The End

So, so happy with my manuscript. Worked like a crazy woman on it and it is my favorite ms yet!

A long, long road

I was really hoping my new ms would make it to 60,000 words, but sometimes you just can't force it. When the story starts to really flow I get to a point where I can't push it to go any further. I've completed the ms at 50,000 and now it's time to go back and read through the whole thing to make sure it all goes together and make sense. Fun stuff. That's what I'll be doing for the rest of the week. 

How is everyone doing this week?

Write, Revise, Write, Edit, Write...

So much has been going on as far as my new manuscript. I reached my goal for the week and have been revising like a crazy woman. I think I spend about twelve hours a day working on it. Sounds pretty insane, right? I'm pretty lucky to have a day job where I can make my own hours. My boss/co-workers know that I plan to take a lot of time off to focus on writing. I'm hoping to find an agent this year and I plan to work extra hard to make that dream a reality. Becoming a published author means everything to me.

I am beyond tired right now, and I seem to be rambling, but I just thought I'd write a quick post before drifting into the world of sleep.

Have a great weekend!

Stopping by for an update

Thank you to those who are following my new blog! I know it's not all that interesting. It's more just me rambling on about writing, but you probably like that stuff and that's why you're following along. Yay!

I shouldn't say that I have completely given up on my second manuscript, but I've completely given up on my second manuscript. Here's why:

1. It's not that it isn't completed, because it is, but just like the first one...I lost interest.

2. I haven't been getting any tugs on the queries which means I should go back and fix it up, which leaves number 3.

3. I don't have the time or motivation to work on it because I have been so absorbed in my newest ms.

I don't know what it is about this one that I find much more interesting, besides the characters and plot. I feel like my writing skills have become significantly better with each ms and this one is by far my favorite. I can actually read it without boring myself (let's face it...If I'm bored, the reader's bored) and I get super excited about showing it to a friend and not embarrassed because I feel it's actually pretty decent.

Now, let me just say, I'm not patting myself on the back or anything {maybe I am a bit} but it's a HUGE deal for me if I'm actually proud of something I have written and go as far as to ask people to read it for me. I am my worst critic and I know when something I write is so-so. What's even better is when I get mostly positive feedback with a few suggestions and/or corrections.

I reached 31k yesterday, and my goal is to reach 40k by the end of the week. Whew! So much work ahead of me. That's pretty much it. I hope you are all having a great week!

A weekend full of writing

Remember that post below when I said I hadn't even reached 10k? Yeah, well, about that. This new story has been quite possibly the most exciting manuscript I have ever written. So much so, I was able to write all weekend and found myself reaching 25,000 words. You guys, I can't even...

I am just so engrossed in the characters that I find myself laughing out loud at how witty and funny they can be. Not just that, but the plot is so exciting. I just can't wait to find out what happens next. I know that sounds weird since I'm the one writing it, but at times I don't know where I want it to go and when I start typing away I lose control and let my fingers do the talking. The words just pour out.

I also had two of the most critical people read what I have so far and they gave it a two thumbs up. Everyone keeps telling me to take my time, but it's not as if I'm rushing anything. I literally can't help it. All I want to do is write. It gets my imagination flowing and makes me so happy!

Well, that's it for now. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

What a day!

The minute I woke up this morning all I could think about was my new ms. I was literally *face palming* trying to come up with a new and fresh plot. I was beginning to get extremely irritated that I couldn't figure it out. I wasn't entirely sure where I wanted to take this character, but luckily a friend on Twitter was a life saver and allowed me access into her brilliant, creative mind. I had the idea of a MC and knew how I wanted to portray her. Considering I only gave my friend very little information about the idea (because I know at times published authors prefer not to read unpublished work for legal reasons) she was extremely helpful. It opened my eyes to the different directions I could take. After giving her suggestions plenty of thought I FINALLY came up with something I am pretty excited about!

Of course, there are still some kinks to work out, but I do better when I jump into it and fill things in along the way. I've been working on it for twelve hours straight and I haven't even hit 10k yet. Oof.

Still no word on my query letters today. I'll keep you all updated!

Life so far...

My first completed novel was a YA fantasy fiction. At the time I was super excited about it and thought it was the bees knees. I was ecstatic when someone asked for the manuscript in its entirety. I waited it out for a month then received a message stating they were going to pass. When I look back at it I can see why. The whole thing was as if I was "telling" the reader what was happening as opposed to "showing". HUGE difference.

I had that small dose of hope rush through me that someone found my writing to be somewhat enjoyable enough to ask for the complete ms. I was pretty bummed and went back to revise, but after that I just sort of lost interest. I knew I wasn't done, but the story just sort of lost its oomph. Then one late night while watching some ridiculous Netflix movie another idea came to me. I immediately started writing (I never use outlines) and came up with a fun paranormal fiction. I'll keep the idea a secret for now, but it was all I could think about for days. While I was cutting hair or teaching a class, ideas were just pouring out. I would immediately take a minute to jot it down and continue with my day.

So as of now I have been sending out queries for this new manuscript. I've gotten a few rejections just by the query alone, meaning no one has asked for the full ms just yet. In the mean time I have looked it over and revised a few things again to capture someone's attention. I've also tried distracting myself with another ms that is completely unlike anything I've ever written. I dabble with it every now and again, but I remain focused on my full ms waiting for someone to show a tiny bit of interest.

This is where I stand. It takes a lot of patience and some days I get more than one rejection and feel pretty low. Thankfully, I have amazing Twitter followers who encourage me every step of the way. I've also become friends with amazing aspiring and published authors via Twitter who are so helpful and inspiring. I'm such a lucky girl to be surrounded by such amazing people!

For the record, Twitter is seriously the best social network in the world, hands down.

Welcome to my new blog!

I've been so focused on my writing lately that I have completely lost interest in everything else. I wanted to start fresh and create a blog specifically for my writing aspirations so for those who are interested to hear about it can follow along.

I want to say thank you to everyone who has given me wonderful words of encouragement! You have made me feel like I could do anything. There are no words to describe just how much it means to me.

Much love! xx