Wow, April just flew by, and I am now the proud author of a new completed rough draft! Sadly, it still doesn't have a title, but perhaps something will come to me during the revisions. This one was a MG adventure, and I am really loving writing for that age group. Maybe I have found my niche.
I got my comments back from my faithful Beta Readers, and they have been very helpful. I am currently going through COMMITTED another time, to get it really polished up and hopefully ready to submit soon.
So now the big question is... What to write next??? I am in the brainstorming phase, and have been batting around a couple of ideas, but haven't firmly settled on anything yet. Writers group is tonight, though, and my CP Jennie is always good for bouncing ideas around!
My goals for this month: Finish revisions of COMMITTED and settle on an idea for book #3!
picture
Monday, May 5, 2014
Monday, April 7, 2014
Five Things Your Beta Readers Should Know
I put my baby MS into the hands of Beta readers last week, and here is the letter that I sent them with the completed document!
Welcome Beta Readers!
First of all, THANK YOU so much for volunteering (?) to help me with this project. Your love and support mean so much to me! Here are a couple of things I wanted to share with you about being a Beta Reader:
1. Please keep in mind that this my first attempt at a novel. I am SO aware that it is not J.K. Rowlings quality, and what I would HATE is if you were reading the thing thinking “Oh, that poor girl. She thinks she is gonna get this piece of crap published.” Ha! Even though this is my first novel and hopefully not up to the same standard as things I will write later, I think it is important for me to go through the entire editing process, to make it the very best piece of crap that I can write, and to practice the whole procedure of submitting my work. Practice makes less crappy crap.
2. I NEED YOU. I have read this thing so many times, my brain literally is fixing the mistakes as I read, so they are really hard to catch. I also need a month away from this book so I can look at it with fresh eyes in May.
3. So what is your job then? Well first of all, you are not “line editors”. You don’t need to read super slowly, checking and rechecking for spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes. Is that a dangling participle??? That being said, if you do catch some of that when reading, please do comment. But your number one job is to read like a reader- for fun, and to tell me what you like and don’t like about the book. The MORE SPECIFIC THE COMMENTS THE BETTER. For example, highlighting a sentence and saying “This sentence sucks,” doesn't help me very much. More helpful comments would include:
1. This sentence is too choppy, or too long.
2. I am confused, had to reread.
3. Would this character really say that?
4. Is this possible in 1933 (when the book takes place)
5. I feel like she would be more freaked out by this.
6. I am not feeling the love between these characters.
7. You already talked about that earlier.
8. Find a better description.
9. This scene would have been better earlier or later in the book.
10. I want to know more about…
Obviously, these are just suggestions, and I would love to hear anything and everything you have to say, but please do not feel like you have to BLOW SMOKE UP MY BUTT. If you tell me it’s the best book you have ever read based on the first page I am gonna pretty much disregard the rest of your comments.
4. Shortcuts: You can highlight words that are used too frequently. Sometimes I use the same words over and over and it would be great to pick different words.
If a sentence would be better without a word or phrase, just comment “nix” for me to take it out.
5. Google Docs- Probably should have started with this one, but if you don’t have a way to view Google Docs you are out of luck. It would be crazy expensive to make hard copies for all of you, and I would have to sludge through all seven copies to see your comments when editing. On google docs, your comments will all be together, and you will be able to see each others comments. If you disagree with someone please do so respectfully. So COMMITTED will be uploaded for your viewing pleasure by April 1, and I would like for you to be done reading and commenting by May 1. It is a pretty short book comparatively speaking, so I think you should be able to do it. I WILL NOT LOOK AT ANY OF THE COMMENTS UNTIL MAY 1, because, like I said, my brain needs a break, so don’t expect any kind of reply from me until after then. You can always text me if you have a comment that you would like me to read immediately, like “OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!”
Thanks again, and I hope you don’t think I am a dark and twisty sociopath after reading this.
Love, NIKI
Welcome Beta Readers!
First of all, THANK YOU so much for volunteering (?) to help me with this project. Your love and support mean so much to me! Here are a couple of things I wanted to share with you about being a Beta Reader:
1. Please keep in mind that this my first attempt at a novel. I am SO aware that it is not J.K. Rowlings quality, and what I would HATE is if you were reading the thing thinking “Oh, that poor girl. She thinks she is gonna get this piece of crap published.” Ha! Even though this is my first novel and hopefully not up to the same standard as things I will write later, I think it is important for me to go through the entire editing process, to make it the very best piece of crap that I can write, and to practice the whole procedure of submitting my work. Practice makes less crappy crap.
2. I NEED YOU. I have read this thing so many times, my brain literally is fixing the mistakes as I read, so they are really hard to catch. I also need a month away from this book so I can look at it with fresh eyes in May.
3. So what is your job then? Well first of all, you are not “line editors”. You don’t need to read super slowly, checking and rechecking for spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes. Is that a dangling participle??? That being said, if you do catch some of that when reading, please do comment. But your number one job is to read like a reader- for fun, and to tell me what you like and don’t like about the book. The MORE SPECIFIC THE COMMENTS THE BETTER. For example, highlighting a sentence and saying “This sentence sucks,” doesn't help me very much. More helpful comments would include:
1. This sentence is too choppy, or too long.
2. I am confused, had to reread.
3. Would this character really say that?
4. Is this possible in 1933 (when the book takes place)
5. I feel like she would be more freaked out by this.
6. I am not feeling the love between these characters.
7. You already talked about that earlier.
8. Find a better description.
9. This scene would have been better earlier or later in the book.
10. I want to know more about…
Obviously, these are just suggestions, and I would love to hear anything and everything you have to say, but please do not feel like you have to BLOW SMOKE UP MY BUTT. If you tell me it’s the best book you have ever read based on the first page I am gonna pretty much disregard the rest of your comments.
4. Shortcuts: You can highlight words that are used too frequently. Sometimes I use the same words over and over and it would be great to pick different words.
If a sentence would be better without a word or phrase, just comment “nix” for me to take it out.
5. Google Docs- Probably should have started with this one, but if you don’t have a way to view Google Docs you are out of luck. It would be crazy expensive to make hard copies for all of you, and I would have to sludge through all seven copies to see your comments when editing. On google docs, your comments will all be together, and you will be able to see each others comments. If you disagree with someone please do so respectfully. So COMMITTED will be uploaded for your viewing pleasure by April 1, and I would like for you to be done reading and commenting by May 1. It is a pretty short book comparatively speaking, so I think you should be able to do it. I WILL NOT LOOK AT ANY OF THE COMMENTS UNTIL MAY 1, because, like I said, my brain needs a break, so don’t expect any kind of reply from me until after then. You can always text me if you have a comment that you would like me to read immediately, like “OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!”
Thanks again, and I hope you don’t think I am a dark and twisty sociopath after reading this.
Love, NIKI
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Goals
I think I have carpel tunnel syndrome. I have been typing my fingers into little nubs this last week and here is why: I decided to give myself a little challenge. A deadline. Nothing like putting your feet to the fire! By the end of this month (less than a week!!!) I want to have Committed ready for Beta readers. My writing partner and I have been working double time to make that happen. And my goal for April is to have a rough draft of my untitled MG adventure completed. I am going to be participating in Camp Nanowrimo, an online word count challenge, which should help to keep me on track. I am hoping to come back to Committed in May with fresh eyes and reader comments and be able to complete the final round of revisions by the summer. Ready, set, go!
Monday, March 3, 2014
Daughter of Smoke and Bone
I just finished reading "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" by Laini Taylor and I could not put it down! Reading excellent books in your genre is an education for aspiring writers like me, and here's why this one was so inspiring...
1. The plot arc on this baby was excellent. There was never a dull moment and new information was revealed at a very satisfying rate. The stakes were high for the heroine and as a reader we felt the crunch!
2. The world building was well done. This is a story that makes you think about something you think you know about in a new way! How's that for a terrible sentence? But I love a book that can turn a legend on its head, and this book does that really well.
3. The characters were well developed and loveable (who doesn't love star crossed lovers?). They were so engaging in fact that I actually cried at the end. At the dinner table, in front of my whole family (because I couldn't put the thing down to eat!).
So I gave "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" five stars on goodreads, and I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy! I wonder what it would be like to write something that makes a complete stranger cry at the dinner table?!?
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Going Places
What's a writer to do when inspiration is thin? Go someplace new! This weekend my hubby and I got to go on a romantic date night and we rather spontaneously decided to visit The Fantastic Caverns, in Springfield, MO, on the way. 
This is one of the largest caverns in the world and it is full of history. My mind was whirling with possibilities! There's nothing like stepping into a place that has barely changed in hundreds of years to get you inspired!
Monday, February 10, 2014
Three Ways to Make Yourself a Writer
To become a writer is easy. All you have to do is...WRITE! But there are some things that you can do to get yourself motivated to dust off the laptop and start plotting. Here are three suggestions.
1. Have a designated writing time and stick to it. Every weekday, from 1-3 pm you will find me pecking away at my laptop. The dishes might be piled in the sink, the laundry is surely a mountain in the hallway, but I have decided to treat writing like a job, so it takes priority. And low and behold those other things manage to get done one way or another. Maybe all you can allot for your writing is thirty minutes in the mornings, or an hour before bed, but if you set that time aside as sacred writing time, you will be amazed at how much you can actually accomplish!
2. Create an Office. It doesn't have to be a traditional office, but it should have everything you need to write, a place to put your coffee, and no beds or chores in sight. I write in my living room, in a cozy leather chair, with my coffee sitting haphazardly in the drawer of the china cabinet within arms reach. From this luxurious vantage, I can't see the kitchen (a bio hazard) or my laundry pile (Everest). And most importantly, it is far, far away from my bed, which calls to me like a sea full of sirens.
3. If you don't know what to write, write anyway. Here's the thing, you are not going to wake up each and every morning, brimming with inspiration and ideas. You just have to jump in and start writing sans muse at times. But a funny thing will happen if you just make yourself start typing... You will probably put together some words. And those words tend to run together into sentences, Before you know it you have a whole page full of something (sometimes its totally crap, I'm not gonna lie.) Writing time is never wasted time, and who knows, your next best seller might appear in the midst of those uninspired words!
So go get writing! I'll go do the same!
1. Have a designated writing time and stick to it. Every weekday, from 1-3 pm you will find me pecking away at my laptop. The dishes might be piled in the sink, the laundry is surely a mountain in the hallway, but I have decided to treat writing like a job, so it takes priority. And low and behold those other things manage to get done one way or another. Maybe all you can allot for your writing is thirty minutes in the mornings, or an hour before bed, but if you set that time aside as sacred writing time, you will be amazed at how much you can actually accomplish!
2. Create an Office. It doesn't have to be a traditional office, but it should have everything you need to write, a place to put your coffee, and no beds or chores in sight. I write in my living room, in a cozy leather chair, with my coffee sitting haphazardly in the drawer of the china cabinet within arms reach. From this luxurious vantage, I can't see the kitchen (a bio hazard) or my laundry pile (Everest). And most importantly, it is far, far away from my bed, which calls to me like a sea full of sirens.
3. If you don't know what to write, write anyway. Here's the thing, you are not going to wake up each and every morning, brimming with inspiration and ideas. You just have to jump in and start writing sans muse at times. But a funny thing will happen if you just make yourself start typing... You will probably put together some words. And those words tend to run together into sentences, Before you know it you have a whole page full of something (sometimes its totally crap, I'm not gonna lie.) Writing time is never wasted time, and who knows, your next best seller might appear in the midst of those uninspired words!
So go get writing! I'll go do the same!
Monday, February 3, 2014
What I'm Writing
Last fall I was introduced to the wonderful world of Nanowrimo. What's that, you may ask? National Novel Writing Month. It happens every November, and it is a challenge to any and all writers to produce a rough draft novel in a mere thirty days. I had never written a novel before, or even tried really, so this was all new turf for me! I spent the months of September and October coming up with an idea to write about, doing some preliminary research and pounding out a rough outline. I am not a pants-er. You know, those people who can write a novel without any sort of plan where it's going? So I knew I would have to have a road map. What I didn't know (because how could I?) is that my average scene length was about 1,000 words. My neat little outline said that the scenes would be 3,000 words. Needless to say, I derailed from the outline, quite quickly. But it all worked out in the end! By November 30th I had a 50,000 word first draft! How exhilarating! And what is this novel about, you might ask? Here's the synopsis:
In 1932, Camille Westford wakes up in an insane asylum, with no memory of the events proceeding her admittance. She meets a quirky schizophrenic, Ingrid, and together they explore the secrets of the asylum's horrible practices, as well as Camille's mysterious past.
So right now I am editing away, and hopefully you will see "Committed" on a book shelf near you soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)