Thursday, November 19, 2015

Query Fears

1. No response...not a no or a yes or a may be but not even a no!

2. Is it the query that's the problem?

3. Is the query well written except the story is a dud... Boring, not unique enough, etc.

4. The first ten pages don't live up to the query and you've edited them all you can.

5. It's urban fantasy and unless you're a published author, no agent's going to take you on.

6. The story had promise but you're just not up to snuff to write it.

7. Never being published.

I say you to seperate myself from my fears. Otherwise this is far too painful.

Friday, November 6, 2015

Plotting and Pansing

How I've written each book had been different each time. Although up until now it was similar in the sense that I "daydream" then outline then write. I'm usually not very intense about outlining but I do it.
The last first draft I finished was different. I was very intense about outlining. I had a generic outline for what should happen when, I had my characters and I plugged them in, following the outline. I had planned out the first 2/3'a of the book before I typed a word. I was open to change as I wrote and I did change some scenes completely and some I just switched where they fell in the book.

My current draft is proving to be  different. I started it thinking it probably wouldn't amount to a story and knowing I had other writing that needed worked on. I'm a third of the way through without having outlined anything. I am finally getting to the point where I feel that I may need to outline the rest of the book at least in a bare bones way to avoid dead ends. But it has been so nice just telling the story without worrying too far ahead. And as I typed that I realized that's how my MC thinks, one day at a time. Hmmmm, interesting. Anyway, my only dilemma is I don't want to spoil the mood. Decisions, decisions.
Keep on going.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Finding the balance

Ever heard it said life is a balancing act? Well it is ;) Depending on your life and family, you balance things out, your wants and needs, someone else's wants and needs; doing what needs to be done or what you want to do.
Currently, I'm a stay at home mom. So my trick is balancing writing with a toddler, a 6 year old, a spouse and our mini farm.  I have found a sort of groove that is unbalanced as only a toddler and a finicky muse can do. I write or do something writing related during each nap time(which may be 30 minutes or at most 1 1/2 hours) and I often do so after the kids are in bed. The bedtime one is hard though because it's a toss up between a shower, sleep or writing. And if I don't have inspiration or a scene that is trying to claw it's way out, writing sometimes comes in last.
But not only do I have to balance finding the time to write versus doing some other tasks that would be easier to do while the toddler is sleeping, I must also balance what I am going to do during my writing time. I could blog. I could polish a query. I could send out queries. I could polish my synopsis. I could edit. I could outline. I could world build. Or, Gasp!, I could write ;)

I love it all. The hard work and the times when words trip over themselves to get on the page. The times when I pass out in bed and the times when I look like crap cause I stayed up late writing instead  of showering.

It's hard sometimes, but that is life. Really the only part that really sucks is I'm not published so I don't get paid. Hunt down your dream!