Sunday, August 26, 2012

New Beginnings

Well, once again I find myself severely amused by the fact that I can get... oh, a few people following me. But, such is life. I mean, who wouldn't rather waste 5 hours a day staring mindlessly at facebook as opposed to reading a blog for 5 minutes? Okay, a little bitter, but that's probably due to the fact that I've been sitting at Starbucks for the past 3 hours due to the fact that I have yet to get internet set up at my new apartment and it makes getting ready for classes tomorrow highly ineffective.

So, updates, because I like hearing myself speak, or, I guess, seeing myself write.

WRITING:
Multiple rejections, but I guess it's just making me push forward even more. I'm still entered in those aforementioned contests (go to the previous post for the link). You have to make an account of comment or "heart", but hey, if you want to spend a few seconds supporting me, I'd be most appreciative.

I'm thinking about taking one of my adult novels and YA'ing it (making it young adult) and seeing how that checks out in the writing world and market. Maybe I just need to send out a different thing to get some positive feedback. We'll see. I'm going to get through my first week of classes and really crack down this weekend on some more writing. Hopefully this lack of internet will push me forward, although it would be useful in the whole researching of agents area.

CLASSES:
I've literally been sitting at Starbucks hoping that this idiotic school website will start working so I can actually view my class schedule. Seriously, at this point I have no idea where my 8am class is, or even what it is. Really, quite a good start to the year if I do say so myself. Oh well, senior year.... I am hoping that the site will right itself out because calling the school has been absolutely useless. I think I'm going to harangue them a bit later and try my luck again. At this point, I'm just happy to be out of the apartment in sort-of in the sun.

HOME:
My new apartment is actually quite amazing. Nothing like the beach shanty/doublewide I lived in last year (and that really was a fun experience). I've got a closet with more space than I know how to fill, a bathroom where I can actually stand up straight in the shower (wahoo!), and a delightfully large room that I have FINALLY set up to completion. And I've gotten food and a ridiculously comfortable bed. So life is pretty good. Granted, I'm ready for life to start, if I ever figure out this whole class thing.

LIFE:
Well, I've got a nanny job set up again, same family, so I'll have a little income, which is nice, my class schedule is easy, which opens up socializing time, and I really am ready for a little bit of scheduling once again. I can't wait to get back into the swing of academic (albeit much lighter than last year) life before that whole real world thing. Anyhow, updates for now seem complete. Let's hope tomorrow goes smoothly, although I can't seem to make myself care THAT much.....

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Back in the Game!

Alright, as if it didn't take me long enough to get myself together and start WRITING again. Geez. I have this thing where I'm all like- no, I'm editing. That TOTALLY counts as my writing time each day, cause I'm working on my novel. Right?

Wrong. So wrong.

I have this uncanny ability of brainwashing myself into thinking that I'm trying really, really hard, where in actuality I'm catching up on my television shows and doing a pinch of editing on the side and coming up with ideas that I really need to act upon while I'm working out. But then I come home, tell myself I totally deserve a TV show break after working out for 2 hours, and we all know how that goes. Suddenly it's ab-workout time and then shower time, and then, hell, I'm not staying up, I'm going to bed! I'll work on it tomorrow.

One word: FAIL.

But seriously, how am I going to find an agent if I'm doing all this nonsense on the side? Don't get me wrong, editing is highly important. But so if getting feedback from other people and trying out competitions, writing smaller pieces to hone my skill, and the like. So I finally got my head back in the game (HSM reference? Ugh, even I groaned... ha) today after a hugely inspirational launch party yesterday.

I doubt anyone is reading this right now, but I'm still going to shamelessly advertise.

I attended Sarah J Maas' debut novel (THRONE OF GLASS) launch party yesterday and

1. It was amazing finally meeting this gorgeous, inspiring, unbelievable writer. Seriously. I came home and wrote for hours.

2. I came home and wrote for HOURS. I haven't done that in forever, so I have to thank her for writing a brilliant novel and inspiring me again. Go check it out. Seriously. I've been in love with this story since it's fictionpress days and it didn't fail to make me fall in love all over again.

Today I haven't left my computer other than to work out and take care of my animals. I did a bunch of editing to get my mind moving, a little agent research for a secondary novel I'm contemplating publishing in the case that ACTIONS AND MOTIVES isn't up to par right now, and wrote a 2000 word short story and a 4000 word short story.

I'm not normally much of a competition person, but I feel like I NEED to get into that if I want to get my writing out there, even if it's the little pieces on little websites. So, I've got a 2000 word excerpt/novella thing that's taken from my other novel DEATH TOLL RISING (the excerpt was unimpressively named exactly the same because I was lacking title inspiration at that moment). I also will have a 4000 word piece up under a competition called "Defy the Dark" in which I had to write something that takes place at night or in the dark, any genre, and if chosen as the winner, I could see my work in a novel of short stories or on a website.

HUGE.

I need something like this, if only to get my writing out there and get people reading. Because I know I have the drive, now I just need to really make myself the best I can be and get people reading. Support does wonders people, it really does. So if I can ask you to just follow this blog, leave a comment here or there, or even given my shorts a look (or a "heart" for the website I'm using, listed below, which basically acts as points towards making me a finalist) that would be AWESOME. Seriously. You'd be helping me move forward in my hopes and dreams and all that novel writing stuff ;)

For now, I'm signing off to do some more editing and revising of my currently untitled 4000 word piece. Wish me luck!

Here's the site:  FIGMENT. Death Toll Rising is the one you need to "heart." I'm like a day old on the site, but any publicity helps!

You might have to make a username, but hell, it's like 2 minutes out of your facebook time. You can do it.