Outlining Update

I know you're all dying to know how I fared on my outlines this month. I suppose it's time for a status update.

Goal: Have three different outlines for three Shiny New Ideas ready to send off by Sept. 1. With each outline, include sample pages (about 50).

What I Actually Achieved: Two full outlines, with sample pages for both ideas. One with 93 pages, one with 57.

Grade: 2 out of 3 ain't bad, right? 66%? Okay, that's a D. Whatever.

So, how did I--self-proclaimed hater of outlines (and holy cow, are they hard!!)--do it?

So many of you provided links and whatnot to help. I'll admit that most of what I read made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. My brain just doesn't think that way. I loathe the Three Act Structure with every fiber in my heart and liver. Loathe.

But in the end, the explanations Alex Sokoloff's blog provided me with something that made a tiny bit of sense. I read her posts and took notes.

And then I started outlining. I learned several things from doing this:

1. My MC wasn't the most important character. I had to fix that up real fast.

2. Outlining is exactly like pantsing, except you make the crap up BEFORE you actually write it. Go figure.

And for the official record, outlining is MUCH harder. It's like concentrated thinking. With pantsing you can spread out the thinking over weeks or months. With outlining, it's like eating frozen orange juice concentrate straight from the can. It makes you cringe and pucker and salivate like a Great Dane. AND it's nasty. 

3. Outlining causes me to stare aimlessly more than anything else. Seriously, I wasted hours of my life just staring.

4. The thought of outlining keeps me off the computer. Good thing I have a stack of books three feet high. And I have now seen every Chopped and Office episode.

5. Never write "outline" on your to-do list. You'll never cross it off. Ev-er. You just keep doing it until the breath has been sucked out of your body. Don't believe me? Try it.

So are you an outliner or a pantser? A little of both? What have you learned from outlining?

Help A Sistah Out

Okay, so I'm preparing for a class I'm teaching at a conference in a few weeks. It's called "Building Your Blog Into An Online Platform" and I have a lot of ideas, but I'm wondering about a few things. Maybe you guys can help me out.

What questions do you have about blogging? I want to hear from beginning, intermediate, or advanced bloggers. (Let me know what you think your level is in your comment, okay?)

What's the hardest part for you?

What's the easiest part?

What do you wish someone had told you when you started?

What do you want to know now?

Basically, I want to hear your concerns/questions about blogging. I imagine a lot of the attendees will have the same ones.

Thanks, all!

Odds and Yeah, Odds

Okay, so I decided that maybe I should let you know if you won Paranormalcy earlier than September 10, then you can buy it if you don't win it. So I'll draw the winner on Monday night and announce in Tuesday's post, okay? Okay. You can still enter by clicking here.

I don't really have anything interesting to say today. I'm Mockingjay-ed out and I've taught the same lesson at school, like, 23 times, and my brain is uber-taxed to try to come up with something besides muhnnnhumm.

So today, I open the floor. What's interesting in your life?

PARANORMALCY Giveaway

Okay, first off, I know I've been throwing a new book at you every week. Admit it, you like it. Anyway, today's book is PARANORMALCY by Kiersten White. It comes out on Tuesday next, so make sure you pre-order it or go out and buy it. You so won't be sorry.

But to sweeten the deal this time, I'm going to be giving away a copy. Dear Kiersten is coming to Salt Lake in early September (the 11th), and I'm going to her signing!! You can't see how my hands are shaking with excitement right now, but try to imagine it.

So if you leave a comment on this post, you'll be entered to win a signed copy of Paranormalcy!

1. Cover. Dude, if my cover is half as gorgeous as this one, I will cry with relief. And pure joy. I love this cover. Love isn't even a strong enough word for how I feel about this cover.

2. But books aren't all about covers. They're about people. Evie is a such a brilliantly written character. She has flaws. She has emotions. She has power. She has brains. She has it all. If you like compelling characters, you'll like Paranormalcy.

3. Plot. While this book has vampires and faeries and stuff, it's unlike anything else you've read. Trust me. The reason is because it's not about vampires and faeries and stuff. It's about a normal girl who can do something paranormal. And she's not a vampire. Or a faery. Or anything other than a girl who likes a boy. And who hasn't been that person? (Except for all you guys out there. But seriously.) If you like a plot that is fresh and well-paced, you'll like Paranormalcy.

So there. Buy it. Order it. Read it. Love it. I did.

Giveaway winners won't be posted until, IDK, say September 10, and then I'll go to the signing on the 11th. Leave a comment to enter!

And be sure to check out the other Bookanistas and what they've got going down!
Lisa and Laura Roecker spread the love for GRACE
Carolina Valdez-Miller shines a spotlight on PERSONAL DEMONS
Shannon Messenger gushes about MATCHED
Christine Fonseca highly recommends GUARDIAN OF THE GATE
Bethany Wiggins and Suzette Saxton dish about EXTRAORDINARY
Shelli Johannes Wells shares all the BOOKANISTA'S BOOK BUZZ
Myra McEntire shouts out some cover love for CLARITY

Avoiding Annoyances

Okay, so everyone has things that annoy them. I do, trust me. A lot of things. For one, I can't stand it when people make fun of me for saying "front forward." I know it's wrong, okay? I just don't care!

So annoying.

But I've come up with a few tips that will hopefully save you some annoyance points. Then you can use them up on your kids and send them to bed early. *wink*

1. Work. Work is annoying. It gets in the way of what I want to do = write. I can't read blogs, I can't email or chat incessantly, and I can't sleep in until 9. You may say that giving up those things is actually good, that work is actually rewarding.

You would be wrong. And also now annoying me.

So I've got the solution: sell your book for millions! Foreign rights, movie rights, large print and/or audio rights! The sky's the limit, baby. I mean, you sold a book! Aren't you going to be like, uber-rich now??

Yes. Adios annoyance.

2. The Non-Getters. You know who these people are. They're not fans, or family members, or other writers. They're the people you barely know who ask you stuff and get close to you at parties and/or church because they think it's cool you're an author, but they clearly don't "get" anything about what it takes to A) write a book B) get an agent C) sell a book D) refine the book and/or E) actually publish a book.

They want a (free) signed copy at their earliest convenience.

I say: No problem! I've got just what you need to give them what they want.

A smile, a nod, a high-pitched laugh, and an early escape from the conversation by going, "Ca-caw! Ca-caw!" and having your friend rescue you when she hears the prearranged distress call (never leave home without it).

See ya later, alligator.

3. Good books. Yeah, they shouldn't annoy me. They do. I wish I'd written them. I wish other people weren't so dang talented. I wish, I wish, I wish.

So in my ultra-annoyed state over the fact that my creative genius is actually creative crap, I've devised a solution to this never-ending nightmare of annoyance.

I've started a little self-talk, and it goes something like this: "This is a very good book, Elana. You should learn from it instead of being so insanely jealous and/or depressed that you'll never write like this, and/or have such a vivid imagination, and/or tap into your emotions in the right way. Maybe consider taking some notes on what they do that you like so much, and hey, maybe you'll figure out where all the key points are so you can actually finish that outline you started three weeks ago and never finished, and oh my heck, your deadline is in like, less than a week, and you're not done yet, and why are you wasting time reading this annoyingly good book??"

So you can see what I've done here. I've actually distracted myself AWAY from the annoyance and into panic.

Works every time.

What annoys you, and what are your Annoyance Solutions?

**Disclaimer: this blog post may or may not contain situations that may or may not have occurred in my life. Or with this friend I know...

Truthful Tuesday Gets Personal

Okay, I'm going to admit something scary and wildly personal and something I hope I've been keeping deep inside (except from my CP's and others insane enough to encourage an email relationship with me).

But who am I kidding? You guys can see into my head, right?

Are you ready, though?

Okay, so I got my copy edits, and holy cow, you guys. It's the first time EVER that my book actually feels like a book. And it's still printed on 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper. But dude, it has all this writing on it from ACTUAL EDITORS, and it had the front pages of the book. You know the ones that we authorly people all read first. The ones that list the imprint, and the font the type is in and the date it was published. You read those right? Or is that only me...?

Ahem, anyway.

So those pages are in the copy edits. And it says "Copyright [insert little copyright symbol here] by Elana Johnson 2011."

I can feel the tears starting, but I'm blinking rapidly so I can keep reading what else is in those opening pages.

I look down, and there's an ISBN number for both the hardcover and the e-book.

My husband loses it.

I'm thisclose to sobbing, and I'm just sitting there holding this HUGE stack of paper, and it's not even a book but it's so a book, and not just any book, but MY BOOK.

And just as I'm about to let the tears out, I get hit with this giant wave of...

Fear.

And that's my truth for today.

I'm terrified of my book being born.

More than dogs, more than ducks, more than running out of bacon, I'm scared of my book becoming real and the fact that other people are going to read it.

Crazy?

You decide.

What are you afraid of?

Motivational Monday

This summer, my fabu crit partner, Sara, spent a bunch of time in London researching Winston Churchill. (Yeah, your summer just got worse, didn't it? Don't worry, mine too.) She brought us (the crit groupies) a bunch of stuff from England that we totally don't deserve. This postcard was one such gift, and one of the most inspiring things I've read in a long time.

I think I'll let it speak for itself.

But go check out what my CP's have to say about this motto.
Jenn Wilks
Ali Cross
Stacy Henrie

And you knew it was coming... What's a motto?

I don't know. What's the motto with you?

Haha! But seriously, do you have a motto that inspires you? It's Motivational Monday - lay it on me!

Oh!! And don't forget that we WriteOnCon organizers are doing a live chat tonight to get your feedback about the conference so we can make next year's event beltacular (don't know what that means? It'll blow your mind). So join us on the WriteOnCon site at 9 PM EDT.

Things I Care About

I've been putting this post off for a couple of weeks now. Well, not this post exactly, but what this post used to be titled. I changed it and will probably just ramble today. But you know you like that, so whatever, whatever.

Today, I'm bringing you sort of a different post than I normally do. I don't know why, but it's the first day of school today (*SOBS*) and I'm actually at work for 8.5 hours today. I might die. If you don't see me on twitter or facebook later, send in the paramedics, okay? Okay.

So things I care about this week:

1. The YA contemps. I simply adore this idea, this blog, and this genre. I love love love reading (and writing) YA contemporary. I'm hoping one day I'll be able to be an author on their blog. *fingers crossed*

Go. Follow. Take the challenge. Read.

2. Charity Blogging Event for CJ Redwine. Again, I don't normally do stuff like this, but I'm feeling all nostalgic about adoption. My SIL adopted a baby in February, and I've witnessed the miracle first-hand. So basically CJ is trying to adopt a child from China, and to raise money, she's asked you to give up your morning coffee (or whatever) and donate the $5 for that.

Go. Do your good deed. Pay It Forward.

3. My garden. I live in a tiny townhome, with a tiny backyard. My grass is like, four feet long because I never mow it. But about a block away, there's some common ground where a bunch of us have garden plots. I *heart* mine. I harvested 15 cucumbers, 3 mini-pumpkins, a handful of cherry tomatoes and strawberries, and well, okay. I ripped out 4 pumpkin vines, and let me tell you, my arms are scratched up. But dude! Pumpkins can really spread out...

4. Time management. Like I said, school started up again today. I'm going to have to figure out how to fit my 6-hour-a-day job into my life. And let me tell you, dragging my sorry carcass out of bed at 9 AM has come to a screeching halt.

So there. Things I care about today. What do you care about?

Bookanistas -- The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

This week for Bookanistas, I'm recommending THE ETERNAL ONES by Kirsten Miller. The concept of having a soul mate that spans centuries isn't uncommon (I've read a couple of books like this just this year alone).

But this book is. The way it's done shows a true storyteller. Let's break it down.

1. Characters. Haven is a small-town girl who's spirit is yearning to find her soul mate, Ethan. She doesn't remember anything, but she knows she's inexplicably drawn to him. She's got spunk and a uniqueness about her that made me feel like I was reading about someone I've never read about before. And that takes some talent.

Beau is Haven's best friend, and he is carefully crafted to avoid the typical stereotype as well. Besides Haven, he was my favorite character.

There are many other people that shape Haven's story, and each one of them is drawn in the same unique light as she is.

And that's refreshing.

2. What else I loved: the reincarnation aspect. I truly appreciate stories that don't feel like variants of other stories I've read, so while the themes of love spanning centuries isn't new, The Eternal Ones felt like it was.

I know I've said that like, twice now, but I don't know how else to say it. You've just got to read this book. It came out last Tuesday, so get your copy today.

Check out what else is up for Bookanista review this week:
Myra McEntire - WHITE CAT
Shelli Johannes Wells - PARANORMALCY
Christine Fonseca - THE HEALING SPELL
Shannon Messenger - NIGHTSHADE CITY
Carolina Valdez Miller - THE MOCKINGBIRDS
Jamie Harrington - PARANORMALCY
Lisa and Laura Roecker -- PARANORMALCY

Things We Don't Speak Of

Oooh, secrets today, my pretties.

Admit, you're still here because you think I'm gonna go all word vomit and spill a bunch of stuff you're dying to know. I don't know what that would be since pretty much everything about myself is already out there.

But here goes:

1. Yes, my title's been changed. I l-o-v-e it! My young adult dystopian novel is now called POSSESSION and is still slated to come out next summer. I *think* I've gone through to all the sites that I maintain and have changed it. If you have it on your site anywhere, could you make the switch? I'd be ever so grateful.

2. As an author, you should never discuss certain things on your blog. Someone spoke about this during WriteOnCon, but it bears repeating. These are the Things We Don't Speak Of: your advance, your relationship with your agent/editor, your neurosis. These things are private, and should be discussed privately with the appropriate parties. Side note: It's rude to ask someone how much their book sold for. Just sayin'.

3. I have officially cleared my plate of specific things. Namely the QueryTracker blog. I have loved every single minute at QT, but it's time for me to set sail. I've been hoping to announce what I've been doing besides blogging for QT, but that time has not yet ripened.

My friends and I have also discontinued blogging at What Writers Read. It's a good idea, and a fun blog idea, but none of us really has the time to devote what needs to be devoted to it at this time.

4. The best part of the movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid was when Rodrick wore guyliner. True that.

I think that's it for this round of Things We Don't Speak Of. What do you have to add to my list? What are some things (not like, Cold War secrets or anything, please!) that you just don't speak of? Did I go too far with the guyliner? Sigh. Probably. *wink*

Loyalty

Those of you who saw into my notebook of secrets knew I was going to blog about this this week. The problem is, I can't remember what I was going to say, exactly. I'm going to blame it on my severe case of Outline Brain.. (BTW, I thank all of you who blogged about this or offered advice. Since that post, I have written a COMPLETE OUTLINE and half of another. Too bad that's only halfway through what I need to accomplish.)

But I wanted to talk about loyalty. I'm a very loyal person by nature. I get fiercely attached to people and if someone says something about them look out!! I want to go all ninja and start punching.

And I'm wondering: Is this good or bad?

I think my fierceness in defending people has burned me in the past, but I'm not sure if I should care enough to change that part of myself.

And since this isn't like, The Elana Show, how does this relate to writing? Well, I've been developing a character recently that realizes that something she fears is unfounded. She should probably change her belief. My question is: Does she have to?

Can I remain fiercely loyal, even to a fault?

Can my character hold on to her fear, even though she knows it's irrational?

So confess...what do you know about yourself that you should probably change, but don't? Why don't you? Is it hurting anybody? Is it hurting yourself?

Yeah, randomness today. But what do you think??

Dream Big, Work Hard

I know, I know. Surely you tire of hearing about WriteOnCon. But I just want to use it to illustrate a point today.

We've received many emails thanking us for the hard work we did on WOC, and how amazing it was. I want to share how it started.

A Big Dream by Casey McCormick

One day a blogger/author/mom/student/all-around-awesome-person is reading blogs. She reads one and leaves a comment, just like she does on lots of other blogs everyday.

The blog author where Casey left the comment sees the comment, and suddenly shares the Big Dream with Casey. She emails her.

Here's the blog comment that inspired the Dream: DUDE, I totally have an idea for June or another month that I could give you. It's something I've thought about doing but you'd pull it together way better than me. No idea if you'll like it/be up for it but feel free to e-mail me. :)

Here's the response (notice the lack of humility. Oops.): Dude! Email me! We should so do something together anyway. I mean, the two of us? We'd be unstoppable...

Those words were the Dream seeds. We planted them. We brought in other people to fertilize (uh, LiLa), water (Shannon) and prune (Jamie). We loved the Big Dream, and we worked hard to bring it up right. We poured countless hours into its well-being, and we never once thought about quitting (although we may or may not have thrown up a few times before going live with the Big Dream).

Our Big Dream might not be inspiring to you. But I'm here to tell you that if 6 people who have never met each other can share a Big Dream, then you can too. Whatever your Dream is, embrace it. And then work your freaking tail off to achieve it. Coming from someone who continues to Dream Big, I know that hard work is the only way to achieve your goals.

Got any Dream Big, Word Hard stories? Feel free to share.

Holy Mother of Pearl

WriteOnCon 2010 is over, which means I can now die. Or at least sleep for a really long time. So that's what I'm going to do. Hope you had a great week, found something to inspire you, or a technique to try in your writing.

Oh, and it's Friday the Thirteenth. All the more reason to crawl into bed and sleep the day away.

But before I do that, I want to scream a HUGE THANKS to Lisa and Laura Roecker, Casey McCormick, Jamie Harrington, Jen Stayrook, and Shannon Messenger for their amazing hard work in putting together WriteOnCon. They are all simply fabulous, and I've enjoyed the thousands of emails we've shared over the past three months. Hopefully, my inbox won't be too quiet now.

And this vlog sums up the past three days. Enjoy!

WriteOnCon Day Three

All right. Day Three. Have you enjoyed the conference so far? Wait, I've turned off comments so you can't answer that. Hopefully you've found something to help propel you forward in your writing journey!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

6:00 AM: Writing With a Real Life by author Lindsey Leavitt

7:00 AM: Writing Advice from PJ Hoover and the Texas Sweethearts

8:00 AM: Writing Realistic, Captivating Dialog by author Tom Leveen

8:30 AM: Author Branding by author Shelli Johannes-Wells

9:00 AM: How to have a Successful Author Event at a Bookstore by Calondra McArthur

10:00 AM: Q&A by literary agent Steven Malk

10:30 AM: Writing a Complete Story Even Though it’s Part of a Trilogy by author Michelle Zink

11:00 AM: From Submission to Acquisition: An Editor’s Choose Your Own Adventure by editor Martha Mihalick

12:00 PM: Transitioning from Adult to YA by author Risa Green

1:00 PM: Rhyme in Picture Books by author Tiffany Strelitz

2:00 PM: The First Five Pages by Kathleen Ortiz (3 part series, part 2, part 3)

3:00 PM: Writing Thrillers for Young Adults by author Kimberly Derting

3:30 PM: Picture Books and Easy Readers by author Shelley Thomas

4:00 PM: Staying positive in the face of rejections by author Crystal Stranaghan

5:00 PM: Avoiding Character Stereotypes by literary agent Mary Kole

6:00 PM: Creating New Mythologies by author Aprilynne Pike

9:00 PM: Panel of Professionals chat LIVE (Michelle Andelman, Molly O’Neill, Kate Testerman)

10:30 PM: The Revision Process from Both Sides of the Desk, a live Workshop with literary agent/author Regina Brooks

WriteOnCon Day Two

Here's the amazingness of Day Two of WriteOnCon. Don't miss our many live events today!!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

6:00 AM: Romance in YA by author Lisa Schroeder

7:00 AM: Plot and Pacing by author/literary agent Weronika Janczuk (series of 3, posted every 20 minutes, part 2, part 3)

8:00 AM: Using an Independent Publicist by author Lauren Becker

9:00 AM: The Revision Process by author Cynthea Liu (series of 3, posted every 20 minutes, part 2, part 3)

10:00 AM: Transition From Self-Published to Traditional Publishing by author Jennifer Fosberry

10:30 AM: Joanna Volpe’s query critique

11:00 AM: Live blogging event: Queries with literary agent Natalie Fischer

12:00 PM: Creating Memorable Characters by literary agent/author Mandy Hubbard

1:00 PM: Reaching Out to Schools and Libraries Before You’re Published by author Stasia Ward Kehoe

2:00 PM: Sex in YA: The ABC’s of Hooking Up by author Suzanne Young

Live chat with literary agent Natalie Fischer

3:00 PM: Keynote Address by author Lindsay Eland

3:30 PM: Writing Genre Fiction by author Julia Karr

4:00 PM: Do’s and Don’t’s of Querying by literary agent Kate Testerman

5:00 PM: Authentic/Edgy YA by author Kody Keplinger

6:00 PM: How to Make a Character Collage by author Tera Lynn Childs

7:00 PM: Live chat with literary agent Jennifer Laughran

9:00 PM: Panel of Professionals chat LIVE (Anica Rissi, Joanna Volpe, Suzie Townsend, Mary Kole)

10:30 PM: Building an Online Presence, a live Workshop with author Daisy Whitney