A Look Inside The Writing Process

People who aren't writers sometimes think that writing a book is a glamourous thing. It's actually quite boring if you aren't the one doing the writing. It usually involves sweat pants and fatty snacks and a cat who insists on lying on your keyboard. But here is a 3 minute glimpse into what I did tonight while working on my new book. :-)

New Ideas Solve Everything

1.) I sent out my last queries for WICKED ILLUSIONS. If this round doesn't land me an agent, I'm moooving on a la Rascall Flatts.

2.) I haz NEW ideas. I've written the first three chapters of three different novels, and since I can't pick just one yet, I am writing two of them right now. One may get more focus than the other because I have to submit a new chapter every other week to my Fiction Writing class at school, and it's the one I've already introduced to the class. (Hint? Brain tumor. Society on the verge of downfall. Yes, the two are related. Mwahahaha)

3.) But the other idea is SO tantalizing that I might just write it Kiersten White style. It's something I've always wanted to write, but never really put down on paper. Last night during a particularly loud thunderstorm, I was laying in bed relishing the sound of thunder and lightning-- which I LOVE-- when all the sudden this entire book just flooded into my head. I immediately grabbed my phone and emailed myself a loose outline, but I dreamed about it all night long. I was delighted to find that this morning I still loved the idea-- and actually understood something that I typed half asleep at midnight. I've never had  an entire plot come into my head so strong and quickly. I had to work HARD for the plot of WICKED ILLUSIONS and I still don't really know how the story in #2 will end. But this idea has dominated my brain completely, and I've already got seven characters fully formed and sketched out as of today. These people have obviously been hiding in the back on my brain just waiting for me to finally give up on my three-year-book and move on to something new. I won't say much about it, except this one, tiny hint:

(If you figure it out from this picture, we need to be friends immediately)

4.) On a completely unrelated note, I have been scouring the internet for things to take my mind off of querying, and I came across this little beauty. Watch it-- whether you love Twilight or hate it, this is guaranteed to make you laugh.

The LIEBSTER AWARD!

What DOES Liebster mean, you ask? (I had to look it up, so I would know exactly was I was being awarded.) According to Google Translate, it means....

FAVORITE!

(in German)

My awesomely awesome critique partner, Amy Christine Parker (who recently signed with agent Lucienne Diver! WOO HOO!!! (Told you she was awesome.)) passed the Liebster torch on to me!

The Liebster Award is for blogs who have less than 200 followers (I have THREE. COME ON PEOPLE YOU'LL LIKE ME I SWEAR I'M NOT CREEPY) and it is meant to help increase followers/viewers of those blogs!

So, according the rules, I get to pick 5 blogs that are my "liebster" (I don't speak German and I'm sure that's not the correct conjugation, but you know what I mean) and pass the torch on to them! YAY! AND I have to tell you five things about myself that you might not know. It's going to be really hard to follow Amy's, whose life reads like a contemporary YA novel. :-D  But on we go!

My Picks:

1.) Melissa Hurst ( http://melissa-hurst.blogspot.com/ )
2.) Stefanie Gaither ( http://stefaniegaither.blogspot.com/ )
3.) Jenny S. Morris ( http://jennysimaginaryworld.blogspot.com/ )
4.) Lisa Styles Lofland ( http://behindthemystery.blogspot.com/ )
5.) Mindee Arnett ( http://mindeearnett.blogspot.com/ )

All these ladies are writers such as myself-- some are agented, some have book deals, some are aspiring (like me!) and ALL are working hard to make their dreams come true. I have had the pleasure of reading a few of these bloggers' manuscripts, and they are ALL talented people! Their blogs give me inspiration and keep me going when I feel like I'm the only one who thinks writing books is a fun-but-hard thing to do. Follow them!

And now for the five things you (probably wish) you didn't know about me: (evil laugh)

1.) I am terrified of mold/mildew. I don't know why, but even the thought of it makes my skin crawl. Because of this, I am also afraid of shower curtains, outdoor cushions, and wet rags. EW.

(This photo will give me nightmares for days. *closes eyes and keeps typing*)

2.) I wrote a post about this already, but flying squirrels haunt me. Seriously. They've broken into my house, my vacation cabin,  caused my husband to fall off a ladder, and a few other things. I'm convinced it's one squirrel that hides around the corners and waits for me to let my guard down so it can attack. I'm not afraid of it though. I'm plotting my squirrel revenge. 

3.)   I once saw the end of a rainbow. Someone had already snagged the pot of gold, though.

(Sadly, this is not my photo. I had a crappy phone and no camera the day I saw mine! It looked like this, just in the parking lot at my university.)

4.) I have a severe addiction to lip balm. I suspect that I have over 20 tubes of it in my possession right now. THIS is my new favorite: 

(Click on photo for link to buy. The "sweet mint" flavor is the best!!!)

5.) I can sing. Here's a clip of my sister and me doing karaoke. (The Sister is gonna kill me when she finds out that I put this on the internet, but I don't have any videos on this computer of me singing alone. I LOVE YOU SISSY! You sing better than me anyway!) And I'd like apologize in advance for my husband's awful video recording skills. He's good at lots of other things. 

So anyway, follow my blog (if you want... PLEASE?) and follow these other FIVE wonderful women. (SIX if you haven't followed Amy's blog yet) You will not regret it and will be wiser for it! Now I'm off to the revision cave to work on my LAST round of edits before I close my WICKED ILLUSIONS doc for good. (Unless some agent out there likes these new edits, that is. And if not, maybe I'll rewrite it someday when I'm a better writer) Wish me mental strength and clever phrases! :-D