I have recently (like, yesterday), revised my query - the letter I plan on sending out to more agents. I’m thinking about posting it on my blog and getting your opinion (and maybe spreading the news to the RWA chapters I belong to, to also check it out). Good idea? Bad? I’d like to know what you think about that.
Not that I blog everyday (I’m lucky to hit twice a week!), but next week I’ll be on vacation. We’re taking what I call a “car cruise”. Hitting cities we’ve never visited before. If I have access to the internet at night (and the odds are pretty much in our favor), I may post more often. That’s if I have any decent pictures or funny stories to share. Heck, I’m with my husband. I’m sure I’ll have at least one funny story to share. I’ll just have to remember to write it down when it happens or else I’ll forget.
Do you own an e-book reader? Do you want to? I’m still in the NO category on those things. Why mess with something that works? I just foresee problems with electronic gadgets in the future. AND the changes in formats (you know it’ll happen). I’ll stick with bound books.
In case I've never thanked you - I thank you for following my blog (or reading, if you’re here and don’t follow). It’s almost like writing a letter to a friend. That’s what I try to do here, anyway.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Movies
Went and saw “Inception” this past weekend. I enjoyed the movie. My kids enjoyed the movie. My husband said “It was okay.” He thought it was strange.
While the kids wanting to see the movie kind of pushed him into going, he also told me he figured I’d go see “Salt” with him now since he saw “Inception” with me. If the kids wanted to see “Salt”, I’d tell him to go without me. The problem is, they don’t want to see it and he won’t go by himself.
And do I need to mention the reason why I don’t want to see "Salt"? Yes, I’m petty, but I don’t like Angelina Jolie and I hate filling her pockets. I feel the same toward Sarah Jessica Parker.
I will normally dismiss a film if I see they are in it (and I rejoice when I see they got bad reviews). I don’t know what it is about them, but they just rub me the wrong way. Are there actors out there that you refuse to watch on film (or stage)? Or am I just strange that way?
I mean, I wouldn’t buy a book from an author I disliked. Why would I pay to see a movie that stars someone I disliked? I guess I'm just picky as to who I give my money to.
While the kids wanting to see the movie kind of pushed him into going, he also told me he figured I’d go see “Salt” with him now since he saw “Inception” with me. If the kids wanted to see “Salt”, I’d tell him to go without me. The problem is, they don’t want to see it and he won’t go by himself.
And do I need to mention the reason why I don’t want to see "Salt"? Yes, I’m petty, but I don’t like Angelina Jolie and I hate filling her pockets. I feel the same toward Sarah Jessica Parker.
I will normally dismiss a film if I see they are in it (and I rejoice when I see they got bad reviews). I don’t know what it is about them, but they just rub me the wrong way. Are there actors out there that you refuse to watch on film (or stage)? Or am I just strange that way?
I mean, I wouldn’t buy a book from an author I disliked. Why would I pay to see a movie that stars someone I disliked? I guess I'm just picky as to who I give my money to.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Goals
I’ve been thinking about goals lately and I realized if I want to be published, I better get used to setting them. Someday I might have deadlines!
So, first I set a goal to have my current WIP finished by October. That’s doable, right? I thought that would be a good goal. But how do I go about making sure I'm on my way to making that goal?
Robert Gregory Browne asked on Facebook how you judge your writing goals. By time, pages, or words. I thought I judged my goal by time, but realized that wouldn’t get my book done by then. Some days I write a lot in the time I have, other days not so much.
Pages are nice, but some pages are full, others only contain two lines. Very deceiving. Since I’m judging my WIP in words, then I need to have a word goal.
So how MUCH would I have to write PER DAY to reach my October goal? And do I want the first draft done by then, or the first draft with one edit? That makes a difference in the number of words I need done by October.
I chose first draft. It’s been recommended to let your book “simmer” for a few weeks before you even think about editing (and I’ve found it does help – I’ll just use those weeks to start on the next book).
My finished word count goal is 100,000 words (or thereabouts). Knowing ME, the first draft should only be about 80,000 words (since I tend to leave out a lot of description and stuff like that – I add that during the edit). I’m currently at 50,000 words. That leaves 30,000 words until October.
To meet that October goal, that means I have to average roughly 500 words per day. Okay – I finally have a goal I can wrap my mind around. A daily goal that is reachable.
There was a time I thought 1000 words a day was doable. Yeah – if I didn’t work full time, that is. But 500 words a day is more realistic (and sometimes the weekends will make up that average on those week days I just can’t write). I’m currently averaging 666 words per day. Not bad. Maybe I'll get done sooner. That would be even better.
Do you have writing goals? What kind? Do they help you? I find my goal has helped tremendously. If I’ve written at least 500 words in the day, I find I can relax a little more (and maybe even watch TV with my hubby).
Now the question - how do you make an EDITING goal? I really want to know!
So, first I set a goal to have my current WIP finished by October. That’s doable, right? I thought that would be a good goal. But how do I go about making sure I'm on my way to making that goal?
Robert Gregory Browne asked on Facebook how you judge your writing goals. By time, pages, or words. I thought I judged my goal by time, but realized that wouldn’t get my book done by then. Some days I write a lot in the time I have, other days not so much.
Pages are nice, but some pages are full, others only contain two lines. Very deceiving. Since I’m judging my WIP in words, then I need to have a word goal.
So how MUCH would I have to write PER DAY to reach my October goal? And do I want the first draft done by then, or the first draft with one edit? That makes a difference in the number of words I need done by October.
I chose first draft. It’s been recommended to let your book “simmer” for a few weeks before you even think about editing (and I’ve found it does help – I’ll just use those weeks to start on the next book).
My finished word count goal is 100,000 words (or thereabouts). Knowing ME, the first draft should only be about 80,000 words (since I tend to leave out a lot of description and stuff like that – I add that during the edit). I’m currently at 50,000 words. That leaves 30,000 words until October.
To meet that October goal, that means I have to average roughly 500 words per day. Okay – I finally have a goal I can wrap my mind around. A daily goal that is reachable.
There was a time I thought 1000 words a day was doable. Yeah – if I didn’t work full time, that is. But 500 words a day is more realistic (and sometimes the weekends will make up that average on those week days I just can’t write). I’m currently averaging 666 words per day. Not bad. Maybe I'll get done sooner. That would be even better.
Do you have writing goals? What kind? Do they help you? I find my goal has helped tremendously. If I’ve written at least 500 words in the day, I find I can relax a little more (and maybe even watch TV with my hubby).
Now the question - how do you make an EDITING goal? I really want to know!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
A Promise
I hate it when I come up with a good idea for a blog, don’t write it down, and then STRUGGLE to find the topic in my brain!
And it was a good topic, at least a good topic to rant about. That much I know.
James Taylor said in an interview (I think on CBS Sunday Morning – not sure, I don’t normally watch the show, but I was looking for the weather and stopped to see what James Taylor had to say), that his ideas come floating down from the sky. If he doesn’t catch them, they will drop to the ground and be forgotten.
How true is that? It’s apparently true for me!
And it’s not like I don’t have a pad of paper with a pen in every room of the house. There’s no excuse. I should know better by now. I’ve let too many ideas fall to the ground.
So, today, on my birthday (yep, another year older, that’s me), I’m making a promise to myself to WRITE down all my ideas as they occur. Regardless of what time it is (even if it’s 3:00 a.m.). I don’t want to lose another one to the ground.
And it was a good topic, at least a good topic to rant about. That much I know.
James Taylor said in an interview (I think on CBS Sunday Morning – not sure, I don’t normally watch the show, but I was looking for the weather and stopped to see what James Taylor had to say), that his ideas come floating down from the sky. If he doesn’t catch them, they will drop to the ground and be forgotten.
How true is that? It’s apparently true for me!
And it’s not like I don’t have a pad of paper with a pen in every room of the house. There’s no excuse. I should know better by now. I’ve let too many ideas fall to the ground.
So, today, on my birthday (yep, another year older, that’s me), I’m making a promise to myself to WRITE down all my ideas as they occur. Regardless of what time it is (even if it’s 3:00 a.m.). I don’t want to lose another one to the ground.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Why Is it?
Why is it I yearn to write my story every minute of every day, but when I’m asked (told) to prepare a business letter I cringe?
And it’s not that I can’t do it. I can. Sort of. But my first reaction is “UGH!”
I’ve written personal letters since I was 11. That’s when we moved from Wilmington (in Los Angeles County) to Santa Barbara (more than two hours north). That’s when I started writing to the friend I left behind.
I liked writing so much, I started responding to requests for pen pals (my parents belonged to the Independent Order of Foresters – an insurance agency that sent out a quarterly magazine, including a section to request pen pals). I didn’t have much luck there, so I put in my own ad (and then I found out why I didn’t have much luck – I got more responses than I knew what to do with!).
But I loved writing personal letters (loved receiving them more), even though I didn’t really have all that much to write about.
When I joined the Army, my pen pals dwindled. When I married, they practically disappeared. Then I found another form of writing I enjoyed – Procedures.
I document EVERYTHING. I write out how do to each job step by step so someone else can follow. And once the procedure is written, I fix it every time I find a mistake (or the procedure changes).
So, why is it I can’t write a simple business letter? What is it about them that make my skin crawl? Just what is the difference? I really want to know!
And it’s not that I can’t do it. I can. Sort of. But my first reaction is “UGH!”
I’ve written personal letters since I was 11. That’s when we moved from Wilmington (in Los Angeles County) to Santa Barbara (more than two hours north). That’s when I started writing to the friend I left behind.
I liked writing so much, I started responding to requests for pen pals (my parents belonged to the Independent Order of Foresters – an insurance agency that sent out a quarterly magazine, including a section to request pen pals). I didn’t have much luck there, so I put in my own ad (and then I found out why I didn’t have much luck – I got more responses than I knew what to do with!).
But I loved writing personal letters (loved receiving them more), even though I didn’t really have all that much to write about.
When I joined the Army, my pen pals dwindled. When I married, they practically disappeared. Then I found another form of writing I enjoyed – Procedures.
I document EVERYTHING. I write out how do to each job step by step so someone else can follow. And once the procedure is written, I fix it every time I find a mistake (or the procedure changes).
So, why is it I can’t write a simple business letter? What is it about them that make my skin crawl? Just what is the difference? I really want to know!
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