Finished the rough draft!

Finished my rough draft! Can't stop smiling I'm so happy. Has anyone else finished any writing projects?

Does the query process work?

All of us writers know about the dreaded query. We know that it is our one chance to get noticed by an agent. We know that we have to do everything in our power to make our query letter sing.

So, does just sending a query letter to an agent without them at least seeing your first page...is it the best option? Is an agent able to tell from just a query letter that a project is worth seeing? Does writing a good query letter mean that a manuscript will be well written? Is it the same for a bad query?

Like everything else I think this is not as simple as it seems.

On Nathan Bransford's blog he searched to answer these questions and the others that rose from them.

What did this show me? I don't have quite as much faith in the query system, I can tell you that. Reading people's queries showed me that just because an idea sounds great doesn't mean the execution will be. And execution is everything. If you have a great plot but bad writing the story falls flat.

What do I think agents should do? I think all agents should ask for at least the first page along with the query. Then if they reject us we know that there is more to it than just a sucky query. We then know there is something wrong with our manuscript, and that is important to our success. Finding what works with our writing and what doesn't.

The point of this post was to tell you all not to give up. That if an agent rejects your query not to put too much weight into it. Taste IS subjective. If your story is worth telling you will find someone to represent you.

So what do you all think? Should all agents ask for pages with the query? Or do you think just asking for the query is fine? Or should they do something different?

You tell me. In the comments.

What do you do when you think your book is wrecked?

I'm not asking because I think my project is ruined, I am just curious to see what others do if this happens to them. Do you salvage what you can and start again? Or do you try a completely new angle? Is there cases where you think the project can't be saved?

For me it is always hard to admit that a project isn't going the way I want it to. I try so hard to fix it and when I can't...I just can't seem to throw it out, even if nothing is worth saving. So what do I do with it? It wastes space on my computer because I think...maybe someday I'll make use of it.

But I am getting better at moving on at least. I don't force myself to finish projects that I know won't make it to second draft anymore. That's something right?

PROJECT UPDATE: I'm working out my ending right now. It's taking a lot of planning. But, endings are always hard for me so I expected this. I just can't wait to start writing again so I can finish this. I'm itching to write my next project. Like now.

How do you know when you need to get rid of a character?

I've been thinking about this and many other writing related questions lately. I guess I'm curious about everyone's process, to see if it is anything like mine. For me, a character needs to die when they are everything I hate, when they don't move the plot forward, when they are not planned for the book and make the book something I don't want it to be. There are quite a few reasons to "kill" a character...

What are yours? Do you ever get the feeling you need to get rid of characters before you reach the end of your first draft? What actions do you take to figure out if they really must die?

Making Progress

It feels like it is taking forever, but I am making progress, slowly but surely. Currently my wordcount is 4,800. It doesn't feel like much, but this is only a short story, so I am probably about halfway through by now. I'm excited to see how this turns out. After I am finished with the first draft I'll let it sit while I plan my YA novel.

Do any of you feel impatient at times? Sometimes it feels like this whole process is so long! Please, do tell. Where are you in your project and how long have you been working on it? Are you excited for when it will be over? Or do you not care how long it takes.

Just wondering.

Forgot...

My new wordcount for the day is 4,147 words! And about 1,000 of those I got last night! That is the most I have written in one sitting since Nano! Oh yeah, in case you didn't notice I am really happy about that. My project has reached the point where I know I am not going to flake out and leave it unfinished. I am staying with this til the end, and that is something to be proud of I think.

Now I feel a lot better about my next project, which will not be a short story, but a YA novel. I was worried I would not be able to write anywhere near the amount per day I would need to finish by the end of the year, but now I think I can.

To say I am excited is an understatement. I have fallen back in love with writing again. It feels amazing.

Fight Scene

Yup, my project calls for a fight scene. So, imagine my horror when I realize I can't, for the life of me, write one that I like. Maybe I am just being picky today, but I strongly suspect that my reason for being so worried is because what I have is crap. So I ask myself...how the heck do I fix this?

Does anyone have any advice to offer? Maybe a cool writers site that talks about what a fight scene needs, ect? Because I am really lost with this. I have found that, although I love reading scenes like this, I hate writing them. Maybe that's my problem? Anyway, even if it is I have to get over it. This project needs some fight scenes.

Please. If anyone could help a desperate writer out...I would greatly appreciate it. Seriously. This scene is making my eyeballs bleed...not fun.

Reading through my project.

I don't know how many of you are writers. But I have to ask this anyway, for my sanity. Have you ever, after getting started with your project, looked back on what you written and panicked? Wondered how the hell were you going to fix the mess you made? Contemplated throwing out everything and starting over?

That is where I am at now and it is not a very fun place to be. But I have not been known for finishing my writing projects, so I am going to push through this, no matter how painful it is. Besides, I am a writer that tends to hate everything I write during the first draft. I don't really have a clear idea what is good or not until the revision.

But...pushing through can sometimes be so hard. So I wanted to know what you guys do when you think your writing sucks. Do you start over from scratch? Play the lets-pretend-I-got-this-right-the-first-time game and move on? Or something completely different?

Please. Let me know in the comments.

Back on track.

I actually managed to write last night, even though I don't feel completely back yet. I am just not doing so well with the bad news, but I am trying very hard to stay positive.

So. Staying positive...my current word count is 2,928 words. That might not seem like a lot, but it is the most I have written since November, so I am happy. Plus, I have written every day since starting except for one day, which is good! If I keep this pace I'll be done with this story in less than two more weeks! (Yeah, its not novel length, my next project will be though!)

By the way, that leads me to a question I have been wondering: How many of you write even when you are NOT inspired? Because, like it or not, if I want to ever be published I realized I need to learn how to write on a regular basis. I know that in movies they have the writer that has months of writers block only to suddenly be hit with inspiration and then wildly finishes their book which becomes a bestseller... but lets face reality here. That is not how most successful writers work. They treat writing like a job, and therefore write even when they don't want to. I guess I need to keep that in mind when I feel like quitting. If I want to get anywhere in this business I have to find time to write...even if I want to be doing something else.

Just a thought.

Didn't write today...

I feel horrible about it, considering I just started, but I really don't have a creative flow going right now. A loved one of mine, someone I truely cherished...died...and I just don't have any words, any thoughts...other than I miss this person so much it hurts. I am lost without them.

Linda, if you can see me, hear me, anything...I want you to know I'm sorry.

If anyone is reading this I'll try to update you on how the writing is going within the next few days. Right now the Muse is not speaking and I am not sure when that will change. Hopefully really soon. I do love this project and would love to finish it.

And I got my words!

789 words to be precise. Which brings my total word count to 2189 words. That's pretty good for my third day of doing this, especially since I wasn't even sure I would hit 500. So far I've been getting it and then some! I'm proud of myself since I have a little one to look after. And I do mean little. He's only 7 weeks old.

Which just goes to show that if you want to be a writer you CAN make time to write, regardless of how much you work...you just have to find out where your free time is, even if its only ten minutes and go for it! I know I did! Well, it took some coaxing...but once I got started I didn't want to stop!

Seriously. In my project things are starting to get juicy. My MC has just learned of a betrayal that has left her shaken...and things are only going to get worse from here. Man, I am so glad I don't have the lives of my characters!

And this brings me to my question of the day: How many words do you try to write a day? Or do you even write everyday? Do you only write when inspiration strikes, or have you made it a habit? I'd love to hear what you guys have to say.

Let me know in the comments!

Sometimes...the internet is just evil!

Yeah, I think that title says it all. I find that whenever I sit down to write I have this horrible urge to just check a few things. You know what I am talking about. My E-mail, some really cool blogs...plus research, ect. And before I know it an hour or two has gone by and no real writing has been done!

Grr internet, oh how I loathe you. No, that's not true. It is very useful. It's just I have not learned to control myself enough to use my time to the best of my ability. Is this just me, or do others experience this too?

It must be the procrastinator in me. Seriously, I need to learn how to get over this if I want to make a career out of writing. I've been doing it yes, but not as many words as I would like.

Today I will get no less than 700 words, but I am going to try and shoot for 1000. I need to get in the habit of writing more, not just everyday...but a good amount everyday. And those of you with kids know how hard that can be.

My advice to you all and to myself: You can do anything for ten minutes...right? Well, get out that stopwatch, that egg timer and set it for ten minutes. Then sit and write your heart out. Start a scene, finish a scene, whatever. When the timer goes off do whatever you need to do. If this works then use it throughout the day when you have time. Trust me, this adds up. And you will notice you can get a lot more done this way if you are a procrastinator like I am.

Well, I'm off to hopefully get in my 700 words. I'll let you know later tonight how it goes.

I'm back!

And I've started writing a new project yesterday. I can't even begin to describe how great that feels. I took about a month off of writing after I had my son. Then my Muse wouldn't stop bugging me about a couple stories...so here I am again. And I love being back. I've only written 1500 words between today and yesterday, but considering how long I spent not writing? I think I accomplished a lot. Especially with an infant to take care of. I can say honestly I am proud of myself.

Having a couple of projects that kick ass helps writing, that's for sure.

I'm back with a vengence! I'll probably post tomorrow, and I'm crossing my fingers I get a lot done in that time. Will be working on a different scene card then I previously thought...so we'll see.

Oh, and I'm going through How To Think Sideways again with this new project. And boy is it helping out a lot!