Tatiana Moore

No news is not good news... in this case anyway

2012-01-30T18:08:00.000-08:00

At this point I've sent out seven query letters (three of them were a no, and I'm pretty sure one more is a no). The agency was like "if we don't contact you in six weeks, it's a no." Well, going by how quick some of the others get back to me, I kind of have to figure that it's a no. Some say that "if you don't hear from us at all, it's a no," which I think is lame. While I don't really like form rejection letters, they do make the process faster. Anyway, there are 50 agents on this list of mine, some of which I've already trimmed out as not being a close enough match to what I and they are looking for. I may look into the new publishing books that came out (2012 Guide to Literary Agents) to see if I can find more. Maybe.

Rejections take a lot out of me. It's not like I'm taking it personally (that the "nos" mean I'm a horrible writer who should just stop trying). [If I have confidence in one thing in my life, it's my ability to tell a story.] But each rejection puts me further away from the dream that I have to publish. So far, submitting for my novel has been far different than short stories. The rejections come MUCH faster. With short stories it always took about three months to hear back; by then I'd had enough time to process and trick myself into thinking that maybe my story was on some "maybe" pile and ultimately not selected. With these email queries "no thanks" comes like machine gun fire. There's really no time to process it. So I need to get used to that. It's making this a really difficult process. Each rejection I get makes me think "Well, maybe it really isn't going to happen for me and I need to deal with that now and move on. What's plan B?"

I want to give kudos to all those authors who do submit to 100+ agents. I don't know that I have the heart for that. Plus, I grow a bit restless and feel like after so many it's time to set it aside and move on. But who's to say that agent 51 is the one who says yes. This game has definitely messed with my emotions the last few days.

So, in hope to rise out of this funk, I've decided to do some work on ARABELLE WILD. Why? First, because the characters have popped into my head a lot lately (I think I have "Downton Abbey" to thank, even though the era isn't the same). Second, because I'm having a hard time starting book 2 of my SPIRIT KEEPER series. I've been planning and outlining, but I just don't feel it at the moment. So, I need to take a bit of a break from it all together and switch my mind over to something else. And I'll admit, it's kinda nice to do something else. Maybe this is what my brain needs to get it together and reconnect with the joy of writing. 'Cause right now, I just want to curl up in bed and lay there quietly for a couple days. It'll pass, but being in the crush of it is definitely draining.

I suppose the good news is that it's 9pm and I haven't gotten a rejection email yet, which is good 'cause today was pretty ho-hum.

One down...

2012-01-25T17:39:00.000-08:00

Well, it took less than 24 hours to hear back from Agent 1. The response: a form rejection letter. Here, I'll share it with you all:

Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, your manuscript doesn't sound like something that’s right for us. We wish you the best of success in placing your work elsewhere.

Pretty standard, actually. I have like 70 of these for my short stories.

So, before everyone says it: I know that there will be a lot of rejections. That's kind of a given right? We can move on from that. .....wait that might have seemed a little harsh or snappy..... Don't get me wrong, I know the intention behind the sentiment is 100% sincere, but sometimes I wonder if some people say it because they think my publishing expectations are unrealistic. To be fair, I do have big dreams. HUGE DREAMS. I've been putting "I'm going to be a published writer" vibes into the universe since I was nine. But deep down I know what the deal is. Did I want to be the first ever writer who was accepted by the first agent they ever submitted to? Sure. I mean, can you imagine how awesome that would have been?!?!? But did I really think that was going to happen: No.

So I hope that whoever reads this (and who might have mentioned something about how hard it is to make it) isn't offended or anything. I've heard this from so many people throughout the entire time I've been submitting (not just this latest submission, but back with short stories as well) and now I'm like AHHHH! For example, I called my mom to tell her about the rejection and she was like "Okay...." and then "Well, you know that....." And I was like "NO, STOP! DON'T SAY IT! I KNOW!"

Thank you for letting me vent for a moment (and this could be the sting of rejection talking).

I've already sent out the second query letter and I may send a third later tonight. I thought submitting right away would help with the sting of the first rejection and I think it has... at least for the moment. In my experience it usually takes a day or so for it to really sink in (and then usually I feel pretty crappy). I know that I'll keep moving on from this point and if no one wants to represent my novel, I guess it'll make a good e-book. I just want to give traditional publishing 100% effort before I look into self publishing. I just hope that eventually I'll get more feedback than just a form rejection letter.

So, moving on to something more positive. I started brainstorming book 2 today. Tomorrow's goal: to actually start writing. I think moving forward that way will really help me with the submission process because even as the rejections come in, I'll still be moving forward. Hopefully in the end I'll have a solid trilogy.

Tuesday.

2012-01-22T13:40:00.000-08:00

So, I've decided that this coming Tuesday, I'm going to make my first attempt at submitting my novel. At this point, I've picked and picked at it (at the first five pages, the synopses, and even the query letter), and now I'm just stalling. I've talked about this whole process being overwhelming, well, I think in a lot of ways I'm just scared. Scared of rejection... scared of success. I don't know. One thing I do know: I'm getting restless. I'm ready to test the waters. I don't think there's any tried and true method for submitting to agents. But I figure Thursday and Fridays may be bad days because they're so close to the weekend and Monday could be equally bad (depending on what happens during the weekend). So, Tuesday feels good. Or Wednesday, but then that's stalling too. I think I'm ready. I hope I am anyway. We'll see I suppose.

E-Book Covers and Cookbooks

2012-01-14T19:12:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm seriously considering turning my early FictionPress stories into e-books (or even self-published books), I'm starting to think about book covers. A beautiful/engaging cover can really push a hardcover or paperback. Is the same true for e-books? At the moment, I'm really unsure of what I should do for KILLING MEMORIES. Fancy text on a solid background? Some kind of photograph? I did a sketch of Moo and Estela, but I'm not a great drawer (sadly) and it just seems impossible to get what I'm thinking to come out of my hands. I wish I was an artist. Painters, sketchers, watercolorists, whatevers... I'm so in awe of such talent. I wish I had a small sliver of it, but I don't. All of my creativity is with words.

I haven't bought a lot of e-books myself so I'm not sure what people are drawn to. Price? An awesome cover? The synopsis/blurb? All three probably. I just don't know where to start. Thoughts?

So, I ended up completely cleaning up my FictionPress profile and stories. It seems just a little pointless to have a bunch of unfinished stories on there. So now it's just "Chemical Games" and "My Darling Bunny." Hopefully I can add a new (and permanent) story soon. I'm so tempted to start posting chapters of ARABELLE WILD and that maybe reader feedback will spark me into finishing it. But I don't want it to end up like GEORGIA SWIMMER or THE JADE BRACELET. I sometimes think about how good (even though it was really bad) I had it being unemployed for nine months after graduate school. I could write so much then. And I swear, I'm letting valuable writing team get eaten away by my disgusting TV habit. I. Love. T.V. I do miss the times when I could write all day long and really produce. Oh well, I'll have to adapt.

I just bought a new lamp. It's got two pull cords that turn on the light bulbs. It had such an old-timey feel to it, which I liked. It seemed like the perfect fit for my writing desk. Now I just need to get myself off the couch and seated at the desk. The portability of this new laptop really has it's downfalls.


Costco had this for half the price.

And to continue the randomness of this post... I just bought a really awesome cookbook called EVERYDAY FOOD: LIGHT (from Martha Stewart's kitchen, no less). I was looking something that had meals under 500 calories (I'm in a pretty good "get healthy mode" at the moment). The best thing about this cookbook, besides a lot of delicious looking recipes, is that there is a color picture on each page. I have to have pictures in my cookbook. I'm a decent cook, but I still like the visual to know how it's supposed to look (even if most of the foods are professionally photographed, fancied up, and possibly not even cooked). I'm really excited to make a few of these recipes. As a cooking side note: The Food Network magazine is pretty awesome too.

A journey toward healthiness and a journey toward publishing are kind of the same: hard, frustrating, hopeful, and tiring.

Oh facebook...

2012-01-10T17:14:00.000-08:00

So, I didn't feel like managing both a facebook profile and a facebook page for myself, so I tried to "convert" my profile page (which is supposed to upload all of your friends as people who "like" you) to a fanpage, but I think some (possibly 30 people) were cut. So, that was a dumb decision, but hopefully it'll be better in the long run. It probably would have been okay had I not created a page to start with, because I ended up with two pages, one of which I had to delete (including all of the people who "liked" that). I don't know if it all balances out, but my attempt at simplification seems to have blown up in my face. Pages are so boring... I need to spice mine up.

In other news, I think I've brainstormed a title change for SURRENDER. Because even though it will likely change later in the process (especially if an agent/publisher is interest), I can't go forward with the submission process with a title that really doesn't have a lot to do with the story anymore. Therefore, I'm leaning toward SPIRIT KEEPER or THE SPIRIT KEEPER. I can't decide how much weight "the" holds--does it change the meaning with or without it? Does it sound better with or without it? So many possibilities. At this point, I'm about 85% happy with this new idea. I do worry that the title will give away a little too much, but when I think about it I think there's enough mystery build up in the novel to keep the title from killing suspense. Titles are tricky--especially when the book won't be a stand-alone. But who says that l I have to confirm to the "Twilight," "New Moon," "Eclipse," and "Breaking Dawn" trend? Maybe my goal should be to fight it? I do wonder how often titles are changed by publishers/editors from what the author originally intended. If I cared more about the Twilight series I'd go look to see if it was Meyer's original title.

At any rate... THE SPIRIT KEEPER.

It definitely feels right. Well... better.

Hostile Kisses

2012-01-07T11:51:00.001-08:00

I will be removing HOSTILE KISSES from FictionPress sometime next Saturday, January 14. Just an FYI! :)

So much to do.....

2012-01-02T13:11:00.000-08:00

It's official, I probably won't be doing much new writing until I feel like I've got a few things finalized with SURRENDER. I'm getting close to being done with the synopsis, I hope. They query letter is another beast that I'm slowly tackling. I'm starting to understand why it's taken me so long to actually take these steps toward getting my novels published. This is a lot of work. It's stressful, sometimes heart crushing... I don't know, the list goes on (fill it with negative words). Just when I think I'm done with something and get feedback it's like "nope, not yet." I can't even imagine what I'll feel when/if I'm successful at finding an agent who wants to represent me and they want me to make more changes. Will it ever be 100 percent? This is a very difficult process. I'm determined not to throw in the towel, although it's tempting at times.

Today I spent a little time looking at the agent list that I compiled months ago. I'm always shocked at how overwhelmed I get when I work on different elements of the submission process. First paring 510 pages down to 10 (the synopsis and I need to cut those 10 to one page). Now the big issue is finding something about my top 15 agents to personalize the query letter. Each publishing book that I read suggests that writers find a way to connect to the agent--make them feel special. I understand this completely (on agent I'm looking at says that they get 10,000+ queries a year!), but it's difficult. So far my reasons for querying are: 1) they represent diverse projects (I won't always write YA), 2) they're looking for writers who want to develop their skills and the agent-writer relationship (check, I totally want this too), and 3) I really liked one of the authors they already represent. Who knows if the last one is a valid "connection" or not.

I think when it comes down to it, I need to trust my instincts. If I feel it's as close to final as I can get it, then I just need to go with it and not try to get a second opinion. Another issue is that I want all of this to happen tomorrow... that definitely isn't realistic.

I guess I'm just having a hard day with this process. And I still don't like the title.

I'm overwhelmed for sure.

Happy 2012!

2012-01-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

I am determined to make great things happen this year! It's bright and sunny so that must mean that things are off to a good start. A few goals that I'd like to see happen:

1. Send off query letters and samples for SURRENDER by Feb 1.
2. Edit KILLING MEMORIES and turn it into an ebook.
3. Finish a draft of book 2 in the FALLEN GUARDIAN SERIES.
4. Finish another small project.

A lot, but I think I can do it. I'll probably add more to the list as the year goes on, but it's good to set a few goals to start with.

Happy New year everyone!

Oh Bobby.

2011-12-29T18:46:00.000-08:00

Jammi, let's discuss Supernatural. I'm all caught up. I feel like this last episode was a proper send off, which Cas never got. I'm not sure how I feel about the cliffhanger ending though.

In other news, I'm still moving forward with editing and writing, only slowly. I need to find a good rhythm, but it's escaping me at the moment. I'll figure it out eventually. It was easy to write the first novel because I was unemployed. Now I have a full-time job. I just need to carve out a few hours a day. Seems like an easy task--not sure why I'm finding it so hard.

Happy Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:02:00.001-08:00

Moving Forward

2011-12-19T19:11:00.000-08:00

Outlining is fun!

Even though I'm not completely done with SURRENDER (as explained in my last post), I've started outlining book 2 of the Fallen Guardian Series, which is currently untitled. Although, I've been playing around with a few ideas for titles, but since I'm only 85% married to SURRENDER, there's a lot of wiggle room at this point. I think I might have had a breakthrough regarding something major: the point of the series. Ha! Even though book one is done, I still didn't know where I was headed for books two and three. I didn't know what everyone was fighting for and I might have figured that out today. Things always change as I start writing, so everything is still up in the air.

I feel like I'm making progress and at least moving forward. I always have a hard time transitioning between big steps. For example, after I finished writing the novel it took me a while to get into editing. I don't like the down time (even though I should enjoy it). So, my goal is to start writing in the next few days. Once I start it'll be easier to continue until book two is done.

I've also started to read KILLING MEMORIES in preparation to edit it. I've been on a roller coaster with this one in the last few days. I compiled all of the edited chapters and started reading and thought "Ehhhhhh, this needs a lot of work." Then I started reading it on my NOOK and thought, "Hey, this isn't so bad after all! I just need to make her sound a little more mature." I felt dizzy. I don't plan on making major changes to the novel, a few added scenes here and there. I know that the arch of the novel needs a little work, mostly because I wrote the first half with absolutely no purpose in mind (sound familiar?!). But, overall, I'm excited to start working on this. I'm hesitant to make any promises about when it might be ready, but I'm hoping for Summer 2012.

Book 2 in the Game of Thrones series.

In other news, I'm on to reading something non-YA. I recently watched season one of GAME OF THRONES, which was awesome. So I'm reading the second book in the series (since the TV show covered the first book to a T, or so my sister says). It's like 999 pages, or something crazy like that. Sometimes, when I'm holding it in my hand, I wonder if I'll ever finish it. Makes me feel bad for writing a 510 page novel. But... length is my forte, so... yeah.

Boop boooo boop booooooo (trumpet sounds)

2011-12-13T18:24:00.000-08:00

I've finished editing SURRENDER!

Well, almost. I'm still not 100% satisfied with the very last line, but that's just a matter of minor tweaking. In fact, the whole thing could use a few tweaks here and there but I am refraining from that at this point. My focus has diverted to writing the synopsis, which is currently at five pages. I'm considering this my long sample and I'll have to write a short 1-pager. I also have to write a paragraph-long blurb, and somehow--God willing--a 1 sentence hook. These final steps are definitely much more difficult than writing 168,000+ words. It really is. I've always been a person who likes having the space to move around on the page. Don't even ask me to write a poem!

So, I'm happy to report that this is the final draft (at this point). I do think that it's ready to be seen by agents (fingers crossed). In reality most of the people I send to will only read my query letter, a few sample pages, and the synopsis. I'll be really lucky if any one wants to read the whole manuscript.

I'm pretty much on target, I think, for my goal to have it out to agents by the first of 2012. More research to come and then I'll start writing book 2. Things are really winding down now!

@Jammi: If you're still interested, hit me up by email (on profile).

41 pages left

2011-12-08T17:02:00.001-08:00

I really haven't made much progress since my last post. I think I'm on the third draft of my synopsis--it's probably too long (5 pages). Hopefully I'll be able to cut it down some. I'm trying to think of what else to write about. Here are a few updates:

I just finished THE FAERIE RING (decent, definitely the dark of a series) and I'm now reading Meg Cabot's INSATIABLE. So far, so good... I've always liked her books. Next up THE PLEDGE, THE REPLACEMENT, and THE SPACE BETWEEN (maybe on the last one). I've also ordered the first four books in the GAME OF THRONES series. My sister got me into the HBO series and now I really want to read the books. Good stuff.
I've been thinking about my old stories lately... particularly THE JADE BRACELET and the KM series. I need to get serious about editing (and finishing) these stories. I feel like I have no time now that I work full-time. Things are just slower now... I guess that something I'll have to get used to.
Chapter 12 of HOSTILE KISSES was recovered (thanks to a reader) and has been re-posted on Fiction Press. I'm pretty sure that I'll be taking that story down in January and putting up CHEMICAL GAMES.
One thing I dislike is not remembering what happens in the first two books in a series when the third book comes out. I had that problem with the HUSH, HUSH series. I have no idea what happened in the first two so... I'm probably not going to read the third. I need to find a way to prevent that from happening with my novels, because it's so disheartening....

And basically, that's all she wrote... for now anyway.

66 Pages

2011-11-27T17:32:00.001-08:00

I'm still plugging away on this novel and I've started the synopsis, which is going to be a HUGE undertaking. It's difficult to tell a 500 page story to 3-5 pages, but I think I've got a good outline to start with. I'm looking forward to coming to the end of this edit. I'm even more excited to start writing new stuff again. I could probably edit and write at the same time if I just reorganized my brain so that I focus on a few hours of editing and a few hours of writing. Maybe one day. What I really need to do is read more--I don't read enough.

In other news, I saw "The Muppets" yesterday. I am a huge Muppet fan, so I really enjoyed the movie (there were 1-2 things that I didn't like). If you're a fan, I recommend it highly.

144 Pages To Go

2011-11-17T15:27:00.001-08:00

So, I'm nearing the finish line, yet again. I have 144 pages left to edit. I've stopped reading a loud at time point, mostly because it's easier and I get more done when I don't sit in a quite room and listen to myself talk. I still think I need to print out the whole thing and do one more edit, but I'm going to try to hold back on that for now. And when all is said and done--I haven't cut much more out of this draft. Mostly I take things out and put them back, hopefully in a better way. My focus is about to shift to the synopsis/summary. I'll only be sending the first 5 pages and 1-2 pages of synopsis to the agents--so both of these samples need to kick ass.

I feel a sense of desperation. I worry that just around the corner some novel is going to come out that mirrors mine--and then suddenly I'm not so original. I freaked out a little bit after looking at the new releases at B&N where I found a book called SPACE IN BETWEEN. The plot is nothing like my novel, but the main character is the daughter of Lilith and the Devil, which is somewhat similar to one of my characters. Curses!! I'm going to try not to worry about it because (1) I'm pretty sure my plot is original and out there and (2) if I fail at finding an agent for this book there's always the online e-book market to try.... What I'm most desperate for is to hold my own novel. There's something about holding a big thick book and feeling impressed with how much the author wrote (from a writer's POV). I want that for myself. The e-book craze scares me a little. Library's are starting to offer e-books. I'm a little appauled by this, but I suppose it makes sense considering most libraries carry multiple forms of mass media (CDs, DVDs, etc.) Still... e-books in a library? Soon we'll have e-libraries. I feel like this craze is a few years from murdering my ultimate dream.

I just finished NAME OF THE STAR, which is a story that takes place in London (modern time) where someone has been killing people a la Jack the Ripper. It was a good read with an interesting paranormal twist. I recommend it, but THIS DARK ENDEAVOR was still off the charts good.

In more personal news: I started working out. One step toward self revolution, in a way. The only downside is that I'm starving all the time now. It's been two weeks, shouldn't some of that have gone away by now? Ugh. It's just frustrating because it feels counterproductive. We'll see--maybe it will get better soon. Maybe I just need bigger meals during the day.

Current editing goals: Finish up this last edit by the end of this month. Have a solid synopsis drafted by Christmas. Complete the query letter by the end of this year. January = submission time!!

Book Review: This Dark Endeavor

2011-10-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

So, I'm about 20 pages from the end of this book but I thought I'd blog about it now. THIS DARK ENDEAVOR by Kenneth Oppel is a prequel (of sorts) to the life of Victor Frankenstein (based off Mary Shelley's character in FRANKENSTEIN). In this novel we get to follow the young sixteen year old, his twin brother, a family friend, and a cousin through an adventure to find three ingredient to the elixir of life (to save his brother's life). Victor is passionate (in a scary way), jealous, selfish, competitive, and loyal. An all around great character (I both like him and dislike him). The supporting cast is pretty amazing too. I love Oppel's writing style and can't wait to read more of his work, including: HALF BROTHER. (I think I blogged about it being on my reading list, but I had to return it to the library before I got a chance to read much). I was easily pulled into THIS DARK ENDEAVOR and can't wait to finish it. It's definitely one that I got lost in (something I was craving). I do recommend it. It may be a part of a series, which I'll definitely follow. I'm now a Kenneth Oppel fan and can't wait to read his other work (he's pretty prolific). I actually want to read Mary Shelley's novel now. I suppose it's one of those that I should have read already... and might have in high school. I really can't remember much of those assigned books from English. I should make a reading list to go back and reread all that "boring" stuff (as I saw it back in the day).

In the past few days I've been on vacation (at home in Nebraska) and bought LES MISERABLES... now that is a LONG novel. I hope to read it, but I'm not sure when I'll get to it. I haven't made much editing progress since I finished up with my nook editing. I have to find my rhythm again and I already know that sitting on the couch with my lap top, while watching TV, isn't going to work.

Update: Finished the book! It really is excellent in my opinion. The ending is fitting to how the whole story plays out. I feel inspired by this book.

I have Halloween fever!

2011-10-19T15:22:00.001-07:00

I really can't wait for Halloween. And this video was pretty damn amazing and funny! Enjoy.

Finished with Nook editing!!

2011-10-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

Today I finished putting my Nook edits into the computer! That's one big hurdle jumped. I'll have to go back to the halfway point and start reading out loud, but at least that's nearing the final stage. Now I have about 290 pages to read out loud and edit (hopefully trimming down excess words too). For my Nook edits I cut 4,200 words (rounding up a bit) and I think that's around 10 pages. [However, I just realized that I've actually cut 100 pages total from the first draft. I forgot that I reorganized it to end in a different spot. So, that's actually tons of progress.] I'm trying to remind myself not worry too much about length. I just want a tight story. So, yay! I'm one step closer now.

I'm on a roll so far...

2011-10-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

I just reached chapter 29 (of 40) on my Nook. And a lot of that happened in the past few days [this new computer rocks!] I'm entering these edits like a crazy woman, let me tell you. Unfortunately I still need to go back to chapter 16 where I stopped reading aloud (which is often my final round of editing for most stories). After that, I feel like it's be pretty close to being done. I'm still a bit worried about a few large-level things, but I don't think there will be any plot-crushing gaps. We'll see, I suppose. I've "killed most of my babies" as writing advisers say--but one still remains. I do not want to kill him at this stage. Sure he plays a bigger role in book 2 and 3, but I feel that it's important to introduce him here. My worry is that he doesn't show up enough for people to care. Oh, Colin. *sigh*

Sadly, I know that this novel will have more edits to come in the future. The important thing right now is to get it down and to move on to something new. It's really time for me to start writing book 2. It'll be good to start something new I think. My mind needs a bit of a break--I feel like I've got a bit of cabin fever going on. Too bad I can't multitask and write and edit at the same time. It just doesn't work for me.

MODEL LAND update: I'm on page 73 (I think) and I'm pretty positive I'm going to set the book aside for now (maybe forever). I mean it took me 10 days to read 73 pages! Some of the craziness is thinning out, but there's still a lot of.... I don't even know what to call it. It's just too much at times. Too Tyra. I don't think it's poorly written. I'd say it's about down the middle in regard to most YA writers that I read. It's taking me too long to get into it. I'll try again tonight, but if something doesn't grab me about this main character then I'm likely done with the book. I guess I'm just not really into modeling culture. At this point, I'm not sure if Tyra really deserves some of the negative comments I've seen from people.

I'm not sure what to read next, although THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER is calling to me. I'm not sure what it is about this book that's draws me. The cover is pretty nice. It may have something to do with how the main character wakes up in the hospital with no memories. Anyway, this book may be my first Nook purchase over .99 cents. All I know is that I'm ready to be lost in something. I need a page turner. Maybe it's finally time to read HUNGER GAMES. I don't know why I've waited so long to read that series. I hear nothing but amazing things about it. I'm sure I'll love it. Still, I feel like I want to wait a little longer. Maybe until I'm done with SURRENDER. I'm not worried that they're the same, only that I'll feel discouraged with my own writing.

New Computer!!!

2011-10-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

I'm typing this post from my brand new laptop! I've been in the market for one for about a month (with a lot of disappointments along the way). I'm writing this post from my bed. (Gosh, I've missed the portability!) The best thing about this is that I'll be able to write from wherever now. AND I'VE GOT SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED! I'm hoping that this means an increase in productivity in regard to my novel(s). We'll see though. Now it's a lot like playing with a new toy.

In other news, my copy of Tyra Banks' MODEL LAND (it's supposed to be one word, but the double L makes me crazy for some reason) came in to the library today. I placed a hold on this book not because I was excited for it to come out; no, this is more about curiosity. There seems to be an onslaught of celebrities jumping into the YA field. Starting with that girl from The Hills (her clothing line at Kohl's is nice), then Hilary Duff, and now Tyra. Hilary supposedly had "assistance" and Tyra's claiming to have done it on her own (says that it took five years from conception to final draft; and that it was initially 1000 pages. I guess I need to stop worrying about my page length for SURRENDER). She's been getting slammed in reviews (both Barnes and Noble and Goodreads) and I'm curious in how much of it comes from haters (who are put out that she probably used her celebrity to get published. I'll admit that I've got my toe in this pool of thought.) and how much of it is legitimate gripes about poor storytelling/writing. I'm scared of what I'll find in the pages of this book. I secretly want to love it and cheer her on (cause it's gotta be hard to be taken seriously), but I'm already finding things to dislike. And then....... the main character is named Tookie de la Creme (not lying) and the first seven pages is told from some unseen narrator who says "dahling" a lot. It could be good and it could be very bad. I'll try to make it through the first chapter at least and will report back. I have my doubts... and I'm a little bothered that she has six pages of acknowledgements in the back of the book (it's in small font so it could be more). I always read the ackloweledgments to learn a little more about the authors (and to see if they drop agent names!). Six pages seems a bit self involved (especially since she's thanking Greece at one point). Sigh.

Oh well, I still love Top Model. I don't watch it for Tyra... the girls are always interesting.

@Jammi: What did you think of Supernatural this week? Let's discuss!

Oh geeez

2011-09-28T14:48:00.000-07:00

Since I'm done with the Nook editing, I decided to take the first four chapters (including the prologue) to work with me today. These are the pages that I need to tighten up because they'll be the first ones any agent/publisher reads and should be the strongest. I started editing and BOOM... look what happens! (And this is edit number 6 or something). I'm not feeling discouraged--well, maybe a tad. I just have to wonder if it'll ever be perfect to me. At some point I'm going to have to stop picking at it and be satisfied. I refuse to believe that it might not happen. After work I went to Target to read the first paragraphs of some of the YA books on the shelf and there are a mix of openings: dramatic, action-packed, detailed. It didn't really help me very much. At any rate, I've decided that this edit I'm working on (about 50 pages away from the middle) will be the last one. I really need to start writing something else and too much editing can destroy a story. I want to pick up the speed of the first four chapters, so I may look at trimming some of it out, and I may re-post here for some feedback (if anyone's willing to give it).

All right, let me get back to entering another chapter of Nook edits. Sixteen chapters down, twenty-four to go. My page count is still under 500 pages, but it slips back up a little. So far I've cut out 2,000 words (give or take). An old tip for final drafts is to trim about 10%. That means I'll need to cut 16,000 words. I'm really note sure if that's going to be possible, but my goal is to cut the fat (and a lot of the fat may be in the beginning). We'll see. Tyra Bank's book was well over 500 pages, but then she's a celebrity and I'm sure publishing houses were willing to gamble a bit more. Has anyone read that book yet? I've got it on hold at the library--I'm curious, but my expectations are somewhat low. We'll see.

Updates!

2011-09-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

I like updating my blog, but I'm not sure if I'm feeling this background. Thoughts?

In the past two days I've probably edited about 25-30 pages of SURRENDER. Yay! I need to start thinking of a new titles because this one worked well when I still had the original ending. But since I removed the last 100 pages, it kinda fails. Just something else I need to work on/think about. It feels good to be back in a groove. I just hope that I can keep it up!

And then a year passes...

2011-09-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

Today is the year mark of when I began SURRENDER. I'm not finished, sadly. I did finish my Nook edits today though, but now I just have to put them in to the computer. I'm having a hard time finding a rhythm to my editing. I used to come home and set up shop on the downstairs computer for a few hours. Now I can't really do that because the computer I was using belonged to my brother-in-law and my personal computer sucks... it takes about 20 minutes for it to really get going and I don't have the patience for that. I'm looking into a new laptop, but that's taking forever too. Ugh. The stupid hurricane really threw me off and that was like a month ago. There's no excuse. Wait... can I blame the new fall TV?! :)

I never did finish MISFIT. I didn't even read beyond what I wrote about last time. In fact, I haven't read much of anything lately. This isn't much of a blog post, but there you have it.

After the earthquake (oh, and hurricane)

2011-09-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

So, the past two weeks have been a little bonkers for me. First we were hit with an earthquake (well, we felt the tremors of an earthquake that hit some place in Virginia) at the beginning of the week and ended the week with Hurricane Irene, which knocked out our power for 5.5 days. I'm used to blackouts like this (I used to live in New Hampshire where one winter we had an ice storm and lost power for at least 4 days, and the next winter we had a wind storm that knocked out power for 3 days), but by the end of the week I was ready to pull my hair out. Reading by candlelight is very 1800s, but it can get extremely boring. No wonder they sat around and sang to each other! And besides, I can only go so long with out a full hot shower (instead I had the equivalent of cold sponge baths. NOT fun)... not to mention I was running out of clean clothes.

So, I spent the long Labor Day weekend enjoying the splendors of electricity. The most exciting thing I did was watch the 8 episodes of Vampire Diaries that I had saved to our DVR. I don't know why I held off so long! This was a great season (lots of death, betrayal, and cliffhangers). Actually, I'm glad that I saved them up because there's nothing worse than waiting an entire week for the next episode. I'm also glad I stuck with the series because at first I didn't like the actress who plays Elena (I'm used to her now and she's getting better). I'll never get enough of Ian Somerhalder (drooooool!). But here's my question to all VD fans out there. Are the books similar to the show? Are they worth reading? I started with the show and now I'm worried that if I read the books I'll be disappointed one way or the other. Ooo, I just saw that the new season of VD starts next week (even better!).

Needless to say, the last few weeks have been horrible for my editing. I've managed to edit on my Nook (which is progress), but I really need to get these edits into the computer. I need to find a rhythm again. What I really need is a laptop. I did start hand-writing ARABELLE WILD (the short novella that I was working on earlier this year) while the power was out. I may try to finish that one by hand and then type it all up later (again, it's progress). I also read several books: THE SEASON (a YA, regency England novel; it was decent), DIE FOR ME (a YA, zombie/dead immortals novel; it was decent too), and THE GODDESS TEST (a YA, Greek mythology retelling; it was good). I have not finished SUPERNATURALLY and I might not. I made it halfway through and I feel like nothing's really happening--there's not really a plot that I can see. I gave it to my sister to read and she finished it and basically said that it didn't get much better. This is kind of a let down since I liked PARANORMALCY so much. I may give it a chance... I don't know (I'll still read Kirsten White's stuff, but I might have to get it from the library).

I'm currently reading: MISFIT by Jon Skovron. I almost stopped reading this one because the story is told in present tense (Janie says this. Janie takes her socks off) and feels a little awkward. I'm so rooted in past tense writing/reading that I actually really don't like it. But then I skimmed ahead and saw that there are some past tense sections, which is weird, and now, looking at it from a writer's POV, I want to see if Skovron can pull it off. Still... the present tense really bothers me. (Here's one reviewer who thought the same thing about the tense switches). We'll see how far I get in this one. There are a few books (I found them while browsing at Barnes and Noble) that I need to get my hands on: POSSESS and WILDEFIRE. I need to wait until the library has them (or until I have enough money to buy random books). I did buy THE FALLEN: END OF DAYS by Sniegoski. He's one of my favorite authors in the "fallen angels" genre. Side note: the actor who plays "Stefan" on VD also played the lead role in "The Fallen" TV miniseries.

That's all the news from me for now!

So much for blogging twice a week...

2011-08-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what to blame my lack of posting on. I like to think that it's because I have nothing new to say, but that's not a good thing to admit. I could blame it on the full time job, but then I spend a good chunk of time after work surfing the internet. I guess maybe it's a mixture of a lot of things. And sadly, the biggest one is that I just don't have anything to write about. I should think up some more craft notes. Sigh.

I've been reading a steady amount of good fiction lately. I'm currently reading the second book in the PARANORMALCY series by Kiersten White. I was really into the characters she introduced in the first book. I'm about halfway through SUPERNATURALLY and I'm still a fan, but at this point I like the first book better. I do love the cover art for these books, very pretty. I also finished STARCROSSED by Josephine Angelini (at Sammy's recommendation). Another pretty cover (but is that another model-y blond I see?!) and a really unique and fun story. I definitely kept turning the pages, which is always a good thing. And I have to admit that I like a good Greek mythology retelling. I don't know enough about Greek mythology though (even the PERCY JACKSON series by Rick Riordan makes me feel dumb). I should probably put Edith Hamilton back on my to-read list (and take a little trip back through time to sophomore year, or was it junior year... who knows).

I often wonder what might be the next "new" thing in the fiction world? The next new trend in writing? Here are the subcategories (applied to YA and general fiction) that I can think of:

Certainly angels and demons have had their time (and better be a space on the shelf for my novel SURRENDER... I'm all about thinking positively).
Vamps and werewolves are doing well.
Witches and wizards, naturally, have a great showing.
Popular/mean/rich/A-list/wannabe socialites have a space (the Gossip Girl-like books are definitely not my thing).
Faeries have a good showing (my favorite authors here are Holly Black and Aprilynne Pike).
Ghosts? (I haven't read any).
Apocalyptical and futuristic!!! Can't forget these stories. You know: HUNGER GAMES and UGLIES and MATCHED.

Let's see... so what hasn't been done (or at least not done well or often)? Fairytale re-tellings? Aliens? I don't think we'll ever run out of things to write about, but the novelty may end one day. And then what? It's kinda like the TV show Bones or CSI. I bet those writers have to constantly think up new ways to disgust the audience. I will admit that there were a few episodes of both of these shows this past season that left me cringing, so they're obviously doing their job. I guess there's still some glimmer of hope.

And what would a post be without an update on my editing. I've taken to reading chapters out loud. Ever done this fellow writers out there? It's a great way to catch things that your eyes have become used to (especially after 4-5 read through-edits). I hope that in reading out loud I'm making the sentences stronger and reaching the final stages. I know for sure that this is going to be the last edit I do on this novel (at least until an agent or editor tells me otherwise). I'm growing sick of it, which may be a good sign that I'm nearing the end. Plus, I'm super excited to start on new things and to finish my novella so I can share that with you guys. And maybe even edit Es and Moo. I should turn those into Ebooks for my Nook and maybe I'll get more editing done that way. Here's hoping.

Oh Es and Moo... I have such big plans for you.

Agents and Blurbs

2011-07-31T10:09:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a busy weekend for me. I spent most of Saturday reading bios for about 50 possible agents who represent YA writers. It was a completely overwhelming process because it just reminds me that so many people out there are trying to do what I'm doing. It's almost like going into a bookstore and seeing rows and rows and rows of paranormal/fantasy/supernatural YA. I wonder to myself "will I fit in here?" or "can I make the team?" or "will I be picked last (if at all)?" Plus, I have to look at agents who represent other things. I won't always write YA. My Es and Moo series isn't YA, so I need to make sure that any agent that I work with also represents adult fiction, chick lit, etc. This is all too overwhelming, which is why I'm taking this whole process one step at a time. I created my agent list yesterday now I'll let that simmer while I start on the fourth edit of "Surrender." This should be the final edit before I start sending letters out. Right now I'm trying to tighten up sentences and reduce the word count.

I also woke up with a possible "hook," which I scribbled down on the pad that I keep by my bed. I've never had much use for this pad, but I was glad to have it 'cause I'm not entirely sure what triggered this idea. I suppose in a way it's not really a hook (I think it's too long). It's probably better to call it a summary or a book jacket blurb (there's a technical name there that I can't remember). Anyway, here it is (with a little tweaking since my early-morning brain likes to think in incomplete sentence):

SURRENDER

"Within a few months of returning to Falls, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Black is “awakened” to a supernatural world where those who know what she will become hold onto a mysterious, and irritating, silence. Left to discover the truth with time, Evelyn’s dysfunctional life tailspins into complete chaos. As her seventeenth birthday approaches, finding normalcy is impossible. Her body starts to change and her best friend’s mom tries to kill her. Evelyn has never felt more alone in her life, but she has friends from very high and dangerously low places. Friends who guide and protect her, ignoring the consequences of their actions, and remain at her side when she is reborn and tasked to be a guardian of the Fallen. "

I think it could have strong potential, but like the agent thing I'm going to let it simmer. It's probably a bit stronger than what I've shared in the past (part of a query letter draft). As always, feel free to make suggestions or comments about the blurb/hook.

I'm also not entirely sure if the title still works with the changes that I've made in this last edit. Basically, I still have a lot to do before this thing is ready to be sent out, including making the first 10 pages shine, writing a synopsis (not even sure where to start there!), and finalizing the query letter. I'd love to have a letter out by September 1st, but we'll see. I don't want to rush any more than I already am. So this is where I am at the moment. I should be editing now, but I like to waste a good 45mins-1hour of time messing around on the internet. Procrastination is my friend.

Freakout Moment

2011-07-25T14:13:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago, I started reading the third book to the "Fallen" series by Lauren Kate ("Passion") and I had to put it down after 10 pages. Not because it was bad (I like the series so far) but because I had a few "oh my god, this is like mine!" moments. Of course, "Passion" is nothing like the series I'm writing, but since they're both in the supernatural fallen angel/angel/demon realm, the undertones feel similar to me. And, to be really honest, if it was becoming more like my novel, I didn't want to find out. The last thing I want after the last nine months of hardcore editing is to learn that my story's "been done." Ugh... that would be devastating. It wouldn't be the end of the world, but I'd become less unique and maybe get a few "hey you copied this!" to which I would punch that person in the face because plagiarism is no joke and to be accused of it is like blasphemy for a writer (a REAL writer). So yeah, I won't be finishing Lauren Kate's series until I've got mine done. This has never happened to me before, and it makes me sad because I love a good paranormal/fantasy novel.

Luckily I've got some backup books to read. Right now I'm on "My Jane Austen Summer" by Cindy Jones. I love anything Jane Austen-y and I really would love to go to England and see the country manors and everything else a uber-Jane Austen fan would want to do. So, I'm charmed by stories with characters who go overseas for a summer and play dress up and fall in love, etc. This story follows "Mansfield Park," which is probably my second favorite Austen story. After that I'm going to start "Starcrossed" by Josephine Angelini (I got it Sammy!). I have one more library book waiting, which at the moment I can't remember the name of. Something about a girl who dies and starts going to dead school and thinks about killing her still-living boyfriend so he can join her. Eh. That one was a random library grab, so I may toss it out. I feel like I haven't been reading very much lately. Editing really is all consuming for me (luckily I only have about 50 pages left, plus another quick edit). In other reading news, I finished "Graveminder." I thought it was a good read (I wished there was a little less focus on her fear of commitment and more on the mystery of her future and of the dead). I'm curious about her "Wicked Lovely" series, but not enough to grab it now. I'll put it on my waiting list.

Summer movies have been a little disappointing so far, with the exception of "Harry Potter." I saw "Captain America" and wasn't that blown away. I can't wait to see "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (the previews look awesome), "The Help," and maybe "Friends with Benefits" and "Crazy Stupid Love." Honestly though, where are all the major action movies? Is December (Mission Impossible and Sherlock Holmes) becoming the new summer?

Editing Galore!

2011-07-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

Yikes... it's been too long since my last post. And I was doing so good for a while there. I will blame it on my new job. I started on June 6th... it's a full time medical editing gig. Going well so far and will be even better when I'm not in training. Sometimes I'm very impatient when it comes to learning new things. I feel like I get a handle on tasks quickly and then grow bored when I do the same thing 20,000 times. Anyway, because of the job, it's been really difficult to find a writing/editing rhythm. I manage to hand-edit about 4 pages during my 30 minute lunch break and then I edit on my Nook in the evenings. So, I'm getting a lot of editing done, but very little is going into the computer which is the most important part. I've got about 100 pages to edit by hand and this is very exciting! I feel like I'm in the homestretch. The only scary thing is passing it on to another reader who might say "nope, not good yet" and then I might just die. I've never worked so hard on a novel before.

In the past, let's say with my Killing Memories series. I wrote the first draft quickly (in about three months) and then moved right on to the next story. Readers who followed me on FP when I was actively posting those novels know that the turn around was pretty fast, and would probably be surprised when I say that I really don't remember what happens in each story. I know the general idea, but I have no memories of all the little steps and scenes that I wrote. It's kinda sad. I can't believe I don't remember my own writing, but then I never gave those stories the attention that they really deserved. Another reason why I'm not re-posting them to FP. Yes, I've made the decision that Estela and Moo will not show their faces on that website again. I have bigger, better plans for them. I'm thinking self-publishing or cheap ebooks on Amazon. But before any of that can happen I have to get in there and make them REALLY good. The first novel needs the most work--the ones that came after that were better written (they too need work though).

So, I've got so much going on in my head right now regarding my writing career and life. I feel like "Surrender" [I've already re-edited these sample chapters, by the way, but you'll get the general idea of what the story is about] has a good chance. At least I hope it does. It's a massive project for me. I realized while editing this first one that I need to know where I wanted things to end by book 3; how the characters grow and change; and the biggest question: What the hell the whole story is about anyway!?!?!? Realizing that I had so many plot holes and unanswered questions was overwhelming and a bit disheartening. I just want to be done with this book so I can move on to the next one. Writing/editing is a never ending process it seems.

So, that's where I'm at in regard to my writing. In other news, I finished a book called "The Magnolia League" by Katie Crouch. It was a good read! Lately, I've been really into books that are set in the south (this one's Georgia), places like New Orleans, for example. There's something sticky about them... I can't explain it. I'm currently reading "The Graveminder" by Melissa Marr. I'm only on page 7 so I can't really comment too much, but the opening grabbed me. I'm excited about it at this point.

I also saw "Transformers: The Dark of the Moon" last weekend. I give it a B. I thought the story was interesting this time, but with these movies it really comes down to the action scenes and I thought they were pretty awesome. I did read that they're thinking about replacing Shia's character with the guy from "The Transporter." Don't get me wrong, that guy is hot, but Shia brings a quirky humor to the movie. I don't think I'd be down the the switch. I didn't really care that Megan Fox wasn't in the movie and didn't like the girl they replaced her with. I think the "hot girl" character is pointless. I mean honestly--yes she's beautiful and has a great body according to society's standards, but I really could care less about that. She added nothing to the movie (Megan Fox didn't add anything either) and I felt really irritated with every ass and boob shot in this movie. Come on Michael Bay... sex sells sometimes, but you've got amazing Transformers that blow shit up!! Let them sell the movie. Okay, rant over.

Book Review: Abandon

2011-06-12T14:45:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy Meg Cabot's books (especially the Heather Wells series). Not only is she prolific (writes a TON), but her stories are fun escapes. This weekend I finished the first book in a her new series: "Abandon." It's a "dark re-imagining of the story of Hades and Persephone." (From Greek mythology, where the god of the Underworld kidnaps Persephone.) I only know the basics of the Hades/Persephone story, but from what I do know, Cabot's re-telling is definitely new--and, eventually, I think it'll be fun. This first book was a little all over the place, giving us the background of Pierce (her death and her escape from the Underworld) and the mysterious John Hayden. The book was good, but it had a lot of back and forth jumps in time. I'm all for flashbacks and whatnot, but in some cases (most cases actually), I just want to get from Point A to Point B. I prefer telling stories that way, so I think I like reading them that way as well. Regardless, the strange of structure of this novel didn't make me dislike the book. Quite the opposite. I give it a B+. I do recommend it and would love to hear from anyone who's read it too. Did you like it?

In other news. Editing is drrrrraging. I have managed about 5 pages a day (I edit by-hand during my lunch break), but I haven't been able to put those edits into the computer. I guess I'm still making progress, right? I'd hoped to have it finished by now, but that's just not happening. Oh well, I guess you can't really rush these things. I did start the outline for book two (I haven't decided if it'll be just a sequel kind of thing or a trilogy). PLUS... I need to rename it: "Surrender" just doesn't really work 100%. My initial title (when I started writing this novel when I was in high school) was "A Fallen Gift." It still works, but I wanted to veer away from "fallen" in the title because it seems like most angel/demon books dealing with fallen angels has "fallen" in the title. So, I searched my brain for something different, but maybe I just wasted time. Another idea: "The Fallen Guardian." *Sigh* I don't want it to seem like I'm just "going along with the trends in publishing." I didn't write this novel because paranormal YA is so hot at the moment. I just love it.... who knows what will happen with this. I can only hope good things. If you're interested in reading, check it out here.

I have so much work to do. My new goal is to be done with edits by September 1 and have the manuscript out to agents a few weeks after that. Who knows if this will happen. I've got a lot of life things going on in the next few months. First, I have to find myself a cheap apartment. Second, I need to figure out if I can survive on one job or if I'll need to keep a part-time evening job, which will totally cut into my writing/editing time. I'm so depressed by that thought.

Another thing I'm depressed about is this missing chapter in "Hostile Kisses." For the life of me, I can't understand what must have happened to it, or how it disappeared. I did look through a lot of my back-up disks, but it looks all the same. Sad thing is that I can't remember what computer I used to write that story. A mix of computers, I think. I really hope that I can track it down, but I'm afraid that it might be lost forever. I may have to rewrite something later on after I take "Hostile Kisses" down from FP. I think the next one I'll post is "Chemical Games." After that.... I'm just not sure. I don't think I'll be re-posting the KM series on FP. I know this will make a lot of people unhappy, but I'm so proud of that series (and excited to work on it again), that I think I'd rather pursue self publishing (either through hard copy or ebook).

Anyway, that's all the news I have at the moment. Read "Abandon" it's worth it. Next on my list: "Just Like Heaven" by Julia Quinn (my favorite author for Victorian England romance novels, think Jane Austen, but with kinky scenes). :c) She's my inspiration for stories like "My Darling Bunny" and the still unfinished "Arabelle Wild."

Hostile Kisses Re-Posted!

2011-06-05T13:27:00.001-07:00

I've re-posted "Hostile Kisses" to FictionPress for a short amount of time (probably six months or so).

Things have slowed down with both writing and editing lately. Tomorrow I start a full-time job and that will really limit how much work I can do on my novel and on other things. It's kinda sad and I think I'm actually a bit depressed about it. I'm not at all excited to start this new position. I hope that eventually I will love the job, but right now it's making me blue.

In other news: "X-Men: First Class" was a great movie! I always leave the theater wanting my own powers or with the desire to write something about mutants, but then I stop myself because it's kinda been done already, and been done successfully. At any rate, it was a great revamp and anything with James McAvoy is awesome. I love him in "Penelope." So, there we have it folks, a few little updates for the blog.

Facebook!

2011-05-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

So, in lieu of signing up for Twitter (as I pondered in an earlier post below)... I've made myself an account on Facebook instead (I like it better). Add me as a friend today. I think I might have set up an author page as well, but I'm not sure.

I'm pretty sure if you look me up by my email star_7_angel@yahoo.com or by name "Tatiana Moore" you'll find me.

Progress Report

2011-05-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

I am almost halfway through my third (? I can't even remember anymore) round of edits for "Surrender." I may change the title before this is all said and done, but I'm not completely decided on that yet. I have a feeling things are going to get much slower for me. After nine months of looking, I've finally found a full-time job, which means that my editing (and eventual writing) will take place in the evenings and weekends. My goal is to finish this project before my birthday in September. At that point I'll have been working on it for a year.

The editing is going well, I think. I was concerned at first because I was still adding things, but the last few days I've slowly reduced my word count. I'm trying not to worry too much about it at this point. I think I'm making it better, over all (fingers crossed), but it's so hard for me to judge this as the writer. I'm so close to everything. I am definitely the type of writer who only works on one project at a time. I really should be writing as well as editing, but I get consumed with one project and then it takes over my life. I wish I was a bit better with my time.

I'm also wondering if I should sign up for Twitter? I know nothing about that site, but it seems like it could be a good venue to use to connect with readers. Thoughts? Anyone out there addicted to Twitter?

Moving Right Along

2011-05-19T06:23:00.000-07:00

First, let me just say that I'm beyond excited for the new Muppet movie, due out November 2011. I've always loved the Muppets, even know as I approach ultimate spinsterhood, I still feel a child-like joy when I see Kermit or Rizzo. I have a feeling that this movie is going to be off the hook. They've got a lot of good comedic talent participating (as actors and writers) so honestly, they can't lose. And it's far past time for a new Muppet movie. So... just wanted to get that off my chest.

Second, I've finally hit the 200 page mark on this third edit of my novel. Too bad I've got like 395 pages to go. The novel is too long. I'm very optimistic that I will be able to cut some of it as I get closer to the middle and end, but I've done a lot of adding so far. My biggest reason for wanting it cut down a little is because I feel like it's on the longer side (especially for a debut novel). It's probably 150 pages over the majority of YA novels out right now. I haven't done any research into this though, just going by sight and what I've read. I'm not going to sacrifice the story in order to get it to an acceptable range, but it is a worry that I have. I've done no new writing in the last month (I think), unless you count all the new/revised stuff that's going into the novel. I really need to start on something new, but I just have a hard time working on multiple projects at one time. Something always takes priority.

As a reminder, I will be taking down "A Stater Boyfriend" from FP on June 1. So, still a couple more weeks to read it if you feel like it. I'm not sure if I'm going to put up something in it's place. I know so many people want the "Killing Memories" series back up. Maybe I'll upload book 1? Or maybe "Chemical Games"? I don't know.

I hope everyone's well!

Warning!

2011-05-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

I will be removing "A Starter Boyfriend" from Fiction Press on June 1, 2010. Read or re-read while you can.

Random Bits of Fact

2011-05-09T09:23:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a little over a week since I last posted. Not a whole lot is going on. My schedule is all thrown off in regard to writing/editing. Things have come to a halt with "Arabelle Wild." I'm not giving up on that story by any means, I just haven't written anything new in over two weeks. Editing of "Surrender" is also going pretty slowly. I think I'm on chapter seven right now and still have over 500 pages to edit. It's so unbelievably daunting at times, but I've decided to set a goal for at least two chapters each week, hopefully more. I just need to find a rhythm.

Currently I'm reading "City of Fallen Angels" by Cassandra Clare. I'm a fan of her novels, but I'm not that far into this new one yet so I don't know how I feel about it. I'm always wary of authors who continue a series after "the third and final installation." It makes me wonder if the story really should continue or if a new spin-off series should be created. In this case, "City of Fallen Angels" is book 4 in the Mortal Instruments series. Ehhhh.... we'll see.

I also recently finished "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett and that was SUPER good. I can't wait for the movie to come out this summer. Speaking of summer movies what is everyone looking forward to? I know "Thor" is out right now and I'm a fan of the superhero movies, but I haven't seen it yet. I'm also looking forward to "Captain America" and many others. Yay for summer blockbusters, although I can't really understand why summer blockbusters can't happen year round.

Craft Note: Editing

2011-04-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

So, I'm back in the swing of editing "Surrender." Lots of work to do still. I tend to follow the "write with your heart, edit with your head" motto. My first drafts are wordy, clunky, and and a bit rushed, from time to time. I love, love, love writing, but I'm also a huge fan of revision. For some people it's the most tedious (and time consuming part), and it is for me too. However, I still love it. I love being able to step back and look at things with a fresh eye. About 1.5 months passed between my first edit (for storyline gaps and plot as a whole) to this edit (tearing apart and rebuilding sentences/scenes). I'm sure having more time in between would be good, but I feel like I'm at a place where I can look at things objectively: some of the glory and excitement for having finished a first draft is gone. Now, it's about getting down to business.

At this point I'm still hand editing and then taking those edits to the computer. In later drafts, I'll stick with digital editing (because the idea is that the story won't need huge edits anymore and it's easy to scan through and make tiny changes). I feel a bit bad about hand-editing sometimes because I'm using tons of paper (about 580 pages, which I'll recycle in the end). But I feel like I see the words differently when they're on a piece of paper versus the computer monitor. I also like that you can still see what you cross out and then maybe change your mind later. When you edit on a computer the words vanish (unless you're using track changes, but I never do with my own work). Hand editing gives me a chance to reconsider changes once I bring them to the computer.

Sometimes editing is really hard. As a writer, it can be difficult to identify places where the story lags or if characters are completely uninteresting. I think you can get into the mode of "I love all of this!" (at least in the beginning) and that can be detrimental. I think readers come in at this point and give you a new set of eyes. It's then up to you to decide whether to take their advice or leave it on the curb. This can be a difficult thing to do to. When I get feedback, I try my hardest not to jump on immediate changes that are suggested to me. Oftentimes, especially if they are negative comments or things that someone really didn't like, it takes me a few days to process everything. I have this moment where I feel like I've been shot in the heart (initially), then I die a slow death on the sofa, and then my brain is like "get over it, heart, we've got work to do."

The following link is from The Adams Zone and are basically in-line with what I look for when I edit: Editing Tips for Fiction. I definitely have favorite phrases (and sometimes I'm not sure what they are until people point out that I've used "little" ten thousand times), and my first drafts are full of "she walked, she saw, she looked," which I try to remove whenever I can. One thing that I'd like to do, but it's not really working at this point, is trimming 20% of the story out (to make things tighter). At this point, I'm still adding to my novel (grrrr). This is probably because I'm still in love with it all and am not ready to part with scenes or characters.

So, what's your process? Do you write it all out first and then tear it apart or do you write-edit-write-edit-write-edit (a slower process, in my opinion, but a cleaner draft at the end)?

New Chapter of Surrender

2011-04-25T14:32:00.001-07:00

I've posted Chapter Four of "Surrender" to FictionPress. This is the final chapter that I'll be posted (it comes out to the first 62 pages of the novel). Please leave comments if you feel like it. I'm going to post here on the blog as well.

Update:
I'll be taking the chapters down from FictionPress in a few weeks, since I probably shouldn't have any of it up when I start submitting.

My schedule's been pushed back a little, but that's probably for the best--there's still a lot of work to be done, I've realized. Lots of sentences to tighten up and a few little organization things. So, my hope is to send out query letters in June (maybe before if I can get back into a rhythm of writing/editing). Bleh, query letters... it's almost like writing a poem, which I find incredibly hard to do (if not impossible). How can you really get 500+ pages down to three paragraphs? Well, by the end of editing I hope to shave off at least 50 pages, but we'll see if I can manage that. It's a hard thing to do when everything feels important to the story and the growth of the characters, and of course some things will be left open-ended for other stories. Anyway... lots more work to do.

New Chapter Posted

2011-04-22T13:22:00.000-07:00

I've posted Chapter Three of "Surrender" on FictionPress. I look forward to any comments.

Query, Query, Query

2011-04-22T11:03:00.001-07:00

Wowzer... I decided to start a draft of a query letter for "Surrender" today. This is going to be REALLY hard. It's difficult making something sound interesting and fun, you know? I'm using a few sample query letters in the October 2010 issue of "Writer's Digest" as guidelines, but I still don't know if I have something solid. I wish I had an agent friend to read it over for me. At any rate, I just have to hope that it's the best and keep looking for other examples.

So, I'm seeking help (yet again) with my summary. I feel like I need to get it down to 1-3 sentences (as a hook). I know it's hard to help when you haven't read the entire novel, but hopefully you smart readers/writers out there could offer a little bit of help?

First question, if you read the following HOOK, would you be at all interested in the story?:
"Sixteen-year-old Evelyn is a biracial girl who learns that she was created by angels to be a vessel, a weapon for an approaching angelic war."

Or how about this:

"Evelyn has just learned that she was created by angels to be a vessel, a weapon to use in the approaching angelic war. However, she has to first decide which side--angels or demons--she wants to fight for."

Ahhh, please help! I can't believe how difficult this is.

Okay, and here's what I have for the summary for an agent. (I'm worried that it might give away too much of the story, thoughts?)

For the last six years, Evelyn and her father have hopped from state to state, hiding in big cities while running from something or someone from the past. As the last place she felt happy and secure, Evelyn returns to Falls, New Hampshire with her tiny and dysfunctional family. However, if she'd known that she was safer outside town, she wouldn't have moved back. Falls is not what it once was.

As a new student at Stonegrove High School, Evelyn discovers that she may never be a normal, happy girl. Her former best friend has vanished, she's followed by a young man who she is strangely drawn to, and a cute boy's attention is both confusing and exciting. And jsut when she has a handle on her new surroundings, her best friend Lucas Starr and Lillian, his mother, return and Evelyn's world tailspins. Lucas has changed and his mother has taken a peculiar interest in Evelyn.

On her seventeenth birthday, Evelyn dies and is reborn as an angel, a vessel full of life. She barely has time to readjust to her new self when she learns that she was created using the essence of the first Eve, matriarch of all humans, and that Lillian Starr is actually Lilith, Adam's first wife, an outcast of Eden, and mother to all demons. Focused on Lilith's need for revenge, the war above is just barely stirring, and Evelyn is uncertain of where her focus should be. She tries to lean on her friends only to realize that they can't, and shouldn't, interfere. Evelyn is forced to realize that she may always be alone.

I know ya'll are probably sick of these posts, but I'd love to hear a few opinions. This is hard. :(

Side note: I will be publishing the next chapter of "Surrender" (new material that none of my blog followers will have read yet) on FictionPress hopefully by the end of the night.

Book Review: "Darkness Becomes Her"

2011-04-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

Finished a new book last night. "Darkness Becomes Her" is by Kelly Keaton (she writes adult novels under then name Kelly Gay). This was another random library grab as I'd never heard of this book or the author. I read it through in a few hours and enjoyed it overall. It's definitely interesting and unique: a little vampire-witchiness thrown together with Greek mythology. The story is about a young girl in search of her birth mother. Her search takes her into New 2 (New Orleans after a few horrible hurricanes) and into a band of interesting little friends. At first I thought this was a post Hurricane Katrina setting, but then the main character is 17 (if I remember correctly) and was born in 2009, so this is definitely a futuristic setting.

Anyway, this novel is something new out there right now in paranormal/supernatural YA. I think it'll be an interesting series to follow.

Updated Chapters of "Surrender" on FP

2011-04-19T12:16:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone!

I've decided to post the first 60 pages of "Surrender" on Fiction Press (the prologue and chapter 1 are now up). I really hope to get some good feedback on these first few chapters. We all know how important the beginning of a story is to keep the readers interest piqued. Please stop by and let me know your thoughts (if you feel up to it).

I've also re-posted the prologue and chapter one here on the blog (under my fish). I decided to break up chapter one so that it was a little shorter (so you actually have chapter 1 and 2). I just finished editing chapter 3 so I'll post that soon.

As always, I hope everyone enjoys.

PS. What's up with Fiction Press? It was really hard to get in and edit the documents once I uploaded them. :(

Exciting Day!

2011-04-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

So, I just purchased my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part I)! I had a bit of a freak out moment, but not a "jump around the store with my copy" freak out. They've been running commercials on TV about the DVD/Blueray release (which is the one with all the special features). Remember when we talked about needing book in the same series to all look the same? Well, I have the same requirement when it comes to my Harry Potter DVDs: they all need to be double-disk, special edition copies. Blueray boxes are all short and throw everything off, so I was worried that I was going to be disappointed this year. Luckily, Walmart is carrying the special edition DVD that I needed for my collection. I hope that they do the same thing with Part 2. This might be all silly, but it was very exciting for me today. Can't wait to watch it.

I managed to edit the first chapter of "Surrender" (second round). I hope to make those corrections and re-post it. I'd love to get more feedback, even if you've read the first go-round. I'll probably post chapter two as well, after I've edited it again. My goal is to get the first three chapters as solid as possible. Then I'll be looking for agents (still have not started this process).

And the last bit of exciting news: A new episode of "Supernatural" is on tonight!

Book Review: "Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage"

2011-04-12T10:16:00.000-07:00

I think I've found another favorite writer (when it comes to Victorian-era, Jane Austen-y) romance novels. Jennifer Ashley is right up there with Julia Quinn, who I have mentioned frequently on this blog. Last night I finished "Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage," the book after "The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie" (which I bought on a whim at Walmart). It was such a good read. I'm sure that I would probably be a fan of anything that J. Ashley writes and I kinda want to find out! Honestly, good stuff. Good story-line, lots of naughty parts, and great characters. I'm looking forward to her next book, out in August 2011 "The Many Sins of Lord Cameron." I know that not everyone is into this stuff, but it's a great escape.

I'm halfway through "Last Sacrifice" which is the final book (I think/hope) in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. So far it's good, but I thought she should have ended things with book 4. That's just me though... things seemed to be winding down in book 4 and then things tailspun into something different. And since I'm such a huge fan of the TV show "Vampire Diaries" I decided to check out the book from the library. I'm curious how alike/different they are.

Things are going slowly with both writing my novella and editing my novel. I blame my at-home part-time job, which will be over by the end of this weekend. I'll have more time after that and hopefully will make some good progress.

Happy April!

2011-04-04T17:32:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's spring already. It was like 75 degrees out today, which normally would be a great day, but it feels super hot when you've had 45-50 degree days for the last two months. Still, hello spring. This month I'll start the second round of edits on my novel and begin researching agents. I have a feeling that these next few steps are going to be incredibly time consuming. But I'm determined to start submitting "Surrender" to agents by the end of May. Here's hoping.

Just A Little Taste:

2011-03-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

Since I'm all out of craft notes at the moment, I thought I'd include a snippet of the novella I'm working on, "Arabelle Wild." I'm not that great at summaries, so I won't include one here.

What you need to know:
It has been several years since Lady Arabelle Westmore has seen her family. The majority of the Westmores (except her late uncle and brother) only care about their standing in society and that they maintain their reputations as the most beautiful people in London. So when Arabelle was born with a deformity of her leg and foot (both are twisted unnaturally) she is abandoned to the care of her uncle. Her uncle died several years before the story begins leaving her Kilmridge Manor and a great fortune in his will. The story begins with Arabelle receiving a letter from Henry, her older brother. He's coming to the country estate to take Arabelle to London at their father's request.

Arabelle and Henry have been exchanging letters since he left for University, but he has not seen her since she was seven. Henry arrives in the company of his mysterious friend, Sir Ian Rittmore. This snippet is from Ian's point of view and it is the first time he's seeing Lady Arabelle. She and her companion Pita are returning home after Celebration, a festival held by the Romani (gypsies) who live in the woods outside Kilmridge. Arabelle feels that the Romani are her true family now that her uncle has passed.

The two women are drunk and it is around 3am.

Snippet from Chapter One:

"They clung to each other in the corridor near the stairs; their laughter now silent. Ian's eyes were drawn down to their feet again. Both were covered in globs of mud and dirt, which had likely been tracked into the house. Despite the mud, Ian could see that there was something wrong with the taller one's foot. It seemed twisted and turned-in, her toes curled. He hurriedly stepped away from the door. This was Lady Arabelle, Henry's little sister. He knew the consequences of her birth, but he hadn't been expecting such a sight. In truth, any time Henry talked about his sister's condition he made it seem grotesque, something worthy of the circus, should anyone of decent standing happen to see it. A person such as Ian. These were the words that Henry alluded to but never spoke. In Ian's opinion, now that he'd seen her with his own eyes, she was not at all frightening. He stepped back to the door and peered through the crack. No, not frightening, he decided as Lady Arabelle let her head fall back with laughter. Her black hair fell loose around her shoulders and her green eyes sparkled under heavy lids. She was lovely, and it took all of his resolve as a gentlemen of good breeding to no fling open the library doors and take her into his arms."

So, there's just a little taste. I'm probably about halfway done with the novella. I didn't get to write much this week because I had family in town. Tomorrow I start a part-time job (I got the offer this past week) and then on Friday I start another part-time job (but it's only a few hours each day). I hope that I can keep writing this novella in the meantime--No, let me revise that statement. I WILL keep writing this novella. I just don't know how long it might take me now. When I finish, I plan to start new edits on "Surrender" and start researching agents/publishers and working on drafts of my query letter. Lots of stuff coming up, that's for sure.

Book Reccomendations!!!

2011-03-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

So, I know this is normally "craft note Monday" but I just finished the sequel of a series of books that I want to mention here as must reads: Kimberly Derting's "The Body Finder" and "Desires of the Dead." Both are in the YA supernatural category and are about a girl named Violet, who is able to locate dead bodies (both humans and animals). The stories are well written and engaging. I finish them pretty quickly and haven't been disappointed. Derting's a pretty new author as she's only got these two books out right now. I checked out Derting's website and saw that she's going to be in an anthology called "Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions" with a bunch of other paranormal/supernatural authors. I'm not usually excited about anthologies or compilation novels (you know the books with three authors in one), but I'm interested in this one because they are short stories.

I am currently reading "I Am Number Four" by Pittacus Lore (a pen name for Jobie Hughes (ghost writer) and James Frey). I saw the movie first while I waited for the book to arrive at the library. So far the opening chapters are like the movie, but we'll see how it turns out. I stopped reading it when "Desires of the Dead" came in, but I'm back to it now. I'm not really sure what to think of James Frey (check out this story about the book's origins), but I'm going to read it anyway. If the accusations against Frey are true then I hope that Jobie Hughes gets her/his recognition for other works. Up next: "Last Sacrifice" the final book in the Vampire Academy series (hopefully the last, she should have ended with book 5), and "War Dances" by Sherman Alexie.

I'll probably think of a Craft Note for later this week. I guess it's okay to change things up, as long as I'm posting more often. The writing of my short story/novella "Arabelle Wild" is going well. I think I'm up to like 18 pages. My brother is in town this week which may make writing difficult, but my goal is to keep working on it and start posting on FP in a few weeks. I'm looking forward to that and hopefully everyone else too!

New Story in the Works

2011-03-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

I have decided to use the rest of this month wisely, by writing a new short story/novella (probably more the length of a novella). It'll be like "My Darling Bunny" in regard to the setting, but new characters. And... I will be posting it on FictionPress. I feel like I need to get back into active use of that site, at least for smaller projects like this. Novel wise, I'm still on the fence. I'm thinking of more lucrative options in regard to my KM series. There are so many projects that I want to complete and I feel overwhelmed by the amount. But, I've found that I tend to work well if I set deadlines/goals for myself.

So far, here's the list of projects that I have:

1. Write novella, tentatively titled "Arabelle Wild" (to be finished by April)
2. Round 2 edits for "Surrender" (to be finished by May)
3. Submit "Surrender" to agents/publishers
4. Start writing sequel to "Surrender" (by April
5. Edit/revise KM1 (no set date)
6. Remove "Starter Boyfriend" from FP (and hopefully start editing - no set date)
7. Edit/revise KM2 (no set date)
8. Start writing literary novel "The Dead Shall Rise" (no set date, though I'd like to get started on this before the Christmas).

... and so on. Oh... I should probably add "find a job" between all of those steps.

My goal is to finish the novella entirely before I start posting chapters on FP. I wrote about 9 pages yesterday and I'm about to start writing more. It'll be a fun, light-hearted, not at all accurate story set in Victorian England. I am a HUGE sucker for books in this period (hence my love for Jane Austen and 21st century novelist, Julia Quinn).

Craft Note: Outlining

2011-03-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

It's Craft Note Monday! (These may be harder and harder to do in the future, so give me some ideas if you feel game.)

I have heard two schools of thought in regard to writing and planning/outlining.

First, some authors believe in absolutely no planning and just write as it comes to their head (write it organically). To outline is to kill that creative side: You're no longer just going with the flow because your mind has already come to conclusions and climaxes.

Second, some authors believe in planning and outlining everything about their project down to the very last scene.

I subscribe to the second school of thought, but I didn't always.

When I first started writing stories (I've been writing since I was nine, but really got serious about it all at 13 when I was starting high school), I would just sit down and write what came to me. Outlining was a foreign concept. I would write and write and write letting the characters do whatever they wanted--which often included a lot of kissing and maybe a few nude scenes... what can I say, I was a bit naughty back in the day. I had no clear purpose or ending in view when I wrote, just two characters interacting. Making out or shooting guns and riding horses. (I was big into Westerns for a short amount of time. I blame the movie "Bad Girls".) I've been told that "just going with the flow" can produce the best kind of story (you'll often find that literary stories do this, focusing more on character than plot), but I quickly became bored out of my mind and ready to start the next great idea. I probably finished maybe one full project from the time I was 13 until my early 20s. I have dozens and dozens of 20-75 page stories that just kinda end, and maybe a handful that actually made it to "the end."

It wasn't until "Killing Memories" (the first Es and Moo novel on FictionPress) that I decided I needed to know where things were going. I credit my change into outlining/planning to the readers of KM1 who reviewed and showed their excitement for story. I didn't want to let anyone down. I needed to take KM some where and actually have an ending. So, halfway through that novel, I grabbed a piece of paper and outlined what needed to happen to get to the end. From that moment on, I've been a planner. I LOVE OUTLINES.

I tend to imagine my stories having around 20 chapters in them and list 1-20 on a page and start filling in the numbers (several will end up blank because I don't know everything that will happen). I have key areas that I know I need to hit and try to work my way to that spot. So, it might look something like this:

1. Beginning, introduce characters and problem
2. Build characters and story line
3. Introduce villain or main obstacle
4-5.
6. Big Party at XXX's house leads to first kiss.
7. Aftermath of party
8-11.
12. Villain starts to make things difficult for YYY.
13-14.
15. Build up to main conflict.
16. Main conflict occurs (what is it?)
17.
18. Conclusion - YYY and XXX break up and go to college.

This isn't any real story that I'm working on, just an illustration of what I usually end up doing. Sometimes I'm able to fill in all the blanks. And sometimes, even though I've planned for things to happen, as I write stuff will shift and change and I have to reorder the chapters or add new ones. A lot of things change in the writing process. Last week I worked out plot ideas for books 2 and 3 of my Fallen Guardian novels, just so I know what I'm working toward. I need to know how I want that final book to end. Outlines become loose guidelines that help me know that I'm working toward something, even if all the stuff in the middle flip flops, erases, or changes all together.

Here are a few links on outlining:
Fiction Factor - I tend to follow the chapter-by-chapter guide idea.
Pro Writing Tips - Just some interesting perspectives.
Advice on Novel Writing - Check out the "Ten Points on Plotting"

So, what school of thought to you follow in regard to outlining/planning?

Side Note: My heart goes out to all of Japan. So scary!

Movies and Books: Rango & The Lost Hero

2011-03-10T08:56:00.000-08:00

I guess Thursdays might be review/what I'm reading at the moment days. I'm not sure, I might switch things up until they feel comfortable and natural.

So, last weekend, my sister and I went to see "Rango" the new animated Johnny Depp movie. It's getting decent reviews out there in critic-world and I love LOVE LOVE animation. I guess I'm still a kid though I'm way beyond kid years. I have a milestone birthday coming up in September... I think I get better with age, but I'm no kid. Still, my love for animation will never die. Case and point: "How to Train Your Dragon" is one of my all time favorite animation movies. It's just so cute. I could list more, but let me dedicate a few minutes to "Rango." I didn't realize that this was rated "PG" until one of the characters, a big scary rattle snake yells "Sign the damn paper woman!" Rango is a lizard (chameleon) who was once a pet but ends up in the Nevada desert. He moseys into a small, rough, cowboy town called "Dirt" and becomes the sheriff using his keen acting skills. Overall the movie was cute, but a bit slow in some sections (shocking for a animation in my point), and funny. And this movie was filmed differently than other animation movies. Check it out:

My rating: B. My recommendation: Maybe wait for it to come out on video.

I'm currently reading "The Lost Hero" by Rick Riordan, who wrote the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. This new book is a spin-off to the Percy franchise. (Did anyone see the movie? It was pretty good, but I was irritated that they aged the characters by a few years to put them in high school.) These books are classified as "middle grade" young adult (I believe that means 7-12?) although the main characters are 15 years old. "The Lost Hero" is a straight-up action/adventure story set around the ancient Greek/Roman gods. I find myself really drawn into the books and the characters. Riordan is a great writer and puts a lot of research into his stories. I like them because I remember nothing from having to read "Mythology" by Edith Hamilton in high school and feel like I'm learning something when I read (too bad I fail to remember anything). Riordan has hit upon a gold mine in a way. The books are original in there aren't many other books focusing on the Greek gods when the first Percy Jackson came out (there were a few other authors who came out with things after, I believe). I'm reminded of what J.K. Rowling did with Harry Potter. She is the queen of magical kids right now and nothing will probably ever beat out HP. I'm not saying that Riordan is at J.K.'s level of fame or anything like that, but he plugged into a niche and is very successful.

It makes me wonder what else out there hasn't been done (or done well)? Angel/Demon stories have been very popular lately. There are a lot out good stories out there, but how can an author make the genre his/her own? This is something I thought about a lot when I wrote "Surrender": How do I make mine different from the rest? I feel like I have a very original idea (and an untapped villain). As writers, we should all struggle with this. To find a unique ideas and try to be successful with it before anyone else. It's so hard though. I remember reading one fallen angel novel recently and became so upset because the author had given the angels lavender eyes, an idea that I had come up with. It forced me to change the eye color because I didn't want to be perceived as copying someone's idea. But I do feel like I was forced to think out of the box to find a new and memorable eye color.... Hopefully this new detail will remain mine, but who knows. That's the crazy thing about being artistic or being a writer--how often our ideas overlap with other authors. I almost feel like all writers are connected at some deep cellular level and we tap into one another through ESP. Crazy? Probably.

* * *

Side Note: I love Barbara Kingsolver's writing and just received an email from a writing company (I guess that's what it's called) that included three tips on writing by Kingsolver. One really stood out to me as something I need to remember when writing and I wanted to share it here:

Question: What is the most valuable advice you received as a young writer?
Answer: "Your first sentence should make a promise that the rest of the story will keep." - Francine Prose (another good writer).

Craft Note: Writing Places You've Never Seen Before

2011-03-07T12:19:00.000-08:00

So, I've decided that Monday's will be "craft note" days. I have yet to decide how many posts I'll plan for each week, at least two, I think.

Craft Note: Visualization

I have never created a world in my writing. Meaning: I've never created a place that is 100% different from Earth. A place called Borg, for example, where little blue people dwell and shoot lasers out of their eyes. I think that if I were to write science fiction a lot of world-planning would be involved. I like to stick with what I know and see and then expand upon that. But what do you do for fictionalized/make believe places set in "reality" but aren't a part of reality? Let's take my new novel "Surrender" for example. There is no such place as Falls, New Hampshire. It's actually based off two places in New Hampshire: Portsmouth, for it's quaint New England-y feel and Lincoln, a place that I only drove through, that's nestled in the White Mountains. I suppose when I really think about it, Falls is more Lincoln (because of the mountains) than Portsmouth (which is on the coast). At any rate, I merged the two places together to create something fictional. Another example is the school that my main character's go to: Stonegrove. I've never attended a private school before and had an image of my head (a cross between an English boarding school and a private school in Exeter, NH).

It can be incredibly difficult to create something from scratch and really "see" that place or have readers see it just as clearly. In order for me to do this, and be successful, I tend to sketch or draw. I make blueprints so I can see the layout as my character would see it. I've created whole towns like this. I don't know, there's something about visualization that helps me with the writing. And in order for these places to seem real, I have to believe they are real. Mapping them out helps with this, I think.

The top picture (click on all pictures to make them bigger) is the front of the school as I saw it. The most important feature to me was the large clock tower and the archway that the students walk through to get into the school. You'll also notice the cobblestone circular drive. The middle picture shows the basic region layout from the main town of Falls and up into the mountains where the school is. Lucas's house is also on the map, but not Cameron's. I'm surprised I didn't include the farmhouse, but on well. It's there. The bottom picture is another layout of the school (the entryway) that I wanted to put down. I accidentally cut off the big gate at the bottom of the school's "driveway." I really only describe the entryway once (Evelyn's first day of school), but it was important (not to mention fun) to get the image down on paper.

So, what about you? Do you just go on instinct and hope that all the details are right and believable, or do you get all crazy like me and start making maps and diagrams?

End of craft note.

Read Me: Surrender

2011-03-06T07:52:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to make a separate post to notify everyone that I added a snippet of "Surrender" my new novel to the "Read Me" section of my blog (right under my fish). Please forgive me for the little typos that you'll see. I'll be editing for those next--the first round of edits was just to make sure the story was solid (I ended up adding 156 pages to do so). I hope that when I edit for typos I make the writing tighter.

Anyway... enjoy!

Hello Character.... Do I know you?

2011-03-04T13:03:00.001-08:00

So, I am determined to post more often... hopefully I won't slip up and disappear for weeks on end. :)

Sometimes I just don't know what to write about because my days are pretty much the same and nothing exciting ever happens to me. Except for awesome TV shows like Supernatural, Fringe, Modern Family, Vampire Diaries, America's Next Top Model, and American Idol (though this is likely the last season that I will be watching Idol. I do love JLo as a judge though). Anyway... let me also give a shout-out to my favorite TV show of all time: The X-Files dodo do do dododo <--start of the theme song. Fringe is a good "substitute" for X-Files, but nothing will ever replace it in my heart. So, I doubt that people want to hear "wrote today" or "edited today" in every post, so I'll try to keep it snazzy by talking about some random things as well as the craft of writing.

So, on to today's "craft" note: Character Development

After completing the first "readable" draft of "Surrender", I've decided to get to know my characters a little better by employing the use of character worksheets (check out an example here). I looked at a bunch online and decided to create my own with the help of several different sites. I'm even going to attempt to "draw" the character as I see them in my head. I'm a horrible artist though so they'll likely be stick figures. Anyway, my goal is to create as much detailed information about each person from the novel and put them in a binder so I can 1) remember who the hell I write about, and 2) remember fine details so that I don't give Jordan brown hair in one scene and blond hair in another (I've done this). I'm excited about this project, and I think it's important.

As I write, I keep a notebook where I write down character names as they're introduced, and where I map out basic outlines for the chapters/novel. This notebook is vital and important. During the editing process, once I was finished with a chapter I would write a summary, which I hope will help me when I start writing the synopsis of the novel. Sometimes, especially since I write so fast, I tend to forget small details and plot points of what happens, so I think this will help me overall. I hope it also helps me see the plot as a big picture thing.

End of craft note.

I have a new "must read" author to share. I picked up Daniel Waters' "Generation Dead" from the library last week on a whim and have already plowed through the first two books (book two is called "Kiss of Life") and am nearly halfway through the third ("Passing Strange"). This is an awesome series about zombies or "differently biotic" people. The concept is unique and original, and the books are well written. I've never really be into zombie movies or books (although I loved Simon Pegg's "Shaun of the Dead"), but Waters has really inspired me. This is definitely an area of paranormal/abnormal that isn't huge on the YA market right now. I'm not sure how well his books are doing, but they definitely deserve to be read.

A "must see" movie is "Temple Grandin" with Claire Danes. This made me cry and laugh and is a great movie about autism, humane livestock handling/slaughter houses, and the ability to be fearless in the face of your fears. Definitely rent/Netflix/or whatever. :)

Side Note: Although it may be a bit premature, I've decided to post the prologue and first chapter of "Surrender" here on my blog under "Read Me." If you feel like leaving a comment, please do so. But know that while I did edit these pages there are likely typos not to mention some wordy sections. I will be starting another round of edits in April to take care of these issues. For now, I just want to know if you'd read more (or if you even got through the opening). Thanks!

Three days late but....

2011-03-03T14:51:00.001-08:00

today I finished the first round of edits on my novel! I now feel like it's ready to be read by others. I feel like the story/plot is solid (maybe a few holes, but hopefully not) so next I need to tighten up the writing. But, overall, I'm very happy with what I have.

The final page count: 572.

New title: "Surrender" (A Fallen Guardian Novel)

Let me tell you how hard finding the right title was. I'm not even sure if this is the right one, but this one is gonna be the final working title when I send it out to agents. It's better than "The Falling" in my eyes. I didn't really want something that had "fallen" in the title, because a lot of books about angels are 1) about fallen angels, and 2) have fallen in the title. I suppose "A Fallen Guardian Novel" sorts leans on the "fallen" thing, but OH well...

I'm not sure if I can summarize the story yet. Summarizing is a scary thing because so much leans on the summary or the book jacket. I know I'm not going to please everyone, but it's also about being honest and true to the story. Let me try... you'll probably read a few of these in the next several months.

"Surrender: A Fallen Guardian Novel"

For the last six years, Evelyn and her father have hopped from state to state chasing after his drug needs and running from a darkness in her past that she can't remember. Now, desperate for a little happiness and peace, she's returning to the only home she remembers with any joy: Falls, New Hampshire. But things have changed in Falls. As she starts a new school year at Stonegrove High she quickly learns that her world is not what it seems and she may never have a "normal" life. She can't find her best friend Lucas, she's being followed by a young man who she is frightened of and drawn to, catches the eye of a popular boy who constantly toys with her emotions, and then Lucas and his mother return and Evelyn's world tailspins. As her seventeenth birthday nears, Evelyn learns that she was created to be a vessel--either for good or evil--and that humans are not the only beings to walk the streets of Falls.

Soooo... there we go. It's difficult because I don't want to give too much away about the plot. So, this is another draft. Of course any suggestions would be welcome, just know that "it sucks" isn't very helpful. :) Oh, and I didn't change the name of the town because I couldn't think of anything better. I think I'll keep it the same.

Well.... I was almost there.

2011-02-28T09:36:00.000-08:00

So, it's the last day of February and my goal was to have finished editing by March 1. That's not going to happen (it'll likely be March 6 now). But I have a good excuse: stomach virus. At first I thought it was food poisoning, but now that my sister is experiencing similar symptoms whatever I had must have been catching. I feel bad because it was certainly no picnic and knocked me out for a few days. I'm feeling much better now and will be starting Chpt. 21 of 23+epilogue in a few minutes.

So, that's a mini recap of what's been happening and where I'm at in editing. Hope everyone is well and healthy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T10:01:00.001-08:00

Here's a virtual box of chocolates from me to you... :)

Why I hesitate in re-posting Lovely Es and Moo

2011-02-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

I've had so many lovely comments about wanting a return of Es and Moo. I'm still at 90% or where ever I was in that previous post. There are a few things that are making me hesitate:

First: That because it's "published" on FictionPress (or here on my blog) that agents won't be interested because it's already been released to the world. [side note: I plan HUGE changes/revisions to KM1, so this may not be a huge issue]. Actually, most of my FP stories would go through big revisions before I sent them to agents, so I just don't know. I was at a writing conference this past week where one agent said that he didn't care if it had been online, especially if it was good. I should have got his name!

and

Second: I own the copyright to my stories (as does anyone who creates something). But it's been a long time since I looked at FP's copyright guidelines. I can't remember if they own any of my work or not (I don't think so). If they do own something... I don't want to run into "self plagiarism" which I also need to learn more about.

I feel this way about a "Starter Boyfriend" too, but I'll be leaving that up for the time being. So, that's where I stand at the moment in regard to my KM series. *sigh* I'll figure it out soon.

Side note: When writing the KM series I looked through pictures to find a great example of what Caleb/Adam might look like and I came up with this hottie (this is just one of many choices). He's an actor... but I can't remember his name. I felt like he fit better for Adam than he did for Caleb, but they're identical so they have to look alike. :) Thoughts? Meeeeow!

More Editing

2011-01-27T09:31:00.000-08:00

[I need to post blogs more often!]

Today, I am going to start putting my hand edits into the computer! I was going to wait until all of my hand edits were done, but maybe my time will be better utilized if I do them at the same time. Morning hours: at the computer and evening hours: editing by hand in front of the TV. :) I have about 50 pages left. I feel like it's important to get more editing done each day since I've been applying for jobs. I had three interviews this week and if I find a full-time job, my writing/editing time will be cut drastically. It'll be like being in school all over again. Hopefully though I'll be able to get some writing done each day. So, that is my progress so far. Yay.

In other news, I have tons of reading to do. I have four books checked out from the library right now: "Halo", "Beautiful Darkness", "Crescendo", and "Unearthly". After I finish those I my tackle some of the recommendations a few of you left in the comments section on my last post. A lot of them were definitely along the lines of what I like to read.

I wish there was more to post today (and other days) but I don't want to bore people with too many "editing" updates. It'll get more exciting when I finally start sending this off to readers and agents. Hopefully that will happen in the next couple months. March is my goal.

Progression

2011-01-06T09:23:00.000-08:00

So, I've edited 2 chapters of my novel. I've decided that editing a chapter a day is a good goal for me and will mean that I can finish hand-written edits by the end of this month. After that I'll put everything into the computer and will send it to a few of my readers for their comments and to agents. Wow... I'm pretty serious about it this time and that feels good. Maybe it's because I'm absolutely poor right now and would love to sell a novel and make some money (hopefully big money, but that's not guaranteed for a first book). Anyway... that's my progression so far.

So many people want Es/Moo posted back on Fictionpress. Believe me when I say I've heard you and I'm really close to actually doing it, but I'm still wavering a bit. Maybe once I get these edits done? I just wanted readers who visit my blog to know that I am considering it. I'm like 85% yes right now.

I hope everyone is doing well and writing/reading every day. I'm looking for some book recommendations, so if you feel like it, leave a comment and tell me what your favorite book is.

Cheers!

Hello 2011

2011-01-02T19:41:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! Here's hoping for a lot of great things to happen in 2011. I just hope I can stick to my plan and start editing my novel. Lots of work to do, but I'm starting off the year with a positive attitude.

Draft 1: Complete

2010-12-21T10:52:00.000-08:00

I just finished the first draft of my novel. Woooo wooooo!

I began writing on Sept. 23 and only took a few weeks off in November to work on my thesis--so I'd guess about 2.5 months to write the draft (which is likely poorly written at this point). I know that I rushed the ending a bit (because I wanted to be done with it, I think), but that will be rectified in the editing process. It's 413 pages or 141,054 words (twenty three chapters and a short epilogue).

I'm struggling with what to call it. I'm creating a list of possibilities now, but maybe I shouldn't worry too much about it since it might change in the future? Who knows. When I first started this project back in high school (ohhhh so long ago--I'm so old) it was called "A Fallen Gift" and while that title still suits the story in some ways, it's changed so greatly since those first eight drafts that I think the title needs to be just as new.

I just wrote down "The Falling" which may be good. But would I call the sequel "The Rising"? Boo, both are boring and not very original. I don't know. I just feel like it needs a working title.

Here's a very brief summary of the story:

"Evelyn has returned to Falls, New Hampshire, in search of Lucas, a friend who she was forced to abandon with no warning when she was just a child. During her search she finds herself drawn to mysterious Cameron and discovers that he is not what he seems to be. When painful secrets about her life and her past come to light she, and her relationships with Lucas and Cameron, will be changed forever."

[Note: I'm slightly worried that "Falls" is too close to "Forks" (Twilight's setting) as a name of a town. Opinions?]

I bet I can get the summary a bit tighter, which I'll need to in order to pitch it in a query letter to agents (the step following editing). I guess I'll go with "The Falling" for now (gag)... I don't know why I feel like I need a title on it before I print out the first draft. Eccentric writer behavior I guess? :)

Hello World!

2010-12-14T20:26:00.000-08:00

So, I was playing around with my blog, changing a few settings and whatnot and I found something totally cool: statistics for who looks at my blog.

Hello to the 102 page viewers in the United States!
Hello to the 18 page viewers in the United Kingdom (which I like to think of as my home away from home although I've never been)!
Hello to the 10 page viewers in Latvia!
Hello to the 9 page viewers in Canada!
Hello to the 4 in Germany!
Hello to the 4 in Denmakr!
Hello to the 3 in New Zealand!
Hello to the 2 in Belgium!
Hello to the 2 in France!
Hello to the 2 in South Korea!

Now, I'm well aware that perhaps there is really only one person in each of the above places and maybe they've been doing all the looking, but I'm going to pretend that these are all individual page views. Hello world! We need to diversify a bit more :) Yippie for blog stats.

Facebook

2010-12-11T07:14:00.000-08:00

I've been toying around with the idea of creating a facebook page for myself? What are people's thoughts on this? :)

Really Finished!

2010-12-11T07:05:00.001-08:00

I finished school Wednesday night! I now have my MFA in Writing degree from the University of New Hampshire. I can't believe it's over and that 2.5 years have passed. It's crazy that it's been that long, but it's over and done now. That means I can finish up the new novel that I started a few months ago and get to editing that (and publishing) and I can focus on writing new things.

I've also made a decision: When I take down "A Starter Boyfriend" from FictionPress (likely when I finish up my new novel and send it out), I will re-post "Hostile Kisses" because I've had a handful of people request it. It will still be a while (maybe summer or early fall) before that happens, but at least it will give a few people something to look forward to. :)

Anything Supernatural

2010-11-17T20:04:00.000-08:00

So, I am an addict. I love reading YA/teen supernatural romances. I like the ones that lean more on the supernatural side of things rather than the romance. I like romance to be an added bonus to an amazing story. I'm trying to do that very thing in my latest novel, although it's a bit of a love triangle at the moment. The story isn't centered around these relationships though, but more about the struggle or the change of the main character. [Image from www.desiwalls.com.]

Some good books to read: "Wings" and "Spells" by Aprilynne Pike; "Beautiful Creatures" (it's good, but really dense and long) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl; and "Paranormalcy" by Kiersten White. I've mentioned the last before and I thought it was really well done. Don't Read: "Crusade" by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie. It wasn't good--too many characters and I didn't care about any of them. Harsh but true.

Writing is going well--although I haven't written in a few days now because I'm back to working on my thesis. My goal, however, is to have a draft done by Christmas and revisions done a few months after that, which means I should be submitting to agents/publishers by May. If all goes well and I stick to my schedule. Lately another story has been creeping into my mind.

Some of you probably read my "My Darling Bunny" short story on Fictionpress. Well, I'm a sucker for the Victorian/Jane Austen era and I've been thinking about new characters from this time period. It would likely be another long short story, like MDB. The main character's imperfection is her clubbed foot. The hero is..... hot :). No, I see him as a prince/royal in hiding? Of course they would fall in love and then badda-bing-badda-boom. Happiness. I don't know when I'll start writing this, but it would definitely be one that I posted on FP. Speaking of posting... I hope everyone's still enjoying "A Starter Boyfriend" I haven't seen or heard of any foul play, so the story will stay up. (Probably until I'm ready to work on it... by May hopefully).

Cheers everyone!

Still Pluggin' Along

2010-10-29T08:58:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone. Sorry for the lack of posts, but there's been no news to report. I'm still working on my new novel and have hit page 297. I haven't written for the last few days because I fell into this odd funk, but I'm going to try to get back into it this afternoon. I'm really close to the end I think--maybe four more chapters? Who knows though... I worry that this is becoming too long and then I remember that I'll definitely need to go back and delete/add things to help the story along. I'm happy with it overall. Soon I'll post a summary and maybe even the first chapter to get a little feedback. I do think that this novel will be the one that I try to submit for publication first and after I do that I'm going back to "A Starter Boyfriend" which needs some edits and whatnot. I'll have to take it down from Fictionpress when I do that, but I'll give people plenty of notice.

I'm currently reading "Paranormalcy" by Kiersten White. It's a good read so far!

Anyway, that's all for now.

Full Steam Ahead!

2010-10-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

I've reached 230 pages on my new project. I'm well over the halfway point, but there's still about nine chapters or so to go. Well, I've mapped out nine, but I haven't been following the map lately. It's weird not posting each chapter on FictionPress like I've done with all of my other stories. It's also a little rewarding too. For the last two years, while I've been in school, I haven't really written for myself. I feel like I am now--at least with this first draft. I haven't even let my first reader--my little sister--read any of this book. She will in the end as I hope ALL of you will. I still don't have a title for it. Though I've re-written the same story like eight times, using the same title each time, I don't want to recycle it this time. Why? 1) the story is COMPLETELY revamped from all the other versions, and 2) there are way too many titles out there now that refer to fallen angels. It needs to be fresher.

I've decided that after I finish this story (editing, revising), I'm going to work on editing "A Starter Boyfriend." I get so many positive comments on that book and I feel very encouraged by everyone who reads it. Of all of the old stories that I have on FP, it's one that will need less rewriting on a structural level, and more proofreading and maybe a bit of fill in missing sections. Unlike my first "Killing Memories" book in the Es/Moo series, which needs a complete overhaul. Not that it's bad, I just remember it being all over the place with no real trajectory. I love those characters and just thinking about them now makes me excited to re-approach them.

Anyway, just a little update! Take care all. :)

Greetings All

2010-09-29T10:42:00.001-07:00

Just an update... I'm actively writing again! I wish I could share my excitement about this with all of you, but that's hard to do online. Anyway, I've just reached page 98 of a new novel and I'm sure that by the time I'm done writing today I'll have over 100 pages. Very exciting. Obviously, I haven't been publishing this story to fictionpress. I've decided to take a different route. I'm going to finish a first draft, work on edits and then contact some agents/publishers. It's time for me to not be scared of this process anymore. I think I was spurred to action by now 17-year-old Alexandra Adornetto, author of Halo. According to the publishers of her book, she was just fourteen years old when she published her first book in Australia. I mean, seriously? I need to step it up. I could work on some of my other stories, but they need more work and I'm too excited about this one to really start on anything else.

I hope everyone is well!

New Project

2010-09-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

So, it is my intent to start my new project today. I made a goal for this year (the year started on Sept 19, which was my birthday) to write "at least" one page every day. For some reason, I have yet to do that and it's already been three days. Therefore, today I must write three pages--which hopefully won't be too difficult. What's the project? It's yet another re-write of my very first novel "A Fallen Gift." In the process the title may change because there are currently several "fallen" books out there in teen fiction today. Pity since I first wrote the novel some ten years ago before the fallen angel business was big in teen or adult fiction. I hate feeling like "Just another one of those books" lady, but alas, that's what's been on my mind lately, so I need to write.

Now, it's time to stop procrastinating on my blog.... :)

Goodreads!

2010-09-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

Hey all, I've just joined Goodreads (click the link to get to my page). It's like a virtual bookshelf. Hopefully one day I'll be able to promote my own books here. In the mean time, check it out, join, and add me as a friend! I will be adding more books to my page as time goes on. If you have any great book recommendations, please let me know!

Also, thanks for the support and understanding of my choice in regard to The Jade Bracelet. I've gotten a lot of great notes and supportive comments. I appreciate that. I'm glad that people are enjoying A Starter Boyfriend again too. It'll be up for a few months (and I'll post notices when I'm preparing to take it down).

I'm not writing at the moment. Perhaps it's mild depression. Blah.

The Death and The Resurrection

2010-09-03T07:20:00.000-07:00

I have made a difficult decision... I will not be continuing "The Jade Bracelet."

It's hard to return to a project that is nearly two years old. I've lost the drive for the characters and want to start something new. Because I've made this decision, I've decided to re-post (for a limited time only) "A Starter Boyfriend" on FictionPress. I've uploaded all of the chapters and they should be readable within the next few hours. Trust me when I say that I'm sad about this.... But, I suppose that goes with the writing territory... some projects just don't get finished. I might return t this in the future, but for now it's not going to happen.

I'll likely leave "A Starter Boyfriend" up to read for at least six months, unless I hear that someone's stealing it (or any part of it) and then Im' removing it RIGHT away--no warnings.

Blahh... this decision makes me sad, but at least I can share another popular story with everyone again. Sigh.

Making slow progress...

2010-08-18T14:09:00.001-07:00

...on this next JB chapter. But, progress is progress yes? It doesn't help that I'm going on vacation for 10 days either. I doubt that I'll get anything done while I'm away, but I'm going to bring my flash drive. I need to invest in another laptop, I think.

Book Review: The Chronicles of Nick

2010-08-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

Like zombies? Need a book where the main character is a young 16-year-old male (cause lets be honest--there are FEW books out there with young guys as the lead character... kudos to Kenyon for writing one)? Then you might want to check out "Infinity" the first book in Sherrilyn Kenyon's new series for teens. I picked this book up because I'd read Kenyon's adult "Dark Hunter" series and really liked them. This book could make the teen-to-adult leap (think Twilight saga), but the writing is definitely geared toward that younger audience. This isn't a bad thing, however... she does a great job with the young male voice. I could learn a few things from her for sure. Overall, I found myself laughing at a few silly zombie slashing parts, and turning pages quickly out of eagerness to understand the mystery of Nick Gautier. Overall, this was a good read. I give it a B-.

I'm currently reading "Life as We Knew It." I'm 45 pages in and so far, so good. Although I'll admit that I'm longing for another "preternatural" book like the Chronicles of Nick. What is it about non-humans that makes life so entertaining? Good thing Cassandra Clares new book comes out at the end of the month! I should be done with my reading list by then.

Writing Continues

2010-08-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

Although it's been over a year since my last post (and nearly two years since I began the project), I've started writing chapter seven of The Jade Bracelet tonight. It actually feels REALLY good to be working on it (sad that I started it right before bed, but at least I started it). I hope to finish this chapter in a couple days and post it--and then hopefully that will spur me on to write the last few chapters (I'm thinking 4-5 more). Can't wait to hear what everyone thinks of it!

Chapter Snippets Now Available

2010-08-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

So... while playing with my blog, I discovered a way to post chapters of my stories. Sadly, I'm still not ready to post the stories in their entirety, but here's a little taste for anyone who didn't get to read the originals that were on FictionPress before I took them down. It's been a few years since I've written these stories and my writing style has definitely changed a little bit... so, don't expect greatness, just a fun read. I'm still working on my thesis--I plan to turn a draft of it in to my committee by September 1. After that, at least for a few months anyway, I'll be able to work on other things. Then I'll have to do a final revision on the thesis and then this long journey is OVER. I see myself being completely done with everything by December 15. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Enjoy the chapter previews! You'll find them located to the --> right.

Blog Updates

2010-07-28T14:34:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I decided to change things up a little bit. What do you think? I'm into it for now, but I might try to revamp it again.

Writing is going well and guess who've been creeping into my mind lately? The characters from A Jade Bracelet. That's the good news--the great news will be when I finally finish that story. To be honest, I've contemplated not finishing it and starting something new (also on my brain lately). What do people think of fallen angel novels? There are some excellent ones out there right now. I highly recommend the Fallen books (each book has two novels in it--there are a total of two books) by Thomas Sniegoski. They're well written and a good story. The made-for-TV movies back in 2004 (I think) don't really follow the books, but are equally good entertainment. The book I want to write is actually the very first novel I ever wrote. I actually posted it on FictionPress too, but removed it pretty quickly because I thought I wanted to get it published. So goes my process, I guess. I wonder when I'll ever get serious. Anyway, I've rewritten it eight times, but never for a teen/YA audience. I'm kind of excited about writing it. Seems like vampire and fallen angel books are all the rage right now. I feel comforted that I had the idea for it before all the hype. Still... the urge to write again is very exciting.

Anyway, yay for new posts right?

School's OVER!!! (almost)

2010-05-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

So, I'm completely finished with my classes for my MFA degree. Next stop: thesis. I'm putting together a short story collection compiling most of the work I did while in school, so it's mostly about revision (with maybe one or two new stories added). I'll defend my thesis to a panel of faculty in December and will be done before Christmas. My biggest hope for after this time is that I'll be able to devote more time to my past stories and fall in love all over again with my characters. I feel like this program has changed me, which is scary. I do think that the old Tatiana Moore is still there though--hopefully the writing will just be better.

I have been toying around with starting a completely new project after I'm all finished. A teen/YA novel about angels/demons (time to move off the vampire thing, though don't get me wrong, I LOVE that stuff). But who really knows what I'll be inspired to work on. Moo and Es are poking at me though--ahh, there's just so much work to be done for that first story.

Anyway, thanks so much for following my blog! Stay tuned for more

Still Alive!!

2010-03-31T18:13:00.001-07:00

I know... it's been way too long. But guess what... I'm almost done with my master's program, which means that I'll be getting back to writing that ya'll have been following on Fictionpress. I have to finish my thesis and defend it, and then I'll be DONE! So, while I know it's a lot of time to wait, I'll be done with school in December and back to writing (probably to finish the Jade Bracelet) starting at the first of the year.

Sorry that I haven't been posting here often. I'm going to try to get better at it, promise!

Still Alive!

2010-01-25T19:38:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,

I'm still alive... just trying to finish up school (last semester), and then hopefully my life will snap back to normal and I'll get to writing for the fun of it.

:)T

SKOW Award Nominee

2009-07-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

FYI...

"The Jade Bracelet" is up for a SKOW (Some Kind of Wonderful) Award in the "Best Het" (incomplete) category. Thanks to whomever nominated me! You can vote for the story here. Voting ends August 5 and you're only allowed to vote one time. Thanks again. ;)

This is so cool!

2009-07-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

Check out Erika M's Twitter page -- her layout is in honor of "My Darling Bunny." Too cool, this made my day.

New Site

2009-07-18T14:06:00.001-07:00

You can now find my writing on Authonomy.com (thanks to cosmopolitan411 and AlexislovesYou for the tip). The site seems pretty legit and it's run by HarperCollins publishers (so there's a good chance of maybe being spotted). I've just posted the six chapters that I have done for The Jade Bracelet and all of My Darling Bunny.

Also--and this might excite a few of you. I'm willing to re-post A Starter Boyfriend on this site. I'm going to send a post through for FictionPress people who have that story down in their favorites. I'm not willing to put it back up on FP due to the plagiarism issues of late. I'll have A Starter Boyfriend up in a few hours on Authonomy.com (click here for my profile). If you do read any of my stories, please be sure to comment! The more popular the stories are the more likely they'll be seen. Help me get the word out!

Thanks :)T

Plagiarism on Fiction Press

2009-06-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have noticed that I posted a new chapter to my story The Jade Bracelet (chp 4) on Fictionpress a few days ago. Since doing so, several people have alerted me to the plagiarism that's going on at that site and I have to admit--it both scares and upsets me! I'm really glad that I took my stories down when I did, and I have yet to discover if they were stolen by anyone. How disheartening. I swear, one person can really ruin it for everyone else.... (Image taken from: http://tutorials.sjlibrary.org/tutorial/plagiarism/source/images/stop.jpg) <--see, I give credit! I'm not sure what to do about my stories. Do I remove myself completely from that site and set up something through blogger? Do I throw caution to the wind (sorry for the cliche) and just keep posting? It's safe to say that I will not be re-posting my Moo/Es stories or A Starter Boyfriend on that site until we're all assured that our work is safe. (If you're concerned about your own writing, please click here).

On to updates:

Aside from writing another chapter for The Jade Bracelet, I haven't written much this summer. I need to set up a writing schedule for myself--force myself to write for 2 hours each day (I should do the same thing with exercising). I really need to get back into it... I don't know why I feel so lackluster about the whole thing. Writing is my PASSION! I need a writing doctor.
I submitted a short story (one written for school) to eight different journals. If it's published, it may help me get a novel published down the line. May... may not.
I'm still dawdling about getting a Starter Boyfriend out there for agents. I can't wait anymore though--not with plagiarism on FP. And honestly... what am I waiting for. These things just don't land in your lap you know?!

I've had a few people send me messages in the past about reading their work and I have yet to do that for anyone (school really has kept me CRAZY busy). I apologize. Because it's summer and I have a little free time, I wouldn't mind reading something if you want some input (maybe 15-pages (double spaced) maximum)? Email me.

Thanks for reading my blog! Happy Summers to all. :)

Ohhhh man

2009-04-06T21:42:00.000-07:00

I don't know if apologies are enough at this point. I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted. I feel like a complete failure actually since I've accomplished absolutely nothing since creating, and last posting, this blog. Summer is approaching and I'd like to say that I have SOME hope of doing something fun, like edit A Starter Boyfriend or write some more Moo & Estela stories, but I don't know what summer will bring. More of the same? More anxiety and overwhelming feelings of inadequacy (school is hard). Or more fun? The Jade Bracelet keeps popping into my head, which may be a good thing. Maybe I can finish that out--maybe. So many maybes and not a lot of yeses. I need some help people.

My sister did send me a pretty interesting link today: More Authors Turn to Web...

Wouldn't it be cool to get A Starter Boyfriend to this level? Self publish it and try to sell it on Amazon? That might be a summer time goal for me. Keep your fingers crossed.

Sorry it's been so long. Please trust that I haven't forgotten--my mind has just be suffocating creatively for the past year (or more). Hope to post again soon with much happier news (or news of progress at least).

Updates

2009-01-31T13:23:00.000-08:00

So... I've completely been dragging ass lately in regard to agents/publishing! The new semester has started and I'm already swamped and overwhelmed by the workload. And I still can't write. I've lost it! Or at least it feels that way--it's a different kind of pressure here and a different type of writing (if you read the short stories I posted last semester). It's all very different.

The SKOW voting should be up tomorrow. Please vote for My Darling Bunny, if you desire to! :)

Updates

2009-01-17T13:31:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. Just wanted to post a quick update on my progress--I need to do these periodically to stay focused!

Narrowed down a list of 6-10 agents and 6-10 publishing houses. I'll probably pick ones who allow simultaneous submissions first (three from each grouping hopefully) and get letters and sample chapters out. To do this, I need to edit the first five chapters of A Starter Boyfriend (since that is the one I'm going to be starting with).
I received an email to do an interview with the SKOW Awards site! How exciting is that. I'll publish a link once it's up and finished (It'll be in the questionnaires section if they go through with it. ). That's pretty exciting overall.
FYI: The Jade Bracelet is up for the "Once Upon a Time" Award and My Darling Bunny is up for the "Innocence" Award on the SKOW site. Vote here starting Jan 30 - Feb 20. Thanks for the nominations!
Thanks for reading the first mini-Estela story. More to come!

The Wet Sasquatch

2009-01-11T15:07:00.000-08:00

...In which Estela is proactive toward her hygiene...

I am now convinced that I am indeed a monster.

A brown, rolly-polly, big-boobed, hairy unibrowed Sasquatch with good hair. I know I have good hair (on my head, that is) because that's what everyone compliments the most. Oh Estela, they say, what lovely hair you have. I'm so jealous! I have wash-and-go hair, which I suppose makes it good? I have no idea. I accept the compliment gracefully, like Tia taught me, and then suck in my little belly rolls to see if I get compliments on my figure like Moo does. The only person who noticed was my uncle Tio, and instead of the compliment that I'd been seeking he asked me if I had hemorrhoids because my face was scrunched up so tight. He then told my aunt to make me tacos because I looked too thin. I suppose it was a compliment in a round-about way.

I know I'm a monster. And it's not just because Darren Silversmith called me a brown cow today. I know because I look in the mirror and see this hideous, freak with lots of wavy black hair and big lips staring back. Instead of crying over the hairy, rejected reflection, I decide to take a bubble bath. Filling the old claw-foot tub in Tio and Tia's bathroom with apple-peach bubble bath, I grab one of Tia's sexy romance books that she hides under her bed and drop my brown, hairy body into the bubbles that pop against my skin.

I only read a few pages before tossing the paperback aside and sinking low beneath the apple-scented bubbles. In the silent hum of the water, I think about all the reasons Darren would have called me a cow in front of everyone. First, I am brown--nothing I can do about that as my family is from Mexico. Second, I am hairy just like a cow--thick black hair has been sprouting all over my body (armpits, arms, legs, pubes, and even on my stomach). Third, I do graze and snack on food all day, and sometimes, if I'm sick, I chew with my mouth open and food falls out. Fourth, I don't rush anywhere--I move very slow, unless I'm with Moo, who trots around like a mythic unicorn on long spindly white legs.

Tia says that we're supposed to change the things we can change and forget about what we can't. So, I can change a few things on my list--and I know just which one to start with. I push myself from the water and emerge like a rising giant, soapy droplets of water rolling down my hairy arms and even hairier legs. Leaning over the cool lip of the tub, I grab for the big cordless phone that I brought in with me and use wet fingers to dial Moo's number. After a moment of debate on whether or not it would electrocute me and fry my brain, I press the phone to my ear. It rings twice before Moo's whispered voice enters my ear.

"I need you," I say. "Tia's bathroom--pronto."

"'K," Moo whispers before hanging up. She arrives two minutes later and closes the bathroom door behind her. When she finally sees me, her lips fall open in shock and her cheeks turn pink. "You're in the tub!"

"I know!" I'm rooting around blindly beneath the bubbles for the washcloth that's been floating around so I don't see how she responds to this.

"You're naked!"

"Duh! Help me shave my legs."

I'm not supposed to shave until I'm fifteen--two years from now. Stupid rule. Snatching the washcloth, I drape it over my chest and look back up at Moo. She's standing very still, her back to the bathroom door, wringing her hands in front of her. She's wearing the same blue jeans that she wore to school, designer and skin tight, in a fashionable, not slutty, way. She's wearing Nike tennis shoes and a cream-colored cashmere sweater. Moo can stand with her feet together and still have a slight gap between her thighs--Tia calls that malnourished, Moo's mother calls in perfection.

"But you're naked, Estella!" Moo says again.

"You've seen me naked before."

A couple of years ago, while Moo was spending the night she dared me to take off my clothes and run up and down the sleeping hallways of my house. I did it despite the humiliation that made my skin very warm. Then to make things fair, she did the same dare. I think we were silently comparing each other during that time--things were changing, my boobs were growing, her entire body was stretching, I was getting hair down there.

"A little warning would be nice, is all," Moo said as she shook off the shock and came toward the tub. "So you're going to shave?"

"Yes, I am a beast," I say pulling my leg from the water. Brushing the suds from my skin I point at the hair. "Look at this! I might as well be a man!" Moo giggles as she drops to her knees by the tub and looks at my leg closely. It's disgusting--two hairs shoot out of each pore and they're super long. They lay smooth from where my palm brushed them all in one direction. "I can't wait any longer--really I can't. I've gotten my period, which means I'm a woman now, so I should be able to shave my legs."

"They're not that bad," Moo says.

"It's almost summer--I'm not wearing jeans all the time like last summer. It sucks swimming in jeans plus I had a horrible tan. So, I'm going to shave. I need you to teach me."

Moo's mother--Hilter's sister, I think--has had Moo shaving since she was eleven. Now she's a pro at it; all silky and smooth and clean looking. Moo didn't really need to shave--I could hardly ever see her baby fine auburn hairs. For a while, I was convinced that she shaved her arms too, but when the sun hits her you can see the hairs. They glisten as if she was dusted with copper flakes. Me: my hair is thick and coarse and manly.

Moo doesn't warn me that I might get in trouble for this. I guess she can sense my desperation. She finds Tio's razor and shaving cream and gets to work. I watch with wide eyes as she shakes the red can of Gillette and paints my leg with a foamy white line. She tells me to rub it all over. Clutching my armpits down to keep the washcloth in place, I lean forward, curl my toes to the rim to keep my leg from slipping and rub the cream all over so that my leg is covered with it.

"You move the razor with the hair," Moo instructs. "So, knee to ankle, 'k? And don't rush." I watch in amazement as she slides the razor down my leg slowly leaving a smooth, hair free stripe of brown in its wake. She washes off the blade in the water and then does another swipe before handing me the razor. I follow her instructions to the T, moving slow around my knee and the poking bones at my ankle. "Don't forget your toes."

I glance at her and see that she's got her arm stretched out and her palm facing me. Each time I move her palm dips higher or lower depending on how I move.

"What are you doing?" I ask as I swipe the razor over my big toe.

"Umm, the bubbles are almost gone," Moo says, her pale cheeks flushing pink. "And... I suppose I only want to see so much of your body, Estela." Running the razor over my knee, I glance down at the water and see what she's talking about. I feel the blood rush to my face and bark a controlled laugh.

"Yeah, we're not even going to talk about that overgrown bush," I grumble trying to sound light hearted so she can't tell how embarrassed I am. "It needs a weed wacker or something."

Moo bursts into laughter and so do I, and before I know it, my toes lose their grip and my leg plunges back into the water. A spray of water hits Moo's sweater and soaks her hair. Still laughing, I lift my leg and Moo squirts more shaving cream on it. As I smooth it over the remaining hair, I notice that the foam has turned pink near my knee and my skin is now on fire. Dropping the razor, I splash water over my knee, but the burning continues as a river of blood curled rolled down my smooth, hair free leg.

"Moo!"

"How did you do that?" Moo asks. "Put your leg back into the water, the bleeding will stop."

I did as she instructs, but the stinging sensation won't go away and the bath water is turning pink around my leg. Lifting my knee out of the water, I watch blood seep from a huge gash of missing skin. Moo grabs a wad of toilet paper and presses it to the cut. The paper soaks up the blood and water and becomes a bloody glob of paper in her fingers.

"Gross," Moo moans. She turns her head and lets out little puffs of air from between her lips. "I don't feel good."

"It won't stop!" I cry as the blood continues to pulse out of my knee.

"I'm going to throw up." Moo says.

"Give me more toilet paper!" My heart races as the blood droplets form little ribbons in the water. "Moo?"

She is green and pale. Her head is bowed awkwardly and she begins to slump over. I watch in horror as she collapses onto the bath mat. I try splashing water on her, but it doesn't help and I can't tell if she was breathing or not. Hemorrhaging to death with Moo unresponsive on the bathroom floor, I started to scream for my aunt. One high-pitched someone-is-murdering-me scream and the bathroom door flies open, banging Moo in the head. I scream louder as Tio stumbles in with half a sandwich clutched in his hand.

"GET OUT!" I scream, wishing the wash cloth was the size of a towel instead of a tiny square that barely covers both boobs. "Tio!"

"What's going on?" Tio demands as he looks down at Moo.

"I'm naked!" I screech. "Get out! I called for Tia!"

"You screamed!" he cries defensively. I see his brown cheeks turning pink.

Suddenly there are more faces in the door: Mother, Tia, and my cousin Jorge. I scream louder at the sight of so many eyes and clutch myself into a small ball.

"What happened to her?" Tio demands as reaches for Moo. Suddenly he spots the can of Gillette in Moo's limp fingers. "What are you doing with this?" As he grabs his can of Gillette, his sandwich slips from his fingers and lands on top of Moo. The mustard side of the bread hits her shoulder while the lettuce and ham splatter against her cheek.

"I just saw Estela's boob!" Jorge cries making gagging noises as he flees from the bathroom door.

"Are you shaving?" Tio demands.

"Moo's dead!" I wail, "and you ask me if I'm shaving? I'm bleeding to death!"

Tio looks at my naked leg and sees the blood. Suddenly Tia and Mom grab Tio and push him out and close the door in his face. Mom barks at me to get out of the tub, saying that I'm fine, while Tia peels food off of Moo and pats her cheek until she's revived. I watch the blood roll down my leg to my foot. It stains the bathmat and the stinging is worse now that I'm out of the tub and shivering.

"Sit on the toilet and put this on it," Mom hands me a clean wash cloth. "You know better Estela--this was her idea wasn't it?"

Mother always talked about Moo as if she were a plague. I hated her for it.

"It was mine!" I snapped. "I'm sick of being a monster! I'm a woman already--I'm not a man. I am not a cow!"

Tia fusses over Moo's banged head and mustard-stained sweater, Mom clicks her tongue at me, muttering things in Spanish (something about me being ungrateful), and Tio shouts at me through the closed bathroom door. He was saying something about hair being a gift from God and a sign of innocence, and something about Tia not shaving--something about it being sexy. He calls me his little girl and says that I don't need to shave.

"I'm a freak!" I shout back. "Everyone else is shaving!"

"You are not everyone else, Estela!" he says. "You stay away from my shaving cream!"

I look at my half finished leg and four hairy toes. I'm even more of a freak than before. Sniffling, I watch as Tia rushes off with Moo's sweater, and while my mother grounds me for a week for disobeying the rules, Tio comes into the bathroom, plucks the razor from the bathwater and gathers up the rest of his shaving paraphernalia. He leaves the bathroom with it--probably to hide it from me. Somewhere in the house I can hear Jorge moaning: "Blinded by the boob!"

Moo walks toward me in her little lacy bra and sits down on the little bit of toilet lid that my hips aren't taking up.

"You're not a cow," she whispers. "Darren Silversmith is stupid--he doesn't know anything." I nod my head pathetically and brush away a tear. Moo puts her arm around my back and squeezes me. "And... so what if you can't shave your legs right now--it doesn't matter. We can do something else."

"Like what?" I sniff. "I'm such a man."

She smiles and reveals a pair of tweezers as if she pulled them out of thin air. "How about giving you two eyebrows instead of one?"

Laughing, I wipe my nose on my wrist and grunt an OK.

Note: Like my postings on FP, this is pretty rough. Just wanted to write a little Es and Moo for you :) Hope you enjoyed it.

Stories Removed

2009-01-11T14:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I removed my stories today. :( Sad.

Don't worry if you didn't finish the stories--if I fail at getting them published, I'll re-post them. But they'll be down for a good stretch of time. I think it's safe to say that they all end happily. :)

I've made it through the publishers section of my Writer's Market and I'm about to start on the agent section. I'm not really sure what's the best choice. The book says that most publishers will prefer for writer's to have an agent, so maybe I need to focus there instead? Agents can get you seen by larger publishing house. Soooooo... maybe that's the best route for me to take now since my stories are in rough draft format? Maybe I'll do both simultaneously.

In other news--I've decided to write what I'm thinking about calling Mini Moos or Mini Estelas. Stories from their past as girls growing up. I have one in my head now that I'll work on and post here.

And I'll try to work on the Jade Bracelet too.

It's 6pm and I'm already ready for bed. Gosh, I'm an old woman.

Getting Started

2009-01-07T15:05:00.000-08:00

Hi all!

So... as you may have heard, I'm partially shutting down my FictionPress site (unfinished stories and shorts will remain up unless I send them out for publication--actually 1-2 shorts will probably come down too). I'm removing stories because I feel that they probably need to come down so that agents and publishers are happy (they like to think they've got them first). Besides, it's also very likely that the stories will change. I know that the first Es and Moo story needs loads of work to smooth out the plot and make it more believable. I was just so excited to start and write that story that I went a tad crazy (as it was finished in what, 26 days?). After I finish up this first blog post, I will be thumbing through the 2009 Writer's Market for Novels and Short Stories. I don't think I'll need to invest in the original Writer's Market at this point, but we'll see.

The steps of publishing are going to be enormous. I've read that unpublished authors should have their novels completely polished before sending out letters to publishers/agents. I'm going to work on the first four chapters of "A Starter Boyfriend" and then send out letters. Since most of you reading this blog will have read my stories in the past, you know that they're pretty full of mistakes. I may need a beta editor--or I might need to shell out a few pennies for a professional. We'll see though.

I'm prepared to be rejected, because it does happen. We can't all be J.K. Rowling (sadly).

Until next time! Make sure to click "follow this blog" to stay updated!

:)Tatiana

Tatiana Moore

No news is not good news... in this case anyway

One down...

Tuesday.

E-Book Covers and Cookbooks

Oh facebook...

Hostile Kisses

So much to do.....

Happy 2012!

Oh Bobby.

Happy Christmas!

Moving Forward

Boop boooo boop booooooo (trumpet sounds)

41 pages left

66 Pages

144 Pages To Go

Book Review: This Dark Endeavor

I have Halloween fever!

Finished with Nook editing!!

I'm on a roll so far...

New Computer!!!

Oh geeez

Updates!

And then a year passes...

After the earthquake (oh, and hurricane)

So much for blogging twice a week...

Agents and Blurbs

Freakout Moment

Editing Galore!

Book Review: Abandon

Hostile Kisses Re-Posted!

Facebook!

Progress Report

Moving Right Along

Warning!

Random Bits of Fact

Craft Note: Editing

New Chapter of Surrender

New Chapter Posted

Query, Query, Query

Book Review: "Darkness Becomes Her"

Updated Chapters of "Surrender" on FP

Exciting Day!

Book Review: "Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage"

Happy April!

Just A Little Taste:

Book Reccomendations!!!

New Story in the Works

Craft Note: Outlining

Movies and Books: Rango & The Lost Hero

Craft Note: Writing Places You've Never Seen Before

Read Me: Surrender

Hello Character.... Do I know you?

Three days late but....

Well.... I was almost there.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Why I hesitate in re-posting Lovely Es and Moo

More Editing

Progression

Hello 2011

Draft 1: Complete

Hello World!

Facebook

Really Finished!

Anything Supernatural

Still Pluggin' Along

Full Steam Ahead!

Greetings All

New Project

Goodreads!

The Death and The Resurrection

Making slow progress...

Book Review: The Chronicles of Nick

Writing Continues

Chapter Snippets Now Available

Other Good Reads

Blog Updates

School's OVER!!! (almost)

Still Alive!!

Still Alive!