Monday, March 15, 2010

Writing Excuses

Actually, this isn't my excuse for not writing more here, but rather a plug for a friend's podcast. It's all rather entertaining. He's self-published too, so I've been trying to take in as much information as I can.

I'm currently editing Jess' first book, while fending off Paul's constant demands for me to write about his wedding. I swear he's doing this just because I'm following after the SoulForce Equality Ride with more dedication than usual and he feels he's not get his fair share of attention as a result.

Anyway, back to the Writing Excuses information. You can find it at http://www.writingexcuses.com It's more than just a podcast, but I do love follow Howard. He's quit entertaining.

I haven't heard back from agent #2 and don't expect to any time soon. Instead I've decided to try a finding an editor. Once I get back from this tech conference, I'll be hitting up the local B&N for all those handy reference materials MaryJanice outlines in her book. And I'll be resubmitting to GlimmerTrain as well as looking for more competitions to try out.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Writing has taken a back seat

For the time being as I ramp up for a conference, my writing is on the back burner. I still need to edit and rewrite the submissions to GlimmerTrain and prep them for the April submissions deadline. I'm bummed I'm going to be missing a SINC conference that's close by as I'll be out of state. Maybe some other time.

I'm still very curious as to how other writers have come to writing. That is, have they always know they'd be a writer, or are there others out there like Maggie Sefton and myself, who never really considered it until our characters simply got "too loud" and we had to let them out?

It's fascinating to me. Especially as my Aunt had another article published..quite a fun one for me to read too. This is something I'm somewhat driven to do, just to keep the chaos out of my head. Is this how others do it? Or can they simply call up a story as they wish and pop something out for a deadline and make money doing so? Because I have to wait on Jess and Merie and Collie. All three have been surprisingly quiet of late, although Paul (Jess' BFF) and Bambi (Collie's lady-in-waiting for lack of a better term) have been chiming in quite a bit. Perhaps the "Big 3" are quiet because work's become a bit more tolerable and somewhat fun lately, but I never know. They'll gang rush me at some point and all I'll be able to focus on is getting their stories down before they get quiet again.

Or maybe this really is just the Alzheimer's and Dementia making an early appearance. :)

Sunday, March 7, 2010

A Slight Reprieve and Sisters in Crime

I've been busy trying to gain access to a conference that I really need to go to, as a result the girls have been uncharacteristically quiet. Which is helpful as I've been busy at work fighting a variety of battles over upcoming projects.

I'm looking forward to them being vocal again. I've been giving Jess' book another once-over as it really does need to be edited. And I'm trying to figure out a way to swap out all the "bad words" in an effort to get my mom to edit it for me. She's fearless in her criticism and I really appreciate that.

The Sisters in Crime group is getting another "guppy" after I get back from the conference. The guppies is the group for newbies. I believe I've mentioned them before. But with wonderful authors like Monica Ferris on board, I expect to get a lot of good advice. They have virtual groups which is awesome, because there's no local group. Heck, even NaNoWriMo didn't have anyone from my "city" involved. Which was a bummer because I could have used the company.

There's only one writer's group that I have heard of in town so far, and if there's anyone related to work there, I have to be very cautious in what I show and discuss. Jess' mouth alone could get me into trouble. This is a part of living in the MidWest that I have trouble adjusting too. The fact that what you do after hours can directly impact your employment. On the coasts what you do in your own time is up to you - as long as it's legal and not in competition with your employer, they don't care.

I hope the girls return to their normal chattiness soon. I'd really like to get back to writing their stuff than trying to force a new story out about something unrelated to them. They normally keep me busy enough...I don't need additional characters running through my mind and demanding my attention.