Welcome 2013!

It's 2013 and I can hardly believe it. This year is already off to an amazing start. First of all, I started a new position that I'm in *love* with. I'm a publicist for Spencer Hill's new line: Spencer Hill Contemporary. Have you checked out the website yet? You should. Seriously. Go now. Or you know, after you are finished reading this scintillating post. (LINK HERE)

When I was approached about the job, I couldn't say yes fast enough. I just knew I'd love it and I really, really do. I'm enjoying getting to know the authors and brainstorming with them on what they'd like to do to spread the word about their books. I can't wait until you are able to read them all. They're going to be amazing!

This year also has some exciting things happening personally. I don't want to share that news just yet, but sometime soon I hope. :-)

Last year was a very busy year with editing and revising and writing and querying and signing with an agent. Oh and then more editing and revising and writing. It was productive and lots of fun. This year promises to be more of the same with probably a little more of all of it.

Oh! And in in month's time I will be a writing retreat with my favorite writing peeps in the entire world. There are NO WORDS for the excitement I'm feeling. 3.5 days of all out writing. I'm not one to rush time, but honestly, just this once, I'd like to. I can't wait!

So how about you? What are you looking forward to in the new year?

In which Cindy has EXCITING news

There's this really cool thing that happens when your writing friends have awesome news. What is it? Well, you get to share it too! It's, like, the best. So, with that said, all of us at Tangled are really excited right now. And we are thrilled to share in this exciting day as our very own (and awesome) Cindy Thomas has exciting news! 

She has an agent!!!  

  

YAY CINDY! 

Cindy is now repped by Marcy Posner of Folio Literary Management!

To read the full story about how Cindy landed her agent, check out her blog. You can also catch her on twitter @CindyIsWriting and give her happy thoughts. 

Congrats Cindy!!!

We are so happy for you!! 

**Now, excuse us, while we flail and dance in gif format**

To Share or Not?

Everywhere you turn there are sites popping up online to share your writing. For many they build a sense of community and provide support for those who may not otherwise have someone to give feedback on their work. You can share bits and pieces of your story, or even enter your entire story into contests. In fact, some writing communities like InkPop.com have systems that allow members to vote on each others work. The stories that get the most votes may even have the opportunity to be reviewed by an editor at HarperTeen. Several YA authors have been found that way, and I think it's great. 

But when it comes to sharing my own writing online, even little snippets as short as 2-3 sentences makes me want to crawl into a hole and my palms start sweating. I've participated very lightly with our own teaser posts, but it makes me nervous beyond belief.

I don't know if it's because I'm a very nervous person, or if I'm just not wanting to jinx myself when it comes to sharing things online. Maybe I'm overly private or maybe I just don't believe my story is "there" yet, but for whatever reason, I just feel extremely uncomfortable when it comes to sharing my own writing online. 

I recently read a post on another YA author's blog. She was celebrating that she now has an agent and was telling her story of how that came to pass. She'd been very private about the whole querying process and didn't talk much about her writing at all either on twitter or elsewhere online. I find that I share a lot of her viewpoints. 

But then there are also authors who are completely comfortable sharing their work. They have many followers and readers, and that is definitely a bonus. When the time comes to seek an agent, they already have a decent number of people who know who they are and are looking forward to when their book will be available. 

For me though, something about sharing my writing in such a public way just doesn't sit right with me. So I know that going forward, I'll be one of those writers you hear very little about until the magical day I get to announce that I have an agent and/or a publishing contract. And I'm okay with that. I'm much more comfortable holding onto my idea and my characters until then. 

What about you? Do you participate in any online writing groups? Do you feel comfortable sharing your writing online?

Monday Check-In

Welcome to another installment of the Monday Check-In! Every Monday we'll post small updates on what we've accomplished in the past week with writing. If we've gotten a lot done, or accomplished some of our goals, we cheer each other on. If we've not gotten enough done, or are in  writing slump, we still cheer each other on. Sometimes you just need someone to remind you that you really can do it, right? 

So without further adieu, here is our check-in for this week:

Danielle's Check-In: NaNoWriMo is going well! I've written 10K in 5 days. I'm very excited with how everything is moving. I did discover a problem with my timeline in the story, but I'm plotting it out on the wall with post-its and hoping to figure that out so I can move forward without issues. But I'm loving writing so far this month. I missed being in that place where it's all you can think about and the consumption is a great feeling!!

Christina's Check-In: I finished one chapter this week. I was hoping to get two done, but this was a pretty long chapter, so I'm okay with it. I'm not doing NaNoWriMo, but I'm hoping to get lots written this month. This week I plan on fixing my plot outline and writing another chapter or two.

Cindy's Check-In: I'm also not doing NaNoWriMo because I'm trying to finish up revisions to my rewrite. I lost power for a few days due to the crazy October snowstorm that took a million people out of electricity last week. It kind of sucked not having internet or really having a good place to write when our generator could only power up so many things at one time, but it was also kind of nice to have some space from it. I had lots of time to think about where this story really needs to go and have been unable to stop thinking about the things that need fixing. Over the days that I did have power, I got a good amount of revisions done and I'm actually thinking (HOPING!) I'll be done with this round of revisions by Sunday night. 

What about you? We'd love to hear how your last week in writing went. Please leave us a comment to let us know.

Excuses

I'm too tired.

My house needs cleaning.

I need to get caught up on some reading.

My dog peed on the floor.

I don't have enough time to write anything substantial. 

My laptop is upstairs/in a different room/in the car/on the other couch.

I have no idea what to write.

I'm too distracted today. I'll do it tomorrow. 

This tv show looks really interesting.

I'll get up early in the morning to make up for not writing today.

I'm just too stressed out.

My writing sucks. I'll never be good enough.

Do any of these sound familiar? Do you make excuses when it comes to writing? 

I do it all the time. In fact, all of the excuses listed above are actual excuses I've made in the past for not writing. No lie. 

It's now time to stop making excuses and to be accountable for my dream to have this book published. I have a no tolerance excuse rule right now. Every single day I will write. It may not be as much as I'd hoped to get done, but I will write something. No excuses. 

What about you? Would you like to join me in my no excuses rule? I'd love to have you!

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?

Get to know Cindy

If you could be any item on Mexican restaurant menu, what would you be and why? 

Nachos! Because everyone loves them.

If you were an item of clothing what would you be and why? 

Yoga pants. They are the most comfortable thing ever.

When's your birthday?

March 2nd

What quote inspires you most? 

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” - Eleanor Roosevelt ... I live by this quote!

What's a pet peeve you have? 

The misspelling of "Congratulations" (CongraDulations - ugh!)

Something about you that no one would know just by looking at you? 

I'm a vegetarian.

Who's your favorite princess and why? 

Ariel because The Little Mermaid is the best fairy tale ever.

Why do you want to write within the YA genre? 

It's the genre I'm most easily relating to right now and it's the genre I love to read the most. 

Which YA book character are you most like? Explain. 

Lena from Delirium by Lauren Oliver because I would do anything for the people I love. Call me crazy but I think that's the way it should be.

Plotter or Panster? 

A little of both but mostly Pantser for sure.

What do you like to do when you get stuck while writing to help work through it? 

Talk it through with a crit partner.

Was there a specific book you read that inspired you to start writing? 

I've always enjoyed writing, so I can't remember one specific book.

What is your single most favorite thing (feel free to be as vague as you like) about you're current WIP?

Eli.

What book from childhood do you most wish you had written? What book from the past year? 

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Two truths and one lie about yourself. 

 I grew up in the south. I once dyed my hair blue. I have four dogs and two guinea pigs.