Scheduling Time to Write

As I mentioned in my post last week, I will be writing from home (or Panera/library) full time starting this Monday. It's hard to believe I will have the (on average) nine hours a day I spent at work Monday through Friday to write. It seems like a ton of time to work on the craft that I love, but we all know how quickly time can be zapped away.

In preparation for my new found life, I started to go through my files trying to figure out where to even begin. I realized that I have a small problem. I am currently working on two stories (which for me is a problem in itself) and have multiple copies of both. I'm the first to tell you, make sure to back up your work. I had to write three+ chapters over again when a file of my last story, Lost and Found was corrupt and I didn't have a current backup. That being said, I now have three versions of one of the books and two of the other. Before I start to even think about sitting down to write I need to figure out what I'm going to be working on and what files are most current.

Now comes the topic of this post, schedules. I have a very loose time line in my mind of when I want to have one of my current WIPs edited and ready to start querying, but is an end date enough? I'd love to hear how some of you manage your writing time throughout the week when not working full time. I know that everyone is different, but just a general schedule would be helpful.

I think it's important to have an idea of what I want to accomplish in a day/week's time so I can feel as if I've completed something. This is one of the problems that I see arising with working for myself. I'm the kind of person that likes to hear praise from co-workers/peers/my boss. It keeps me going and makes my day. Once those are gone (or at least, a lot of it. I'll still have the great ups and downs with the crit group), I fear I will become complacent. I like the satisfaction of ticking someone off a list when it's finished.

I will be starting my new writing journey by figuring out what story to focus on, which is the most current files (and archiving the old) and tackling a schedule. Any advice is welcome!

Inspiration Strikes

Yesterday, sometime after the Season 3 opener of True Blood and well beyond my I-have-to-work-tomorrow bedtime, the infamous 9:07pm (someday I'll be able to follow Tami's awesome example and write full time - for now I live vicariously through her), I sat at my desk chair for a few minutes. Not writing. Not editing. Not hanging out on Twitter. I simply observed the stuff I had around my office – propped up on shelves or tacked up on my bulletin board.

Torn pieces of patterned paper, notes scrawled on envelopes or napkins, swag postcards with funky artwork, Halloween candy wrappers, wolf images, gem-coloured glass bottles, fake tombstones, plastic (black) roses, ribbon cuttings, etc…

How does a random piece of fancy paper contribute to my writing?

Well, when I’m stuck for words, or am halfway through a scene and inspiration goes on strike – I look around the room. There’s a tale etched in each piece on display. Each element of my menagerie invokes a mood or seems to wear a story – or multiple stories – that I’m compelled to try and tell.

Don’t get what I mean?

Try this….look at the following images, photos I took of moments/settings/objects that seemed to have a story. (Besides collecting physical objects, photography is a fantastic way to capture ideas/moods). What are the first three words you think of as you glance at each one in turn? Now imagine the person who lives in this world. What’s their story?

From one item, or picture, I can imagine numerous plot lines, character traits, visualize settings, time periods, etc. A whole world can be created around just the right piece. Thankfully, I don’t hoard. I purge my collection every few months – leaving room for new stories.

I love this room, my writer's cave, with yet to be discovered worlds all around me.

My New Journey

Sometimes life throws curve balls. You have to just get out of the way and go with the flow. I usually don't get very personal on this blog because it's not about my life away from writing and great YA books. Today is the exception because I have big news that has to do with my personal life and writing.

If you've followed this blog for any amount of time, you know that I write YA fiction and have been doing so for about 5 years. Not a long time by some people's standards, but I've taken it seriously in hopes to making a career out of writing. Last year, I queried many agents in hope of finding someone who loved my story as much as I did (after around 12 edits). I came close, but not close enough. In the time of writing the first draft and the following 12 edits of that story, I was off of work (as the company I worked for closed) for about six months time. I loved being a full-time writer, spending my days in the library, on my deck outside or at Panera working 4-6 hours a day. It was the best time of my life, despite feeling as if my head would explode from the story swimming in my head 24/7. In a way, that was the most complete I had felt ever. I was proud of how hard I worked and how I kept myself motivated when I had nothing hanging over my head.

Unfortunately, that time came to a close when my unemployment ran out and I received a job offer. That was two years ago. Since then, I have slowly lost motivation, not because I thought my writing wasn't good enough or I didn't have ideas. In fact, I have two novels in different stages of work. One is a few chapters shy of being a first (rather rough) first draft, while the other is in it's infancy. The problem was I was slowly being sucked of all creativity from my job. I took the position thinking I would be there for only a few months before I found something more suited for me...again, that was two years ago.

To be honest, I didn't realize how bad my situation had become. My husband and I have been talking about my dream, to try to write full time again without the worry of having to find a job constantly in the back of my mind. Our talks changed from "one day" to "maybe you should try it". Even as of a week ago, I thought we were still milling it over as "one day" I would quit and focus on my writing. I was unhappy at my job, but isn't everyone? I thought it would never happen, because how many people get to pursue their dream? Not many.

I started to talk my situation over with family and friends. To my surprise, everyone was supportive and thought that it was time to move on, leaving my job behind me. How many moms, no matter how old you are, would support quitting a stable job to write (and not get paid)? That's when I realized how much this job changed me. Everyone around could see how much I was suffering and how I pulled away from things that made me who I am, except me.

I'm writing this post to share my big news with all of you. As of June 18th, I will be a full time writer, living my dream and hopefully one step closer to getting my work published. It's a big step, I'm nervous as hell but I can't pass up the opportunity. Who could?

I'm sure I will be sharing my scary new journey into writing full time on the blog. I hope some of you will find it interesting, but I know all of you won't. Please let me know, so I can mix it up a bit, throwing in a few book recs, etc. There will be good days and bad, but the bad can't compare to a bad day working a soul-sucking 9-5.

Next step, packing my belongings at work, cleaning off my desk at home and deciding which WIP to dive into. Someone pinch me!

True Blood: June 13th Can't Get Here Fast Enough

Tami has her Dr. Who fixation - I have mine.

No surprise - it's True Blood - a vamp/shifter/paranorm bevy of goodies. If you're not a fan of the show, back away from this blog post. My hubbie gave me Season 2 as a welcome home gift, along with a nifty "Merlotte's" keychain, and his amazing smile. He's probably regretting the gift about now, especially after my binge viewing this weekend.

Alas, Season 2 seemed like so long ago, it was all a blur. I just had to plow through the disks before Season 3 starts up on June 13th (not a Friday - but still, a cool date to start a paranormal show). I finished the last episode yesterday. All I recalled was the closure of the Maryann arc - how could I have blocked out that killer ending?

To get through the next few days, I'll be re-watching the Season 3 preview minisodes available on the HBO site. Here's the full list. However, being a wolfy chick at heart, I love this peek at Alcide, a werewolf character yet to be introduced (you'll get my enthusiasm if you've read the books by Charlaine Harris).

Ah, June 13....bring it!

BEA and Class of 2k10 NYC Tour

Wow. Can't believe I'm back at home, walking the dogs, freezing in the sleet and rain. NYC already feels like a schweaty dream (oh the humidity!). Besides my adjustment to the weather, BEA and the Class of 2k10 NYC Tour was fantastically cool.

As a member of the Mystery/Fantasy panel at Teen Author Carnival, I got to meet a bevy of amazing YA authors. Highlights were Tonya Hurley, Linda Gerber, Jeri Smith-Ready (also with the Class of 2k10). The boys on the panel were also a blast, Eliot Schrefer and Michael Northrop. Unfortunately, I didn't get to play fangirl as much as I would have liked and didn't have much time to mingle with authors from the two other panels. Meeting with bloggers, readers, librarians, etc, however, was a fantastic experience. Here's me and Kitty Keswick with Tonya Hurley:

Our signings at both Books of Wonder and the Voracious Reader went smooth like butta and we well attended. Most nights I stayed up wayyyy past my bedtime (9:07pm), living on the energy we'd built during our events. My sister, Brenda, was kind enough to join me for the trip and document everything with her handy-dandy still/video camera. Here are the links to the vlogs Kitty Keswick and I created for our Wolfy Chicks blog: Teen Author Carnival and BEA, Books of Wonder and Central Park

Brenda was thrilled to see a teen crush, Rick Springfield, at BEA. To be honest, I didn't think we'd get her away from the booth...lol... Kitty and I agreed that he has a real paranorm appeal going on and we've designated him an honorary vamp/were hottie.

We missed Babs and the Duchess as we had other events happening during the keynotes, but it was cool to know we were at the same venue. Bloggers were everywhere and it was great to put faces to their coolio names. We met a ton of authors, passing them by in their publisher's booths, or meeting on the morning shuttle to the Javits Center.

Yes, NYC was a dream I'd happily repeat (and hopefully will next year). But OMG it was wonderful to see my husband's smile, my pups and their full-body wags....and to sleep in my own bed.

Thanks to all the Class of 2k10 authors - so amazing to finally meet you! Thanks to the bloggers and bookstores! Thanks NYC!

Books Getting Buzz at BEA

I'm green with envy over all of the talk about BEA 2010. I thought it would be fun to list the books that I've been hearing a lot of buzz for on Twitter and other blogs. It always seems like this time of year, due to BEA, I always hear about the books that everyone is excited to nab an ARC or can't wait to read.

Here are a few that I'm excited about! Do you have any upcoming books on your wish list? Let us hear about them in the comments section!


The Replacements by Brenna Yovanoff- release date September 21, 2010:
(from http://www.brennayovanoff.com/) Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, Mackie comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement—left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is slowly dying in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with an oddly intriguing girl named Tate. But when Tate’s baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Matched by Ally Condie- release date November 30, 2010:
(from goodreads.com) In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die. Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion. Matched is a story for right now and storytelling with the resonance of a classic.



Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl- release date October 12, 2010:
(from Amazon.com) Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen. Sometimes life-ending. Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.



Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund- release date September 28, 2010
(from goodreads.com) Now a fully trained unicorn hunter, Astrid Llewelyn is learning that she can’t solve all her problems with a bow and arrow. Her boyfriend has left Rome, the Cloisters is in dire financial straits, her best friend’s powers are mysteriously disintegrating, and her hope of becoming a scientist seems to be nothing but an impossible dream. So when she’s given the opportunity to leave the Cloisters and use her skills as part of a scientific quest to discover the Remedy, Astrid leaps at the chance. Finally, she can have exactly what she wants—or can she? At Gordian headquarters deep in France, Astrid begins to question everything she had believed: her love for Giovanni, her loyalty to the Cloisters, and—most of all—her duty as a hunter. Should Astrid be saving the world from killer unicorns or saving unicorns from the world?



The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) by Kody Keplinger- release date September 7, 2010
(From amazon.com) Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face. But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley. Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

The Power of Creative Hobbies

We've talked about creativity a lot on this blog and ways to break a writing block by using other forms to spark ideas for your story. But what is creativity and why do some of us feel a huge pull to be creative every day where others don't seem to have a creative bone in their body?

I looked up the definition of creativity today to see if it gives any insight. This is the definition from Dictionary.com for creativity:

The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts.

The definition isn't very helpful, but I think there is one key word in it: imagination. Kids are raised in different environments across the world, some lending more to creative ideas and imagination. Although my family isn't very creative or artistic, I was always encouraged to find games to play or things to invent when I was bored.

As far back as I remember, my free time was spent drawing, coloring and making things out of virtually nothing. I would take pieces of notebook paper and glue, tape and staple them together to make clothes like vests, shoes and hats so that I could dress up like a character I had invented. I would build tents and forts out of household items and despite my mom not being all too thrilled that I would sometimes use her good sheets and towels, instead of making me stop, she would give me old items she had that I could keep using.

Books fueled that creativity later into paintings and drawings leading me to an art degree in college. Many parents would not approve of their child going to college to earn an art degree, but my mom was the one that suggested it when I didn't know what to major in during the application process. I would have never thought it was even an option, because honestly, what do you do with an art degree? Now at 30, I have made, as well as my husband, a decent living out of my art degree.

Even today, I still feel that pull to be creative. Sometimes it's my downfall, leading me to too many hobbies and activities that I don't have time for. My creative hobbies give me an escape that I need to stay sane in this crazy world. Unfortunately I don't draw or paint anymore, but I turned the time I would have spent now writing. I use words to paint my pictures instead of oil and acrylic paint. That's not to say that I will feel the will to pick up a paint brush once again at some point, but right now I don't feel the need.

I recently felt the need to start another creative hobby, even though it doesn't seem like I have the time to. One day back in December, I woke up and realized that I wanted to learn how to crochet. My mom tried to teach me a few years back, but just couldn't understand. I'm left-handed, she right-handed and her tutorial just ended in frustration on both our parts. I searched on Youtube and found amazing videos for left-handed crochet, went to my local craft store and purchased yarn and hooks. I haven't stopped since. I now spend any free time I have when I'm not writing, at work or reading making little amigurumi. I have a blast doing it, and it keeps my hands busy when watching tv or movies at home. It has scratched the itch I had been feeling to be more creative, and even helps my mind relax and solve issues with my writing that don't seem plausible. I know that this won't be the last creative hobby I pick up, but right now it makes me happy. I'm even starting a blog to show off my new hobby, but it's not ready to share yet! When it is, I'll be sure to post the link for anyone that is interested.

I want to know, what are some of your creative hobbies that keep you happy? Do you feel the creative itch when your other hobbies aren't filling a void?