Good News And Bad News

SO. GOOD NEWS.

I made my 80k word goal!!! WOOOOOO!! I posted that I wanted to reach 80k before I go on vacation on the 25th, and I did! I honestly didn't think I'd make it. I'm pretty pleased with myself.

AND NOW THE BAD NEWS.

I'm...still not done with the draft.

STILL.

NOT.

DONE.

[Um, I had awesome gifs here to demonstrate my frustration. They were awesome. AWESOME, I SAY! But I removed them because I read this post by Roni Loren, and then Leigh Ann's thoughts on it here. And I was too lazy to look for new ones that would be okay to use. Sigh.]

So APPARENTLY I'll be taking Roslyn and Leonel with me to St. Martin tomorrow. These guys just won't leave me alone. But I still love them</3

I'm going to try to pump myself up for my vacation and stop thinking about the fact that I'm STILL DRAFTING.

*twitch*

See you guys next week!

Hookers and Hangers Bloghop! Hangers, Today!

It's Day Two of the Hookers and Hangers Bloghop, hosted by Falling For Fiction! Today is HANGERS.
Here are the details again:

We all know how important the first and last lines are in every chapter. This blogfest will hopefully get your HOOKERS and HANGERS polished making it impossible for readers to put down your book and leaving them begging for more!

On July 16th, post the first sentence from each chapter.

On July 18th, post the last sentence from each chapter.

Post as many as you like!


Here are a few hangers from my YA Paranormal Romance(?), Death & Co.

Roslyn

My nights are like this: death. Always death.

Leonel

So I don’t forget the name later, I write in clear letters: Death & Co.

Roslyn

Please, please don’t tell. 
Leonel

I hope he sees what he needs to see.

Roslyn

And I collapse. 
Roslyn

The smile leaves my face, replaced with something cool and hard and strong. Something safe.

Leonel

There’s nothing to do but wait.

Roslyn

I’m not quite sure what I’m getting myself into, but Paul was right…I want change, too.

Roslyn

I concentrate on the sound of my boots thudding on the sidewalk, splashing in puddles, and it’s almost as if the wind is calling my name, singing Roslyn, Roslyn, Roslyn.

Leonel

And then she climbs the rest of the way up, leaving me speechless in the freezing rain.

Leonel

But if there’s one thing I know how to do it’s take care of someone, and right now with Roslyn in my arms and her tears staining my jacket, I promise myself that I’ll do anything to take care of her. Anything.

Roslyn

This is my curse: I want more than I can have, and I want more than I can give.

So, so much more.

Roslyn

I’m already gone.

Leonel

It’s an empty tomb, with not even her scent left behind to remind me that she’s real.

I'm looking forward to reading everyone else's hangers!

Hookers and Hangers Bloghop! Hookers, Today!

Yay, it's finally here!

The lovely ladies at Falling For Fiction are hosting this awesome bloghop. How cool is the name and image?!







So, for those who don't know, here's the description of the bloghop:
We all know how important the first and last lines are in every chapter. This blogfest will hopefully get your HOOKERS and HANGERS polished making it impossible for readers to put down your book and leaving them begging for more!

On July 16th, post the first sentence from each chapter.

On July 18th, post the last sentence from each chapter.

Post as many as you like!


Awesome, right!?


So, today is HOOKERS. As in first lines, aka "hooks". I won't be posting every first line from my WIP chapters, but here's a few!

Roslyn

My nights are like this: darkened sidewalk, long lines of anxious customers, bronze and onyx and candlelight, music, music, music, and death.

Always death.

Leonel

I slap Nick in the head.

Roslyn

Life is a powerful thing—blood, breath, heartbeat—but death is stronger.

Roslyn

Someone is knocking on Death & Co.'s door. 

Leonel

I'm halfway down the street when I see something in the middle of the road.

Roslyn

These are the changes we experience: time, weather, and people in the Present.

Leonel

"No warning? They didn't even call to let you know?" Scott's rummaging through my kitchen for a snack, a futile effort.

Roslyn

This is what happens: one day I'm wearing a heavy winter jacket, shivering in the icy air, snow all around me, and the next I'm sitting on the sidewalk in a light dress, enjoying the sun on my face and the breeze on my bare arms.

Leonel

I run up the stairs to our apartment, passing the graffitied walls and rusty railings, and the musty smell that's stuck in every fiber of this place.

Roslyn

We stand there for a long time, until my tears subside and all I can hear is Leonel's heartbeat in one ear and the wind in the other.

Leonel

There was this one song I wrote about two years ago, just after Nick and I moved out on our own.

Roslyn

The thing I never realized about wanting something so badly, needing something so much, is that when you don't have it with you it's the most painful thing you can imagine.

Roslyn

My room is a dark cave, carved out of magic and sadness and reluctant goodbyes.

I don't know how many everyone else is posting, but that's probably enough :) I'm excited to visit everyone else's blogs!


Can't wait for HANGERS on Wednesday!

Dropkicking Doubt In The Face

Every writer I know has faced self-doubt at some point. I don't think you can be a writer and not EVER feel any sort of doubt (and if you can, I am infinitely jealous).

Doubt in your story.

Doubt in your writing.

Doubt in your capability to grow.

Doubt that anyone will ever "get" your story.

Doubt that anyone will ever love your story like you do.

Doubt that you'll ever be pulled out of the slush pile.

Doubt that you'll ever get The Call.

Doubt that you'll ever see your book on a shelf.

Doubt that you're cut out for this.

This writing thing? It's hard. It's not an easy dream to follow. It's not a reliable career choice. It's cut-throat and emotional and fierce and unpredictable. You have to be good. You have to be REALLY good. I'm still at the waaaay beginning of this journey, but I know it'll only get crazier from here. (And more awesome, obviously.)

But you know what? Letting self-doubt paralyze you doesn't help. No, it doesn't. Maybe your fears are legitimate, maybe not. Maybe you're better than you think or maybe not. Either way, doubt only halts the process of moving forward. If you start to feel it creeping in, DON'T LISTEN TO IT.

You're stronger than that.

It's one thing to recognize your weaknesses and work hard to improve, but it's another to wallow over them. I'm totally guilty of wallowing from time to time, but I'm trying not to. I'm trying to focus on moving forward, taking it one day at a time, one challenge at a time.

And this is what I'm learning: if you start to notice doubt rearing its ugly head, then freaking dropkick it in the face and keep on keepin' on. Because that's how you succeed. 


Drafting and doubt comes along? DROPKICK IT IN THE FACE and finish the damn draft.
Revising and doubt strolls by? DROPKICK IT IN THE FACE and work your butt off to make your story shine.
Reading a brutally honest critique and doubt pops its head in? DROPKICK IT IN THE FACE and take the advice like a champ, using it to make your story better.
Receiving form rejections and doubt does a jig in your peripheral vision? DROPKICK IT IN THE FACE and send out more queries, dammit.


Basically, violence is the answer when it comes to self-doubt. Works every time. :D

Thursday Things: Music And Caffeine

Happy Thursday! Hope y'all had a lovely Forth of July!

It's been a while since I've done Thursday Things. You know, a random compilation of...randomness. In list form, natch. So here we are.

1. First, I present to you CARLY RAE JEPSEN'S NEW SONG WITH OWL CITY!! Whoa, sorry for the caps. I got excited. You know Carly Rae Jepsen? The girl who sings Call Me Maybe? This new song does not disappoint. Prepare to have a dance party! Good Time by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen:

2. Okay, I have to give you another song because I really like this one. Don't worry...it's not another crazy one. It's just awesome. Ho Hey by The Lumineers:

3. Lately I am obsessed--OBSESSED!!--with iced caramel macchaitos from Starbucks. It's an iced vanilla latte with CARAMEL DRIZZLED IN IT OMG. Behold, and then get one for yourself. You can thank me later.

Music and caffeine have pretty much been sustaining me this week. Oh, who am I kidding? Music and caffeine pretty much sustain me every day of every week. Let me know if you have any good song recommendations! I'm always looking for new music. And if you try the iced caramel macchiato and adore it, tell me so I can be pleased with myself :)

Sprinting

You guys. The whole process of writing this novel has felt like a marathon, but now, NOW, it feels like a sprint.

And my brain hurts.

As I've mentioned, I'm trying to get to 80k (hopefully the end of the draft!) before my vacation on the 25th. I'm currently at 59k. I know this is more than possible for most people, but I'm a slow writer. Sometimes I can write 2,000 words, and sometimes I'm spent after 250. So sustaining a daily word count of 1,000-1,500  words is hard for me, especially because my main writing time is after 11pm and by then I just want to veg out.

NOT AN EXCUSE.

But...it's kind of an excuse for why I just can't sit and think of a good blog post right now. Besides, you know, whining :)

I was going to leave you with a snippet of the WIP to say, "See? I'm writing things!" but I feel like I've been posting a lot of writing lately. So instead I shall leave you with quotes that have to do with RUNNING as related to WRITING! (kind of. sort of. just go with it.)

“Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started.”


"A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they’re capable of understanding."


Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.
--- Will Rogers


"Running is a mental sport...and we're all insane!"


"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that."

Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can.
-Lowell Thomas


Run like hell and get the agony over with.
--Clarence DeMar


My feeling is that any day I am too busy to run is a day that I am too busy.
--John Bryant

Run the race, dear friends! And now that I've had a chance to catch my breath...back to the WIP.