That's Right, You Guessed It

I've avoided the NaNo blog post for as long as humanly possible. In my defense, I did put the little participator badge up at the beginning of October.

The problem? I've been toying with the thought of editing in November instead of writing. It was a fickle dream though.

So I've decided to go all out. That's right. No holding back. See, when you (meaning: me) killed (and I mean KILLED) NaNo last year, there's nowhere to go but down. So I'm putting on my literary armor, storming the storybook castle and forging toward the tallest tower in the north corner.

I'm going NaNo.

Come buddy me.

And then come join us on RallyStorm. I made a separate board in the Writing Throwdown forum, (where some of us have been cheering each other on since April) just for NaNo. And who doesn't need cookies (provided by Danyelle on a regular basis), and encouragement, and hand-holding and a cool place to hang out while they're trying to pound out fifty-freaking-thousand words in only thirty days?? Yeah, you do. You know you need it.

It's free to join, and everyone is welcome.

Who's with me? I said: WHO'S WITH ME? *insert battle cry here*

I've Updated my Website

It's true. I've added some stuff on my website, including the first five pages of the novel I finished in April--thanks to my Throwdown buddies and all their support. Thanks guys!

Don't know about the Throwdown?? It's sort of grown stale lately, but I'm going to renew myself because I've got another novel I have to have ready for my critique group and I'm only 17,000 words in.

Click this graphic Kate made to find out more and join us!


I also put a section on the website about an e-book I'm in the throes of finishing. Check it out for more information. You know you want to.

And Happy Fourth of July! I think this is my favorite holiday. Have a great weekend.

WiP Wednesday - Do I Have to Start All Over Again?

So I finished typing my middle grade novel, LIVING ASSISTANTS. Nice play on words, right? Funny thing is, no one seems as impressed by it as I do. Could be that I'm a word geek, I don't know. But I think it's kind of kewl.

Anyway, finished typing that. It's 33,023 words. Not bad for a middle grade novel. Now I need to really stew on it, because there's a couple of parts that I'm not liking. They don't quite mesh from beginning to end. So I'm going to have to break out the ole zamboni and smooth those parts out. As soon as I save up enough money to invest in said zamboni. *snarf*

Meanwhile, I've figured out why I've been having all this angst over starting something new. I don't like it. Let me say it again: I don't like starting something new. The characters don't know me. I don't know them. I don't really like them yet. I'm a list person and if I could put "write a book" on my list and check it off after one day, I totally would. I can't. And that annoys me. A lot.

So I've been stalling the starting process. It's not fun. I like writing from the middle to the end. I'm more solid there, more set in the world, the characters, the excitement of what's to come. Starting? Not so much.

But I took last weekend off. I read. Watched movies. Listened to the freaking rain outside. Rejuvenated myself to start on Monday morning with my 500-words-a-day challenge. No matter what. Even if it was a scene at the end or middle or whatever. Even if it wasn't something in the same novel.

And you know what? After you write 500 words for a few days or weeks or whatever, you're no longer at the beginning! Woot!

So that's where I am. 1500 words in, but realizing that I won't always be at the beginning. And for now, that's the only thing motivating me to keep going. What about you? What are you working on? Where are you? Having a good time? Need encouragement? (I've got a forum for that....)

As always, anyone, anywhere is welcome to jump on the WiP Wednesday bandwagon. We slow down for anyone who looks like they haven't slept, are muttering to themselves about stupid Bad boys who won't cooperate and/or whose fingers are numb from typing. Believe me, it's a look I can recognize from miles away. Probably light years.

Also, here's the thought-provoking question of the day: Do you like starting something new? Excited to get the story down? Or do you dread it like I do because you're not quite sure who the people are yet or what's going to happen? Remember I don't outline. I've tried. I really have. It's just not my schtick. Maybe that's why I don't like starting something new.... Nah, there's no one "reason." I just don't like it. But I clean my toilets and I don't like that either. I will persevere! (And wow. Who knew I could go from writing to bandwagons to toilets all in one post? I have mad skillz. I feel like I need a medal or something. tee hee.)

Work In Progress - Will I Ever Finish?

I feel like EH is dragging on and on and on...and ON. I feel like I should be done with it already. I'm making slow and steady progress on it, but it's, well, slow. I think one of my problems is I'm not sure how to resolve it. Once the main battle is won, the bad guy (girl, in this case) is defeated, then what? I can't just say, "We moved to Aruba and Adam fed me coconut milk and shellfish everyday." can I? Somehow, I don't think so. *snarfage*

Because of this not-knowing-how-to-resolve issue, I feel like the progress I'm making is leading me toward the gallows. To my ultimate demise. Not only will I not be able to keep up in the Writing Throwdown (can't write if I don't know WHAT to write), but the book will still be unfinished!

Meanwhile, I've got this other story idea brewing in my head, and it actually wants to be written. So do I abandon EH yet again? How many times can you leave a story and it will be waiting patiently for you when you get back? Are they like lovers? Is once already one time too many? What about three times?

If only I could figure out where to go, then I could get there. Since I don't know, I feel like I'm writing more and more, bloating the darn thing to an unmanageable size, just to avoid writing the ending. Avoidance. That's what I'm doing. And my manuscript is paying the price.

So how do I snap out of this? *whines* Help! I've got resolution issues, abandonment, bloating and the very real danger of being thrown down into the seventh rung of writing hell and never climbing back out.

Someone throw me a ladder! Or at least some Oreos.

A Whole New Appreciation

Okay, so we had our first contest on the QueryTracker blog on Monday. I think I got about 923.37 emails that day. I'm not kidding. There were roughly 575 entries. I opened every single one of those emails. Every. Single. One. I responded to almost all of them. In one day.

In addition to those entires, many people sent a thank you reply. That meant more emails. And with the crazy behind-the-scenes communication with my beloved QT co-authors, Ms. Volpe, blog comments that needed to be modified and new twitter followers, and I thought my inbox would spontaneously combust. It did stop working around 10-ish. Michelle had to go in and check if we had any more entries. Oh, we did. Many more.

That really, really, really made me appreciate literary agents more. I missed Nathan Bransford's "Agent for a Day" experience, because I was experiencing it firsthand in my own inbox. And let me just say this: literary agents are...well, I don't know what, but holy super agents. Yeah, that's what they are. Super Agents. They should wear capes and burn holes in stainless steel with just a stern look. Maybe some of them can...

I digress.

Many of you entered, and so many of you left your appreciation in comments on the QT blog. I so appreciate that. Some of you sent me emails with funky concoctions of both chocolate and bacon. That made me snarf out loud, and we all know that's a good thing. So at the risk of sounding all mushy and teary-eyed, I wanted to say thank you.

What a totally huge, overwhelming experience it was. But with such great people at the QT blog--and all of you who gave me kudos and gifts--it made the hours in front of the computer worth it. And my aching fingers. Wait. That might have been from Guitar Hero World Tour...

And to literary agents everywhere, a sincere thank you. It's no wonder you can't answer every email you receive. I bow down to your uber-awesomeness for accepting queries from aspiring authors.

WiP It, WiP It Good

And I have, my friends, I have. Thanks to my Throwdown Challenge, I have been writing every day since we last talked!

I have been amazed by the snarftastic people out there. They've set their goals with me, and together, we're going to get some serious writing done. It's so fun to celebrate with other people who "get" you. So thanks to all my new friends (and several old ones) in the Writing Throwdown.

You thought that's all there would be, didn't ya? *scoff* Hardly.

This is Work In Progress Wednesday, after all.

I've written an additional 4000 words in Elemental Hunger. Here are some highlights:

• Two people have died.
• Winter is finally over.
• A mysterious tattoo has reappeared.
• Adam Lambert helped me through a particularly emotional scene with his rendition of "Tracks of my Tears" on repeat.
• The resolution is still hiding in my brain.

But, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking of my next project. I know I shouldn't be. The football team always focuses on the game at hand. But I know I'm nearing the curing stage of EH, and I'm not going to have anything new to write. Well, that just won't do with my new Throwdown challenge. I must write 500 words every day.

So I asked Christine. She suggested that I write the sequel to Control Issues. I'm thinking about it. Jag sort of has control (with a capital C) over me, so he might get his way. He usually does.

But I'm also stewing over a chick lit idea I had a few weeks (months?) ago. Can't you guys see me writing chick lit? It would basically be like writing the blog, only chickier. Littier. Or something.

Oh, and if you like the LOL cats, thank Michelle. She stayed up late with me last night captioning them for me. Oh and you can pull them from here and use them in your own WiP or Throwdown posts. Spread the love, baby. Spread the love.

How's your work in progress coming? Are you WiP-ing it? Or is it WiP-ing you?

Writing Throwdown a Go

Okay, so I got a lot of positive responses yesterday for the whole writing throwdown thang. So I created a forum on RallyStorm. You do have to sign up, but it's free and totally easy. I named it the Writing Throwdown! forum, but you have to use your imagination to see the exclamation point. Cuz it's not there. I'm going to have to get on Pat about not being able to use punctuation like that in forum names. Le sigh. Can't win 'em all. And you guys have awesome imaginations so I know you'll be able to picture the exclamation point on the title.

Click here to go to the forum. If you're not a member of RS, you'll need to join. I'm ElanaJ over there. (Of course. Who else would I be?) And you do have to request to join the forum, so it would be great if you would like, choose a name similar to your blogger name so I know who you are. This isn't just for everyone and their Shih Tzu. Of course, if you have a few writerly pals who you think would like to join the Throwdown, tell them about it and get them over there.

I can't wait to see what your goals and be able to post my progress for everyone to see! This is really going to help me stay on target and get EH done.