BEA, Wednesday WIP, and Music

Hello again. It's been a little while since I last posted, or even logged onto blogger. I've been super busy at work preparing for BEA (BookExpo America, for those who don't know). It will be my first year attending and I am super excited. Not only will I, hopefully, see authors that I love, I may have the chance to meet agents. Anything is possible. At least, that's how I'm going to look at it for now.

I'm posting about my work in progress a little early just to be sure that I do. I finally bit the bullet last weekend and really dug into my WIP. Reading it aloud at first felt awkward. Maybe the scenes aren't right yet, but once I got the hang of it, it's really rather fun. Especially since my WIP is first person, narrated by a teenage boy. He's lots of fun, and I hope it isn't just me that thinks that. But once I'm done with this edit, I'll be sending it to friends. Please like it, friends, please.

I go through music in phases. Sometimes, I love just one band and listen to it religiously. Other times, I just can't stand to listen to music at all, especially if I think it will distract me from my writing. Right now, I'm in a completely new phase. One that is probably influenced by Maggie Stiefvater. I've started creating a playlist for my next novel. I'm collecting songs that remind me of characters, scenes, general feelings. And in doing this, I've really started to listen to my music more. I clean while blasting it, I'm even playing music now as I blog.

Let me preface the paragraph above with two bits of information: First, I usually find a song or two that reminds me of certain books or characters, but this is the first time I've found enough to make a playlist, and it's exciting to me. Second, like all people (or most people), I was having a low period in my life last week. No real reason, I just felt depressed. But this past weekend, I picked myself up, dusted off my life (metaphorically and literally), and I got through it with zest. I think the music helped. It always makes things like cleaning and chores more fun. Or work, it helps work go by faster too.

So, for the moment, life is looking good. The music is on. My spirits are up. And my novel is progressing. Cheers!

(Oh and I also bought a ton of books this weekend. Who doesn't love getting new books?)

WIP Wednesday

After 18 hours of editing since Saturday, I am so ready for a WIP update. Last night, I spent four hours removing or replacing three words (in general, not JUST three words): Look, head, and get. Let me tell you, it feels good after you're finished with that type of editing. In the middle, however, you start to wonder just how good an author you are if you keep using the same five words over and over. And then you worry about your sanity.

But good news, author-friends! I have reached the light at the end of the tunnel. Only a few little tweaks and an out loud reading stand between me and my test audience (aka my brilliant friends who agreed to read my work).

It's an exciting time. And a scary one. Before others read a WIP, it's secret, it's private, and it's personal. Then someone reads it. And even though I worry about this before someone reads it, my worries grow. Is it funny where I think it's funny? Does it hold together? Will people read it because it draws them in, or are they reading it because they are my friend?

But this novel, I'm taking a pill. A chill pill. I live my life in an almost constant state of self-consciousness. Not with this novel. I wrote it because I wanted to. I like it, and that's what matters most right now. I've never been so happy that I followed my gut.

So, here's to everyone's WIP! May your novels shine and may you be proud of what you've written.

WIP Wednesday

I rarely take the time to write a blog post about my work in progress on a Wednesday, so I guess the planets aligned for this one. And this time, I have two (yep, you read it two) works in progress. This is such a change from last year, when I was so busy with moving and getting situated. Where I worked on nothing all year (or the majority of it).

WIP #1: First Draft Completed
To Do:
1. Incorporate notes from a friend (first 11 chapters).
2. Review my highly over-used words and decide on which to change or remove.
3. Look for adverbs, repetitive sentence structures, and "bad" words (Example: very).
4. Fix two plot holes (small, I swear, they are small!)
5. Hand off my Second Draft to trusted friends who will give me honest advice.
6. Start the editing process again. (Rinse, Repeat).

WIP #2: Ideas Phase
To Do:
1. Figure out characters, location, plot.
2. Set up writing goals.
3. Write!

I go through phases where I really work hard on my novel. Like I spent a month working my butt off writing WIP #1 (Sorry, not ready to release the name yet). But right now, I'm in a funk. Maybe it was because I was sick. Maybe I've grown lazy. Either way, the more excited I get about WIP #2, the better it is for both books because that means I'll spend more and more time working and writing my novels.

How are your works-in-progress going?

A Little Thing Called Patience...

For someone who is highly motivated (at least in comparison to some people), I sometimes have a little trouble with patience. You would think that after spending months and months writing a manuscript, that I could practice waiting. Nope.

I really can be patient, but I don't want to be. Not right now, and unfortunately, it's the time when I need it the most. I finished my WIP a few weeks ago. I just went through one round of edits and I'm dying to jump back into it. But I shouldn't. I need to take some time away. Need some perspective. Anyone else experienced this?

In the meantime, I have other ideas to entertain. Including several ideas for short stories. Despite my last post, I'm not anti-short story. In no way. I just really enjoyed the post I linked and wanted to explain my feelings on them. They work well for magazines, but not as collections in books. At least, to me. But, a well-written story is a story worth reading, no matter how long or short, yes?

WIP Wednesday Update

I've been away from blogger for a week. And I thought it was just my laziness catching up with me. But tonight I just completed my first draft of my novel. I got to 83,000 words. Which means (I just realized this) that I wrote 23,000 words in a week. One week. Just so I could get this draft finished before my vacation like I had planned. I'm sure not all of it is worth saving, but I can't help but be excited for the little gems I never would have gotten if I didn't push myself. If I didn't think deeper about scenes and not allow myself to just gloss over things to get to the end. Because I didn't. I wrote way more than I thought I had in me (or that the story had in it). But with all first drafts, what matters is that I got it all down.

Now, it's time for vacation. I'll be back with pictures and stories (hopefully good) when I return the last week of March. 

WIP Wednesday

That's right, folks! I am updating about my current work in progress. Last night, I reached 60,000 words. My goal is to have the first draft complete before I go on vacation next Friday. The odds aren't looking good, not if my first draft will truly be 80,000. But I have a feeling it may be closer to 75,000 with room to expand a few scenes and cut extraneous stuff. Either way, I'm determined to complete it. And so is my muse.

My muse is actually a real person. Often times it's been imagined people, but for this work, it is without a doubt a real live person who yells at me when I mess around on the internet instead of writing. Apparently my own internal writing muse hasn't been enough lately. Oh well. Either way, I'm nearing the finish line and it feels good. Last year I didn't complete a single work in progress. Last year was a bad year for my writing.

How is everyone else's works? What stage are you in? First edits? Querying? First draft? Last edits?