Hey everyone! Wow, thank you all so much for the comments on my last blog! I really appreciate that you guys are taking the time to read my blog and comment.
It's Wednesday, which means time for another What's Up Wednesday!
WHAT I'M READING
Amanda Knox's memoir, WAITING TO BE HEARD.
I remember back when the murder happened. I was fascinated by the story and followed all the news reports. I studied abroad in college and I think that is what drew me to the story. What if that had happened to me? I never would have put myself into those situations, though.
I believe Amanda is innocent, but I think she knows more than she is letting on. That is just my opinion. The book is really long (guess I'm used to quick YA reads!) but I really like it. I enjoy reading Amanda's side of the story even though I have cringed quite a bit - both at the inappropriate ways she reacted and handled things and also the horrible things she went through.
WHAT I'M WRITING
Over the weekend, I finally got out my WIP. I hadn't looked at the thing in months. I hate to admit, it's kind of awful. I still love my story and characters, and I think there's something good in there... But it needs A LOT of help. I spent an hour just changing all the verbs from past to present. I refuse to give up on this story because I believe in it, but I'm not really sure what to do with it at this point. Start over? I am thinking about taking what I do have & putting it on post-it notes to organize it, and seeing how that turns out.
I mentioned in my last post how my dad said he's given up on me ever writing a book. Well, I went to Starbucks on Saturday to do some writing. When I saw my dad on Father's Day, he asked me, "So did you finish your book yet? You said you went to Starbucks yesterday." Um, no I did not finish. I'm not really sure what to make of his comment. Did he really think I could write a book in one hour? Or was it a subtle jab at the fact that I'll never finish the book? Or what??? I'm not sure what to think.
What are some rude/weird/awkward comments you've gotten about writing? Stuff like "So, when is your book going to be at Barnes & Noble?" or "How hard can it be to just write some words?"
I'm a part-time journalist and my stories typically take up an entire page in the local newspaper. My dad will often say to me, "You can write an article that long. Just do that a few more times and you'll have a book."
I imagine it's what aspiring actors feel like. "When am I going to see you on tv?" "What would I have seen you in?" "I saw this great musical on Broadway. Why don't you try for something like that?"
WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW
First, all of you inspire me. I love that we're all in this together. I love reading about what everyone else is up to, cheering people on, and getting awesome news from my writer friends (Congrats again to Rachel for getting an agent!)
Friday night I attended a book signing, Young Authors Give Back. So.... I will admit something. I misread the name of the event. I thought it was Young Adult Authors Give Back. oops. So it turns out that while they were all young adult authors, they were all young authors (all had gotten book deals at young ages) and they were giving back to other young aspiring writers. Well... I'm not exactly young. They said their target audience was high school to about 25 years old. Oops. I still enjoyed the event. I got to meet Erin Bowman who was incredibly sweet. And no one said anything about how I was too old to be there, so I think it was okay. ;)
Finally... I got some bad news about a close friend recently. She was diagnosed with breast cancer. I won't go into detail here because I want to protect her privacy. But I want to say that she inspires me. Honestly she always has -- I've always looked up to her and admired her. Now I admire her even more. She is incredibly strong and a fighter. I know she will beat this. She has already inspired me to eat better, put things in perspective, and be thankful for my health.
WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO
Tonight my tap class got together for our end of the year dinner. It was so much fun. Great food, amazing sangria, and a chance to get to know my classmates better.
This weekend I'm going to be hanging out with 2 of my best friends. I cannot wait! I'm so excited to see them and just hang out and have some girl time!
Well, that's it. Thanks everyone for reading. Hey, this What's Up Wednesday idea is pretty awesome. I may even keep it up after Ready Set Write is over.
I'm sorry about your friend. That has to be rough for both of you and everyone else in your lives.
ReplyDeleteAnd for your dad's comment. I wouldn't take that well, either.
My husband jabs now and then. He'll ask what I'm doing and I'll say working on my book. He then says "didn't you finish that already." Well yes, but I have to make it great!!! Non writers just don't get it.
Good luck on your goals this week!
Thanks for stopping by! I think you are right, non writers just don't get it. Luckily there's a great community of writers online. :)
DeleteYou have some incredible inspiration and I hope your friend beats her cancer too. Also, I KNOW all about that awful WiP syndrome, but it does get better! Keep plugging away. And ignore the naysayers and people who don't get it. I hate comments like those you mentioned. Which is why I pretty much only talk about my writing with my writing peeps.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a wonderful writing week!
Thank you for your great comment! I appreciate the thoughts for my friend.
Deletewow, hope your friend is doing well after getting that news, I can't imagine what she is going through. I hate when people ask me if I'm done with my book because, really, you're not ever done. Not until you actually get your book published, and even then I think you'd want to go back and make a few changes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts for my friend.
DeleteI agree, I will probably keep wanting to make changes even after I'm done!
With your story, have you thought about making a big list or cloud of all the things that you initially loved about it? I think Stephanie Perkins did this and called it a Love List. It helped me kind of fall back in love with my story when I hit a "this is crappy, and why do I even bother" stage. Just an idea.
ReplyDeleteI've had snide comments made to me about my writing, but thankfully I have so many others who are encouraging, and their voices drown out the nay-sayers. I hope you've found people like that too! :)
I love that idea! I am going to make a Love List. Thank you for the suggestion!
DeleteSo sorry to hear about your friend, Zanne. I hope she makes a quick recovery.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you had fun at the YAGB event. I'm not a "young" author either, but I think I still would have gone if the tour had come to my town. Why not?!
Good for you pulling your story out and giving it a fresh look. Who cares about the naysayers, even if they are family. I think we'll all show the doubters one of these days! <3
Thanks for your thoughts for my friend. I appreciate it.
DeleteYou know, I AM glad I went to the YAGB event, even though I wasn't their target audience. I still had fun!
I hope you are right about the naysayers! :)
Sometimes I think people don't fully understand and appreciate how hard it is to put a book together. When people ask me stuff like that, I feel like I should say "tell you what, you write a novel and then you can tell me how long it took you!"
ReplyDelete:P
Ah, Amanda Knox. I'm British so the story is reported quite differently here. It's an awful situation for poor Meredith Kercher's family. I can't imagine the pain they've gone through.
Best wishes to your friend. I really hope she recovers swiftly.
I would love to read about how the Amanda Knox story is in England. I will have to do some research. What happened to Meredith was so awful.
DeleteThanks for the wishes for my friend. I know she appreciates it.
Hang in there with your WIP! If you love the story and your characters then it's worth the work. Have you thought of using plot arc diagrams to help organize what you have? Someone recently introduced me to them, and I've found them helpful for prioritizing scenes and figuring out what should go where. Doesn't work for everyone, but might be worth a try.
ReplyDeleteAnd keep your chin up over the negative comments about finishing a book. I think people who aren't writers have a tough time understanding just how much work goes into it. You'll get there!
I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. Best wishes to her while she recovers.
I have not tried plot arc diagrams, but I will look into it! Hey, it's worth a try. I am not ready to give up on this story yet. Thanks for the suggestion!
DeleteThanks for the wishes for my friend. I know she appreciates it.
Ever since I told my family I was writing a book, they keep asking me when it's going to be published. I try to explain the process, but it doesn't seem to sink in.
ReplyDeleteKeep on going with your story. My first drafts are truly miserable. I usually only find 50 pages of 225 that are worth keeping, but it's those 50 pages that give me the inspiration to rewrite and try again. Pick out what you love and go from there.
Best wishes and good vibes to your friend as she begins her road to healing.
Sounds like our families have similar ideas on the publishing industry!
DeleteThanks for the motivation. I will keep that in mind.
Thanks for the good thoughts for my friend. I know she appreciates it.
Oh, I've totally got all those questions before when it comes to writing a book. It's crazy! And you're right, I have a friend from high school that's trying to make it in Hollywood and he gets asked all the time when is he going to be on TV.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm a huge post-it fan when it comes to organizing my manuscript. I get the pack of the different colors and designate each color to a different problem I have. Plus I like buying office supplies. Good luck with your WIP.
I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I may not know her but I most definitely know that breast cancer sucks. She's most definitely in my thoughts.
I think I'm convinced to try the post-it idea!
DeleteThanks for keeping my friend in your thoughts. I know she appreciates it.
So sorry about the pressure you've been getting to finish your book. Some people just do not understand why it takes so long. I hope you stick with it, though, and show them all that you can do it and that they never should have doubted you!
ReplyDeleteKeep at your writing and ignore all those people who have NO CLUE what it's like to write a book or get published. I get questions too like, "why aren't you published yet?" "When are you going to be published?" "why don't you just self-pub and make millions that way?" And I want to either slap them or let out a loud bwahaha. Writing, trying to get published- it's so hard. Harder than a non-writer will ever realize. But don't quit, keep at it! It took me 3 years to get my manuscript to where I was getting full requests from agents and it still never got an offer so I'm busy querying my 2nd MS while writing a 4th. It's a different journey for everyone but just do what works for you and don't quit!
ReplyDelete