YA Fiction Short Story Submission - Today's The Day!

Writer's Digest Contest (Writer's Digest Submission Link )

Snow Ribbon

     I'm really jazzed up about submitting the story I wrote for this contest Snow Ribbon. Why do I love this story? It's like a really long, juicy chapter. A peak inside of something much bigger. And probably also because Tyler, the male lead is heroic, handsome and without hesitation when it comes to saving his love interest - Skylar. I'm a sucker for romance and  adventure. Hey what can I say? I write what I would like to read.

     Writing this story was a new experience for me. I treated it like an assignment. It had to be 4,000 words or less and viola! it's just under that. In this story, I really got to exercise the concept of 'if it doesn't pertain, leave it out'. The back story was limited and the current situation dominated the story.

     Yesterday I was thinking that this might be the first piece I've written that doesn't have a villainous character - other than the thundersnow and the avalanche that threatens their lives!

     This story has also provided me with the opportunity to stretch my limbs, and explore other genres of YA fiction. It was so fun in fact, I might write another or two before the September 14th deadline.

     And by the way, I have had multiple requests from my critique group (also known as The Book Club) to make Snow Ribbon into a full length novel. The winners of the contest won't be announced until December so, until then, keep writing and stay tuned...

Progress Report

OK, I'm trying to buckle down and make a lot of progress. It's been hard! Summer is such a busy time for me. I feel like I'm moving non-stop. Plus, I'm weird. I don't write as easily when its hot outside. The sun has a way of beckoning me to its warmth! My mind is active but, my fingers are too slugglish to prance accross the keys...

I didn't really realize it until I thought about it but, I've made a lot of progress in the past two months. I thought I'd post an update of my projects and their progress:

• Dreams Series: Book One Unraveled
• Editing. Changed the beginning, dropped the preface, pulled backstory to weave and add in later chapters (110k words), tightening up and when its done, I'm going to use query tracker to REALLY and most seriously start shopping it. (Wish me luck.) Also, working on the query letter. Per the critiques I received, everything I need is there, I just have to tighten it up!
• I fought the edit for so long. It's my baby. You don't want to change your baby. Re-arranging it is hard enough. Moving eyes, plumping up the cheeks, well, you get the point. BUT, BUT, when I finally put aside what I did, and re-wrote chapter one, fresh - it was great and I loved it! So, I learned a lesson here. When in doubt, trust your instinct and go for it. I'm learning that first drafts are great for fleshing out the backstory and learning about your characters. But, thats why they are first drafts - they were born to be re-born. It's hard to get your head around that (especially if you are stubborn like me) but, its true.
• This is the first novel that I have ever written. It took me about six months but, it was awesome. A period of discovery, an adventure. It took me places I never intended to go. It taught me so much about who I am as a writer.
• Dreams Series: Book Two Frayed
• Written. Needs Editing. (140k words)
• Dreams Series: Book Three Fringe
• It's started, I promise. I'm on chapter one! It's a start.
• Beyond the Sea and the Sand
• Wrote the first chapter in third person. It's ok. By ok I mean I don't like it. I'll be re-writing from first person. It's my preference. (2k words)
• Snow Ribbon
• Short story. Edited. Complete. Will be entered in the Writer's Digest Young Adult Fiction Contest this fall. (4k words)
• Beneath the Willows
• Still in my mind but, gaining momentum.

So, even though to me, it sometimes seems like my writing has gone stagnant. It hasn't. On the contrary, I'm bursting with ideas. I just need to engage and hone in.

And I'm off...

Like a thief in the Dark Knight -



July 21, 2012

Lives were shattered, lost and forever changed.

I'm a Coloradan, but more importantly, a human being. And as a human, I'm finding it hard to focus on my writing, on my personal goals when there is so much sadness clouding my home state right now, over-shadowing my own heart.

When I heard the news Saturday morning, about a crazed gun man who opened fire on unsuspecting movie goers, there was a sickening feeling that started in my stomach and spread throughout.

After forty five minutes of news that showed repeated images of people crying, reports of injuries, dead, recaps of people crawling through pools of blood, and wondering if the hail of bullets was ever going to stop; I felt like puking.

I also felt angry.

Angry that someone so disturbed and evil attacked people in such a vulnerable position. We've all been to the theater. At best, there are two or three exits - for hundreds of people.

Sitting ducks.

That's what comes to mind when I think of a sold out theater. Those people were sitting there, in the dark, all lined up and completely unsuspecting. Enclosed, encased. The reports are seventy victims, twelve who didn't survive. Worse than that though, many people suffered two, three, and even four gun shot wounds. In reality, there are numerous "victims" moms, dads, brothers, sisters, cousins, friends, grandparents, neighbors, peers, co-workers - who are all victims. They lost loved ones. Their lives are affected. The victims, are countless.

What all of this really made me think about was writing.

Huh?  You might say. Well, this person was a villain. He was emulating a character in a movie. How common is that? To the extent of this lowly act, not very but, common in general yes. Violence is in our culture. Songs, books, video games, and yes, movies.

As a result of all this exposure to violence, I believe we are desensitized as a people. Worse and even worse things happen everyday and some of us are actually not even surprised anymore. We see violence everyday, after all.

As a writer, all of this made me question the villains in my books. Are any of my villains shooting people? Giving readers any idea that violence is ok? Do I, in any way portray a likable villain in my stories? One that some one would try to emulate?  It's just something to think about.

I'm not trying to be all kumbaya (which there is nothing wrong with, this broken world could use some kumbaya) or anything, I'm just saying. I personally don't want to put anything out there that would inspire a deranged mind to do something horrible.

Of course a deranged mind can formulate meaning that isn't there at all, creating chaos from nothingness; but still.

I know the kind of writer that I am, that I want to be. I want my influence to be for the good. The world has enough darkness, why not shine some light on it?

Speaking of vile villains, we got to see him today - the person responsible for the movie massacre. There was no remorse. He didn't even act like he was paying attention. Act. Is it just me or was he acting like he was completely out of it? Something careful planned and plotted for four months details competency for me.

And now there's anger again. Anger that this "case" is going to drag out for months and months, possibly years. Where's the justice in that?

There's been a lot of talk of what should happen to him. The bottom line is that no matter what happens to him, it will never reverse what he did. It will never make whole the shattered pieces of body or the pain and anguish in the hearts. Only one can make judgement on him, only God can bring justice to such a monstrosity.

A lot of people I know read for entertainment, for a break from the daily grind of their life, for a reprieve into a character's world. I personally, would like to see more stories where good triumphs over evil, where great people finish first, and stories that project a positive influence on their readers. As writers, let's create characters that if emulated, do good things, show perseverance and honesty. The world has enough violence in it, without tapping our imagine for more. Let's have more love stories, more life stories.

I know that I'm just one person, just one writer, and this is my opinion. But, seriously, why not?

To Be Published or Not To Be Published - That is the Question!

I've decided to change my profile from 'aspiring author' to Author. It's part of my positive thinking plan. After all, I am an Author, just an unpublished one - for now (see the positive thinking hard at work? wink, wink). We've had a lot of rainy days here and thanks to the monsoon, and the way the gloom puts my creativity into high gear, I've completed the first chapter of my re-write and I'm feeling pretty positive about it.

Just a few days ago, I was lost in the throngs of my mind, debating about whether or not I wanted to do the re-write. I'm sure I'm not the only Author (I like the sound of that), that has flip flopped a hundred times a day as to whether or not they were going to keep pushing towards their goal, towards their dream.

I've been really busy following Author's blogs and gazing through the Twitter stream. I came across something where a perspective author was debating about finishing a book because she got to 40,000 words and just wasn't into it anymore. Really? Is that it? I was thinking. Maybe it was better that she dropped it.

As an Author (I'm getting used to that) you have to have a commitment to your story, to the plot, to the characters. If you aren't enthused about it, how will anyone else be?  Why write about it at all? That's part of why I know that I can't quit on my Dreams series. I owe it to myself, it's been a two year investment, and a combined 250,000 words later, I owe it to the characters that I've created. What would Anna do? Would she pack it in and quit? Would she just give up? Would Mayson let her? What about Sophie? If Gus could talk, what would he say? Would AJ want Anna to quit? Of course not.

I know I'm not my character but, maybe I can draw from her strength. If she teaches me anything, its perseverance. To take things as they come, one step at a time. If a day at a time is too much, then take it hour by hour or minute by minute.

Do you wanna talk about perseverance? I read on a blog that it ONLY took two hundred (I spelled it out for the dramatic effect) that's right 200 queries for this one author to land an agent, resulting in a published book deal. Jeez, is that all?

Sorry for the sarcasm but, you can imagine how intimidating that sounds...two hundred queries, when most people I know hone in on their top ten or twenty agents. I don't think that that particular query, and its manuscript were bad. It just took a while for it to get to the right person's hands. Not everyone likes french fries, and even fewer people like to dip them in ice cream - it's all about preference. Andrea Brown Literary Agency says that it only takes one 'Yes'. After hearing two hundred 'No's', I bet that 'Yes' was as refreshing as a cold glass of water inside the gates of hell.

As Authors, why do we want to be published? Sure, there's the hope that we'll sell a million copies of our book and increase the cushions in our bank account, and be able to spend our days writing stories we are passionate about and creating characters that make us laugh, cry, and dream, and maybe we'll be able to get free of our overly-air conditioned offices that leave our toes numb and our lips blue, - of course there is all of that. But, there is something else too. Validation.

Validation that the ideas that come to us in the middle of the night, or when we are standing in line at the grocery store, or watching our kids play at the park, are great, full of life, and deserving of being shared with the world. Validation that we're just as good as anyone else whose been published. And validation that we have what it takes to make it as a recognized, professional Author.

So, two hundred queries... if that's what it takes, I guess I should start making my lists now...

The Jury Is In...Critiques Are Back!

"Take Each Day With a Grain of Salt"

"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”

- Stephen King

One might deduce from this quote that I have a lot of work ahead of me, and one might be right!

First of all, I would like to say thank you to Kat Brauer for all she does organizing critsforwater. Hat's off to her and all of the authors that have donated their time to participate in this project! http://critsforwater.katbrauer.com/guest-critiques/

Also, thanks to K.A. Barson and Elle Cosimano for reading through my query and opening pages. Both authors gave me a lot of advice, suggestions and encouragement. There were some things that I had been wondering about, and other notes/ideas/suggestions/problems that were new to me.

Overall, it was a very encouraging, and definitely eye opening experience.

Let's start with the query. It's too long!! I knew that but, it was hard to leave anything out because I'm so excited about the characters and the plot! SHAME ON ME! The good news...both authors agreed that the hook is there. I just need to shorten, tighten and hone in on the meat of the query. I CAN DO THAT! I will do that.

As for the opening pages, I'll start by saying I have some work to do. Both authors said that most agents don't particularly care for the preface, especially when its really an event that happens later in the book. Something I didn't know... It's probably in my best interest to drop it. I'm considering and leaning towards that.

I made another no-no, which is starting chapter one with a lot of back-story. One of the authors asked me where does  my story really begin? It's a question that I've been contemplating for the last couple of days. There could be multiple answers to that question. There is so much that goes on in the MS, but, I got the point. Now I have a lot of thinking to do.

Do I want to do a complete re-write of the first several chapters, or do I want to make some edits and see if it's attention grabbing enough? I'm still debating.

I'm not going to give up on this series. NO WAY! The second book is written and I'm already outlining the third. There's no turning back, maybe just a short pause to really contemplate and decide what I want to do to make it so phenomenal and irresistible that it gets published.

Like I said, I have my work cut out for me!!

Thanks again to K.A. Barson (http://www.kabarson.com/) and Elle Cosimano (http://ellecosimano.com/ for all of their help, I REALLY appreciate your time and comments. You both are wonderful!!

Opportunities and Glitter

In college, I had a writing teacher that told us that if she was ever cut open, she was certain that glitter and sparkles would come out of her body. I resemble that remark.

In fact, I still smile just thinking about it because, I know exactly what she means. My sparkles would be brilliant blue butterflies, laced with teal and iridescent glitter that coruscates splendidly when the sun shines on it. I know that life brings you ups and downs but, I swear, even on my bad days, I feel like I can't get enough of this life. There is so much that I'm interested in, so much that I strive to do. The mind is an amazing machine and mine runs near constantly. Sometimes, there are thoughts and ideas that I just have to get out, regardless if anyone ever reads them, that's not the point anyway. Writing to me, is a vehicle. A means of transportation to transfer my thoughts from my mind, to the wonderful world of print, whether it be shared or not.

A long time ago, I made a list of things I am and things I want to be. The list was long. Its been about six or seven years since I wrote that list in a butterfly journal that I kept by my bedside. The journals gone but, my photographic memory recalls much. It's amazing how many of those things that I wanted to be, I've become. I think thats the point. It may sound cliche but, you really can do anything you put your mind to. Sure, there might setbacks, and you can surely count on obstacles but, you've got to keep pushing forward. And if you do, you will succeed. "98 and 3/4 percent Guaranteed" (according to Dr. Seuss).

My mentor once told me that life is about taking advantage of opportunities that are presented to you. That they determine how far you go in life. Based on my experiences, I'd have to agree. Some things in life might be scary, they might seem too far, too long, too much for you to handle. Bite off a piece at a time and then look back now and then and you'll be surprised with your progress. I know I am.

Great News!

Much to my surprise...I was randomly selected as the winner of the CritsforWater Pledge drive! Just today, I sent my query letter and first 2500 words of my manuscript to Kat Brauer who will forward it on to K.A. Barson and Elle Cosimano for their reviews! It's very exciting and a little nerve racking! What will they say? I'm looking forward to the critsism and any comments that can help me improve as I strive towards my goal to be published!!
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*Cheers* to small steps in the right direction!