Being new to the writing biz, I'm always interested in learning more. I love when I find a website or blog that teaches me something new, or a site where writers can get together and share their knowledge. I've recently joined 3 writer's community sites that I really enjoy, so I figured I'd give them a plug here (even though I only have 5 blog followers at the moment, but hopefully more people will stumble upon this entry eventually). Check them out, one (or all!) of them might be just what you've been looking for...
1) Savvy Authors
This site deals mostly with the romance genre, but there's plenty of good information for everyone. There are blogs posted by authors with tips and advice. They also offer a ton of workshops that will be going on over the next few months and most are free for members (membership is $30/year). I am a member and I enjoy their perks, but there's plenty you can do on their site for free as well.
2) Inkwell
I only joined this site a few days ago, but it seems to have a lot going on. There are a ton of conversations going on, and many different forums (YA, paranormal, picture books, etc). to choose from.
3) SFR Brigade
That's Science Fiction Romance, which is probably how I'd categorize my WIP. This is a very new group and they're hoping to carve a niche in the SF writing world. If you're into sci-fi and/or romance, definitely check them out.
4) Writer's Digest Community
OK, this one isn't new, but I figured I'd put it out there anyway. Like Inkwell, there are different forums and blogs full of useful information. It's definitely worth a look
Well "Lost" is on now so I've gotta split, but I hope you give these sites a try. If you do check them out, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Until next time!
Tuesday, March 30
Friday, March 26
You may ask yourself - "How did I get here?"
I've probably said (typed) this already, but I only began seriously writing and researching the publishing world a few months ago (end of Dec/beginning of Jan). I've always been an avid reader, and when I was younger I wrote lots of stories. As I got older I wrote some poetry, but it definitely wasn't my best work! Unfortunately, I did very little writing in my 20s. I have a few failed nanowrimos to my name, but thats about all. Then I had - hmmmm, what would you call it? Is 31 too old for a quarter-life crisis? (I guess so considering I doubt I'll live to reach 124.) It's too young for a mid-lfe crisis though (at least I hope so!). A crisis of faith? A career crisis? I don't know, but whatever it was, it made me decide I had to make a change in my life. Not only do I hate my job, but I hate my career path. I'm a 31 (almost 32) year old administrative assistant. Yeah, that's something to brag about at the 15 year high school reunion! I hate taking orders from people and being treated like a peon. It's seriously a horrible job (unless you enjoy being bossed around by people who think they're better than you).
The first idea I came up with was not "become a writer", though. No, my brilliant plan was to go back to school to be a psychologist! Despite not even having my bachelors degree, I decided I should go get my masters in psych! I spent all of last summer researching careers in psych, reading books, looking at graduate schools (cart before the horse much?!?) and so on. I was deluded in thinking I could tolerate taking night classes for the next 4 or 5 years while working full time to pay the bills (not to mention after that I'd have to go to grad school - if I could even get in - full time so I wouldn't be able to work & then how the hell would I make any money???). I was absolutely insane in thinking this was the road I should take. I guess I figured since I've always been interested in how minds work (especially criminal or insane ones), I should pursue a career in pyschology. My first night of school was at the end of August 09 and I was signed up for two classes. All it took was a few hours of listening to professors talking about what they expected from the class for me to decide I did NOT want to do this. No way, no how. Too much school, too much money (student loans etc), too much time and way too much work.
I've always answered those "what is your dream job?" questions with "(novel) author". But when I answered those questions, I hadn't actually done any serious writing yet. Like I said, my 20s were pretty much just a waste of 10 years (which really bothers me considering how much I could've accomplished if I'd picked something to do with my life back then, but that's another story for another time). The thought of actually attempting to make a career out of writing wasn't something I'd considered a possibility. Even now I know that it's still a long shot, but I'm tired of working at jobs I hate all day and only dreaming about doing what I love! Dreaming isn't doing, and you can't succeed until you try. So even if I don't end up getting published (ever *sob*), at least I can say I tried, I gave it my best shot. At least I didn't waste away my 30s like I did my 20s. At least I put effort into something intstead of letting time just pass me by.
And that's how I got to where I am now. It's not quite where I want to be yet, but I hope that with hard work and perseverence, I can get to that place eventually. Cross your fingers for me.
~Meghan
The first idea I came up with was not "become a writer", though. No, my brilliant plan was to go back to school to be a psychologist! Despite not even having my bachelors degree, I decided I should go get my masters in psych! I spent all of last summer researching careers in psych, reading books, looking at graduate schools (cart before the horse much?!?) and so on. I was deluded in thinking I could tolerate taking night classes for the next 4 or 5 years while working full time to pay the bills (not to mention after that I'd have to go to grad school - if I could even get in - full time so I wouldn't be able to work & then how the hell would I make any money???). I was absolutely insane in thinking this was the road I should take. I guess I figured since I've always been interested in how minds work (especially criminal or insane ones), I should pursue a career in pyschology. My first night of school was at the end of August 09 and I was signed up for two classes. All it took was a few hours of listening to professors talking about what they expected from the class for me to decide I did NOT want to do this. No way, no how. Too much school, too much money (student loans etc), too much time and way too much work.
I've always answered those "what is your dream job?" questions with "(novel) author". But when I answered those questions, I hadn't actually done any serious writing yet. Like I said, my 20s were pretty much just a waste of 10 years (which really bothers me considering how much I could've accomplished if I'd picked something to do with my life back then, but that's another story for another time). The thought of actually attempting to make a career out of writing wasn't something I'd considered a possibility. Even now I know that it's still a long shot, but I'm tired of working at jobs I hate all day and only dreaming about doing what I love! Dreaming isn't doing, and you can't succeed until you try. So even if I don't end up getting published (ever *sob*), at least I can say I tried, I gave it my best shot. At least I didn't waste away my 30s like I did my 20s. At least I put effort into something intstead of letting time just pass me by.
And that's how I got to where I am now. It's not quite where I want to be yet, but I hope that with hard work and perseverence, I can get to that place eventually. Cross your fingers for me.
~Meghan
Saturday, March 20
random late night post
I've been sitting at my dining room table, working on my writing for the past two hours. Usually I sit on my comfy couch or ikea chair when I'm home, but tonight my boyfriend has two friends over and they're watching t.v. in the living room. My laptop was off, so all I had was some print-outs of character sheets, novel worksheets, etc., and the latest version of my ms (currently a little less than 16k words). The main problem with my WIP so far is that I didn't do a damn bit of plot outlining before I started. I had a main idea and I just ran with it. So about 5k words ago I started to run out of steam. I read some blogs and writing tips online, and realized that my WIP was missing a very important thing - conflict.
I'm sure you can imagine how bad a novel without conflict could be. I mean, there's a background conflict (there are some good aliens on earth, and some not-so-good ones), but when it comes to the main characters there wasn't a real reason why the two of them couldn't / shouldn't get together. I sat here, thinking (as opposed to websurfing!!!), and was able to expand on smaller ideas I had in passing about the story. And I was able to write down a pretty good synopsis of the story. Granted it's still WAY early in the process and a lot can change, but at least now I have something to come back to if I run out of steam again. I have a plan, an idea of where to go next. I may decide I don't like it, I may change it or delete it or add a bunch of new crap to it, but I do have a guideline.
I thought I was a "pantser" (people who write without an outline, "by the seat of their pants") but I realize I need to at least have some idea of my beginning, middle, and end. I don't think I'll ever be the kind of person who will outline every chapter before I start my first draft, and I think that's ok. But I definitely think it's smart to have SOME idea of where I want my story to go. Maybe that's why I've never gotten that far in a ms before, because I've always just started writing with a vague idea or concept. I think the furthest I've gotten was around 11k before giving up. I am really hoping I can do it this time. I want to succeed, I want to have a passion, and I want to have something I can be proud of. And there's no time like the present to get started on it...
I'm sure you can imagine how bad a novel without conflict could be. I mean, there's a background conflict (there are some good aliens on earth, and some not-so-good ones), but when it comes to the main characters there wasn't a real reason why the two of them couldn't / shouldn't get together. I sat here, thinking (as opposed to websurfing!!!), and was able to expand on smaller ideas I had in passing about the story. And I was able to write down a pretty good synopsis of the story. Granted it's still WAY early in the process and a lot can change, but at least now I have something to come back to if I run out of steam again. I have a plan, an idea of where to go next. I may decide I don't like it, I may change it or delete it or add a bunch of new crap to it, but I do have a guideline.
I thought I was a "pantser" (people who write without an outline, "by the seat of their pants") but I realize I need to at least have some idea of my beginning, middle, and end. I don't think I'll ever be the kind of person who will outline every chapter before I start my first draft, and I think that's ok. But I definitely think it's smart to have SOME idea of where I want my story to go. Maybe that's why I've never gotten that far in a ms before, because I've always just started writing with a vague idea or concept. I think the furthest I've gotten was around 11k before giving up. I am really hoping I can do it this time. I want to succeed, I want to have a passion, and I want to have something I can be proud of. And there's no time like the present to get started on it...
Tuesday, March 16
Going nowhere fast
Today I got a nice reminder that I am still very, very far from the completion of my novel. This man I work with asked me if I was writing a novel and I said yes (although I don’t remember ever mentioning it to him, because there were only two people at my job that I shared personal things with – one quit and the other just got fired). He asked me how much I’d written so far and I told him 16,000 words. He told me to “dumb it down” for him and tell me how many pages I’d written, so I said 26. “Oh, so you’re still just starting!” he said. I nodded and smiled, but I felt like I’d just gotten slapped.
Some people take five years to write a novel so I suppose I shouldn’t pressure myself. But I do feel like I’m not writing fast enough, or more to the point I’m not spending enough time each day on my writing. I started my WIP in January (give or take, I can’t remember the exact date I began the story) and it’s now the middle of March. If I had pushed myself to write 1,000 words a day starting Jan 1st, I would have a 90k novel by March 31. Even if I’d only written 500 words a day, I’d be at 45k by then, which is a hell of a lot better than the 16k I’m at now.
I told myself I wanted to have a finished manuscript by my birthday. Not a complete ms, as in written, edited, re-read and double checked by someone else. Just a first draft, preferably one with “the end” on the last page. Well, my birthday is less than two months away (May 12) so the chances of that happening are pretty slim. I’ve been hoping to get laid off for months now so I can collect unemployment and finally get to spend my days doing something I enjoy doing, but considering I’m the only bookkeeper in my department it’s pretty unlikely. Which means I’m stuck spending 9-5, Mon – Fri at a job that drains the life out of me so by the time I get home I am too exhausted (mentally and physically) to get much (if any) writing done. I have the weekends free of course, but somehow something always gets in the way (cleaning, taking the dog out if it’s nice, etc etc).
What I need is something or someone to kick my ass into gear! I need motivation and energy, but both are very hard to find for me. I haven’t had many successes in my life and I think I have subconsciously gotten used to settling for being mediocre. I think maybe I’m subconsciously trying to fail because I don’t know what it’s like to succeed and I’m scared of change. I wonder if I have what it takes to become an author. Because I know now that it takes a whole lot more than just writing a story. Editing, querying, searching for agents, most likely doing more revisions after finding an agent. It sounds very overwhelming, and I get stressed easily. I want to do this, I want to make this happen. But how do I get past these worries and distractions, and concentrate on just getting the writing done?
Some people take five years to write a novel so I suppose I shouldn’t pressure myself. But I do feel like I’m not writing fast enough, or more to the point I’m not spending enough time each day on my writing. I started my WIP in January (give or take, I can’t remember the exact date I began the story) and it’s now the middle of March. If I had pushed myself to write 1,000 words a day starting Jan 1st, I would have a 90k novel by March 31. Even if I’d only written 500 words a day, I’d be at 45k by then, which is a hell of a lot better than the 16k I’m at now.
I told myself I wanted to have a finished manuscript by my birthday. Not a complete ms, as in written, edited, re-read and double checked by someone else. Just a first draft, preferably one with “the end” on the last page. Well, my birthday is less than two months away (May 12) so the chances of that happening are pretty slim. I’ve been hoping to get laid off for months now so I can collect unemployment and finally get to spend my days doing something I enjoy doing, but considering I’m the only bookkeeper in my department it’s pretty unlikely. Which means I’m stuck spending 9-5, Mon – Fri at a job that drains the life out of me so by the time I get home I am too exhausted (mentally and physically) to get much (if any) writing done. I have the weekends free of course, but somehow something always gets in the way (cleaning, taking the dog out if it’s nice, etc etc).
What I need is something or someone to kick my ass into gear! I need motivation and energy, but both are very hard to find for me. I haven’t had many successes in my life and I think I have subconsciously gotten used to settling for being mediocre. I think maybe I’m subconsciously trying to fail because I don’t know what it’s like to succeed and I’m scared of change. I wonder if I have what it takes to become an author. Because I know now that it takes a whole lot more than just writing a story. Editing, querying, searching for agents, most likely doing more revisions after finding an agent. It sounds very overwhelming, and I get stressed easily. I want to do this, I want to make this happen. But how do I get past these worries and distractions, and concentrate on just getting the writing done?
Thursday, March 4
Reality bites...
In case you didn’t read my last blog (which you probably didn’t cuz I don’t think anyone reads my blog!!!!), I wrote about not being sure if I’d get to go on my vacation because of the blizzard that hit NY last Thursday night into Friday. It was nothing short of a miracle, but my boyfriend and I did manage to get out of NY thanks to jetblue. Every other carrier had cancelled all their flights except big blue. To make a long story short, we got bussed to another airport (which was only 20 min away), sat on the runway for 2 hours while they de-iced the plane and did whatever else they had to do, & we eventually took off at 9 am (the flight was supposed to leave at 6, but considering we left during a snow storm, a 3 hr wait wasn’t that bad). Once we got above the storm, the flight was smooth sailing, and my boyfriend and I had no problem making it to our cruise ship on time.
The boat (Carnival Imagination) was nice but I got serious motion sickness the first night. I was dizzy and nauseous, and even the pill they gave me didn’t help much. The rest of the trip was fine though. The weather in the Bahamas on Saturday was beautiful, it was definitely the best day of the trip. The cruise got back to FL on Monday and then we spent the night at the Clevelander in South Beach. (Has anyone stayed there since they remodeled last year? The bathroom “door” is actually two see-through, blue tinted sliding doors that meet in the middle. Very odd.) We headed home Tuesday evening and yesterday it was back to reality.
While I was gone, my crappy job fired a woman I was friendly with, I’ll call her R. She’d been with the company for a while, at least 3 years, maybe longer. She’s been sick lately, she had bronchitis and walking pneumonia so last week she took the whole week off (doctor’s orders). On top of that, her granddaughter (who is only SIX years old) was diagnosed with leukemia about a month ago so obviously R’s had a really hard time with that. Apparently R went into work this Monday, and the 2 fired her, saying that she couldn’t “keep up with the workload.” The worst part about it was that this had obviously been in the works for some time, because R’s replacement came in less than an hour after she got axed. They somehow managed to keep it so hidden that no one in my department had seen it coming... Job security? Not at my company!!!
Also since I’ve been back, I managed to pull a muscle in my upper back (I have a lot of neck and back problems, but I felt absolutely fine while I was on vacation of course) and I’ve had two migraines in the last 18 hours or so. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!... Oh and on top of all that, my nemesis received four manuscript requests from the queries she’s been sending over the past month or so. Despite everything I’ve read about editors/agents taking forever to get back to queries, and that lots of writers get a zillion rejections before something good happens, she’s gotten 4 requests already. Way to make me feel even more behind the 8 ball… So on that happy note, I will put an end to this boring post. ‘Till next time!
~Meghan
The boat (Carnival Imagination) was nice but I got serious motion sickness the first night. I was dizzy and nauseous, and even the pill they gave me didn’t help much. The rest of the trip was fine though. The weather in the Bahamas on Saturday was beautiful, it was definitely the best day of the trip. The cruise got back to FL on Monday and then we spent the night at the Clevelander in South Beach. (Has anyone stayed there since they remodeled last year? The bathroom “door” is actually two see-through, blue tinted sliding doors that meet in the middle. Very odd.) We headed home Tuesday evening and yesterday it was back to reality.
While I was gone, my crappy job fired a woman I was friendly with, I’ll call her R. She’d been with the company for a while, at least 3 years, maybe longer. She’s been sick lately, she had bronchitis and walking pneumonia so last week she took the whole week off (doctor’s orders). On top of that, her granddaughter (who is only SIX years old) was diagnosed with leukemia about a month ago so obviously R’s had a really hard time with that. Apparently R went into work this Monday, and the 2 fired her, saying that she couldn’t “keep up with the workload.” The worst part about it was that this had obviously been in the works for some time, because R’s replacement came in less than an hour after she got axed. They somehow managed to keep it so hidden that no one in my department had seen it coming... Job security? Not at my company!!!
Also since I’ve been back, I managed to pull a muscle in my upper back (I have a lot of neck and back problems, but I felt absolutely fine while I was on vacation of course) and I’ve had two migraines in the last 18 hours or so. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!... Oh and on top of all that, my nemesis received four manuscript requests from the queries she’s been sending over the past month or so. Despite everything I’ve read about editors/agents taking forever to get back to queries, and that lots of writers get a zillion rejections before something good happens, she’s gotten 4 requests already. Way to make me feel even more behind the 8 ball… So on that happy note, I will put an end to this boring post. ‘Till next time!
~Meghan
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