Day #8737 - 50 Hours as a Red Head

A video explaining how the other day I was looking to make a change and I ended up getting a little more than I bargained for. By the time my appearance is back to normal, I'll have spent 50 hours as a red head.


And here's a picture because the lighting in the video doesn't quite do it justice:

Day #8735 - The Write Spot

Location is just as important in reality as it is in your writing. It can be the thing that inspires long passages of incredible prose, bringing out thoughts and feelings that you can't even believe have been hiding within yourself this whole time, spilling words onto the page like a welcome rain storm.

Or it can be the very thing that cripples your efforts.

I'm finding that I need different things with each story I write. With my first manuscript, the one that I'm still agent searching for (no luck yet, but you'll hear it here first if that should ever change - keep your fingers crossed for me!), my writing spot was my bed. I have one of those sit-up pillows with arms, I perched myself on my bed by the window, and my story was born. For my second manuscript during NaNoWriMo last year, my spot was everywhere. I had a notebook that I made insane outlines in during my lunch breaks at work (or anywhere else when I found myself with a spare five minutes to think), and then I would come home and turn those notes into a story at my desk, 2000 words a night without fail.

But this time it's different. This time, when I sit on my bed or at my desk, my thoughts and those wonderful words I've been daydreaming about flee faster than a speeding bullet. And to put it plainly, it sucks. I want to write. I want to get this first draft of this WIP out of me so bad so I can go back and start revisions and tearing it apart again. But writing from home isn't working for me this time, so this afternoon, I grabbed my laptop and my notebook and I tried something else.

I found myself at the library of my earliest years. In a table in the back of the adult section, right next to a wall of windows and an electrical outlet, I was able to write more in two hours than I think I've been able to write in two weeks. It certainly wasn't Shakespeare by any stretch of the imagination, but it was progress nonetheless and so I welcome it just the same.

And this past weekend, I had some luck toying around with a sci-fi story idea that I've been kicking around since last fall but have putting off because I've been trying to work on other projects first. I was out at a park with my family and I started writing a background scene on my iPod touch, thoughts I've had for ages that I was finally able to get out without hesitation. And let me tell you, having two good writing days so close together feels Awesome.

So what's the moral of my story? Well, it's nothing revolutionary that you haven't heard before: if something's not working with your writing, don't be afraid of changing things up. No two stories or writers are alike - they may all require something different. And that's okay. Apparently for the time being, I can only write when I have outdoorsy things in sight that are not near my house. And maybe for the next book, I'll have to go some place else. We'll see.

And that, dear readers, are my thoughts today. To any fellow writers out there, I hope your WIPs and adventures in Queryland are going well. Let's stick together, friends. Someday, our words, agents, book deals, and publishing dates will come, but until then, keep on trying =)

Day #8717 - A New Approach

It's been a while since I've written here, so I thought I'd fill the Internet in on how my writing and all that sort of fun stuff has been going lately. In short, there's nothing to report on looking for an agent for my completed manuscript - believe me, if that changes, you'll probably be able to hear me cheering from the rooftops!

In the mean time, I have my current work in progress (or WIP for those of you who like to use the lingo) and I'm finding that I've had to go with a new approach for this story than I've had to for any of my others. It's this funny little thing called "research" - you've heard of it before. While all of my stories in the last few years, this one included, would definitely fall in the "contemporary YA", this one requires me to roll up my sleeves and dig into a little bit of history. I'm putting my skills as a librarian to use, searching for what isn't exactly obvious information. I've even had to go to a few public libraries and check out actual books to find what I'm looking for.

It can be tedious and tiresome and I absolutely love it! Taking the time to do my homework with this story gives it something extra. It has been helping me make the world I'm building and the situation my characters are in that much stronger. So this is something my previous stories didn't necessarily need, but this WIP does and already feel like it's better for it.

I hope that you're all keeping out of this crazy insane heat and enjoying your summers! Take care!