SCBWI WWA Conference 2015

Well I did it. I scratched number 1 off my list. It wasn't the LA Conference, but the Regional Western Washington. My friend brought up a good point that it seemed like a waste to miss out on the one just a short drive away rather than to shell out for a flight and hotel expenses. And I had to agree. I also wanted to network with people in my area too, so the regional conference seemed like the best option for the conference novice that I was.

Here are a few things I learned:

1. Order your business cards early. I slacked on this and ordered mine a few days before so I had to pay rush shipping to get them on time. Business cards are a great way for networking. Trading cards take only a split second versus trying to find a piece of paper, scratching down your info, and handing it over. In an environment where your headed to your next breakout session, you may only have a few minutes to connect. So get them! The sooner, the better!

• Where should you get them? Well my quick google search indicated that MOO had the best review with VistaPrint coming in second. Personally, I like MOO better because they have some really cool templates you can use, and the quality is pretty darn nice.

2. Don't go into a conference having expectations. You know the kind of expectations I mean. You've heard the stories where aspiring writers bumps into cool agents, they instantly connect, and then aspiring writer talks about their book, agent says send it over, and then they want to represent aspiring writer, book is sold, and then writer posts the how I got my agent story on their blog. Cue dreamlike swoon and hopes of something similar happening to you.

Okay, maybe I'm coming off like a pessimist, because it does happen! But don't go into it expecting it because you might sorely disappointed when it doesn't.

3. Try to make friends, and don't be put off if you don't connect. A conference is a great place to make friends, find beta readers, and critique partners. I think the majority of us 'book people,' are naturally introverted so putting yourself out there is kind of tough, but just do it. You never know who you'll meet. I had some difficulty making new friends, but a lot of people from my YA workshop class last year attended the conference as well, so it was nice to catch up with them all.

4. Bring a notebook and pen, sweater, and tote bag.

• Conferences are usually held in hotels in large reception areas. You have no control over the a/c or heater, so a sweater or light jacket will come in handy. I found myself FREEZING at times. Dress comfortably, but business casual. It's all about first impressions, right? I tend to be more of a dressier person so I may have stuck out a bit. But I kind of like to distinguish myself from the crowd so I was comfortable with that. 
• Bring a notebook to take notes. You never know when inspiration strikes. It's also a great way to reinforce what you learned throughout the day. Also, you get tons of book recommendations at these sort of things, so jot those down! 
• Bring a tote bag. Or something that can fit a folder. You'll get a folder with helpful info when you check in. I ended up having a small bag that fit my notebook, but not my folder so I had to carry that around. It would have been just nice to slip into a larger bag so that I could free up my hands going from one room to the other. Note that this doesn't mean bring like a carry on bag. You'll be weaving through crowds so you don't want something large that will be a pain to take around, or worse, accidentally hit someone, spilling coffee over them.

5. When deciding which conference to go to, get reviews from people who went, and decide what you want to get out of it.

• You can get reviews from blogs, forums, and people you know. It's nice to get their impressions of it so that you can get an idea of what kind of conference it is.
• What do you want out of it? To get inspired? Workshops on craft? Or a chance to pitch your book to an agent or editor?
• SCBWI was more of a get inspired, learn through breakout sessions and intensives. I know there are some other conferences that had pitching opportunities or are more broad or niche in their genres.
• Check out the conferences website, the scheduled program, and the faculty list to help you narrow down your choice.

Now, onto my general impressions and my experience at SCBWI Western Washington Conference.

My intent was to make friends, get inspired, and if I talked to an agent, that'd be pretty darn cool. I was still suffering from my lingering sinus infection so it was hard for me to get my enthusiasm up considering I could hardly eat the day prior. But I put myself out there and tried to bring out my social butterfly.

What surprised me most was the amount of picture book writers and illustrators there was. It outnumbered YA for sure. Maybe I could have tried harder, but I didn't find too many people in my genre or near my age. I noticed the demographic was more older (30's to 40's) Caucasian women. There was of course, a few males, and younger people (early 20's that were still in college).

I always feel like I'm at an awkward age: mid twenties, business professional. But it dawned on me that perhaps people my age (who are starting out on their own and perhaps paying back school loans) may not want to shell out for conferences compared to more established people who had funds or young scholars (who are already paying tuition in school, so this could be seen as a class or another learning opportunity).

I'm sure it's not like that at every regional conference though. A lot of factors go into it. I, however, knew a few friendly faces, so I still had fun catching up with them.

The agent, editor, writer panels were really interesting to see. The keynote speakers were very inspiring. And break out sessions were a cool learning experience. I can't give a detailed summary or reiterate the lessons since it's an intelligence property issue--the information belongs to them and should not be redistributed. What I can say is that you will get inspired, and you will learn something new. So that's a pretty neat pay off of conferences.

The takeaway my friends and I got from this conference is the 'persistence and perseverance' idea of success. Those that reach the dream--getting agented, publication, etc--are those that never gave up. It may have taken decades and they had moments of wanting to quit, but it was those that pushed through it that made the dream possible. Of course, there's also the exception of those who's first book became 'the one' that landed them success, but they aren't the majority. The majority are the ones who persevere.

So what does it mean to persevere? Well my definition would be those that continue to write. To quote Robert Penn Warren, "Real writers are those who want to write, need to write, have to write." And as for success? Well I think Winston Churchill said it best, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

So continue on my brave writer friends. Your time. My time. It will come. But in the meantime we must write, and continue to do so. Simple words, yet hard to follow through on in our busy day-to-day lives.

Two Years, Chopped Hair, Urgent Care, SCBWI, Shelving M3 = Roller Coaster Week

Hi friends,

I have so much to catch you up on. This week has been a stressful roller coaster ride. It started off on a good note. I celebrated my 2 year anniversary with Michael by recreating our first date (it's now become a tradition of ours).

To see how it unfolded last year and how our relationship began, click here.

He surprised me greatly by getting me a guitar and I, him, with a symbolic ring he's always wanted.

I don't have a good singing voice, nor am I skilled in music, but growing up music became a part of my life. I played flute for three years, piano for two, and learned some chords on the guitar by my ex-boyfriend in high school and it stuck through college. I was never really that good though, but I enjoyed putting simple melodies together and writing lyrics, but when I moved to Seattle, I literally gave away all my belongings, including my guitar and put it in the past. So it was very thoughtful that Michael had thought to give me a piece of California, and a creative part of me back.

What a wonderful way to start the week!

But unfortunately, work has been pretty busy, and I found myself pretty stressed with all that I needed to do, not just in my work life, but personal and writing life as well. I was overwhelmed by all the stuff I had to do and the non-progress in M3. It drove me insane. Why couldn't I get this story out as I did M2? Was life really so busy and chaotic that I couldn't handle it all? Would I have to give something up?

This overwhelming feeling festered within me, and I had hoped that maybe the SCBWI conference this weekend would give me some sort of direction in my writing life. As for the work and personal, I would just have to trudge through it. So I rush ordered my business cards and put on my can-do attitude.

But my attitude about work didn't change. I'm the kind of person that likes to get my stuff done so when software issues or last minute changes come my way, it ruffles my feathers a bit. But I had planned it out and I would finish my project by Friday.

On Thursday I had a haircut scheduled during my lunch break. I was long overdue for one, and had planned to keep my length and get my split ends trimmed, but when I sat in the salon chair, that overwhelming feeling came over me again. The reflection in the mirror looked so haggard, so sloppy, so stressed. "Just chop it all off," I told my stylist, not wanting another worry, no how matter infinitesimal it was.

And so she did.

With the weight from my hair off me, I was starting to feel better. More refreshed. I could handle the three facets of my life. Surely I could. I was a new woman now!

And then that night I got sick. A severe allergy attack. I couldn't sleep all night. And come morning, I wasn't any better. I was worse. I called in sick to work. I would not finish my project. That devastated me. Like I said, I pride myself in getting my work done, especially when I made promises to meet certain deadlines. Then I broke out into a fever. I started crying. Whatever this illness was, it didn't seem likely that I would be able to make it out to dinner that night with a friend and to a writer's networking cocktail hour like I had planned. Would I even be well enough to make it to the SCBWI conference the next day?

When Michael got home from work he took me to urgent care. Turns out my severe allergy attack turned into a sinus infection. I'd never had a sinus infection before so this pain was new to me and unbearable. The doctor prescribed me a nasal spray along with some other suggested OTC drugs. I went home, followed the directions, but didn't feel any better. I tossed and turned all night, getting snippets of sleep, and improved enough that I could rally myself and go to the conference.

I'll make another lengthier post about my experience as a first time conference attendee, but long story short, it made me realize that M3 needed to be put on pause. Perhaps I was overthinking it which stunted my progress. Or maybe I had fallen out of love with it after taking too many breaks with traveling and moving. Or maybe, M3 wasn't ready to be written and wasn't fully yet realized. Maybe it's one of those stories that takes years to cook, a story that I'll come back to, adding some spice, adjusting the taste, until I get it just right.

For now, M3 will be shelved, and I'm moving onto my next idea. 

It's been a roller coaster week filled with many ups and downs, twists, and turns. I was never one for roller coasters so I'm kind of glad to be off the ride now. I think it's time to leave the amusement park and get back to the steady humdrum of life.

Have you ever had a roller coaster kind of week? Comment below!

Yours truly,

Michelle

M2 Wrap-Up

From the movie 'Stuck in Love'

Above all, I am a hopeless romantic. I try to be a realist, but anyone who knows me, knows I am not. There's no fault in being a hopeless romantic though becuase it's gotten me to where I am now: finished with M2 (for now at least).

When I wrote the draft of M1, I knew something was off. It turned out horrible like most first novel attempts. Though I was passionate about being a writer, I wasn't passionate about the story.

M2 was different. I loved the story. I loved the magic. And I loved the characters. Though it was hard, I kept at it, revision after revision. It made me into a hopeless romantic again. Now that M2 has met my vision, it's time to submit to #PitchWars, and if that doesn't happen, time to query. I'm hoping I can find someone who sees my story and wants to build it up even more. If M2 has more room to grow, I would love the guidance to take it there.

In the meantime, here's a quick recap of M2's journey from start time to now:

• Mid October 2013 - I started writing the first draft of M2 and finished mid December, clocking in at about 74,000 words in two months. You can read my lessons after the first draft here.
• January 2014 - I began the second draft of M2 and finished by the first week of March. 85,000 words in another two months. Check out my M2 post here.
• April 2014 - I revised my third draft for my YA workshop course at Hugo House. I was only about 2/3 done when the course began, but completed it a week after it ended in June. Draft three totaled approximately 80,000 words.
• June 2014 through July 2014 - I worked with my CP's (critique partner) feedback and completed my fourth revision that I sent over to my beta readers.
• Mid August 2014 - Completion of revision five based on feedback from Betas.

Beta Reading, Synopsis, and Rain

It's Thursday which equals my Friday! Hallelujah!

Michael and I will be going on a getaway trip tomorrow to Walla Walla in Eastern Washington! I seriously cannot wait, this has been one of the longest weeks ever so I am pumped to get out of the city and do some wine tasting.

This week I sent my manuscript to four beta readers. I dowloaded it on my kindle too, but I think I should probably stay away from it awhile to gain some perspective.

M2 seriously drove me bonkers over the weekend, I thought I was going insane. The below comic explains it perfectly.

Though none of my betas are done reading, I've gotten some good comments which makes me sigh with relief (so it wasn't a complete shit show, excuse my language), but I am anxious for the bad comments that will eventually come. It's necessary though, contructive criticism will only make M2 stronger, which is what I want.

In the meantime I've been working on my synopsis and query (you'd be surprised how long it takes to write one letter and a 1-page summary). I've also been doodling ideas for a contemporary romance in case M2 doesn't work out. Though M2 has series potential, I don't want to invest the time in it yet without knowing if  it'll be published or not (though rest-assured, I do have brief arc of the whole series in mind).

Oh and lastly, there was a thunderstorn and downpour yesterday and it's raining today! I guess you can't exscape rain in Seattle, even if it is Summer.

Beach Lunch & Never-ending Writing

Oh fridays, how I love thee...

Now that I have Fridays off, it's become one of my favorite days and yesterday was one of the best ones. I woke up and wrote all day then Michael took me to Paseo's for lunch and we brought it to the Golden Gardens park to eat.

Outside of Paseo waiting for our food!

My Caribbean bowl, yum!

Michael and his sandwich

Then we came back home and I went back to editing.

That stack = my manuscript

I had planned to send out the manuscript to my beta readers this morning, but then I met up with my writing critique partner later that night and she suggested a few changes.

Critiquing with my partner and Fuel coffee as I enjoy a Lavender Italian soda.

So it looks like I'm postponing sending out my manuscript to my betas next weekend before I leave on my trip to Walla Walla. Just when I think I'm almost finished, I'm not. Gah! Writing sometimes seems never-ending, and I am so tempted to start on a new project. Jeez M2, when will you be done?

Fourth Revision Readthrough

I love Debbie Ridpath's comics. I feel like the one above completely relates to me this week. I've spent the last three days rereading my whole manuscript from start to finish while Blaire just stares at me. I printed all the pages, and started marking it up like crazy (though I used a blue pen instead of red, because red just looks so mean, doesn't it? Or is that just me?) and now I'm in the process of making the changes on my manuscript on my laptop. I still have to write another chapter or two to fill in a gap I noticed, but I think it will be ready for me to send out to another batch of beta readers this weekend.

But boy am I exhausted... Even as I write this post, while sipping my morning coffee, I feel so dead. This week has just been a rollercoaster. Rereading my manuscript just makes me doubt so much that I can't tell if my story is even good anymore since I've been working on it so much. Thank goodness for beta readers.

I just need to remind myself to presevere. I'm way in too deep to be stopping now.

4th of July Weekend, and Writing Progress

This year was Michael and I's first time spending 4th of July together and I can't believe I didn't get any photos! And Michael only had this one from the weekend:

Top of Poo Poo Point

For 4th of July we went to a friend's barbeque in the afternoon then had a couple over for dinner before going to Volunteer Park to see the fireworks. Michael never know this about me, but I love fireworks. There's just something magical about them and looking at them that night, they reminded me of something from my book that I created.

The next day I met with my critique partner. We're halfway done critiquing each other's drafts! My 4th revision is definitely getting stronger with all of her help. Once home, Michael and I decided to go hiking at Poo Poo Point (Yes, that's actually the name!). We did it last year and decided to do it again this year. Maybe it'll turn out to be a yearly thing for us. I, however, am not athletic as Michael. It was such a breeze for him. I was huffing and puffing the whole way up, but he was sweet enough to encourage me the whole way through.

That evening Michael's parents took us out to Tulio's in downtown Seattle. They spoil us, seriously they do, it was such a treat eating there and it was such a pleasure being in their company as always.

On Sunday Michael and I went out to brunch and then I spent the whole day writing/revising from 10:30 a.m. to 5:40 p.m. That's like a 7-hour shift! If only that could be my full-time job! Perhaps one day.

Though good news is I finished my ending. I've wrote it differently all four drafts, and I finally landed on one that I love. It took me awhile, but I finally got there.Whooo! I still have a lot of editing and revising, but I'll definitely be ready for Pitch Wars and #PitMad in August and September.

I've also been working on my query letter. Man, is that a toughy. I think I've gone through 10 drafts of my query letter now. It's still not quite where I want it though, which is a good thing I'm working on it early. I've also started researching agents to query so that I'll be ready to go when my MS2 is complete.

With all this progress being made, my head is spinning, which means I am in need of a good read. So I'm currently rereading one of my faves, Stolen by Lucy Christoper.

The Ending

The ending is the hardest part to write for M2. I just can't get it down. I've changed it on every single draft, so you can better believe it's rough. Going through what I wrote for my third draft was overwhelming; I just didn't know where to start. How could it be fixed? What should I keep?

Not sure how to tackle it, I closed my eyes and just imagined it. And instead of working in the draft and making changes, I decided to just put pen to paper and wrote it out in a summary style.

Then I felt it, that little click within you that lets you know it fits. This is the ending that the book wants and I just finally figured it out. I have major rewriting to do, but I know it won't need major changes after I get it down. The story's complete and it's finally come full circle. All I need is to execute it.

It's funny. This whole weekend I worried about it. I went running to help clear my mind and get inspiration but came back with nothing. Sunday I was in a funk and just didn't know what to do and over wine told one of my writer friends about my finicky ending. Little did I know it was just waiting to come me.

Better late than never I guess!

Winter to Summer Writing Progress

This was me writing and taking a shameless selfie during the Winter. I had just finished the first draft of M2 and was working on the second. I didn't let anyone read a single page.

This was me this weekend. It's summer. Draft three is done. It is finally being read and critiqued.

And now, I am one third done with my fourth draft revisions. Draft Four. Can you believe it? I've taken many breaks and felt like giving up in these past eight months, so I've written this post to remind myself of this great feat I am undertaking and to encourage myself to keep going.

I've heard some writers say that you have to learn to love the process of writing to be a writer, and I'm trying to do just that. It's not about the end game. It's about the words, the characters, and their story.

Stickin' to it and finishing.

I'm really bad at sticking to one thing and doing it well. I think I get bored easily or maybe I always get excited about something else that I forget about everything else entirely. For example:

Piano? 2 years. Flute? 3 years. Volleyball? 6 years. Soccer? 4 years. Vegan? 30 days. Vegetarian? Approximately 90 days? Pescatarian? 1 year. Competitive running? 1.5 years. Guitar? 5 years. Hot Yoga? 3 months. Boxing? 2 months.

What does this have to do with anything Michelle?

Well, because I have a difficult time staying passionate about one thing, it makes it really difficult for me to finish anything. And this is a real big problem because writing a novel takes commitment and time.

I wrote the first and second draft of M2 in like 5 months. But when it came to draft three I finished 2/3 of it in a month, and then just stopped writing for two months. I crashed and burned. I was just falling out of love with the story and feeling burnt out. And the more distance I put between myself and finishing draft three, the more anxious I was starting to become about getting back to it.

Source: caffeineglaore (tumblr)

I binge read to cope, but in the back of my mind all I kept thinking about is whether or not I'd finish.

Then my YA workshop class ended. I had been using the class as an excuse for not writing, but now that it finished I really had no excuses, did I? Work was finally starting to slow down, and now I had three-day weekends for the summer. If I was going to finish, this was the time to do it.

So I settled my hiney down and finished the last third of draft 3 in a week.

Let me repeat that: one friggin week.

All this time I was so anxious and worked up when really it would just take a week. Draft three isn't perfect and what not, but the point is I finished it. It really put into perspective for me that finishing something isn't so scary. That it's possible to finish things as long as you keep trudging forward. And that sometimes a break (like a crash and burn) is needed to get you right back where you left off.

It really just makes me want to laugh that I was so worked up about it. Anyone ever feel that way?

How I feel about my WIP

 This stare probably says it all. Slightly narrowed eyes with an eyebrow arched as I look at my WIP wondering how I fell so in love with it only to become so sick of it...

Okay so not really. This picture was just me goofing off as my boyfriend Michael snapped a picture of me last weekend while we attended his brother-in-law's graduation, but I felt like it was appropriate to my topic: my feelings about my WIP.

It's been awhile since I've written a 'personal' blog post. Lately, I've kinda just posted about my current reads. I'm a binge reader when writing gets tough as you can tell. In a way when I read books I really enjoy and get lost in, it usually inspires me to get writing again having my cause in mind: to get others lost in my story.

However in the past month, I've dropped the ball on M2. Two thirds done of my third draft, but somehow I lost my fuel and I'm stranded on a road, passing the time reading books in hopes that someone will drive by and help with refueling.

I suppose that's what my YA workshop class is for... and I think it's getting me there. Luckily, I have an awesome critique partner who really has an eye for editing and is sharp to spot the little holes in my story. So maybe with all the collective notes from the end of class, it'll be enough to fuel me up to continue the long, long, journey.

Currently though, M2 is like that amazing song I've put on repeat, listening to it over and over, until I know all the words, but the one I eventually get sick of so I change the station on my radio everytime it comes on. In the end I hope with enough space and time, it'll become the song I'm fond of, always bringing me back to a memory relived everytime I hear it.

But for now, Blaire's expression will suffice in conveying my emotions.

I'm also currently a part of an online writer's group where we meet online and discuss 'writing topics' and I conveyed my feelings to them. They had great ideas for me to make it through my hurdle: get lost on a tangent that can lead to another project, just take a break, push yourself, and just words of encouragment that really help.

So, if you are in a similar place as I in your WIP, I hope this post was a somewhat source of comfort to show that you are not alone.

Best of luck to you and your writing endeavors!

Writing Process Blog Chain

Today I am participating in the Writing Process Blog Chain, where writers answer four questions on their writing process, then tag a friend to keep the chain going.

A big thanks to the lovely Karla Gomez for tagging me (click on her name/link to see her part)! Karla is a fellow blogger and graduated with a B.A. in Literature and Writing. She obtained an internship with the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and shortly thereafter started working at law offices and as a freelance developmental editor for a boutique publishing house. She is currently working on her WIP which she hopes to self-pub later this year.

Alright, now my answers...

1. What am I currently working on?

I'm currently working on a YA fantasy/romance that I've been referring to as M2 on this blog. I've been working on it since the end of October last year and am currently 2/3 done with my third draft. In May I will be sending it out to beta readers and getting feedback via a YA workshop. After that, I'll get my fourth draft of revisions done and start line-edits.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

What differentiates writers from each other are the unique perspectives we all have. My work differs from others of my genre because of the perspective I have and the experiences I have been through; all of that translates into my imagination and I project it in my words, my stories, and above all, my characters. My work is different because it comes from my mind and my heart. That's my unique stamp on it, and there's no duplicating or imitating it, because we as people are all different, and we as writers, write different things. Sure their might be common denominators in our stories, but that's just like life, isn't it? We as people share common interests, may have similar backgrounds, but when it comes down to it, we all look different, we have differnt thumbprints. And words for writers and how we shape them are our own unique thumbprint. Our own unique perspective.

3. Why do I write what I do?

I keep the young adult genre close to my heart because it's shaped who I am. The books were my friends in solitude, the characters showed me it was okay to be different, and the writers that created them made it okay for me to feel instead of hide.

As a child traversing through the unknown, you need something to anchor you. Books were that for me. It gave me an escape when I needed one, but it also kept me grounded. I don't know if that makes sense to you, but that felt like magic to me.

I write young adult, because I think of the little girl that used to be me: scared but brave, hopeful but pessimistic, a romantic yet a cynic, and more than anything I want to reach out to her and say that it's okay. Everything will be alright. Get lost in my story and maybe when you surface things will start to look different.

The thing is, their are probably a lot of young adults who have felt the way I've felt, so writing is really a way of giving back. Like the writers before me, I want to give young adults a place to escape, a place to love, and make them dream up the impossible so that the chain of unexplicaple magic that books give us, continues.

4. How does my writing process work?

There's one quote by Ira Glass that I found extrememly helpful and agree with immensely:

I think I'm still figuring out how my writing process works. I've tried outlines, detailed notes, character and setting sheets, but I never really stick to them. I do, however, keep a notebook just for story ideas and jot them down, list ideas for scenes, and somehow when I've collected my ideas I arrange and rearrange them until a story forms and I just keep writing. And writing. And writing.

Then I revise, and revise, and revise. After, I edit, and edit, and edit (you get the idea, right?).

I highly recommend Scrivener to those working on a large volume of work. It makes it easier to organize your story and jump from one place to the next quickly instead of scrolling through a large document.

I hope you found my answers helpful and interesting. Happy writing all!

I'm passing this chain onto my friend and fellow blogger Monica Mansfield. Tune into her blog next Monday to see her answers!

Monica Mansfield writes for young adults. Her stories lean toward (or submerge themselves shamelessly in) the mythical, magical and otherworldly. She also has a degree in mathematics which she puts to use counting words, calculating discounts, and every week at her day job. She balances her love of words and numbers in and around Boston.

Lessons after my First Draft

The end of the year has been so busy! This post has been delayed, but finally I am sitting down to write it.

This year I've written two manuscripts, both of which are first drafts. The most important thing about writing the first draft for me was "the act of writing". By that I mean I needed to write on a daily basis or create a large volume of work. My college years were dedicated to small pieces and now that I'm out, I have the time to focus on larger pieces.

To those who want to start out writing something novel length. My advice is to write every day and give yourself a word count per day. Achieve that and you'll get a manuscript done in no time. Remember, to be a writer, you have to be writing.

I may not have tremendous experience in novels, but I hope that in sharing my experience with my work, that you'll feel encouraged to try it for yourself.

So here are a few things I've learned along the way:

1. Your first draft will not be the only draft.
2. Don't wait for the words to come, instead just fill it up with what comes to mind.
3. Don't worry too much about mechanics or misspelled words, that fine tuning of work will come later.
4. I know it's tempting, but don't go back and keep rereading, you need to progress forwards not backwards.
5. Write out of order or sequence, just write something.
6. Read encouraging blogs, or start your own to keep you motivated.
7. Read books that are in the genre you're writing in.
8. Read books about writing.
9. Talk about your story to trusted others.
10. Set a timeline.

To break it down in lengthier bits:

1. Your first draft will not be the only draft. Let's face it. No one's first draft is perfect. So roam free and wild in your writing. In the first draft you get to be really creative, explore your characters, the scenes, and get to know the world you're creating. The "real" writing is in the revision and subsequent drafts because once you get the first draft done the shape of your story takes shape and each revision makes the story/shape clearer and sharper with more direction.

2. Don't wait for the words to come, instead just fill it up with what comes to mind. If you're waiting for that stroke of genius to come to you or the inspiration to write, then be prepared to wait forever for your novel to be done. Write when things are good. Write when things are bad. Don't know what word choice to use? Skip it and put a placer. You can always go back and revise it. Can't get a particular scene down? Make a note with brackets on what will go there during your revision right smack in the manuscript. Remember, the first draft is for you. No one has to read it. [Put all the brackets you want] and then continue with the story.

3. Don't worry too much about mechanics or misspelled words, that fine tuning of work will come later. If you're like me and you cringe at every grammar error, all I can say is I feel your pain, but it is okay to look past it for now. Just keep going with your story. Don't let the grammar hangups pull you out of your rhythm. During your final stages, you'll get the chance to clean up those errors line by line.

4. I know it's tempting, but don't go back and keep rereading, you need to progress forwards not backwards. If you want to change something in the story midway, just make the change there and continue on. You can go back on your revision and change it easily. Characters name, color of their hair, subplot, and whatever, change it later.

5. Write out of order or sequence, just write something. You want to write another scene instead of the current one you're working on? Then go for it, it may even spark some ideas for the scenes inbetween.

6. Read encouraging blogs, or start your own to keep you motivated. Hopefully my blog can do that for you, but please do read blogs from your fave authors and read about their experiences. You can always learn from someone else's experience and it motivates you to keep going.

7. Read books that are in the genre you're writing in. It'll remind you why you're writing in that genre and why you love it even when you have a bad writing day.

8. Read books about writing. Seriously, it keeps you motivated, you learn, and it makes you think about your own writing and writing style.

9. Talk about your story to trusted others. When you talk about it, you give it life. It makes you excited about it. It makes you want to write about it. It forces you to explore your story more when someone who doesn't know about your story world asks questions, giving you a different view point.

10. Set a timeline, because a goal without a deadline is nothing but a dream. I didn't make my deadline, but I still finished. It gave me a direction and something to aim for, making me more accountable for my work. I suggest the same. For my second manuscript it took me about two months. So go at your pace, set your own deadlines whether it be pages, word counts, or whichever.

Happy writing everyone! I hope this post was somewhat encouraging and helpful :)

The endeavors of a writer

Reddit: Game of Thrones-Pressures of the 6th Book

The link above will take you to a thread on reddit. Michael came across it the other day and sent it to me. I thought I'd share it with you fellow writers because it sheds light on the truth about writing books-it's goddamn hard.

The past two days I haven't been able to keep up with my word count. Work has gotten really busy for the moment, and I'm just so excited to go back home, see family, and finally be with my pets again. This is a relatively short post, but read the reddit post. It'll make your hump wednesday a little bit better.

NaNoWriMo and my life lesson in first drafts

This November marks my first time participating in NaNoWriMo and I can't believe we're one fourth there. The requirement for it is 50,000 words in 30 days. Though I will have written 50,000 words this month, I've also made my own personal requirement for myself: 80,000 words in 56 days.

The great thing about NaNoWriMo is that it helps condition you to write daily, which is what I needed. Not the journal type of writing that I did daily, but the get-that-fiction-out writing. It's strange though, I enjoy writing but it's also a source of anxiety. Anxiety that is probably due to self-doubt. To explain, let me tell you a story:

Earlier this year I made five goals. One of them was to write a manuscript. The thing with me is I tend to write something then stop after so many pages. I just never finish big projects. In college we concentrated on poetry and short stories, so when I graduated I set out to write a novel. I didn't work, didn't bother finding a job, instead I just cranked out words. I wrote all the way up to the climax of the story in just a matter of weeks. I was almost there. Then the real world set in. I realized that other things were more important and that writing would just have to wait.

I got a job, I moved, and life immediately changed before my eyes. Sometimes I still wake up surprised at the turn of events. It took me awhile to get back into the groove of writing again. A part of me just resisted so much. Even writing in my journal, something I always made time to do, had become difficult.

Sometime in October (or possibly September) I dug up the old manuscript and printed the first 50 pages. I walked to a cafe down the street, ordered myself a pumpkin latte, and sat in one of the brown overstuffed armchairs to read it. I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't my reaction.

I hated my manuscript. Yeah it was a first draft, but it just seemed utterly repulsive to me. I could see my lack of consistency, the voice needed work, dialogue could be better, descriptions needed to be more poetic instead of plain, pacing needed fixing, and so much more. I realized that this first try was a learning experience. It was still a good story, but a story that needed work. One day I would come back to it, but it just wasn't ready... or maybe I wasn't ready.

So I tucked it away and didn't bother reading the rest of it. The first fifty pages had been enough heartache for a day.

As the days passed, I became so anxious and wondered if I would ever become a writer. I was scared to involve myself in another long project in fear of setting myself up for disappointment. So I turned to reading. Like old lovers, the flame was rekindled. I loved the stories, the words, the characters, the memorable scenes, and the array of emotions as I experienced everything alongside the characters.

And I wanted so much to be the creator of something so wondrous that would brighten up someone's day. I wanted to make someone fall in love with reading just like I did.

I started reading writing and author blogs to get inspired and got back to work with another idea (my current project).

I still get anxious about writing. So much that I will never let anyone read my work until it's fully completed for peer review. I'm not sure how many drafts it'll take, but one thing I'm sure of is that it'll never be one.

One thing I did learn about first drafts? It's functional, and that's what makes it magical. Though it may not be the best prose you can manage, the beauty of its magic lies in its existence. The story is real (word-wise anyway) and not just something flitting through your mind.

Isn't that something to be celebrated?

Today I've reached 30,000 words. In just another week I'll be halfway done and I know I'll get this one done. I've outlined the rest, and now that I've seen where the story is headed, I'm excited. I'll make my goal this year.

To all you other NaNoWriMo first-timers, stick with it!