How inspiring!!

I love my WIP. That's a good thing when you've been working on it for over a year. A really good thing. The part that blows my mind: It doesn't feel like it's been over a year. It's always new. Always changing, developing, growing and morphing into something better and something more. That's so much fun.

In my newest draft (and hopefully my last. Six times is enough!**) I'm really playing up some of the creepier elements of the world where my characters live. That whole aspect was inspired my Patricia and one of my roommate. Patricia gave me this fantastic idea, which you will see below a little..and my roommate gave me this website and more ideas. And the music below, which is my new favorite.

I never had a plan for you

There's a billboard in my book. I think that's why I love this. Also, my WIP is called Follow Me Through Darkness and I love the mix of that title with the billboard and the flashlight. There's something about it....

"you push and pull like wolves at the door but all i hear is humming"

 Another billboard! It's just a gorgeous image. It reminds me of my story too somehow.

“i was born in a house of wyeth”

 This one. A girl moving in the darkness toward something. Yup. That's my book. 

You Have A Wanderlust Growing In Your Bones

This is my favorite image of all. It's my MC. Looking out beyond the world she's in. Pressing, standing and hoping. There's a childlikeness to it--that all she wants to do is go outside. Meanwhile, everything around her is falling apart and she doesn't notice because all she wants to do is be somewhere else. Be freed.

And, this song. It has nothing to do with the story, not really, but I just love it. It's by Elizabeth and the Catapult and they are my new favorite. :) It's called "Rainiest Day of Summer." 

Rainiest Day Of Summer (Album Version) (press to play! or go here)

What are you pulling inspiration from lately??

**I say I'm done, but if I needed to do another re-write (or two) I would. I will re-write this book until it's perfect and amazing or until I'm done trying to tell the story.

Words of Wisdom from the Smart Chicks

As a novice writer I find it fascinating to listen to seasoned veterans about the writing process and book business. Last Sunday I was fortunate enough to attend the Seattle stop on the Smart Chicks Kick It Tour. The lineup was quite impressive: Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Rachel Caine, Melissa de la Cruz, Sophie Jordan, Jeri Smith-Ready, Margaret Stohl, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Richelle Mead, Rachel Vincent, Stephanie Kuehnert, and Sara Zarr. I was starstruck for most of the afternoon. However, being the huge nerd that I am, I did manage to push aside those stars and take notes in my writers notebook. (Side note: On another huge nerd front, I also had several of the authors sign my writers notebook as a way to keep myself inspired to write. Sadly, this idea occurred to me halfway through the line up so I didn't get all of the attendees to sign it.) 

I decided to share some of my favorite gems with you today instead of creating a traditional crafting post. Hearing these ladies speak was so inspiring for me. I tried to write down where each tidbit came from, but at times the authors talked too fast and I just got the idea down.

Melissa Marr: Feed off your characters and be inspired by them

Sophie Jordan: Reading is the happiest time of my life.

Characters are often who we wish we had been.

Melissa Marr: I have a mortician on speed dial. (This was in response to a question on research.)

Melissa Marr suggested immersing yourself in your research for your WIP. Jennifer Lynn Barnes uses her real life experiences rather than traditional research for her writing.

Sara Zarr's Advice for Writers: Focus on becoming the best writer you can be - Craft should be your focus - Have life experiences - Read widely

Richelle Mead's Advice for Writers: Write about what you are passionate about even if you don't think other people will want to read it - there are no new stories so pour your heart into the story you want to create

Sophie Jordan: Give yourself permission to write crap.

Melissa Marr: I don't plot. I prefer to be consumed by my writing.

Sara Zarr: A first draft is a discovery draft.

Writing is hard and there are a ton of other things you could spend your time on. Push yourself and just force your way through the hard stuff.

You have to carve out writing time that works for you. Make it happen.

Writing gives you permission to explore what intrigues you.

Margaret Stohl: Being a writer is like being drunk all the time.

Writers block is a product of fear and lack of confidence.

Pay attention to language.

Pay attention to your life.

Listen to the lyrics of music. It can trigger inspiration.

Kelley Armstrong: You will only fail at writing if you walk away. Don't just think about it - write, write, write.

Monday Check-In

Welcome to the first Monday Check-In of October! If you are like us, it helps to have someone keeping you accountable for your writing and making sure you're not procrastinating. So we have our weekly check-ins to help each other keep our goals intact. Feel free to join in with us each week to let us know how your writing goals are going. 

Christina's Check-In: This last week I did my goal! I got 2 chapters written which ended up being just under 5k for me! So this week I want to stick with this goal and do at another 2, at least. I think this WiP is going to be divided into parts as well as chpts and that I'll have 3 parts in it. So this means, I'll be able to start the 2 part soon! I'm excited....I hope that excitement lasts as I continue to write!

Danielle's Check-In: October is insanity for me. I was secretly hoping it wouldn't come. This week I am doing more homework, planning things for the YA Spooktacular and need to catch up on blogging. Between all that, I'll be lucky if I get to write any words, but I'm still excited about all the other things. And a little overwhelmed.

Cindy's Check-In: I've been doing a lot of revising this past week and implementing a new plot into the storyline. I'm happy with how it's coming along so far, even if it is slowly coming. So far I am on schedule with where I want to be with revisions and hope to continue at this pace.

Patricia's Check-In: Last week was not as productive as I'd hoped. Some personal stuff left me feeling drained and not really in a writing-mood. The reading-binge continues however, I read another 5 books last week. This week I'm going to write a piece for YA Spectacular, do homework for my copyediting class, and then get some writing done. 

What about you? How is you writing going this week?

I wish I knew this before...

So I’m going to do a “I wish I knew that before I got Published” series. 

Edits/Revisions

Now, I knew there were still going to be edits and revisions once the ink dried on the publishing contract, but I don’t think I was prepared for the amount of edits and revisions.

So let’s rewind time. You submitted your perfect manuscript. It’s beautiful. Ready for publication, right? Because the publisher accepted your MS. They must love it the way it is. Just like your momma says she loves you just the way you are. Soon, your work of art is going to be on shelves. It’s going to hit the bestseller lists EVERYWHERE. You are a star, because you’re MS was just super-duper perfect.

Um, no.

Sometimes an editor or agent takes on your work because they like the voice, premise, plot, and characters but it needs major work. Which equals major revisions. There’s a phone call preparing you for the “editorial letter” that will be coming your way along with your edited up MS. I find that sometimes the call sort of under exaggerates the amount of edits. I don’t blame that tactic. No one wants you to actually freak on the phone with you. 

You get off the call, feeling good. Excited even. You get the “editorial letter” and…it’s 5 pages long. Single Spaced. Or 19 pages long, single spaced. Your breath gets stuck in your chest. Your heart stops. Your first thought is, “Oh, my God, I suck.”

Take a step back and breathe. An editorial letter is not telling you that you suck. It’s just telling you how they, as a team, are going to make your book better. I don’t really freak out with the editorial letters. I don’t personally get why people do, but I think it’s shocking to see how much has to change.

Then you open the MS…and you actually see what it looks like in track changes. And holy moley, your MS is full of red lines, text and comments on the side that say, “What the …?”

After downing a couple of glasses of wine, you do your edits. Sometimes this takes days, others it takes weeks. Depends on how fast you are and the extent of edits. Time to celebrate. You’re done your first round of edits. Wheee!

Guess what? You get to do that two or three more times. Sometimes even more than that. You read your MS so much that you probably end up hating it by the time it actually makes it to proof pages. One novel of mine was edited around six times before it hit copy edits. Six whole times. 

And then you get the final version of your book back. Sometimes it’s NOTHING like what you submitted. It’s a different book, with better character motivations, a tighter plot, and stronger writing.

So if I knew how much better the book would be after edits before I got pub’d, I probably wouldn’t have freaked so much when I saw my first edited MS.

My Creative Juices are Pumping....

I am still thinking through my character and plot, but I was inspired by some images and music this week.

I love the sense of place I get from this photograph. My WIP has two main settings - Georgia and the Pacific Northwest. This image really got my mind working for the Pacific Northwest setting.

My WIP also deals with fire so I was drawn to this image. It seems as if the fire dwells within this person, which makes for an interesting literary concept.

My musical inspiration this week is from Massive Attack. I love the sound of the music and vocals. It puts me right into the moment with Thora as she is on the precipice of her life changing in ways she has never expected. I love that it almost sounds like a heart beat. I also like the line about teardrops on the fire - it lends itself nicely to the fire elements of my WIP. The idea of black flowers blossoming is also something cool that I might choose to explore somehow in my work at some point.

Research is .... fun?

I've heard writers talk before about how much fun researching can be when writing. I have always politely disagreed. I'd much rather dig right into the writing. Research has never been something I've enjoyed much, which is probably why my story isn't based on anything I'd have to research to begin with.

However, now that I'm revising and my story is taking a definite shape, I am finding that research really CAN be fun. I know, I know. I'm surprised too. But really, I spent over three hours last night reading about chest and abdominal wounds and healing times. It was fascinating.

I got absolutely no writing done, but I understand how important it is to be accurate when talking about injuries and the last thing I want is to ruin my WIP because I was too lazy to do a little research. 

And can I just say, that if you ever stumble upon online forums that are mostly populated by medical professionals, be sure to set aside a few hours of your time, because you're sure to be pulled in. Reading what they know and about their experiences is almost as enjoyable as reading a book.

What about you: Do you enjoy doing research for your WIP?

Monday Check-in

Drea: I spent several hours this weekend researching mythology and added 1,000 words to WIP. 

Danielle: Last week, I bumped up my pages to 65 and my word count to...uh...a lot more? I can't remember now. Around 20K or so? This week my goal is homework. Homework. A break to go to the So You Think You Dance tour stop tomorrow! (EEK!!) Then more homework. Some edits on what I wrote last week that's due for homework. Oh! And did I mention homework? That's my life this week. And next week. Homework. And I get to meet Laini Taylor on Friday if I survive until then.

Patricia: This week I finally found my way out of my recent reading slump and read 7 books in 5 days. It felt good to spend most of the weekend curled up on my couch with a book. I did meet my goal of three writing sessions, so I'm going to up that this week and try to get at least 5 hours of writing done before next weekend.

Christina: I got a chapter written like I planned to and plan to write two this week!!

What are YOU doing this week? How was last week?