Pinterested

 Oh, no. I've gotten a Pinterest account. Even after I said I wouldn't.

Source: 25.media.tumblr.com via Nancy-Alicia on Pinterest

 But you have to admit, there are a lot of awesome resources on that site for writers. I'm RAOPing (Random Acts of Pinning) stuff about the ocean. Maybeee I'll give you all a link to one of my boards. Some time. LOL


 And I have also joined the 'Baked a Recipe Found on Pinterest' club. Pumpkin cream cheese muffins. Yepp. <3

Blueberry Pancakes.

 Right now, I'm about to start work on a scene in my novel describing someone's first experience with blueberry pancakes. This is a huge deal to said character, because she isn't used to Americanized food. The whole novel has been largely geared towards describing everything as though it's new, but I want to do something different in this scene. And here's the other tough part about it: she doesn't like pancakes. What was I thinking when I created her character profile?!

*edit with updates*

 It seems my cat needs to use my manuscript for her morning reading time. So I have more time to procrastinate and plan this scene. Any thoughts to how I could go about it?

 I was able to pry the character's profile out from the grasp of my cat, and I noticed that I never filled any interests in for her besides swimming, which is already in a lot of the scenes. So she's rather boring.


 What can I do to help her when she insists on being so contrary and yet tries so many new things willingly?

Morning

 It's funny how one can complain about life being too eventless to be fun, because when they actually become busy, all they can talk about is how nice it is to not be so busy.

 I don't like to be busy in the sense that I hate going out and doing errands. Just forget about trying to convince me to spend time with my fellow teenagers--what a waste it would be to drive to some place and pay good money to be a part of a 'camp' or 'workshop' that teaches me nothing and smushes me in a room with a bunch of attention grabbing-iPhone listening-unresponsive kids and expect me to have fun.

 This summer, I volunteered at a business that happens to have a lot of kid volunteers. There was one girl who found out I was older that her and afterwards would not even look or respond to me if I asked her a question or for help finding someone. I know I can be moody sometimes, but I hope I'm not that moody. Thankfully the volunteering session is over for the summer, because there was more than one issue with the place. But it's over, so I'm not going to go on and on ragging about it.

Girl: "Your a SENIOR?!"
Me: "Well, kinda. (didn't want to get into the homeschool/odd grade thing) Most people think I'm 12."
Girl: "No, I thought you were a Freshman or something."

Yep. True story.

Give me some fun loving, interesting adults any day. Or some sociable homeschoolers. Contrary to popular belief, homeschoolers are actually more sociable than today's average teen.


 On a good note, all of my free time has led me to write a lot more (anddomorechorescoughcough). But more than that, I've learned about the importance of making my own writing habits and rules, instead of listening to the NaNoWriMo system or the Writer's Digest techniques all by themselves. The truth is, I don't like to just write a whole novel in a month and spend the next 30 years of my life editing it. If I'm going to write it, it doesn't need to be perfect but it needs to have a good structure. And I'm also not into conventional plot arcs. Things become too predictable if you write in the same way that the bestsellers in Writer's Digest do.
  Newbery medalist Gary D. Schmidt (The Wednesday Wars, Okay For Now) uses a typewriter for his first draft, only pounding out about 500 words a day.  I really like that pace for myself. The average Young Adult novel has a chapter length of 2,000 words. I prefer to write by hand, so this means that with 500 words a day, I can easily write about two chapters a week. To be honest, I'd rather have two great chapters than a whole pile of irrelevant scenes crafted during NaNoWriMo.

 That's all for now, folks! By the way, if it crosses your mind I would love if you'd vote in the Verve Lit Awards. The deadline is August 15th.

Have a lovely day,

-Jessie

940 chirps of randomness.

"Hey, I just met you. And this is crazy. But you've got cookies. I mean come on. You've got COOKIES."

My characters are about to start daring each other to eat sashimi. This could get ugly.  They sound like they are dying.

Listening to my Deceptive Soundtrack while writing Ocean. Talk about two different moods. xD Ominous VS Poetic.

This is the only picture I could find that was worth uploading.

Everyone is writing romantic plots into their stories today, and for once I am not.

#YouKnowYouUseTwitterTooMuch when you start responding to emails in two sentences.

My Mother dubbed me the Sun Tea Steeper of the household. I love sun tea. <3

The Mighty Macs. Seriously good. What's up with all of the awesome 1970's true story movies suddenly? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mighty_Macs (I apparently watched the short version on Netflix. Figures. It was still an awesome movie.)

Why you should research before writing: a group of unihabited islands I was going to use in a novel was recently inhabited as a gay-only kingdom. o.0

Still trying to figure out how not one but THREE Nick Jonas songs got on my NaNoWriMo playlist... o.0  No, I have not gone mad. I deleted them off of the playlist shortly upon finding this information.

Watched Vanishing of the Bees. If you're skeptical about the negative effects of GMO and pesticides, watch that movie. Icing on the cake so to speak. Food Inc & Fresh are good movies, too.

I don't like it when a TV show leaves a season with an engagement cliffhanger. *grrrrr* Example One (I really like the music in this one):

Wondering if I should strand my character on a cay for a chapter. Thoughts? ...No takers? Okay, no sand bar character abandonment, then.

Chocolate covered cashews. Om Nom Nom.


I'm not going to say who's ahead, but the indie authors are kicking butt in ALL categories of the VerveLitAwards. 


"Are you sure you want to log out?" No, I was just kidding.

So apparently no one knows how to spell Lady Antebellum or Downton Abbey. 



Not only do I need Heartland intervention, I need twitter intervention (twittervention). I use that thing WAY more than necessary, and it keeps me from updating my blog!
 Do you like the new layout on my blog? I like it.
 Sorry for recycling my tweets, but that's what's been going on with me lately. I think it might be a healthy decision to stop going on there for a day or two. Just a thought.

Is it all just words?

 She walked across the never ending pathway near the beach today. She stopped when she saw an albatross. Sat in the salt breeze. Then, it was not just words. Home had almost come back to her heart.

 (Excerpt Copyright 2012 Jessica Verve)
Today, without an endless stack of library books waiting to be read, I started writing again. Third person seems to be the forgotten point of view lately. I'm kind of sick of writing in so many people's minds, you know what I mean? I'm going to test out 3rd POV in some of my stories and see what happens. Without even thinking about it, it seemed to work for the story above.

 And in important news, I won an e-book giveaway! :-P I guessed how long Aubrey Hansen's new historical fiction Peter's Angel would be when she finished Draft 2 (124k, just 190 words short of her final total !!! ) and won a free copy of Jordan Smith's new book, "Finding the Core In Your Story"! It looks really interesting. Especially since I'm a huge fan of Month Of the Novel....

...I'm really excited to read it. Be looking for my thoughts on the book.


 Also, I've finished about two chapters for Camp Verve. I guess I better hurry up, huh?


Well, I hear rumors that I'm about to participate in the new family tradition of giving the dog a flea bath. That is all for now.

Camp Verve

 I have this thing with NaNoWriMo. Under the right circumstances, I love the challenge. I even fight until the last week, even though I haven't won the adult's challenge yet. But this month, for the first session of camp, I have decided that I'm just too dang busy to write 50k. The goal requirement for the 3rd day is 5,000 words, and I'm only at 2,300. So Instead of getting frustrated with these scenes that I will never put in a published novel, I'm going to call Camp NaNoWriMo quits. But in turn, I am starting Camp Verve.

 Instead of 50,000 words, I am challenging myself to 5 complete, sound, and awesome chapters. Chapters are weird for me. Ever since I started NaNo I've been more used to doing scene segments. I've only one chapter that I can think of that I've written in the last two years that actually seems complete (and it's a snazzy 3,000 words, thank you). This 5 chapter challenge will be good for me, because my writing will be more productive.


 Official Writing Rules:

• Write 5 chapters that are well-rounded. Long scenes do not count unless they make a full point.
• Each chapter should be at least <1k. No wimpy stuff that lasts 400 words, unless it's a cool prologue.
• 2 of the 5 chapters must be from the same story.

Now this sounds like fun! If anyone has NaNoWriMo woes, you are welcome to join me.

MAY THE HORSE BE WITH YOU.

Y'know, it's just fun. Don't knock it. xD

titles are little buggers

 I have not been very exciting lately, have I? The truth, my dears, is that often writers are nothing more than short glasses-clad research freaks with lots of ink stains on their long fingers. It could very possibly be a crime that pulp fiction writers get published before the slave laborers.

 There has been a whole exciting pile of nothing going on lately; I'm afraid I got sidetracked working on a novel that no one will probably want to read so I'm writing for myself.

 My predicament is often that I work on too many stories at once. When I really get excited about a scene that I wrote, I often beg my friends to read them. While I'm expecting some feedback along the lines of...

       "I think Mairy is a little quiet in this chapter, you should make her chatter as her father cuts the wood. And I don't like how slow it is in this spot, if you'd cut it out or add a different adjective it would lend a nicer transition. The tree description was my favorite part!"

...it is often a hollow and dull remark of "Oh, I liked that a lot." or a complete scrutiny of grammar rather than real help, and so then I feel like a completely useless writer and don't want to work on a story again until I can make it so that when one reads it they fall out of their chair, sobbing and blubbering around that that story changed their life forever and they love it so. But I don't want to completely give up on the story because I love it, so it goes to the back of my head.

 At the moment I'm detailing Deceptive, battling against opinions with other writers about the world building elements of my Christian Sci-Fi novel (writing messages boards are privately thought of as psychological battle grounds), doodling around with my own private novel, and writing a line or two on my typewriter.

 This is the quandaries of life some times. Not to mention that it's very hard to work on a near-death scene when your dad is singing a very, very dated Spanish disco song at the top of his lungs while he makes coffee. Eh. Don't tell him I brought that up.



 Camp National Novel Writing Month June starts on Friday. Hope to see you there!

10 Excuses

Source: school.failblog.org via Jeanine on Pinterest

 Before I get into Part 2 of How to Become a Better Writer, I'd like to tell you that there are now 10 things you don't have an excuse to procrastinate on while you should be writing.

1) Spider Solitaire.

I'm here to tell you it's okay if you don't play another game.
It's okay that it's the only fun game that comes with every computer, you don't need to play it obsessively. At least when you should be writing.

2) Twitter.

 I know that this one of the most amusing websites since NaNoWriMo.

After all, you're only trying to challenge yourself to write an extremely effective sentence that makes you look smart because you smushed such a deeper meaning into such a small sentence and also makes you look like a complete idiot because you had to use 'R' instead of 'are' . But no, this does not count towards your writing time.

2.5) MySpace. If you have one, you are too old to be this easily lazy. Get off your tush and get a real job, you probably shouldn't be a writer. People who have a MySpace still are at least 27.

 The whole reason I got a Facebook and Twitter is because I was trying to promote Verve Lit Awards, but why bore people to a coma with ONLY drivel about your latest book review? Why not start a personal social media set as well and tell everyone about pink slime and the horrifying fact that Kashi has GMOs?! Why not tell them that you just got your tonsils out on Monday and there is a really gross ooze coming out of the scrape on your brother's knee? Come on, everyone needs to see that five trillionth self-portrait from Instagram!

If you agreed with that last statement, at least read THIS blog post to return some sanity to your mushy brain.

3) "I don't have a plot!"

Of course you do.

If you stick someone in a castle mote that is closely guarded by man-eating squirrels, you have a plot. Okay, someone swimming in a mote is not a plot. But it's a darn good start to a plot. If you can write at least one or two scenes, you can have enough inspiration to build into a full idea. You can build on that small idea by asking questions. Why is the guy in the mote? What century is he in, if this isn't an alternate-historical comedy? Is he coming out of the castle or leaving it? Why couldn't he have just taken the drawbridge? Did he fall off?

4) "But I just went to the library and I need to read! I thought you were a proponent of reading excessively?"

 Don't even ask me that question.

5) And another thing. If any of your other excuses are internet-related, just stop right there.

I said stop.

Do I really need to find a picture of a Stop sign?

Do I?!

6) "I need to eat. When am I supposed to do that?!"

. . .

 When your Mommy tells you to, that's when.

7) oink. No, this isn't related to #6, I was trying to clean my keyboard and typed oi, then decided to add the full nk.

8) Doubt.

Don't doubt, just write. Have a conversation with God about this if yah have it.

9) Insert one of your biggest distractions here.

It could be a sibling.

Or a dog that howls like Yoda. (I am not saying that 4th quote. Not ever.)

You may need to go on a fly kill with your beloved animals, because that fly buzzing around your desk is super obnoxious. And your dog has been known to take out a lot of bees and flies. (After I typed this a fly came to attack my head. Two or three full dive-bombs.)

It could by all of those pretty fonts and format options at the top of Microsoft Word. (You can colapes that bar, y'know.)

Whatever it is, think about it long and hard. If it's a necessity, like going hunting for flies, then just do it. Just please stop . . .

. . . 10) Procrastinating.

I am never deleting this email.

So I said:

@JessVerve Unusual: reading every article in my @WritersDigest newsletter this morning. It's like they read your diary. Not like I have one. >.>

And then I get an email that says:

How To Be An Awesome Writer PART ONE

 There are a lot of kewl kats that comment on this blog, saying, "I wish I was a writer." Wait, you want to be a writer... you can spell... your already a kewl kat... AND YOUR NOT WRITING?

  Problem with that Statement #1) What's that awesome ode to Pickles you posted on your blog a few days ago? It touched me deeply! The only way to be a writer is to keep trying!

 Problem with that Statement #2) And just because you don't release everything you type to the world, doesn't mean your not a writer. You should see my writing notebooks. Or my catalog of forgotten writing notebooks. Not everything written in them is beautiful on the eyes.

 #3) But now that your writing a lot, something you SHOULD do is try to finish something if you like it.

 Take this blog. Before writing this post, there were 56 posts, with only 34 of them being published. I love most of the ideas, but I got lazy or freaked that I didn't say it right and so I didn't finish OR publish. That's what revising and redrafting are for, babe!

 #4) So you're already writing, and you finish what you write, yada, yada. There still ain't any fruity-tootiness to your writing? Then think about it a little more! What are you most excited to write, and what gets the most responses from your readers? To keep this in prospective of novel writing, I'd like to point out that not everyone is going to like your best work. My novel Deceptive is one of my most favorite mystery plots, but not everyone that reads or hears about it really likes it. That's another post for another day. But, just because 'no one' seems to like it, does that mean you give up? When you think about what your writing, consider why you like it. If the reason seems fine to you, keep going!

 You become an awesome writer by perseverance. You don't get on an Olympic track team by sitting on your fanny. You don't start of your training at an Olympic level. You work at it, and work at it.

 "WAIT! WAIT! You totally missed something else. What if I don't like what I write, or I'm not very good? HOW do I get better while I'm doing all this practicing?"
 Stick around for part 2!

#AmWriting. What else?

With each day I slave over Deceptive, I get more frustrated with it. I'm not the best at writing a zinger opening, but you'd think after a whole year I could find the right mood and style! Usually, I skip the opening all together and start somewhere in the middle, but I wanted to nail down some of the plot details. There must be around 27k already, but after a few plot changes I wonder how much of that I can keep. Maybe I should target a novella length? Maybe I should stop trying to add the relationship morals and tell my FMC to stop drooling over my MMC? Even though my Mom really likes my writing, I have yet to find something in this story that she really likes. If you can pass her critique, you can get published.
So many questions. Perhaps it is the delirium of the flu that keeps me uncertain. I hate getting the flu, don't you?

 With these questions in mind, I head off to work on my ocean story. Or something.

I am not a Trekkie

 For those of you who know me very well (Kate Sayloor and Mel), you know that I am usually into Realistic fiction. Or if it is cozy and makes me feel like The Penderwicks, to heck with plausibility. No fantasy. Certainly no magic. No obscene paranormal romances.

 But as of late (November, that is) I have been extremely interested with Science Fiction. Weird, no? It all started with Andrew Clements' Things Not Seen Trilogy. Absolutely some of the most realistic stuff I've ever read. And it's about a boy that suddenly wakes up invisible! Not the norm for I. When I was younger I had inadvertently read the second book and didn't like it very much, but now that I'm older I feel like I have a better understanding of what to watch out for, and be aware of. So after that, I started looking around for more. But isn't most science fiction like that of the Inklings, or Star Trekk or Star Wars or something else that is entirely not my style? God knows how much I hated 2001 Space Odyssey.

 Not true. Not all space-centered science fiction is like that, and certainly not all sci-fi is space related.

 So mainly it got me to thinking, and I got an AMAZING idea for a book, but my writing style for it... didn't really work. It was forced. Let's face it: I don't know anything about the genre. Example A:

You see, every person started a zero at birth, and as their Education persisted, they would gain levels. Every being was required to complete a level before each birthday

Talk about Telling and not showing! Aside from some wittiness that is my trademark, a lot of it reads just like an outline. So obviously, I needed to read more.

 Thanks to my favorite acquaintance from NaNoWriMo (Bushyyyy!!!), I found another science fiction I enjoyed, Red Rain. You've probably seen me quibbling with the author, Aubrey Hansen, on Twitter. Red Rain is about not denying Christ, and the fine line that can be crossed. Aside from that, there is a lot of new technology detailed, but much of it derived from things we use today: e-readers and tablets, Cloud storage, fingerprint-enabled locks. Wait, so I can use stuff that people are talking about and using today to relate to a hundred years from now? Two hundred? In the social media world, this almost doesn't seem plausible. But it works.

Plot - a - Lot

 Here it is: I just finished my first ever real story outline. Sort of.  Using the method from Script Frenzy's Outlining Tips post, I was [FIIIINALLY!] able to find something that had the right flow for me. Here is a quote from said post:

She suggests getting nine 3 x 5 cards, and writing on each card what happens on page 1, 3, 10, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, & 100. Once you do that, you have your “9-minute movie”.

Post these cards near your computer, and voila! You’re ready to get started.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the common things that happen to characters on those pages:

Page 1 – Set up story, mood, tone, and place.

Page 3 – Introduce the central question your characters will explore.

Page 10 – Tell us what the story is. Tell us what the hero wants.

Page 30 – An event occurs that moves the hero into new territory.

Page 45 – We see the initial growth of your character. You’ll tell us where we’re headed from here on.

Page 60 – The middle of Act Two: your hero is in big trouble, he reaffirms and makes a deeper commitment to what he wants.

Page 75 – It looks like all is lost, and there might even be a scene where the character is about to give up.

Page 90 – The resolution of the problem begins.

Page 120 – The audience gets the resolution they deserve, and the audience is satisfied that you gave them the story you promised.

  Brian Klems, editor-of-something from Writer's Digest, had a fabulous article: "How to Write a Manuscript" (#5 HAVE SOME FREAKING FUN) about noveling that can come in handy even with this situation. Another good article on Writer's Digest is "Choosing the Best Outline Method for You", in case I feel like being a perfectionist with a scene. ;-D I gotta say, that article took away some of my beef with outlining. There really are more ways to outline than just the 'rollercoaster method'!

  So that's it! Simply by not worrying about EVERY SCENE, I successfully sorted out a synopsis-like outline for my Script Frenzy endeavor. Because of this, I will be able to take on Aubrey Hansen's personal invitation to a Page War Throwdown. GAME ON.


 The first person to say "Let the games begin," or "May the odds be ever in your favor," is going to get a serious glare from me.

Your ever excited writer,

Novel Self-Help

Is it pathetic that I'm still working on my NaNoNovel?

“It already sounds stupid.”

 The plot keeps evading me. I want the narrator, Jane, to be the FMC, but the secondary FMC keeps stealing the spotlight every time I work on the outline. It's always 'Jill' this, 'Jill' will do that.

"The key word here," she smiled out of context. "Is desperation."

  So I've been reading this novel-help book (gasp) that I used to hate, but actually has some great ideas and thoughts in it. Teach Youself: Writing a Novel by Nigel Watts. It's some none-existent British version of Idiot's Guide. There is little room in my writing world for talk of structured outlines and roller coasters and arcs. So I usually skip all of that. Here is a random good bit:
"Not every novel you read will have a clearly identifiable thesis [. . .] Such books are often like low-grade fast food: tasty in an obvious sort of way, but without much nutrition. [. . .] The market for junk food and junk literature is ever-expanding, and there is a lot of money to be made. Whatever sort of writing you are drawn to write, don't resist the tug. If you self-consciously inject meaning into your work, you will probably seem fake. Even junk has its own integrity." -From Teach Yourself: Writing a Novel
 But I'm a nerd for the study of fiction writing, so that probably doesn't interest you. You probably want more quotes from my book.

 “Enough said.” I held up my hands and grinned awkwardly at the table.

Deceptive (indented quotes) copyright 2012 Jessica Verve.

Script Frenzy 2012 PREP PEP!!!!!

OFFICE - AFTERNOON

 A writer sweeps into a cluttered and sweaty office to the computer, sitting down and clicking crazily through websites.

JESSICA

(narration)

Next month is Script Frenzy. To prepare, I've been jump-roping vigorously, watching movies...

CUT-IN: Jessica attempts to jump rope, even though the rope is too small. Rope tangles and Jessica nearly falls over.

JESSICA

(aside)

...sort of...

(narration)

...and typing randomly. It's quite interesting to come up with scripts, and Script Frenzy is the best time to be lazy and not worry about prose. It is a time solely for narrative, action, and setting, my friends. There are times in life when it is needed.

BLOGGO

No, really?

JESSICA

Who invited you to interrupt my narrative?

BLOGGO

You. You just typed me into this page.

JESSICA

Well, what, are you useful for anything?

Jessica rests her chin on her palm.

BLOGGO

Plenty. For instance, it's a little weird that you're talking to yourself. Whaz wrong with you?

JESSICA

(ignoring Bloggo's question)

Well, then, do something funny.

BLOGGO

(scrunches face-screen)

I can burp the alphabet.

JESSICA

Forget it.
Turns to audience.
What are your favorite ways to plot a script? 
 

Side Train-Track

"Today was supposed to be a writing day, until I started cleaning my inbox out." Jess sits pertly in the uncomfortable-but-stylish-according-to-Mom chair that sits in front of the computer. As aforementioned, it is extremely uncomfortable. Jess repositions herself and continues smacking her hand around [the keyboard].

 "And then created a snazzy poll version of nomination for V.L.A. It pops out. With an iFrame." She wiggles her eyebrows and sighs. "So much for hiatus.
 "If you wish to reach me this week my friend, please leave me a tweet or an email, because I doubt I'll be on Face Book much." Jess narrows her eyes and grumbles under her breath,"I detest it.
 "Anyways, it is time I put more thought into my novel ventures. I've thrown out many passive literary suggestions that have been flying all round The Write Practice and Writer's Digest and YARN to simple do one thing: write. It is quite apparent that my infamous work, Deceptive, is all awesome quote-worthy lines and no structure. So I'm rolling with it, and won't worry about those little details until I can get the mystery plot worked out verbally. And more character development. Would anyone like a nice line from it to chew on while you wait?"  Jessica stares at the crickets staring back at her. "Well, perhaps one driving by will be amused by it. This is a rather mushy bit that I wrote, but a huge favorite on Nation Novel Writing Month...."

“Why did you even bother hanging around me, anyways?” Stupid, stupid stupid Jane. You are a dim wit. Don’t ever let those words escape your mouth again, because it’s only going to make him stick his nose in the air and say ‘You know what, I don’t know why! I think I’ll just leave you alone.’ And then stomp away.

And then he kissed me. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHH. Brain melt.

Deceptive excerpt Copyright 2012, Jessica Verve.

Random Blurbies of the Week.

@JessVerve I've got rainbow dry erase markers! Y'know what this means? Awesome novel whiteboard time wooooohhhooooo!


@JessVerve Lime, Sky, Bubblegum, DarkMistyPurple. WOOOOT! (And Noir, for those cat in an ash tin moments.)
talking about dry erase marker colours

@JessVerve Teens find trouble while opposing unreality. #scriptfrenzy @scriptfrenzy

Six word loglines.

 @aubrey_hansen Do I have to blog about my upcoming book, or can I just show y'all the spiffy page I made? http://t.co/QQDcqfCt
Peter's Angel is coming out in June wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot!

@owlcity This studio monitor looks like Spongebob.

@owlcity Me: "Will you be my valentine?" Pro Tools: "lolno"

@VerveLitAwards What's with all of these books set in Schenectady, New York? I've run across two or three online. *odd, but true*

@CampNaNoWriMo Aaaand we're back. How many marshmallows did you eat in that half-hour?

@NaNoWriMo Roses are red / Violets are blue. We have a weak spot for cliché / And no rhyming dictionaré. We <3 you, Wrimos!

 Just to name a few.

Jobs

 I'm thinking about becoming an Author Publicist/Book Doctor.

 That's a random one, isn't it?

 You see, I've really been getting into researching self published authors lately, and wishing I could help the really talented ones get more promotion. I shamelessly update pages on Goodreads (I'm a librarian there) just so that indie books will show up more in search engines.
 And I really want to help those less-than-great new authors. Because I see a lot of ideas that COULD be utterly fantastic, but they lack direction or good scene mapping or even key details. Most of them (even ones by small imprints) need two things: a real, gutsy, knowledgeable editor; and about five more drafts. Any editor that would leave his diamond in the rough author out in the lions den with a half-edited book shouldn't be an editor. To heck with your MFA! College degrees are no guarantee for knowledge OR ability OR creativity.

I have nothing more to say right now. Already swamped just by reading books, answering emails, and doing social media for Verve Lit Awards! But it really does bug me, y'know? Maybe if I could have someone doing twitter for me, I could have the time to be an indie publicist/agent.


 Or maybe I'm just looking for a way out of admitting that most of the books I've read in the last week stink on ice.

I LOVE BARNES & NOBLE

 

I started reading this book at the store... SO BEYOND DISAPPOINTED

that it was published too long ago to nominate for VLA. I want to buy this book

very badly. It's about a girl who's mom becomes the US ambassador to Ethiopia.

And there's some safari moments. Didn't want to drain gift card, though. I'm not an

impulse buyer anymore.

 P.R. Giff! She emailed me once. *grins* This book looks pretty good. Shame on

Random House for not even updating her website and let everyone know she has

a new book! Actually, it was new in August. BLEH. I can't wait to read about the

depression farm life. I love historical stories.

 First reaction: Enough. WWII stories are overkill at this point, because everyone

and their third-cousin-five-times-removed has written one in the past three years,

and not many are that good. This, on the other side, had some spice. Can't wait

to read. Isn't that the best cover ever? Okay, maybe I was won over by the cover.

It beats The Book Thief.

 Neato. My mom commented on how I keep reading Red books.
Red Rain. Red Blazer Girls.

 Another awesome cover. Haven't read this book after six months of picking it up
every time I go to the bookstore.

 Pukey new release shelf.

More pukey/bland/overkill/boring/beentheredonethat books.

All in all: Zero books purchased.

I do however find B&N my new favorite place to write. It seems I only write the big chunks of chapters when I'm there, but there are so many books I don't know when I get the time to scribble. Tonight I just discovered the non-fic section (this B&N is newish to me) and almost passed out at how awesome it was. I think I shall take The Sailor and CrazyWriter there to drool at astronomy books some day. And roll our eyes at the angst ridden teens zoning out in the Blight section. I think you know what I'm talking about. ;-D

TTFN!

Sailboats...

CURRENTLY READING: The Great Wide Sea by M. H. Herlong

VLA SITE CONSTRUCTION : 99% Complete

What does this mean? I can stop being a web designer and be a writer again. To be honest, I was getting a little frustrated with writing when I began the heavy work on the site last week. The break did me good. Every time I want to throw my notebooks in a heap and run the garden hose over it, I know it's time to take a breath.

 That is another reason why I work on more than one novel at a time. Easier to write a more refreshing point of view.

 Speaking of POV, does anyone else find themselves doing multi-POVs without noticing? Deceptive's been getting a little confusing with the constant switching, and it's making me wonder what my story is really about--what would the meaning be if it was ONLY in one person's eyes?

Windsor Airlift - Love (w/o weird beeping=beautiful); No One Tells Me Anything