May Flowers and More Writing

Not a lot of novel writing due to a plethora of yucky reasons, including the sudden death of a beautiful co-worker, friend, and amazing teacher.   

But, I did finish a couple of magazine articles, my column, two essays, and I shared a great chat with my agent on Thursday. I'm gearing up for May and excited to get back to my 1000 words a day. 

It's a balmy 80 degrees at the Jersey shore today, so I'm headed to the beach and boardwalk for a recharge. Hope everyone is enjoying fabulous weather. :) 

Enjoy your weekend!! :) 

The In Between Stage

Happy April, Everyone!! Yay, Spring!! 

I'm off for a weekend filled with softball, a final proof, and a Sweet 16 party. Lately, I'm hesitate to dive into something new, since I should hear from my editor at some point this month to confirm my next SCREWBALL project. But, like Marianne would say, that's just a good excuse, so here are my April goals.. (Love ya, Marianne!) 

1. Finish brainstorming my new upper YA novel.  

2. Write 10,000 words of my new upper YA novel. 

3. Write 20,000 words of my next SCREWBALL novel. I should find out next week if the editor accepted the first three chapters of the prequel or if she wants the first three chapters of SCREWBALL 3. :) 

What's on tap for everyone this weekend? 

Have a fabulous weekend! 

Changing Things Up :)

Last Monday, this was waiting patiently for me in my inbox. :) 

The cover of my new sporty YA novel, CHANGE UP: AN ASHLEY CLARKE NOVEL (SCREWBALL series, Book 2) has arrived! 

After I wrote a fictional series based on a freshman fastpitch softball fanatic for FASTPITCH FOREVER magazine, two years ago, the publisher asked me to turn the magazine series into books. Hence, the SCREWBALL series was born. As a teen and tween, I loved to read and searched bookstores for girls' sports books and found absolutely nothing. Sports were a huge part of my life and I had a hard time relating to tween and teen main characters who didn't play sports. I was forced to either read boys' sports books or book adaptations of sporty movies. 

I'm so proud every time I see another girls' sporty novel in print, whether it's mine or another author's, and the SCREWBALL series is super special to me.  :) 

After I received the fabulous new, summery cover, I was in celebration mode and spent the first half of the week promoting CHANGE UP and wrote zero words. However, I was able to squeeze out 2000 words yesterday.

Have an amazing week, everyone! :) 

Checking In

Busy week. Good week. Happy week. I finished revising my new sporty novel, VARSITY PREP, and sent it to my agent. Then, I finished the first three chapters for another sporty series and sent them to the brand. :)

Now, I'm going to start brainstorming either my upper YA/adult book or the third book in the SCREWBALL series. At first, I wasn't sure which one to tackle first until I received some valuable advice. Begin the one that calls to you... Problem solved. :) 

What do you do when you can't decide which book to write? 

Have a fabulous week, everyone! ;) 

Back to Work

After a particularly grueling couple of weeks personally, I couldn't write until I cleared my head. But, now I'm back to my list, more focused, more thankful for my writing life, more determined, and ready to push myself as hard as I can to continue achieving my goals and dreams. 

Besides my regular To Do list, I added another list this week. 

1. Join a NJRWA committee. Did anyone ever run a conference book fair? :) 

2. Attend my first critique group meeting. Thanks for the invite, Katia!  Two years ago, I belonged to one, then I moved. Meeting new writing buds tomorrow. :) 

This week, I finished polishing the first three chapters of a sporty tween assignment. I'm super psyched and passionate about this particular idea.  When I'm excited, the words flow so much easier. 

Fellow JaNoWriMoers: Do the words flow faster when you're excited and passionate about your subject or character? And when you suffer a loss or something tragic happens, do you feel more focused and determined when you return to writing? Or is it difficult to write? 

Have a fabulous weekend! :) 

Time: Where did you go??

Thanks to the list, I finished the first draft of my WIP. Now, revision time. :) Yay! 

The list is working so well in fact, I actually can't believe how much writing and revising I can get done when write first and stay off the Internet. :) But, the list has its drawbacks too, like time. I run out of it. 

The time factor amazes me because as a kid, I was always bored and time moved like molasses. Now, time flies by and I never feel like there is enough time in a day. :) 

Does everyone feel this way?

Have a fabulous week everyone! ;)  

Happy V Day!

Things are moving along well and the priority list is working. I finally found something that keeps me focused and it's so simple. Just a list. :)

Basically, every morning I wake up and write before my hubby leaves for work. Some mornings I have an hour, some morning less then a half hour. But, using the time for writing instead of emails, FACEBOOK, and MySpace is proving more productive. And this week, I was able to write close to 2000 words a day and I'm almost finished my WIP. :) Yay! 

Happy Valentines Day! 

Is anyone doing anything special? I'm stuck at home with an ear infection. I know. An ear infection in my thirties?? :) I thought things like ear infections only struck little ones. 

Have a fabulous weekend! :) 

A Whole Lot of Nothing

Hey, everyone! Just checking in to say.. Ah... Nothing. Only about 1000 words written this week for my WIP. But, it's all good. Sometimes life just gets in the way. And it certainly was last week. 

But, it's a new week and a new list of priorities. No blogs. No FACEBOOK. No Perez Hilton until I write 1000 words. Yesterday, I wrote a list of priorities on a bright yellow post it and stuck it to my laptop. Write 1000 words is first. Assignments, emails, and revisions are listed second. And blogs, FACEBOOK, and publicity is last. So far. So good. :)   

Does anyone else make a daily list of priorities? 

Have a fabulous week! :)  

A JaNoWriMo Lesson Learned

Wow.. Here we are the unofficial end of the first version of JaNoWriMo. :) 

Although I didn't complete 50,000 words, I definitely learned how to pace myself for best writing potential. And one thousand words a day is my new goal. My new daily regimen. My new mantra. The pace that works best for me. And the most important lesson I learned from JaNoWriMo.  

Thanks, Marianne for leading the pack, everyone for your support, and continuing this great support system. 

Happy Saturday and back to work! :)  

One Week To Go

Plugging along and almost done my revisions and additions for my YA non-sporty novel, PINKED. :) 

I'll admit, I have been neglecting my JaNoWriMo WIP and this week, I only added a total chaotic mess of about 2000 words. But it's okay. PINKED exhausts me. And when I'm done writing and revising, all I want to do is veg, like Mr. Potato in the pic. 

Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever written an emotionally draining novel or story?

 

Happy Writing! :) 

Seventh Inning Stretch

The only thing missing from the above pic are crumpled up tissues scattered all over the floor. :) 

Back to bed, but plugging along with PINKED and my new WIP.    

Have a productive weekend, everyone! 

SCREECH..

My JaNoWriMo WIP screeched to a stop on Thursday. Why? My agent sent exciting revisions for an existing WIP, titled PINKED. So, on day ten of JaNoWriMo, I'm switching gears and digging back into PINKED. 

I wish I could work on two novels at once, but I can't. I can't even work on a magazine article and a novel at the same time. In fact, sometimes I can barely clean the house, parent, and teach one night a week when I'm in the middle of writing a scene. I think the two sides of my brain fight with each other or something. But, I'm wondering.. How many JaNoWriMos can work on two novels at once? And how do you do it? :) 

Happy Saturday! :) 

Honeymoon Phase

I made it! I didn't cheat and I chanted my mantra. And now I'm loving the feeling of doing this JaNoWriMo together. :) Writing, at times, is such a solitary process. 

Right now, I'm in the honeymoon phase - completely and utterly in love with my idea. But, as I approach the 25% mark, I know the stage of 'something or someone isn't going right with the story' is looming around the quarter bend.  

Does anyone outline? I did, my first pre-outline ever, while I waited for January 1st.. But, the story is taking on a life of its own and inspirations turn events. Does this happen to anyone else? Happy Saturday! 

Prep: Fighting the Urge

Thanks, Marianne for the JaNoWriMo idea! I'm so excited to get started on a brand new sporty tween novel to send to my agent in between SCREWBALL series deadlines.. 

But, I'm probably a little too excited. See, I'm fighting the urge to cheat AGAIN. Except, this time, I promised myself, unlike WriNoNaMo, I won't. Because I don't want to feel yucky when I'm done, like the time when I was six and I bought my dad a pack of Watermelon Bubble Yum (his fave) for his birthday. Then I couldn't resist or wait until his big day. So, I ate a piece and wrapped up the leftover four. 

I will have patience this time is my mantra. 

In the meantime, I'm researching, prepping, interviewing characters, and reading as much as I can in between holiday hoopla and family stuff. :)  Happy Holidays, fellow JaNoWriMoers!