Write Turn Ahead

Friday Five

2012-06-01T14:01:00.000+01:00

I have too much randomness in my head for a writing post this week, so I'm picking up the Friday Five theme from the blogosphere and running with it!

1. This weekend is the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the boy has been preparing for school Jubilee celebrations all week. He's made a crown and a lunchbox in preparation for today's festivities and when he left for school today in his red, white and blue, I couldn't help but think how really truly British he is -- right down to asking me if I remembered to put crisps in his lunch! I mean, seriously, don't you think he looks like a little English boy? Not a trace of New York in him that I can see...

2. Speaking of New York, I spent last week back in New York City for work (and shopping and eating and meeting friends)! It was the first time I'd ever stayed in the city in a hotel on my own because, well, when you live there, what need is there for a hotel? It was also the first time since having the boy that I've been away for a whole week. I missed him a lot, but Skype is a wonderful thing. And New York...sigh. Bagels. Pizza. Running in Central Park. In some ways it still feels so much like home. I walked everywhere. Literally. And I got to meet up with everyone I wanted to see! I feel blessed to have the kind of friends whom I can go years without seeing and we're able to pick up like we saw each other last week. That is something rare and wonderful.

3. Before I left for New York, I downloaded a ton of books to my Kindle. And didn't read any of them. But, now back in the groove of commuting and train delays, I just finished Tammara Webber's mature YA contemporary, Easy. So. Good. I've read all of Webber's books, but she knocks it out of the park with Easy. The plot and characterizations are terrific, and the conflict is so emotional and real I found my breath catching in my chest as I read.

4. I'm 50% convinced I want to sign up to run the Amsterdam marathon in October. A friend had originally said she'd do it with me, but every time I bring it up, she rapidly changes the subject, so I'm pretty sure this will be a solo run if I do it. I haven't done a full marathon in a LONG time and the thought of those 20-mile training runs makes me tired already. On the other hand, I'm kind of itching for a physical goal to focus on for a change. So, anyone either want to talk me into it or do it with me? Anyone?

5. And finally...It's June! How on earth did that even happen?

Happy Friday, everyone. And happy 4-day weekend if you're in the UK!

20Q Update

2012-05-11T22:43:00.003+01:00

I've "finished" Twenty Questions!

Tonight, I did the final find/replace for shrug (my characters shrugged A LOT) and sent it to my agent for her comments, review and general wisdom. Yes, that's right, my baby is out in the world, so to speak. Because even though others have read my manuscript, sending to my agent takes it to a different level. It says: I feel like this is the best it can be. I'm ready to commit to it.

This book has taken me a little over a year to write. It's been draining and exhilarating in equal measure. In reality, I was committed to it long before I pressed send tonight, but now it's out there. Ready to be judged for the first time. My wonderful crit partners aren't judgmental. Nor is the one non-writer friend who's read it. But if my agent doesn't judge my manuscript, she's not doing her job.

So now it's in her hands and, while she's doing her job, I'll be...biting my nails a bit, hoping she loves it. But I'll also be catching up on my reading, watching TV and scrolling through my file of ideas thinking what I'd like to do next. I also have a day job that's ratcheted up a lot in the last day or so. So, I'll be plenty busy. I'll barely have time to think about my manuscript taking its first baby steps. I won't give it a second thought, right? Anyone? Right???

This.

2012-05-04T23:18:00.000+01:00

My friend posted this on Facebook and it made me think if I had a credo, this would be it. Maybe you'll find that it resonates with you, too. Happy weekend everyone.

Motivation -- Fake It Til You Make It

2012-05-02T21:08:00.000+01:00

It's been raining A LOT here in London (despite all the bus signs proclaiming "We Are In Drought" -- which bugs me b/c I really think it should be "We Are In A Drought") and I think I'm finally succumbing to the relentless grey because my mood the past week or so has been wavering somewhere between mediocre and bad. I have editing to do, I owe my crit partner back her manuscript, and my day job is off-the-chart busy. And the boy still wants an occasional hot meal! The problem is: I'm not motivated to do any of it. I look at my tasks, flip through my emails, and scan the fridge but...ick. No thank you. With a big dose of no.

But needs must, as they say. (Actually, I'm pretty sure I've never said that before this minute, so maybe they don't say it, really.) Which is the point of this post. Not my haranguing -- that would probably make me feel better for a fleeting moment before it made me feel spectacularly self-indulgent. Because, no matter my motivation or lack thereof, things need doing! Deadlines must be met! Reading must be done. Curries must be created, if only because they provide an opportunity to use all the questionable veg in the crisper. Those tasks are not going away and, almost in spite of myself, I've actually come up with a few ways to fake motivation until it reignites itself. Or until it stops raining. Whichever comes first.

Setting deadlines I'll be too embarrassed to miss. E.g., promising my agent my edited manuscript by (gulp) next week. She asked me to name a date. I did. And now I'm obligated to it unless I want to email her with my proverbial tail between my legs and tell her I didn't finish. And I so so so don't.
Promising myself I can quit after a pre-determined period of time. When I first started running, I used to tell myself I could quit after a mile if I still hated it. I did occasionally quit back then and I occasionally quit now when I tell myself I can stop writing/editing after an hour. But, most of the time, once I'm in it, I don't hate it nearly as much as I did in anticipation.
Taking advantage of small chunks of time. The boy goes to an after-school thing every Wednesday for an hour. I've found that if I take my laptop, I get more done in that hour waiting for him than I did in the previous six because I know it's a limited-time-only proposition.
Getting off the internet and IM. I'm the first to admit I spend way too much time online. When I'm in the zone and motivated, I can multi-task. Now, however, I've got to suck it up and shut my browser and stay invisible on IM. The temptation is just too great to keep refreshing Twitter/Facebook/EOnline or find a friend willing to distract me.
Headphones. Our house is small. My husband is a TV junkie. I'm not. But I don't have an office and my only option for physically escaping the TV is taking my laptop to the bedroom. Since the issue is motivation, reading/writing in bed is the worst possible option. But the noise cancelling headphones are magic. I plug in, turn on some music and pretend those flashing images just beyond my line of sight are lightening. Or something.

Anything to add, anyone? I need all the tips I can get, so your helpful hints in the comments are much appreciated!

Teaser Tuesday -- 20Q

2012-04-24T22:32:00.002+01:00

I'm deep in the throes of editing my WIP and am reading/reworking the first date scene. Remember first dates? Sigh. I'm pretty sure they're the reason I write YA and this one, between my two narrators, Ryan and Gabby, is a good one.

“Oh, come on. I’m acting like one of those girls who throw themselves at you on any given Saturday night.” I should feel stupid, putting it out there like that, but I just feel relieved. Maybe we can just get the I’m not that kind of girl conversation over with before this goes any further.
He doesn’t deny it. “Why is that?”
For two seconds I think about telling him the real reason. That playing the girl Ryan might date is safer in case he doesn’t mean it. Because this still seems weird and out of the blue to me. And it scares the crap out of me how my heart races when I think I might see him. Let alone what it does when I finally do see him. But, there are limits to that kind of honesty, so I force a smile and put on Mom’s drawl because I never made any promises about not acting at all. “Well, your charm and good looks are simply overwhelmin’. Surely you must be used to that?”
“Not from you” His tone calls me on my bullshit more than his words.

How Hill Running is A Lot Like Editing

2012-04-21T16:58:00.001+01:00

I've been doing a lot of hill running lately. I've changed my running-with-the-dog route to include a major hill. When I run sans dog, I've been doing hill intervals. Although with or without dog, I loathe every minute of it. Loathe, I tell you. It doesn't matter that I have a great playlist just for hills or that I do my best to distract myself with whatever random thought comes into my head -- I can't make myself like those hills. At all.

Then why bother, you ask? Well, it makes me A LOT faster. There's a lot to be said for the anaerobic benefits of not being able to breathe in 30-second bursts. Because when I'm on the flat, running across the heath (big open field in British terms), I've been flying. This morning I ran a 7:32 mile. And trust me when I say I haven't done that in a LONG time. It's a heady feeling and the thing that keeps me pushing myself up those damn hills day after day.

I'm also knee-deep in editing. Day after day, I open my WIP and choose a section to re-read and amend. Some days, I get through two pages. Some days I get through twenty. But, no matter how few or how many pages I get through, I can't make myself like the editing process anymore than I like those hills. It's hard for me to go back and re-read the passages I put down knowing full well they'd need to be edited later. I've had moments where I've actually cringed that my crit partners had to read what was there in my first draft. There are moments when I think, "Oh my God, I can't make this big change that's required. It's too much work."

But, kind of like the hills, I've learned not to look up. Looking up the hills does me NO favors. It's better for me not to know how much further, to keep my eyes on the pavement, my focus on the beat and my mind on anything but how my legs are feeling. With editing, it's better for me not to calculate the number of pages or chapters remaining and just dive in where I left off. For better or worse.

And, like hill running, it's paying off. I read an edited section of my WIP a couple of days ago and I found that I actually liked it! It was so much better than what had been there in first-draft form. I could see the improvement, which, like that 7-something-minute mile, is a pretty heady feeling. It's more than enough for me to recognize the benefits of editing (and editing again), even if I don't necessarily like it.

Who Are You?

2012-04-15T21:15:00.000+01:00

Does the title above conjure up strains of "The Who" for anyone else? Or am I dating myself? (Although to be fair, the above-named song is also the background theme song for CSI, so it might be more familiar than I think.) God, I used to love "The Who"... I saw them in concert once and they were AMAZING!

Although I digress. This post is about the question the song asks, not the song, itself.

Who are you?

I've been thinking about this question a lot lately, particularly in relation to owning up to the fact that I'm a writer. In my last post, I called myself a closeted writer and it wasn't until I spelled it out that way I realized how true it is. I'm a wife, mother, colleague, friend, acquaintance with a social network that spans all those roles. But, within that network, I'd say less than 10% of the people I interact with know this thing that is so important to me.

Which is a dramatic step up from a year ago, which is more or less when I signed with my agent. Before that, I could count on one hand the number of (actual non-virtual) people who knew I was spending my free hours writing, editing and writing some more. My own parents had no idea I had written one book, let alone three, until I told them I signed with Marlene.

I don't need a therapist's couch to understand the implications of all of this. I didn't tell my family until I had something to show for it -- aka, an agent -- as if the completed manuscripts weren't enough. I don't tell other people for the same reason. I have an agent (yay!) but I haven't been published yet (boo!), so it feels...weird...to call myself a writer out there in the world. I say it and I squirm. No lie.

But, finishing my latest manuscript has made me want to own it more lately. I've told a few people at work and a friend or two from the school gate. The world didn't end. No one pointed a finger at me and called me a fraud. I still squirmed, but it felt good to say it. Damn good, in fact.

Not that I'm going out and telling the world, mind you. I'm still more comfortable talking about data centers, learning objectives (believe it or not), and superheroes than I am what my latest book is about. But, I'm starting to think that there's room for both. Maybe? A little?

Shouting from the (Virtual) Mountaintops

2012-04-07T20:09:00.000+01:00

So, last Sunday night -- or technically, last Monday morning, if you want to be precise -- I finished the first draft of Twenty Questions, my (seemingly) never ending work-in-progress. All weekend I tweeted about how CLOSE I was to the end, but things like sleep, family time and needing to eat prolonged the agony of being, literally, so close and yet so, so, so far.

Yet, around 1 AM on Monday morning, I did it. Typed The. Last. Word (of draft 1, but let's not quibble). I cried when I finished, and not only because I was emotionally overwrought from all I'd put my characters through. (I was also very very tired.) But, the tears were quickly replaced by elation. This book that has taken me nearly a year to write -- that is so near and dear to my heart I doubted I could write it at all -- is DONE! I wanted to jump up and down and shout and blast the stereo.

But, it was 1 AM. Everyone in my house had been long asleep so any of the above were out of the question. Even a phone call to one of my US friends wasn't really practical...our house is small. Sound carries, to say the least.

So, I did the only thing I could think of and shouted it from the mountaintops of Twitter and emailed a few friends who are nice to enough to ask for regular updates. It was gratifying in a way I didn't expect, honestly. As soon as I tweeted that I was done done done, I got lots of virtual jumping up and down. Lots. Kudos, congratulations and further words of encouragement filled my Twitter stream and kept me up another hour at least, trading jokes and basking in the encouragement from other writers who know what it means to get to this stage.

It was so affirming that I even (gasp) told a few non-writer friends this week that I'd "finished" the draft of my novel. (I'm a closet writer in real life, but that's for another post...and possibly, a therapist's couch.) They, too, said the right things. (And why wouldn't they, you ask. Again, another post.) But, I know I never would've mentioned it if not for my virtual celebration earlier.

So, for everyone who's offered words of encouragement to me or other writers in your life -- hell, other people in your life who are taking risks and following their heart -- thank you. Thank you for your support. It's vital and more cherished than you can imagine.

Wednesday PSA: Back Up Your Files!

2012-03-28T10:34:00.000+01:00

The above comic made me laugh, although anyone who's ever lost an important file (writing or otherwise) knows it's really not funny.

Today's public service announcement -- back up your files! Now!

In case you're still emailing your doc to yourself (which still works, although it's an extra step), let me suggest my 2 favorite -- and free -- alternatives.

Dropbox is free and by far the simplest solution I've found. Download onto your desktop, load your documents and then leave them there. When you access the doc in Dropbox, you're editing the saved version, which is updated automatically and available virtually from any machine that has Dropbox installed.

Google docs has also come a long way since I've first started using it, allowing you the ability to open your document within Google docs and edit from within the application. The drawback is that the interface is very MS Word-like, but it's not quite Word, which doesn't work for me. However, it's easy enough to upload new versions and there's now also a versioning component. You can even share docs with your critique partner and he/she can comment within the doc.

For Apple users, iCloud offers a document option. A quick Google search proves that online document storage solutions abound. It's a matter of picking one and sticking to it. Because that's the important thing! So go! Find a solution that will work for you. And then back up those files.

Tune in Tuesday -- Florence and the Machine

2012-03-20T07:44:00.000Z

I'm late to discover Florence and the Machine, but this is the song on replay as I try to wrap up the last chapters of my WIP. I confess I've never seen the video before I searched for it to embed it here and it's at odds with my general feeling of the song, which is more of a sense of melancholy than dancing, but I love it nonetheless.

So, what's getting you through your writing today? Please share! I love discovering new music!

What Do You Remember About Learning To Read?

2012-03-06T12:07:00.001Z

How did you learn to read? What do you remember most? Is it the reading you did at school? Home? Pretending to watch your sister's gymnastics meets?

I don't remember the exact moment of learning to read, but I do remember the journey. I vividly remember being eight years old and being riveted by the whole Little House on the Prairie series. To the point that I read most of it to the dog, who sat enthralled page after page. In retrospect, I'm SURE reading to the dog was my parents' suggestion, but she never complained and they didn't have to listen to me read yet another chapter about Laura and Pa Ingalls.

As I got more confident, I tore through The Secret Garden,The Little Princess, and the entire Nancy Drew library before moving on to Victoria Holt, Anne Rice and Sidney Sheldon in my early teens. Because we lived in the sticks, a Bookmobile came to the little white church down the street every Wednesday and I'd get at least ten books every time. I don't ever remember my parents telling me something was inappropriate or that I couldn't read something because I was too young. It never even occurred to me that some content would be too scary, sexual, or political and I'm not sure it occurred to my parents either. If it did, they wisely knew that such a suggestion would just make me want that book all the more.

From there, I moved into Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood and John Irving. The list is endless and I can actually SEE the books in my mind's eye like it was yesterday. I still remember the thrill of talking about A Prayer For Owen Meany with my best friend's mom after discovering she loved John Irving, too. Talking about books opened up a whole new world because even though I read a lot, I never actually assumed anyone else was interested in what I was reading, let alone my opinions about it. Imagine the thrill of majoring in English and having entire classrooms full of people willing to discuss books endlessly!

Oh, wait...you can imagine it? I think a lot of writers can. I recall my dad suggesting to me that I major in computer science because I'd never find a job as an English major. While secretly I wondered if he was right, I also knew that computer science would likely destroy both me and my GPA. I'd take my chances with English because it was the only thing I really loved.

In lots of ways, it still is. Even though my day job is miles away from my English degrees, I know that at the end of the day, I'll spend time writing. I'm lucky to be able to work three days/week and be able to write the other two. On the days I do commute into London, I actually look forward to it because I get to read on the train (and on the walk to and from, although this may eventually be the way I break my leg).

I meet people who don't read and, I confess, I don't understand them very well. My husband doesn't really like to read and, although I understand him just fine, I still find it...odd. What does he do on his commute? Does he really find television more interesting? (Answers: he answers emails on his Blackberry and yes, television -- especially the crime drama du jour -- is much more interesting to him) Fact is, he didn't grow up reading. He doesn't have those same early memories I -- and most obsessive readers -- have.

I think it's those early memories that prove to us that this love of reading is inescapable. Like we can no more deny it than deny our need for water. I may be exaggerating, but (in my opinion) only slightly. So, what about you? What are your memories of learning to read?

Has Being a Writer Changed the Way You Read?

2012-02-28T12:17:00.000Z

We writers all hear how we need to read extensively in the genre for which we write. Most of us do it anyway because it's what we're drawn to, both as readers and as writers. I can no more imagine spending months writing a crime novel than I can envision ever buying a book by Lee Child. (No offense to Lee Child. He's just not for me.)

What I am drawn to, in both reading and in writing, is YA fiction of almost any sort. Lately, I've read everything from I Am Number Four to Divergent to Love Story. I liked all of them in varying degrees for a number of different reasons. However, one thing I noticed while reading all of them is the way I read them -- with a super critical eye trained on dialogue, pacing and characterization.

And I'm ruthless, I tell you! Divergent actually begins with Tris (then called Beatrice) looking in the mirror describing herself. My first thought: That's contrived and an easy out for the author trying to describe her main character. Minus five points. Was it enough for me to stop reading? No, but it was a small hurdle. Would I have noticed it if I wasn't a writer, myself? No idea, but I strongly doubt it. (For the record, I loved Divergent. One of the best books I've read this year, hands down.)

Perhaps the biggest stumbling block for me as a reader is dialogue. I've posted about this before, but it makes me CRAZY when people don't use contractions in dialogue. Real people use contractions!!! Note the difference: I will go to the store for you/ I'll go to the store for you. Which one are you more likely to say? Which one is your 16-year-old brother/sister/son/daughter/cousin likely to say? As a writer, I read every word of my dialogue out loud (usually to the dog, who sleeps through most of it) and, as a reader, I wonder why other writers don't do this, too.

Character development is the last thing I find myself paying more attention to, especially as I work to make my own characters more robust and relate-able. Sarah Dessen's recent, Along For The Ride, is a terrific example of character development. I felt like I really knew the characters, and understood their stories and motivations, which is a big part of what made the book stay with me long after I'd finished it. Will I read a book with average to mediocre character development? Sure. Will I recommend it? Probably not.

Would I have noticed any of these things before I put my fingers on the keys to type my first manuscript? I was an English major and an English teacher back in the day, so possibly. But I didn't notice them the way I do now. For better or for worse.

So, you tell me...has being a writer changed the way you read? And, if so, how do you feel about that? Look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments!

Love When You Least Expect It

2012-02-14T11:55:00.000Z

So yesterday at work, in the spirit of Valentine's Eve, a bunch of us were talking about how we met our significant others. One guy met his girlfriend in a pub. Another guy met his wife on a train. Of the girls, one met her boyfriend via an introduction from her aunt and the other met her beau at a cooking class.

Then it was my turn and I told the story of how I met my husband. It made me smile, even after all these years. Maybe it will make you smile too.

I was in grad school in upstate NY and had just moved into an apartment with a roommate, although she hadn't yet arrived with the furniture that would eventually fill our living room. So, when I stumbled out of my bedroom at 8 a.m. on a Saturday to tell the people in the stairwell to quiet down, I had nothing to bump into except a garden chaise lounge. Which was just as well b/c I was really hung over. The kind of hung over you only get from being out til 4 a.m., knowing you don't have to get up in the morning. The kind of hung over you don't want to be woken up from by people laughing and thudding furniture in the stairwell.

So, I opened my door in my pajamas and in a mood. Made worse when I saw that they were moving. Clearly this was going go to go on for awhile. I asked them if they could keep it down, slammed the door and went back to bed.

Fast forward to noon-ish. I was nursing a cup of coffee (still in my pajamas) with my hangover when there was a knock at the door. When I opened it, one of the guys who'd been making noise in the hallway was standing there with an open beer. I think his exact words were, "You looked like you could use this."

I took the beer and laughed. We chatted for a few minutes. I closed the door. They drove away in a big Ryder truck. I eventually got dressed.

The next day, I'd just gotten back from a run (and I do mean just) when another knock sounded at my door. I opened it and there was the guy who'd given me the beer the day before. The first words out of his mouth were, "You got furniture."

I explained that my roommate had moved in the night before. I might have said something else, but I was still sweating a lot and breathing heavily. Then, Beer Guy said, "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Clearly the answer to this was supposed to be no. I was old enough to know better than to invite strange men into my apartment. But, for some reason, I opened the door wider and gestured him in.

We talked for a couple of hours. I can't remember about what. But when I kicked him out because I was due at my parents' house for Sunday dinner, Beer Guy asked for my number. Despite only seeing me hung over, in my pajamas, and/or post-workout, he was asking for my number?? In my astonishment, I gave it to him and told my best friend that even though he wasn't my usual type, if he called I'd have to go out with him at least once because he'd asked for my number without ever seeing me showered.

He called two nights later, asking if I wanted to meet for a last-minute dinner at a nearby bar. I'd just gotten back from a volleyball match. Again -- I was gross and unshowered! But, I was hungry and I wasn't trying to impress him anyway. So I went.

We talked until the place closed and I laughed so much my cheeks hurt. Walking me to my car, he suggested dinner again two nights later. I said yes. I even promised to shower.

Writer Wednesday -- Stories to Share

2012-01-24T11:55:00.001Z

I've got a few stories to share today, which combined promise a roller coaster of emotion. Elation! Sorrow! Hope! And, yes, even one laugh-until-you-cry. Just what you were looking for on a Wednesday, right?

Elation
Jennifer L. Armentrout announced on her blog this week her recent 2-book deal pre-empt with Disney Hyperion. A pre-empt! With Disney Hyperion! If you don't know Jennifer's books (Half-Blood, the first in the Covenant series and Obsidian, the first in the Lux series), and you're a fan of paranormal romance go read them. But not until you finish reading Jen's blog post. (And this blog post, for that matter. Her books are long. This will take 5 minutes.)

Jennifer published Half-Blood (and its upcoming sequels) with Spencer Hill Press, a small press near and dear to my heart. The Covenant series was picked up by Entangled and a combination of her success and riveting writing landed her an agent. Who subsequently landed her The Big Deal. Which just goes to show...success doesn't always take the expected path and if you're determined to make your own happy ending happen, don't stop writing.

Sorrow and Hope
Fellow writer Stephanie Campbell, who some of you may know from her YA novel, Grounding Quinn, recently gave birth to her fourth child, a gorgeous little girl who was born with TAPVR. She's started a blog called Dear Britta chronicling the harrowing journey she and her family have been living, via misdiagnoses, multiple surgeries and the uncertainty of literally not knowing Britta's fate one day to the next. Thankfully, Britta is on the mend, but she's still living in the hospital and, as of Stephanie's last post, still hooked up to way more tubes than a newborn should be.

The thing about Stephanie's posts that draws me in is, without a doubt, her honesty. This is hard and Stephanie is upfront about that in a way that isn't self-pitying and really makes you wish you knew the right thing to say. There's a fundraising ticker on the right of the screen, too, for anyone who wants to contribute to Britta's ever-escalating medical bills.

Laugh Until You Cry
Allie Brosh's blog, Hyperbole and a Half, is nearly always funny, but this post had me crying with laughter. Definitely scroll through the "Best of" posts listed on the right side of the page b/c they're all brilliant. Allie's most recent post, about her recent struggle with depression, is decidedly unfunny, but it's frank and real.

That's all from me today. If you have any other stories to share, leave them in the comments and Happy Wednesday everyone!

Be Mindful

2012-01-03T10:22:00.000Z

Happy 2012 everyone!!! Hope you had a wonderful holiday and that going back to work (if you were lucky enough to have a long break and haven't been working the whole time) isn't too painful. I mean, it's better than root canal, right?

I've been reading lots of blogs over the New Year's weekend about resolutions. 'Tis the season, I suppose, although, as a rule, I'm reluctant to make resolutions. I resolve I'm going to lose weight and the next minute I'm hungrier than I've ever been. I resolve I'm going to be more patient with myself, the husband, the kid, the milkman and the next words out of my mouth are, "What the hell are you thinking???"

But, there's always one goal I set each January. I can't help it. The new year is so shiny and full of promise -- so perfect for vowing to make a positive change, realize a dream. For me, it helps to call it a goal, even though some would argue that goal and resolution aren't so far apart. To me, resolutions are too big and broad. Goals are long-term and measurable in increments. One year my New Year's goal was to run a marathon. Last year it was to query until I found an agent.

This year, it's more inward facing. My goal for 2012 is to be more mindful -- of my words, my time and my actions. Of the goals I can remember setting, it's probably the most daunting. Only three days in, I can see that it requires a vigilance that, frankly, marathon training doesn't. It requires being more present but not imposing, more structured, but not restrictive. I have a feeling it will try my strength like querying never did and require more fortitude than a solo 20 miles. It's a goal I set with a one-day-at-a-time mentality, knowing there will be days I get sucked into Twitter or EOnline instead of writing, get snappy with the kid and the husband instead of taking a deep breath and/or walking away.

But, it feels good to have something to strive for, even if I'm not calling it a resolution. Or perhaps especially so.

So, what about you? Are you a resolution or a goal type of person? If so, what are yours?

Writing with a Reading Hangover

2011-12-22T16:15:00.002Z

I'm officially on vacation until January 3!!! Yay! Cue the music and dancing reindeer. I'm done with holiday prep, too, except for that last trip to the grocery store (which I'm putting off as long as possible). So, to reward myself, I started reading Tammara Weber's Good for You the other morning on my commute, knowing that it was one of those books I wouldn't be able to quit reading until I'd finished it.

As expected, I finished it last night, after sneaking in snippets all day. When I reached the end, I was basking in the glow of finishing a book (a series, in fact) that I loved. Really. Loved. Loved. Loved. This book, in particular, might have been my favorite. It *might* have even sneaked into my dreams last night, I'm not sure. (It should go without saying at this point that if you haven't read these books, you should!!!)

Then this afternoon, with the boy at an unexpected play date and the husband busy rearranging the dining room, I opened my WIP. To find that my characters are so different from the world I was immersed in while reading Good for You that they actually felt "off" to me. They were fuzzy, acting inappropriately, too loud or not loud enough. I've spent the better part of an hour going back and reacquainting myself with their voices so I can move forward with their story.

This isn't the first time this has happened to me, but it's the first time in awhile. When I wrote my first (forever in the bottom drawer) MS, I didn't read another novel the entire time I was writing it. Then I realized how much I missed reading and made a conscious decision to do both, although restricting my reading to non-writing days. Cue a Kindle and a job with a commute, and that rule went out the window, too.

Most of the time it's not a problem. Except when a book sticks with me and the characters take up residence in my head like they belong there, it interferes with every line of dialogue I try to write until I can shoo them away. Sometimes it takes a day. Or two. Or seven.

I don't think the solution is to only read crappy books, but I'm not really sure what it is. So I'm asking for your input. Do you read novels of the same genre while you're writing? If so, how do you wrestle those other voices in your head into submission?

Helpful hints much appreciated! And Happy Holidays to all!

Start As You Mean To Go On

2011-12-13T15:37:00.000Z

I have 7 minutes to write this post.

22 minutes to get to the train.

60 minutes until I walk in the door at home for approximately 45 minutes of family time before the 10-minute pre-bedtime routine starts for the boy...followed by 20 minutes of Harry Potter (which does not equal a whole chapter, much to his dismay, so add two minutes of begging for "just one more page"), approximately 10 minutes of cuddles and sleepy conversation before the boy nods off or dismisses me in favor of the dog.

When did I lose you? I'd guess it was around the time I started on about Harry Potter? Never mind that this is actually my life every Monday and Thursday. That craziness is not the point of this post. (And thank God, quite frankly, since everyone's life is crazy at this time of year.)

The point is that the first two sentences of this post -- short and urgent -- are completely different in tone, structure and style to the run-on that makes up sentence/paragraph three. It's jarring to see such an abrupt change. When writers do this, agents/editors/previewers of free sample pages Just. Stop. Reading.

We all know the importance of hooking the reader in the first few sentences. Every word counts. The second sentence has a tiny bit more leeway than the first. But, if you've hooked your readers, you don't want them to abandon you after one line. Or one page. Or...well...ever.

But I'm talking very specifically about beginnings. First chapters. How many books have you read where the writer reels you in with a stunning action sequence, beautiful prose or a snarky attitude only to change tone and voice so abruptly that it feels like you've fallen for the old bait and switch? Again.

Prime example -- I downloaded some sample pages to my Kindle the other day that started off SO great. The first line hooked me and the first 500 words or so really set the stage for the characters and their stories. And then it slid into back story, with really long, descriptive sentences telling everything that had already been shown in those killer first pages. I skimmed the rest and ended up deleting the sample.

Which is what led me to this post in the first place. Because I kept thinking: This is avoidable. It didn't have to end this way. If I got more of what I was promised in those first pages, I would have clicked Buy Now and even if I was disappointed at the halfway mark or at the end, I might've been invested enough in the story to keep going. But to be let down in the first chapter? It's kind of like finding out on a coffee date with that hot guy from the gym that he still lives at home and lets his mom do his laundry. Hard to get past...and you can bet it won't lead to drinks or dinner.

So, fellow writers, the message is simple. Timely even, as we're less than 3 weeks away from the new year. Start as you mean to go on. And on, and on.

What are Your Grammar Pet Peeves

2011-11-30T11:57:00.000Z

My friend posted this on Facebook and I shamelessly stole it because I really couldn't say it better myself. Personally, I always have difficulty with number 8. Number 10 irritates the crap out me. And, one that's missing (for me): Ain't does not belong in anyone's vocabulary.

What about you? What would you add to this list?

Thank You

2011-11-22T10:03:00.000Z

Thanksgiving here on my side of the pond will be spent doing

all the usual things. Sigh.

It's even an in-office day for me, so I can't slack around at home,

cook a turkey and call it work.

But I have so much to be thankful for this year and in this season of gratitude

I want to acknowledge YOU.

The people who come here to my blog and read/comment/lurk.

Thank you for sharing this little corner of the web with me.

Thank you for your comments and your willingness to share.

But thank you most of all

for your time.

It means the world to me that you stop by.

I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving wherever you are.

And if you could have an extra helping of stuffing for me...

I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got

2011-11-16T11:09:00.002Z

*Today's post is personal and apologies if it's overly so. Even though we don't officially celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK, I have a lot to be thankful for this year, including a realization that the title of my post is true.

A few weeks ago, I was sort of, kind of, maybe wondering if I could be pregnant. It wasn't an oh-my-God-I-really-think-I-could-be type of wondering. It was a lot more...casual. I didn't stop running. I didn't immediately give up wine or coffee. I didn't do a pregnancy test after the first week I was late. Or the second. Although I caved by the middle of week three. When it came back negative, I let out the breath I was holding and finally let myself admit how relieved I was.

There was a time when that's all I wanted. After the boy was born, I had five miscarriages trying for number two until I finally decided I couldn't/wouldn't put myself through that anymore. I stopped calculating my cycle with military precision, stopped researching secondary infertility on the internet and stopped envisioning us as a family of four, with one member perpetually missing. We got a dog and became a family of four...it was just a slightly different configuration than I'd envisioned. That I had a child at all was something to celebrate and if I still got a little misty when friends were having babies, well...that's to be expected, right?

Maybe. Maybe not. But somewhere along the way the notion of being grateful for what I HAVE became something I stopped just telling myself and started actually believing. My son is funny, smart and sweet, and even though I am not religious at all, I thank God for him every day -- even on the days I wish I could lock him in his room.

Would I want another child at this point? Maybe. I don't know. We've been declined as adoptive parents because my husband's job could move us with relatively short notice. Pregnancy and I don't really get along very well. It would take some pretty extenuating circumstances to make it happen and that's unlikely.

And, you know what? That's OK.

Because the fact of the matter is, this is amazing. And it is more than enough.

What'd You Say?

2011-11-08T11:55:00.001Z

Today I want to talk about...talking. More specifically, dialogue in Young Adult. I've been thinking about this a lot as I'm writing my current WIP because it's dual narration, but it's also something I'm noticing more as a reader.

I've read a lot of books this year...45 or so, according to Goodreads. I read mostly YA, although within that I've covered everything from dystopian to paranormal to contemporary. And, no, reading lots of books doesn't make me an expert, but it does give me a broad enough sample to make this suggestion:

Real people use contractions when they speak and failing to use them in your dialogue makes the character seem stilted. And distant. And flat.

I've read more than a few books lately that had this very fixable issue. Fixable because reading dialogue out loud (to the dog, to an empty room, to a bus full of captive passengers) immediately highlights the unnatural cadence of speech. Unless you're terribly posh, you can't help saying hadn't for had not, there's for there is. Etc. Etc. It seems like such a small thing, but when the dialogue is full of cannot and will not, should have and where is... it screams lack of editing. Especially in YA.

Ok. Stepping off soapbox now. Tell me, am I alone in this bothering me? Is it distracting to you as a reader when dialogue isn't as "natural" as it could be? And how do you as a writer edit your characters' conversations? Do you ever read your pages aloud as part of the process? Have you noticed a difference? How about the feedback from the people on the bus?

A Little Levity

2011-10-18T13:20:00.000+01:00

I sincerely hope I'm not infringing on any copyright laws by posting this. It was originally sent via email and it's too good not to pass along.

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

In light of your immediate failure to financially manage yourselves, your constant warmongering and also in recent years your tendency to elect incompetent Presidents of the USA and therefore not able to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.) Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy). Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated sometime next year to determine whether any of you noticed.To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').

2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.'

3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not ready to shoot grouse.

5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.

8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. New Zealand beer is also acceptable, as New Zealand is pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.

11. You will cease playing American football. There are only two kinds of proper football; one you call soccer, and rugby (dominated by the New Zealanders). Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the Australians (World dominators) first to take the sting out of their deliveries.

13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.

14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).

15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

God Save the Queen!

You Want Free E-Books?

2011-09-28T11:57:00.000+01:00

Jennifer L. Armentrout wrote a great blog yesterday about e-book piracy. Unfortunately, she wrote it because her new novel, Half Blood (which I can't wait to read) has been pirated on multiple sites. She'd assumed this was a result of being released early in Kindle and Nook but, in fact, the pirated versions were from E-ARCS!

Ack! What? Someone LUCKY enough to get an early copy then posted it online as a free download? As Jennifer said, "That's like you slapped me in the face and kicked my dog."

I admit I like my freebies as much as the next person. (I may or may not have been a fan of Napster back in the day.) And I'm always looking for a deal on e-books because this reading thing can be an expensive habit. But, there ARE ways to get free and/or ridiculously cheap e-books.

Amazon's Kindle Daily Deal is announced every day at midnight PST and features a different reduced price e-book for 24 hours. Not too long ago, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's Beautiful Creatures was available for $2.99. A steal! And perfectly legal!
Last week Amazon announced that 11,000 libraries in the US are now able to lend books in the Kindle format via OverDrive. All you need is a library card and a PIN for a participating library.
Lendle and BookLending.com are also great resources for free (legal!) e-books and, admittedly, have a better YA selection than OverDrive.
In the UK, The Book Depository has a library of over 11,000 free e-books.

In other words, there are free e-books out there. And libraries are chock full of free actual books. It makes me sad to hear of Jennifer's book up on a Torrent site when it's only $3.99 to start with. That's cheaper than a Grande Starbucks Frappucino in most cities! And, if Jenn's prequel to Half-Blood was any indication, a heck of a lot more satisfying!

Free Crits on "The Hook" (compliments of Critique Circle)

2011-09-14T09:54:00.001+01:00

Update: This is what I get for writing my blog posts in advance. However, instead of taking this post down, I need to say Critique Circle does still have this great queue, but its frequency is TBD. It started off as a one-week experiment, which ended today. The next available queue looks to be the week of Sept 21 (as stated below), but that might change. There's an interesting discussion going on in the forums over at CC about this queue under "Hot Discussions", which if you're already a CC member might be interesting to weigh in on.

Critique Circle has a cool new queue called The Hook. Members post the first 1000 words or so of their story and critters read through until they lose interest. They make a comment in the text, much like an editor or agent would do about where they stopped reading and why. Most crits are less than 50 words. Some are literally: I stopped reading here.

I LOVE this idea. As a critter (I can't type that word without bringing to mind a rodent.), it's an opportunity to read and provide feedback without the time commitment of an entire chapter. As a reader/writer, it feels a bit like spying. There were over 140 entries in the queue last week in all genres. Most had over 30 crits. Reading the various openings was so informative, but equally so was reading the comments about where the reader abandoned the story and why. Because even though reading is subjective, the feedback was pretty consistent. Oftentimes the place I stopped reading was around about the same place 20 other readers jumped ship as well.

So...the basics. You have to be a member of Critique Circle to post to this queue. Membership is free. You also specifically have to subscribe to the queue, but it's also free. Once there, follow the instructions to post your hook. This is also free and doesn't operate on the credit crit system used by the rest of the site. In other words -- there's no reason not to do it!!

I posted my first 1000-ish words of my WIP, but it's not up for review until the next cycle, which runs from September 21. This week's queue is empty so far, although I can't imagine it's from lack of interest. (I keep sort of hoping the owner of the queue is just experiencing technical difficulties.) Either way, I bet if you popped over there now, you could post for the next review period...with perhaps even a little time to review/revise beforehand. So, what do you think? Are you going to?

Why I Will Never Ever Ever Vlog

2011-09-06T11:26:00.000+01:00

A lot of writers have started posting video blogs recently, or vlogs, as they say. There are advantages to video blogging-- it communicates excitement like words on the screen really can't. Writing "squee" and actually doing it...totally different. But, even if I sold my book to a major publisher for six figures, I'm pretty sure I'd keep my squee off the vlog.

First there's the word, itself. Vlog. You can't tell me it doesn't make you think of vomit. I can just imagine some drunk guy on the sidewalk in front of that bar in Hoboken saying, "Oh, man. Look out. Jimmy's gonna' vlog." Everyone clears a six-foot radius and Jimmy vlogs all over the sidewalk. (It also conjures up vague notions of Ikea, which is headache-inducing even on a good day.)

Then there's the preparation involved. Vlogging would absolutely require hair products. I have them by the bucketful, but their effectiveness seems directly dependent on whether or not there's a full moon on the fifth Tuesday of the month. And since only four months of 2011 had 5 Tuesdays, well...

Even if I got the hair thing sorted, where would I vlog? I usually sit on the couch with my laptop on my knees. Not the most flattering angle for the webcam. Never mind the pic of my husband's late grandfather on the shelf behind my head. It seems like no matter where I sit, his shiny forehead peeks out from behind my cloud of hair just enough to look like it might actually be part of my head. (I know this b/c my webcam comes up every time I launch Skype and insists that taking a picture for my proile will enhance and personalize my Skype experience. Um, no. It really won't.)

Our house is too small for me to have an actual office, so that leaves the dining room table. The table comfortably seats six, but since there are only three of us most days, the rest of the table tends to become a catch all. At this particular minute, there are at least three books, two CDs, the tape gun and the printer taking up those extra three seats. We don't have any company coming, so I bet none of it will get moved anytime soon.

As if bad hair and questionable background aren't compelling enough reasons, there's then the fact that a vlog demands talking to your audience. Unprompted. Without any kind of feedback. There you are in a vacuum, acting like you're having a conversation with a friend.

But usually my friends respond when I'm talking (unless we've lost our connection and I don't realize it b/c I'm ranting. But even then, said rants usually only last a minute or three before I realize I'm not hearing that regular breathing or clattering dishes in the background.). With a vlog, you've got nothing. It's awkward. What do you do with your hands? Do you really want the world to know you push your hair behind your ear when you get nervous? And how do you end it? In a real conversation with a friend, one person says they have to go. Or the train comes. Or you pretend your call waiting just beeped. Something.

Not so with a vlog. It's just you, stammering a little bit and fumbling for the button that turns off the webcam. I don't actually even know which button that is...

Technophobia -- and all other phobias, for that matter -- aside, there's also the fact that I don't find vlogs give me any satisfaction as a viewer. I'd much rather see an interview than a solo talking head. How much cooler would it be if the errant vlogger was being interviewed by his/her kid/husband/favorite stuffed toy? (Ok, this last one would probably either require a little ventriloquy or Disney magic, but with the right sense of humor, I think even bad ventriloquy could work.)

I don't know...maybe it's just me. Is it just me? What do you think? Do you like seeing an occasional vlog post from your favorite bloggers? Do you like it as a way to connect and I'm just lost back in the 20th century?