Yearly Archives: 2009

Awhile ago, someone on Twitter suggested aspiring writers create a mock version of the cover of their novel. I never did because it didn't seem like such a useful exercise. Yesterday, however, I decided to give it a shot.

Boy, was I wrong! Just seeing this cover makes me feel all happy inside, and motivated to make it a reality. I should've done this a long time ago.

When the day comes that I have an actual book with an actual cover, there will be dancing in the streets.

Over the weekend I came to the sudden realization that time is running out for me.

In November, I'm going to a writer's conference in Boston, during which I've committed to a meeting with an agent and a 5-page manuscript critique. For this I will need, if not a polished manuscript, a fairly good start at one. Right now, I'm nowhere close.

I'd like to get my second draft finished by October 10. I have about two days per chapter for editing between now and then. Considering it took me three months to get to Chapter 3, this is a lofty goal indeed.

By next Sunday (9/19), I need to be finished editing Chapter 7.

I've settled into an editing routine that is more or less working for me. I read a chapter to get a rough idea of what I'm dealing with (i.e. how bad is it?) then I read it again, this time writing down key things that need to be edited to make the chapter makes sense and jives with the rest of the novel. Sometimes this means I add passages, sometimes it means I delete, sometimes it means I move sections to different parts of the chapter or to add it to a different chapter altogether.

Sometimes it means I just sit at my desk drooling or pulling my hair out.

It feels very much like I'm putting a puzzle together. There are all these elements that exist and now it's my job to put them together so they make a pretty picture.

I leave you with this video about editing a novel. Lara Zielin's debut novel, Donut Days, came out last month and the video is a fun take on her experiences with the road to getting published:

Yesterday, people on Twitter were posting pics of their workspace. Here's mine:

In the last few weeks I've tried to make it as comfortable and clean as possible (I do spend a large portion of my day here, so it helps if it's organized). My favorite thing in it is the picture above the desk: it's a David Hockney print of his two dachshunds.

I recently added something I've wanted to have for a long time:

It's just an inexpensive chandelier from IKEA, but I love it!

See my poor little bookcase in the corner? Doesn't hold a candle to Neil Gaiman's library, but I'm working on it!

In an effort to keep a more organized blog schedule, I've decided to give each day of the week a different subject. Friday is, you guessed it: Link Day!

To start us off, I'd like to revisit a post about Twitter I wrote awhile back:

Why I Tweet (and You Should Too) - I've been active on Twitter for about 8 months now and I've found it a valuable information resource and networking tool. Say what you'd like, I wouldn't have any of the writing contacts I have now without it. Choose who you follow carefully and you will find a great group of people who share your interests.

If You Give a Girl a Pen - This group of female writers are at different points in their writing careers and all give great insight, tips, links, etc.

Make the Most Out of a Writer's Conference - The name of this link speaks for itself, and as someone who will be going to a few writer's conferences this year, I found the information helpful. (via @WritersDigest

Grammar Girl: How Many Spaces After a Period? - This has been hotly debated by me and a couple of my friends. I learned to type on a manual typewriter many moons ago and of course back then the rule was to use 2 spaces.  Has that changed?

Eye on Books with Bill Thompson
Interview with Joseph Finder, author of Vanished, the book I'm currently reading (and loving)

Since I returned from London, I've suffered a productivity crisis the likes of which I haven't seen since the days when I dreamed of writing a novel but never did anything about it. Kind of ironic since that trip was meant to be inspirational, don't you think? It was frustrating being in a place where I desperately wanted to write (or edit in this case) but did everything I could possibly think of to distract myself from actually doing it.

I've talked about using a timer as a productivity tool but I'd gotten out of the habit of using one to keep me working. When I simply could not stand my inability to write even one sentence in a given day (or even open up Word to look at my manuscript) any longer, I went back to my trusty timer and set it for 30 minutes. Yup. For 30 minutes I could do nothing but work on my manuscript, but at the end of that time I could do whatever I wanted–make the bed, surf the net, eat a sandwich, whatever. After sufficient time wasting, I set the timer for 30 more minutes and the cycle begins again, then again, and so forth.

It might sound silly, but I get solid work done this way. I'm hoping that eventually I'll be able to stop playing games with myself in order to be productive, but until then it's ready, set, write.