The eternally-wise "they" say that you get rejected 99 times before you get a buy in on your novel or submitted piece of work. But even knowing this intellectually, getting a pass on a manuscript still sucks. For me, the first couple were a particular drag. It's like getting dumped after the first date. On … Continue reading Query Rejections
After spending a few years playing around with the idea of writing fantasy (and then writing several fantasy manuscripts that I wound up shelving) I decided to go all in with contemporary YA. I knew by the first outline that I was a stronger writer in contemporary YA, I'm going to credit (blame?) my first … Continue reading Fantasy vs. Contemporary
I write things constantly that the blog gets neglected. Sorry!
I set the rather auspicious goal of completing a totally new manuscript over winter break, which was about two weeks. I didn't start from scratch- I had a solid outline I'd been tweaking off and on for a few months and a few thousand words. I figured if I had first mess of a draft … Continue reading Goals: Achieved and Set
After a frankly exhausting series of fiction workshops, I took the summer off and did more or less nothing. I needed it, and I'm glad I did it, although I do wish I had been more productive (but if I had, it wouldn't have been a break, so...) But now, in an attempt to get … Continue reading Flash Fiction in a Flash
The last few NaNoWriMos I've participated in, as well as all the manuscripts I've written to date, have been "pantser" novels. As in "fly by the seat of my pants" novels. As in, "sit down at the keyboard and hope something comes out" novels. Lucky for me, things have been coming out. Well, they had … Continue reading Outline Outline Who’s Got the Outline
My family is a big believer in routines, as most humans are. My mom used to start every morning on the couch drinking a cup of hot tea and watching The Weather Channel. This was complimentary to my morning routine, which involved rolling out of bed at the last possible moment, so I regularly shouted, … Continue reading A Writer’s Routine
