't afford them, and our lifestyles just didn't support having one. He didn't make much money, I was barely making enough to support us. We traveled on the weekends to see friends and do activities a Lot. And we weren't really good parent-making material together. We fought a lot. We had animals, and that was enough. But I have since felt my biological clock start ticking after I met my current boyfriend. I do want kids. I now know I do. And i've only got so many years left before that becomes difficult to do. So yeah.. within five years.. i want to be married and have a kid or two. Oh, and living in a nice house :) I want to still have my job with my current company. I like my job. I like my company. I like the people I work with. I want to keep it. I'd like a few raises.. but doesn't everyone? Honestly, at this point, I like stability, and I think I have that here (i've been here almost 2 years now). Healthwise, I'd like to keep my semi-healthy state I'm in. I'm watching my health a bit more, but I'm not too concerned about it yet. I have a feeling within five years, it will be something I will need to be watching more closely. I'd like to have gotten a handle on my IBS, had it looked at a little bit closer and judge exactly what works for keeping it under control. I'd like to have habitualized the practice of taking whatever medicines/vitamins i need to to keep my health up to par. And I'd like to generally keep myself at the weight (or a little under) where I'm at right now. I'd like to have established myself as an author within five years. This is my new big goal. I want to have finished my first book, possibly written my second, and sent at least one or two manuscripts off to publishers. Within five years - I think I should be able to accomplish that. All of that should be doable, I should think. |
I've decided I'm going to take up Rhonda   's "Welcome To My Reality Forum"  challenge and try and write in my blog nearly every day as I am able. I like the prompts she offers, and it gets me into the habit of writing and thinking daily, which is awesome. Daily writing is something I really need to get back into again, now that NaNo is over.So here goes... Week 54 / Prompt 1 - What was your favorite memory of the Christmas Season? If you do not celebrate Christmas choose a special or important holiday/birthday that you have a favorite memory of. I think everyone celebrates this season in one way or another. I don't know the details of the many different forms that are out there, but I just have to imagine that many of them are similar while still being distinct, and everyone celebrates in some fashion the winter solstice or something around it. Or maybe that's just my prejudice and ignorance talking. Anyway, I do celebrate "something." Living in America, it's expected that you celebrate Christmas. And I do.. sort of. But I honestly celebrate Yule, which has a lot of similar practices (at least for me) without the whole Christ business. This year, I celebrated the Winter Solstice by delivering gifts to a few friends and spending a little time with them, which was incredibly enjoyable. But, my favorite memory from this season was the Christmas Tea that my SO's mother hosted. This is my first Christmas Season with my new SO. And we've gotten close enough in these months that we are sharing a lot of family traditions with one another. This was his family's tradition. His mother started hosting a Christmas Eve Tea about 29 years ago when his brother was born, and they've been doing it ever since. She prepares teas, cakes, sandwiches, and other goodies, and the family gathers to enjoy good company and good food, without the turkey-stress (although apparently there's still plenty of stress for the non-turkey foods). My parents had never met my SO's parents, though we'd already done the parent-meet ourselves, but his parents invited my family to the tea, which I thought was incredibly nice. So the tea turned into the first opportunity for the whole family of both sides to meet one another. And it went incredibly well. My brother even got to make it, which was great too. All of the family members had a good time chatting and getting to know one another. The tea and foods were delicious. And even though my side of the family had to steal my SO and I away a bit early so we could make it back to my family's home town for our own Christmas, it was a very pleasant gathering. Just so warm and pleasant! We laughed as nearly everyone was wearing red shirts except for about 3 people who apparently got the 'green' memo instead. Week 54 / Prompt 3 - Looking out the closest window to you right now, what do you see? Gray. One solid sheet of gray. I work on the 32nd floor of a downtown office building. I actually don't have a window in my office, but stepping out of my private office and I can see a large window along the wall that looks out over the southern side of downtown. And currently, it is less a window and more like a gray-filter light box. Fog has sunk into the upper reaches of living levels of the city, choking off visibility and isolating each of us into small bubbles of air that we live and work within, alone and cut off. We know that the wall of fog is permeable and illusory, that the other buildings and lives within the city still exist just beyond that foggy cloud. We know that taking a few steps in a direction and our bubble of existence will shift with us, opening up new opportunities while closing off those left behind. And yet it still keeps us closeted and removed, not truly knowing what goes on outside of our closed-off existence within our fog-crafted bubble. We are here, and that which we cannot see does not exist, for we cannot see it. It is a lonely place, knowing others are out there, but not being able to see them or interact with them. You know in the front of your mind that the building full of people is there in the gloom, just past the wall of fog, and yet you wonder if perhaps the worst has occurred, and you truly are alone, and the illusion of solitude is the truth of it all. It is a very strange existence - this fog-encompassed world. |
| On Saturday, I went to a writer's workshop. Jodi Thomas, NY Bestseller Romance Author, was our keynote speaker, and she ran three mini-lectures over the course of the day. She's a great speaker, and I highly recommend going to see her if you get the chance. Over the course of the lectures, we talked about NaNoWriMo, seeing as it is the season, and about writing books for publishing. We had maybe 50 attendees at the workshop, and one of the questions she asked was -- "How many of you sold your first book you wrote?" Not how many of you have published/sold, but how many sold the very first book you wrote? I saw two hands go up. That was scary. The chances that your first book you write (which my table was full of first-time novelists) will get published is very very slim. Later on, however, Jodi mentioned a list of books and asked what they all had in common -- they were all first novels!! And they were BIG name books. I did a search for a listing of "first novels published" and found this: Some famous first novels (bestsellers and Pulitzer Prize winners) include:1 Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason's The Rule of Four Agatha Christie's The Mysterious Affair at Styles Ralph Ellison's only novel Invisible Man Janet Fitch's White Oleander F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain David Guterson's Snow Fall on Cedars Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Melinda Hayes's Mother of Pearl Marjorie Kellogg's Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees (4 million copies sold!) Jhumpa Lahiri's The Interpreter of Maladies Harper Lee's only novel To Kill a Mockingbird Jay McInernay's Bright Lights, Big City Brad Meltzer's The Tenth Justice Margaret Mitchell's only novel Gone with the Wind Laurie Notaro's Idiot Girls Action Adventure Club Boris Pasternak's only novel Dr. Zhivago Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones Anna Sewell's Black Beauty Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep Nicholas Sparks's The Notebook John Kennedy Toole's only novel A Confederacy of Dunces Lauren Weisberger's The Devil Wears Prada Rebecca Well's Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray That website also suggests that approximately 10% of all book deals are first-novels. Granted, that is still a small chance, but it IS a chance. And something to strive for. I don't want to hold onto my book if it is simply not good enough to publish, but I can try and create an amazing story that is well written, and maybe, just maybe, it'll get published. Footnotes |
| I didn't get to start writing on November 1st. I had too many things to do. But I knew this going in. Yes, it isn't the greatest start to my month, but I accepted it and moved on. November 2nd, however, I made up for it. My goal is 2,000 words per day. That should net me with 60,000 words if I stick to it. Yesterday, I wrote 4,139 words. So I made up for Saturday and was just over my goal for the two days combined. I could have written more, but I still felt accomplished with my day. The trick will be, can I keep up with my 2,000 words per day every day this first week!! I'm confident today. I WILL be confident by this Friday! |
| I am pumped for NaNoWriMo! I've spent the whole of October preparing. I took part in "October Novel Prep Challenge" , each and every day. I have a well developed outline to follow when I start writing. I have character profiles, backstories, plot development and backstory, goals, motivations, conflicts... I think I have a fairly well developed idea of what my story is doing, where it's going, and what i want to tell. I just hope I can get it out in flowing pretty language that will draw the reader in!! You can follow my month of prep work here:
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| I have joined "P.E.N.C.I.L." Reviewers Group. P.E.N.C.I.L. stands for "Pursuit of Excellence: Novel Critiquing and Improvement League". The group reviews novels, specifically, with an eye for indepth, quality reviews. I figure the group will be good practice for me, and help me see things that work and don't for my own writing. I'm excited to be a part of it. |
| When I read fiction, about 95% of the time, I'm reading a part of a series. (About 95% of the time, I'm also reading fantasy, truth be told.) I love intricate world settings that are explored in depth through multiple books. It's no wonder, then, that when I am preparing to write my own novel, I am planning on writing a Fantasy novel. The questions then arise: Do I plan for this world to be involved enough to allow for multiple books in a series all about the same world? Do I need to make plans to allow for a series for this story? Do I stretch this single plot out over multiple books, or do I mostly close up this one plot, and simply explore the world in more expansive ways following this book? I'm actually pretty certain that this world *deserves* to be explored through multiple books. Which has me fearful that the plot I am developing at this time for my November Novel is simply too succinct to allow for much stretching beyond it. Am I closing up too much in this one book to allow for exploration later? Am I revealing too much too early? I figure these are all too big of questions to worry about at this stage of the game. Most likely, I should just Get Through November, write as much as I can, and then step back and look at this question about a series After I get through the first month of writing. I can always make giant edits if I need to extend the plot out. But still, the idea is nagging at the back of my head. And for someone who's never written a novel in her life, I know it's a nagging thought that is obviously looking to bite off more than I can chew my first bite ever. But I never do things easily. And honestly, I love the world I've dreamed up, and I want to do it justice. I just hope my skills can do my dreams justice. If I've got time to waste this month, maybe I'll dig around for some suggestions on what fantasy writers do when writing their first novel of a possible series. Maybe. Or maybe I'll show some discipline and not worry about it till December. Heh. |
| This year, I have one serious goal for myself: Write 50,000 words or more in November as part of NaNoWriMo. I am putting a lot of effort in October in getting myself prepped for it (as a part of "October Novel Prep Challenge" ), so that I feel confident in knowing what I am writing come November. I have, for years, wanted to take part of NaNoWriMo, but have either been too busy or forgotten about it or not remembered early enough in October to be able to satisfactorily prep myself ahead of time. I know I am not a "write-by-the-seat-of-my-pants" type of girl; I know I need to do substantial prep in order to actually write a novel. And 50,000 words is a novel, no questions asked. This year, I've dropped a lot of my extracurricular activities, narrowed down what I spend my time doing, and made sure I have the time to work on writing with a serious focus. I WILL do this. And I'm looking forward to it. So far, I've kept up with my Prep work, doing a little bit of work each day. I really like my story idea, and hope I can pull it off. |
| I've shared some of my older written pieces from high school and later in my portfolio. Things that I was exceptionally proud of back in the day. One summer, in high school, I attended a summer creative writing camp. I had a blast at that.. but I honestly came out of that camp thinking I was a good writer. Now I look back at the work I produced while I was there (and after) and I have to think.. Did I really think this was good? I looked at that writing, copying it into my portfolio here, and can only think that while the ideas were good.. their portrayal, word choice, and rhythm are just.. Not good. I don't know how I thought they were good. Some people have given me reviews here, suggesting the good parts, and offering advice on ways to make them better. They are definitely helpful. And I'm probably my own biggest critic, now that I'm looking back on something that I put aside for so long. I'm trying to decide how much effort I wish to put into those pieces. Currently, I'm focused on prepping for NaNoWriMo, and then I'll be lost in the throws of the novel itself once November rolls around. So for now, I'm taking in the reviews, and I'll assess the pieces again later. But, is it worth much to bring those old pieces back into the light, given them a full overhaul? Or should I just start on new stuff, focus on Creating, rather than editing? In truth, there is a great deal of value in editing the old, making them better. Editing takes a lot of practice. So yes, I should give them a huge overhaul, at some point. At some point. |
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