I have to Begin Somewhere....

Yesterday, I didn’t accomplish too much. I wrote out an idea to see where it led me. Needless to say, it was to another SNN. But, sometimes ideas have a way of leading their own direction. Halfway through the day I was also hit with a new SNN from Jennifer. It was funny because she was like BAM, hit with a sci-fi. I think it’s funny. But, they always say you should write what you know. And for me that is urban fantasy….so I’ll see where this new idea takes me, hopefully to a finish line.

Tina hasn’t has an online presence in forever and this is for several reasons. She just graduated from Western Kentucky University with a teaching degree and right now she is trying to finish her bachelor in legal studies. She only has three classes left and she’ll be finished. I am super proud of her. She has been working her butt off for too long. And I know exactly how she feels. Lord knows I am so glad that I graduated.

Becca has been busy. She has been subbing at a school in Michigan. I got to see her in December twice. Once at the beginning of December and then once at the end. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make a trip up soon to see her again. She’s been working on her books too. After receiving rejections all the time, I understand now why you have to be as tough then steel to be a writer. There is just, so much rejection. And it’s so hard to have people who aren’t as passionate about your material as you are.

I guess I am sort of proud. This is the second consecutive day I’ve written on the blog. I guess that counts for something. Even if it isn’t writing my novels. Other than that, I’m busy working every day and working on my fitness at the gym. I have a great feeling about 2013. Everyone have a great day and Hakuna Matata.

The New Year and a New Me!

The New Year has begun…and I have made several resolutions involving my health. Sadly, the most important which includes my writing goals has gone unanswered. The entire month of December came and went in a blur of excitement and now I’ve been up to my ears in healthy foods and exercise in an attempt to lose weight. I wish writing could be as easy as exercise. But, I had to join the gym just so I would gain the motivation to go. Maybe that is what I should do with writing…maybe, I need to designate a time/place to write every day and just do it. But, my mind always draws a blank and I’m tired of having a million half started books. I want a finished book! Something I can call my own.

This weekend was the first weekend I visited with Jennifer in almost a year. A year! I went from spending every day talking and bouncing creative ideas off each other to bare minimum communication. So, my goal is to start talking to my three writing partners again. And, I want to set up a time at least once a week that we can all sit down and chat online. Where we can tell each other our goals, relay our progress, and give each other the support we need to complete our writing aspirations.

It’s going to be hard. But, nothing valuable in life was earned from sitting on your bottom and not working for it. With that said, I’m ready. World, it’s your turn…start holding me accountable. And that’s just it…dieting alone is hard. Dieting alone when you have a team of support is easy. Same difference with writing. Writing alone is hard; writing with a group is easier.

Now, it’s time for me to jump back into writing. I hope everyone has a great day and feel free to comment or leave me advice on what gives you motivation and what routine have you set in place to accomplish your literary goals.

Ruts and Great One Liners!

There are no excuses for my behavior. I have fallen into a rut and have no way to dig my way out. I know the creative juices are still there because I keep coming up with these awesome scenarios in my head…bestselling book ideas…and these first liner ideas that are blowing me away.

And I have come to the conclusion that the holidays are a time for slumps. Maybe it’s because of the cold weather…or for the fact that I am tired of reading my own crap. Either way, I’m going to hound myself until Christmas...I hope to pump out 10k words a week. Ambitious you say? Absolutely…between watching my niece, making Christmas cookies, I stay pretty busy…lol.

On the bright side, I just learned that Miss Kentucky reads my blog. I know this because she attended our local Bowling Green Christmas Parade and when she saw me, she ran up to me and hugged me. Then confessed that she’s been keeping up with my small and minuscule writing career. I was in awe that our little local celebrity had been keeping an watchful eye. I hope I don’t disappoint!

In the next few days, I’m hoping to post quite a bit more…probably some of my one liner ideas…actually. How about I post one now? It will keep you pining for more! Here goes nothing…

“I heard the sound of metal plowing into flesh before I saw the blood on the window in my rearview mirror.”

See…great one liners. I hope everyone has a great week!

Scattered, Smothered, and Covered

And no, I’m not talking about Waffle House. I’m talking about my life. In the last three weeks I haven’t had one second to breathe. It’s been my regular job, on top of being audited, on top of becoming a new step-grandmother, on top of going to evening doctor’s appointments….there hasn’t been one afternoon I’ve been able to rest or hell, to write. I haven’t read or opened my laptop in three weeks. How did that happen? And I was so motivated to do NANOWRIMO but, now I can’t. I’ve been barnstormed and derailed and there is nothing on the horizon that motivates me to get back on track.

I wonder if I’ve been too hard on myself. If maybe I’ve pushed so hard, I’ve burnt myself up. Maybe all of my creative juices have bled out through my wrist and all of the silence and ice cream in the world can make me right again. Maybe I’m going through a midlife crisis….or a mid-book crisis. But, like all of my books, I get mid-way and then I stop. I can’t seem to find the words or time to finish them. I wonder if that’s a sign. That maybe this one book isn’t the one that’s going to make me the next Stephanie Meyer.

So, now…what to do. Do I blog? Do I stop writing my current WIP (which technically I’m not writing because I haven’t found time). Or do I just wait for the riffs to calm and to be saved on the island with Robinson Crusoe? I don’t know. All I know, I better figure it out soon. Migraines, back aches, full time jobs, new grandbabies are only excuses. Persistence is key…now if I can find some…which is an entirely different story.

Oh, and P.S. OUR PAGES AREN’T NUMBERED HAS HAD 4444 PAGEVIEWS. If that isn’t karma, I don’t know what is.

Going Outside of my Comfort Zone

In my family, I am the quiet one. I come from a family of talkers. I don’t think my brother Brandon ever stops talking. My son who is two and half just started talking and he talks non-stop all day long. I like to think that I am a pretty outgoing and talkative person. I can be shy and reserved at first. The initial start up is what I have a hard time with. I don’t normally approach someone and start telling them my life story. I wait for them to approach me first before I tell them my drama.

At the COFWC (Central Ohio Fiction Writers Conference) we were told that we should confront the other editors and agents there even if we don’t have an appointment and to talk to them. Right away I got butterflies in my stomach. I could pitch when I had an appointment already set, but to go up to a stranger and try to sell my idea made me nervous.

After the morning keynote speech from Simone Elkeles, which was amazing, I saw Editor Emily Keyes go out into the lobby. I followed her. As she ate her apple I approached her and started the conversation. I ended up pitching my story and she asked for me to send her the first three chapters and synopsis of Dreamer. I conquered my fear! There was something about her demeanor that I liked. She seemed shy and apprehensive which made me like her more. I have sent her the pages and I am eagerly waiting for a reply.

I got my rejection letter from Kristin Nelson two days ago. It was a very nice rejection letter. I didn’t cry when I got this one. I knew it was coming. I am not being pessimistic on this actually. I knew after pitching to her and hearing some of the stories that she liked, I knew that we wouldn’t be a fit. So, I am OK with the rejection this time because I am very hopeful that someone else is going to fall in love with my story and my characters, just like I have.

Inspiration VLOG Part One

Okay Guys. Here it is! Let me know what you think!

VLOGGING! (Sp?)

Hey Peeps!

I’m going to be experimenting with Vlogging this weekend. For people who don’t know what it is that is video blogging. I’m going to sit down and rant about my inspirations, favorite authors, distractions, the trials and pitfalls of being a writer, etc. I am hoping to have it completed and posted by Monday. It might be earlier or later, depending on my complications and what edits, etcetera I decide to include in the video. After all, this is my first one.

I’m hoping it will be a smash. Or a wreck. Either way, it will definitely be entertaining. Who knows? I might go into spews concerning different rounds of social media, how to socialize, twitter, Facebook, and moderate different writer’s pages.

I’m excited. I hope you guys don’t get bored. But, hopefully when I’m done everyone will get a clear idea about the things I love, the reason I write, and the motivation it takes to complete a book. Until VLOG release day, I bid you adieu and hope everyone has a fantastic weekend.

Lessons Learned Part 2

Part two of what I learned at the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Conference

After three hours of driving, I arrived in Worthington Ohio at the Holiday Inn where the conference was being held. Because I hate being late, I got there early and had to wait for Stacey to get there. She is a slow driver! Coming from Michigan automatically means that I drive at least ten miles over the speed limit at all times…driving through Ohio was torture, their speed limit is only 65!

The next lesson that I learned was that I really miss my best friend!  Living 500 miles from Stacey is hard. I was so excited to hang-out with her for the weekend. I was planning on going to the conference all along, but having Stacey meet me there made it that much sweeter.

The first session that we attended was on pitching our novel to an agent or an editor. The pitch practice session was really helpful. We had a small group of seven aspiring authors and one published author. We pitched our novel to the group and then got feedback. Not only was feedback on my own pitch helpful, but listening to others helped me to hear what I was missing in my own pitch. I was really impressed with a few of the others pitches, I hope that they get published so that I can read their books.

After the pitch practice I had two hours until I was going to pitch my novel to Kristin Nelson. I made a few changes to my pitch and I practiced it a few times with Stacey and then I was ready. Well, as ready as I was going to be. I felt exactly like I was going to a job interview. That is what pitching to an agent really is. I am hoping that they will take me on as a client to help me find a publisher for my novel.

At 2:23 my time was up, I had seven minutes to sell my book idea to Kristin Nelson. I was nervous and I think my voice started out a little shaky. But, I got through my pitch. She asked a few questions and then she asked for me to send her the first 30 pages. I am pretty sure that she asks to see everyone’s first 30 who pitch to her in person, but I still have my chance to gain her interest even if I bombed in my pitch.

A week later I sent her my first 30 pages. I am still waiting to hear back. I also sent out my first three chapters of Dreamer to Emily Keyes another agent that I pitched to at the conference. I will save that for next week’s continuation of what I learned. I learned a lot at the conference, so I need to keep you all in suspense until next Friday! And hopefully I will have a positive update from an agent to share as well.

Rejection Sucks!

All forms of rejection suck except when corrective criticism is given. My latest endeavor to acquire Kristin Nelson as my literary agent was a failure. But, with failure also came criticism which is more than I could have asked for.

This is the rejection letter I received from my COFW submission:

Dear Stacey Hays:

Thank you so much for sending Nelson Literary Agency your sample pages of DEREK'S DEMISE. After a careful reading, we are sorry to say that we don't believe this project is right for our agency.

However, Kristin would like to add this note: "Thank you for letting me take a look at your work and it was lovely meeting you at the COFW conference. You have a nice YA voice here but I just didn't find myself sympathizing with your main character as much as I'd hoped. Best wishes for your agent search."

Because this business is so subjective and opinions vary widely, we recommend that you pursue other agents. After all, it just takes one "yes" to find the right match.

Good luck with all your publishing endeavors.

So, this tells me a few things. One, Derek’s voice is loud and clear. Two, he is a douche bag so she couldn’t sympathize with him when he is given his ultimatum to reap or die. With just one sentence, she gave me the extra boost I needed to make my novel better. I have to make Derek more sympathetic as a character. How do I plan on doing that? By starting at chapter one. I must create an inner struggle/outer confrontation from the beginning and weave it in and out of the existing plotline to create an organic theme.

Rejection sucks. I had to say it one more time, but, rejections like these don’t seem like real rejections at all and thank you Kristin Nelson for giving me feedback that will make my manuscript better.

Writing isn't for the Weak!

This year has been a very challenging year. It seems like a writer’s job is never done. If you aren’t plotting, writing, or editing….then you’re planning your next book. Whose great idea was it for me to become a writer?

As horrible as this sounds, I think that you can take the girl out of writing but you can’t take the writing out of the girl. I feel like this is what I was born to do. And the world will be a much better place if I can get my books out there and published. I don’t care that people can’t relate to my books, I want them to be able to fantasize about being my characters…being a part of the story, the romances and the happily-ever-after’s. Yes, this is why I write. I forgot that for a brief moment of insanity.

Okay, so I’ve been on war path in writing this week. Jennifer has been so kind to give DEREK’S DEMISE a jump start…she’s been editing it vigorously and getting it ready for submissions.

Our book KEY OF EDEN, I had to cut and rewrite the last two chapters and Becca’s mom has been Volun-told to edit that manuscript. I am very, very, very grateful for her help. She’s also been up to her eye balls in Becca’s two manuscripts.

I rewrote both of the queries for my books and resubmitted my KEY OF EDEN query to Agent Hannah Bowman for a critique. She sent it back with lots of great comments. She loves the voice. This is what I was going for.

Now, I’m working on my WITH A VENGEANCE book. It’s pretty entertaining, I keep attempting to write a sex scene but I get embarrassed and put it down, blushing like some Virgin Mary whose favorite author isn’t the Queen of Sex Scenes, Laurell K. Hamilton.

Here in the next few days I’m going to be posting some new book trailers…representing for some of my fellow-authors. Other than that, it’s going to be a weekend full of pumpkins and apple cider. God, I love fall. Okay, peeps. Have a great weekend and stay out of trouble!