5 ways motherhood has changed my writing

Happy February everyone!

The last month has been a whirlwind of writing, something that hasn't happened in a very long time. It feels great being in the zone and making progress. In the last 30 days, I've revised and finished first round of edits on Urban Goddess Mama-to-Be (coming out spring 2015), revised 40/180 pages and added 3K new words to Temple of the Moon (coming out summer 2015, stay tuned more to come).

Okay, so maybe that doesn't sound like a lot, but it is for me. And here's why. Motherhood is a time suck. It takes up every ounce of energy that I have, leaving very little to nothing for anything else. I've already blogged about my struggles since becoming a mom here. On top of that I work 40 hours a week at a very mentally demanding job. But since last August, I have been slowly getting my mojo back and it feels great, but my writing process has changed a lot since I started this blog years ago.

1. My Speed. Before Baby (BB), I used to be able to crank out 3-5K works a day, sometimes in one evening. Now if I get 300-500 words done in one day, I consider it a very successful day. I spent the last two years berating myself for this, but over the last few months, I've realized that my slower speed is perfectly okay. At least I'm making progress. Sure, it might take me months to complete a short novel, but I'm okay with that.

2. Writing Time. BB, I used to write in the evening. As soon as the sun went down, all the muses came out to play. Now when it gets dark outside, I'm counting down the minutes when I get to go to bed. I don't have a specific writing time anymore. I have to do it when I have a free moment and that can happen at all hours of the day or night. Most of the time I get any writing done is during the day on the weekend when my husband is home to watch the Boo Creature.

3. Writing Environment. BB, I did most of my writing at home, or on my hour-long public transportation commute each way from work. Now, I do most of my writing at Panera Bread or anywhere outside my home because when I'm home there are way too many distractions. Suddenly the pile of laundry looks more appealing than hashing out a plot and the desire to clean the toilet (my least favorite chore) grows greater than writing the next chapter. Besides my blogging and nonfiction work, everything else takes place outside my home. No complaints here, since I work from home for day job, it's nice to get out and see what the outside world looks like.

4. Motivation. BB, when I'd reach a wall in a WIP, I'd stop and go write something else and when I'd try to edit/revise a completed manuscript, I'd get about 20-50 pages in and stop because I thought the story was crap. Much of that hasn't changed, but now I have this weird motivation I didn't have before. While my gut reaction is to stop and write something else, I wait a couple of hours or days and pick up where I left off. There is a new determination I've never had before to get my fiction out there. One look at my daughter and I know I must do the icky work of editing and revising to get my novel publishing ready.

5. Pantster to Plotster. BB, pantster all the way. Then came prego-brain followed by postpartum brain and I couldn't remember shit. Now I do a little plotting. Not too much, because then I'll loose interest in the story, but enough so I know where I'm going. Michael Hauge's 5 Turning Points has been most helpful.

I'm getting there, folk, I'm getting here. Thanks for stopping by and more to come on Temple of the Moon. 

xoxo,
Melania

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

Dabbling

I can't believe I'm blogging twice in one week! That hasn't happened since, well, last time I had a contest I think. But I had to give you an update on my writerly "stuff."

If you remember last month I mention I was working a project that I couldn't give too many details about. That particular book is still in progress and going great, but I had another little project I didn't mention.

About a month and 1/2 ago my daughter went through a growth spurt and the only thing that calmed her was me carrying her through the house against my shoulder while I sang to her. Of course, most of these songs were off key and the lines didn't rhyme, but those details didn't matter to her. She loved it. Eventually I came up with a little poem that I named Elly's Lullaby. I sang/spoke it to her over and over again until she finally fell asleep. When I laid her down I jotted down the words because wanted to remember it. As I did so I saw them in a colorful picture book.

Well, folks, today I put that idea out there and queried 3 agencies (Bent, Writer's House, and Dystel & Goderic). Been thinking of dabbling in children's books for a while now and today I made that big step. I plan on querying some more but my daughter woke up from her nap and she needs some mommy time. Keeping fingers crossed! 

3rd Sunday Sweet: Love Actually

Movie Poster courtesy of Wikipedia

Normally I review books for 3rd Sunday Sweet, but today I'm going to talk about one of my favorite movies of all time. Movies are a huge source of inspiration and education in telling a great story. Love Actually is the perfect example, especially when it comes to romance and love.

For those who haven't seen it here is the blurb from IMDb:

Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.

 Most of the cast is British and which includes some of my favorites: Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, & Rowan Atkinson.

Basically the movie is about Love and how it manifests in different relationships. Each individual story is connected to the next one by one or two of the characters. Riddled with classic British humor, sweet to sizzling romance and sparkling dialogue, Love Actually delivers on many levels. It's a movie both guys and girls can enjoy. And it's definitely my favorite Christmas movie EVER. I watch it every year around this time. It leaves me feeling hopeful, happy, and in the holiday spirit.

So what is your favorite Christmas movie? Leave a comment and you'll be entered to win a $10 gift card to Amazon.com. I'll announce the winner next Sunday.

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*

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 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

4th Sunday Surprise: Fins

Image courtesy of Google Images

Did you notice the blog title banner? Take a look, I can wait...




*whistles*



*checks email*



*checks twitter*



*tickles kitty-on-lap's head*



Oh, hi, you're back. So did you notice anything different? Yup, I did it again and there ain't no oops about it. I changed the title to match my writing and what this blog is about.

Why fins? Well, if you somehow missed the picture above, it's referring to mermaids. Yes, I'm working on a merfolk series. Last summer I wrote a short fantasy story that was inspired by a really cool dream I had. Every month I would add little more to the story. In November I took the plunge and added a mermaid. Suddenly a whole series of plots involving merfolk began to develop. Currently my short story is out in submission, hopefully the requesting editor likes it enough to say the long awaited yes.

Meanwhile, I've been getting my butt whipped by Editpalooza from Savvy Authors. My new year's resolution was to learn to edit. Holy mole, I'm learning, but it's worse than getting a bikini wax and a root canal at the same time. In the last two weeks I've had more emotional outbursts and breakdowns than my entire writing life. But this is good. I need to be pushed to outside of my comfort zone because ultimately I want to publish my writing and learning how to edit will be the key to success.

Hopefully I'll have some good news for you soon. Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for next Sunday.... hint a giveaway will be commencing....

Cheers,

Melania

Writing stuff

Hello everyone.

Yes, yes, it’s been a while. My excuse: I've been writing! That's a good excuse, right?

But so much has happened since my last post. Sometimes it is necessary to drop everything and blog.

Writing Progress:

•  The Vampire Novelist is over 50% written. The old version was also, but this is the new and improved.
•  My Las Vegas contemporary romance novel has a name, FINALY. Even though it will change once publishers get a hold of it—anything is better than “That book I wrote back in January”. So without farther ado ta-da: The Right Way. (Thank you Lissa, for the suggestion.) Even though I kind of pushed this book to the wayside, I’m still tweaking it here and there, because I have a stinking suspicion this might be the one. . .
•  I’m outlining a new YA fantasy romance for future project.
•  I have two online critique partners, thanks to http://cpmatchmaker.blogspot.com/ This is the first time I’ve had critique partners or even critiqued someone else's work. It’s been a huge learning curve for me both receiving and giving. I can’t stress enough how IMPORTANT critique partners are. They are helping me so much in refining my writing. So here is my shout out to Z and T! You rock!

Upcoming events:

I will be attending the Rose City Romance Writer’s Spring Intensive next weekend and am super duper excited! There will be agents and editors to take pitches. I will be pitching The Right Way because the manuscript is complete. I will also pitch The Vampire Novelist as well, but only for practice, because it’s not finished yet and I highly doubt it will be in ten days.

Writing Resources:

Besides the Critique Partner Matching blog, I’ve also discovered Farland’s Author Advisory blog. Let me tell you *scoots forward and sits up straight* this blog is worth GOLD. Every couple of weeks they host an author via conference call where they talk about very specific craft points, such as character arcs, outlines, creating more writing productivity, and so much more.
Last night they had #1 Best-selling author Aprilynne Pike and she talked about the system of outlining she uses in her very successful YA novels. Her information was so incredibly practical and useful.
The best part about these teleconferences—it’s FREE. The next best part—you can download past calls to our computer for FREE. It’s like taking an online writing course for FREE. Who doesn’t like FREE????

Here’s the link: http://authorsadvisory.blogspot.com/

You’re welcome!

Till after the Spring Intensive, so long my friends!

Cheers,
Melania