What's Up Wednesday

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.

What's Up Wednesday

Here's my very first What's Up Wednesday post!



What's Up Wednesday was started by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk. It's "a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what's up."

Also, I am participating in


and we are going to update each week with these What's Up Wednesday posts.

Since I desperately needed a push to get back to writing, and I hardly ever update on here, it sounded perfect to me! So here we go.

WHAT I'M READING
I just finished the latest Pretty Little Liars book, Crushed.


Will we ever find out who A is? Who knows. Before that, I read All I Need by Susane Colasanti. Up next is either All the Summer Girls by Meg Donohue or Amanda Knox's memoir.

WHAT I'M WRITING
I plan to work on my WIP for Ready. Set. Write! The same WIP that I've been working on for like 2 years or so. I would love to finish it this summer, spending some time revising it, and maybe query sometime this year. Big goals, I know. But maybe that will motivate me? (or completely NOT motivate me.) And at some point this summer, I plan to reveal what my book is about. I've only told a few people and everyone is really positive about it, but I get so nervous about sharing it.

The other day, my copy of Valpo magazine arrived. I noticed there is a part called "Alumni Ink" where they list books that alumni have written. I said to my dad, "If I ever get published, my book will be in the magazine!" He said he's pretty much given up on me ever writing a book. :( It was really hard to hear that since my dad has been pretty much my biggest cheerleader in writing a book. For years. It's like HIS lifelong dream that I write a book. So to hear that he's given up on me... well, it made me feel really shitty.

So what is my problem? Why can't I just write the darn thing? I want this. I want to write the book and I feel like I have a good story to tell. Am I just lazy? Am I afraid of rejection? I don't know. But I've decided that my goal is to write a book. Getting an agent and/or getting published are things I can't control. But I can at least finish the book.

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW
I'm surrounded by inspiration. I have so many creative, talented friends. I work in a creative industry. Two things in particular that are inspiring me right now are the show Push Girls and singer/songwriter Tony Lucca. Some of you may recognize Tony Lucca from season 2 of the Voice (and he returned to the show last night to perform his new single!) Well, I went to one of his shows back in April and was just really impressed when he talked about his songwriting process. It was a small, intimate show and even though I was exhausted from a long day at work (new website launch!) plus a long drive, I was just blown away by his performance and it's stuck with me.

The show Push Girls inspires me on many levels. It came out last year, back when I was actually working on my WIP, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. Plus, the girls on the show are pretty amazing.

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO
Tap dancing! Our recital was a couple weekends ago and it was so much fun. Our song was "Miss Otis Regrets" by Bette Midler. I don't want to post a picture of my class, but here's a picture of our costumes:


 I had such a great time. I love my class. Summer session starts up tomorrow night!

Well, that's about it!

Ready. Set. Write!

I am so excited to participate in Ready. Set. Write!













For more information, check this out.

I think this is exactly what I need right now. Hope to get lots of writing done over the next 2 months!