Even harder to blog without a computer...

...and since mine crashed, I haven't been here for a while. Very bad form for a blogger.

I was at a writing conference and used my laptop to attempt to surf the web (I thought I would write a blog about the conference.) Instead, my computer caught something and got very sick. It kept shutting down on me (blue screen) and I was stuck without a working computer.

I am now back up and writing again, and so here I am.

Blogging about being unable to blog for almost a month.

Pitiful, huh?

I guess I will have to learn how to do this from my phone.

So, about the conference. It was the SCBWI Mid-Atlantic Writing Conference in Arlington, Virginia. Lots of great information for children's writers and illustrators. I had an agent reading, and she liked what she read and wants to see more, only... I started writing middle grade for the prologue and switched to young adult for the rest. And I can't do that.

So I am fixing that. Or rather, I have been planning to, and now that my computer is working again, I can get back to it.

So, has anyone else gotten good vibes from an agent, and followed up? What happened? I'd really like to hear some good stories about that.

Writing when sick...

...is hard to do.

I mean. it's hard enough to write when you feel good, let alone when you feel like a wad of gum that someone stepped on after walking through dog poop.

I am feeling better now, though my nose is still stuffed and I don't think enough oxygen is getting to my brain. Every so often, I say something and it comes out backwards and my daughter falls on her butt laughing.

I also forgot how I maintain my different versions of the draft of my manuscript while I was sick, and I have two versions, each with a different set of edits and additions. So, while I thought that writing while sick and my brain was oxygen deprived was a good idea, I am realizing that I may have just created more work for myself.

So, my advice? When sick, refrain from writing and concentrate on getting well. Or if you do write, try something to just stir the juices, like a short story or a poem. Something that won't be detrimental to a long-term project when you realize you hosed it up.

Has anyone else hosed up a manuscript and been stuck fixing it? Any ideas on an easy way to confront the situation? I'm just spending time sitting and staring at the two files wondering how to tackle it.

Maybe I need to wait for the oxygen to hit my brain.

Platforms...

.... and I am not talking shoes.

According to June Clark, former agent and now owner of Get There Media, a platform is everything. At the HRW Conference last month, she told attendees that who you are is often more important than how well you write. Get There Media is in business to help authors "build their brand". Check out their web site: www.gettheremedia.com.

She had a lot of good suggestions (blogging is one - so I can put a check in that box - though I have to work on getting followers. She told us how to do that: comment on other bloggers sites that are similar and leave a link back to your own blog.)

Another suggestion was to get a web site, or at least register the name. That way you can make sure that it matches whatever name you are going to write under. She also suggested doing an internet search for the name you want to write under to see what else pops up. You may decide to use another name.

Or, you may go the other route; she mentioned a writer who uses the name Norma Roberts. Guess why?

Other suggestions were to use social networks like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, and to check out and use Writer or Reader Social Networks, like Goodreads, and RedRoom and Amazon.

In a nutshell, we aspiring authors need to get our names out there, and dvelop a following before we ever even try to get published. We need to be able to show a publisher that we are able to write and network to sell books.

So, has anyone found success after doing any of this?

I'm finding that it is a lot harder than it looks.

And the conference was...

... a blast.

I learned a lot and met a lot of people pursuing publication just like me. I guess the most important thing I learned at the conference was how much I didn't know. Being an author is not just about writing - its about marketing and audience and knowing the publishing business.

The most fun workshop was by mystery writer Jennifer (J.B.) Stanley (who also writes as (Ellery Adams). She explained a lot about "Plotting the Mystery". She was a middle school teacher and had prizes and games for us to play. School was not that fun when I went to middle school.

Another fun and highly informative workshop was led by author Judi McCoy, who has written both romances and mysteries. Her workshop was interrupted by a fire alarm, but we got through most of the material she had for us in "Getting Down to Basics." I had no idea that the new rule was only one space after periods! She gave us all the little nit-noid stuff that editors and agents pay attention to - like manuscript format - that can turn them off your story before they even get to read it.

The winner of the funniest workshop presenter would go to Jill McCorkle, who spoke to us about "Finding a Story", and was the keynote speaker on Friday. The woman is a southern belle with a sense of humor the size of Alaska. She showed us how to make a story real by including the sidebars, because often that is where the real story is.

Anyway, I am still digesting all the information I got in those two days, and how I can apply what I have learned to my manuscript.

Any ideas?

Pitching is like an audition...

...and you need to know your lines.

Because you don't have time for a retake.

Which is what agent Katharine Sands told us in the workshop she presented today at the Hampton Roads Writers Second Annual Writer's Conference in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She was wonderful, giving us the scoop from the agent's point of view.

And since most of us were writers, not agents, it was an enlightening experience.

Even though we had an agent offering to share her knowledge with us, I am really glad I did some research before attempting my first face-to-face interview with an agent.

I had jotted down talking points for my manuscript. Wrote and practiced a three-minute blurb about it. Knew I would need a little extra time to calm my nerves before actually going in to speak to her so I wouldn't throw up in her lap.

I revised my spiel just before going in to make my pitch, reworking it to focus on place, person and pivot - the words Katharine used in her workshop. But I wouldn't have been able to do any of that if I hadn't been prepared.

And my results?

She said she wanted to see more.

I did a happy dance with my daughter when I got home.

Now, I have to get something to her, quickly. And make sure it looks exceptionally good.

Have you had success pitching to an agent at a conference?

Preparing to pitch...

No, I'm not pitching a tent.

I am getting ready for an opportunity to pitch a book to an agent. Two of my stories are in heavy contention for the pitch, both are about 95% done in first draft.

I haven't really decided which one to pitch yet.

The opportunity is at a local writing conference I will be attending next weekend. The agents attending and speaking are offering pitching sessions, and many would-be authors are taking them up on it.

Myself included.

I am looking on it as a learning experience (though I won't turn down a request for a manuscript.) I have been doing research on pitching and have found a little bit of information, and am at the practising point. I need to have it down as I will only get five minutes to talk up my book and impress the agent. One chance only.

I think I will dress up - try to look nominally professional, without overdoing it.

Wish me luck!

Time flies when your working...

But I am not having fun (at work). A new technical editor has been hired at the office though, so the workload should start to wind down a bit. It is nice having someone else to talk English and grammar and semantics with... or rather, to talk with about English and grammar and semantics.

But still, before I knew it, two weeks had gone by and I hadn't been on here.

The good news is, I have actually gotten some writing done (bits and pieces here and there - several late nights with my husband reminding me just how late it is). I've been working on the second book in the dragons trilogy (I wasn't as far done as I thought when I put it aside, and now, upon my reread and edit, I am fixing that) and have been having fun with that, and enjoying writing again.

I can't wait to get started on book three (I have the outline done and a few scenes roughed in.)

Isn't it great when you start enjoying it again?

Ooh, it's been awhile...

Well...

Excuses...

The dogs have been sick, the kid has been sick, I have been overrun with "regular" work (which made me sick), then a two-week vacation where I was going to catch up on everything...

And here I am. Apologizing. Because I went back to work today and I am still playing catch-up.

I hope there is someone listening...

Stuff gets in the way on a regular basis. This is true of writing, especially when it isn't yet a full-time job for you, but a part-time, when you have the time, kind of thing.

I guess what you have to do is be ready to pick things up again once life returns to normal and you once again find time. So that is what I am doing now. Finding time - though my husband just walked in the door and is suddenly wanting dinner and conversation - to get back on here and blog, and to get back into writing (which is the really fun part.)

It is also the really hard part. You have to spend time getting to know your characters again, remapping their journey, finding their voices. And what if you can't recapture these things?

I'll let you know.

Summer Reading List Surprise

I was surprised when I read my daughter’s suggested summer reading list. She is entering ninth grade – High School (!) - and I was expecting a lot of “old” material (i.e., Shakespeare).

There was actually a lot of “new” stuff on there.

Like the Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld. I have read the books, and liked them (they are a permanent part of my book collection.) They are books that I go back to reread when I want something fun, but that gives me something more. Not a moral, per se, but something to think about when I am done.

Which is probably why it is on my daughter’s summer reading list.

She isn’t sure she wants the read them yet, and I am not going to push. She is busy reading Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (I am impatiently waiting for her to finish so I can get a chance to read it.) I am just happy that she is reading. We have a deal – one book from the list, one book she wants to read.

But I think it is good to see progression in what is included on summer reading lists. Of course, stories like A Raisin in the Sun, a play by Lorraine Hansberry, are also on there. I read that one in college and enjoyed it. That definitely has something to say to the reader.

Which is one of the things - one of those near-intangible things - that makes a good book a classic that will be read over and over and included on a summer reading list. It needs to have something to say, without preaching or hitting the reader over the head with a copy of the OED.

So, are there any “new” books that you think should be included on a summer reading list?

Another book to read..."Thomas Riley"

"Thomas Riley", written by Nick Valentino, is a steampunk adventure novel. Which is one of the reasons to read it. If you have never read a steampunk adventure before (which was my case), I think this is a good one to try.

It is fast moving with identifiable characters (even the secondary ones) that the reader can relate to. It is written in omnicient third person, which is not the POV that I prefer, but it works in this novel - so much is going on, that you have to get some of it from others points of view. It is done quite well.

And, if you ever get a chance to meet Nick Valentino at a convention or conference - you MUST do so! This is an author who knows how to market a book. He is in steampunk costume and has a table display of artefacts that could very well be from his novel. He had special stamps to stamp your copy of the book (like a passport gets stamped), as well as signing each copy purchased. When I met him at the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, Virginia this past spring, his was one of the busiest tables around, except maybe for the authors that were actually presenting talks on the mechanics of writing.

My daughter and her friend practically haunted his table; I wound up buying three copies of his book - one for each of them and one for me, since my daughter wouldn't let me touch her copy.

This is someone who needs to be asked to talk about marketing a book (hint, hint to those who run these conferences). At another convention, he gave away a [toy] gun! For details, check out his latest blog at Echelon.

You also have to check out his web site . He knows what readers want and he gives it to them. This web site a wonderfully, moody, steampunky interface.

Happy reading (and writing.)

Let me know if there is a book for young adults that you think I could learn something from.

So, today is Saturday, the husband and daughter are away for the day, and I actually got some writing done. The dogs do not have bones for this evening, so they will have to make do with a carrot each, and we are out of milk so I will have to make pancakes for breakfast, but hey - I got some writing done!

Having problems though. I have decided to plot out what I have so far done in "Red." Wish I had done that in the beginning.

I have found that I only have about half a plot.

So I am fleshing it out and filling it into what I have already written, focusing on dialogue. I am finding that my villain, a brute named Wilkins, has a really foul mouth.

Writing dialogue is not as easy as it sounds. I guess I like to write exposition; I like what the characters are thinking.

I am trying to keep it from Kaalinda's POV, in third person. But, I keep wanting to delve into what Ramirez is thinking and his motivation. I have to keep all that in mind, but I have to remind myself that Kaalinda wouldn't know any of that, unless he told her.

somehow, I never want to know what Wilkins is thinking. I think that is a good thing.

I guess I should let you know that Kaalinda is my main character, and Ramirez another main character. A love interest for Kaalinda, if you will.

Whew!

Hard work.

I think I am developing Kaalinda better, though. I kind of had her doing everything correct from the beginning, and now I am having her make mistakes and having to learn from others. I am making sure she has her own talents to offer though. Can't have it all one sided.

This rewrite is getting more in depth all the time.

I might have this redone by the end of the year. Or I might not.

We'll have to keep plugging along and see what happens.

Still more of "life stuff" getting in the way of writing. Though I did have a wonderful idea for another story last night, and had to get up to write it down and outline it. If I hadn't, I never would have gotten to sleep, and eventually would have lost the idea completely. I keep a notebook and pen next to my bed for just such times.

Though I do have to learn to write slower - there are a few ideas written in there that are either hieroglyphs or my husband is using my notebook.

Hope to get lots of writing time this weekend. The husband and daughter will be away and, barring any incidents with the dogs, I should have lots of "alone" time with my laptop. My aim is to get the next two chapters of "Red" edited and posted on authonomy.

I'll let you know how that goes.

Wish me luck?

Oh, the ups and downs of writing. After spending most of the weekend actually working on revising my manuscript, I come home from work on Monday and here it is after ten o'clock, and I haven't had time to work on it at all.

First, dealing with the daughter - we got her registered for school today. Then dinner, then e-mail (I have a new second cousin - he looks like my grandfather who recently passed away.) Then, its an ice cream run (I delayed it all weekend so I could write.) And here I am and no writing done (but the chocolate ice cream was really good.)

I guess one of the "tricks" to writing is finding the time to write. It doesn't help that I have to clear the table (after dinner) so I can set up my laptop, then let it boot up and find the wireless connection, before I can actually get any work done on my writing.

Oh, for the days when I can do this full time. Because I will get there - eventually.

Even if it is just retirement, and I am in my house writing while my husband is in the garage working on his old car.

But, I have made a decision (doesn't that always feel good?) I am going to find a permanent corner of the house for my writing stuff, so that the thirty minutes of setting up can be spent actually writing (or rewriting).

Let's see if that will help move things along.

Writing, and rewriting, and rewriting, and ...

Okay, it's sunday evening and I haven't been on here for a couple of days. I have a really good excuse though - I've been revising. In fact, I have more or less rewritten chapters 2 through 6 of "Red" (and deleted the original chapter 2, saving a few good passages for inclusion later.)

I have added a lot more dialog and put in a lot more "show" (vice "tell.")

I have realized that my writing has gotten sloppy over the years. I can see when reading where what is down was written a long time ago (like when I was taking creative writing at college) and what was written later, in a push to "finish" the manuscript.

Big mistake there - thinking it was finished.

Reading it after others have made comments - keeping their comments in mind while reading - really helped me see where there were problems.

So, I have spent the last couple of days working on making fixes.

And now, the edited chapters (new chapters 2 through 6) have been uploaded to authonomy and I am hoping that someone who read the originals will reread and let me know if I fixed some of the problems, or if I only made them worse.

I mean, I think I made them better; but, I think I'm a bit too close to the project to really tell.

Guess it's time to check into revising and editing (and re-editing) advice.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Like a flea on a chihuahua.

So, right now, I’m feeling like a little dog (think miniature Chihuahua, if there is such a thing, or maybe even a flea on said Chihuahua) trying to keep up with the Great Danes of the world. (Great Danes are even taller than bullmastiffs.)

All the big publishing houses (the big dogs) want you to have an agent; most agents want you to have publishing credits. It’s a way to help them determine, out of the enormous amount of submissions they receive, who to read and who not to read (or, as us would-be authors feel about it – who to ignore.)

One solution that has been postulated is to work on small publishing credits in your local newspaper or in magazines. In old terminology, these are called “clips.” I would think these clips would have to somehow relate to what you are trying to publish currently. The fact that I had a guest column published in The Virginian Pilot (http://www.thevirginianpilot.com) and a poem published in Old Dominion University’s (http://www.odu.edu) literary magazine 44th Street don’t seem to be helping me to publish my young adult novel now.

So, I guess this little flea needs to find a bigger dog – er, bigger clips, maybe a fancy barrette with big flowers on it. Oh, wait, I think I am mixing metaphors here.

So, I guess it’s time to check out the young adult magazines that publish fiction.

Oh, wait. I have had a short story published. But it’s on an online magazine? What’s the difference, one would think. Published is published right?

Hmmm. Back to the chihuahua… and the magazines...

Running, er, trudging, with the big dogs…

I know what big dogs are like (after all, I live with bullmastiffs – check out http://hibullmoose.org/map/index.html for what a bullmastiff looks likes – that’s my daughter, husband and Delaney in the top left circa 1997) and they like to lead and ignore what doesn’t matter to them. I’ve watched little dogs in the neighborhood bark and jump and bark some more while my dogs ignore them, walking by as if the little dog wasn’t even there.

We have pugs next door, and those two pugs, looking like miniatures of my bullmastiffs, will huff and puff and nearly kill themselves, panting and gasping at the corner of their lawn, attempting to engage my dogs in a battle of the barks.

But my dogs don’t even bark. Heck, they don’t even blink.
The little one – the 110-pounder – doesn’t even huff, like she will at a bicyclist or someone pushing a carriage (she doesn’t like wheels.)

They just don’t see those little pugs as threats.

So just what is a little dog supposed to do in a big dog world?

Any ideas?

Tara

Reading "The Sweet In-Between"

So, in order to write, you have to read. We would-be authors all know this.

So, here is one you should read. Especially if you are curious about that elusive thing called "voice" that publishers and agents are always asking for.

I actually had Sheri Reynolds, the author of "The Sweet in-Between" as one of my professors at Old Dominion University; Woman Writers. I was introduced to some truly amazing writing that I would never had been introduced to if I hadn't taken the class. It is one of the few classes where I still have my notes.

"The Sweet In-Between" was not necessarily written as a young adult novel, though its protagonist is a young woman turning 18 and the story is a bit of a coming of age novel. Read it to enjoy the book, and as a would-be author, experience a wonderful example of a unique and distinctive "voice."

To find more of Sheri's books, and more about Sheri, check out her website: www.SheriReynolds.com

After reading and digesting this novel, I think I have a better understanding of what "voice" means, and I know that I have to get better at letting my characters speak for themselves, rather than me interpreting their words and translating them into my own.

Tara

Happy July 5th. I was getting ready to write a post late yesterday after grilling and eating brats and cleaning up after, when the neightbors started setting off their celebratory fireworks in the street in front of my house and I suddenly had a 150 pound (yes, 150) dog in my lap, and a 110 pound dog trying to get in my lap.

We own bullmastiffs, and neither one likes loud noises and flaring lights. So I sat with them, petting and crooning, until it was over. And by then, I was ready for bed, covered with dog hair and smelling a lot like dog.

Do you have any idea what scared dog smells like? Yuck! They let their musk glands go and it is not pleasent.

So happy July 5th! Hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th with no trips to the emergency room!

Tara

So I have posted the first six chapters of "Red" at Authonomy.com. and lo and behold, I have comments. Many were "I backed yours; will you back mine?" Which is expected - after all the whole point is to be the number one backed book and get published.

I'm just wondering about the politics of it all.

I went to one fellow writer and read some of their first chapter. I didn't know what to type as my comment! I wasn't sure if I should give them honest criticism, while also saying what I liked about it, or just type "Great! Loved it! Backed you!"

I am hoping to get honest feedback about my writing so that I can honestly work to improve it. I did get some input - about DIALOG! The comment was that the person loved dialog and that I had good dialog. Which is what I was told was missing by the agent judges at Amazon. So, I guess, in some way, I am fixing that problem!

I still kept the main character, Kaalinda, silent though, in the first part, since they aren't supposed to be talking there, but I added more later.

I'll keep you all up to date on the feedback I get, and if I ever solve the "back-me back-you" issue.

Posting at authonomy

Well, I've posted the first six chapters of "Red" on authonomy.com. It's a Harper Collins sponsored web site (if you aren't familiar with it yet) where you can post your completed novel manuscript and folks can read it. Then, they can support your manuscript and the one with the most votes gets published.

I'm hoping to get some feedback on "Red" - I have made changes as suggested by the judges of Amazon's novel contest, but I need to know if I'm making it better - or worse. We'll also see how many supporterss it gets. To be honest, I think I'll be happy if it just gets some.

I took half a day off from work today so I could try to get some writing stuff done. I need to learn more about marketing books, since most publishers expect you to have a plan, or at least an idea, of what you will need to do to promote your book.

Did nothing on Red. Worked some on a contemporary young adult fiction piece about reincarnation, and a bit on a victorian story about a vampire and the young man who has to hunt him.

I even looked at book 2 of my Dragons trilogy.

I definitely have writing ADHD. I wonder if there is a diagnosis for that? Will my medical insurance cover it? Probably not.

I don't think I'm ready to revise Dragons yet. I do think it will need a lot of work when I get to it though. I couldn't even read through the first chapter. Still too fresh in my head.

Oh, and I started on a short story, called "The Tedinator" that I am writing in honor of my grandfather, who passed away in April. I wrote a poem in honor of my grandmother when she passed away; that was before my daughter was born. I was trying to write a poem for my grandfather, too. But it wasn't working for me. So. the story evolved. An old motorcycle in need of restoration is the center of it. May post it here when I am finally happy with it.

Maybe I should rename my blog to "In pursuit of finishing a piece of writing..."

Well, it's been awhile. But I have been busy. I have gotten all the way through "Red" and added and deleted stuff, hopefully, making it better. I concentrated on dialogue, adding where I could and taking out description and exposition.

I'm not sure if it worked.

So now, I am going through it again, reading the dialogue out loud, to make sure it sounds like folks speaking and not an essay. I still have work to do.

I am having trouble getting into editing "Red." I think it is partly because I have had an idea for another story and had to get it down on paper (or into a file as it were). So, I have been putting fingers to keys and getting the idea into a form that I can remember before getting back to “Red.”

Of course, I also need to take another look at my second “dragons” story (part 2 of a trilogy). It is mostly done, but it is in that two-month window where I don’t want to look at it. I need time away from a story so that I can see the problems in it – all those holes that need to be filled. Gain some distance, I guess you can call it.

This new story idea is about a male character. I dreamed a dream and I was a guy. My husband laughed when I told him. He wonders how I can write from a male’s perspective since I have so much experience as a male. Har har.

I told him it was a story and that is what writers do. They don’t write from their own perspective – they have to write from their character’s perspective. Otherwise, they would be writing their own story over and over and that would get boring pretty quick.

So, as I continue to procrastinate about “Red” I am tinkering with other projects. Maybe it is because “Red” is so old for me now – I mean, I wrote it 15 years ago. I am having trouble getting into the character’s head to see the world (a science-fiction world) from her point of view.

I will keep trying though, at least until I am ready to take my second look at “Dragons 2”. Kaalinda deserves it.

Okay, so I took a day to make a web site. They say that authors should have a web site already made before they approach a publisher. I did a bit of research, and since I am not making any money yet from my writing, I had to go on the cheap. I researched (i.e., read web articles) and found suggestions to not just use price, but also reliability, as a factor in deciding on a web host.

How do you determine reliability? There are sites out there that track that, and I found some and checked out what they had to say, and made a decision. Quickly. I don't want to waste time on decisionmaking when I could be writing.

So, now I have a web site. Check out http://hstrial-taramoeller.intuitwebsites.com/ and let me know what you think. I figure it's a start anyway.

Getting to my revision, I haven't had a whole lot of luck there. I have reread chapter one, and made a couple of slight changes, but not a lot really. The assessment of an excerpt stated that it needed more dialogue.

But, the main character is in a situation where she can't talk, and those around her aren't. That's the scene. So now I am brainstorming ideas on how to get more dialogue into that chapter (and the next to be honest) without having the main character do the speaking.

I'll let you know how that goes once I have figured it out...

Life, liberty and the pursuit of publication (which is what would bring me happiness!)

I have always put stories to paper, and I have always wanted to get published. In fact, more years ago that I want to admit, I actually got a couple of things out there – a short story, a poem and a “guest column” in a newspaper. Then, life happened. I’m sure you know what I mean – a child, a couple of dogs, my “real” job…

But, when I turned forty (!!! when did I get that old!!!) last year, I decided that it was now or never. That may be part of the reason that the average age to get published is 42. This statistic came from a creative writing instructor from a class I took, again, more years ago that I want to admit. I intended to be an exception. At this point, the exception will be that I will be OLDER than 42!

So here I am now, blogging away instead of working on my manuscript (hey – I need to gripe somewhere). So join me as I share my experience of rewriting the manuscript I wrote all those years ago (I hate counting) and get it ready to send off to a publisher.

To be truthful, I have another manuscript that I have sent off to a publisher, and I am anxiously awaiting to hear from them, so this manuscript is not the only thing I have going. I just don’t think any of you would want to read about me waiting to hear from a publisher. I think that would get old pretty quick.

So, last week (on Thursday) I went to a writing workshop about the “Sense of Style” and I realized just how much I have forgotten from that long-ago creative writing class.
So my first task will be to go through my first chapter, and check out the verbs I used, getting rid of all those passive and nonaction ones.

I’ll let you know how it goes….