Happy New Years IWSGers!

Hey guys! Happy New Years!!! ^^ :D So it’s another IWSG Wednesday which means it’s time again to share our fears, failures, successes and give advice or encouragement.

 

Right now I am working on revising my YA faery novel and…I hate it. It’s not horrible and certainly not hopeless, but during the holiday season and the crazy work hours that went with it, I put revision off and now I am working like a madwoman to catch up. I’ve also got so many little brands in the fire that it’s really kind of distracting, but they aren’t things I can put off right now. I’ve discovered that this piece really should probably be in third POV and so that sets me back even further. I really do like the story, but this part of the revision process is the part that I really hate. I want to get some opinions on it sooner than later, but it’s still too early in the process and I’m afraid that I won’t get the kind of feedback I need because I’ll be changing what I would have been sending out anyways. I kind of just want to face plant on my keyboard and call it a night, but that’s not really an option.

What do you do when you’re discouraged and on a deadline?

 

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a wonderful place where writers can share their worries and failures as well as their successes and advice. Led by our fearless leader Alex J. Cavanaugh, IWSG meets the first Wednesday of every month and you can join on his site here. There's also a brand new website now so be sure to check it out here.

December IWSG 2014 Revisions

Hey IWSGers! Hope you’re all doing well as Christmas and New Year’s grows ever closer. The Holiday season is upon us and in full swing! :D Have you gotten started on your Christmas list yet or are you one of those early birds that’s already got it done and has been done for weeks now. (If you’re one of the latter, what’s your secret? ;D )
Anywho, it’s the first Wednesday of the month and coincidentally, also the last IWSG Post of the year. It also happens to be…my Birthday! Yay! *confetti* ^^ :D So onto matters of the writer! I am working on revisions of my ICL novel and I am learning how much a different creature it is than writing. I absolutely hate the opening of my book, but I am finding spots where I can fine tune it, but I think that’s part of my problem as I get going here. I am fine tuning when I should be…doing something broader? I am not sure. Where does one start when diving into revisions? Do you read over the whole manuscript and then work on chunks? Do you start at the beginning? Work backwards since you’re characters are more defined at the end?

What do you do when you start revisions? Do you have a system or method that helps you keep on track? Let me know in the comments below! :)

Merry Christmas and Happy Writing! ^^ :D

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a wonderful place where writers can share their worries and failures as well as their successes and advice. Led by our fearless leader Alex J. Cavanaugh, IWSG meets the first Wednesday of every month and you can join on his site here. There's also a brand new website now so be sure to check it out here.

November IWSG Small Victories

Hey IWSGers! Hope you guys and gals had a fantastic Halloween are doing good! October absolutely flew by! I have to keep reminding myself that it’s November already! Oh well. Time flies when you’re having fun so it couldn’t have been too bad can it? ;D

Well a lot has been going on since my last IWSG Post. Before I mentioned that I was working on two different pieces; a novel for my Institute of Children’s Literature class and another for the Harvest Contest organized by the Central Oregon Writer’s guild. I’m very happy to announce that, not only did I finish the first draft of my novel a whole month ahead of schedule, but I also placed in the top ten of the Harvest Contest! There were 52 entries in the contest and it was a tight race. The Awards Night was held October 18^th at the New Hampton Inn in Bend and all of the top ten came and read their pieces. It was great getting to listen to all of them. There was a lot talent and creativity present and it was a lot of fun getting to talk to the other winners afterwards and learn more about them. :)

Now that the contest is over, it’s back to work! ;D I’m going to start on editing and revising my novel and while I’m working on that, I’m hoping to finally finish another short piece for a different contest. Lots of fun stuff coming up! :D

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a wonderful place where writers can share their worries and failures as well as their successes and advice. Led by our fearless leader Alex J. Cavanaugh, IWSG meets the first Wednesday of every month and you can join on his site here. There's also a brand new website now so be sure to check it out here.

July 2014 IWSG A Tale of Two…Tales

Hey everybody! Hope you’re all doing fantastic! Today is the first Wednesday of a new month so it’s time again for another IWSG. :D

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a wonderful place where writers can share their worries and failures as well as their successes and advice. Led by our fearless leader Alex J. Cavanaugh, IWSG meets the first Wednesday of every month and you can join on his site here. There's also a brand new website now so be sure to check it out here.

So I’ve been working hard on a couple of pieces lately, one being my novel assignment for the Institute of Children’s Literature and the other being a short contest piece for the Central Oregon Writer’s Guild’s Annual Contest (which just opened up state wide! :D Woohoo!). They’re both coming along great and I’m really excited about both, but they both also have some upcoming deadlines. The first third of my novel’s rough draft is due in a week or so and my contest piece is due on the first of September. I’ve almost got my novel’s first third done and I’m really close to having my contest piece fully written out, but the editing process is going to take a while. I’ve been having a bit of difficulty switching back and forth between the two; I get focused and then I have to switch back to the other piece. When you’re working on multiple pieces, how do you juggle them? Do you have a system that helps you better manage your time? Let me know in the comments below and thanks for stopping by! ^^ :D

 

February IWSG 2013

Hey everyone! I hope you're all doing well. Happy IWSG!!! January has been a crazy month so I'm sorry I haven't been around much. My grandmother had a stroke two days before I started at a new job and in less than a month, my brother will be getting married! Lots and lots going on, which kind of brings me to this month's IWSG topic: Time. I'm finding that when I get home from work, I'm tired and mostly just want to crash and call it a night. A lady told me today that it can take some time to adjust to working full time versus part time, but my question is: what are some of the ways you balance your time when you don't have a lot of it.

I also just enrolled in another Institute of Children's Literature class on writing books for children and teens. After my first class with them, I learned a lot about short stories and articles, but I'm really looking forward to working on a good length novel one-on-one with my instructor. The way the class is structured is similar to a writer-editor relationship, so I'm very excited to get started. :) If anyone is looking for a good class on writing for children and teens, I would definitely recommend the Institute especially because you send in your assignments so it doesn't matter where you live; it's basically like an online class.

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a wonderful place where writers can share their worries and failures as well as their successes and advice. Led by our fearless leader Alex J. Cavanaugh, IWSG meets the first Wednesday of every month and you can join on his site here.

I hope you're all doing well and enjoying the New Year so far. Do you have any plans for Valentine's? Tell me about them in the comments below! ^^ :D

Diplomas, Rings, and Writing...

     Every time I opened my mailbox for the past month or so, I couldn't stop that itching anticipation as I cracked the lid open and peered inside for that big, crisp, white envelope to arrive, and yesterday, it finally did! I can't tell you how cool it was to finally rip that envelope open and read,

"In recognition of successful completion of the requisite Course of Study Special Publishing..."

 

     I think I did a happy dance at that point. ^^ It was so good to see the results of all my hard work after so long and I want to thank my instructor Carla for all her patience, advice, and instruction over the duration of the course. You are AWESOME Carla!!! ^^ For anyone looking to maybe take a class on writing for children, I would highly recomend the Institute of Children's Literature. All of thier instructors are highly accomplished and work with you one on one. :)

     More exciting news this week, my uncle turned 40 today and my brother is engaged! So many happy occasions going on! We had my uncle's party last night full of good natured 40th birthday party pranks and my new sister-in-law-to-be got to show us all her gorgeous new engagement ring. Congratulations you guys! :D ^^

     Well in between all the birthday parties, engagements, and diploma dances, I've been plugging along on my novel and made kind of a big decision. I switched from first person POV to third person POV. I mostly write in third person so I think that helped. What POV do you prefer to write in? :)