That's what Bryce always says when I ask him how Grace-icles (his and Mike's obsessive compulsive, crazy, non-graceful cat) and that's how I feel right now. I am very, very thankful for my life.
Beware: personal post coming right at'cha! Just wanted to catalog Thanksgiving 2008.
It started with me going to bed at 5:30AM. I was completely and utterly doing absolutely nothing productive and then all of a sudden, it was 5:30AM. In case you're keeping count, there were three "ly" words in the previous sentence. Instead of sleeping in till 2PM, my parents woke me up at 11AM for some breakfast. We tried the new restaurant Pho (translation: Vietnamese beef noodle soup) Minh right down the street. It was clean and decent. I'm going to leave my restaurant reviews for yelp (also known as: my daily writing exercises). It was a lovely, cool day in Cupertino. Thank goodness it finally feels like Fall here. The rain the other day helped a lot.
There were four highlights of my day:
1. This is going to sound totally un-exciting to you, but, I finally know where all my shoes are! I still live with my mom and sister and it all adds up to a heck of a lot of shoes. So my mom and I got down n' dirty and opened every box, placed every shoe in its correct home, and stacked them in the correct gal's corner. I usually wear flip flops, sneakers, or Uggs, but now, when I have to step outside my normal shoe wearing routine, it won't take me an hour to find the fancy stuff.
2. The creative juices were totally flowing today and it was very exciting. I jotted down five new story ideas. Once I flesh 'em out a bit, I'll put the summaries up here. I am trying to decide how many work-in-progresses I want to have, but I can't decide which I want to start on. I want to work on them all! I want to finish them all in 2 months, too. Hah. My crazy self amuses my self.
3. I helped my mom cook Thanksgiving dinner for the first time today. It was wonderful. My family's not big on turkey (gasp!), so we opted for Cornish game hens instead. She taught me how to soak the hens in cognac and brush them with honey. I made stuffing (easy because it was Stove Top), green bean casserole, red-skinned mashed potatoes, and garlic croissants. I had such a good time in the kitchen with my mom today!
4. I am quite addicted to this fps (translation: first person shooter) online PC game called Team Fortress 2. I call playing the game "pew pew'ing." Anywho, I'm quite addicted as in... I play a minimum of 2 hours a night. Since I'm on holiday, of course I want to do a few of my favorite things (i.e. write, sleep, eat, and pew). I was kind of concerned that most of my e-friends would be too busy with Thanksgiving-y things to come online to play with me. Turns out, I was bummed for no reason at all! Right after dinner, an e-friend and I got one of our community's servers going and it filled up quickly. Soon, we were having awesome 12 v. 12 games. All-talk and party mode was on (translation: when you blow somebody up, instead of blood, presents and balloons come out of the dead body) and I was a super duper happy camper. I was able to game for hours after all and I didn't have to suffer on a public server with weird sound effects (i.e. rap music when I dominate someone? *shudder*).
So as you can see, not really a literary-focused blog entry, but I'm just gonna count every little bit of writing as practice.
Happy Thanksgiving, folks!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
A Cornucopia-like Post
Happy Day Before Thanksgiving! I've got a lot of writing stuff on my mind. Especially since I'm about to have two shiny days off!
First, NaNoWriMo! 2563 words written... I know, uberly pathetic. Even though I didn't get a complete novel out of NaNoWriMo, I did hatch a brand new sparkly idea for a Middle Grade novel geared towards boys. But with queries and partials and editing The Unicorn Tamer, I have not had the heart or mind to throw into a brand new story. There's still a couple days of November left... maybe I can write a synopsis or something... plotting sounds like fun!
Next, I'd like to mention how it baffles yet inspiries me when I read about writers who are working on multiple novels at the same time. How does one complete such a task and not confuse voices, themes, and genres? Answer = endless creative energy. I am still learning how to channel such energy especially if I'm considering writing (A) the sequel to The Unicorn Tamer, (B) said MG fantasy geared towards boys, and (C) a YA (urban fantasy ?) love story. I want to be a published author and am learning that The Unicorn Tamer may not be It for me (even though I love, love, love the story and characters...) so I can't just query The Unicorn Tamer and then give up... I gotta keep writing and trying, writing and trying...
Sad news bears that totally bummed me out and confused the heck out of me: TW rejected my partial. Over the past couple days, I've been going back n' forth on how honest I want to be on my blog. The problem is, I don't want an agent or editor to stumble upon my blog and become affected by what I report. However, I want to be honest because... this is me.. on this journey and whether or not you're an aspiring writer, you're along for the ride. If you're here to learn something about this whole process, I want to share it with you. So I decided... I'm just gonna wear-my-heart-on-my-sleeve and tell you what she told me. *Disclaimer: if you're an agent or editor, please don't let the following information sway your own decision on my query or partial - thank you.
TW said: "While I like the premise, I regret I wasn't as engaged by the narrative voice." Stab, stab, stab the heart and stain the sleeve with blood!
...
So... first thought: there's something wrong with my narrative voice. That sounds really, really bad. Like I've got some many-letter'd disease that I haven't heard of or understand. How do I make it all better? Well, it's not like a typo or a mis-placed comma or a continuity issue, folks. She basically said that she doesn't like my voice - the storyteller's. Second thought: maybe it's a subjective thing? Maybe TW doesn't like my voice, but some other agent will? Third thought: she's a professional and knows what she's talking about, maybe my writing is flawed, but how do I make my narrative voice more engaging? I would have to re-write the entire book... I wish I had more information to work off of, I wish I could email TW back and ask for advice on ways to improve... Fourth thought: I can't put all my eggs in one book. Fifth thought: I can't give up on The Unicorn Tamer... it deserves to be query'd for at least a year. If I get 3 "don't like your narrative voice" rejections... then I'll brainstorm ways to fix The Unicorn Tamer completely.
Rinse and repeat thoughts.
Annd on to queries... as I've mentioned in a previous post, I've re-written my query letter to try and be... "hookier"... I've sent it off to both my Grammar Fairy and the wonderful Kimberley and the responses were enthusiastic. Over the next couple of days, I'm going to see if I can write an even better query and start drafting my next 5 to 10 letters. Come December 1st (... that's weird to type... it's practically December? Where did most of November go?) I'll send them out. I want to make sure I get them out before Christmas break. I won't be sending any more until after Jan 1st. Hopefully, Santa will give me partial and full requests this year. That's all I really want. Because this is what I just learned: most agents will write you a personal rejection letter if said letter is for a full submission. Even though, yes, that particular rejection is really disheartening because you seem to have gotten so far... it comes with a glimmer of light. A personal rejection letter means they'll let you know what they didn't like which means... editing advice!!
Happy Thanksgiving, friends.
First, NaNoWriMo! 2563 words written... I know, uberly pathetic. Even though I didn't get a complete novel out of NaNoWriMo, I did hatch a brand new sparkly idea for a Middle Grade novel geared towards boys. But with queries and partials and editing The Unicorn Tamer, I have not had the heart or mind to throw into a brand new story. There's still a couple days of November left... maybe I can write a synopsis or something... plotting sounds like fun!
Next, I'd like to mention how it baffles yet inspiries me when I read about writers who are working on multiple novels at the same time. How does one complete such a task and not confuse voices, themes, and genres? Answer = endless creative energy. I am still learning how to channel such energy especially if I'm considering writing (A) the sequel to The Unicorn Tamer, (B) said MG fantasy geared towards boys, and (C) a YA (urban fantasy ?) love story. I want to be a published author and am learning that The Unicorn Tamer may not be It for me (even though I love, love, love the story and characters...) so I can't just query The Unicorn Tamer and then give up... I gotta keep writing and trying, writing and trying...
Sad news bears that totally bummed me out and confused the heck out of me: TW rejected my partial. Over the past couple days, I've been going back n' forth on how honest I want to be on my blog. The problem is, I don't want an agent or editor to stumble upon my blog and become affected by what I report. However, I want to be honest because... this is me.. on this journey and whether or not you're an aspiring writer, you're along for the ride. If you're here to learn something about this whole process, I want to share it with you. So I decided... I'm just gonna wear-my-heart-on-my-sleeve and tell you what she told me. *Disclaimer: if you're an agent or editor, please don't let the following information sway your own decision on my query or partial - thank you.
TW said: "While I like the premise, I regret I wasn't as engaged by the narrative voice." Stab, stab, stab the heart and stain the sleeve with blood!
...
So... first thought: there's something wrong with my narrative voice. That sounds really, really bad. Like I've got some many-letter'd disease that I haven't heard of or understand. How do I make it all better? Well, it's not like a typo or a mis-placed comma or a continuity issue, folks. She basically said that she doesn't like my voice - the storyteller's. Second thought: maybe it's a subjective thing? Maybe TW doesn't like my voice, but some other agent will? Third thought: she's a professional and knows what she's talking about, maybe my writing is flawed, but how do I make my narrative voice more engaging? I would have to re-write the entire book... I wish I had more information to work off of, I wish I could email TW back and ask for advice on ways to improve... Fourth thought: I can't put all my eggs in one book. Fifth thought: I can't give up on The Unicorn Tamer... it deserves to be query'd for at least a year. If I get 3 "don't like your narrative voice" rejections... then I'll brainstorm ways to fix The Unicorn Tamer completely.
Rinse and repeat thoughts.
Annd on to queries... as I've mentioned in a previous post, I've re-written my query letter to try and be... "hookier"... I've sent it off to both my Grammar Fairy and the wonderful Kimberley and the responses were enthusiastic. Over the next couple of days, I'm going to see if I can write an even better query and start drafting my next 5 to 10 letters. Come December 1st (... that's weird to type... it's practically December? Where did most of November go?) I'll send them out. I want to make sure I get them out before Christmas break. I won't be sending any more until after Jan 1st. Hopefully, Santa will give me partial and full requests this year. That's all I really want. Because this is what I just learned: most agents will write you a personal rejection letter if said letter is for a full submission. Even though, yes, that particular rejection is really disheartening because you seem to have gotten so far... it comes with a glimmer of light. A personal rejection letter means they'll let you know what they didn't like which means... editing advice!!
Happy Thanksgiving, friends.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Scary News Flash!
Publishers Weekly has just learned that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has asked its editors to stop buying books.
What does that mean for the partials and queries I have out???
Read the article here.
What does that mean for the partials and queries I have out???
Read the article here.
Sharing my Book
The point is... I want to be a published author. I want to share this story, this world, and, most importantly, these characters that I created and love, with other people. Why, then, do I always get a little nervous when sharing the manuscript with my friends?
Perhaps, a part of me just wants the reader to experience the book when the book is actually a book, all bound and beautiful and plucked from a shelf at Barnes and Noble instead of reading it in .docx form. Another part of me is always working on it, continuing to polish and edit and change it so... I don't want people to read it because it's not quite done (I've been known to change Chapter 1 every other day). That makes for some difficult reading. I can then argue that, I'll never really be done until it's printed and sold. Then there's the part of me who knows how biased and kind my friends are. Perhaps I should seek a stranger's help, but that is also a bit terrifying. It's like having to trust your baby with the interwebs.
I'm working on accepting critique. I'm constantly struggling with letting more people read it so I can make it better. I've chosen my audience carefully, perhaps a little too carefully: Andrew, Bryce, Kenlyn, Grandma, and Grandpa - that made sense to me. SK, EB, CW, ME-D, EG, AC and LP - those were all sort of impulse decisions. Out of the above mentioned, I think only two... or two point five have actually read any of it (maybe SK ... EB read the first chapter I believe ... AC and the soon-to-be LP). I pick people based on a lot of things... how close we are, their literary tastes (i.e. love for Harry Potter), and/or their background in English or the arts... perhaps they're even writers themselves.
I'm looking forward to contests and such on the blogs I've been following to share my work and get it critiqued by the literary community. It's about time I did such things.
Perhaps, a part of me just wants the reader to experience the book when the book is actually a book, all bound and beautiful and plucked from a shelf at Barnes and Noble instead of reading it in .docx form. Another part of me is always working on it, continuing to polish and edit and change it so... I don't want people to read it because it's not quite done (I've been known to change Chapter 1 every other day). That makes for some difficult reading. I can then argue that, I'll never really be done until it's printed and sold. Then there's the part of me who knows how biased and kind my friends are. Perhaps I should seek a stranger's help, but that is also a bit terrifying. It's like having to trust your baby with the interwebs.
I'm working on accepting critique. I'm constantly struggling with letting more people read it so I can make it better. I've chosen my audience carefully, perhaps a little too carefully: Andrew, Bryce, Kenlyn, Grandma, and Grandpa - that made sense to me. SK, EB, CW, ME-D, EG, AC and LP - those were all sort of impulse decisions. Out of the above mentioned, I think only two... or two point five have actually read any of it (maybe SK ... EB read the first chapter I believe ... AC and the soon-to-be LP). I pick people based on a lot of things... how close we are, their literary tastes (i.e. love for Harry Potter), and/or their background in English or the arts... perhaps they're even writers themselves.
I'm looking forward to contests and such on the blogs I've been following to share my work and get it critiqued by the literary community. It's about time I did such things.
Polishing Woes
I found two mistakes in my manuscript and one in my synopsis... yes, it feels like the world is ending. It's heart-breaking because the query and partial process is already hard enough - there's no room to be sloppy. It's just so disappointing to find a "you're" instead of a "your" after all the editing that I've done. And I have no idea how "h" is the only letter standing... what, may I ask, happened to the other letters in the word "thousand?" It doesn't help that sometimes my brain is ahead of my fingers... seeing the sentence perfectly formed in my head doesn't mean it gets transferred over to paper perfectly when I type... sometimes words (especially small ones like "to") get forgotten. So, learn from my mistakes. I know I will. NEVER EVER stop editing. You owe it to your manuscript and you owe it to agents to look professional. I am blogging this because there's nothing else I can do. The documents are already out there and one can only hope that they overlook the minor typos and instead focus on the bigger picture - the story.
In happier news, I received another partial request on Saturday! I am DANCING!!!! The request is from an agent whose blog I read daily. I would love it if she were my agent... a girl can dream right?
In happier news, I received another partial request on Saturday! I am DANCING!!!! The request is from an agent whose blog I read daily. I would love it if she were my agent... a girl can dream right?
Friday, November 21, 2008
Happy Friday!
-- I just had a Gordan Biersch beer with Mr. Gordan Biersch himself
-- Never trust a skinny brewer.
-- Query Update: 10 out, 5 rejections in, and 1 partial requested... when you do the math, it adds up to: NEED TO WRITE A NEW QUERY!
-- Word count of old query: 313, Word count of new query: 274
-- is "hookier" a word?
-- I am uberly (uberly is definitely a word) excited for the Twilight movie tonight! Hot vampyrs ftw! Gotta admit... kinda terrified of the screaming throngs of teenage girls... just a little bit spooked. (Christine daydreams that The Unicorn Tamer will become a movie someday... Spirited Away-esque... but first, Christine daydreams that it actually becomes a book.)
Alright, kids! Happy Friday! I'll be back to my editing on Sunday. Tomorrow's the first ever YouTube Live - part live concert, part variety show, all entertainment. Tune in for the live streaming at youtube.com/live.
"... and so the lion fell in love with the lamb ..."
-- Never trust a skinny brewer.
-- Query Update: 10 out, 5 rejections in, and 1 partial requested... when you do the math, it adds up to: NEED TO WRITE A NEW QUERY!
-- Word count of old query: 313, Word count of new query: 274
-- is "hookier" a word?
-- I am uberly (uberly is definitely a word) excited for the Twilight movie tonight! Hot vampyrs ftw! Gotta admit... kinda terrified of the screaming throngs of teenage girls... just a little bit spooked. (Christine daydreams that The Unicorn Tamer will become a movie someday... Spirited Away-esque... but first, Christine daydreams that it actually becomes a book.)
Alright, kids! Happy Friday! I'll be back to my editing on Sunday. Tomorrow's the first ever YouTube Live - part live concert, part variety show, all entertainment. Tune in for the live streaming at youtube.com/live.
"... and so the lion fell in love with the lamb ..."
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Waiting Game
It kind of feels like... waiting for Christmas, when you're 7 years old. Or like, waiting for the doctor to come 45 minutes into your appointment. Sort of like, waiting to see the person you fought with, so that you can make things better or... waiting to find out if he really likes you as much as you like him. It's waiting for college applications and SAT scores. It's waiting to read the next book in the series - a book that hasn't been published yet. It's painful, and hopeful, and most of all... the longest feeling in the world.
I'm trying to busy myself by revising and rewriting and refreshing my Gmail way too many times it can't be healthy. I'm considering busy'ing myself by sending out even more queries (if you're keeping count, I'm 9 queries sent, 3 rejections, and 1 partial request), but I don't want to send out a query that isn't working, but I don't know if it's working until I hear back from agents and... well...
Some agencies say that they'll respond in two weeks, while another it's 6 to 8. Then, there are some agenicies who won't respond at all - if they don't like what you've got. So... it's a tad difficult, trying to decipher if my query is working or not at all. Maybe I should just wait a little longer.
On another note, thanks to the spiffy invention that is the U.S. Postal Service's confirmation label, I know that my partial arrived in TW's mailbox at 1:05PM today. That means... she has it if she wants to read it. That means, she could read the first couple pages and decide that it's not for her or read the entire thing and be "intrigued" to read more.
...
I'm waiting to find out. Wait with me, won't you? (forgive the half bitten finger nails, I won't bite them when you're around...)
I'm trying to busy myself by revising and rewriting and refreshing my Gmail way too many times it can't be healthy. I'm considering busy'ing myself by sending out even more queries (if you're keeping count, I'm 9 queries sent, 3 rejections, and 1 partial request), but I don't want to send out a query that isn't working, but I don't know if it's working until I hear back from agents and... well...
Some agencies say that they'll respond in two weeks, while another it's 6 to 8. Then, there are some agenicies who won't respond at all - if they don't like what you've got. So... it's a tad difficult, trying to decipher if my query is working or not at all. Maybe I should just wait a little longer.
On another note, thanks to the spiffy invention that is the U.S. Postal Service's confirmation label, I know that my partial arrived in TW's mailbox at 1:05PM today. That means... she has it if she wants to read it. That means, she could read the first couple pages and decide that it's not for her or read the entire thing and be "intrigued" to read more.
...
I'm waiting to find out. Wait with me, won't you? (forgive the half bitten finger nails, I won't bite them when you're around...)
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