Some writer inspiration

A couple of weeks ago I had a down day where I did nothing. No house cleaning, no cooking, no writing, no working, no to anything that resembled the slightest bit like work. The whole day was devoted to reading, playing with my daughter (after she let me sit in my recliner and read for an hour- miracle of miracles- I know), and watching TEDtalks. I've been reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Memoirs aren't my usual literary drug of choice, but years ago I'd watched the movie and really liked it. When I saw the book on sale at Powell's, I didn't think twice about buying it.

Love the book and her style of writing. So bare. So honest. And I really liked her TEDtalks. So much so that I felt I needed to share it. What she speaks about can be applied to any creative endeavor and with all the struggles I've been experiencing with my writing, this video couldn't have come at a better time. Plus I could not not share this gem with you all.

Of course after watching this, I had to Google "Elizabeth Gilbert videos" and I came across this one which kicks ass. You'll have to go to Oprah's site to view it. I bookmarked both of these videos to watch when I get down about my writing.



http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/Elizabeth-Gilbert-Talk-from-O-Magazines-10th-Anniversary-Video

The take home message, "just show up."

Enjoy!

~Melania

Parenting & Writing

It's been far too long since I've blogged. Please don't throw tomatoes at me. *ducks* Being a new mama is really a good excuse. And since I'm talking about that here's a picture of my little Boo-ma-Goo, as I so endearingly call her, and her "I need boob now" face.

Parenting is hard. If kids weren't so darn cute, the human race would never survive. But parenting also has it's joys like when your kid does this.

Yeah, that's when you think, "awe, she's so cute and such an angel" and you have a sudden case of amnesia forgetting the fact you have had zero sleep that night because she screamed at you every 15 minutes. Amazing how that happens.

In the last post I shared my birth story. We had a rough start and once I came home the bumps didn't stop. We went through thrush (both me & baby), postpartum depression, minor surgery (me), and a long road to healing. In fact I'm still healing my body and it's been 2 1/2 months since I had her. Add to that lack of sleep. To say my life has changed would be the understatement of the year.

Before baby my priorities ranked as such:

Hubby
Me
Day Job
Writing (1-2K words/day)

Post-baby:

Baby
Baby
Baby
Baby
Hubby
Me

Writing (Will be replaced by Day Job once I return from Maternity Leave at the end of May)

So what do I have to show for my writing? Not much but you can see why. It really sucks because while I'm holding my baby, nursing, or rocking her to sleep, I have millions of ideas, smart dialogue, and fun scenes to add to the different projects I've completed or started, yet when I do have a free moment, I'm either eating something fast to keep my energy going, doing endless loads of laundry, cleaning, or paying some bills. Or worse when I do get a chance to jot down these thoughts and my postpartum brain reboots, erasing everything I was thinking about moments before.

 With that being said, I have been writing a little almost daily. Some days, it's 1k words (that's a really good day) others only 200 yet I've managed to keep it going. The key is to keep writing everyday.

I'm also working on a new project that is completely different than anything I've ever written and is something I never imagined I would want to write. Last month I attended a Donald Maass workshop that my local RWA chapter put on (thank you hubby for watching Boo). One of the exercise prompts he had us do was to write down what is the one thing you are too scared to write about or never want to go there. I wrote this particular theme down and shuttered. Not that I had a problem with it, but I just didn't know where to go or what to do with it so it frightened me. Two weeks later I was watching an episode of One Tree Hill on netflix and it hit me right in the face. Every cell of my body screamed, demanding that I needed to write this story.

I can't give you details or tell you what it is because I'm not ready to let anyone into this world just yet, but I'll say this much:

• I'm having to dig deep
• Very emotional
• A part of my past I'd never thought I would write about is coming up
• It's contemporary
• It deals with a very contraversial subject
• And it's going to piss off a few people
• But hopefully open a some minds up and maybe help someone going through this

 At the rate I'm writing it will take me the rest of year before I finish, but the story is one that cannot be rushed. I'm thinking about each chapter thoroughly before I start writing it. And you know what? I don't mind taking my time, even though I prefer to crank the words out. I want it to be good and I want it to sell because I really REALLY believe in this story.

So that's pretty much what's happening in my world. Happy Spring to everyone and I promise to blog a more often.
xoxo,
Melania

2nd Sunday Savor: 2012 reading list

One of the things seasoned authors tell you when you ask for writing advice is to read and read alot! I've taken this to heart over the years. Normally I read about 16 books a year (paper), but last year I got a Kindle and so I'm going list all the books in order read in 2012 and see if I've beaten my usual amount.

Completed:
1. Obsidian  Armentrout, Jennifer L (YA)
2. Daimon (prequal to Half-blood)  Armentrout, Jennifer L (YA)
3. Siren  Jacobs, Delle (Adult)
4. The Marked  Scott, Inara (YA)
5. Kiss and Makeup  Robertson, Faye (Adult)
6. The Dragon Stirs  Aicher, Lynda (Adult)
7. Paradise 21 (New Dawn)  Dionne, Aubrie (Adult)
8. The Dark Divine   Despain, Bree (YA)
9. Destined (Wings)  Pike, Aprilynne (YA)
10. Walking in Fire (Hawaiian Heroes)  Cade, Cathryn (Adult)
11. My Blood Approves  Hocking, Amanda (YA)
12. Fate  Hocking, Amanda (YA)
13. Flutter  Hocking, Amanda (YA)
14. Hollowland  Hocking, Amanda (YA)
15. The Marriage Bargain  Probst, Jennifer (Adult)
16. Innocent Darkness  Lazear, Suzanne (YA)
17. Wake  Hocking, Amanda (YA)
18. Sweet Venom  Childs, Terra Lynn (YA)
19. Sweet Shadows  Childs, Terra Lynn (YA)

Books started in 2012 and still reading:
1. Wired for Story  Cron, Lisa
2. The Eye of the World: Book One of 'The Wheel of Time'  Jordan, Robert (fantasy)
3. Art of Extreme Self-care  Richardson, Cheryl
4. Birthing from Within  England, Pam 
5. Life After Theft  Pike, Aprilynne  (paper) (YA)

So almost 20 completed books and this list does not include all of the audio books I've listened to as well. The ones I'm still working on I'm more than 50% through. So I would say it's been a successful year of reading. As you can see I read mostly YA and romance with a little bit of fantasy and self-improvement here and there. 

Well, I need to get some words in today and finish up Life After Theft so I can review it next week. Catch ya later.

2nd Sunday Savor: Getting back to writing

I found this fabulous little video on the Official The Host Facebook page. Stephenie Meyer's is one of my favorite authors and a huge inspiration for me. Take a look.

I like the part where she talks about how hard it is for her to get back to the world she's creating when she is pulled out and that it takes about two weeks before she can start writing again. This is something I battle with as a writer and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Loved hearing a successful published author like her struggles with this as well.

Speaking of writing, I've got a kissing and fight scene waiting for me. Catch you all next week. Until then here's another jewel of advice from Stephenie Meyer:

4th Sunday Surprise: How NOT to tell a story

Hubby and I watched Prometheus this weekend. I grew up watching the Aliens movies and looked forward to seeing Ridley Scott's newest creation. Plus it's no secret I LOVE sci-fi. However this movie turned out to be a dud. We fast forwarded parts of the film because the scene either dragged or the main characters were about to do something so dumb and I didn't want to waste my time watching their stupidity. When the end credits finally began to roll we glanced at each other and sighed in unison. There went 2 hours of our life and a $1.50 we would never get back. Thank heavens I didn't see it in the theater, because then I'd be pissed.

So what was it about the film that lacked?

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!! (If you haven't seen the movie and plan on it, you might want to stop reading here.)

Empathy- The movie starts out with an alien humanoid creature drinking a black fluid which causes him to disintegrate and tumble into a water fall triggering some new genetic reaction. The next scene switches to an archeology site on the Isle of Sky, Scotland were a couple discover ancient cave paints that match other ancient civilizations depictions. The lady archeologist, Elizabeth Shaw, interprets this as an invitation to find these people she labels "The Engineers" (the race who created humans). And then we are on the Prometheus traveling through space. All the crew are in stasis as the android David takes care of them and ship. When the crew wakes up as they arrive at their destination, the viewer is introduced to various array of characters thrown together supposedly to make for interesting story. None of them had met before they woke up, something I found very odd.

I didn't understand any of them or could sympathize with why most of the main character were there in the first place. The majority of the secondary characters behaved erratically and made poor choices that eventually led to their death. Archeologists were there to make contact with "their maker," but Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), the leader of the expedition, forbids them to make contact without her permission. Peter Weyland is a rich man who funds this expedition so he can discover a way to live forever and is on board the ship. Okay I get the whole "seeking the fountain of youth" perspective, but wouldn't you pick a more emotionally balanced group of people to manage your 3 trillion dollar investment?

I couldn't understand anyone's goal or why they made the choices they did therefore I couldn't empathize for them and when they all died, except for one crew member, I didn't mourn their loss or care.

Logic- Prometheus lands on this planet and part of the crew go to explore a cave as soon as they get there. One of the crew members is a geologist and has these handy-dandy orbs that scan the tunnels of said cave. However when they discover this chamber where one of the Engineer's body lies decapitated he freaks out and decides to go back to the ship. Another crew member joins him. When a huge storm approaches and ship captain orders them to return, everyone leaves and barely makes it back to the ship, but not before David gathers some specimens to take back.The two dudes who left earlier are lost in the tunnels and remain behind AFTER they left long before the rest group. They encounter a snakelike alien creature slithering through a pool of black fluid and eventually die because of their moronic actions.

Okay, so that was the beginning of the "too stupid to live" mistakes that this movie teems with. 1) you fly a ship to the farthest place humans have ever gone and you land it (your only way home) on an alien planet without scanning the planet first? Why not send a investigating probe filled with those handy-dandy scanner orbs? 2) Mr geologist dude can't figure out how to get out of the cave system after he boasts his little orbs will map out everything for them and he had contact with the ship where they could talk him and his partner their way out. Huh? 3) Oh yeah, we're on a foreign planet in a creepy tunnel let's split up because that's always a wisest decision.

David ends up tainting the drink of Shaw's archeologist boyfriend with alien black water. He becomes unknowingly infected and has sex with Shaw causing her to get pregnant with alien baby (most predictable plot point of the whole movie besides people dying). The crew returns to cave after storm to search for the two left behind. David wanders way from the rest of the crew and discovers this is a ship and there is one Engineer in stasis there. This is where I fast-forwarded the movie because the crew discovers one of the teammate's body and people start acting stupid and I got impatient.

Shaw's boyfriend dies and it is then she discovers she's pregnant. She runs off into Vicker's quarters where she uses the expensive self-surgery machine to extract the octopus-like alien out of her. Then she proceeds to run throughout the ship as if she hasn't had any major abdominal surgery. Right, really believable...

Character Development- this goes along with empathy. Developing the characters helps the viewer empathize with them. Yet the only character development I saw was people's IQ level seemed to disintegrate as the movie went on shown by their idiotic actions. Maybe that was the point of the movie? Being in stasis for several years and then landing on a foreign planet makes you act stupid.

Lack of Story Arc- Weyland awakens from stasis. David leads him and part of the crew including Shaw who is mere hours post surgery to the alien ship within the cave. At least she's sweating and looks like she's in pain. When David awakens the giant humanoid alien who in return decapitates the android and kills everyone but Shaw who runs away. She manages to warn the Prometheus as she's running for her life and tell them that the alien is going to kill earth by flying the ship invested with canisters of black alien water. The captain decided to fly Prometheus into the alien ship to stop it. Vickers jumps the ship through a escape pod only to be squashed by the alien ship falling from the sky. Shaw survives and David (because he is an android and can't be killed) makes contact with her. She takes his head and body. Together they find another alien ship and fly away seeking the Engineer's home planet. A new species emerges from the fallen humanoid alien. The End.

The whole movie is a collection of events that are disconnected. Why did David taint the water and infect Shaw's boyfriend? Why did the Engineer kill the people? What was the other species that lived on this planet in the black water? Did they kill the Engineers? How did Shaw interpret that he was going to fly the ship to earth? And after everything she'd been through, she still wanted to track these creatures? Why, why, why?

No questions were answered in the movie. A bunch of people flew to this planet and died expect for one girl and talking android head. Okay so what was the point? Who was the antagonist? The aliens, the stupid crew members, or the planet? I felt the people were thrown into situations to create conflict, but the only thing that these events revealed about the characters is that they are too stupid to live therefore why should I care about or what happens to them? I understand there will be a sequel. Will the questions be answered then? Do I even care enough to watch the sequel?

Prometheus might be two hours and $1.50 I will never get back, but on the positive side, what a cheap class on how NOT to tell a story.

RWA '12 Recap

I'm totally scrapping my usual schedule this month because a) it's fangs, felines, fins, & fun fiction's 2nd year anniversary & I have an AWESOME giveaway towards the end of the month b) We will be doing some major remodeling on my condo this month- internet will be dodgy c) I have a ton of revisions & writing to do because of the requests I got from RWA last month, which leads me to d) I want to give you guys a little recap of what my first national writer's conference was like complete with some pictures (I say some because I was so overwhelmed I forgot to take pictures of alot of stuff.) Please forgive the spelling and grammar errors, I have alot to cover and little time for editing.

So here we go *WARNING THIS IS A LONG POST*:

Tuesday I flew down to LAX & almost missed my flight because Obama was in town. That was just slightly stressful, but super cool seeing Air Force 1 parked at our airport. After visiting with family over dinner they dropped me off at the Anaheim Marriott which is practically across the street from Disneyland. I stayed with two author gal-pals, Inara Scott & Susan Sey. OMGOSH did we have FUN!

Wednesday In the morning I checked into the conference to get my badge & program schedule & they handed me a huge tote filled with books. And not just paperbacks. There were several hardbacks including Meg Cabot's Abandon & Jessica Shirvington's Embrace, both of which I'm looking forward to reading & then passing along to you my dear faithful readers. (did I mention about the giveaway coming up?)
I spend the rest of the morning in Downtown Disney looking for some classic Pooh stuff, but with zero success. *shakes fist* You've let me down yet again, Disney!
In the afternoon, I wrote & napped before going to the "Reader's for Life" Literacy Signing. Over 400 authors were present.

Photo courtesy of RWA Official Facebook Page.

Over 400 authors were present. Even though thousands of attended the event, surprisingly it was not that chaotic. This is coming from someone who does NOT like big crowds. I went in with the goal of limiting only 3 books & walked out of there with 8. Hey, it's going to a good cause, right?
I got to meet Jennifer Estep, Tera Lynn Childs, & Tracy Deebs.
But it was fun seeing my wonderful Portland author friends too like the beautiful Delilah Marvelle. Love her!!

 Thursday The workshops began. There were so many of them it was very hard to choose which ones to go to. However, since I'm PRO-membership level I decided to attend the PRO-retreat. (PRO means you've finished a full novel, have submitted to an agent or editor, & received either a rejection or contract-but have not received an advance yet.)
At the retreat we had a lawyer come talk to us about publishing right & copyrights. This was the first legal talk on publishing I listened to where I didn't fall asleep or checked out within the first 15 minutes. Afterward, a panel of editors from Avon, Samhain, Grand Central, & Belle Books took questions.
Most important thing I took from them was "give us a good story, the writing doesn't have to be stellar- we're editors- but the story needs to be told well." To me that was super encouraging.

At lunch, Stephanie Laurens gave the keynote speech. What an elegant classy woman. Her message: though the publishing industry is changing two things remain the same-the author & the reader. It doesn't matter how the book is delivered, what the reader cares is if the story quality is there. There will always be readers hungry for the next book.
On each seat in the ballroom were two of Stephanie Lauren's books to take home.

After lunch I was so tired I took a nap & then wrote the rest of the afternoon, since I didn't see any workshops that interested me.

Friday More workshops. 1st one was Simone Elkeles "Insider's Look into a YA best-seller." I didn't know who she was before this conference, but I recognized her book covers. She had so much valuable information regarding the industry & how she put her book Perfect Chemistry on the NYT list-all of her doing, not the publisher. Her books are now on my TBR list. :)
2nd workshop Michael Hauge's "Using Inner Conflict to Create Powerful Love Stories." This two-hour workshop basically paid for the entire conference. Everything he talked about resonated with me. The most important thing I took away is Identity vs. Essence. I'll have to do a separate blog post about this in the future.

At lunch, we had the lovely Robin Carr speak & got another two books on our chairs. I really enjoyed her talk. Her publishing story was incredibly inspiring. It took her many many years of writing and being published before she hit the NYT list (like 20 years or so). Talk about perseverance. Oh my goodness, she is one funny lady. I could listen to her talk all day.
 In the afternoon, I caught Sophie Jordan & Tera Lynn Childs' workshop on YA trilogies. Both ladies were so nice & provided lots of helpful information about writing & selling a trilogy. One is a plotter & the other a pantser. I loved the two prospectives.
Buy this point my brain was so dead, I went back to the hotel room & ate leftover pizza while watching the Olympic Games opening ceremony with my roomies.

Saturday The BIG day. In the morning I pitched to an agent & editor, both of which requested a partial. I'm sure they request partials to everyone who talked to them, but whatever! Now when I send my pages & query in, they'll have it in the RWA slush pile rather then the regular one where the chances of them getting lost are higher. Because both appointments were in the middle workshops I didn't attend any that morning. But in between I did go to a couple of the publisher sponsored book signing where I got more free books.

I ended up shipping a box of books home because I had so many & I didn't want to lug them through the airport. (Note Jennifer Estep's Dark Frost- some lucky reader will get this plus more sometime in the near future-more details to follow...)

At noon my brother who lives in SoCal came by & took me over to Grandma & Grandpa's for lunch. My Grandmother makes the BEST Romanian-Hungarian dishes EVER. Nothing like good home-cooking from the mother country to fuel the soul.
I caught one workshop in the afternoon on Negotiation. The speaker was an LAPD negotiation officer and had lots of stories to tell as well as basic information to know when writing a hostage scenario.

Finally in the evening I attended the grande finale- the 2012 RITA & Golden Heart Awards Ceremony- basically the Oscars for the romance world. So many pretty evening gowns, sparkling jewels, fancy up do's, lovely shoes.

Angela James, Carina Press Editor, accepting RITA award.

The best parts of the reward ceremony: 1. The winning YA for Golden Heart was one I judged! 2. Two categories in the RITA awards were won by digital presses (Carina Press & Avon Impulse) The gal who won for Carina Press was one of the many fabulous authors I met during the luncheons. Congrats Fiona!

And that concludes my recap of RWA 2012. Phew! What a whirlwind experience. Loved every minute of it and already looking forward to attending the next one. If you ever have a chance to attend one of these conferences, DO IT!!! It will totally inspire you & you will learn sooo much your brain will explode.

As always, thank you so much for reading. As a way to show my appreciation, I'll be hosting a Blog Anniversary Giveaway starting next week on the 12th and run through the 26th of this month when I will pull two lucky winners. :)

4th Sunday Suprise: My 1st Writing Book

Labyrinth Trail, Washington

I've always avoided writing manuals or books. Yeah, I've taken numerous workshops both at conferences and online for writing, but my philosophy is that if I'm not putting into practice what I learn at said workshops, what's the point? Most books I find to formulaic for my taste. Yes there is a formula to writing but it is also a creative process. So I take a class and then I write like hell applying those concepts. With each novel I've written my work gets better and better, but with the current WIP I've hit a plateau.

I know how to write. I know how to plot, even though I'm a panster. I know how to write hooks and where they should go on the page. I know where to place the inciting incident, the point of no return, and the black moment in my stories. All of my novels have all of these elements. Yet here I'm writing my 7th book and I'm not published and as I reached the dark moment in my story, I realized the whole thing is crap like the last six books sitting in the proverbial drawer.

I talked to my crit partner about my dilemma, she pointed out my story isn't focused and there is too much going on but nothing really happening--which is the same feedback I got last year from the editors and agents who rejected my vampire novel. Funny thing is I knew this, but how do I fix the problem? None of the classes I've taken or articles I've read online have helped me in this. They always say "what is your protagonist's goal?" or "what's her motivation?"

Yeah I get that, but how the HELL do you write that? And really what does that actually mean? So last week on Monday (a week till RWA, where I'm hoping to pitch this project to an editor & agent) I came to a halt. I didn't want to add any more words, because it was flat fried crap with ketchup gone south. Why would I want to waste any more time? 

That afternoon I got an email notification on my phone that my dear husband had gifted me a Kindle book. (This is the first time he's bought me a book in the 8 years I've been with him & that's saying something given the fact most of the wall of our condo are dedicated to bookshelves.) When I accepted the gift I realized that it's a book on writing. Great, I thought, that's what I need. But when I got home he said it really isn't about writing but more about story telling

Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Cron is the first book on writing I have ever picked up and actually read. At this point in the game I was ready to throw in the towel and give up my dream of becoming a published author. I really had nothing to loose. That night I read the first chapter. Everything she said resonated with me like the perfect song coming on in the car as I'm driving into the sunset. Yeah that is how powerful this book is. 


Maybe it's the science geek in me that started dancing, but when she started talking about how our brains react to story-telling I rejoiced. FINALLY someone who speaks my language. I went back to my first chapter and applied everything I had learned. BAM! my opening when from fluffy puffy flat cotton candy to in your face, who is this girl, and what is going to happen to her. Even my crit partner said it was much better. I've read four chapters in Wired for Story and just the few concepts I've learned so far are transforming my novel from the rubbish to something someone might actually want to buy and read.


The coolest part about all of this: I'm revising for the first time. In the past, every time I go to revise I don't make it past the first two or three chapters before I scrap the whole thing and start from scratch. I'm on chapter 11 now and am actually really enjoying the process. I feel I have achieved a new level in my journey towards publication. Yay!


I won't be blogging next week since I'll be at RWA, but I can safely say expect some cool posts next month including a blog anniversary giveaway. :) Thanks so much for stopping by. *back to writing*

2nd Sunday Savors: World building

Arcadia Beach, OR

You all know I write fantasy. (In case the name of this blog didn't give it away.) I like fantasy. Always have. I prefer to delve into a world of make believe because to me it's like a mini-mental vacation- both when I read and write.

Urban fantasy is my favorite, because the fiction is set in present time but with all the creatures of the fantasy world using modern day technology and such. Wouldn't it be funny to go to the grocery store and run into an elf or have a drink with a vampire at the pub? I suppose it depends on what the vampire is drinking & whether you're into to that sort of thing...

What I'm getting at is fantasy is a different world than that which you live in. As a writer you get to create this world, set the rules, decide who gets to do what, and develop your own unique mythos. This is why I love to write fantasy. It's so much fun playing God. :)

However, as entertaining as it is, world building is HARD! Once it's created you have to stick with the rules you've set and that can be quite challenging at times. I cannot tell you how often I've set a certain rule for my vampires at the beginning of the story and half way through I run into a problem where that particular criterion doesn't quite work. It's like slamming into a wall. Being a panster, this becomes a huge problem since I now need to go back and find the issue and work my way forward. This might be the biggest reason I have yet to publish my vampire novel. There's just too much to fix and well, I'm just plain lazy.

I have learned alot about world building over the last couple of years and I'm going to share with you a couple of tricks that are helping me tremendously on my current WIP.

1. Let the world percolate. I've been thinking about the world of my WIP for about six months. When I'm laying in bed about to go to sleep I imagine what it would be like to fall asleep in this world. What would the sky look like at night? What sounds would I hear coming through my window? When I get up in the morning I imagine what I see when I left my room and house. Who do I meet? Why would I meet them? Where do I go?  What do I wear? You get the jest.
2. When I come up with something interesting, I write it down in my journal or in a file I've created on my smart phone. Now that I'm starting to write the actual story I refer to these notes.
3. Before I start writing the book, however, I test these ideas with the main points of my story and the other way around. Do my main points of the story fit the world or do they complicate things in a way that would confuse the reader (not to mention the writer)? Does the world fit my story?
4. And then I write and write and write. Because really, that's what it comes down to in the end. You can think about your story all you want, but the only sure way to test your brilliant world is to write it. How else are you going to know if it works or not?
5. Leave squeaking room. Have options for your world so that when you run into the problem like I did where something doesn't work create a "plan B" so to speak. Example: My vampires are Strigoi, ugly looking creatures that crawl out of the grave. Who wants to read about a hero who looks like death? So I created a myth that if the strigoi blood-bonds with a gypsy witch from a certain blood line he can return to his former handsomeness, but he must depend on her blood for the rest of his existence.

Hope this helps and thanks for reading!

Here's a flower from my patio garden for all of you mothers out there. Happy Mother's Day.

April Awesomeness: Larry Brooks Workshop

Coldplay Concert @ Rose Garden Area

April is fast approaching conclusion and I have to say it's been a kick ass month & not just here on the blog. 1st, I finished my day job class from hell & feel a million pounds lighter having that behind me. 2nd, I saw Coldplay live for the 1st time. They are a great arena band to see and I would recommend going if they're coming to your neck of the woods. They gave out wrist bands at the door. When they lit up during the show I felt like I stood in the middle of a galaxy full of colorful stars. One of the most magical moments of my life. 3rd, yesterday we were in Spokane WA for a wedding for the weekend and spend the morning at Cat Tales Zoo. They rescue wild cats of all sizes and take very good care them. Being a feline lover, I was in heaven. Here is Apollo, a White Bengal Tiger. (BTW, I tweeted this picture under the incorrect name of Zeus. Zeus was there, but not in the picture.)

Apollo @ Cat Tales

I promise to post more pictures soon especially since hubby captured some great ones!

As much as I would love to talk about cats, concerts and show you pictures, you came here today to read my notes from Larry Brooks Workshop I took at the RCRW Spring Intensive. Your wish is my command, however I don't have a lot of notes, because much of what he said wasn't anything new for me. With that being said, there were some key points that I jotted down because I found them interesting. For more in depth notes click here, here, and here.

Ask yourself these questions:

What is the most important word in the realm of writing stories?  

Remember the moment when the seed of the story began?What sparked the story?

How did you turn the seed into a story?Why?

In one sentence what is your story about?

What is concept?

What is the most important moment in the story? (The inciting incident leading to the dark moment.)

What is the element about your book that will stand out of the slush pile?

Are you searching for your story, polishing your story, or optimizing your story, or searching for your ending?

Six Cores:

      Concept: the dramatic stage on with the character plot unfold.

      Character

      Theme 

       Story Structure: What happens, in what order and why? 

    Scene Writing: each scene needs to tell the mission.

       Writing voice. Ability to write a great sentence.

Three phases of writing. Designing, Implementation, & Optimizing.

Six key realms of story physics

1.      Compelling narrative premise. Evolution between seed to story.

2.      Conflict. Dramatic Tension. What are the stakes?

3.      Pace. Expositional pace.

4.       Heroic Empathy. Must like hero.

5.      Vicarious reader experience. Top Gun- cool jets.

6.      The x-factor that makes the book unique.

For more information on Larry Brooks visit his website:

www.storyfix.com

Thanks again for reading & have a lovely week.

April Awesomeness: Entangled's Liz Pelletier "Magical" Workshop

Most of you already know at the end of last month I attended a writer conference put on by my local romance writing chapter. You can click here so see which agents & editors were present. We had quite the stellar group.

Along with Agent Lauren Ruth's query workshop, Liz Pelletier's talk regarding the "magic" of the publishing industry was worth it's weight in gold. I learned more about the business than I thought possible. Liz went through the possess of Entangled Publishing from submission to print. This is a brief summery from my notes:

Entangled Publishing Process:

1.      Query letter

a.       High concept proposal.
b.     Query letter needs to look like the blurb on the back of the book. Often that blurb will be used to sell it to the distribution market.

2.      Request full

a.       Full gets sent to two interns

b.      Two no’s from interns most likely reject.

c.       Sometimes she skips the interns (mostly from agents).

d.      If she likes it she’ll give author a call to talk and discuss the book.

3.      Editor creates APF (Acquisition Proposal Form):

a.       5 reasons the publisher wants to buy the book.

b.      The author name.

c.       Book title.

d.      Price comp.

4.      APF goes to senior editor and the acquisition board meeting.

a.       Discuss the profits or loss.

b.     Editor has 60 seconds to pitch the book. 

b.      Finance officer and senior editor must agree on purchase.

5.     Getting picked for a key title is AWESOME. Key titles are books the publisher puts more money behind because they are believed to have the potential for the most amount of sales.

6.      Book gets acquired. SQUEE!!!

7.      Editing!!! Grrr! 3 passes with editor, 1 pass with Editorial Director, & then Copy editor.

8.      Cover is picked. Entangled's policy is to get a cover that will sell not necessarily represent the book.

9.      Book is entered into the distribution catalogue.

10.  The book is pitched to the sales people for mass distribution (Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, etc). The editor as 60 seconds to pitch the book. The reps will either call out the number of books they want to purchase for their shelves or will say "skip."

11.  Digital only:

a.       Still have to sell to a digital distributor.

12.  Nine months is the fastest the book will release after sale.

Phew! And this is only the bare bones of what she covered. For more in depth notes click here. The biggest gem I got from her workshop was the "60 seconds to pitch" to the publisher & then to the distributors. Just cause the editor wants your book doesn't mean the publisher will acquire it and even if they do, the distribution sales reps also need to sold be as well. Basically your book needs to be insanely off the hook to grab these people's attention.

Not only is your editor working to make your book shine, they're working their tail feathers off trying to sell it to the rest of the world. And did you know the average editor, even at the big 6 in NY, makes about $25,000-35,000 a year salary? Sure, some of the senior editors of the NYT best-seller authors make more, but not that much.

The publishing industry is a complex machine and now I understand why not everybody that writes a book is published. Oh yeah, you can self-pub (nothing wrong with that). There are many success stories there, but if you're a nobody, whose going to go out there and fight to get your book on the shelf or advertised on websites where the potential for buyers?

During the coference I also got a chance to speak with Holly Blanck from St. Martin's Press. Their process to acquiring books is very similar, expect at their acquisition meeting she's pitching a romance, while the editor next to her is pitching a business guide. Pretty crazy, eh?

Hats off to the editors and agents who bust their butts for their authors. You are heroes in my opinion.

April Awesomess: Query Workshop Notes

Happy April. Sorry I didn't blog last weekend. I was actually at RCRW Spring Intensive Conference and I have loads to share. First let me give you a brief overview of the weekend:

Friday- I checked into my hotel with writer/author friends Delilah Marvelle and Dana. After happy hour at the bar (all writers conferences must begin with happy hour, imo) we went to the agent/editor panel were we got to ask the industry titans questions.

Participating Agents:
Amy Boggs – Donald Maass Literary Agency
Natalie Lakosil – Laura Bradford Literary Agency
Lauren Ruth – BookEnds, LLC

Participating Editors:
Holly Blanck – St. Martins Press
Heather Howland – Entangled Publishing
Liz Pelletier – Entangled Publishing
Emily Ohanjanians – HQN/Harlequin

Yeah we had a fabulous group.

Saturday- Pitching to agents and editors in the morning and workshops all day. In the evening we participated in an informal round table with each of the editors and agents. All I can say is the industry knowledge I learned from these workshops more than paid for the admission fee. Plus I got to eat lunch with wonderful Heather Howland and Liz Pelletier. I KNOW!!! I'm still freaking out.

Sunday- Larry Brooks Writing Workshop all day. 

To say I was utterly exhausted by the end of the weekend is the biggest understatement of the year. Oh but so worth it.

Anyways here are my notes from Agent Lauren Ruth's workshop on queries:

She discussed the basic format for query letters as head, shoulders, knees, and toes:

Head- introduction

Shoulders- broad over-view of what the book is or the one sentence pitch

Knees-synopsis/blurb

Toes- platform (twitter/blog, publishing experience), who you are, and goodbye

Query should be 250 words—not longer or shorter.

Do not compare big stories or movies in the query. You don't know if the agent or editor even will like them. Even if they do, they might not be interested in having something similar. 

Please put the title of your novel in CAPITAL LETTERS. It helps the agent/editor to find it easier.

Personalize the intro- Dear Lauren… It shows you've done your research. :)

Give the main conflict and the skeleton of the story in the blurb/synopsis.

Try not to ask questions when starting a query. 

What Lauren Ruth looks for:

1.      Main Character

2.      What she Wants

3.      What keeping her from getting it

4.      How she’ll solve the problem

5.      The connection between the hero and heroine.

6.      Show the character’s unique traits.

7.      Paranormal:

a.       How does the world work?

b.      Why is it different or special?

8.      YA: Show the issue that relates to teens.

Throughout the workshop we dissected sample queries which really helped us figure out what worked and what didn't. I've taken many query workshops but this one was the first to really help me know what agents are looking for. You can read more about queries on Lauren's blog http://slushpiletales.wordpress.com/.

Okay, I have a lot of awesomeness coming this month:

April 16- I'm hosting the lovely Inara Scott and giving away a set of signed The Talents and The Marked. :)
April 22- Liz Pelletier's "magical" workshop notes. You won't want to miss this one.
April 29- Larry Brooks Writing workshop notes.


As always, thank you so much for reading!

Cheers,

Melania

2nd Sunday Savors: Characters

Characters: dictionary.com definition:

char·ac·ter/ˈkariktər/

Noun:

The mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. The distinctive nature of something.

I remember the day clear as if it were this morning. I was riding the MAX home listening to Depeche Mode"s It's No Good.  I closed my eyes and was taken to a moonlight meadow in the Fagarasi Mountains were a gypsy witch and a vampire stood together. He loved her so much because she was his beloved incarnate. She felt attracted to him as well, but held back. From there stemmed my first novel, Six Roses. I went home and wrote the first draft in about 3 months. Then I rewrote it changing her age from 16 to 18. But that draft didn't feel right either so I rewrote the entire novel, now making her an adult. With each evolution, the story became better. Yet there was something missing and I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

So I rewrote the story taking a new spin on things. What if the girl who wrote Six Roses, discovered this world was real when the characters she created came into her life, and caused all sorts of mischief? Thus became my second novel The Vampire Novelist. I received lots of interest for this one, but because my writing wasn't quite up to par it was rejected each time. I loved this story and the character I created, but something lacked.

Last November, I participated in NaNoWriMo and I rewrote the original story AGAIN. 4th time now. This round I changed the plot completely, but kept the main & supporting characters. I did add a new character, a handsome young Orthodox priest. That's when the worst possible thing happened.

My gypsy witch fell in love with him.

I was so shocked I almost stopped writing the damn story. This couldn't be happening. She's supposed to be with vampire. They are soul mates! I screamed. I cried. I drank lots of whiskey. I couldn't sleep. And finally I accepted the inevitable. She was going to be with priest and there was nothing I could do about it.

That was in November. In early February as I was completing Editpalooza, it hit me harder than a speed train. My characters had taken a life of their own. They had become three dimensional beings. (All in my head, of course.) Here I was trying to force two people together who weren't meant to be lovers in this incarnation of her soul and it took five rewrites (if you count the spin off novel) for me to figure this out.

 Dude, writing is HARD! FRUSTRATING! DEMANDING! Can drive a person to alcoholism. But it's also so rewarding. Best part: you're never alone. I have my characters living with me 24/7 telling me what they think or making snide remarks about my choice in fashion some days. It gets noisy at times, but we're just one big happy family. When I try to abandon or ignore them, they sing this song:

Thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings.