Lip Gloss & Lies needs work, a lot of work...

I was so proud of myself this weekend for actually sitting down and devoting my afternoon to writing. If felt so good and familiar to have laptop on, well my lap, kitty on my side, and doggie by my feet. With notes open, I got to work. And boy, do I have work to do.

This past March I finished my outline for the sequel and I was surprised by how much I had planned and already written. I had honestly forgotten that Lip Gloss & Lies was my NanoWriMo goal last year and I had written 15k in those first two weeks before realizing forging ahead without an outline wouldn't work for me.

But that's where the good warm fuzzy feeling ended.

You see, I really don't like my story outline. So much so that I'm thinking about changing the murder victim and murderess. Just the basics, you know? :) I managed to take the entire 38-page outline and summarize it down to three remaining plot points. And to be honest, they're minor plot points. The big guys are still yet to be determined--and I couldn't be happier. In writing this sequel I'm reminded of a couple of points I've learned along the way:

#1 Sequel or not, each novel should stand on its own.

#2 It's far easier to change an outline than to rewrite an entire novel. Even changing one scene screws up the rest (as it should. If you can delete/change an entire scene and it doesn't effect your story, you have a problem).

#3 Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I remember reading a part in "First Draft in 30 Days" (Karen Weisner) that you should set aside your outline for a month if not longer and then come back to it with fresh eyes. While I followed her other tips while writing Beauty Secrets, this was one I ignored. After having this experience with Lip Gloss & Lies, however, I've changed my mind. I've always been in too big of a rush to wait, you know? But I will follow her advice this time!

One things for sure, this publishing (and pregnancy) is going to teach me patience one way or another (or at least test it a time or two!). Happy writing.

Happy Anniversary

Yes folks, today is the one year anniversary of me being a full time writer. How do I know? Because my unemployment checks have run out :)

On a positive note, this past year has taught me so much--not just about myself, but about the publishing industry and what it truly means to be a writer. I have all of you to thank for that, so THANK YOU!

What's in store for me this next year? Well, for starters I'm still querying BEAUTY SECRETS and looking for that perfect agent to take it on. I'm also busy writing INFINITY = ME and plan to have a solid first draft hammered out by April.

What else?

I'd love to get back to work on LIP GLOSS & LIES. I have 15k written, but put that project on hold to wait and see if an agent nabs BS first. Priorities people, priorities.

And who knows what else I'll come up with this year. I've been kicking around a middle grade novel concept for a while, and it seems I'm always writing YA, so we'll see.

What about you? Any writing goals for the next year, or heck, even the next couple of months?

I Need Chocolate

Today has been a busy day and I've officially reached my full mental capacity.

NANO, what's that? The last two days I've kinda let LG&L die off at 13,000 words to shift my attention back to BEAUTY SECRETS. You see, I received some feedback from a super fantastic agent a couple months ago and at the time I wasn't sure how to take their advice. Not that I didn't want to take it, but that I wasn't sure exactly how to do what they were asking for.

I mean, at first their comments didn't make any sense because they were supposed to love my novel as is, right? And then their comments made sense, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to change my story that way. And then suddenly in the calming moment that is my nightly bubble bath It. Just. Made. Sense.

EREKA! I get it!!!!!

However, my happy moment of elation was quickly replaced by "Oh Crap!" now what?!

I understand the concept and what I have to do. Now I just have to do it. I think I better go put my Nike gear on before I tackle this one. Oh, and eat chocolate. Lot's and lot's of chocolate!

Wish me luck!

Multitasking Diva Here

My writing career is in full swing - Well, I mean minus the agent and whole publishing contract thing - but still, I'm busy!

First up, NaNo. It's the start of day two and I've currently got 2,727 words written. Awesome, go me. I'm loving LIP GLOSS & LIES and confession, it's already better than BEAUTY SECRETS - ahhhhhhhh!!! So, remember last week how I said I was done with BS, well, not anymore. I've thought of a couple slight tweaks that I hope will make my debut even more stellar (because it will be my debut I tell you!).

So that brings me to number two - make additional changes to BS, revise my query, and then begin submitting to agents worldwide!!!!

Let's see then: NaNo, BS changes, Query... Oh, I know, and blog. See I'm accomplishing stuff already.


Hi ho hi ho it's off to writing I go...

It's Finished... Oh, Wait.

Yesterday I finished my third (or was it fourth?) complete read/edit of Beauty Secrets, which you all know is very time consuming. But now I can confidently say that "it's done!"... for now. Some of you might remember that my goal four weeks ago was to finish my edits and send BS off to the St. Martin/Minotaur First Crime Novel Competition, well today my friend I'm doing just that. After paying $58.04 to have my manuscript printed, I'm packing it up and shipping it off. It feels so good to have that goal checked off my list. And the time couldn't be more perfect with NaNo starting in two days (boy, do I have A LOT of work to do between now and Sunday).

Also, with wrapping up BS, I'll have some more time to work on revising my query again. Thank you all for your comments this week. I'll put the advice to work and revamp my query over the weekend and repost it next week. Hopefully I'll be able to add the voice that I know is missing.
This Just In

I'd like to give a big thank you to Debra Schubert over at Write On Target for the awesome blog bling and such kind words. Okay folks, you know how it goes. Here are the rules:


1) Copy the pretty picture and post it on your blog.
2) Thank the person that gave it to you and link to their blog.
(Did I mention how awesome Debra is?)
3) Write 7 things about yourself we don't know.
4) Choose 7 other bloggers to pass the award to.
5) Link to those 7 other bloggers.
6) Notify your 7 bloggers.

Seven things you've always wanted to know about yours truly:
1. Cherry yogurt is my favorite flavor. Key lime pie, strawberry shortcake, Boston cream pie, and Pineapple upside down cake are just wrong.

2. Just like my protagonist, Keira, I have an obsessive personality, which makes for excellent determination, but can also make me a little batty. If I want to write, I do, and if you make me do anything else, I'll be very grumpy.

3. In keeping with number 2, I'm also stubborn and you'll have a helluva time trying to get me to do something that I don't want to do :)

4. Wine and dark chocolate make the perfect gift, in case you were wondering. My birthday is April 27th...

5. And speaking of that, 27 is my all-time favorite number. Not only is it lucky, but it also makes me smile and it happens to be how old I am.

6. Writing also makes me smile, and I'm VERY excited to be starting LIP GLOSS & LIES! I just have such an awesome feeling about this series. Good things are about to happen.

7. And there's nothing better than having Halloween on a Saturday. Sleeping in, eating candy all day and watching scary movies (well, Scooby Doo anyway). Tomorrow is going to be so much fun!

And now I must now nominate seven other worthy blogs...

1. Bane's Blogging Blues - in addition to being an awesome fantasy writer, Bane posts funny youtube videos and cute puppy pictures for our entertainment. What's not to love?

2. Jennifer Bennett - Jen's just so nice and her blog is always too cute. And I love her blog topics, like yesterday's post titled "What Sells" where she ask's the question that if something sells then does that make it great? Good question!

3. A Misinterpreted Wave - Chris writes beautiful poetry and I must admit that her vocabulary is impressive (read: I'm jealous). Stop by and see what I'm talking about.

4. Penny Lane - The girl loves cupcakes and skittles, has an adorable kitty cat names Jasmine, and she's brave enough to video blog. Yeah, video blog. Even I'm not brave enough for that.

5. VR Barkowski - Fellow NaNo participant, VR's blog is full of the type of fantastic information and links that writers like us want to know. Awesome job.

6. The Bloodcrossed Writer - Tara's a fabulous writer and reviewer extraordinaire. Videos and links will keep you entertained for hours.

7. Regina Rhythm - Regina's blog says she a writer, artist and adventuress - you got that right. Regina's blog is fresh, informative and most of all, creative.

So there you have it, my choices for the Kreative Blogger award. Happy Halloween everyone!!!!!!

National Novel Writing Month - You in?

I've been seeing this - NaNoWriMo - out on the blogosphere lately and until tonight I had no idea what it stood for. But alas, I have become educated and now know that it stands for the National Novel Writing Month, which takes place Nov 1-30. According to the website:
National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Wowzers! If I recall, I remember a few folks talking about this last year, but they were already way to into it and I was way too lazy to get involved. But this year? Now that could be cool, as you all know I'm thinking about starting a new novel anyway. AND the more I think about it, I actually wrote the first draft of BS in two months (65k) and that was with a lot of days of doing nuttin'.

Reading through the website, the 10 steps to success are pretty amusing. Take #4 for example:
4) Begin procrastinating by reading through all the great advice and funny stories in the forums. Post some stories and questions of your own. Get excited. Get nervous. Try to rope someone else into doing this with you. Eat lots of chocolate and stockpile noveling rewards.

But most of all, it's #10 that's my favorite:
10) Win or lose, you rock for even trying.

The rules of NaNo seem pretty basic too. I especially like this one, "Write more than one word repeated 50,000 times." See, basic. I can handle that.

So, what's my game plan you ask? Well, according to the guidelines you have to start from scratch, BUT you can have your outline and character sketches already developed, which is a very, very good thing. Without these steps done, my confidence in completing even 25,000 would be bleak. So that's where I'm starting. Over the next few days I'll finish outlining LIP GLOSS & LIES and get ready to write. Wait, first I need to sign up...

Now, what about you? You in? C'mon, it'll be fun...

Oh, I'll also add that I just saw they have a "word war" widget where you can compete with up to 5 authors and it'll keep track of everyone's word count on your blog. How cool is that?

Can I Get An Opinion Here?

Series - have you ever written one? They tend to be my favorite to read and write because once I meet a character, I hang on and don't let go until the. very. last. page.

Sounds all poetic, doesn't it? But is that really practical from a writing standpoint? Especially for an un-agented writer like moi?

I think I remember reading somewhere that Janet Evanovich doesn't recommend it - not until the first book sells. Which technically makes sense. Why would you write a sequel if the the first book hasn't sold yet? Duh. Who cares if you love the characters and the plot?!

But...But...

But what do you guys think?

In case you can't tell, I'm itching to start a new WIP. I've done just about all I can with BEAUTY SECRETS and I'm looking to spark my creativity again with a new novel. I've tentatively titled BS's (nice acronym) sequel LIP GLOSS & LIES - and I already have it outlined, but I haven't written a single scene yet.

So, before I dash off to write a the next greatest novel, I'd thought I'd get your opinion. You tell me, write a sequel or start something new?

It Was Professor Plum With The Knife In The Study!

Deciding how you're going to bump somebody off is the easy part. It's intertwining the lives of your suspects that's difficult. What's their back story? Their secrets? What makes them a suspect - the belief they'd kill another person? And what does this realization do to your protagonist?

These are the questions that aren't always easiest to answer. But you have to.

So right now it's a mystery in my brain, a puzzle that I HAVE to figure out. How to make it all work...

Lip gloss & Lies

At least that's what I'm calling it for now. While BEAUTY SECRETS is being read by my lovely beta readers, I've decided to start research on a sequel - LIP GLOSS & LIES. I don't know about you, but I love sequels. Especially reading them. I think that saddest thing about finishing a novel is having to say goodbye to the characters. With sequels you're able to delay the inevitable. That and as a writer, I'm always interested to see how the author will introduce the plot. Especially with murder mysteries. Sometimes I find myself saying "Seriously? Another dead body? How many can a person possibly stumble upon?!" But then there's other times when I'm like, "Wow, that was cleaver." I want to be that "Wow."

Which is why everything I write is grounded in reality. I want to be true to the human emotion. The human experience. I think that makes writing more challenging. You can't just "make something happen" because you want it to. It has to make sense, be honest.

So I'm off to dive into my research. I already have a rough plot outline, but there's just so. much. to. do. I love it. This is the exciting part. The creative part. Yeah, I'm thinking about plot cliches, marketability, and all that other creative-sapping, dream-destroying goodness that is the publishing industry - but that doesn't stop me from writing the story I want to. I'm just aware of the facts. Not controlled by them. Or consumed by them. It's part of being a writer. A part that I'll accept any day if that means I get to publish my novels.