Friday Obsessions: WriteOnCon, Sara Bareilles, and Fish Tacos

Everything I was obsessed with this week. 
Because I know you want to know.


First up - Writeoncon. It is a full-on, no holds barred, completely epic annual online conference. It's absolutely free, and it has forums for writers to give each other feedback on their queries, synopses, etc. Perhaps even more awesome, this year they've started a Secret Ninja Agent program, where several of the best agents in the industry sneak around the forums, giving advice and - wait for it - MAKING REQUESTS.


Uh, yeah. This Conference has been incredible.  Here is a dissection of how I see the YA forum front page, which should explain my complete and total obsession with WriteOnCon this week.




Next on the dockett: "Gravity" by Sarah Bareilles. This is a gut-wrenching, beautiful song, that just happens to describe pretty much the entire emotional conflict of my WiP. (Except, in my WiP, the "gravity" and the "keeping me down" is a good thing. I swear. You'll get it, if it ever gets published.)

*Sigh* Sarah Bareilles is too awesome.

Third - FREAKING FISH TACOS. I don't think this one needs any embellishment.


Fourth - My WiP! (This may be getting annoying, I know, which is why I always put it last.) What kind of a writer (ahem) would I be if I  wasn't head over heels for my WiP at barely 20K in? Hmmm?

Some lines, because your weekly alpha reading feedback makes my weekend brighter.

Mom told me I either need to stop hating myself or stop hating everyone else. “Preferably both,” she’d said in that condescending tone that makes me feel like I’m Michael and Max’s age, not a sophomore in high school. 


That was two years ago, and it didn’t work, because I hate everyone just as much and myself even more, probably. And her a little more too.

(Huge thanks to Gina and Heidi, who have each been good sports and alpha read, like THE central scene, all seven pages, from the rising action part of the WiP. You ladies rule.)

So, what were you obsessed with this week?

Author Crush - Elana Johnson

Have you read Elana Johnson's POSSESSION?

If "yes" - Congratulations. You're in the "I've Read One of the Best Books Ever and I Know It" club.
If "no" - Seriously!??! Go read it. Now. Maybe take the day off work or get a babysitter to watch your kids. It would be worth it.



Here's the short summary from Goodreads:

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself. 

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn. This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

Got it? Good.

So, Ms. Johnson is an incredible writer in pretty much every area (which I hear you have to be, you know, if you want to be published.)

Examples? You know I've got 'em.


Her world building is intriguing and spot on:


Good girls don't walk with boys. Even if they're good boys - and Zenn is the best. He strolled next to me, all military with his hands clasped behind his back, wearing the black uniform of a Forces recruit. The green stripes on his shirtsleeves flashed with silver tech lights, probably recording everything. Probably? Who am I kidding? Those damn stripes were definitely recording everything.

Walking through the park in the evening is not technically against the rules Good people do it all the time. But walking through the park with a boy could get me in trouble.

She can deliver Big Messages in the midst of action and it doesn't feel weird or condescending at all:
"It's just a control tactic, Vi, to make you believe one thing over another."

I knew that, I did. But a lifetime of labels is hard to overcome. Maybe I just needed a new label, one that was neither good nor bad.


Her characters leap off the page:

Jag followed me, his breathing ragged. When I glanced at him, he was glowing. There I was, terrified, making stuff up on the fly, and this guy acted like he was on vacation.

The romance! Oh, the romance:

"You do smell like a guy, Jag whispered, his voice soft in my ear. His breath trickled down my spine. His fingers filled the spaces between mine perfectly.
"Shut up," I managed to say, but my voice sounded breathless. Surely he noticed the effect he had on me. I wasn't that good at hiding it. We'd only been living in the microscopic cell together for two days, but I felt a connection with Jag somewhere inside - somewhere I hadn't known existed until I met him.


But there's one thing in particular I'll never forget about POSSESSION. The Voice. Oh, my goodness, the Voice:


"Goodies are walking paper dolls, devoid of personality - and brains.
Yeah, that doesn't work for me. I don't want to be a paper doll."

(Ahhhhh.)

So, In the Pantheon of Prose, I'm dubbing Ms. Johnson the Goddess of Voice.

This book is written in first person by a particularly badassed main character. By the time you're done reading this story through her eyes? I'm giving you about a 75% chance of sauntering around for the day, imagining what you would say to your whining children or boss if they were Thinkers, talking to you like that.

You might also start half your sentences with, "Yeah...." (just like Vi does.) But it'll only last for a couple of weeks, tops, and besides, it's worth it.

But you think my author crush ends with the book? No way. A good book is super-important, but someone only crosses into author crush territory if she is a super-extra-classy human being.  And Ms. Johnson? Well, she's among the best.

Her dedication to the writing community is so deep and intense that she's devoted hours of personal time to helping all of us on that fraught road from "I've always wanted to write a book" to "Holy schniekies, I have to edit it? and revise it?" to "Wait, agents aren't going to be clawing at my door to read this?" to "It might not sell?"

So, when us lowly unpubs panic, Ms. Johnson is right there.

First of all, she's written and released - 100% FREE - her amazing e-book, FROM THE QUERY TO THE CALL, that holds your hand and walks, you, step by step, through the incredibly nerve-wracking process of putting your novel-baby out there in the world of agents and saying, "Read this? Love it? Please?" without looking like a total idiot.

This book is the one and only reason that I can officially call THE TRAVELERS "ready to query." If I want, I can send out a 100% polished query, synopsis, and full or partial manuscript with a professionally worded email without panicking, stressing, or going into a fetal position.

Go download it. Now. I'll wait.

She also has a blog with even more tips on writing, querying, and everything about the publishing world.

Second, and most mind-blowing amazingly, Ms. Johnson is one of the founders of WriteOnCon, an intense, jam-packed, infinitely useful and inspirational annual online writing conference that is - wait for it - 100% FREE.

Hundreds of other authors wait in the forums to help you with your query, pitch, synopsis, writing, all of it. It's the hub of the online writing community for four days every summer, and it's so supportive and amazing.

As if that weren't enough, WriteonCon also has (description from Ms. Johnson herself) :
Literary agents! Editors! [Published] Authors! Live chats and events. AND a Ninja Agent program where your query could earn the feedback from an anonymous pro!
(No, I'm not stalking the ninja agents. Not at all.)


Well, I think that about wraps it up. If you don't have an author crush on Elana Johnson now, too, then you haven't been paying attention.


 So, who else is in the club? Loved POSSESSION? Love Ms. Johnson just as much? Tell me all about it.

The Disastrous Kiss

I love a book with just enough romance - give me a great fantasy, dystopian, or sci-fi with a driving romantic subplot and I am yours forever.

Of course, that's the kind of book I want to write. I'm not sure if I succeeded, (I mean, I think I did, but who am I to say?) but I wanted romance to be just enough of THE TRAVELERS to make hearts melt, but not so much that it was the whole story.

As I was reading ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis, and I had a lightbulb moment - one of the most awesome devices in a romantic subplot is something I'm calling "The  Disastrous Kiss."

Everyone loves a good near miss, but there are only so many times an author can pull that sucker before I start rolling my eyes and either flipping to the end of the book or wanting to throw it across the room. Probably the latter.

 Because, here's the thing. You know that character 1 and character 2 are Meant to Be Together, you know they're going to hook up eventually, so how many near misses can you use as conflict to draw out the tension? Not that many.

But The Disastrous Kiss? That's pure gold. There's just something incredibly heartwrenching and exhilarating about it, because you know in your heart of hearts that these two are Supposed to Be Together, yet the disastrous kiss is so horrifically AWFUL that you really don't see how they're going to overcome this most romantic of obstacles.

I really can't explain it any further than that without showing you an examples, which you may consider spoilery. So, warning - a pretty disastrous excerpt from ACROSS THE UNIVERSE after the pic. (It's in bold, so you can scroll through it to the rest of the post if you want.)

This kiss still could end in disaster.*

From ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis: 

And then - I'm not sure how it happens - but she takes a step closer and I take a step closer, and then we're both just entirely too close. 
And there is nothing between us but rain.
Then there is nothing between us at all.
My lips melt into hers. A drop of rainwater slips around the edge of my mouth, and then her lips part, and so do mine. The raindrop falls on my tongue, and then it's lost on hers. 
My body is drenched; I should be cold. But the warmth of her fills me.
My arms snake around her body, pulling her hard against me. I want to crush her into me.
I never want this to end.
And then -
-She's pulling away.
She's stepping back.
Her fingers are on her swollen lips.
Her eyes are wide and sparkling.
Raindrops drip down her cheeks, but it's not rain, and for the first time, I taste salt on my tongue.
"It's always in the rain," she murmurs. "With Jason, too."
And whoever this Jason is, I want to kill him.
"I'm sorry, she says, taking another step back. "I never meant to - 
And no, no, it's not supposed to be like this.




See how that just - ?  Oh my - excuse me - I'm a little breathless from my heart being torn out and thrown on the floor.


There's not really a Disastrous Kiss in THE TRAVELERS. (There's kind of a sad one, but it's not a disaster by any means.) But I learned my lesson. If I can throw a disastrous kiss into ONE anywhere, at all, I've gotta do it.

So...yeah. I already wrote one for ONE. And even though it's one of my darlings, it has to stay in that MS in some form or another. Critique Partners, you've been warned. I'm holding on to this baby with an iron grip.

What's your favorite Disastrous Kiss? Do you have one in your MS?


*Photo credit: www.atomicmonsters.com*

Friday Obsessions: Hourglass, Polyphonic Spree, and Caitlin Thomas

Friday Obsessions: Everything I was obsessed with this week. Because I know you want to know.


1. Oh my holy heck you guys, I am completely and insanely jealous of OBSESSED WITH Hourglass by Myra McEntire.


 I need to do an author crush post all about it, but for now let's just say: kickass heroine + sexy boy + time travel + risking everything to save something/someone/the world as we know it = I am in raptures. No kidding.





What? You need some lines from the book to convince you? Well, I've got 'em.


"Now Michael sat across from me, as normal as next Tuesday, claiming he was like me."


(Omigosh this mc is so cute.)


"I felt great. The sass was back. It's amazing what flipping a grown man over her shoulder does for a girl."


(Oh! And kickass.)


"I left my bunny slippers on. Just to be cheeky."


(And cheeky. What's not to love?)


2. The Polyphonic Spree's "Light and Day." #2 on the Soundtrack for my new WiP!





Just an incredible, exhilarating song. Perfect for when my MC finally hits her stride.


3. This girl. And her beautiful drums. Caitlin Thomas is a seriously amazing drummer, who is also a girl and also teeny tiny and also SMOKING HOT. (Just like the main character in my WiP *ahem.*) Both me and my kids are obsessed with watching Caitlin drum this week. (Especially my daughter. Go, girl. I will buy you drums as soon as you can hold the sticks.)







4. My new WiP, naturally. I hit 13K this week. Here's another bit, from the scene where two of my MCs meet:


Then he draws two stick figures sitting closer to each other than any of the other ones, one tall and one much smaller. He labels one “Elias” and the other “Girl Who Won’t Talk to Me or Tell Me Her Name.” Then underneath it, he writes, (pretty blue eyes.)


(Raise your hand if you love Elias!)


What are you obsessed with this week?

Drafting from Conversations: Guest Post at Cristina DosSantos' "Once Upon a Time!"

Well, hot diggety dog! (Yeah, I just re-coined that phrase. Make a note of it. It might be the biggest thing I'm ever known for.) I'm guest posting over at Christina DosSantos' beautiful, inspirational blog today.

In the post, I'm talking about one of my most tried-and-true methods for drafting - building scenes around conversations. The scene I share is actually from the sequel to THE TRAVELERS, ACCESSION, which has since been backburnered. But for all of you who have read TT, you'll enjoy reading the resulting scene.

Here's the first bit of the post:

I just finished my first manuscript, THE TRAVELERS, and now I've imprisoned it in my hard drive until October, when I'll take it out and look at it one last time before parolequerying.

I started writing it as a Project 365 on January 1st, never really thinking it would amount to much besides providing me with a slice of sanity during naptime. A few weeks later, I was too in love with the characters and their story to quit until it was finished.

That is all one long horribly-argued excuse for "I pantsed this sucker." *Hangs head in shame.*


Hop on over and show me some love, copious (or five) followers!

Books and the Courage to Keep Writing

Hi there! If you happen to be Mr. Michael Bourret, agent extraordinaire, please click over here to read all about how your incredible client, Brodi Ashton, gave the unflappable Gina (and me, too!) full-on permission to 'stalk' you. I promise, Gina and her manuscript are worth your while.


(Sunday) I've just spent the morning at the zoo with my children. It was so hot, my head is left with a fuzzy, thick feeling. The sinus cold my baby just gave me probably isn't helping. 

The house is cluttered, the children aren't wearing pants, and there are crumbs ground into the carpet. I just vaccuumed yesterday. (Didn't I?)

I am exhausted. (Who isn't?)

I need to write. There are other things I need to be doing. But I need to write.

Needs: 1. Air Conditioning 2. Coffee 3. Other people who revere words strung into stories.


I'm going to the bookstore.

I don't believe that paper books are better than digital. I don't care about the smell of their pages or the feel of their weight or the crack of their spine. 

Except when I do.

People live in these books. The people who wrote them and the characters they wrote. People who abandoned the housework and fought oppression and kept their eyes open despite exhaustion and poured their entire beings into their work and did magic and saved the world, and maybe saved themselves as well.

Which is author and which is story? 

(Does it matter?)

When I look down the rows the evidence lines up, spine strong against spine, an army of authors telling me that I shouldn't give up. 

"Look at us," the books say. 

"Just look. We had day jobs and housework and exhaustion and heartache and we did it. We still found a way to pour our hearts and souls into words, to breathe life into characters and stories that never existed before, and to defy the odds to get them printed on this paper."

I sit with that for a moment, considering them, countering that they were better writers and more determined people. And then they whisper, "What makes you think you have the right to stop trying?"

And then I turn to my keyboard and start to write.

How Critiquing Has Transformed Me as a Writer

Hi there! If you happen to be Mr. Michael Bourret, agent extraordinaire, please click over here to read all about how your incredible client, Brodi Ashton, gave the unflappable Gina (and me, too!) full-on permission to 'stalk' you. I promise, Gina and her manuscript are worth your while.


 When it was time for betas to look at my work, I have to admit, I felt a little stressed. See, betas, or critique partners, typically trade work. That means each of them spends and hours  (well, good ones, anyway)  reading and brainstorming and nitpicking and scrutinizing work that isn't theirs.

So, on top of the rearranging and compromising and ignoring the housework I ALREADY do in order to write my own darn book, I have to somehow squeeze out *more* time for critiquing someone else's book? In the case of Gina's book, it turned out to be a few hours a week, no small potatoes when you have a day job. Normal critiques - like the one she had to slog through with THE TRAVELERS - probably took much more time.

My husband asked me why me and critique partners were willing to put hours and hours worth of computer time, and agonizing, and franticallly emailing and rewriting and REreading (Gina has read so many versions of the same three things, it makes me crazy for her. In a few ways.) on a book that isn't ours.

I shrugged and said, "That's what we do."
An awesome critique pair is just two people who really understand that writing, and writing good stories well, is essential to the soul. Each wants their work to be torn apart by someone else so that we can build it up to be better.

It took me awhile, though, to realize that while Gina was definitely making me a better writer, but that critiquing Gina's stuff was also doing SO much for improving my subsequent revisions and, ultimately, my new WIP.

Critiquing someone else's work:

• Helped me learn how to plot and pace. With fresh eyes on a new story, one that didn't already exist, perfect, in my own head, I was really able to analyze what happened, when, and how quickly, and recognize when one of my own darlings was slowing down the plot in my own book too much, or just not serving a purpose.
• Got me to fall in love with characters in a different way.  Of course, I didn't write Gina's characters, but I was working so hard to make sure their story was told in the best way possible that I wanted their characterization to be solid. Everything from the way they moved and smiled to the words that came out of their mouths had to fit my ideal vision of them, and taught me to be mindful of whether my characters were doing the same.
• Taught me to look for things like rhythm, sound, feel, and VOICE . Again, since I didn't already have Gina's book in my head, I read a lot of stuff out loud to see how it sounded, how it flowed. Soon after, guess what? I started doing it on my own stuff, now even as I'm drafting.
• Gave me an absolutely ruthless eagle eye for: passive voice, repetitive sentence structure and word choice, purple prose, unclear phrasing, run-on sentences, etc. Not because Gina uses very much of that at ALL, but because it was partly my job to eradicate it, as she so kindly did so many dozens of times for me. Ahem. I mean, hundreds. (Oh, God, sorry Gina.) 
• Showed me that criticism does not equal doom, and in fact, if you have a good CP, it is a gateway to being held up and cheered on. For example: That time Gina made me rewrite and then re-rewrite that scene? Check out the email she sent me when I finally nailed it:

(Yeah, I framed that sucker in scrapbook paper and hung it above my desk)

Last, but most importantly, critiquing made me a cheerleader for another soul who's trying so, so hard to make it in a really tough industry. When you've been through so many ups and downs connected to something so close to your heart, and you know your crit partner truly loves your book (even if she doesn't love Davis) and believes it it almost as much as you do, there's a strange sort of friendship that forms. You know she'll read your query letter twenty times, or cheer you on in contests that she's entered too, or answer the same neurotic email, with slightly different wording, over and over again. It's a friendship that knows that the best gift ever is a book by a real live person who struggled as much as you are now, and a handwritten note of encouragement for your inspiration wall.

(Yes, Gina did write on the inside of the card, but I'm going to hold off on showing you that till we're both published. You're going to die. And then I'll auction it off for charity, because I'm awesome like that.)
(Hey, a girl can dream, right?)

And that? Is worth every. single. hour.

Photo Credit: Mike Stimpson 2010 via Creative Commons License. Thanks, Mike!

Friday Obsessions: Ever After, The Givers, and NEW WIP!!!

Hi there! If you happen to be Mr. Michael Bourret, agent extraordinaire, please click over here to read all about how your incredible client, Brodi Ashton, gave the unflappable Gina (and me, too!) full-on permission to 'stalk' you. So, if you're so inclined, click over. I promise, Gina and her manuscript are worth your while.


Wheee! It's time for Friday Obsessions: Everything (or the three most important things) I was obsessed with this week.


Obsession #1: 
The "Ever After" Promo for ABC's fall lineup. 
Two main reasons: Ginnifer Goodwin, (duh) and Prince Charming = D-R-E-A-M-Y. In that order.





Obsession #2: The Givers', "In Light."  No matter how bad my mood, these guys get me up and dancing. And I DO NOT dance.  (Also "Saw You First," track 4, is on my personal soundtrack for THE TRAVELERS.)





Obsession #3: MY NEW WIP!!!!! (Tentatively titled "ONE")


5 K in and I'm head over heels. Here are two sentences. (You know, because I love you, and your cheerleading gets me through the week.)


But my body whispers to me. It tells me I can fly, if only I am brave enough.


What are you obsessed with this week?

Contests Contests Everywhere!

Hi there! If you happen to be Mr. Michael Bourret, agent extraordinaire, please click over here to read all about how your incredible client, Brodi Ashton, gave the unflappable Gina (and me, too!) full-on permission to 'stalk' you. So, if you're so inclined, click over. I promise, Gina and her manuscript are worth your while.

Hello, friends! I'm so excited to announce even MORE contests going on in the writing/publishing/awesome community!

Contests are a great way to get feedback from other authors on your writing and querying pieces, and usually to get the feedback from REAL LIVE AGENTS as well!

Do you have a stellar synopsis? Think you can condense it to three sentences? Then here's your chance to pitch charismatic agent/author John Cusick over at YATopia.

Are you really in love with your first 500 words? Think an agent would fall in love with them too? Run over to Rachel's incredible blog, Blackbird in My Window, for instructions on how to get the chance to submit them to agent Lauren Ruth.

Happy Contesting!

Free Fallin'

I guess I always knew it, deep down.

Between listening to Brodi's Interview and reading Beth's post yesterday, it really hit home.

The Travelers is probably not going to make it to publication. 

This is not self-deprecating - I now know that first novels are an exercise in pouring a story out from beginning to end, on falling in love with characters and  writing and rewriting until they read on paper just like they look in our heads.

CC Nathan Rupert

But most of all, for me at least, it's proving to be an exercise in letting go.
Hearing those ladies' voices yesterday allowed me to finally close The Travelers file on my computer, and to delete the 17 (yes, seventeen) drafts from my Kindle.
That is, until an agent asks for revisions, (see how I just slipped in that cheery little bit of positive thinking?), because we all know how I love the Revision Rush.
I'm not giving up on The Travelers - not by a longshot. I'm still going to query it, because I believe in the story and the characters and I think that the writing is solid. I do. 
(Please let some agent somewhere love Nik and Davis as much as I do and give them a chance.)

But. I am, slowly but surely, realizing - that novel does not define me as a writer. This is not a one-shot deal. That first novel was training wheels, and it did a really awesome job. It might get rewarded for its work with its own hardcover binding one day. Or it may not. And that's okay.

Now, here's my real problem: I don't know what to do next. 
I'm dying - DYING to write.  Here are my options:

1. Sequel to The Travelers. I already have a basic plot outlined and a bunch of scenes (10 K worth) written, just because I can't get the story/characters out of my head.

2. Shiny New Idea #1 - A murder mystery with light paranormal overtones (that is not vampires, werewolves, faeries, shape shifters, zombies, angels, demons, or anything like that.)

3. Shiny New Idea #2 - A kickass, tech-y dystopian (I know, dystopian is over) that is a retelling of an old-school legend. (think Tristan and Isolde. But it's NOT Tristan and Isolde.)

4. Shiny New Idea #3 - A story about misfit superhero kids, but not like x-Men at all - actually, the opposite. Kind of. I promise, it's not tired.

I feel like I'm free-falling, and I'm a little panicked about it, to be honest. I've been spending time every day with the same beloved characters for EIGHT MONTHS. I miss them, and I need new ones. Or old ones. If I'm being honest, I'm still obsessing over the sequel to The Travelers, but I know writing sequels is a stupid idea before you even have an agent (ahem.)

So, not that I'm going to depend on it, but just for fun - if you were me, what would you do? I need to feel driven, I need to throw myself into something new. Which would you pick?



Photo credit Colin Wu under Creative Commons License, copyright 2010

The Split Personality of a Writer

Brodi Ashton, my new best friend* author crush recently gave an interview over on the Appendix Podcast about persistence.

She queried over one hundred - ONE HUNDRED - agents before she found the One, who sold her debut novel, EVERNEATH, in two days - TWO DAYS. Totally inspirational.

In it, she and the hosts talked about how, more often than not, an author's first novel is "the throwaway" - destined to never be published. (OhpleaseGodno.) It's our training wheels. But we can't write it that way. (I know I didn't.)

Here's the thing, she said: Writers are creatures that are completely narcissistic and completely self-loathing. We're supposed to hate our novels, and boy, do we ever. We tear them apart, replace the parts we don't like with ones that we think might be better, but probably aren't, then do it all over again. Then we ask perfect strangers to tear them apart again.  We kill characters and slash chapters and bury the whole darn manuscript in a drawer for months.

I know, personally, that about 90% of the time I sat down to write, I thought to myself. "This is silly. This will never amount to anything. This isn't what I went to school for. People will laugh at me." 

But I did it anyway.

Because when we think of the characters, and the story, we are completely in love. It is, after all, the reason we started writing about them in the first place, and sacrificing time with friends and family, the cleanliness of our house, and maybe even personal hygiene (No, I wouldn't know about that firsthand. Not exactly.) The story calls to us from the drawer, or the hard drive, or wherever, and reminds us why we loved it in the first place.

That spark of love buried beneath the hatred and the hard work and exhaustion and resentment of the training wheels is what allows us to dream, and eventually, forces us to write queries and synopses that tell agents all about how wonderful the book is, how wonderful WE are. We can be narcissistic, because at the end of the day, isn't it that little whisper of belief in ourselves that got us to pour so much hard work into it in the first place?

It is terrifying.

I don't think becoming a writer (see how I just snuck that in there? Calling myself  'a writer'?  That right there deserves a round of applause...) changed my personality. I think that I've always had this split, and even though it can make for some very tough days, it makes for some really wonderful ones, too. The day that a CP points out eight inconsistencies in one paragraph can be rough, sure - but when someone says they really like the premise of your book? Or that you've nailed the query? Or that they're excited to read more? Those days make it all worth it.

Gina, my incredible, patient, saintly first critique partner, started on this whole journey over a year ago. Yesterday, the self-confident part of her writerly self WON, and she clicked "send" on a first round of queries to agents.
Luckily for Gina, she's written a solid, sweet, heartwrenching book that, in my opinion, is flawless. I have a feeling that today is going to be the start of some Really. Good. Days. ahead for her, but I know her head is kind of spinning right now. So run on over and give her some virtual hugs and cheerleading, would you?

*In all seriousness, the protagonist of Brodi's debut is called "Nik," just like my MC. As far as I'm concerned that makes us (blogosphere) besties. EVERNEATH releases on January 3rd, and I'm dying to read it!

Sunday Confessions...

...just because I have some.

1. The "X" key on my desktop's keyboard hasn't been working for the last month. Every email I've sent to Gina, or anyone else, for that matter, has featured creative words like "eample" and "ecited." Also, Gina's MC is "A." Ooops. Sorry, anyone affected.

2. I thought I found my dream agent not once, but twice today. Subsequently, within five minutes of further research, realized that said agents have about a 2% chance of agreeing to represent me.

I am SO not ready for this (insanely insane process of querying.)  Looks like I'm going to be living in Excel for the next several weeks, making my A, B, and C lists, till my MS is allowed out of the hard drive.

(At least my MS is ready, I've decided. The query's not doing too badly for itself over at Krista's contest...if you feel like taking a look. If you do, make sure to tell Krista how much SHE RULES.)

Friday Obsessions

Everything I was obsessed with this week. 
(I'm trying out an easy Friday meme, let's see if we like it.)

First! Beth Revis, her writing-advice prowess, and most especially her breathtaking book.


Second! The song of the same name, sung by Fiona Apple, blasted at full volume, while driving on the highway (but really it's good anywhere.)

Third! (I'm not going to clutter this one with words)


(I need my smelling salts. Stat.)
(Guess which team I'm on. Wait, everyone already knows.)

Have an awesome weekend, everyone!

Neither Can Live While the Other Survives (Crit Diaries)

(Just in case you needed any clarification, I'm Voldemort.)

I'm talking about me and the first page of the THE TRAVELERS, of course.

The fabulous Krista is hosting "An Agent's Inbox" contest, where a Mystery Agent checks out queries and first pages from 25 projects and shares her thoughts, along with other entrants. It's an incredible opportunity, and having a completed MS, I thought I'd jump on board.

The advice I've gotten in  the comments is super-helpful, even (especially?) the parts that are discouraging.

The most discouraging thing? No one loves the opening. And it was one of my darlings.

Now, I know what some of you will say. "It's your story! Only you know how it has to be told!" But the thing is?
1. I agree that the opening isn't as grabbing as it could be and
2. A book with a first page no one likes won't sell. It just won't. Not to an agent, and definitely not to a publisher.

Yeah, it's good enough. It conveys emotion, and I think it says what it needs to say. It's good enough. But in writing,  "good enough" is just not going to cut it. We all know it, in our gut.  I'd rather face it down than let it sit there, festering in its stinking, slimy pile of good-enoughness.

My poor, poor opening page. I've written it about 30 times over. It's tired and scuzzy and almost defeated.
But I don't care, because it is trying to kill me.
And, unlike Harry Potter? It won't win.

Author Crush - Kristin Cashore

Three years ago, before the second love of my life (the Kindle, duh) was on the scene, I went to Barnes and Noble looking to buy a copy of A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. I found the "B" section, but instead of finding the book I came for, all I found was an empty space of cold coppery metal bookshelf.

I am so so happy that "Cashore" is so alphabetically close to "Bray," because this book was in the spot next to it.


I normally don't love fantasy. I can't be bothered to break my head learning new places, species, languages, kingdoms, social stratifications, blah blah blah. But the premise of this book was interesting enough - a world where some people are born with a Grace, which is kind of like a superpower, and Katsa, a girl who fights for the right to use hers for good and not evil - for me to bring it home with me.

I am so. glad. I did.

You guys, in the YA Author's Pantheon, Kristin Cashore gets ultimate storyweaving goddess status.  She weaves worldbuilding elements, characters, plot points, and emotional hooks together with her sweeping narrative voice so seamlessly, that before you know it three hours have passed, you're moving to one of the Seven Kingdoms tomorrow, you're reasonably sure you're Katsa's best friend and/or that she would kill you if you crossed her, but you would jeopardize it all to jump on her handsome Prince friend, and most of all?

You feel like you've just left a freaking five star story spa. 
I'm not even exaggerating. You feel relaxed and content and blissful and AWASH in the awesome, awesome story. Kristin's writing is like a cashmere blanket made out of letters and words; rich, luxurious, and one of the best things to wrap yourself up in.

Yeah. I know.

And that's just her books.

Kristin is one extra-classy authoress.

She is absolutely effervescent, though she is not hyper or even perky, really. Her love for writing and for her characters radiates off of her, whether on her blog or in person (which you would know if you had a serious author crush on her and plugged her name into YouTube.) Watch this video of her detailing her writing process for an audience of admirers.

Yeah, you heard her right. She writes all her stories longhand. IN A NOTEBOOK. Don't you just want to (buy yourself a notebook and some pens and) hang out in a coffeeshop with her and write magical stories with strong heroines and hunky Princes? 


As if all that wasn't enough, she is such an awesome cheerleader for other writers. She wrote some beautiful words about writing, fear, and letting go here, and her NaNoWriMo Pep Talk from a couple of years ago is truly inspirational. 


Her next book, Bitterblue, is being released soon. They haven't announced a date, but Kristin posted some photos of the manuscript (Yes! It's paper! Full of Post-It notes!) on her blog the other day, and I totally freaked out. In a good way, you know.


That makes it official! I have a ginormous author crush on Kristin Cashore.


Have you read Graceling and Fire? Are you as obsessed as I am?

Delighted to be Devastated (Crit Diaries)

cc Phil Gilbert

PSA: I seriously THANK GOD for the day that Gina agreed to read my atrocious first draft. She has been my biggest cheerleader on this project, and if I ever make it to publication some day, she'll be a huge part of the reason. She's not mean, beastly or monstrous - she gave me just the critique I needed. And she rules. Okay, on with the show.

My post from yesterday about my unflappable crit partner, Gina, garnered a couple of concerned comments. "Don't change your story just to please people."

I'm here to assure you - I didn't. Example? Sure.

There's one particularly evil character in my first (I know, never-gonna-be-published, blah blah) novel.
Gina said she wasn't buying it. That character isn't evil. Not in the least.
I could have made the character nice, which would have made Gina happy.
But that's not the story I want to tell.  I just knew - KNEW - this character was going to have to be pretty nasty. Be redeemable in the next book, (ha!) maybe, and even a little bit in this one - but NASTY. It was going to be key in a couple of other character's developmental arcs, and I just couldn't sacrifice it.
So I talked with Gina about it (clarification - I have never actually talked to Gina.) and she helped me figure out how to make this character a little more contemptible (G is still not happy with this whole aspect of the story, btw, and for now I don't care.) 


This is crit that helps. This is crit that makes us grow. It is collaborative, it listens, it discusses, it challenges.
It is two-way. TWO WAY.
When Gina brought up a problem with my story, it was because she was invested in it, invested in me. She wants to read it, and she wants other people to read it, the way I see it. She wants the story to be its best.
Writers, would you have it any other way?

My author crush Beth Revis wrote an incredible post on this today, complete with a diagram, for those of you who like that sort of thing (I do.) I'm printing it out and tacking it on my wall.

It's not just true of writing, you guys. It's true of life. Criticism stings. We've all gotten it, in nice ways, in not-so-nice ways, in ways that make us cry but end up being good for us. (Oh, hey, High Holidays sermon.)
But if we hear it right, if we respond to it right, if we use it as a challenge, it make us grow. And isn't that an incredible thing?


(Now, do me a favor and go shine some light into Gina's Revisions Cave.)

A Great Crit Partner Will (Crit Diaries)

A great crit partner is the cross between your best friend, a perfect grammarian, someone you've never met, a wonderful writer, and your biggest fan.

Assuming she is the perfect balance of all these things, she will:

• Tell you when your main character is being dense.
• Tell you when your romantic hero is acting like a douchebag.
• Remind you that, though the action you've written seems like fun, it is only possible in Mary Poppins. Or the Matrix.
• Tell you when your romantic hero is acting like an old man.
• Correct your dialogue tag punctuation. Again. And again and again and again. And...oh! One more time.
• Scold you when your main character is being denser.
• Tell you when your romantic hero is creepy, creepy, EW, CREEPY, Leigh Ann!
• Scream at you when your main character is THE DENSEST GIRL THAT EVER LIVED.
• Fire up the cheese-o-meter and tell you when no couple, no matter how much in love they are, would ever say that to each other.
• Remind you about birth control. Not yours, your character's. (Or maybe yours too.)
• Tell you that if your characters are going to talk that way and/or use that language, you might as well be writing GA (geriatric adult) fiction.
• Endure (and sweetly respond to) dozens of insipid emails from you with titles like, "Let's talk about kissing"
• Give you permission, and even encouragement, to write more kissing scenes.
• Add up the number of days that have passed in your story.  Remind you that 10 days does not equal 1 week.
• Read a scene a second time. Tell you that's still not good enough. She knows you can do better.
• Give you query fever.
• Read the scene a third time. Tell you to do the happy dance, because now you've got it. And she knew you would.
• Talk you down from query fever.
• Knock you over the head with stories of her form rejections to save your mortal soul from query fever.
• Break your heart.
• Cheer you on.
• Make everything about your story SO. MUCH. BETTER.

Thanks, Gina.
Can't wait to see your gorgeous book in print. It is a pleasure to read and a privilege to give feedback, and even more of a privilege to get feedback from you.

PSA: I seriously THANK GOD for the day that Gina agreed to read my atrocious first draft. She has been my biggest cheerleader on this project, and if I ever make it to publication some day, she'll be a huge part of the reason. She's not mean, beastly or monstrous - she gave me just the critique I needed. And she rules. Okay, on with the show.

Friday Playlist! Arcade Fire, the Fray, and the Postal Service

I have an obsessive personality (I think it takes one to write something book-length, no?), and so it's no surprise to me when I realize that I've listened to the same few songs on repeat for pretty much the entire week to inspire writing, revising, polishing, etc. I think I'll put the list up every week - sometimes it's one song, sometimes it's ten - just for fun.

Here we go!

Arcade Fire: "Wake Up." - This is one of my all-time favorite songs to put on the car when you're driving down the freeway with windows open. It's driving, powerful, and feels like a freefall every time it's on. Love it.  Perfect for the "your characters just kicked ass but now are kind of scarred by it" muse.

The Fray: "Ungodly Hour." - So haunting, so sad, just like all the best Fray songs. Still there's a deep love in here. Perfect for writing the gut-wrenching stuff.

The Postal Service: "Brand New Colony" - Words can't describe how much I love this song. Optimistic in the face of suckiness, and we all have days when we need  that, right? Right?

Have an awesome weekend, you guys! I'm planning a reading binge myself, with Hourglass and Blood Red Road on the front page of my Kindle.

Pitch Contest with Agent Victoria Marini

If you're ever going to get published, you need a champion for your novel, a Batman to your Robin. That's why agents are so awesome (I hear,) and why it's also nearly impossible to find the perfect one. So, when Chanelle describes her agent Victoria Marini as" a dream agent," I sit up and listen.

Lucky for us, Victoria is listening to up to 150 pitches in a contest via Chanelle's blog! You need a completed MS and a two-sentence pitch. It ends on July 25, so head on over and throw your hat in the ring. Or, um, your sentences in the slush pile.

Thanks so much for the opportunity, ladies!