Monday Meeting: Blue about Missing You, and Looking for Conference Advice

The Blue Man Group rocks. Literally.

Last week was vacation week for my kids--and we did some great stuff. None of it revolved around writing or being plugged in. I miss this aspect of my life when I can't focus on it. I'm hoping to jump right in this week, and not lose any momentum that I had gathered before. (I guess that's my ROW update--I did nothing last week, but plan on hitting my goals this week.)

This April, not only am I attending the NESCBWI (New England Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators) conference, (can I get a WOOT!?) but I'm moderating a discussion there about attending a conference for the first time. Since my group is first thing on Friday afternoon, what I tell first time conference goers might affect how they go about the rest of the conference.

I remember attending my first conference, and, quite honestly, feeling like a fraud. I stuck to my writing partner, and we both introverted the entire time.

Now, that doesn't sound much like me. :)

So, I'd love to hear your take on your first conference, and what advice you would like to have heard before that conference.  Or, if you have yet to attend a writing conference, what questions you might have about preparing for the time spent there.

I think that my advice for first time conference goers revolves around the idea of picking one thing to focus on--whether it is socializing (or appropriately networking), getting critiques for your work, or working on craft. Otherwise it can be overwhelming.

On another note, I found this great post outlining the benefits of using youtube, and it reminded me about our discussion a few weeks ago about an author's platform.

And, I love this hopeful post, about YA and ereaders.

So, what goals do you have this week? What concerns did you have when you attended your first conference? What do you think about YA and ereaders? Do you youtube?

Cleansing the Palette

On Friday, I typed the words "THE END" on my rough draft of my current novel.

Let me just say that one more time:

I've been revising as I go, so this work is in various stages of progress. The actual ending is very rough, but I got there. :)

*shiver of thrill* 

I am super excited to continue revising. I love this book, still. After a year (or more) of growing this idea. I do love it, still. Instead of the sinking feeling of something's-not-working, I have the feeling of I-know-what-I-need-to-do.

Again, let me repeat.

I KNOW what I need to do.

Let me just explain the emphasize--in case those-who-don't-know-me-well mistakes it for egomania, or tooting my own horn. I am surprised to be sitting in the place of comprehension. Of understanding my own writing well enough to draft to my strengths and revise to my weaknesses. Of actually knowing how to fix my weaknesses, and make them strengths. 

Maybe I shouldn't be surprised--I've been working darn hard to get here. By writing writing writing, by reading about craft. By doing crits for others. By revising revising revising. It's been a long road, and one which will continue on as long as I write.

I am surprised and thrilled to FINALLY feel like I can give a novel its PROPER DUE. :)

This palette, not the taste palate. :), although I also had a glass of wine to celebrate. 

So this weekend, I cleansed the palette, and read John Green's book THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. I love this article about it, and how YA isn't just for kids anymore (but we already knew that, yes?).

The least (and perhaps the most) that I can say after reading this book, is that it made me "Feel All The Things". Which I have heard that John Green said was his intention. (I looked for the basis of this quote, and couldn't find it, but love that it started this blog chain.)

So, John Green, in my opinion, did what he intended to do.

What is your intention with writing? Is it to make people Feel All The Things? Or something else entirely?

What, as writers (or parents, or people) do you intend to do this week? This month? This ROWing session?

If it is unclear from my BOLD FACE above, I am having a smashing time doing ROW 80, and sticking to my goals. If I keep up at this pace, (which is writing 2 hours or 1K a day), then I will be successful with this novel. I'm setting myself up for success. How about you?

I am officially one step closer to new boots. :)

Now, back to the revision cave...

The One, The Only...The MANY...oh, and the boots that I will buy when I am published :)

My most hated advice, which professional writers give not-yet-professional writers ALL THE TIME, is that it takes four or five (or more) written novels under your belt in order to write The One.

I hear this advice all the time. Write a novel. And then write another. And then another. And then, maybe, maybe, if you've grown enough as a writer, that fourth or fifth novel might be The One.

And, the kicker is--I AGREE with this horrible advice. I agree wholeheartedly. The only way to learn to write a kick-a$$ novel is to do it a few times.

The reason why I hate this advice? Because in order for you to grow as a writer (I feel, anyway), you need to write each novel AS IF IT IS THE ONE.

I mean, why else would you spend endless hours away from your family, your friends, your laundry? To slave over your practice novel? No, it has to be The One, in order for you to be All In.

And, if you're not All In, then I don't believe that you are going to learn what you need to in order to get to the next level.

Every novel that you work on needs to be The One.

And, then, when it isn't, you have to put it away, and become THAT ENGAGED in The Next One.

For the love of Pete.

What an incredibly painful process.

We talk about the rejection of submission all the time. Someone else rejecting our own precious works. But before we even get to that process, many times, we have already rejected our works.

I have secret hopes for my first three The Ones. Secret hopes that those novels will go off and become books. I love those books--and deep down, I believe that I can revise (or rewrite) those The Ones until they work.

But not until I finish with my current The One.

My fourth The One.

My first novel was a Middle Grade adventure. I still hold that one dear to my heart, even though it would take a complete rewrite to get that sucker up to par. I love the concept, I love that it was set in Spain, I love the twists and turns and energy. These were the boots which I promised myself I would buy when I published that The One:

Santiago Walking Boots from National Geographic dot com.

Still waiting to get those boots.

My second The One, was a wonderfully magical middle grade novel. It's very possible that with what I know now about my writing, I could go back and fix that one. It was The One for a few years.

This sweet, glittery, youthful high top would be perfect for my starry second novel. Unfortunately, Skechers only makes it for kids. 

My third The One was an adventurous NaNo novel. I have yet to revise that one at all, so it hasn't really gotten the chance it deserves. I have high hopes for returning to that novel. It's fun, zany, and humorous.

These boots are perfect for interstellar, other worldly adventures, don't you think? From CosplayBoots dot com.

I am positive that my current work-in-progress is The One. I have to be--how else would I give it my all? It is a YA with cyberpunk elements.

Let's hope that you see me sporting these tough thigh high boots sometime soon! :)

 Although, by the end of my book, one of my MC might wear these:

Love these Ameile boots! 

Maybe I'll let you guys vote, when that book comes to publication, over which boots I should get. :)

What do you promise that you will do for yourself, when you complete the painstaking process of completing a novel and getting it published? How many The Ones have you set aside? Do you think you will go back to them? Do you send all your The Ones out into the world, or do you reject them before they get there? Do you think the ability to self-publish has changed this process? Has it changed the process for you?

Which boots are your favorite? Feel free to share a link to some boots (or shoes) which you have been drooling over. :)

On the Row80 front, I had a down week last week for keeping up with my goals. However, I did plot out the next 19 scenes that I am working on, so that is definitely awesome. I want to get back to logging in my two hours of writing a day, get back into hosting the Practice Room, and start writing down my progress again.

The great thing is that I continue to make progress on this The One. :)

What goals do you have for your writing week?

In The Batcave

If you need me.

This week, I've been writing. All the time. I'm in the Batcave, churning out my revision and new words. I'm loving the novel and the time I'm spending on it, even though I know it will end shortly. I shouldn't and couldn't keep up this pace. But, in the meantime, I'm enjoying my hibernation.

I hope you have similar creative bursts in your writing life! Do you go through cycles of creativity? Do you ever just give in to those? Do you hole up in the cave when you feel inspiration striking? How often does your muse visit you? Are you keeping up with your ROW 80 goals?

Purple Nose Accountability

Welcome to this week's Monday Meeting, and Sunday check-in. (I'm only late on one of those counts!!)

I drive around town with a purple nose on the front of my car:

A couple of years ago, my husband decorated my car as a bat for Halloween. Black wings flew from the top, and a the purple nose classed up the bumper. :)

Pretty soon I realized that I enjoyed the purple nose. I like being a bit different, I love the color purple, and most of all, I love that when I pull up in front of the school, my kids know that it is me. They never approach the wrong car.

But, driving around with a purple nose means that I have to be accountable for my driving. People know it's me. I can't drive aggressively, or cut people off. I drive respectively because I can't hide in anonymity.

I feel as though having these goals during the next 80 days, as a part of the ROW 80 community, has given me purple nose accountability. I have to own up to my progress.

So far, so good. I have been using my two hours a day to revise the first 2/3 of my manuscript, looking closely at each scene, with the aid of this Scene and Sequels technique. My friend Marisa gave me the link while in the Practice Room (we'd love to have you there to talk writing--it's great fun). In fact, I need to go and sign up to run a session over there to fulfill this week's goal!

So, I'm basically on track--I've been noting where all my writing and exercising time is going in a daily calendar.

It's really illuminating, and what I spend my time on is as clear as the purple nose on my face.

It's not all coming up lilacs--I couldn't keep up with my writing time over the weekend. Weekends are family time, and I'm going to try to carve out time to write, but if I can't, well, I'll just revise my goals.

How are you keeping yourself accountable? What are you working on this week? Do you have goals? Would you drive around with something weird on your car? Do you have purple nose accountability?

Honk if you see me cruising with my purple nose!

Avocado on My Slipper

Sometimes, I go through life wondering things. Where's my coffee? (It was on the dryer.) Where's my cell phone? (On a shelf in my clothes closet.) How did I get avocado on my slipper?

Really.

How?

I mean, I can probably figure out the answer to these questions. But I can't remember exactly.
And then I think of the biggest question of all:

How did I get so out of touch with my manuscript?

And, I don't know how, exactly.

There are lots of excuses. I have three active kids. A husband. Commitments with schools and a church. Friends. Family. Holidays. Deaths and illnesses.

But, now that I am a few days into the New Year, a few days into ROW 80, now, I know exactly:

I'm not out of touch with my manuscript.

I have worked for a total of four hours on it, in the last two days. I know exactly what I did during those four hours, and I know exactly what I am going to do the next hours that I devote to writing. I know the time I spent blogging, and the time I spent exercising.

I am writing deliberately.

And because of that, if my MC were to get avocado on her slipper, I will remember exactly how that happened. :)

I am hitting all my writing and exercising goals. I'm excited about that. I'm excited just to know whether or not I am hitting my goals! I'm enjoying keeping track of the time I spend on things. On where my energy goes.

Maybe I'll get to that level of consciousness in my avocado filled life as well.

How are you doing? What crazy things have you done, and then later wonder how that happened? What goals are you working toward, writing or otherwise?

Monday Meeting Accountability

Grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair. Let's weigh in on what goals we have this week for writing! It's the first Monday Meeting of the New Year! A new year, a new start, for me, an exciting (if not new) project.

This is not a Resolution 2012 post, although I have to say, I loved my Resolution 2011. Last year, I decided that every day that I didn't write, I would donate to the charity, Room to Read. I think I'm going to continue that this year--because even when life got too challenging to write, I knew that my charity benefitted. Last year, I gave over $100 to the charity. :)

Instead of looking at year long goals (although I just made one, didn't I?), right now I am looking at goals for the next 80 days. I am being held accountable to these goals by all the lovely people participating in ROW 80. I'm very excited.

Goals:

1. To track my writing progress. In order to fulfill this goal, I set up a OneNote calendar, where I write down what I do with my writing time. I also started a notebook for each project, so I could have my notes and ideas at my fingertips. I love handwritten calendars and notebooks, but I can never put my hands on them when I need them. So, this way, I keep myself accountable. For instance, right now, I'm logging this time in as blogging time. :)

2. To write each day, either 2 hours, or to a 1K wordcount. I am revising and drafting as I go, so it's not as speedy as fast drafting can be for me. I think this goal will be challenging, but doable. If I don't write each day, my charity will gain a dollar.

3. To host a Practice Room session once a week. I got out of the habit of doing my part in TPR last year, and I feel the loss. I love the Practice Room, and miss it when I write in the library, or places where I can't open the chat room. I invite you all to come and write there as well!

4. To be honest and realistic (with others) about how I want to spend my time. I am dedicating this next 80 days to try to complete my current WIP. I am not including this as a goal--to finish it--because my novels take as long as they take. However, I want my writing time to be used for that purpose. I always have a lot of projects in the wings, some involving other people. I want to make sure that I am dedicated to my focus.

5. To exercise five days a week. I write better when I get moving, and the winter is a time when I sometimes slack off. So, I am pledging not to slack off during this time!

6. To post at least one Friday Feature interview a month. If I had my druthers, I would set the goal to do one per week, but since this involves others, I never know what is going to happen.

Welcome, and let me know some of your goals--for the week, for the next 80 days, for the year. Do you have a fabulous way of keeping accountability? Are you super organized? What methods do you use to track your success? What writing project is keeping you up at nights? Will you meet me in the Practice Room to write?

To ROW or not to ROW (80)

I'm trying something new this year.

I'm writing competitively in the company of supportive friends.

Hmmm.

"Um, Heather," you might say, "that doesn't sound different from your normal bag of tricks. It sounds like the Tour de Writing."

"Well, the Tour happens only in the summer. This competitive writing project happens all year long." I would reply.

"It also sounds a bit like NaNo." (that's you again. See how I nail your voice? :))

"Well, NaNo is only during November, and some people take issue with the extreme word count goals. During this challenge, you get to set your own goals!"

"So, you're writing with supportive people, like in The Practice Room?"

"Yes, with supportive people, writers who check in with you, and cheer you on. And it goes on all year like TPR. But not in a chat room. Through blog comments, and twitter. I even signed up to be a sponsor, so one of my jobs will be to cheer you on, if you decide to sign up. As always, though, TPR will be a great tool to help me reach my writing goals, and I hope other ROWers stop by to utilize the support there as well!"

Okay, this is starting to sound like a 6th grade skit for Social Studies class. :)

But, I am joining a new supportive writing group, called A Round Of Words in 80 Days. Or, ROW 80.

I popped over by mistake, the first time, thinking that the blog was about a writer who also rows. You know, oars, coxswain, the whole nine yards. It wasn't. :) What a happy accident!

It's a blog about writers setting goals, and trying to hit those goals in 80 days, four separate times a year. Writers check in a couple of times each week, and form a community around reaching their goals. It's a superb idea, and I'm excited to be a part of it.

All you do is check out the sign up post, and sign up on the link list, and go from there.

This next round starts on Monday, January 2nd. Perfect if you are resolutioning, perfect if you aren't.

I love supportive writing, don't you??

Come join me, and let me know that you are, in my comments, so I know who's up for the challenge. I'll be following #ROW80 in the twitter feeds as well.

I hope your holidays are going well. Did you get any good gifts? Are you raving the New Year in? Will you join me in a round of ROW 80??

If I can hit my goal while writing like this:

Then you can too!!