2013: Baby Steps

This has been by far, one of the hardest posts to write.  

Is it because the subject matter is deep and dark?

Or that the topic is dear to my heart?

Sadly, I'm afraid not.  I am quite simply suffering from New Year's fatigue.  

So having said that, the light bulb flickered (ever so slightly) and I've decided to devote this post to four little things I've done to try and get me out of this rut.  

The first was easy.  I read this article by indie editor Lorin Oberweger.  Instead of five hours in a spin class, this article on writer's hubris is like starting the year off in a warm bath with a good book.  It's food for thought to savour and kick start a productive (and positive) writing groove.    

The second was ordering this:

Am I embarrassed that I have the computer skills of a twelve year old (actually, that's probably an insult to those smart little people).  Maybe a tad, but I'm determined to make this year as productive as possible.  If it takes a little pain to get a lot of gain, sign me up!  

The third is something most of us do at least once a day, if not more.  I checked my Facebook account. After copious "Happy New Year" status updates and celebratory photos (some more kosher than others), I clicked on the link to my very supportive writers group who wrote words of encouragement and notes on what they're goals are for 2013.  It's great to know that I'm not the only one swimming uphill to kickstart the New Year. 

Finally, I set a short term goal.  I signed up for the Novel Gurus workshop.  Actually, this is a bit of a lie as I booked the event prior to Jan. 1, but since it's less than two months away, I darn well better get hustling!  

Now if only I can get myself to the gym....   

Writer's Resource: Search Twitter for Relevant Information

Hello out there! This is our first Writer's Resource post in a while, but it's a good one.

I talked about how useful Twitter can be in a previous post (Twitter-ific: Twitter for Writers), but did you know you can also use it as a tool to find specific information?

I learned about this method from one of the Literary Rambles website's brilliant Tip Tuesday posts.

You can use Google to search through an agent's posts to see if they've said anything recently that might be relevant to you or your manuscript (such as "Even though my website says I like contemporary, I'm not the right agent for contemporary romance" or "You can send me queries, but I'm really not looking for new clients right now"--both statuses I've actually seen!). Often you'll find much more up-to-date information via Twitter than on an agency website or blog.

Here's how it works: in the Google search bar, type site:twitter.com/[twitter user name, without the @ sign]. Then type your search term.

Here's an example. Let's say I wanted to find out what Janet Reid (one of my favorite Twitter agents!) has been saying about mystery novels recently. I would type the following:

This takes me to a list of her recent comments on Twitter that include the word mystery.

Pretty cool, huh?

Happy New Year! And now for some laughs...

Happy New Year Everyone!

It's crazy to think that less than a year ago I had the privilege of meeting Jenn, Triona and Lauren at a writing workshop, and now we are blog buddies, crit partners, and writing warriors together.  Amazing how much can happen in a single year.  I'm excited to see what 2013 will bring!

In the mean time, I thought I would kick off the new year by sharing one of my favorite sites to visit when I need a good laugh.

Comedy Obsession #1: Buzzfeed

A coworker of mine introduced me to this site on an especially slow Friday. There are lots of goodies on there, but my favorites are the hilariously absurd lists they compile. Like this list that compiles the 25 Worst (or  best, depending on your perspective) auto-corrects of 2012.  Make sure you have a box of tissues nearby - it made me laugh so hard I cried!

If you like the auto correct list, check out this list of twitter spelling mistakes. I mean really - cologne vs. colon? What is wrong with people?!

Not to be missed are the animal compilations, like this one:  33 Dogs and Cats Who Just Don't Know Anymore.  I've had days where I can easily relate to 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 20, 28 and 32.

Or if you are just a fan of puppies and like a good ohmigoditssocuteiwanttoeatitup moment, check out 50 Puppies to Get You Through the Work Day.  Yeah, they're that cute.

Hope you enjoy, and happy New Year to all!

How to Do NaNoWriMo Any Month of the Year

Most writers have heard of NaNoWriMo, also known as National Novel Writing Month. Every year, hundreds of thousands of brave souls sign up to write a 50,000 word novel (or 50,000 words of a novel) entirely in the month of November.

This is, of course, a huge time commitment. It translates to 1667 words per day, weekends included. For those who have jobs, families, and other interests, this can be very difficult. There's a lot of frantic key pounding.

Basically, setting high targets for yourself is a way to get the words out there. True, they're probably not the greatest words ever written--in fact, they're probably bordering on crap. (See this previous post for more on why first drafts generally suck and why that's okay.) But NaNo can be an awesome kick in the pants if you're the type of writer who fears the scary blank page/screen.

But sometimes November just doesn't work. You might already be in the middle of writing another novel, or querying, or working on revisions (like I was this year). Or maybe there's something else going on in November that makes it a bad time (relatives coming for the holidays, anyone?).

It's great to have the support of all the other NaNo-ers in November, but it's important to remember that anyone can set their own goal to write 50,000 words in a month without having to base it around someone else's schedule. 

This month, I've challenged myself to write the 50,000 words I need to finish the first draft of my new YA manuscript. Since I was already 20,000 words in, this manuscript wouldn't work with the official NaNoWriMo rules--but guess what? This is my own thing, so I make the rules.

And the great thing is that I'm not the only one. I've connected with a group of people on Twitter who are all planning to finish something in January, whether that's a first draft, research, querying, or revisions. Posting goals and checking in is a great way to stay motivated. Come check it out at the hashtag #TheJanPlan if you're interested!

One thing I knew I wanted was some sort of graph to track my progress toward my word count goal. I found this great website (generously offered for free, but he welcomes donations to help defray hosting costs): http://writetrack.davidsgale.com/.

This site lets you set your word count goal first, and then you enter your daily totals to track your progress on a graph like this one:

There's even an option to note certain days you know you won't be able to get much done. The program will then redistribute the words to the other days so you have an accurate target of the daily progress you need to meet your goal.

The plan is to have a completed draft by February 1st, ready to be set aside for a few weeks and then revised. Wish me luck!

Announcement: Contest to Win a Teen Beta-Reader (No. You Don't Get to Keep Him)

 

Coming soon (submissions will be due in about a month), Thinking to Inking is bringing you a contest. More specific details (dates, procedures)to follow, but here is the premise:

Un-agented writers, agented writers, and published writers all have the opportunity to “win” a beta reader. These beta readers aren’t just any readers, though. They are, perhaps, even more terrifying than Simon Cowell. They are some of the toughest critics around: a fantastic group of sophomores in the reading intervention class at the high school where I teach (not my students).

The teens will be sifting through your synopses and sample pages to pick a book to read in class. Winners of the book selection game will be posted on the site for all to see who can lure in a very reluctant reader with their enticing premise and voice. Writers will then submit a “full” to the student to read. Students will read and  privately provide feedback to writers on what feels inauthentic, and quite possibly where the reader gave up (these are incredibly reluctant readers – no guarantees that they will finish reading your book).

At the end, students will advocate for/debate which book they think needs to be published most, and we will post the winner on the site so the whole world will know that the winner has reached some of the most unreachable readers.

Put your brave-boots on, writers, and get prepared to wow those who fill these desks…

PS Happy Holidays! I wrote a post a few years back on career histories of some of my favorite poets/authors along the lines of Jen’s inspirational “keep going” post earlier. If you’ve never heard the legend surrounding Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy  Evening”, or how David Sedaris got his break you may want to check it out. Oh, and it’s all holiday-themed for your snow-falling pleasure.

PPS If you’re in the holiday spirit and want a cool way to help the world, head over to Nathan Bransford’s blog to learn how to help Heifer International help the world.