COLORLESS took second...again!

Boy what a busy time this has been for me! I've been picking corn, harvesting other produce, making the corn maze, & hauling pumpkins. This picture shows one of the many loads we did today. Tell you what, the kids fell into their beds as soon as we were done.

But in the middle of all that, I entered the first chapter of COLORLESS into another contest and took 2nd place! This one was hosted by Authors Incognito. The cool part is that the other gals who placed 3rd & 1st are really wonderful, published authors. I'm happy to even be on the same page as they are.

Here's a look at the results...

The good news on the home front is that I'll be done with farming and back to writing full time on November 1st! Yay! I've registered for a writer's retreat that first week of November as my reward for working my rear off for no pay all year long.

It's great to get the feedback that people understand and enjoy my writing.

Have you ever gotten that one special feedback that just made your day?

COLORLESS Won 3rd...

Just a quick note to say that my alternate history WIP, COLORLESS, won 3rd place at the Storymakers first chapter contest. Yep, having a pretty good day...

I shall now go do the happy dance.

Come, young grasshopper, let's be Ninjas!

Editing? You are not alone. My friend, Ali Cross, has declared this month to be Ninja Novel Revising Month.

Many of us bust our butts during NaNoWriMo and enjoy the friendly competition and encouragement…but then what?

First off, congratulate yourself for having written something because "You can't edit a blank page." — Jodi Picoult

I can hear the whining already, I hate editing, wa wa wa. No. Stop it. Editing is the refiner’s fire where you sift impurities and plain old crap out of your writing.

I struggled with editing until my good friend, Renee Miller took the time to go through my first novel with me. A light bulb went off in my brain and I realized that while editing is hard, and sometimes painful, it’s doable and even—dare I say it—fun!

If you don’t know how to edit, spend a few days and research. Highlight all the ly’s, that’s, and just’s in your WIP and stand back as the screen explodes with a case of the unnecessary-word-pox. Watch for was, were, could and all those other sneaky passives.

Most of the time you can find a more active way of saying what needs said. And all that pretty prose, you favorite bits that are beautiful but add nothing to the plot? Put them straight in the crosshairs of your delete button and pull the trigger. Like Stephen King says, sometimes you have to “kill your darlings” to make the book worth reading.

My goal is to finish COLORLESS by the end of March and have it ready for readers.

What’s your goal? Want to be a Ninja too? You can. Check out these other Ninjas.

Reflecting on NaNoWriMo

November is over, a time for reflection on gratitude—and this crazy idea to write 50,000 words in one month.

As of November 30th, my word count on my YA dystopian novel, Colorless, stood at 54,588 words. I should have a good version ready for readers by spring. I could have done more that week, but opted to do the whole Thanksgiving/snowday/family thing instead.

Now is the time for thankful hearts, exercise machines, and reflections on the lessons learned during NaNoWriMo.

Even something as solitary as writing is more fun with friends—be it in person or online.

Some jewels of wisdom I gleaned by following @FakeNNWMTips on twitter:

“Characters with verbal tics add to word count and have more personality! ‘Two…two birds with, you know, a stone.’ See? #nanowrimo”

“Keep at it! You’re only making a penny per word less than Charles Dickens! #nanowrimo”

I learned that while I can write fast—up to 6,000 words in one day—I do better work and avoid burnout if I plug along and write about 1,000 words a day.

I can’t promise that I’ll do NaNo again next year, but I do know that I have more to work with now than I ever have this early in the winter/writing season.

And to all those valiant Nanoers still emerging bleary-eyed from the trenches. Take a shower, my friends, it’s over. Find those critters--AKA, your kids--give ‘em a squeeze, and skip off for a winter buried in edits. Such are the joys of writers.

Did any of you learn something new about yourself this last month?

Colorless- A Peek at the Story

Dear Awesome Readers,

This is an update from the trenches of NaNoWriMo. So far things are going really well and I'm wondering why I never had the courage to try to write 50,000 words in one month before.

I've learned a few things about myself.
#1 When I shut off my inner editor and just let my fingers fly, I can write over 1300 words in 30 minutes. (Who knew? Quality of those words: spelling = horrible, grammar = frightening, ideas = pretty darn good. )

#2 I can average over 2,000 words a day, every day. The biggest day so far was at an awesome writer's retreat I went to in Park City Utah with the coolness that is Authors Incognito. I wrote 12,000 words in two days. Was I the fastest? Not by a long shot. One amazing gal, Heather Justesen , threw down 27,000 words in the same time period. (Holy crap, she's fast!) I'll blog about the retreat later.

#3 I am in my happy place when I'm sitting at my computer, totally engrossed in the story unfolding beneath my fingers. I used to think of myself as a really slow writer, but now I think any limitations on speed were only put there by me. I have written over 30,000 words in only 12 days. I never dreamed that was possible for me.

#4 My dog makes a really nice foot warmer. When my 3yrold becomes too bothersome, which is every day, my dog signals the end of playtime by sneaking under my tiny desk and laying on my feet so I'll keep the little pest away from her. It's winter. I don't mind typing with a heater on my feet--unless she has gas and then I do mind, very much.

Would you like a sneak peek at my first chapter of COLORLESS?  I've pasted it into one of those cloud things on the left side of my blog.I think it's kind of pretty. If you don't see it, try this link.
 
Happy writing everyone! Have you ever taken on a challenge and surprised yourself with your success?

Good News & Bad News

The Good News: I'll soon have a computer again! As my tweeps and facebook buddies know, My poor laptop died.

We held a candlight vigil for the hard drive amidst much tears, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Okay so maybe it was just me that mourned the loss of all those outlines and notes that it took to the grave, but still. The bright side of this tragedy is that I've emailed all finished chapters to my writing buddies already so my current WIP (Colorless) and my finished one (Coyote Dreams) are not gone forever--just the notes I've made this summer. (You know, all the research, planning, soul searching, character studies... I need to stop now or I'll forget this is the bright side.)

A fixed laptop means that I'll be able to write during the day again--as opposed to in the middle of the night when I should be resting up for the next big day of unpaid grunt labor--er, I mean farm work. Harvest season here on the farm can be brutal, but I strive to write anyway. You can see what I'm up to on the farm right now here.

The Bad News:
You only have a few days left to win a free copy of my book, UNLOCKED, Ten Key Tales. Leave a comment on this thread and you will be entered for one of 3 free copies. No catches. It's easy! C'mon, don't you know a  reader who needs a new good, clean book? Give it a go.

More Good News:
You can download the book for free right now. Go to http://www.unlockedproject.com/ to get your free copy.