Writer's Conference Day 3 Highlights

-I went to two book pitch sessions and I had 10 out of 12 agents/editors request to see more of my work. (Side note for anyone that's curious: no, that does not mean I have an agent, an editor, or a book deal--it just means I have access to these people agreeing to look at my work).
-9 of those were agents; 1 was an editor
-Several asked for 50 pages and 1 even asked for my entire manuscript.
-Now it's on to HEAVY EDITING to get ready to submit to them! 
-And thank you to everyone that's sent me good vibes and love during this journey! :)

Writer's Conference Day Two:

Highlights
-Hearing an editor say the F word
-Making new friends that are in the same boat as me--terrified to pitch, working real jobs, and living normal lives
-Being encouraged to dive deeper into my characters
-Feeling like what I do matters and is not a waste of time
-And, yes, the kids and hubby were still happy!

Day One of the Writer's Conference

Day One of the Writer's Conference:
Highlights--
-Playing "Guess what genre that person writes"
-People watching--lots of INTERESTING characters (and I don't mean book characters)
-Listening to everyone's pitch for their book that I met and feeling brave enough to tell them mine
-Getting excited when people encouraged me to actually pitch to agents--I guess I'm gonna do it!
-Feeling positive about the whole "being a writer" thing--yea it's tough getting published, but it's fun to write and that's what matters
-Knowing my kids are happy and having a good time (Amelia and the boys were happy to talk to me on the phone)
-Feeling lucky to have an uber supportive husband

First Writer's Conference Check-In

All signed into the Writer's Conference! Should be interesting--already met a lady that is trying to be a screenwriter and I've seen lots of interesting people. Should make for good people watching and good conversation. Now relaxing for the moment with some coffee!


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Getting Ready

It's been a month since I've blogged, but a lot has been going down in this house.  I've left my writing alone for this entire month and spent time with my family.  We've played a lot (I've gone insane a little) and just had a jolly good time.  I've barely had time to even think about the writer's conference.  Tomorrow, my husband and I take off to journey to Seattle so we can enjoy each other as a couple with no kids and so I can experience the conference.  I'm so lucky to have such a supportive spouse (that's ok with me splurging on something like this) and family that will watch my sweet little kiddos.  I'm having a rough time thinking I'm going to be away from them for 6 whole days--the most I've been away from them is 2 days.  It's a little conflicting--wanting to be with my kids vs. wanting me time and husband time.  I'm sure it will all work out in the long run and I'm sure I'll really appreciate that I took the time to go.  Hopefully I'll have some time to blog about the experience as I'm going through it all...

Literary Contest Results

I finally got my results back regarding the PNWA literary contest.  I did not place in the top 8 so I was not picked as a finalist in the YA category.  However, the feedback I did receive from my two reviewers was not horrible.  In fact, it was encouraging in several aspects and it helped me think about what I need to work on.  I feel good still and know I can make this book even better during my editing.  As one friend quoted to me from Hemingway, "The first draft of anything is shit."  That's why it's a first draft.  Overall, a good score for a first draft, though.

Tumblr

Since I'm bound to taking a break from the book--apparently it will make be edit "more better"--I was convinced by a friend to sign-up for a tumblr account.  Tumblr is this crack-cocaine like micro-blog site where one can pictorially/verbally/etc-ally vomit online.  And, oh yes, I've been spewing like crazy because I am a social media whore.  Thanks to my buddy who fed my addiction--I will beat you later.  In the meantime the rest of you can look for the link on the right side of this blog for my tumblr account site.

The Novel

I think I just finished the first draft of my novel.  It's a bit of a mess, but that's what editing is for. :)

Next steps:
-Wait a few weeks--read as quickly as possible and look for continuity erros.
-Read again and edit for cuts and additions.
-Move on to 2nd draft.

Because I'm AWESOME at not making deadlines.

Ok, so I'm closer to the end of the book.  But not done.  I have one chapter left.  I just finished up chapter 20.  I think the next chapter should wrap it up.  Oh, god, can it be so???

A few distractions, namely cupcakes

I made cupcakes for my friend's baby shower. G-rated and R-rated cupcakes.

And I made a motorcycle diaper cake!

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Best Little People Toy Ever

Fricking awesome toy, right?  Bought it for my little girl.  It also came with Batgirl.  I wonder if Batgirl and Wonder Woman would really be friends?  I have a feeling they'd both go out and beat the crap out of Cat Woman because she's crazy bitch that meows when she talks.  

Anyway, I'm writing.  No, really...I am.  One more chapter to go.  Me and this computer have an intense date tomorrow night.  So close...

Tonight...

700+ words (meh) and realized my mother is a "Chinese Mother" (read Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and you'll get this).

It's on like Donkey Kong

Because I'm totally caught up at work (for the next 2 days only), I'm in full writing mode tonight.  No holds bars.  All out war.  June 1st is my deadline and I'm cutting it close.  1.5 chapters to finish up.  Let's do this thing.

Wine-O

The best part about this picture?  It looks like I'm drinking out of a fish bowl!  Had to share the funniness.

Books to Read

Ok, so these are books I just checked out.  It's a comical picture at best because of the mish-mash selection.  Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is a book I've been wanting to read.  Chua writes about how Chinese parenting differs from U.S. parenting.  I'm excited to read this one.  The other three were random picks.  Fifty Shades of Grey is a newer fiction novel that's supposed to be some dirty romance novel.  I was a little embarrassed to grab it, but I've heard too much talk about it on websites and such.  I figured I better check out what it's all about. Janet Evanovich's How I Write was another random selection because I've been writing so much.  I've never read any of her fiction work (my mother LOVES her books and always talks about them), but since she's successful I thought it would be nice to compare her process to Stephen King's since I just read his book, On Writing.  The final book in the stack is Unclutter Your Life in One Week.  The librarian and I were laughing about this one.  Seriously?  One week?  But, I'm just thinking any organization ideas are always helpful.  So, there you have it.  That's (hopefully) my next month reading list while I step away from the book before my big edit.  I will report when done!

Reviews

I've been wanting to write a post on the books I've read so far this year and my thoughts on them.  I've read five, but I'm really hoping to get in about 20 before the end of the year.  The summer should make that a little easier!  So far, though, this is what I've conquered:

-Pride and Prejudice--by Jane Austen--Okay, I've read this book too many times.  It's one of my favorites.  I love, that for the era, Austen wrote a pretty strong female character.  Elizabeth is fantastically snarky and I've always appreciated that.  This is a book I really like to read every few years because it's just so great.  Oh, Mr. Darcy!

-The Hunger Games (Trilogy)--by Suzanne Collins--I definitely recommend everyone read this trilogy.  They're all quick reads and fairly entertaining.  I had one student say she thought they were better than Harry Potter and that's why I ended up reading them myself.  Although I disagree with her statement (Harry Potter is still better written), I did enjoy the books.  I liked that the main character, Katniss, wasn't a complete wuss.  She was a more realistic and strong female character (which is my major beef with the Twilight series--Why is Bella so weak all the time?) and that really spoke to me.  She makes for a great example for young ladies in the world.  The story is weak in some points, but over all it's good for YA writing.

-On Writing-by Stephen King--This book is King's memoir on his journey to becoming a writer and his advice to writers.  I really liked reading about his journey--I felt connected to the part that he wrote as a child and as an adult, he was always passionate about it.  I even liked hearing that he was an educator before he hit it big and that he had been through many struggles (no silver spoons, people).  His advice on writing is valuable (although his complete loathing of adverbs is a little over the top).  He has great advice on setting a schedule and making time for the "muse" as well as editing the work.  If you're a writer, it's worth reading.

-Steal Like an Artist--by Austin Kleon--This book is advice directed to creative people.  The main message is to make time for your creativity and to remember to explore.  It had some cute tidbits and it would be a nice gift book for those creative souls in your life.  However, it is by no means a deep and highly instructional or compelling book.  Kleon has cute inspirational tidbits if you're feeling like a creative loser and need a pick me up, but I felt like his book was very "surface level" and lacked credibility (maybe this is because I'm older than him and have had different life experiences).  So, if you get it's just a cute little quick read pick-me-up, then you'll love it.  Otherwise, pass on by

Vertigo

I stayed home today (well, I came home after being at work for an hour) because my husband called me feeling like crud.  He said he was dizzy and I instantly thought he was going to die and I would have to sell everything and move into a condo and buy a minivan...luckily, he's still alive (What would I do without my sweetheart?) and we got him to the doctor.  He has Vertigo.  Nice, huh?  So, I ended up playing with the kids and I just got done writing 750 words.  Decent words--not crap.  I'm getting closer and closer to my goal.  I'm on chapter 20 now.  One more after this one and then I step away and get ready to edit.

Today

Me and the stupid dog. This is the second picture I took. The first was of Dexter staring at my cleveage. While funny, I didn't want to reveal my secrets yet. ;)


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On Sucking

I know what you're thinking--why is she writing Rated R crud?  I don't want to hear about a suburban wife/educator/mother talking about "that."  Ok, I'm not talking about that.  But it's an awesome image in your head right now for sure.  I had HORRENDOUS writer's block Thursday and Friday night.  I'm super behind.  I had to erase some stuff that was so horribly written that I'm 3,500 words behind my goal in fact.  So I feel like I'm sucking at the writing game.  I really hope this week goes better in that venue.

Also, I only have 4 weeks left of school.  I may be switching schools and grade levels for next year, so I could have some busy summer months ahead of me.  AND I'm bent on getting back into my hardcore workouts and eating right starting this week (ENOUGH starting over on this, Amber, OK?).  I lost a ton of weight last summer and looked decent (not as good as I did before baby #3 unfortunately), and I'm determined to get back to that place.  I strongly dislike feeling like a pudgy muffin butt...

Check-In

Currently: Happy that I was able to get down a little over 1,200 words tonight.  My goal is around 800 words per night until May 31st.  Last night I only had 400 so I had to make up for it tonight.  

Listening: To nothing.

Loving: That it was a warm day and we got to play outside tonight and that summer break is less than 25 days away now. Also, I gave my husband the gift I got him today--the expression on his face was priceless!

Thinking: About my little sons--they've been very naughty the past two nights.  What's the deal and how do I reign them in without being a great big meany?

Wanting: It to be the weekend and for all my lesson planning to be done.

Needing: To exercise--I'm slacking!

OLW (one little word): Give.