Writing Goal

There's an idea kicking around in my head that I really want to write. It makes me excited to think about and daydream about and I can't wait to see it come together. But . . . I promised myself I'd finish the manuscript I'm working on first. So I've decided that I'm going to finish writing the first draft by July 16th. I currently have 25 pages. (Well, I have 85 pages, but I'm switching POV, so I'm not sure how many of those I can count.) I also have a pretty solid (for me) outline.

It's going to be an interesting couple of weeks.

I'm trying something different with this draft. At WIFYR a couple weeks ago, someone mentioned that writers fall into two kinds: take out-ers and put in-ers. In other words, writers either overwrite and have to edit down or writers underwrite and have to flesh it out. I'm the latter. I always end up with skeletal drafts and have to flesh them out. This time, I'm trying to write more in scene and do less summarizing as I go. I'm hoping this will be a take-out draft. 

How are your writing goals? Are you working on anything new and exciting?

Some Thoughts on Critique Groups

My sister recently asked me about critique groups and whether or not she should try to find one. By "critique group," I'm referring to a group that gets together in person on a regular basis. I think every writer needs to have someone read their work, but there are some advantages to a regular critique group over a manuscript exchange when the novel is done. Vice versa is also true.

I've been part of a few different groups over the years and here is why I like a regular critique group:

-The feedback as you go. It allows you to make plot corrections before you spend all the effort on the entire novel when something in the beginning doesn't work.

-The encouragement and support. Having others encourage you to keep going when you hate your WIP is something that has helped me a lot.

-The discussions often help me come up with better ideas, even if it's not necessarily something we talked about. Plus, I love having a captive audience for brainstorming.

-Lack of guilt. I have a hard time asking people to read my work (seriously--it takes me days to work up the courage to ask someone), but with a critique group, they expected me to submit things, so it wasn't as hard for me.

-Hanging out with writers. Because hanging out with other writers is awesome.

Some potential frustrations from critique groups:

-Manuscripts submitted late and still expected to be critiqued. No one wants to be mean to their friends, so it can be hard to enforce "rules."

-Sometimes your styles don't mesh. The first group I attended had a few loud--and rather harsh--people and their comments often crushed me.

-Sometimes getting feedback as I wrote derailed my original idea and, as I tried to incorporate too many suggestions, I lost sight of where I wanted the story to go.

-Sometimes I needed more critiqued than we could do at a single session.

-A regularly scheduled meeting can become inconvenient during busy times.

Critique groups can be wonderful, but only if they work for you and help you improve. The best groups point out the problems, but leave you excited and inspired to fix them. Since every writer is different, what makes up the ideal group for each person varies. Also, life is very changeable, so group dynamics will change and sometimes having a critique group won't fit into your life. And that's okay. It's a lot easier to go with the changes than to try to keep forcing something that doesn't work.

Fortress of Suckitude

So, I'm attending Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers this week. It's been fun, but as everyone who has ever attended a conference before knows, it can be rather draining. And sometimes, just sometimes, your self esteem takes a dive. Especially after you've been critiqued.

I've decided that, in cases like this, every writer needs their very own Fortress of Suckitude. My personal Fortress would require the following things:

1. Lots of chocolate.
2. Comfortable couch with lots of pillows and blankets.
3. Facial tissues, for all the weeping and wailing.
4. Chocolate.
5. Lots of sappy, old movies.
6. Ice cream.
7. Deep jetted tubs with bath salts, bubbles, and other assorted things.
8. Dozens of roses.
9. Chocolate.
10. Did I mention the chocolate?

So, what would you have in your Fortress of Suckitude.

I've written and deleted a couple blog attempts. It's not a promising beginning. Part of it is probably because it's summer vacation now. All the kids are home and making life more interesting. I should take that as an indication that I'm going to be even more inconsistent over the summer. Sigh . . .

Yesterday, I met with my writers' group for the last time. We hadn't met for a while (the end of the school year was crazy for everyone) and we wanted to meet before people moved. It was so good to see them. There is something that inspires me whenever I sit down and talk with other writers. I love that feeling and I'm going to miss having a regular writing group.

I'd be moping about it, but next week I am going to Writing and Illustrating For Young Readers (WIFYR). It's going to be fun to spend the week with other writers and also learn from some very talented authors. Is anyone else going to be there?

I'm hoping that I'll have some time next week to fit some writing in. Things have been a bit crazy and I haven't been writing much, but I'm finally to the point where I love my story again. For some reason, when I hit page 50, I struggle to keep writing. I'm past that point now and I'm looking forward to actually finishing this manuscript. Or at least finishing the first draft.

Does anyone else have a point in a novel that they struggle? Any suggestions for getting past that point? Any suggestions for what to do with kids on a blustery and rainy summer day?

Utah Festival of Books

I spent several hours today hanging out at the Utah Festival of Books. I brought my camera and forgot to use it, so I have no pictures of the event. But I promise I was there! There were lots of amazing authors there: Brandon Mull, James Dashner, Kiersten White, and Aprilynne Pike, just to name a few.

There were a few bits of advice that really caught my attention, so I thought I'd share.

Rick Walton's advice to aspiring authors is to "Give up. Unless you can't give up, and then do the work." He went on to say that almost everyone he knows how is serious and does the work gets published.

I was walking past the tent that Ann Cannon was speaking in and overheard what she was saying. I was so interested that I had to sit and listen to the rest. I'm sad that I missed it all. Anyway, the bit that I heard was actually something that Shannon Hale had said to her. "Jealousy is like drinking poison and expecting it to hurt the other person." I liked this because sometimes it's so easy to look at the success of others and be jealous and bitter, but it never hurts them. It only hurts us.

When a panel was asked what the difference between a good writer and a great writer, Brandon Mull said, "A great writer knows karate." So there you go. Go out and learn karate.

My favorite incident of the entire day was during Brandon Mull's speech when he was "shot." He was talking about how deeply he was involved in his book at the moment. He knew all the scenes by heart. He said something to the effect of, "I could tell you all the scenes in the book, but my editor would probably shoot me." Just then there was a loud bang. Everyone in the audience jumped as this girl's balloon animal popped. Brandon started making jokes about the snipers his publishers had following. It just was classic timing.

Anyway, how was your weekend?

Happy Endings

I love happy endings, and sometimes I'm lucky enough to have them happen in real life. Today was one of those days and this is that happy ending:

I know, I know, you're thinking that the backside of a cow isn't a happy end for anyone to be at. But if you look closely, you'll see a pair of adorable calves. They were born around 7 p.m. last night and the mother appeared to forget that there were two of them. The owners managed to guide the forgotten twin back to his mother last night, but this morning he was laying in the grass and didn't get up at all.

We watched and worried about it all day. In the early afternoon, the neighbor went to check on the calf again. I didn't want to get in the way and be pushy, but I decided to just go ask if she needed help. As I talked to her, I started petting the calf and fell totally in love with it. This whole farming thing is new to me. I asked if I could bring my kids out and she said yes, just be prepared to back off in a hurry if the mom happens to show up. (Since the mom hadn't shown up all day, no one was particularly worried about that happening.)

So I brought out the kids. It took about two minutes of the adoration of small children before the calf was up on his feet.

The neighbor and I managed to persuade him to head to the other side of the barn where his mom was basking in the sun. The two of them were reunited and they all lived happily ever after.

Or at least I hope it will stay happy. There's always the chance that the mom will forget again, but I hope not.

What does this have to do with writing?

Well, not much. But I do like happy endings.