Archive for the 'Writer Moment' Category

May 20, 2010 | A Royale Pain,Book One,Draven Atreides,Draven Atreides, Teenage Informant Series,How coolio is THAT?,Life in General,Random Thoughts,The 4-1-1 on Me,Writer Moment

On YALITCHAT, I submitted the first 25 pages of DA Book 1 for teen review. 3 responses so far and the feedback has been great. The best part is that one of the reviewers was a guy.

“…Through the whole story I just kept thinking. “Duuuuuude, I would love to read this book, it’s awesome!” I love how the Draven can relate to girls and guys (in a sense). Her life just seems exciting with even a few real details that some kids have gone through…”

Totally made my night.

What I’m loving about this group is that I’m not just getting a small paragraph on what the reviewer thought. I’m getting serious feedback. Feedback that could amount to a 1 or 2 pages worth of suggestions/comments, etc: what could be changed, what doesn’t make sense, what could be added. I LOVE it. These teens are serious about their reading and it shows in their comments. I wish I could submit more, but at least I know I’m off to a good start.

It’s been professionally edited and looked over by beta readers. Now I just have to insert all the feedback.

Technorati Tags: YALITCHAT

May 19, 2010 | Life in General,Road Trip Wednesday,The 4-1-1 on Me,Writer Moment

Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival”, where YA Highway‘s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it in on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

You’re more than welcome to participate! Just answer the question on your own blog, and leave a link to it in their comments.

Topic #31: What tattoo would you get to pay homage to a favorite book or celebrate the success of your own?

First of all, the one and only tattoo I’ve got hurt like a sonuvabitch. Not only that, but some major drama went down after I got it. Needless to say, I will never get another tattoo.

Ever.

Again.

However, if I hadn’t been so traumatized by the first one, I’d probably get something to celebrate the success of my series getting a 6-figure deal (if I was going the traditional route, that is). Something funny like “I am writer, read my roar.” LOL.

Technorati Tags: Road Trip Wednesday, YA Highway

May 9, 2010 | Sunday Scribblings,Writer Moment

Today’s word of the day is brought to you by Sunday Scribblings: Courage

Definition of courage from a writer’s point of view…

To write a story that involves one’s tears, blood (it happens), sweat, anger, joy, and send it out into the world for it to be accepted or rejected.

Technorati Tags: Sunday Scribblings

April 21, 2010 | Dance Jam Productions,Sunday Scribblings,The 4-1-1 on Me,Writer Moment

Today’s word of the day is brought to you by Sunday Scribblings: Wonder

This is an excerpt from Dance Jam Productions, available now.

…His face was just as unforgettable. A mischievous grin that started on one side of his mouth revealed straight, white teeth when the grin became a full-blown smile. Black eyebrows arched over green eyes that reminded Mattie of the waters of Maui, and his chiseled jawbone was reminiscent of a young Pierce Brosnan. The gorgeous gene was definitely swimming around in his genetic pool. He ran a casual hand through his hair, making Mattie wonder if it was as soft as it appeared. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as he slouched down on the couch and stretched his legs out before him. Sliding a section of hair behind one ear, he lazily flipped through the pages of a Dance America magazine. Mattie froze in her chair when he looked over at her for a long moment, before returning to the magazine in his hands.

Technorati Tags: Sunday Scribblings, Dance Jam Productions

April 11, 2010 | Draven Atreides, Teenage Informant Series,Life in General,Sunday Scribblings,The 4-1-1 on Me,Writer Moment

Today’s word of the day is brought to you by Sunday Scribblings: Deadline

Deadline.

That’s a word we writers use a lot.

Most of us don’t like it. *raises hand*

The rest of us think it’s easy-peasy. *sticks out tongue and blows raspberry* Yeah. That’s how I feel about those people.

Whether you’re a self-pubbed writer–*raises hand again*–or a traditional writer, we’re all besieged by deadlines. As a self-pubbed author, however, you’re pretty much accountable for setting and meeting your own deadlines. There’s no one there hovering behind you (well, unless you’re part of an accountability group) or send you little reminders that it’s coming up or you’re way past it.

For the longest time, I was on the fence about going traditional. I would wobble back and forth so much, you’d think I was Humpty Dumpty. My first two books are self-pubbed and I was thinking about going traditional for the DA series. I’ve since decided to stick with the self-pubbed route and one of the reasons is deadlines.

Seriously.

That may sound lame to some, but not to me. And I’ll tell you why.

I know my limitations as a writer. I write slow and my Creative Mojo doesn’t work on a consistent basis. And by that, I mean one day I can make page goal and the next, I’m struggling to pull words from my noggin. A deadline dictated by someone else reminds me of those timed essays we had to take in English. I hated those. I can feel myself getting stressed out by just writing that.

I like writing under my own time, my own steam, not someone else’s. I like the idea of writing at my own pace and not having to worry about rushing. Because at that point, the writing feels forced. And when it feels forced, it’s no longer fun. It becomes a “have to” not a “want to.”

As a self-pubbed author, I do set deadlines for myself. They may be farther out than other writers, but again, I know me. And the only person accountable for those deadlines is me.

I’m not part of an accountability group.

I don’t have a crit partner.

And I’m not part of a crit group.

Like Beyonce says, it’s “me, myself and I”.

And for now, that works for me.

Technorati Tags: Sunday Scribblings, Humpty Dumpty, Beyonce