Not Feelin' The Love

Someone de-followed me.  I had 11 followers before and now I've got 10.  It's their right, of course, but I feel......

  

BUT then again, thank you to those of you who are still here!

Slow -N- Steady

Caitlin, my LOVELY muse, returned.  She told me to chill and just write both versions of the scene that was killing me.  I haven't decided which will stay, or Caitlin hasn't shared her wisdom with me to let me know, but I have been able to move on.  I'm almost halfway through this draft.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) I will have to do ANOTHER draft (#5???) before the manuscript goes to my CPs.  I say fortunately because I really do like these characters and love working with them when they let me work!


Oh, and have I mentioned the NEW people setting up shop in my head?  Yeah.  I've got one couple that will, no doubt, give me fits until I can get to their story, which may not be until the fall.  Um...well, the heroine isn't liking that so much and she's letting me know that she and I will have to have a long chat.  She wants her man sooner rather than later, yeah, the one standing in the corner with his tattooed arms crossed over his chest.  He's shaking his head.  Not in this lifetime, if he has anything to say about it.

Should DEFINITELY be interesting!

I've been applying and interviewing for some jobs lately and still subbing.  Keep your fingers crossed for me and SEND POSITIVE VIBES!  I'm also judging contest entries, hitting the gym and thinking about studying for my certification test, which is less than 3 weeks away.

And now?  I'm off to bed because the morning will come soon enough!  
 

My Dearest Muse, Caitlin...

Where the HELL are you?

And The Nominees Are...

My heartfelt congratulations goes out to:

Jill Shalvis for a DOUBLE FINAL!!!!  Simply Irresistible in the RITA Contemporary Single Title Romance category  AND for "Friendly Fire" in Born on the 4th of July in the RITA Romance Novella category-Jill is one of my all-time FAVORITE authors!  (I've met her a few times, but I'm sure she might consider it stalking!) 

Sherry Thomas for His at Night in the RITA Historical Romance category --Sherry is an Austin RWA member and she WON the RITA last year for her book Not Quite a Husband! 

Melissa Mayhue for A Highlander's Homecoming in the RITA Paranormal Romance category-- Melissa is a fellow Celtic Heart

Chris Campillo for Sail Away in the Golden Heart Contemporary Single Title category--  Chris is another Austin RWA member

CONGRATULATIONS, LADIES!  I'LL BE ROOTING FOR YOU ON JULY 1ST!!!

T Minus....

How many hours until RWA Golden Heart and Rita finalists are called?  Too many.  And not enough.

I say too many hours remain because my stomach has been in knots for almost a week now, with the knots getting tighter as each day passes.  I say not enough because right now there is hope for all of us who entered.  I can dream of my phone ringing and the magic words of the RWA representative flowing into my ear.  

Early tomorrow morning, the calls will go out to those writers lucky enough to final in these two contests.  For those people, their lives will change.  They will be whisked away into a fairy tale of recognition and celebration.

I entered the Golden Heart again this year.  I would love to final, of course.  I will survive if I don't.  In the end, all that matters is the book I'm currently working on, the one that's better than the last, the one that might move me from unpublished to published, the one that might make me ineligible for the Golden Heart next year.

To all of you who entered either contest, good luck!  I will be watching and rooting for you!

Lies, ALL Lies!!!!

No, not the painful ones we tell each other.  My book!  Yesterday I mentioned that I figured out my plot.  I wanted to expand on that today.  It may seem like a minor thing to some people, but to fellow writers and to those who know me, this is a MAJOR accomplishment!

I have always been a plot heavy writer.  I get the characters first, but then the plot ideas take over to the point where I can definitely see my story on the big screen with today's movie stars portraying my brave and sexy hero and heroine.  Then the reality comes in and I have to figure out what really works (no, that building blowing up won't happen without the school janitor villain getting access to explosives.  And how will he do that????).  THEN I start to figure out who the characters are and what their internal conflicts are.  Usually, the internal conflicts are the most difficult aspect of a book for me.

With Lies, the internal conflicts came fairly easily.  The external conflict eluded me.  I had aspects of the characters that I knew in my gut had to stay in the story, but a whole bunch of stuff could be scrapped if needed.  I knew my hero was a bounty hunter.  I tried to change it a few times, but I always came back to this career path for him.  It felt right.  And you know what?  In the end, it IS right.  Another problem came when I had scenes that weren't plausible.  The scene itself worked, but its place in the story did not and no matter how I tried to fix it or place it somewhere else, the square block would not fit into the round hole! 

When I wrote the first draft in November during NaNoWriMo I had the same issues, but I kept writing to see what I could come up with, what my characters would tell me.  Their biggest suggestion was to trust them.  So I did.  I did not panic....much.  I let it go.  I asked for help.  I wrote the 2nd draft with a different plot in mind.  Then I wrote the 3rd draft, or most of it anyway, with 2 different plots in mind.  I then did start to panic a bit because it was the end of the 3rd draft and I wanted this book to be finished in April.  But my hero whispered to me again to trust him.  So I did...again.  And he came through for me!

So now, I'm on a quest to finish this book by the first week in April.  I'll send it to my FANTABULOUS CPs, query an editor and hopefully, if all goes according to plan, I'll be submitting this book by the end of April.

Of course, that won't happen unless I get off the Internet and get to work!   

At This Moment....

Leaving my teaching job last year was the best decision I could've made.

Today, I got paid for an editing job, sent a proposal for another, subbed with an awesome class, applied for another job to teach writing to kids, applied for another part-time job and got a "good word" put in for me, read, went to the gym, stopped thinking about the GH announcements for a total of ten seconds, and.....

I FIGURED OUT MY LIES PLOT!!!!!!

Writing Revelations

Yesterday I spent a chunk of time working on the lesson plans for my upcoming class Killer Openings.  (For more information about the class or to register, click here.)  I had so much fun analyzing openings, cringing at some of my own weak openings and typing up all the thoughts I want to make sure to hit during the class.  Will it be perfect?  Of course not.  It's my first time teaching an online class and I'm sure I'll forget something.  BUT I'm so excited!

I'm also excited to get my entries from a contest.  I volunteered to be a judge and we should be getting our entries within the next day or so.  I'm eager to read and help people become better writers!  Of course, I don't know how many entries I will get or how good they'll be, but knowing I'll be able to share my knowledge with people willing to listen is a great feeling!
 
And maybe, just maybe that excitement will drift over to my 4th draft of Lies sometime soon.

Monday Musts

I must....

Take a sub job if anything comes up.

Submit a different manuscript query to an editor.

Work on lesson plans for my April class, Killer Openings, that is happening through Yosemite Romance Writers.

Find ways to distract myself from thinking about the Golden Heart and Rita announcements at the end of the week.

Get back to writing Lies.

Read!  (Since I've bought 7 books in the last few days!)

Get to my weight class.

How I Spent My St. Patrick's Day

  I listened and watched these guys:

 

I drank a couple few of these:

 

 And I bought these:

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope everyone has a FANTABULOUS day today!  If you're celebrating my 2nd favorite holiday, be safe!  I will be listening to Irish music, eating bad-for-me food, hanging out with family and a bunch of other people, and of course I'll be having a few of these:

I'm Stalled

Well, my last day of my week-long marathon writing session fizzled out today.  My characters REFUSED to let me work like I wanted to.  The plot is still wishy-washy and yet no matter what I do I can't figure it out.  BUT I love my hero and he keeps insisting all the pain I'm feeling will be worth it in the end.  I still expect to write a bit more tonight, but not the 11,000 words I still need.   

But all this is okay, because....

Tomorrow is my second favorite holiday!

Torture & A Treat!

While my book with the shallow plot threatens to rip out my insides inch by inch, have a look at my friend/CP's book cover!  Yay, Cat!  It comes out June 2011!  Put it on your TBB (To Be Bought) list!  

 

 

 

Midway Through The Marathon

I'm just finishing Day 4 of my marathon writing session.  I'm doing all right, making steady progress each day.  BUT now the real test begins.  Why?  Because I'm coming up on the chapters where I have more fresh scenes to write instead of revising what's already there.  Also, I have absolutely no distractions for the next 3 days.  I'm not subbing since it's our spring break.  My parents, who live close by, are out of town with my niece and nephew.  From Monday through Wednesday, I'll be eating, sleeping, hitting the gym and writing.  That's it!  I'll see you on the other side!

A Break

I took a break from writing today to go to my first St. Patrick's Day Event.  A local store called Things Celtic had bands playing, refreshments, and wonderful activities for little kids.  My friends and I hung out to see the bagpipers.

Then we went inside the store to spend some money.  I bought this pin:

My hero's name is Cooper in my current manuscript, and I figured this might give me a little edge as I finish the book.   

And for now?  Back to revising!

And We're Off!

Marathon session to write the 3rd draft of Tell Me No Lies begins today!

I am writing/revising the entire manuscript between today and midnight next Wednesday!  

Wish my characters and me luck!

Winner!

Yay, Rebecca!  You won the St. Patrick's Day contest!  I'm pretty sure I'll be mailing your prize tomorrow!  Thanks for playing along!

A Day To Relax!

I hope you have a wonderful day!  Me?  I'm watching English soccer, reading, and starting to plot and plan my first online class, Killer Openings, scheduled for April!  

Welcome to the 2 new "Followers"!  Thank you for finding me interesting enough to follow!  I hope to entertain you as I share my ups and downs in my world!

To everyone, don't forget I have a contest going for a St. Patrick's Day treat!  Right now, Rebecca is looking to be the winner since she's the only person entered!  If you're already a Follower, just leave a comment on how you celebrate or would like to celebrate St. Patrick's Day (or if you don't celebrate at all!).  If you're not a Follower, leave a comment AND become a Follower!  The contest runs through Tuesday, March 8th so the winner gets the prize before St. Patrick's Day!

And We're Off!!!

Cue the Rocky training music.  I'm heading into a marathon writing day today.  I'm at 50% of the book's 2nd draft being done.  I'm going to write and get as much of the other 50% written and organized as I can today.  Wish me luck!


UPDATE:  It's done.  Well, as done as it will be for this draft.  I've been struggling to keep going over the last couple of hours and finally decided to just pull the plug.  Still got plot issues, still got huge chunks missing, but the skeleton story and romance are there.  I'll take a few days off and then start the marathon 3rd draft on Thursday.  Now?  Time to celebrate! 

And now, to keep you entertained...    

HAPPY MARCH!!!

St. Patrick's Day is my 2nd favorite holiday and I decided to start celebrating right away!  I've got Irish music playing as I type this.  My grandfather's family came from Ireland, then went to England and then he, my grandmother and my mom moved to the States 50 years ago.  Yes I like St. Patrick's Day for the beer, but I also love the chance to celebrate Irish culture and heritage!  

SO.....

I'm having a contest for the next week!  To win, you need to do 2 things:  

1. comment on how you celebrate (or would like to celebrate) St. Patrick's Day

2.  become a follower of my blog  (those of you who are already followers, you're halfway there!)

 

That's it!  The contest is open from now until midnight March 8th.  I'll choose a winner, post the name and get your prize in the mail Wednesday (March 9th) so that you can have it for St. Patrick's Day!