Tell Me Your Story Tuesday

I want to hear your story!

As my blog title and URL state, I am a "writer in waiting" who is still "chasing someday".

I plan to venture into the world of querying and rejection this year.

That is where you come in. I love to read about other people's journey to publication.
Would you be interested in sharing your story with me?

If you are an already published author who would like to share your story and, of course, advertise your upcoming release or if you are a pre-published author walking through this journey with me, I would love put your story on "Tell Me Your Story Tuesday."

Please email me at the address in my profile.

I plan to start posting stories on Tuesdays in January 2011.

Changes and a look back

    Last January, when I wrote this post I hoped to be celebrating the changes brought on during 2010. Now, as 2011 creeps closer, I realize I got the changes. Just not the celebration.

     Back when no one read this but me, I wrote about my career. Even as  I toyed with the idea of chasing my dream to be an author, I worried it wasn't what I was meant to do.  I was snuggled into my comfort zone. Teaching wasn't as challenging and fulfilling as it had once been, but it was safe. I knew I could do it. I wasn't going to fail.

    I linked the previous post because I am still right there. All of those thoughts are with me daily. This year was not what I expected at all. Changes have been smacking me in the face.

     My position is being relocated. If I stay with teaching then next year I will be starting over on a new campus with new people... again. My comfort zone is being unraveled.

    This would be the time to make a solid, clean break.  Teaching will always be there. I can always go back. But, for the first time ever, the opportunity to write full time is a viable option. I don't know if I will always have the courage to try. I am not sure I have the courage now.

      I feel like I have climbed to the top of the high dive. I already know how to swim, but staring down at the water. I am too terrified to jump in.

NaNoWriMo Success!

What I like about you...

Or should I say, what they like about me.

I am new to the process of letting others read my work. For years ( and I mean YEARS) I was a closet writer. I used to tell my parents I was writing a letter to a friend or working on a school assignment when I was really filling spiral notebook after notebook with stories.


One of my goals for  this year was to enter a contest and receive feedback. I picked one at random from the RWA contest loop.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I wasn't prepared for the feedback. Even though it was administer in the most professional way possible. It still stung.

I am over the shock now. This weekend I went the through the judges' comments and made myself a word document with all the positive statements.

Here is what they liked about me:

• This has the potential to be a very interesting and exciting read.

• You did a lovely job with description .

• First let me start out by saying that your premise is inspired.

• I think you have a great premise, and with tweaking and getting it all together, you have a terrific shot at getting in front of an agent and/or editor and achieving your dreams. 

These are what I am holding onto as I revise and rewrite for the Great Expectations Contest. 

I am reminding myself this is a process and  if I am going to be successful, I must be willing to learn.

10,000 words

I changed my story for NaNoWriMo three times this year.  I couldn't get past a few hundred words. I couldn't name any of the characters. I had no direction for the plot.Nothing was working for me.


Then, I received the contest critiques.  I considered not writing at all last weekend. I was busy pouting and consuming chocolate. Fortunately, for my NaNo and for my pant size, that only last about an hour. Then, an old story, one  I have toyed with for years, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Hey, you could write about me."

I put aside everything else in my mind and just wrote. I wrote like I did before I started thinking about publication. I didn't think about who was going to read it or if I used too many "ly" words or the word "he" twelve times in a ten sentence paragraph. I just focused on putting the story playing in my mind into words.

In five days, my little smidge of an idea became over 10,000 words.
The really exciting part is I have plenty of more words floating around head if I could just find some time to put it on paper.

So, for today, I am doing the happy dance in celebration of me!

Feel free to join the conga line!

Well, that was brutal...

I received my first critiques from a writing contest today. Really, my first critiques ever.

Wow, evidently I suck at this and no has bothered to tell me.

First, let me say Thank You to the judges who took the time to leave specific comments and feedback. I appreciate it and I am sure when I am done wallowing in self-pity, I will put those comments to good use.

I understand constructive criticism and all of the comments, even the negative ones, were delivered as professionally and gently as possible. I am still pouting.

This has been a rough week. I felt terrible most of the week. I can't get past the first 1000 words of my NaNo and my husband is gone until Sunday. So, I don't have anyone to point out "They said you had a good premise." or "This one said you had a nice voice."

There were positive comments.

But what I see is  I don't know how to use punctuation. I have a weak hook and don't write natural dialogue.
If my manuscript would have been an English assignment and the score sheet a rubric, I would have received a 59 at worst or 74 at best. Being a teacher, that says something to me.


I am not giving up. I will use the comments, make the changes and submit to the Great Expectations Contest. But for tonight, I am going to cry and drown my disappointment in chocolate ice cream.

and possibly admit NaNoWriMo defeat.

Time to lock up Boris!

Tomorrow is November!
FINALLY!

I feel like this is New Year's Eve. I am beyond excited about NaNoWriMo.
Last year, I only told my husband I was participating and that was after I was a few weeks in. I didn't use my real name on the NaNo site. I did not know any  other writers.

What a difference a year makes!

I have two blogs now.
I am using my professional name on the NaNo site.
My husband has known for weeks exactly how many days until I would be unavailable to do anything but mutter to myself on the couch.:)
I have a support group of fellow writer counting down the minutes with me. 
I have even downloaded novel writing software to test out.

I feel infinitely more confident than I did last year.

Until I don't...

I don't have any idea what I am going to write.
I don't know if I am going to have the time to write.

I don't want to fail.

Which is why I kept the same signature I used before:

"You only fail if you stop writing." ~ Ray Bradbury

So, it is time to lock up Boris. My ugly troll-like internal editor. He likes to shake his head at me and say things like, "They are all just talking heads! Make them do something!" or "Really? That was the best you could do?"  He resembles Thimbletack from the Spiderwick Chronicles.
He starts off looking like this.

Then he gets angry and frustrated with my progress. He starts to howl and wail. Then he turns to this.
He prefers honey, but I supplement with extra sticky peanut butter, especially during NaNo.

Sorry, Boris, time to get in your cage. It's only 30 days. I am sure you understand. See you December 1st! 

HAPPY NOVEMBER!