Oh. My. God. | Confessions From Suite 500

An article which is ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING in an 'OMG science meets dystopia kind of way.' As the author of this post says, "This is how the zombie apocalypse will start." Read this. Right now. And then go put in a few hours of construction on the bunker you're building under your house (unless that's just me...oh well.)

Oh. My. God. | Confessions From Suite 500

Update on WIP, Terminal Decision

So, after a month of writing and getting 25,000 words in...I realized that my Work in Progress was Just. Not. Working. I still really liked the idea, it was the first one that had fully grabbed me since finishing JPSG, and I didn't want to give up on it. But at the same time, I knew that something was undeniably wrong. Things were moving too slowly, and honestly, it was starting to bore me. I understood what the central conflict was, but beyond that I was kind of clueless. And then a few days ago... I had an EPIPHANY! I had a long talk w/ my mother, who has read the various opening chapters I've written for this thing, and she tossed out a few ideas, which I twisted in different directions, and then the inspiration just started flowing. So I've started over, from the beginning, but this time I have a much better idea of where I'm going. And I feel so much more excited about writing it. I won't say too much because I don't want to give anything away, but this version is a lot less straightforward than the last one was. In a good way.

So since I want to share something, but not give away the plot, I'm going to post pictures! These are the celebrities who most closely resemble the main characters in Terminal Decision.

Bree, from ANTM

Diana Agron

& Lee Thompson Young (AKA The Famous Jett Jackson! Who didn't love that show?)

I almost wish I was writing a screenplay, just because they're all so lovely to look at. But I see them in my head all the time, which is pretty close to the same for me. Off to write, so I can catch up to where I was before. (I hate feeling behind) Maybe I'll even post a few pages... We'll see.

JM Tohline: The Biggest Mistakes Writers Make When Querying

An excellent article I came across in my daily author blog perusals. What NOT to do in your query.

JM Tohline: The Biggest Mistakes Writers Make When Querying Li...:

"Dear Aspiring Authors, Brew a pot of coffee. Pull up a chair. Heck, grab a notebook and a pen – it couldn't hurt. Make yourself comfortable..."

When Rejection Is a Good Thing

Was inspired by this post from fellow YA writer, Stephanie Brown, on her blog.

A nice reminder that sometimes rejection from one thing can lead to something bigger and better.

Click below to check it out:

Music Monday: Rejection

It's Never Too Late

The photo above is of a greeting card that I read almost every day. I'm still relatively young (26) but I have a tough time not comparing myself to people who are younger than me and published or have written way more books. I start thinking "Why did it take you so long to get serious about writing? If you'd started in college you could have 8 finished books by now! Why did you waste three years in law school? Why did you watch Jersey Shore last night instead of writing ten more pages? Why aren't you working harder? Why aren't you working faster? There's no time to stop and smell the roses! At this rate, you'll never be successful!"

And then I take a deep breath.

And I remind myself, that it's never too late. That although it took me a while to get serious about writing, I'm glad I made the decision when I did, as opposed to ten or twenty years later. That even though I wasn't writing novels in college, I was having experiences that provided me with tons of material. That if I hadn't gone to law school, I might have never gotten so fed up with white-collar formality that I *needed* to write a novel before my head exploded. That I watched Jersey Shore last night because I needed to unwind and take a break from reality. That I'm already working very hard, and if I crank things up much more, other areas of my life will start to suffer. That inspiration will come when it's ready, and my writing pace is naturally going to vary. That I *have* to stop and smell the roses sometimes, and that someday I will achieve the writing success I dream of.

Sure, if I'd known that I wanted to be a writer when I was 15, I'd have a lot more finished books under my belt today. But they probably would have been crap, because I had a much more limited world view back then. All the time that I wasn't seriously writing (I say seriously writing because I was always writing - stories, notes, poetry, ideas - but not with the idea that anyone else would read them), I was having new experiences and I was reading voraciously, mostly YA. I was studying my craft. And I was figuring out what was missing in the market that I wanted to see on shelves. So the time wasn't wasted, it was building up to where I am today. And now I'm here, at the point that writing is like breathing, and I'm doing everything I can to see my work in print someday. It's the right place at the right time and it isn't too late. Because it's never too late.

Why I HATE When Writers Say "Maybe I Should Just Write YA"

Maybe I should just write YA.

If I had a dollar for every time I read this online, I'd have at least 20 bucks by now. The statement usually goes something like this: "Woe is me. I have not had enough success shopping my ________ (insert genre here) book. Maybe I should just write YA."

This ticks me off.

Why? Because the statement implies a lack of respect for YA writers and the hard work we do. Like if that person just wrote YA, suddenly they would have all the success in the world. Because of course it isn't that their query needs polishing or that their manuscript needs revisions, it's just that no one respects their genre, unlike YA where anybody can get anything published. Um...so NOT TRUE.

I certainly realize and acknowledge that some genres just aren't selling as well as others right now. A friend of mine wrote a really amazing, compelling memoir, but has been having trouble shopping it because it's very hard to sell a memoir without being a celebrity. That's a fact. And YA is booming right now. It's flying off the shelves, and lots of agents and editors are looking for it. Also a fact.

But you know what else that means? Competition in the YA market is crazy intense. I honestly believe that it's one of the hardest literary areas to stand out in. And in order to sell a book, your work needs to stand out.  So even though lots of agents are accepting YA queries, they're also rejecting most of them. And other genres continue to thrive as well. The last time I checked a bookstore, there was a lot more being offered than just young adult fiction. If you're querying a book that isn't having much success, keep at it. If you've studied your craft and your query and your manuscript are as polished as they possibly can be, your book will find a home someday. But don't complain that you'd have better luck if you were only writing YA. It's a cop-out and it makes you look like an idiot.

I LOVE this quote.

It comes back to the question, whom are you writing for? Who are the readers you want? Who are the people you want to engage with the things that matter most to you? And for me, it's people who don't need it all spelled out because they know it, they understand it. That's why there's so much I can't read because I get so exasperated. Someone starts describing the character boarding the plane and pulling the seat back. And I just want to say, Babe, I have been downtown. I have been up in a plane. Give me some credit.

AMY HEMPEL

Quote from Advice for Writers: http://www.advicetowriters.com/home/?currentPage=2

      I  adore this quote because I so fully agree with it. I've had this discussion often - I'm not big on incredibly detailed scenery descriptions. Like if two characters are in an office, and the look of the office isn't particularly important to the scene, I neither need nor want to read a paragraph telling me what it looks like. I've been in plenty of offices, and I can fill in the blanks. That's the sort of thing I skim over. If two characters that have spent a whole book pining for each other get stuck in an elevator, I don't really care  how the light is reflecting off of her hair, I just wanna know if she's gonna tell him how she feels or not.. There is such a a thing as too much detail. And personally, I'm a plot person. Weigh in. Is it just me?