What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme started by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk that allows us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what's going on in our crazy writer lives.
What I'm reading
Three words, you guys: THE DREAM THIEVES. Oh man. So, I'm not sure if I've talked about my favorite book that I read last year, but it was THE RAVEN BOYS by Maggie Stiefvater. Following at a close second was THE SCORPIO RACES by Maggie Stiefvater. As you might be able to tell, I have a thing for Maggie's books. I've never read something and been so overwhelmed with how pretty the sentences and paragraphs are but these books do it to me every time. I actually took a picture of one paragraph and saved it in my phone as "What Character Descriptions Should Be Like!" Maggie just has a way with words and THE DREAM THIEVES, which is the follow-up to THE RAVEN BOYS is everything I hoped it would be. I'm a little bit obessesed. Just in case you couldn't tell.
Read them!
What I'm Writing
I'm still working my way through edits, trying to strengthen it wherever I can. I love this book so much, but honestly, I'm not sure I planned for anyone else to read it when I wrote it. I just wanted to write something different from what I normally do. I grinned and giggled a lot while drafting it and it's probably the most fun I've had writing a book. Which says something because there is probably nothing else in the world I love doing more than writing the first draft of a new book. I need to get it done though because The New Idea was ok'd and I'm ready to roll with it for NaNoWriMo!
What Else I've Been Up To
I probably picked the wrong season to do this, but I've been dragging myself back to the gym these days. Maybe it's because all I want to do is eat and bake and bake and eat, and if I don't go to the gym I wont be able to fit through the front door, but it's happening. I'm not one of those people who loves the way I feel after the gym (normally just tired) or feel a runner's high (I'm convinced it's a myth made up by personal trainers) but the big 2-9 is coming up, so that's motivation enough.
What Inspires Me Right Now
I think writing is what's really inspiring me right now. As I've mentioned here, I'm working a lot and last week I didn't have a chance to write or edit at all until the weekend. When I was finally able to sit down and put words together, it was almost like I exhaled. It just feels right, which sounds cheesy but it's true. Hell, I'll take my Writer's High over a Runner's High any day. ;)
What's up with your Wednesday?
Showing posts with label publishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label publishing. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
I heart books
So, by nature, I'm kind of a private person. I've never been one to tell everyone my life story... well, ever, but much less right when I meet them. I'm also a Scorpio, and that might just explain everything. Either way, word has gotten around at my job that I signed with a literary agent and this has led to questions like, "You write books? What kind of books? Oh, like Twilight? When will your book be out? Can I read it?" To which I answer, "Yes. Young Adult. Not so much. No clue, and maybe someday."
Of course, this has also led to me recommending YA books that everyone should read, talking more about books in general and basically opening up the Library of Brandy to get them started. Last week, my boss (who, I just found out, LOVES to read) said that she didn't understand why it had taken so long to see this side of me and that she wished she'd seen it sooner. She also called me weird (in a good way) because my voice did that squeaky, geeking out thing that happens when I talk about books I really love.
I think most of the reason I don't tell people I write books is exactly because of all of those questions that I know will follow. But I've also realized that by me not telling people, they're never really getting to know me. For instance, if I had to list my favorite things to do, the top 3 would be: Write, Read and Talk About Books. Now that I'm thinking about it, I have no idea what I've been talking to people about.
I guess there's no better time like the present to open up a little, since hopefully someday soon lots of people will not only know I write book but will also have the chance to read them. Maybe by the time that happens, I can get over the whole awkward, squeaky voice thing, because it's kind of embarrassing.
In other news: I'm diving into my TBR pile. While other people love to head outside when the weather heats up, I get a nostalgic feelings for summer reading. There's nothing like my couch, a good book and air conditioning!
Of course, this has also led to me recommending YA books that everyone should read, talking more about books in general and basically opening up the Library of Brandy to get them started. Last week, my boss (who, I just found out, LOVES to read) said that she didn't understand why it had taken so long to see this side of me and that she wished she'd seen it sooner. She also called me weird (in a good way) because my voice did that squeaky, geeking out thing that happens when I talk about books I really love.
I think most of the reason I don't tell people I write books is exactly because of all of those questions that I know will follow. But I've also realized that by me not telling people, they're never really getting to know me. For instance, if I had to list my favorite things to do, the top 3 would be: Write, Read and Talk About Books. Now that I'm thinking about it, I have no idea what I've been talking to people about.
I guess there's no better time like the present to open up a little, since hopefully someday soon lots of people will not only know I write book but will also have the chance to read them. Maybe by the time that happens, I can get over the whole awkward, squeaky voice thing, because it's kind of embarrassing.
In other news: I'm diving into my TBR pile. While other people love to head outside when the weather heats up, I get a nostalgic feelings for summer reading. There's nothing like my couch, a good book and air conditioning!
Friday, May 17, 2013
An Agent Story
You know how sometimes you research an agent and you see something, just a little something, that makes you think, "We could be good together!"? Well, I thought that a few months ago, when I found the bio of Becca Stumpf at Prospect Agency. It was this one line in her bio that said, "Fantasy/SciFi is not just for nerds anymore, so let's bring it to the masses!" Of course, I'm 100 percent nerd, but I'm the kind of nerd that's constantly trying to get people to come see the next Marvel movie with me, not just because they're awesome, but so I can enlighten them. Know what I mean?
So anyway, I felt that I could really get on board with the whole bringing Fantasy/SciFi to the masses with MISFITS, so I crossed my fingers and sent the query. Well, guess what guys??? I am now represented by the amazingly bright, helpful and fun Becca Stumpf!
It was a big decision and I had some other things going on, but one phone call with Becca sealed the deal. Number one, she's really knowledgeable, great to talk to and she loves MISFITS -and let me tell you- I've been waiting a loooong time for that! Number two, she laughs a lot and makes me want to sit and have coffee with her just to talk about books and other fun things. But also, I really feel good about working with her. I think we're really on the same page about my books and my career, not to mention that right when I logged on to my e-mail to tell her I wanted to work with her, she e-mailed me to check in. Like, at the very same time.
I'm not one to talk about fate or anything... but come on!
So now it's time to get to work. I'm excited and a little (a lot) overwhelmed, but I'm ready. Also, anything that can be documented will totally be documented here. To show people what it's like, of course, but also to serve as proof that this is actually, finally happening.
So my last post about queries and how hard it is? Totally true, but please don't give up. Seriously, just don't, okay? Okay.
So anyway, I felt that I could really get on board with the whole bringing Fantasy/SciFi to the masses with MISFITS, so I crossed my fingers and sent the query. Well, guess what guys??? I am now represented by the amazingly bright, helpful and fun Becca Stumpf!
It was a big decision and I had some other things going on, but one phone call with Becca sealed the deal. Number one, she's really knowledgeable, great to talk to and she loves MISFITS -and let me tell you- I've been waiting a loooong time for that! Number two, she laughs a lot and makes me want to sit and have coffee with her just to talk about books and other fun things. But also, I really feel good about working with her. I think we're really on the same page about my books and my career, not to mention that right when I logged on to my e-mail to tell her I wanted to work with her, she e-mailed me to check in. Like, at the very same time.
I'm not one to talk about fate or anything... but come on!
So now it's time to get to work. I'm excited and a little (a lot) overwhelmed, but I'm ready. Also, anything that can be documented will totally be documented here. To show people what it's like, of course, but also to serve as proof that this is actually, finally happening.
So my last post about queries and how hard it is? Totally true, but please don't give up. Seriously, just don't, okay? Okay.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
On Queries...
Querying is weird, okay? Let's just get that out of the way. I've been thinking about this since I wrote an e-mail to the Super Amazing Beta and Human Jennifer Pickrell in which I was whining complaining updating her on my query situation, and I finally decided I needed to get it out.
Querying is weird and hard and awesome and the most hopeful and devastating thing a writer can do. It's the time where we all at once decide that we've written something good enough for an agent to read and also when we know that we're horrible writers who deserve all of those rejections. It's just weird.
And yet, here we are, years, months and days into this torture because we want somebody to love the voices in our heads that fought to get out as much as we do. Weird.
I can remember my first partial request and my first full request. I also remember my first rejection. I like to think of myself now as a seasoned querier who lets rejection roll off her back like a duck with water... unless I get a few in a row, because then I know I've been fooling myself with the years I've put into writing. Of course, two days after I decide to quit and join a circus or something, I get a full request and I remember that there might, just maybe, be some skill left in me, and so what do I do?
I send out more queries.
I'm actually querying two books right now, which is a little weird and involves a lot of organization and e-mail folders, but I'm getting good feedback, despite still getting rejections right along with it. I've decided with these though, and especially MISFITS because there has been more interest in it than any other book I've written, that I'm not going to give up on it. I've got a Touch 'Em All mentality with this book that I'm going to send it out to every single agent that will read it (within their guidelines, obviously) and I just have to put up with all of those rejections until someone loves it.
In the past, I feel like I've given up pretty quickly because, let's face it, rejections suck. And it's very easy to get beaten up by all of them and assume that since X number of agents didn't like it, no one will. I'm not going to do that this time, so at least I'll know I've done everything I can to find the person who loves my books before I move on.
In the meantime, I'll keep writing, which is actually the most blissful thing I do on a daily basis, and also querying. Because I like weird, apparently.
Anybody else out there need to vent? Go for it.
Querying is weird and hard and awesome and the most hopeful and devastating thing a writer can do. It's the time where we all at once decide that we've written something good enough for an agent to read and also when we know that we're horrible writers who deserve all of those rejections. It's just weird.
And yet, here we are, years, months and days into this torture because we want somebody to love the voices in our heads that fought to get out as much as we do. Weird.
I can remember my first partial request and my first full request. I also remember my first rejection. I like to think of myself now as a seasoned querier who lets rejection roll off her back like a duck with water... unless I get a few in a row, because then I know I've been fooling myself with the years I've put into writing. Of course, two days after I decide to quit and join a circus or something, I get a full request and I remember that there might, just maybe, be some skill left in me, and so what do I do?
I send out more queries.
I'm actually querying two books right now, which is a little weird and involves a lot of organization and e-mail folders, but I'm getting good feedback, despite still getting rejections right along with it. I've decided with these though, and especially MISFITS because there has been more interest in it than any other book I've written, that I'm not going to give up on it. I've got a Touch 'Em All mentality with this book that I'm going to send it out to every single agent that will read it (within their guidelines, obviously) and I just have to put up with all of those rejections until someone loves it.
In the past, I feel like I've given up pretty quickly because, let's face it, rejections suck. And it's very easy to get beaten up by all of them and assume that since X number of agents didn't like it, no one will. I'm not going to do that this time, so at least I'll know I've done everything I can to find the person who loves my books before I move on.
In the meantime, I'll keep writing, which is actually the most blissful thing I do on a daily basis, and also querying. Because I like weird, apparently.
Anybody else out there need to vent? Go for it.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Funny story...
So remember how I was here in January and was all, "Look at me! Getting back on track! Onward and upward!"? Uh huh, well life happened and so I haven't actually gotten "back on track" with the blog yet, and it's been more about putting one foot in front of the other than onward and upward so far.
So I'm not going to say anything like that at all, you guys. I'll just say that life has been cra-zay and in order to get everything done that I need to do and write, blogging has fallen off a little. I'm still writing and working on books, that's a constant at Casa de Brandy but man, the beginning of 2012 has been an ass kicker.
I've reached that luscious, amazing time called spring break in this semester that I'm positive wants to kill me, and so here is an update:
I'm working on MISFITS revisions... the final revisions before I start sending it out to agents! I'm actually pretty excited about getting the process started, although I guess I always am until the first rejection roles in and then I'm all, "Why do I do this to myself? I'm such a masochist!" But it's cool.
I feel more prepared with this book than I did with my last. It feels like a more complete story and I'm really proud of it. I hope agents like it, but regardless, I'm happy that I wrote it.
I think what I've realized more than anything else this year so far is that I would write for free forever if I have to. I'm happy with sending my friends and betas versions of my books and talking to them about it. And really, that's probably a good head space to be in at the query stage, right?
So remind me that I said that in a month or so.
Brandy
So I'm not going to say anything like that at all, you guys. I'll just say that life has been cra-zay and in order to get everything done that I need to do and write, blogging has fallen off a little. I'm still writing and working on books, that's a constant at Casa de Brandy but man, the beginning of 2012 has been an ass kicker.
I've reached that luscious, amazing time called spring break in this semester that I'm positive wants to kill me, and so here is an update:
I'm working on MISFITS revisions... the final revisions before I start sending it out to agents! I'm actually pretty excited about getting the process started, although I guess I always am until the first rejection roles in and then I'm all, "Why do I do this to myself? I'm such a masochist!" But it's cool.
I feel more prepared with this book than I did with my last. It feels like a more complete story and I'm really proud of it. I hope agents like it, but regardless, I'm happy that I wrote it.
I think what I've realized more than anything else this year so far is that I would write for free forever if I have to. I'm happy with sending my friends and betas versions of my books and talking to them about it. And really, that's probably a good head space to be in at the query stage, right?
So remind me that I said that in a month or so.
Brandy
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Can't stop, won't stop.
So, last week, a week before my self imposed deadline to finish my current WIP, I wrote the last word of my first draft. Exciting!
As I mentioned in my last post, I'd kind of been immersed in writing , so much so that my friends were begging to talk about something else and my first readers were tired of the 20 questions (fine, 100) that followed everything I sent them. I'm not saying I was mean, really, just... focused on getting answers.
Anyway, I love what I have, although since the book took a little bit of a turn as I wrote it, I know I'm going to have to re-write a lot of the beginning. After my last revisions on KC, I feel like I have a better idea of my revision process although, (like I do about everything else in the writing world) I worry that it's completely the opposite of what I should do and what everyone else does.
First off, when I'm working on a WIP, I write 2k words a day. I'm a pantser, so I don't outline or anything, I just jump right in. I'd like to say that I don't write on weekends but that kind of goes out of the window when I really get into the groove of writing. I actually took two days off before finishing this WIP and started recapping when I wrote again, like I was starting the second book and needed to remind the reader what happened. It was a mess and I think I was doing it for me because I felt like I hadn't written in MONTHS but really I just took the weekend off. Anyway! I don't like taking time of from writing.
I always read and revise the previous chapter before I write a new one, just to get back into the groove of what my characters are up to. These aren't in depth revisions or anything, I'm basically catching myself every time I write "my" instead of "me" which I do ALL THE TIME and I don't understand why.
On Wednesdays, a slow day life-wise for me, I double up. I've dubbed this Double Up Wednesday, which is really just a way for all of my friends and family to know that when it's DUW, I don't want to be bothered. On these days, I try to write between 4-5k but I split up my writing. I've got this weird eye thing happening, where my eyes get really sensitive to light if I'm on the computer for a while, so I take a break and go to a bookstore, lunch or even grocery shopping. Anything to get away from the WIP and the computer. The bookstore always helps get me motivated to write more because I see all of those fancy, shiny books and I want one to be mine. I love DUW.
All of this means it normally takes me about a month to write a first draft. I know a lot of people say to walk away from your WIP for a long time but I can only last about a week, which I'm in the middle of right now. It sucks. Next week though, I'll dig back in.
What I feel is weird about me, (in a long list of weird things) is that I don't cut down my word count during revisions, so much as add them. Sure, I cut scenes that I don't think are needed or that slow down the pacing but I still end up adding words. I word build a lot during revisions, and add things that only finishing the first draft can show me need to be added. During my last revision of KC, I added 4k words. And I cut out a lot. Weird.
Then, of course, I read the WIP somewhere around 9,849 times. I read it on the computer, on my nook, printed out, on the comp again, maybe one more on the nook, who knows? It's just a lot. And this time, I'm going to send this (as well as KC) out to beta readers. I'm on the hunt now in fact, so if anyone is interested in reading my stuff, let me know. I'd totally be willing to swap too. And then maybe we'll be friends forever. Probably. In my head, we will be.
So July is my revision month and hopefully I have a new, shiny idea for another book while that's happening, so August can be a writing month, followed by September being another revision month. We'll see how that goes with school. All I know is, November is officially reserved for NaNoWriMo. I'm so stoked for this because I've never been able to participate because of The Old Job, which maybe I'll talk about soon. The only thing that will interrupt this will be a day to celebrate my birthday and a day to celebrate my little baby niece's first birthday. (And of course, if an agent wants to sign me before or during November, I will do whatever the hell the ask me to do.) Other than that, I'm writing. I need a doorknob hanger for that!
So what's your process like? And don't forget, anyone interested in being a beta for me, let me know. Remember the lifetime of friendship, okay?
-Brandy
As I mentioned in my last post, I'd kind of been immersed in writing , so much so that my friends were begging to talk about something else and my first readers were tired of the 20 questions (fine, 100) that followed everything I sent them. I'm not saying I was mean, really, just... focused on getting answers.
Anyway, I love what I have, although since the book took a little bit of a turn as I wrote it, I know I'm going to have to re-write a lot of the beginning. After my last revisions on KC, I feel like I have a better idea of my revision process although, (like I do about everything else in the writing world) I worry that it's completely the opposite of what I should do and what everyone else does.
First off, when I'm working on a WIP, I write 2k words a day. I'm a pantser, so I don't outline or anything, I just jump right in. I'd like to say that I don't write on weekends but that kind of goes out of the window when I really get into the groove of writing. I actually took two days off before finishing this WIP and started recapping when I wrote again, like I was starting the second book and needed to remind the reader what happened. It was a mess and I think I was doing it for me because I felt like I hadn't written in MONTHS but really I just took the weekend off. Anyway! I don't like taking time of from writing.
I always read and revise the previous chapter before I write a new one, just to get back into the groove of what my characters are up to. These aren't in depth revisions or anything, I'm basically catching myself every time I write "my" instead of "me" which I do ALL THE TIME and I don't understand why.
On Wednesdays, a slow day life-wise for me, I double up. I've dubbed this Double Up Wednesday, which is really just a way for all of my friends and family to know that when it's DUW, I don't want to be bothered. On these days, I try to write between 4-5k but I split up my writing. I've got this weird eye thing happening, where my eyes get really sensitive to light if I'm on the computer for a while, so I take a break and go to a bookstore, lunch or even grocery shopping. Anything to get away from the WIP and the computer. The bookstore always helps get me motivated to write more because I see all of those fancy, shiny books and I want one to be mine. I love DUW.
All of this means it normally takes me about a month to write a first draft. I know a lot of people say to walk away from your WIP for a long time but I can only last about a week, which I'm in the middle of right now. It sucks. Next week though, I'll dig back in.
What I feel is weird about me, (in a long list of weird things) is that I don't cut down my word count during revisions, so much as add them. Sure, I cut scenes that I don't think are needed or that slow down the pacing but I still end up adding words. I word build a lot during revisions, and add things that only finishing the first draft can show me need to be added. During my last revision of KC, I added 4k words. And I cut out a lot. Weird.
Then, of course, I read the WIP somewhere around 9,849 times. I read it on the computer, on my nook, printed out, on the comp again, maybe one more on the nook, who knows? It's just a lot. And this time, I'm going to send this (as well as KC) out to beta readers. I'm on the hunt now in fact, so if anyone is interested in reading my stuff, let me know. I'd totally be willing to swap too. And then maybe we'll be friends forever. Probably. In my head, we will be.
So July is my revision month and hopefully I have a new, shiny idea for another book while that's happening, so August can be a writing month, followed by September being another revision month. We'll see how that goes with school. All I know is, November is officially reserved for NaNoWriMo. I'm so stoked for this because I've never been able to participate because of The Old Job, which maybe I'll talk about soon. The only thing that will interrupt this will be a day to celebrate my birthday and a day to celebrate my little baby niece's first birthday. (And of course, if an agent wants to sign me before or during November, I will do whatever the hell the ask me to do.) Other than that, I'm writing. I need a doorknob hanger for that!
So what's your process like? And don't forget, anyone interested in being a beta for me, let me know. Remember the lifetime of friendship, okay?
-Brandy
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Update and Writing is Like...
I've been writing. That is all.
I swear that's what my life feels like these days. I have other things going on but it seems like all I can think, talk and dream about is writing. I'm positive my friends are starting to hate me but there is no cure for being close to finishing a book. And if there is, I really don't want one.
I'm in the home-stretch of MISFITS and more often than not, I'm in love with this MS. It's easily the funniest and yet darkest book I've written and the intensity is about to pick up as I get closer to the end. I have a friend who likes to read as I write and she said she's going crazy waiting to see what's going to happen. As a writer, there are no sweeter words.
MISFITS will be my third completed book and I've realized that each one is a different experience. My first was so hard to write and took forever to finish. After it, I figured it was perfect and that revising was for those who weren't as blessed as me. That book is horrible. Someday I will rewrite it because I love the idea but *shivers* that book is just bad.
My second book, KILLER CUPCAKES, took a month to write and years to revise. Since I wrote it, I've revised it more times than I can count and read it more times than I want to think about. The funny thing is, I've only queried it for a short amount of time and to a very low number of agents. I think I've mentioned before that I took a break from writing. I'm talking YEARS from writing, to see if something else was what I really wanted to do. It wasn't. But KILLER CUPCAKES was written before that break, I queried a small number of agents, got good feeback and then did something else for three years. Six months ago, I decided that my Something Else wasn't what I wanted and that writing was. Five months ago I entered a contest with KC and won, and I've revised it (a few times) again since then. I've sent a small number of queries out again and am waiting for more feedback. I'm optimistic.
Then I realized that if I'm really serious about being a writer I needed to write again. So a few months ago I pulled out a story that I started after KC (before the break) and loved it. I'd only written a few thousand words at that point but everyone that I'd let read it really liked it. That book is MISFITS. I started seriously working on it again about two months ago, but with revisions of KC in the mix, I've probably only really put a little over a month's worth of work into it. I plan on finishing MISFITS is about three weeks. I'm totally, completely absolutely positive there will be a good amount of revisions because as I've worked on it, things have changed and I've realized that there should be more worldbuilding.
So I guess it's different, and yet kind of the same, every time.
I was tagged by Marian for a Writing is Like post (thanks for the tag, Marian!) and I couldn't think of anything to compare writing with until I wrote this post. I realized as I wrote that for me, writing is like climbing a mountain. It's a different mountain every time, but the process is pretty much the same. I make my way up the mountain, figure out which is the best way to go and dream about the easier climb down. As I reach the moutaintop, I can see the finish and the way down and then the end of the book is the easiest and most exciting. And each mountain I climb, I'm more comfortable with the journey, I know how best to get to the top and I know how amazing it is to finish.
And I'm almost done climbing my third mountain!
I'm going to tag:
1: Ashley Graham
2: Jennifer Pickrell
3: Kimberly from Meetings with My Muse
If you want to play, post what writing is like for you and then tag three others. :)
-Brandy
I swear that's what my life feels like these days. I have other things going on but it seems like all I can think, talk and dream about is writing. I'm positive my friends are starting to hate me but there is no cure for being close to finishing a book. And if there is, I really don't want one.
I'm in the home-stretch of MISFITS and more often than not, I'm in love with this MS. It's easily the funniest and yet darkest book I've written and the intensity is about to pick up as I get closer to the end. I have a friend who likes to read as I write and she said she's going crazy waiting to see what's going to happen. As a writer, there are no sweeter words.
MISFITS will be my third completed book and I've realized that each one is a different experience. My first was so hard to write and took forever to finish. After it, I figured it was perfect and that revising was for those who weren't as blessed as me. That book is horrible. Someday I will rewrite it because I love the idea but *shivers* that book is just bad.
My second book, KILLER CUPCAKES, took a month to write and years to revise. Since I wrote it, I've revised it more times than I can count and read it more times than I want to think about. The funny thing is, I've only queried it for a short amount of time and to a very low number of agents. I think I've mentioned before that I took a break from writing. I'm talking YEARS from writing, to see if something else was what I really wanted to do. It wasn't. But KILLER CUPCAKES was written before that break, I queried a small number of agents, got good feeback and then did something else for three years. Six months ago, I decided that my Something Else wasn't what I wanted and that writing was. Five months ago I entered a contest with KC and won, and I've revised it (a few times) again since then. I've sent a small number of queries out again and am waiting for more feedback. I'm optimistic.
Then I realized that if I'm really serious about being a writer I needed to write again. So a few months ago I pulled out a story that I started after KC (before the break) and loved it. I'd only written a few thousand words at that point but everyone that I'd let read it really liked it. That book is MISFITS. I started seriously working on it again about two months ago, but with revisions of KC in the mix, I've probably only really put a little over a month's worth of work into it. I plan on finishing MISFITS is about three weeks. I'm totally, completely absolutely positive there will be a good amount of revisions because as I've worked on it, things have changed and I've realized that there should be more worldbuilding.
So I guess it's different, and yet kind of the same, every time.
I was tagged by Marian for a Writing is Like post (thanks for the tag, Marian!) and I couldn't think of anything to compare writing with until I wrote this post. I realized as I wrote that for me, writing is like climbing a mountain. It's a different mountain every time, but the process is pretty much the same. I make my way up the mountain, figure out which is the best way to go and dream about the easier climb down. As I reach the moutaintop, I can see the finish and the way down and then the end of the book is the easiest and most exciting. And each mountain I climb, I'm more comfortable with the journey, I know how best to get to the top and I know how amazing it is to finish.
And I'm almost done climbing my third mountain!
I'm going to tag:
1: Ashley Graham
2: Jennifer Pickrell
3: Kimberly from Meetings with My Muse
If you want to play, post what writing is like for you and then tag three others. :)
-Brandy
Monday, May 16, 2011
Going dark.
No, not my hair. My mom, who if you follow me on Twitter you are well aware, is the injection of humor, reality and gravity in my life, looked at me oddly when I announced, "I'm going dark!" "Well," she shrugged, "I was hoping you'd go blonde, but if you need to go darker, that's fine. Less roots."
But what I meant was that my current WIP is going dark. I don't know when this happened but all of a sudden all of my work has this edge to it. My current WIP started out very funny, and my MC is still a smartass but I realized as the manuscript took this hard left toward intense and harsh topics that I'm going to break her. It sounds horrible but, as a pantser, there's no way that I a) can stop this or b) could have predicted it. To show how little initial control I have, I changed a little scene in KC and had to delete it afterwards because the intensity didn't match the story or my characters. I made myself lighten up to make it work but other than that, I've apparently crossed over the the Dark Side. It's just what's flowing out of my fingertips right now, and I'm not dumb enough to stop that sort of thing. I'm taking a wait and see approach to this darkness.
I'm also reading dark stuff too. Not thriller, scary stuff because... well, I'm kind of a wuss. I don't watch scary movies, I don't read scary books and I sure as hell don't put myself in the situation to live (write) scary things for months at a time. I never really thought I'd end up writing anything like this, to be honest. Although my friends, (who also get many mentions on twitter) are not surprised. Apparently, I have a dark personality, or at least a perceived dark personality. Who knew?
Anyway, I'm excited to follow where the words take me. I'm hoping this level of intensity is within my skill set... and you know, it may change and still end up the book I thought it would be but I won't know until I finish. I love adventures!
So what about the writers out there? Has your writing ever turned in a direction you didn't expect? Pantsers (or Plotters), how many times have your stories changed before you realized what was happening? Or is that just a me thing?
-Brandy
But what I meant was that my current WIP is going dark. I don't know when this happened but all of a sudden all of my work has this edge to it. My current WIP started out very funny, and my MC is still a smartass but I realized as the manuscript took this hard left toward intense and harsh topics that I'm going to break her. It sounds horrible but, as a pantser, there's no way that I a) can stop this or b) could have predicted it. To show how little initial control I have, I changed a little scene in KC and had to delete it afterwards because the intensity didn't match the story or my characters. I made myself lighten up to make it work but other than that, I've apparently crossed over the the Dark Side. It's just what's flowing out of my fingertips right now, and I'm not dumb enough to stop that sort of thing. I'm taking a wait and see approach to this darkness.
I'm also reading dark stuff too. Not thriller, scary stuff because... well, I'm kind of a wuss. I don't watch scary movies, I don't read scary books and I sure as hell don't put myself in the situation to live (write) scary things for months at a time. I never really thought I'd end up writing anything like this, to be honest. Although my friends, (who also get many mentions on twitter) are not surprised. Apparently, I have a dark personality, or at least a perceived dark personality. Who knew?
Anyway, I'm excited to follow where the words take me. I'm hoping this level of intensity is within my skill set... and you know, it may change and still end up the book I thought it would be but I won't know until I finish. I love adventures!
So what about the writers out there? Has your writing ever turned in a direction you didn't expect? Pantsers (or Plotters), how many times have your stories changed before you realized what was happening? Or is that just a me thing?
-Brandy
Friday, April 15, 2011
Digging in.
Sometime in the next week I'm going to start some revisions on KILLER CUPCAKES. Obviously I've done revisions before because you don't send a book out to agents without revising, but these are different and pretty important. I'm actually really excited about digging back into that book because a) I miss those characters a lot and b) I like making my book better. I've also been working on WIP 1 and WIP 2, but these revisions have been on my mind. A lot.
I pulled out (and dusted off) some of my old style books, read through grammar books and am trying to soak up as much information as possible to make sure that I'm ready to make these revisions count. These are all things that I've studied before, first as a Communications major and then as a Liberal Studies major but a little refresher can't hurt. In life, I'm not a grammar freak, (Please, don't be shocked as you read this and find errors. ha!) but I do try to find obvious issues when I read and write. But like I said, these revisions are important. So I'm pulling out my fine-tooth comb and referencing Grammar Girl constantly to make sure I'm doing a good job.
I've hit up the library too, just trying to find advice from other authors. I'm trying to read every blog and every tip on Twitter. I'm also at the end of a narrative class this semester and I have LOVED that class. I registered for that one at a good time. As my high school English teacher would say, I'm turning into a spunge. I'm soaking up everything I can get my hands on to make sure I'm the best writer I can be.
I've had good experiences so far with KILLER CUPCAKES. I've gotten a lot of good feedback and have had great talks with agents about how good it is, but also how much better it can be. So I feel good about my book, but I'm also very determined to make it one million times better. And it's not only that, I'm working on two other books and I want them to be two million times better than KILLER CUPCAKES. No pressure!
So I'm immersing myself in writing. Digging in.
So, what about you? What do the four (I joke. There might be five.) of you do to make yourselves better? Do you have any tips and tricks that you can spare?
Oh and quickly, I'm going to actually talk about what KILLER CUPCAKES is about soon. (Hint: not a killer baked good) I'll also talk a little bit about my other two WIPS soon as well.
Also, does anybody know where I can get a good word counter for my blog? I want one really, really bad.
-Brandy
I pulled out (and dusted off) some of my old style books, read through grammar books and am trying to soak up as much information as possible to make sure that I'm ready to make these revisions count. These are all things that I've studied before, first as a Communications major and then as a Liberal Studies major but a little refresher can't hurt. In life, I'm not a grammar freak, (Please, don't be shocked as you read this and find errors. ha!) but I do try to find obvious issues when I read and write. But like I said, these revisions are important. So I'm pulling out my fine-tooth comb and referencing Grammar Girl constantly to make sure I'm doing a good job.
I've hit up the library too, just trying to find advice from other authors. I'm trying to read every blog and every tip on Twitter. I'm also at the end of a narrative class this semester and I have LOVED that class. I registered for that one at a good time. As my high school English teacher would say, I'm turning into a spunge. I'm soaking up everything I can get my hands on to make sure I'm the best writer I can be.
I've had good experiences so far with KILLER CUPCAKES. I've gotten a lot of good feedback and have had great talks with agents about how good it is, but also how much better it can be. So I feel good about my book, but I'm also very determined to make it one million times better. And it's not only that, I'm working on two other books and I want them to be two million times better than KILLER CUPCAKES. No pressure!
So I'm immersing myself in writing. Digging in.
So, what about you? What do the four (I joke. There might be five.) of you do to make yourselves better? Do you have any tips and tricks that you can spare?
Oh and quickly, I'm going to actually talk about what KILLER CUPCAKES is about soon. (Hint: not a killer baked good) I'll also talk a little bit about my other two WIPS soon as well.
Also, does anybody know where I can get a good word counter for my blog? I want one really, really bad.
-Brandy
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
On Writing.
I've always wanted to title something "On Writing" and now I have. That's exciting!
Anyway, I've been thinking a lot lately on the different ways to write a novel... or anything, really. I wrote for a newspaper for two years in college (for my A.S.) and I was always interested in how all of us wrote in different ways. Some of us liked the office, some went home to write, most of us wrote in between classes on campus. (The staff was young... our editor was in her mid-twenties. We were shaking things up in a very small town!) One of my best friends to this day was on staff with me and he would plan and plan until his article was perfect. I, on the other hand, would pick out the best quotes and figure it out as I went.
I've noticed that a lot of authors also write in different ways as well, and it's become even more apparent since I joined Twitter. People write at home, out in public and many different places and of course there are plotters and pantsers. Some people keep their plots top secret, others blog about their stories as they write. On top of that, there are critique partners, word challenges and writing groups. Tons of ways to write!
I find that I write the best at home and late at night. My need for some sort of normalcy keeps me from writing until 4am every night. I've stepped out of my box a lot lately and have written as much as I can during the day. I even go to Panera sometimes to get out amongst the people! I'm totally growing as a writer and a person, I think.
I write pretty quickly and I'm also a pantser. I wrote KC in a month by only scribbling down what I wanted to write about the next day. I had no clue how the book would end, even though I did know who was responsible for everything. I'm doing the same thing with my current WIP. I have a friend who likes to read as I write, so she gets really bummed when she asks me questions and I don't have the answers. I enjoy it though. I wrote my first novel by planning out every last detail. I was new to the whole fiction thing and tried every writing technique I came across. I had planning boards, notebooks of character backgrounds and color coded post-its. It was nuts. I think I planned so much that I was tired of the book and that's what took me so long. I should have known I would be a pantser since I don't even like figuring out what I'm going to have for dinner when I make a grocery list.
I've considered trying to find a critique partner but I'm kind of clueless on the process, so I don't know.
What about the four of you? How do you write? Also, what info can you give a girl on critique partners?
-Brandy
Anyway, I've been thinking a lot lately on the different ways to write a novel... or anything, really. I wrote for a newspaper for two years in college (for my A.S.) and I was always interested in how all of us wrote in different ways. Some of us liked the office, some went home to write, most of us wrote in between classes on campus. (The staff was young... our editor was in her mid-twenties. We were shaking things up in a very small town!) One of my best friends to this day was on staff with me and he would plan and plan until his article was perfect. I, on the other hand, would pick out the best quotes and figure it out as I went.
I've noticed that a lot of authors also write in different ways as well, and it's become even more apparent since I joined Twitter. People write at home, out in public and many different places and of course there are plotters and pantsers. Some people keep their plots top secret, others blog about their stories as they write. On top of that, there are critique partners, word challenges and writing groups. Tons of ways to write!
I find that I write the best at home and late at night. My need for some sort of normalcy keeps me from writing until 4am every night. I've stepped out of my box a lot lately and have written as much as I can during the day. I even go to Panera sometimes to get out amongst the people! I'm totally growing as a writer and a person, I think.
I write pretty quickly and I'm also a pantser. I wrote KC in a month by only scribbling down what I wanted to write about the next day. I had no clue how the book would end, even though I did know who was responsible for everything. I'm doing the same thing with my current WIP. I have a friend who likes to read as I write, so she gets really bummed when she asks me questions and I don't have the answers. I enjoy it though. I wrote my first novel by planning out every last detail. I was new to the whole fiction thing and tried every writing technique I came across. I had planning boards, notebooks of character backgrounds and color coded post-its. It was nuts. I think I planned so much that I was tired of the book and that's what took me so long. I should have known I would be a pantser since I don't even like figuring out what I'm going to have for dinner when I make a grocery list.
I've considered trying to find a critique partner but I'm kind of clueless on the process, so I don't know.
What about the four of you? How do you write? Also, what info can you give a girl on critique partners?
-Brandy
Monday, April 4, 2011
Getting things in order.
When I started this blog (a little more than a week ago) I had planned on having some time to tinker with it and then slowy make my way into having people read it and so on. But then I won The Speed Date 2 Contest with The Knight Agency (yay!) and that sped up the process a little bit. And quickly, can I just say how awesome The Knight Agency is for having contests like that? Amazing.
Anyway, I've finally gotten around to getting things how I like them, and I'm sure I'm not done yet. I feel better though... it feels like it's mine now. Oh and I have a blog title! I picked Just Write because that's kind of my motto. A lot goes into trying to get published but the most important (in my humble, unpublished opinion) thing is to make sure you're writing. Also, it's what I yell at myself when I get stuck staring at my computer.
This week has been a little hectic in the writing department, mainly because of the contest which took up a lot of my time. And by "took up a lot of my time" I mean checking and re-checking my e-mail, asking everyone who knows me if they thought I was good enough and then re-checking my e-mail... serious stuff. So now I'm diving into a few small projects and continuing the work on my current WIP.
I can see the end in sight for my WIP and that's really exciting. I'm only half way done but I have a clear path now, which is always nice. I'm a bit of a pantser when I write but around a quarter to a half way in, I can see the path I'm going to take to the end pretty clearly. If that doesn't happen, I know I have a problem. Luckily I didn't run into that with this project and I'm hoping to finish the rough draft around the first week in May.
Fingers crossed.
Anyway, I hope everyone (yes, all four of you) enjoy the new look!
-Brandy
Anyway, I've finally gotten around to getting things how I like them, and I'm sure I'm not done yet. I feel better though... it feels like it's mine now. Oh and I have a blog title! I picked Just Write because that's kind of my motto. A lot goes into trying to get published but the most important (in my humble, unpublished opinion) thing is to make sure you're writing. Also, it's what I yell at myself when I get stuck staring at my computer.
This week has been a little hectic in the writing department, mainly because of the contest which took up a lot of my time. And by "took up a lot of my time" I mean checking and re-checking my e-mail, asking everyone who knows me if they thought I was good enough and then re-checking my e-mail... serious stuff. So now I'm diving into a few small projects and continuing the work on my current WIP.
I can see the end in sight for my WIP and that's really exciting. I'm only half way done but I have a clear path now, which is always nice. I'm a bit of a pantser when I write but around a quarter to a half way in, I can see the path I'm going to take to the end pretty clearly. If that doesn't happen, I know I have a problem. Luckily I didn't run into that with this project and I'm hoping to finish the rough draft around the first week in May.
Fingers crossed.
Anyway, I hope everyone (yes, all four of you) enjoy the new look!
-Brandy
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Rough patch.
No, I'm not talking about agent rejections. Although I have gotten a few of those this week. But let's be honest, rejections are a little bit a part of life when you're sending out queries and that's okay. You eat ice cream and get over it.
What I'm talking about though, are rough patches in your WIPS. I hit one recently and I was really having trouble getting through it. I had just wrapped up a few dramatic scenes and everything I wrote after that seemed a little boring. So I did the worst thing you can do. I just didn't write. For a week! I had been on such a roll too, writing every day (night) and my word count was growing and my story was unfolding and then BOOM. Rough patch.
Luckily I found a great blog by Jenny Torres Sanchez and she mentioned a twitter challenge she does called #1Kwordchallenge, which is basically writing 1,000 words in an hour. Seemed like a good idea to me! I thought perhaps just powering through the rough patch would help me move on. It turns out that I really liked what I wrote during the challenge. Not only that, I wrote almost 2,000 words in an hour because I wasn't thinking too much. Fantastic!
So anyway, I guess my advice of the day would be to power through any rough patches you have. Of course you may have to go back to edit and make it make sense later but that's better than just staring at it, right? Right.
So go kick that rough patch's butt!
-Brandy
What I'm talking about though, are rough patches in your WIPS. I hit one recently and I was really having trouble getting through it. I had just wrapped up a few dramatic scenes and everything I wrote after that seemed a little boring. So I did the worst thing you can do. I just didn't write. For a week! I had been on such a roll too, writing every day (night) and my word count was growing and my story was unfolding and then BOOM. Rough patch.
Luckily I found a great blog by Jenny Torres Sanchez and she mentioned a twitter challenge she does called #1Kwordchallenge, which is basically writing 1,000 words in an hour. Seemed like a good idea to me! I thought perhaps just powering through the rough patch would help me move on. It turns out that I really liked what I wrote during the challenge. Not only that, I wrote almost 2,000 words in an hour because I wasn't thinking too much. Fantastic!
So anyway, I guess my advice of the day would be to power through any rough patches you have. Of course you may have to go back to edit and make it make sense later but that's better than just staring at it, right? Right.
So go kick that rough patch's butt!
-Brandy
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Adventures in QueryLand.
I have to say that there is nothing more exciting than the query process. I'm sure there are some aspiring authors out there that hate it, and trust me, there have been times when I've received rejections and hated the whole thing. But it's just so exciting. I was talking to a friend about it today and although you are basically putting yourself out there and saying "judge me!" there is still a sense that something big is about to happen. And that's how I feel.
Here's the back story on... well, my story. I wrote my current manuscript, KILLER CUPCAKES, over three years ago. It was my second completed MS and I wrote it in thirty days. It was the easiest book I've ever written. My first took a year and a half, I never sent it out and while I love it, it didn't just come together like KILLER CUPCAKES. I'm a third of the way into my third MS and it feels a lot like KC did, although it's taking more than thirty days. Anyway, I sent KC out once I'd finished and edited it and got a good response from agents, but then I got a job that took all of my attention away from the book. I know, not smart at all. But it's just what life gave me at the time and I accept that. But I'm back on my game now and I'm getting good responses again, and I've even made it to the final 3 out of 150 in an amazing agency's contest. It feels good.
There are a lot of differences this time besides my age though. I feel like I know more about the process now and I also know what it feels like to be in the middle of finishing an MS, sending it out and all the while, trying to continue writing. You get so wrapped up in the idea of QueryLand with agents who can finally give you your big break. You're creating a blog, twitter and anything else to get your name out there. You love this book so much, you're envisioning the cover and what you'll wear to book signings. It's fun. What I've learned though, is that you have to stay focused on writing. You spend so much time loving your finished book that you lose a little bit of that word monster you've been for however long it took you to write your book.
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with getting your name out there because... hello, this is my blog. And I'm on twitter. But what is most important when trying to become a published author is that you write. Period. Not only because you have to keep your mind off of QueryLand for your sanity (because you totally do) but because you don't want to be a One Book Wonder, ya know?
So write. And so will I. Then we'll all put our heads together to figure out what we'll wear to our book signings. :)
-Brandy
Here's the back story on... well, my story. I wrote my current manuscript, KILLER CUPCAKES, over three years ago. It was my second completed MS and I wrote it in thirty days. It was the easiest book I've ever written. My first took a year and a half, I never sent it out and while I love it, it didn't just come together like KILLER CUPCAKES. I'm a third of the way into my third MS and it feels a lot like KC did, although it's taking more than thirty days. Anyway, I sent KC out once I'd finished and edited it and got a good response from agents, but then I got a job that took all of my attention away from the book. I know, not smart at all. But it's just what life gave me at the time and I accept that. But I'm back on my game now and I'm getting good responses again, and I've even made it to the final 3 out of 150 in an amazing agency's contest. It feels good.
There are a lot of differences this time besides my age though. I feel like I know more about the process now and I also know what it feels like to be in the middle of finishing an MS, sending it out and all the while, trying to continue writing. You get so wrapped up in the idea of QueryLand with agents who can finally give you your big break. You're creating a blog, twitter and anything else to get your name out there. You love this book so much, you're envisioning the cover and what you'll wear to book signings. It's fun. What I've learned though, is that you have to stay focused on writing. You spend so much time loving your finished book that you lose a little bit of that word monster you've been for however long it took you to write your book.
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with getting your name out there because... hello, this is my blog. And I'm on twitter. But what is most important when trying to become a published author is that you write. Period. Not only because you have to keep your mind off of QueryLand for your sanity (because you totally do) but because you don't want to be a One Book Wonder, ya know?
So write. And so will I. Then we'll all put our heads together to figure out what we'll wear to our book signings. :)
-Brandy
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