Friday Feel Good Post

Ah, Friday. I've waited all week long for you to illuminate my dreary week with your optimistic glow.

I already know you'll be over too soon, but for now I'm going to bask in your glory. Sure I have to work late tonight, but then tomorrow I'll be able to work on my urban fantasy. I've been waiting for what feels like years to get back to work on Parallel, so I'm excited that I've finally got Strings and Evangeline in better shape.

Are you feeling good about your work right now?

Why?

If not, why not? Characters giving you the run-around? Got the Red-Ink Blues? Just remember, you'll get past whatever is bothering you soon enough. It's easy to get depressed about the way your writing is going, but if it's lasting too long, maybe you need to talk it out with someone. It doesn't have to be me, of course, but don't forget the healing power of venting to a friend. ;)

Have a great weekend, y'all!

WiP Wednesday: Polish, Polish, Polish

It's been a while since I've done a WiP Wednesday, but I am still working. And reading, and crafting. Things are really flowing right now.

I just finished one last revision of EVANGELINE, a rewrite, really, since I went back to first person from third. Yes, I am a glutton for punishment. But I find that when I have to make big changes like that, I'm reading more critically than when I'm trying to slog through line edits of the same old writing, day after day after day....*zzzzzzz*

Sorry, I just nodded off there for a second thinking about line edits because they're so BORING! Maybe boring is the wrong word. It seems like an indomitable task to revise one sentence at a time when there are So. Many. Sentences. Left to go.

One trick I find that works really well for me is to isolate the passage you want to work on. Take it out of context to feel less overwhelmed. As in, copy that troubling passage to a clean document and work on it there, where you can escape the frustration and overwhelmation (yes, I just made that word up. I haven't had my tea yet. Gotta problem?) you may experience when you see all those unfinished lines in front of you.

I recently used this technique to revise my opening and I'm much happier with the voice I've got. Working with a chunk of about 250 words made me feel calmer, more in control of the whole situation. I'm trying to enjoy the journey, as advised by Ms. Marly Rusoff in her Tennessee Williams Literary Festival Master Class.

I "discovered" this method while reworking a passage for one of Miss Snark's First Victim's 250 word excerpt critiques. If you don't know about Authoress and her Secret Agent Contests, I strongly urge you to find out! There's one coming up next week. Good luck to all who enter!

Want to be the Fourth Roecker Sibling? ;)

Or at least be able to show all your friends your tshirt that says you are? Well, today just might be your lucky day! Enter Lisa and Laura's 500 follower contest for your chance to win one of three amazing prize packages! Enter here.

• To enter the contest you must be a follower of our blog (duh) and comment on this post. That earns you one entry.
• You can earn one extra entry by Blogging/Tweeting/Facebooking about the contest.
• Fill out this form (also attached at the end of this post) to place a bet on Lisa or Laura (or both if you want to hedge your bets and you've earned an extra entry).
• We are going to hold a live sister writer arm wrestling competition that we will post next Wednesday April 14th at 8 AM.
• All of the followers who have placed bets on the winning sister (if you bet on Lisa and Laura wins, you are out of luck my friends, so choose your Roecker sister wisely) will be entered into a lottery for these amazing prize packages:

The Reader Package:

• STUPID CUPID (signed copy!! hoorah!) by Rhonda Stapleton
• HOW TO TEACH FILTHY RICH GIRLS by Zoey Dean
• THE HOLLOW by Jessica Verday
• JERK CALIFORNIA by Jonathen Friesen
• UGLIES and PRETTIES by Scott Westerfeld
• Lots and lots of chocolate
• A fabulously warm blanket to curl up in while you're reading and chowing down on delicious chocolate.

The LIAR SOCIETY Package:

• Two Starbucks Gift Cards (So you can buy Kate's favorite drink: a full-fat Frappacino with extra whipped cream.
• A fabulous pearl necklace (Um, just don't ask us if it's real okay? If it makes you feel any better, Kate's pearls are fake too.)
• A DIY Pineapple Pizza Kit (Kate's favorite dinner! All you'll need to do is add cheese. Trust us, it's better this way.)
• A bike bell (Kate's sole method of transportation is her trusty 10-speed and the school bus.)
• A 10 page critique of your manuscript or WIP.

The Grand Prize Roecker Extravaganza Package:

• Glee Soundtrack Volume 1 and Volume 2
• A variety pack of every Twizzler known to man, aside from the rainbow kind because those don't count.
• A bottle of Prosecco (sparkling wine if you're an underage/on-the-wagon winner).
• A t-shirt that will officially christen you as The Fourth Roecker Sister (or Sibling if one of our three male followers wins).
• Business Cards or Stationary Designed especially for you by the ultra-talented third Roecker sister, Stacey owner of PoochiePrints.

Not bad, right? Well, at least it's better than giving away a copy of a book that will never exist. So, please enter and tell all of your friends. And get really excited for the big vlog/contest winners announcement next Wednesday. We're taking this VERY seriously.

Keeping Those Creative Juices Flowing

So probably ninety percent of the people reading this blog are writing a novel. That's awesome.

But what ELSE do you do?

What?! the affronted authors cry. Isn't writing entire novels from start to finish enough?

If it's enough for you, that's fine. However, I've been writing long enough that I need some other outlet, something else to inspire me, to keep my hands busy while my mind is free to wander. Since I gave up chorus--too many conflicts with late work events now that the weather is nice again--I realized I needed another creative outlet.

After I got my master's degree and started writing again steadily, the decoupage and other crafts I used to do every now and again never got touched. Writing was enough for me, because I saw results, more satisfying results than my rather uninspired art projects. But now that writing is such an ingrained part of my life, I need... something more.

Here's a little something you may not know about me. I'm a clothes-horse. I love buying new clothes and hate throwing old ones away. I love finding ways to wear old clothes in new ways. One of the simplest ways to make an old outfit look new again(don't worry, guys, I'll can see your eyes glazing over, so I'll keep this short) is with different jewelry.

So I've started making jewelry. It's fun, I'm happy with my results--even if it takes me all weekend to plan, start, and finish one piece, lol--and hey, it gives me a good excuse to keep abreast of fashion trends. It's surprising how I can use bits and pieces of old jewelry and clothes and everyday items like buttons to come up with something new, and different. I started out with a goal to make enough to sell at the farmer's market before summer comes, but even if that doesn't happen, I still have all this great jewelry. ;)

What keeps your creative juices flowing?

STRINGS--First Page Blogfest

Thanks to the Beta Club at Fiction Groupie, I recently received a lot of great feedback on my opening to STRINGS. What better time to show off my new opening than during the first page blogfest? (Rhetorical question. ;D)See the rest of the first pages here

STRINGS
Chapter 1

All this hot water is softening my callouses, and the cold wind chaps my wet skin. Not that Hanah will accept that excuse. Not today.

Our papa died only nine days ago, and while my eyes are still red and puffy from crying all the time, she's stone-faced as she watches me wash the dishes from his pomona, his first funeral supper. Making sure I don't contaminate her wash basins, most likely. She and my other sister Jeanette would be the first to call me unclean.

I know I wasn't supposed to touch him, that it was forbidden, but it was so sudden the way he went, collapsing on top of my mother in bed. He always joked that she'd give him a son yet, even though I'm the youngest of three girls. I don't know how we three all turned out so spiteful when my papa was a gentle man who laughed and joked all the time, and was never mean to a soul.

Ach, I want to cry again, but if I do, Hanah will tell Jeanette and they'll tell Mother that I stroked Papa's hand before the undertaker arrived to get him out of our wagon. I just wanted to touch him one last time before he was gone forever. How can that be so wrong? It's not as if I needed to worry about his spirit. He was just... gone.

"Hurry, girl, you've got to hurry," comes a rough female voice from behind me.

Hanah doesn't turn.

She has no idea that anyone is even there. And if I turn, that will just be one more reason for her to call me cursed, unclean. Marime.

I scrub garlicky stew out of a heavy iron pot, waiting.

Old Kira breezes through us, making both Hanah and me shiver.

Guide to Literary Agents - Fourth "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest

Guess what, y'all? It's time for another contest from the Guide to Literary Agents Blog.

Guest Agent/Judge this time around is Regina Brooks, the founder of Serendipity Literary Agency.


See details below and click the link to enter:

Guide
to Literary Agents - ''Dear Lucky Agent'' Contest: Middle Grade and Young Adult
(with agent Regina Brooks): "CONTEST DETAILS
1. This contest will be
live for approximately fourteen days—from March 31 through the end of Wednesday,
April 14, EST. Winners notified by e-mail within 14 days of end of contest.
Winners announced on the blog thereafter.
2. To enter, submit the first
150-200 words of your book. Shorter or longer entries will not be considered.
Keep it within word count range please.
3. This contest is solely for
completed book-length works of middle grade and young adult fiction (kids
novels).
4. You can submit as many times as you wish. You can submit even if
you submitted to other contests in the past, but please note that past winners
cannot win again.
5. The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those
employees, officers and directors of GLA's publisher, F+W Media.
6. By
e-mailing your entry, you are submitting an entry for consideration in this
contest and thereby agreeing to the terms written here as well as any terms
added by me in the 'Comments' section of this blog post. (If you have questions
or concerns, write me personally at literaryagent@fwmedia.com.)

PRIZES!!!
Top 3 winners all get: 1) A critique of 10 pages of your
work, by your agent judge. 2) A free one-year subscription to
WritersMarket.com."

Marly Rusoff: Deal or No Deal?

Marly Rusoff: Deal or No Deal?

One of the most interesting anecdotes Marly told during her master class was that her father was a bookbinder. This helped her develop a "deep reverence for the notion of what a book could be." Not only did he rebind books, but he also went to courthouses to bind the documents and records there.

So naturally, she became very concerned as a child when she heard her father talking about "microfiche", and lay awake at night worrying about it. ;)

She owned her own bookstore before she became a literary agent, so she has a great empathy for authors and aspiring authors. There is some good news about the bad market right now, she says: It will pass.

Have patience.

Persevere.

Now is the time to hone your craft, to spend time polishing. It's the time to find value in the writing process, to learn to love the journey, all very practical advice.

If you're bothered about the future of reading in this country, get involved! With your local library, or small book store, or with future readers.

As for writing query letters, she wants to receive letters that surprise and excite her. If you've done your job as a query writer, you've shown her what market this book fits into, as well.

What should you as a writer look for in a literary agent? Someone with business sense, experience, whether in editing or marketing--having connections helps. Most important is that they feel comfortable talking about money and negotiating for you. They need to be willing to fight for you.

Once you have that agent and that book deal, you will probably need to take charge of your own publicity. This is the time for branding, and even "gimmicks"--temporary tattoos, bumper stickers, recipe cards--related to your new book. Look into book groups, speaking engagements at colleges where you may be provided with an honorarium, and book signings. All of these things might be easier/less expensive if you are part of a group of authors, or if you tour with another author whose book somehow relates to yours.

Of course, don't forget, blogging, social networking, sending out review copies, and creating book trailers.

Marly Rusoff accepts queries for literary fiction.

Oh, and don't forget today's Beta Club!