All or Nothing!

I can't believe how quickly this month went!  As if time doesn't fly fast enough, how about throwing in a goal of writing 50,000 words in thirty days.  I must be crazy.  It's been one wild and furious ride full of ups and downs and lots of times I thought I'd never get it done.  But after pushing myself to the outer limits of my sanity and staying up late, late, late, I did it!  And I even have a few hours to spare. LOL.  NaNoWriMo Rocks!

Although, I will forever wonder why the month of November was picked for this challenge, it won't stop be from trying again next year.  I guess that's exactly what it is.  A challenge or test of sorts.  If I can stick to sitting down every day to write and actually come up with a story that is workable during this hectic month, then there is no reason I can't do it any other time.  All it takes is a little extra dedication on my part, quite a bit of understanding from my wonderful family and lots and lots of caffeine.

The next few days will be a time of winding down, relaxing and recuperating after all that hard but satisfying work.  Oh, who the heck am I kidding?  I'll be doing all the laundry and ironing I've been putting off for the last thirty days.  And here I thought my kids might get tired of having to dig through the baskets to find their favorite shirts, pants or matching socks and actually fold the darn clothes.  Not.  LOL   But before catching up on all my mommy duties, I do intend to celebrate my success.  I think I'll treat myself by heading to the nearest bookstore to buy a great book from one of my favorite authors.  Reading for fun sounds awesome right about now.  :)

The Home Stretch

As you can tell by my colorful NaNo calendar, some days are better than others. LOL And I bet you're wondering why I'm making blog posts when I have so many words to write to reach that 50,000 word goal.

It's all good. Breaks actually help me get back on track and boost the imagination when it seems to get stuck while working on one project for too long. I've got so many different projects started it's not even funny. But usually one will catch my attention and I can't shake it. This is what clues me in to what I need to be working on at that moment.

NaNo is great in that it keeps me working on the same project for longer than a few weeks. But boy is it hard. And boy do those words seem to disappear close to the end. I'm having a hard time getting the old fingers to move in the right sequence, which leads to many misspelled words. I'll laugh when I go back through the manuscript later. And at some points I know I'll have a hard time trying to figure out just exactly what I was trying to say.

So it's back to work for me now. I'm so close and yet so far. But I'm having fun and that's just the icing on the cake!

Come on my fellow NaNo'ers! You can do it!!!

Why NaNoWriMo Works

That is, the reason it works for me. Two weeks down and a little more than two weeks to go. I’m trudging along, hoping to burn up the keys with my brilliance. But in truth most days are slow and grueling as I try to crank out those 1667 words.

* But during NaNo there are no excuses.

* I sit down everyday and write.

* Rules? What rules?

* Editing is a big No No.

* I have lots of buddies struggling right along with me.

* Being creative and thinking outside the box comes easier for me since I can ignore my internal editor or critic.

To sum it all up. The entire process is fun again. I have that magical feeling I experienced the very first time I sat down and started writing my first manuscript. The time before I learned about all the rules and how difficult the publishing part of the journey would be.

Now to hang on to this after Nano is finished. If I can get those words on the page during this month and still keep up with the rest of what life throws at me, there is no reason to believe I can’t.

Here's to the finish line, 50,000 words and a new writing routine!

One Week Down!

Whew! And what a week it's been. NaNo kicked off November 1 and everything else in my life is protesting big time. But never fear. Determination is here. LOL I will sit in my chair every day. I will write. I will reach the finish line. I've reached a little over 9,500 so far, but I'm still running a tad bit behind. I hate that little read box on the calendar above that indicates a day I missed. The yellow is bad enough. What a great motivator. No way do I want anymore of those showing up. LOL

50,000 words here I come!! :)

No Plot? No Problem!

NaNoWriMo is Here!

Second day of Nano and still going strong. LOL The first few days are easy to get those 1667 words. Then every day after that gets harder and harder. Is it excitement that gets the ball rolling, the thrill of starting something new and fresh maybe? What ever it is, I sure wish I could sustain it through the entire process. It's such a great rush!

Best of luck to all those trudging along with me!
Keep up the Great work and I'll see ya at the finish line!! :)

Deadline Approaching

Ack! Ever have one of those weeks when everything goes wrong and you can't find a single minute to spare? Well, why does it always happen when you have something really important to do? I'm working on getting my submissions out to the agents who requested them a few weeks back and I can't believe how many distractions have jumped up and screamed me first, me first!

For instance. Getting sick really stops you in your tracks. Not much you can do but take your medicine and pray it passes quickly. (okay, feeling much better now. thank goodness.)

Homework and projects must be done. No way around that. But this past week I even thought about calling the teachers and begging them on my hands and knees to give my kids a few extra days. LOL (it's Friday. No homework for the weekend. Yippee!)

And until my oldest turns 16 next year, I'm pretty much the only means of transportation for my three who are determined to going in as many different directions as they can find. (no way around this one.)

Throw in the dang dog, who decided the bag of candy looked like a great treat and is now not feeling very well, and I'm at my wits end.

Almost. I've taken several deep breaths and come to grips with it. If I don't make my self imposed deadline it won't be the end of the world. I am allowed to give myself a few more days. Besides, I still have 3 whole days to work through the last eight chapters of my manuscript and get it sent off. Reminds me of that Smokey and the Bandit song. I gotta a "long way to go and a short time to get there" (youtube link thanks to my good friend Will Simon!) It's doable. Yeah, I can do it. And then I'll be ready to start something new for NANO. Oh, I get exciting just thinking about sitting down to write without having to worry about editing a single page. Creating is my favorite part.

That's right. November 1 is coming fast. Hope your ready to join the masses this year and have a blast doing what you love!

NANO - It's a Writer's Dream

Thirty Days and Nights of Literary Abandon! Sound good? Well join me this year as I once again set out to write 50,000 words in thirty days. Alot of you have heard of NANOWRIMO by now, but for those of you who haven't here is a link to answer all your questions: National Novel Writing Month

It's become one of the biggest ways for me to beat procrastination and boost my creativity. There are no excuses for not getting those words on the page. Trust me, the laundry can wait and hubby really can take care of most of those pesky little mishaps. When I first attempted this back in 2007, I thought for sure my family would have a major melt down. To my surprise they were supportive and cheered me on to the finish line. The second year all three of my kids signed up to participate in the Young Writer's Program. I was so proud. :)

So get your life in order, frozen meals prepared and creativity sparked up. 6 more days till the fun and chaos begins! I can't wait!

Come on take a chance. See what you're really made of. Will you join me? :)

What's Your Brand?

The buzz I’ve been hearing lately makes me tingle inside. This is a wonderful time to be an aspiring author. Really? Do tell. Our options are endless compared to years ago when the only way to get your book read was to land a contract with a traditional publisher or spend tons of your own money and go the self-publishing route and pray.

With the internet and now the ease and availability of marketing your own e-books, the cost of publishing your own baby and getting it out to the public has opened up a flood gate of opportunities. For published authors it means having a bit more control, or say so, if you will about their book. Published authors can no say no to what the big publishers want and going it on their own via e-books. And it’s paying off. Take J.A. Konrath for example. Great blog post here. http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2010/10/can-ebooks-outsell-print.html . Let me tell you, it’s got me wondering why I’m chasing that contract from a big publisher. Now I don’t have a readership like he does, so it would take a lot of work on my part. That’s why a brand is so important.

A BRAND is not something you come up with only after you sell. It’s also not something you do differently for every book. It’s your identity. The one you want readers to recognize and associate with you and your books. You need to make your Brand original and keep it the same so when they see your name, they immediately know who you are and what you write. With a name like mine, I don’t think readers will get me confused with someone else. But just in case they don’t know what they are in for when they open the pages of my books, my tagline says it all. “Where Love and Danger Collide.” Lots of running, mystery, danger, suspense and it all comes crashing down on my hero and heroine leaving them no choice but to fall in love and survive.

Now if you write in several different genres, (raising hand) a different brand for each one might be what you need. Writing for children or Young Adult might not mesh so good with your Hot and Steamy Romance novels. For example, I write suspense. So even though I’ve written middle grade, young adult, and Romantic suspense novels the theme remains the same. Someone is in trouble and needs to be rescued. My Brand should probably mesh in some sort of way over all these genres. Still thinking on how to pull this off. LOL

So, stop and think over where you want your career to be in the coming years. What do you want readers to remember about you, about your books? Write down a list of words that come to you off the top of your head when you think about your books. Is there a common factor? Will it last? How can you market it?
From what I”ve heard, your name is the best bet for a brand. It’s yours. Lots of people already know you. Use it and use it wisely.  This will be your platform to build on and generate those mega sales.

Pitching Success

Well, let's hope letting this manuscript sit pays off. The conference was amazing. So many wonderful people and the agents were awesome. A huge thank you to the NWHRWA board members who made it all possible. :)

I used to be petrified about pitching to an editor or agent. I'm an introvert, but not by choice. To be able to enter a room and strike up conversations with people I don't know has become one of my biggest hurdles as well as goals. And although it is getting easier all the time, I still have to work at it. But the three ladies who joined us and took pitches at the Lone Star Conference made it seem so easy.

I've had an agent in the past tell me "Don't use your notes. I'll take them away." Right off the bat, I knew this agent was not right for me. Had me wondering just how much say I'd have over my own books and career if I was working with them.

But all three agents I sat across from this weekend had no problem listening to my pitch as I nervously read it to them. Now for me, this is the kind of people I want in my corner. Yes, I know my book. Frontward, backward, upside down even. But having to tell it to someone on the spot like that just isn't going to work for me. Not now. Not tomorrow. Not ever. I would be proud and thrilled to have any one of these ladies represent me and my work. So a big thank you to Christine Witthohn, my dream agent who request a full of both my middle grade and suspense, Naomi Hackenberg and Amy Boggs. You ladies Rock!

Four requests in all! Now the hard part starts. The waiting....