Sending Our Babies Off (Querying)

Well, folks, it's official. I have query fever. (I blame Gina.) Last night I sat down to try my hand at writing a query letter for my (so close I can taste it) completed novel.

Querying is the terrifying, soul-ripping art of telling an intensely critical stranger enough about your 80,000 word novel in just 250 words to make them want to buy it.

I'll just let that sink in for a sec.

This novel is my fourth baby (the only one made out of words.) I have three human ones (made of skin and bones and souls.)

If you asked me to tell you about my first (human) baby, here's a tiny sampling of what I might tell you:
When  he was born, I could have written a love letter to his tiny wrinkled feet, I was so obsessed with them.
 I wrote a blog post that was mostly concerned with the scent of his baby breath.
I remember that time he gave himself a black eye with a plastic spoon, and how his first word was "ball."
When he was two, he loved to tromp around the kitchen in only his diaper and dress shoes.
His right eye closes a little bit more than his left when he smiles.
 When he says the word "elephant" it sounds like "oh-fant."
His favorite color is blue, unless you're talking about superheroes, in which case it's red, for Iron Man.
Yesterday, he braved the honey bees to pick me a bouquet of clover flowers from our backyard.

But here's what his preschool registration forms want to know about him:
His name is Asher.
He is four years old.
He does not have any allergies.

So, if you ask me to tell you about my novel,
I might go on and on and on about my main character's struggles and insecurities, what bugs her about her mom, what makes her heart race.
I would tell you about how she misses her dad, and how he's the only one who could have helped her make sense of the conflict.
 I would tell you how running makes her feel powerful, and how her boring life secretly always made her feel safe, and how actually being powerful now makes her scared.
I would tell you how thrilled I am for her that she is falling in love so hard and so deep.
 I would talk about how the most difficult choices in her life are going to also turn out to be the most rewarding.
 I would tell you how much I love her, and the other characters, and how proud I am of them, because I know that what they did took a lot of guts and bravery.

But agents and publishers? Here's what they want me to tell them:
 Who is the main character?
 What's the main conflict?
How many words are in it?

Ugh. Consider my heart torn out plopped down on an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper. 


And that's a query letter.

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater - Elana Johnson's ARC Contest! (Author Crush)

What makes a great story? I mean, what really sticks with you, grabs onto your heart and never lets you go?

The answer is "a lot of things," of course, but for me, a few of them are: stunning prose, gut-wrenching obstacles to be overcome, incredible characters, and a timeless love story.

Oh. And a beautiful cover doesn't hurt.


I've been in love with Maggie Stiefvater Maggie Stiefvater's "Wolves of Mercy Falls" series since I accidentally downloaded the first one, Shiver onto my Kindle. (True story.)

The third and final book came out last week and It. Is. INCREDIBLE.

What? You want some sample lines? Nooooo problem.

"Overhead, the stars were wheeling and infinite, a complicated mobile made by giants." 

I know, I know. Now, how about this:

"There is no better taste than this: someone else's laughter in your mouth." (*sigh* *swoon*)

It's these kinds of things that make me fall in love with an author and leave me star-struck by her. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Maggie Stiefvater is a prose goddess in the pantheon of YA authors, and I bow to her.

You know what might be approaching how incredible this series is? The fact that Elana Johnson (another author crush and prose goddess, yes, you'll hear more about her from me later, DON'T WORRY) is giving away a SIGNED ARC of the last book, Forever today on her blog!!!!

If I win it, I won't send it to any of you, but I will let you borrow my Kindle copy. So, that's something.

Girl Power (Crit Diaries)

I've always hated Belle.

Belle is a tricky character. You think she's all, "ra-ra-Feminism, yay!" She is independent! She walks to town by herself! She sings in a meadow and doesn't care who hears!

 For crying out loud, she loves books! BOOKS!

And she refuses this guy, so we all think she's doing pretty well for herself.

(Um, gross.)

But we all know the story. She lands at the Beast's castle, hates it, decides to ditch. In the middle of the winter. In the middle of the night. With no map.

(What? I never imagined there would be starving, vicious wolves in these dark winter woods! I'm scared, a need a big strong man to save me!)

Sadly, Belle is my go-to example of a girl who looked like a promisingly strong, smart female character, and then just....wasn't. She reads books, sure, but does she learn anything from them? Sadly the answer seems to be "no." It always frustrated me so much. (Luckily, my baby girl will have Princesses Mulan and Tiana to learn from....)

So, when I set out to write a strong female main character, what did I do?

Yeah, you guessed it. I wrote about a girl who cries a lot, is pretty dense, whines even more, and has a little bit of trouble making strong decisions without the help of her man. Did I mention she's dense?

Katniss would not be happy.


Today's task: Go through the MS and delete all references to my MC being a total dolt. And then add some opportunities for her to show up her boyfriend(s) and her enemies, and to kick some ass.

Anyone else have thoughts on what makes a strong girl character, and how to write one? It's not as easy as you might think, I'm learning....

Punching Your Readers in the Gut (Crit Diaries)

I had an incredible writing day yesterday. I didn't mean for it to happen, necessarily, but I got into a great conversation about choices in my story with the unflappable Gina.

She wanted a love triangle, and I told her there was one, but it wouldn't show up till the very end of the book. She told me that was stupid, and she was right. So I moved one character's confession of love up about a dozen chapters, which is two thirds of the way into the book. And the confessee told the confessor her choice. I thought it was awesome, you guys, and so wonderfully sad for the  guy who didn't get a "yes."

I sent it to Gina for approval, all proud. She sent it back. "Try again. Not good enough."

She told me that, while the conversation involved a lot of pain on each of their parts, it wasn't painful enough for the reader. Why? There was no impossible choice for the character to make. Her choice seemed too easy. When she finally made it, it wasn't painful. It didn't hurt Gina to read about it. And she wanted to be punched in the gut.

This entry in the crit diaries has a happy ending. I busted my head over the scene, and I finally got the "good job" and approval to do a writer's happy dance I was waiting for. And I learned an important lesson. It's not only the physical stakes that have to be high for the characters, but also the emotional ones, to be a great story.

(The Jury's still out on how great the story as a whole actually is, btw, because my two readers for this round haven't gotten to the end. Still nervous as all getout. Obviously, I'll keep you posted.)

What's that? You want to read a little bit? Okay, sure, since I don't have any stats for you.

She realized how badly part of her wanted that existence back, that place where she could stand here and choose him without the nagging feeling that she was choosing wrong.

So, when he moved close to her, put his arm around her waist, and pulled her toward him, even though everything told her she had to turn away, had to refuse him, she didn’t. He kissed her once, then pulled back slightly. She stood there, unable to bring herself to move. So he kissed her again, and her lips moved against his, testing, remembering. Her heart warmed, and soared toward him, toward a future that she had dreamed of for years and years. Their kiss was knowing, and wonderful, and safe, but it didn’t grow deeper. It lingered there, a memory of a hope that she couldn’t quite let go of.

She drew her palms up and put them against his chest, lightly, stopping this. He had to stop, had to leave her poor heart to thud out of her and fall to the floor in peace.

Anyone else have a critique or revision experience with forcing your characters to make difficult emotional choices?

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

You can read all over the writing blogosphere how painful the critique and revision process is.

I have to confess, I wasn't actually prepared for it. I expected to be gutted, depressed, and emotionally-eating up a storm. My reaction has been a little different than that.

Maybe it's my critique partner, the ever-fabulous Gina, for her loving and brilliant comments and observations. Every time she (lovingly) tears something down, I feel like someone tore my heart out. Or my stomach. But about five seconds later?

I get SO FREAKING EXCITED.

Here's why, I think:  I thought the story was good, and I thought the characters were awesome, and then along comes this comment that COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING YOU GUYS, and now the CHARACTERS ARE GOING TO BE SO MUCH MORE KICKASS.

*Ahem.*

So, I'll go on record. I love revisions. I love the rollercoaster ride that changes every single day (well, if you're lucky enough to have a fast crit partner like I do), I love despairing about my story and then changing one thing and then feeling like it is better than ever.

What. A. Rush.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go move a confession of unrequited love. And add some kissing. *sigh.*

(Because you know you want to listen to the song now.)

I'm Pretty Sure I'm the Next Stephenie Meyer

At least, that's what I've had to tell myself to keep myself going through this whole thing.

I'm exhausted. I really should go to sleep. But what if....?
My kids really want me to play superheroes with them for the thousandth time. But what if...?
I really should get up from the computer and  cook something decent for dinner tonight. But what if....?

This novel has allowed me to dream, and I am not a dreamer.  I never stood in front of my mirror with a hairbrush and gave the fake Oscar acceptance speech.

But with this project? The other day I even tapped out the "thank yous" that would only ever be seen if this book goes to print. (Yes, Gina, you would be there.) It felt really good, on a lot of levels.

So even if this first draft sits in the Cloud forever, or even if it sits on Amazon and sells three copies, I'm so, so glad I did it.

It's now on quasi-sub, and the very first feedback comments have been on the positive side. So we'll see what happens.

Official "The First Draft is Finished" Stats:

Words: 80,018
Pages: 377
Chapters: 36, plus epilogue
Time from first note to typing "The End": 7 months
Amount of Love for the characters and the story: endless

Thanks for reading. I'll keep you posted.

The Official First Draft

Today, I finished the Official First Draft.

It's not perfect. Not nearly. But all the plot lines, are, I think, coherent. The voice is mostly strong and consistent, at least as strong as I'm capable of at this point.

But, since my very first note on this whole thing almost 7 months ago, I'm starting to think that there might be the slimmest of slim chances that it might be published. Whether self or with a small publisher, I don't know, but I finally believe enough in the story and the characters and my ability to see something through this far to say that with some confidence.

It's on the Kindle and the Kindle Bot is reading it to me aloud. This begins the second-pass edit. I'm beside myself with excitement.

Some stats of a new type:

Title: The Travelers
Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi/Paranormal-ish Romance
Word Count: ~80,000 words or ~325 pages
A little bit about it:  The only remarkable things about bored, directionless high school senior Annika Fitzsimmons are the painful dreams she has night after night and the boy with blue eyes she always sees in them. During winter break, a visit to her grandmother reveals that Nik's future lies in Traveler's City. What she doesn't know is that her arrival there will change everything.


Listening to: The Travelers Playlist. I'll organize and post an updated version here soon. :)
Obsessed with: My first draft read by the KindleBot. LOVE. IT.

I'm still looking for betas, and I'll be contacting those of you who expressed willingness/interest soon. If you're still around, thanks for reading. :)

Editing: Trimming the Fat

I've written several incarnations of the Big Dramatic Scene Where Everything Changes (one of them, at least). I had poured my heart into each of them, found it difficult to delete even a single sentence, and so all of them remained smooshed together in the Scrivener doc with random tags like: ***REWRITE THIS!!!**** or ***ANOTHER IDEA**** or *!!!THIS ONE'S A KEEPER!!!* So today I began the hard work of separating them, rewriting some twistier twists and fillers, and separating the fat from the meat (there is a lot of fat.)

Edited: One scene, about 600 words axed (whew!)
Listening to: "Happiness" by the Fray. Again. On a loop. Seriously, this song is INCREDIBLE.
Obsessed with: Finishing this edit. I seriously can't keep my hands away from the keyboard. And that's a good thing.

Editing: What's the Worst That Could Happen?

It's been awhile. I've totally stalled on this blog over the last month, namely because I've been trying to balance moving into a new house (!!!) with doing a first-pass edit on this WIP (!!!) and something had to go on the back burner.  Most nights, I'd type some words, stumble into bed, and pass out. No time to do a rehash of the day's writing work. Or, as I've learned to say, I didn't make it a priority.

The triumph? I continued to work on the project nearly every day. (In addition to feeding my children, keeping the house clean, hosting a few little parties, etc. of course.) It's a bonafide first draft now, with, I think it's safe to say, all of the plot points solidly in place, and all characters where they're supposed to be. That is, until the second edit.

Most of the work I've been doing over the past month or so since I've posted has involved making things very, very bad for my characters. I had a decent story before I read this incredible, inspirational blog post by Natalie Whipple, but it had such a big influence on me that I started asking myself at every turn of the story - "This is a bad situation for my characters, but could it be any worse?" If the answer was "yes," then I made that worse thing happen. I think the story is a lot more compelling now. So, thanks, Natalie. (I have a girl/writer/mom crush on you and I wish we were besties.)

So here's a rundown of where I stand, writing-wise. I have 36 chapters and the draft is hovering right around 76,000 words, or about 300 pages. My main worries are that I've written a Mary Sue that everyone will hate, that the story sags in the middle, and that some things about the writing make this a non-page-turner (one being that I use third person tense, which is not that popular for YA right now.) I'm working under a quasi-deadline to have a draft manuscript to someone in the next couple weeks or so.

Here's where I stand, future-wise. I feel like I've invested too much time and energy - almost seven months of writing every day - to just store this baby in my drawer. I have a contact who is high up in the food chain of a small, up-and-coming publisher, and he's requested a full manuscript just as soon as I'm ready to let it out into the world. The sooner the better, he says. I told him I'd have it to him two and a half weeks ago.

I'm pretty sure the writing sucks. I'm pretty sure some characters are flat. I'm pretty sure it's not an intriguing story. Which is all a way of saying: I'm pretty sure he's not going to want it. (I'm not one for self-promotion, can you tell?)

Then, I'm at a crossroads. I could just sock it in a drawer and fondly remember the seven months that Nik and Davis were my constant companions, and congratulate myself on writing a story/book/whatever when most people only dream of getting that many coherent words all together at once. I could shop it out to small publishers or even agents, which I understand takes even more time and energy and a lot of stress. Or I could self-publish it in e-format and feel like it's out in the world. If you have your own Amazon page with a book with your name on it, maybe that's some small kind of accomplishment, even if you're ranked 118,487 in Kindle rankings. Or maybe I put it up there on Amazon for free and let any good reviews make me feel happy and accomplished.

I'd love to hear what you'd do next.

Time for stats:
Edited: 10 chapters in the past week (!) Yeah, I love this part.
Listening to: "Happiness" by the Fray. A hauntingly beautiful song about the elusive and stunning nature of happiness.
Obsessed with: Cilantro.

(If anyone is still reading this, thanks. Love you to pieces.)

Obsessive

I'm in the dreaded rewriting phase of this whole business.  I know, I've been saying editing, but really it's more revising or rewriting or...whatever (DNA writers just put up this fab post explaining the difference.)

I have a very one-track mind.  When I do something, I REALLY do it.  David (lovingly) calls it "an obsessive personality," and unfortunately for our firstborn, he inherited it from me.  It's how I got through rabbinical school remembering so much (yeah, I'm a rabbi.  Have we been over this?), and it's how I got 80,000 words of a rough draft pounded out in five months in just a few hours a week.

Anyway, the significance for this particular moment in our lives is that I have been frantically unpacking the house since we moved in ten days ago.  Every day I tell myself I'm going to squeeze a little writing/editing into the middle of the day, while the children nap, and it just doesn't happen.  I get so obsessed with hanging skirts or organizing toys or hanging pictures that I'm completely exhausted by the time David gets home, and I collapse.

Of course, I would have given up everything for the writing if that's what I really wanted to be doing. But, between you and me, my draft has been acting a little funny.  It's not the book I fell in love with.  My clumsy writing is making an incredible story look kind of awkward and boring.  Some days I think my twist isn't twisty enough. Some days I want to cry because I am terrified I'm writing a Mary Sue and everyone knows that people can't handle more than one of those pretty much ever, and Bella Cullen already fantastically fills the role.  Some days I think that OMG there is NO tension in this POS.  Some days I am so in love with the Boy that I'm terrified my writing will never do him justice (or maybe I just don't want to share him with anyone.)

And so I've been avoiding the draft. I don't want to talk to it about its problems, I just want it to go to rehab on its own accord. Or find a new author who can make it into something better.  Since I know it will do neither, I'm buckling down again.  But maybe I should just download the latest version of Scrivener first....

The TWIST! We have a TWIST!

Friends, I'll say it.  I was a little worried for the end of my WIP and how all the conflict was going to be tied up, and sort of resolved, in an interesting, shocking way.

I think I've got it.  I couldn't feel more relieved.

And not a moment too soon.  Serious.  Because I have to buckle down on this sucker like mad now.

All I'll say is that I owe it all to JJ Abrams and his flash of brilliance at the turn of the century.

Words Written: Oh, I have no clue.  More tomorrow.
Listening to: "Belief" by Gavin DeGraw.  Totally an important theme in my WIP, by the way.
Obsessed with:  The scene in The Hunger Games when Katniss remembers the first time she met Peeta (pg 25, you know you want to read it again.)  Absolutely heartbreaking.

-1584 Words and Faux Humility

 Writer friends, I am honest-to-God editing. For the first time, I am losing words.  Like a long overdue haircut, it feels really, really good.

You know how you read all those writing-blog posts about how to make your book snappier and more exciting, and draw readers in from the get go, like this fabulous recent one from my wish-she-was-my-friend Kiersten?  And how they always say, "Cut your first chapter, because you don't really need it?"  And how you're all, "Hmmm, I'm sure that's really great advice, I'll really have to consider that when I'm editing."  But then when you actually get to editing, you're all, "Whoa, I'm sure that's great advice for most writers, but my first chapter is flawless and not boring at all and also one hundred percent completely necessary?"  But then one of your betas gives you some excellent, lovingly scathing critique, and guess what she says?

Just guess.

"Cut the first chapter."

Unh.........

Anyway.  I cut a lot of the first chapter, and rewrote the rest of it.  So I lost about 3000  words and wrote a new 1200 or so.  And I have to say - it felt good.  Really good.

But you know what felt better?

I sent the revision to my Very Important Friend in the Publishing Industry and guess what?  No, guess.

He asked for a full.  A FULL.  As in, "Please send me your whole freaking book, because I maybe might want to think about publishing it."

Needless to say, I am freaking out.  I have a month to pull everything together, and I'm so excited and baffled and.....whoa.

Anyone want to beta?  (eeek)


Words written:  -1584
Total Words: 76658
Listening To: (or rather, watching) ALIAS, Season 2
Obsessed with:  THE ROYAL WEDDING OMG

2222 Words in 3 days, and Editing -While-Writing Gives Way to a New Acronym

Hello, friends.

So I told you in my last post how I'm finishing up writing the end of my first draft while going back and editing/beta-ing the first chapters.  I know, I know.  I've read all the advice, times one hundred ad nauseum, about How I'm Supposed to Do This:  write the whole draft, shelve it for a couple of weeks, then go back and start reading again.  I understand the wisdom of that, really I do.  But that's not how it worked out for me, and you know what?  I'm actually finding this whole writing-while-editing thing kind of awesome.  Going back and reading the beginning reminds me of little details I may have forgotten I already included, and it helps me keep characters consistent, or update them as I go.  Plus, it's given rise to a new acronym that I can just insert for myself when I want to make sure I rewrite something:

FTLOGPRWT  (For the love of G-d please rewrite this.)

Good times, friends, good times.

Words Written:  2222 (in 3 days)
Total Words: 78242
Chapters Edited: 2
Listening To: The Pride and Prejudice Soundtrack.  Delicious.
Obsessed with: the sunshine that stubbornly shines between storms here in Dayton.  Monday's forecast said, "A Very Rough Week Ahead," and this sunshine is out to prove it wrong.  Thank God.

6000 Words in 17 Days (Yikes!)

So, since my last post, a LOT has happened.  My sweetie baby sister got married, for one, and I was the matron of honor, and my kids were all in the wedding party to boot.  Fun/craziness!

(isn't she beautiful?)

Passover hit, which entailed at least two full days of cleaning, cooking, prepping, dressing children, and driving to/attending Seders (thanks to the two fabulous families that hosted us!)


My sweetie baby girl turned ONE!



Um....anyone who is actively writing a novel want to beta for me?  I'll do the same for you!  Puh-leeese?

Here are the stats.  For 17 days (oy):

Words written: 6000-ish
Pages edited: 45-ish
Total Words: 76020
Obsessed with: Matzah, butter, and honey.  Go try it, right now.  Now.
Listening to:  "Hesitate" by Steve Moakler.

2189 Words in 6 Days and a Beautiful Disaster

I have reached my word count goal.

The only problem?  The story's not finished.  (Seriously?  How?)

It is a disaster, but it is mine, and it is so beautiful.  The unfinished parts are kind of important and scattered, unfortunately, throughout the story.  I have to tie up maybe one of the most important conflict lines without making it feel rushed.  I have to do that while still leaving plenty of room for the next book in the series to latch on.  I have to decide whether, where and how my MC and the boy she loves are going to Do It, and whether there will be fallout, and what that will be, and whether that will ruin the next book, or whether I'll just keep that for the next book where it probably really belongs.  (I don't think they will Do It, by the way, although at the outset I did and I kindasorta wrote the scene.)

And I'm still adding new twists!  And heartbreaking scenes!  And great details!  Oh, I'm so in love.

The new goal is 84,000 words in the first draft, which works out to 14 chapters of 6,000 words.  Obviously, I'll keep you posted. 

Here are the stats.

Total words: 70682
Listening To: "Confidence" by Teddy Geiger (EMO!!!)
Obsessed with:  Harry Potter 7.1 on DVD next week Omigod!!!!!!

3000-ish words in 4 days and the Bittersweet Not-Quite-End

For some reason, this week has been an incredible blur, and I have collapsed, fast asleep, with my computer more than once.  I could tell you the reason, but it would bore you.  Really!

When I started this little fun project, I set a goal of 70,000 words for a first draft.  That is in clear sight, but I am nowhere NEAR finished.  So, it's exciting, but not.

Words written since Sunday: 2940
Total Words: 68493
Listening To: The Benjy Davis Project
Obsessed with: Harry Potter

It Takes a Village to Write a Novel

This morning was as crazy a Shabbat morning as they come.  By 7:15 AM I had retrieved all the children from their beds and schlepped them back to the Big Bed, changed three diapers andthree little bottoms were clamoring for the same space in the crook of my arm.  At 7:30 my phone chirped that it had a text message for me.  I rolled my eyes and wondered who was trying to communicate with me at this ungodly hour.  A few minutes later, the ringtone reserved for my sister answered the question. 
"Good morning, Auntie Al," I slurred, ducking away from a chocolate donut the baby was trying to shove into my mouth. 
"I have a massage appointment today, but I'd rather sit home and cuddle with the dog.  And I have to go to Wal-Mart.  You can take it if you want." 
"Let me think about it," I said, watching the melee unfold before me. 
Two hours later, I had to start getting dressed if I was going to make it to the appointment.  "Should I go?"
"Yeah, hon, go."  My husband's face was calm amidst a storm of flying toys and screaming children that would unsettle most adults.  I raised an eyebrow at him.   "No, seriously, go.  I'm fine." 

An hour later, I was undressed and sandwhiched between two giant electric blankets on a massage table.  Renee told me she was going to do a lot of stretching and deep-tissue massage, and instructed me to let her know if she was massaging too hard.
"I don't think that'll be a problem." I informed her. "Just...could you dim the lights?  And do you mind if I listen to this audiobook?"
I spent the next hour being blissfully man(woman?)handled and listening to Shiver in the warm darkness.  It is hard to say who I love most today: my sister, my husband, Maggie, or Renee.  They all conspired to make me relax and they WON.

I spent the rest of the day ducking flying toys and random foodstuffs and  the serving as the choicest seat in the house once again.  After the massage, though, I had a much better attitude about it all.  I even managed to tap out something substantial while juggling the little gremlins sweeties. (See?)

Words Written Today: 678
Total Words: 65,553
Listening to: "Change" by Taylor Swift
Obsessed with: Fruit candied popcorn from the mall.  The green ones.

Getting Back in the Game - Did You Know Moving is Hard?

Hello, friends.  (Is anyone out there?  Doesn't matter. :))

I half-moved two weeks ago.  From Kansas to Ohio (yay!) but still an hour west of my final destination while we wait for our house to open up.   So we're staying with my parents (sort of boo!) for the meantime.  My husband is staying in our city of destination (BOO!) which means I am even more completely responsible for the three rugrats than I normally am.  I've also been trying to scout out some gainful employment in our new-old town, and that's been taking up a lot of time and even more psychic energy.

I'm sorry to say that I have failed the Project 365 for writing, but only for a couple of days.  For my own sake, I'm going to pretend that they didn't happen.  I'm exhaustedly typing a few words here and there on my phone, and that's fine.

Today I wrote 79 words.  And that's kind of a lot these days.

The next few weeks are looking clearer (knock wood) and I'm hoping to get back to this on a daily basis.  If you're still out there, thanks for reading.

2770 Words in 2 Days, and Avoidance

We are moving this week.  Movers are coming to our house on Wednesday, and they will pack all our things and put them in boxes and drive them somewhere where they will sit on a truck until May when our house is available.  We will pack all the stuff we need until then, our three children, and ourselves, into a car and drive from Kansas to Ohio.

To say the least, I have a lot to do.  So, naturally, I spent today writing almost 2000 words.  And playing around on wordle.net.

Words Written: 2770
total Words: 61,919
Listening to: "Change" by Taylor Swift
Obsessed with: My local library and its audiobook selection.  Incredible

Writing Scenes for the next in the Series

Oh, yeah.  I'm still here.  I've still been writing every day, though I won't lie - sometimes it was a pretty sketchy sentence via Evernote on my phone . I kid you not, one day it was three words.

We are moving house a week from today.  We found out my husband got a job offer in Ohio, back home, so we're going.  Things are insane.  I am beyond exhausted.  We are so excited.

In trying to flesh out these characters, I'm thinking more and more about their growth curve, and what their next steps will be.  I've written a pretty powerful scene, full of indecision mixed in with contentment mixed in with fear, but I'm pretty sure it belongs in the next book in the series. 

I know, I need to finish the first draft of the first book first.  Then edit it, tear it apart, turn it inside out, give it to twelve beta readers, then edit it five more times before I even think about showing it to anyone else.  But what could I say?  I couldn't help it, so it's tucked safely away for book #2.  If that ever comes.

Total Words: 59573
Obsessed with: Chipotle.  Yes, again.