Progress Report

I promised to give weekly updates on my WIP, as I've set a break-neck word count goal in order to whip my WIP in shape for the RWA Golden Heart Contest. The result? Since my last post, I added 10k words to my manuscript, for a total of about 14.5k words. While it falls short of my goal of 2166 words a day, you must take into consideration that Mockingjay came out Tuesday. 'Nuff said.

I will say that the more I write, the more I enjoy my story, and well, the more I write. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some dialogue that's screaming to be written!

The Countdown: A Procrastinator's Motivation

Well, I've set an idiotic goal for myself. And now I'm telling people about the goal, so there's no backing out. I've decided I want to enter my YA romance in the RWA Golden Heart Contest this year. Thing is, I only have about 5K words into it right now, at 6:53 am on August 21st. And entries open in exactly one month.

I've entered the figures on my dollar-store calculator: 2,166.66 words a day for the next 30 days.

Here are the Cons: I work full time. I have a family. I will probably need to eat and sleep at some point. We're also moving in the next month. The finished product will not have a whole lot of time for editing before I enter it.

Here are the Pros: I've cleared it with my boss to use my work computer at lunch to write. I already know how my story is going to go. I have the most awesome critique partner on the planet who said, "Go for it, and send me chapters as you finish them and I will edit/critique and get them back to you quickly." My husband has agreed to give me as much writing time as humanly possible.

So, can this be done? Any tips on how to do it?

I will post weekly to update work count progress.

Outlines and Stilettos

I know writers who plot every twist and turn in their story. Who can write from a synopsis. I admire this kind of writer. I am not this kind of writer. Which surprises me. Every other aspect of my life is done by schedule. I pre-plan what I will eat for the week, when I will workout. I pre-plan my savings to accommodate big purchases. If I have a problem, I devise a plan to fix it, then follow said plan. I am an itinerary kind of person.

Except when I write. To me, outlines are like stilettos. They look nice, but aren't meant for long-distance travel. Like chapter two. Or up a flight of stairs. Or three stairs.

The point is, I can only plot so much before it feels wrong, like when you accidentally get in the shower with your bra on. Something just doesn't feel right. Like I'm being stifled during the one time I get to be really free.

So, um, what about you? To plot or not to plot? Stilettos or flip flops?

Write What Sells or From Your Heart?

As I finish the final edits of one project, I'm starting to mull over ideas for my next. But I'm faced with a fork in the road, and it's almost an impossible decision. When I began my first project, I wasn't worried about if it would sell, because quite frankly, I never dreamed I'd try to get it published. But now I want to. If not this, then my next. Or my next. Also, the one after that. You get the idea. But here's the thing: I'm not sure what to write. I know YA is hot right now, and I have a pretty good idea for a YA paranormal romance that DOESN'T involve vampires, werewolves, or ghosts. But then there's this OTHER idea I have for a high-concept women's fiction, one that would be so fun to write I wonder why someone hasn't done it yet. But I shy away from this one, because YA is hot like Mexico (thanks, Lady Gaga) and quirky women's fiction is hot like...well, Tennessee, for instance. Sometimes it's hot, sometimes it's more frigid than the Waffle House. So, what to do?

I Don't Feel The Same Anymore

When I first began this publishing journey, I was eager. Confident. Foolish. Ignorant. Now I'm only eager. I've received enough rejections to be humble, I've researched enough publishing innards to be educated about the odds of success. Still, I've got enough manuscripts out on request to be eager. When I first started querying, I received only form rejections, since my query letter sucked worse than a clogged-up Kirby. I looked forward to a rejection, because it was an acknowledgment that I'd sent out something. I probably would have fainted if an agent actually showed interest. Now I'm getting pretty steady requests, pretty potent interest. And I'm not fainting. I'm calculating. I'm hoping for the best, but staying rational, unlike my early days. I send out a request, and then I don't think about it anymore. I'm approaching this business like a business, instead of like a game of chance. I'm researching the market for my next project, reading up in my genre. I feel differently about everything. I never think about if I will get published...I think about when I get published. I think about what I will do to promote my book, who I will send my author copies to, who I will approach in my area for book signings, how can I build my readership for future projects. My-oh-my, how things have changed.

How Many Rejections is Too Many?

Just a thought on this. We read all the time how many rejections those best-selling authors received before catching a break. But how many rejections is too many, before it's time to move on to the next project? A writer on Query Tracker announced that she received 115 rejections before obtaining representation. Would you hang in there that long? Would I? While I haven't received quite that many, I have received enough to make me think it's time to move on to my next project. And then I get a request for a partial, or encouraging feedback from an agent--just enough to convince me to keep shopping it out. So what about you? How many rejections before you call it a bust?

I.HATE.MY.MANUSCRIPT.

Yes, that's right. I'm tired of looking at it, tired of editing it, tired of tucking it in at night, tired of picking up after it. I'm constantly polishing it, making it shiny and pretty, and what does it do for me? N-O-T-H-I-N-G. It's ungrateful. I'm sick of pummeling it, and molding it, and fixing its cracks, and filling in its holes. I want it to just BE something already. I'm ready for it to be its completed, sculpted form, so I can start on my next project. Because my next project is going to be oh-so-much fun. Just like this one used to be. Only better. So this is what I propose:

One solid month. I will give it one more painstaking month of at least an hour a day of editing, polishing, smoothing. One more month, and then I'm done with this manuscript. Whatever it is at the end of the month is whatever it will be for the rest of its life.

Unless an editor/agent needs me to revise it. :)