Category: writing

NaNo NaNo

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It’s NaNo time again!

As many of you know, I’m a huge fan of National Novel Writing Month. It’s how I wrote TNWSY. It’s how so many other amazing authors completed their novels. (The Night Circus, for example. Yes. That one.)

So for any writers interested in jumping aboard, here are my pieces of advice:

1) Don’t think, just do it. A lot of people don’t attempt because they don’t think they’ll be able to finish. So? Sure, 50,000 words IS the end goal, but if you don’t finish, it’s not the end of the world. At least you started. At least you tried. And that might just be the push you need.

2) To Plot or not to plot. I’ve seen a lot of Twitter posts from people prepping for NaNo. They’ve gotten their entire books plotted out, and they’re ready to go. And still, I see others who have no idea where their books will take them, and just want to try. I say do whatever you want. Don’t be intimidated by those with 20 pages of pre-notes. (I had none – I had a basic idea, and after a few days of writing, I made a rough outline of where I wanted things to go. I mean rough. Like, half-a-page rough.) And don’t think that if you have nothing, you won’t succeed. If plotting makes you feel prepared, awesome, go for it. If not, then just start.

3) Write every day. It’s such an easy thing to think about doing, but in actuality it’s hard. Sometimes you don’t have the motivation. Sometimes you’re busy. But if you can write for just 10 minutes, it’s something. Even if you accomplish only 10 words, even if you get one sentence down, you’re one sentence closer to the end.

4) Don’t look back. The best part of NaNo is that it doesn’t let you self-edit. You don’t have the time. So if your character name changes halfway through, awesome, don’t go back and change it. If you decide to change the setting towards the end, that’s great, don’t switch out the other references. All of that can be changed during editing. Just keep writing. Don’t let yourself look at previous pages. (Unless you have to find a name or something.)

5) Make writing fun. This shouldn’t be a chore (though around 30,000 words I think every writer finds it frustrating). It should be fun! Write where you’re comfortable. Go to a coffee shop or bookstore. Or find a comfortable place at home. I wrote my entire first draft of TNWSY on Google Docs (now Drive) because I wanted to work on it all times, and didn’t always have my laptop. Since it was cloud based, it was always with me. And that was awesome.

6) Keep notes. Have a notebook. Jot down notes as you go. Write ideas for a future scene you dream up. You may not end up using them, but they’re neat to look back to once you’re done.

7) Celebrate. No, really. You survived! Go forth and celebrate! That’s such an amazing accomplishment. Seriously, be proud of yourself, even if you don’t finish.

I’d join you all this year, but I’m heavy in revisions. I wish you all luck. Let me know how you do!

Book 4

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Screen Shot 2013-10-22 at 2.45.30 PM

 

Publishing is a tricky business.

When we sold TNWSY, I received a two-book deal, which was (and still is) extremely exciting. Aside from TNWSY, I had two other completed manuscripts to offer, and had high hopes one of them would be the perfect fit.

As it turns out, things aren’t that easy.

The second book just wasn’t right, and I agree with that. It’s kind of…a mess from being re-written so many times. So it’s sitting on my laptop now, wondering if it’ll ever be anything more. (I hope so. I plan to strip it down and start fresh one day because I really like the characters. But, we’ll see, right?)

The third book was a no go, too, because another writer beat me to it. Just as I was about to pass it along to my agent, a deal was announced that was very similar to the story I wrote. So, I pushed that one aside, too, with plans of re-writting it eventually and changing it up quite a bit. (I’ve already started, in a way, too. There’s an outline.)

And then there was the started Book 4 that I left halfway through. It wasn’t right, I knew that.

So that leaves me with a two-book deal and only one viable book. Well…as of yesterday I finished writing and provisionally editing my fourth manuscript! It was insane and crazy and weird to think I’ve written that much. I finished it at work, honestly, during my dinner break. So I didn’t cry and flail like I wanted to, but I did smile endlessly and take the above screenshot.

Will that one be my follow-up? I have no idea. But I have hopes for it. It was fun to write, and different from the other stories. So we’ll see.

What i’ve learned most, though, is to not be discouraged by these set backs. If anything, they’ve made me write more, made me write better. Made me stretch what I knew and liked. They challenged me, and I always love a good challenge.

This comes with being a writer. You get used to the excitement. You get used to the let downs. And you carry on, knowing you’ve got it in you.

So, yes, I have hopes for this book, but i’m not done. I already have an idea brewing for Book 5, and we’ll see where that takes me, right?

Man in the Moon

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Kids in Nicaragua don’t know about the man in the moon, and don’t waste time on fake things like that. Perhaps not all Nicaraguans, but at least those in the village where my friend Shannon is living. They see the moon as a bearer of light, not something full of mystery and magic.

I’m not sure where the man in the moon lore came from, but it’s something we all know, something we all believed in at one point or another, just like the idea that the moon was made of cheese. Sure, ridiculous, but it’s the unknown that’s exciting, right? The fact that we don’t know makes the impossible almost possible. It’s like never seeing Santa Claus, but always believing in him. Believing in the magic behind him.

Of course, we grow up and learn the truth about Santa and the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. We stop pretending to be princesses and knights and instead become more invested in our own lives. But even as the man in the moon drifted in the background, I still dreamt, I still believed. I still daydreamed the days away. I still wondered what was on other planets. I still believed that my iPod knew exactly what song to play at all times. Because the unexplained is much more fun. And sometimes it’s okay to not know the whys and why nots.

If there’s anything i’d like to impart on my unborn child, it’s just that – always believe. Never get too old for magic. Always see the scariness in an abandoned, haunted building. Always think that if you concentrate hard enough you might be able to move the remote control with your mind. Think about lifting your arms up and flying away. Believe that the song on the radio was written just for you. Get lost in a fictional world only read about in books.

It’s easy, as time goes on, to lose that childlike wonder when looking at the sky. But keep it alive. Find the extraordinary in the ordinary. And never think it childish.

Isn’t it wonderful to have a man in the moon?

And isn’t it sad to not see it anymore?

Community

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If you’ve been to my website recently, you might have noticed the shiny new Goodreads logo on the right (—->). This means two things:

  1. I finally joined Goodreads. Friend me?
  2. My book did, too! You can mark TNWSY as “to read” if you’d like. Or, “to not read.” Or, “that book some chick wrote.” You know, whatever suits you.

In other news, I run two monthly programs at the library, and am at the cusp of adding two more. (I also run other programs, but they’re usually one-time events, such as the My Little Pony program coming up. Let’s not be surprised that i’m dressing up as the librarian pony, Twilight Sparkle.)

My first monthly program is the book club. Mostly full of ladies my mom’s age and older, we meet once a month to loosely discuss a book. I say loosely because usually about 30 minutes are spent on the book, while 30 on personal lives, gossip, normal chatter, etc. The ladies are lovely, and while we sometimes have disagreements (was I the only one who enjoyed A Discovery of Witches?), we always meet back up happily. And the older ladies are hilarious. (We just had our one-year anniversary!)

My next monthly program is my prized possession, my nerdfighter meetup. Once a month, teens and older meet to simply hang out. We make crafts, we play board games, we chat. They usually stay from the beginning of the program until the library closes (four hours!) and in the process talk about everything, from books they like to serious moral debates (seriously!). I love this program so much because it’s given an outlet to those looking to find fellow neat people, and simply hang out. Those wanting a safe, fun, judgement free zone. My ultimate goal as a librarian was creating something like this, and i’m so glad it’s come to be. These nerdfighters are my favorites. (Sept marks the one-year anniversary of the first meet up!)

I recently received a grant to bring technology to the library for teens, so I invested in filmmaking equipment. We’ve had a few programs since, and eventually, come fall, i’ll make it a monthly lesson/activity. I’m excited about this.

Last, two nights ago, a co-worker and I hosted a Tea and Talk program, in which ladies in their 20s and up came to drink tea, eat scones, participate in Downton Abbey themed games, and create British-style fascinators. Though we weren’t sure if it would be a success, it was an absolute blast with more than 20 people showing up. All of the women asked for a follow-up, a monthly event for them to have a ladies night out.

Upon creating the next Ladies Night Out event, I realized something very cool – people just want to hang out. Young and old, they just want excuses to meet new people, try new things, and be involved. And I’m so thrilled that the library can be a place for that.

There’s the continuous debate about the importance (or, to some, the lack of importance) of libraries. They’re just holding grounds for books! We have the Internet, who needs them? The thing is, they’re so much more than that. Yes, they have books and movies and such, but they also have community. They’re an open place to simply hang out and meet new people. They put you in the middle of a group, or an organization. They’re a fun zone. They’re a safe haven.

One of the teens messaged me a while ago, and told me that since joining our meetups, she’s made real friends. And that, thanks to these meetups, she’s not as embarrassed by herself, and feels part of something.

I’m so amazed that something I created can cause that much of a reaction. And i’m so happy that libraries are around to make this girl feel that accepted.

Begin Again

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About a month ago, I was SUPER PUMPED about writing this new idea I had. It was shiny and exciting and got me into crazy writing again. (Crazy writing is what I call those moments when I don’t want to eat/sleep/breathe, and just want to write word after word after word. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does I absolutely LOVE it.) (I do stop to eat, though. I’m not barbaric.)

It was fun flirting with this idea, toying around with it and seeing where it went. A few days ago I managed to hit close to 30,000 words and just…stalled. Dead stalled. Lost all hope.

Now, this happens sometimes to me. I just start hating my idea, hating my writing. But usually in that time, I have a clear vision of the end, a light at the end of the tunnel so to say. I know that there’s a way to turn it all around, and make it something I might be proud to show my agent.

But for this one? No light. No hope. Nothing. It just felt like a bland, boring idea. Something that needed spiciness. Something  so similar to what i’ve already written. Something that needed to be completely reevaluated.

So i’m dropping it.

It’s kind of sad because I’ve created these characters that I like, and this story that I indulged in. But it’s not the right story at all. I know it won’t go anywhere, and I know in the end it won’t be anything to marvel at. So I have to step aside.

So, I’m saying goodbye to that story, l’m letting it sit on my desktop for a while. I hope in the future that i’ll pick it back up, say hello to the characters and find their real story. Because, if anything, I owe it to them. But right now? I need to say goodbye.

It’s the hardest thing to do. And sometimes, truly, the best.