Trailer for Shattered

During my whole Geek Squad debacle, LTWF had a book trailer contest. I wanted to enter, but it was impossible... you know, seeing as how I didn't have a computer for a month. But I was okay with not entering--I was just grateful that they got me started thinking about making the trailer. (And so did Nathan Bransford and Myrlin A. Hermes.)


So. I made one :-) And let me tell ya, it was super fun!  The following is my finished project*:





Oh, and I started a Youtube channel... not that there's much material there yet, but friend me if you have one! Click here for my channel!




*This book trailer was not made for profit. Just for fun!
All images found through google images. 
Featured Music Clips: 
Fury by Epic Score 
Requiem for a Tower Mvt IV by Corner Stone Cues 


♥ Sara

Laptops and Covers and Cookies, Oh My!

Sorry I've been MIA lately. It's hard to blog/comment/e-mail/twitter/facebook/etc without a computer. As you know, Geek Squad sucks and sent my laptop back without fixing it once already. And guess what happened? They. Did. It. Again. So, according to them it's another 10 to 15 days until it comes back again.

I'm pissed. Very politely and professionally (which was ridiculously hard to do) I've placed complaints to every Best Buy place that I can... Phone calls, online forums, store visits... The most I've gotten? Besides blank stares and silence, an offer for a $50 Best Buy gift card when I told them I'd never give business to Best Buy again. $50? Are you kidding me?

Yesterday after work, Nelson went in to the store and allowed his West Virginia side to show. And now they might be giving me a new laptop! (Which is definitely not standard Best Buy procedure.) God, do I love my husband. We'll find out this evening. And if they don't give us either a full refund or a new laptop, I'm getting a MacBook. So either way, this should be a very good weekend for me!

In cool news: Miss Alexandra Shostak has proven, yet again, what a freaking AWESOME crit partner she is!! As a present, out of the blue, she designed a sample cover* for Shattered!! Which is pretty much the most amazing thing since sliced bread, if you ask me.

See? How much does Alexandra ROCK?

And, finally I had to tell you about this! Cristin Terrill is setting up an Etsy store called Sneaky Sweet.  She's selling hand-decorated sugar cookies, as well as a fair amount of vegan and gluten-free goods.

And she's sending out free samples! If you want free cookies or candy or brownies, you just have to comment on her post. She'll use a number generator to pick ten people at random and all you have to do is: if you like what she sends you, say so on your blog/Twitter/Facebook/whatever.

Uh, can we say "YUM"? Click here to enter!


♥ me

*The sample cover contains art found on the web, no copyright infringement intended. If you happen to own an image used and want me to credit you or take the photos down, I am always happy to do so

First Draft... COMPLETE!

Joseph Joubert once said,

"Genius* begins great works; labor alone finishes them."

And, at this very moment, I completely agree with him.  Because without that spark of inspiration and the substantial amount of hard work that followed -- I'd never be able to type the next sentence.

I finished Project Jane!!
(The first draft anyway.)  Which I (tentatively**) titled Shattered. 

And seriously, here's how the entire process went down.

First, I had the idea.  It hit me and I couldn't ignore it.  I was revved.  I knew I had something good.  I was excited and words flowed like chocolate fondue at a fancy wedding.  (You know the type... Like 10 tiers of freefalling chocolaty goodness.)

I felt like this:

Then about 10,000 words in something happened. The words slowed down... The process began to feel more like molasses.  Thick, slow rolling molasses.  Heavy.  The excitement was still there, but I was weighed down.  Doubts, writer's blocks, the realization that completing a novel is not all butterflies and roses.

I felt like this:

And that's pretty much how I stayed for the next 85,000 words.  I loved my characters; I loved my plot.  I never stopped loving the writing process (I never will), but the hard work factor rocked me.

Oooh boy, but let me tell you.  The effort and blood and sweat and tears were all worth it when I typed the very last paragraph... the very last sentence... very last word.

So, if you're a first time writer stumbling across this blog, know this: don't give up on the first draft! It loses its magic sometimes and you might get bored with it.  But don't stop writing because finishing it feels amazing.  And you can always go back to edit the parts you forced yourself to write.  (And maybe, if you're lucky, they actually came out a lot better than you thought they did!) 
(Also, check out the hashtag #amwritingparty on twitter... It's a nightly party with writers who are super, super supportive and all in some stage - be it writing, editing, or brainstorming - of the writing process.)

As for me?  I've got a few edits to take care of immediately, before I forget that I wanted to do them.  (I made a list while I wrote, since I didn't edit while writing).  Then, I'm putting Shattered away for a few weeks before I enter the next phase, which I believe is going to feel

a little bit like this:

And a LOT like this:

(Except without the balls... and with my manuscript.)

*Genius, insofar as how I relate to the quote, refers to the creative spirit.  I'm not trying to say I have a large IQ.  (I mean, I'm blonde after all...)
**I think the title fits my story perfectly... I'm just hesitant because a quick google search told me that Dean Koontz wrote a novel called Shattered, in the 70s... And I'm not sure what the protocol is for using a title that's already been used...

♥ me

Do any other writers have this problem?

I have a problem.  And if I don't fix it, it could end up major one.

It's my tongue.  I can't seem to use it to form coherent sentences when asked about Project Jane.

Before I continue, let me tell you a little bit more about me:

• Public speaking? No problem.  Let me prepare a speech and I can give it comfortably, with few nerves... (Or give me some alcohol and watch what happens... I become hilarious - it's true, I swear.)
• Quick thinking?  Again - no real problem.  I can solve math problems like a pro. (I did used to teach it after all.)  And don't get me started on the amazing lies I told in high school, at the drop of many a dime, to get out of trouble... pretty much on a weekly basis.
• Project Jane? I am in love.  I love my story and am really proud of what I've created.
• Synopses (that's plural for synopsis, btw)? Also no biggie.  Ask me to write a description about the story in a clear and concise manner?  I gotcha.
• Conversations? Granted, I'm nowhere near my husband who can talk the paint off a wall - but I can hold my own, for sure.

But, my goodness, it seems that I cannot combine the above factors to form a single, interesting sentence.  Or even a group of sentences.  I think a good portion of it is based on in the fact that I have very few friends who like to read fantasy.  So I always am slightly uncomfortable using the "F" word - yet it's definitely a part of what I'm writing.  It's just that... people's eyes really do kind of glaze over at the word.

There's more though.  I don't know what it is that keeps me incoherent when speaking about Project Jane.  Is it that I love it too much - and I worry about any negative remarks?  I don't think that's it... I can handle criticism.  Is it that I don't have a clear idea regarding what the story is about?  NO! I know this baby inside and out.  Maybe I know it too well?  IDK (my BFF Jill) (I just had to add that last part, ha - remember the commercial?) 

Maybe it's the blonde in me.  (I can say that - I'm a natural blonde... well - not naturally as blonde as the current color, but still.)  Maybe I should just memorize the hook from my query and repeat it to people...

In any case, I have to get it together.  What if I actually get picked up - published even?  I'll have to be able to speak about it - in ways that make other people as excited about the book as I am.  Too bad you can't go to a reading and just hand out note cards instead of verbally answering people's questions.  OH. Or I could just speak in haiku... Sigh.

Does anyone else struggle with this?  If so, how do YOU handle it?

♥ me

Quotation Commentary #2 - N. A. Dibble

Nancy Ann Dibble gives a fantastic guideline.  It's important to capture a reader's interest immediately.  Start with a bang - throw them into the story.   If you start by giving a bunch of background information, it can be boring!  Think about it, a reader needs to care about a character to want to read about their past.  And even then, they only want to know the parts of their past that are relevant to the story.

The first chapter should give a reader some sense of what the main character is going to go through for the entire book - it's like a hook to draw the reader in.  (One way to do this, as Dibble suggests, is to start the book in the middle of the story - fill in the background information as it's needed.  That's a great way to give a reader a sense of immediacy.)

I'm not at an editing point with Project Jane yet, and I had no idea that I'd completely ignored one of main factors in Dibble's advice - make a reader want to keep reading... don't start with background information... soooooooo -

Thank goodness for Georgia McBride*! I recently submitted my first two chapters for her review and she was able to see what was missing right away: the conflict!!  Though my prologue enticed her to keep reading, the first chapter was like a different story.  The tension necessary to keep a reader interested was missing.  Have the same problem?  Here's how to fix it - introduce the CONFLICT.  Conflict = tension.

Project Jane begins on the morning of Jane's first day of eleventh grade. I wrote a lot of background information into the first chapter, while she's getting ready.  It's all stuff a reader needs to know - but I didn't give any clues or hints about what was to come for Jane.  BIG mistake!  Why would anyone care that Jane once had a fight with a friend?  Why would anybody want to read about the things she does to get ready for school?  Nobody would!  Unless they have a vested interest in her, which should be the first thing established.

A side note here is this: just because you understand certain writing concepts does not mean that you automatically use them.  You need to check your own work thoroughly when you begin to revise it.  Or ask a friend to read the first chapter to see if they're drawn in and want to read more. 

Would I have seen the error when I began the revision process?  I sure hope so, but who knows?!  In any case, thanks to the clear and concise feedback from Georgia, I've been able to start thinking about fixes for it much earlier.  It's not a mistake I'll make a second time.

I'm sure there are exceptions to this rule - as there are to most.  Maybe your main character has such a thrilling background that writing about it in the first chapter IS what you use to hook a reader.  If that's the case - more power to ya!  (But make sure your character has just as interesting a present as they do their past - otherwise you're writing about the wrong part of their life!)

So, there ya have them... My thoughts on Dibble's quote!

Want to know more about

Nancy Ann Dibble?
(1942-2006)

(Penname: Ansen Dibell)

Click here

* PS Georgia McBride is the founder of the twitter chat #yalitchat.  She holds it every Wednesday night at 9EST.  Join us - it's always fun and very educational!!

♥ me

Project Jane Haiku

Don't stop, love.  Read on.
Something magic this way comes.
Ready to have fun?

Ha.  I don't think I've written a haiku since high school.  I forgot how much fun it is to fit messages into a 5-7-5 structure!  The ladies of YA Highway, for this Wednesday's Roadtrip, have created haiku about their current projects.  I thought I'd do the same!

I think we're supposed to create one per work, but as I only have one work in progress right now, I went ahead and wrote a few haiku (yep, haiku plural is still haiku) about Project Jane.  Even though I did cheat just a little bit on the last one.  Hope you enjoy them anyway!

High school drama fades.
Secret powers develop.
First kiss, true love blooms.

Ancient mysteries
bring life changing decisions
for Jane and Patrick.

Watch out! Evil strikes.
Battle of wits and magic.
Who wins? Agent me (and I'll tell you more)


PS. Haiku make me think of cherry blossoms... The picture is one I took in DC last year.

♥ me

Today's Word: Adumbration

Similar to foreshadowing, ADUMBRATION gives a reader a sense of things to come.  It's usually vague, and usually causes a sense of foreboding.

The most important part of this word, in my opinion, is that properly placed adumbration piques a reader's interest; it's what keeps them reading - they have a little hint of what may come and they want to know what it is!

Try thinking of it like this... The book is a mirror - as the reader reads it, they see only what's directly in front of them. But adumbration is what cracks the surface (just so slightly) to give them a glimpse of beyond what's displayed...

Here's an attempt I've given in my current work, Project Jane:

"On Monday, it began to rain. We were inundated with a steady downpour lasting for six days. The Bay water levels rose quickly and roads were closed from flooding. By Sunday the sun reappeared, but by then things were different - although looking back, I had no idea just how much had changed.

I didn’t really mind the rain. On the one good hand it meant we didn’t have to go outside for PE. On the other, better hand, it meant that..."

Did I nail it?  I don't know - where you tempted to keep reading?  Did you see it though?  In a seemingly innocent paragraph, I slipped the little hint in (italicized), and then came back to a normal tone as though I'd never given that little glimpse.
 
One thing to keep in mind is that you don't want to over do it with adumbration.  If you slip too much in, a reader may get annoyed and distracted from the story with their frustration.  KISS: Keep It Subtle, Silly.
 

♥ me

I Got a Ticking Clock - But It Ain't My Biological One

Some girls feel each and every tick in their internal "it's time to have a baby" clock.

I, on the other hand, feel each and every tick in my internal Author Clock*.

Currently, I consider myself a writer - I'm happy to. But I want that Author title. Opinions, I'm sure, differ on this, but I won't consider myself an author until I'm published... or at least agented!

With all the research I've done and people I've spoken to and communities I've become a part of - I'm no fool. I know that it's a long, long road. I know there will be (possibly a lot of) rejections. That's the way of the industry and I am mentally prepared for it.

But I'm not even there yet. I'm only half way done with my first draft of my first novel. Before I can even begin to send out queries, I have to finish the draft, edit it, rewrite sections, edit it, rewrite sections, edit it... And it's not a fast process. (Well, not if I want to have a well crafted novel anyway.) When I look to the future, when I dream about being successful, I can't help but be struck with fear about how far away it might be.

Again, mentally I am prepared for the long haul, but physically I feel the pull in my gut. Every minute. Every second I'm not writing, editing, building my platform (and I still feel lost about that part of it); every moment I waste sleeping, eating, doing anything other than immersing myself in my work - I FEEL IT**. Little, invisible strings have grown along my skin and they are stretching toward this elusive future. It's a dreadful, exciting, wonderful feeling.

*Okay, okay - so I definitely want to have a baby - but this blog isn't about that!
**I also believe that you should make sure to live your life while writing - you'll never run out of material that way... it's just hard to step away from the ol' desk these days..



♥me

The F Word

No, not the bad F word you're currently thinking.  I'm talking about the other F word.  The one I've learned to dread saying:

Fantasy

dun dun DUNNNNN.

I love how excited and supportive my friends and family are about my decision to quit my day job and write full time.  Their faith in my writing ability is a constant source of motivation.  But 9 times out of 10, when I'm asked what type of book I'm writing, the blaze of interest in the questioner's eyes fizzles as soon as I mention the fantastic elements of the story.  I can almost hear their thoughts... "Oh, it's one of those books."

Immediately they picture alternative worlds and dragons and wizards and vampires.  (None of which I have a problem with by the way.)  But it's for the people who shudder away from the fantasy genre that I'd like to make this clarification between what they think when they hear the "F" word, and Project Jane.  Hopefully I can dispell some of those (perhaps not so misguided) predispositions.

First of all, Project Jane is not set in an alternative universe.  The characters are all human, with natural human tendenceies, issues, and regrets.  There are no swords or dragons or monsters in Project Jane.  No vampires, no werewolves. 

The story I'm creating is a young-adult (YA) fiction.  There's adventure and romance and a just a teensy bit of history.  The main characters are teenagers.  They have normal teenage trials and tribulations and successes.   They also develop some unusual (magical) abilities.  Enter, consequently, the fantasy classification. 

But the story of Project Jane is not driven by the extraordiary abilities of the characters. The story is driven by the characters themselves; their relationships, their complications, their growth... the decisions that they make and the ways those decisions affect their lives.

I'm proud of it; I'm writing what I'm passionate about.  I love stories that take me out of real life and let me imagine a world other than the one that I know.  So, that said, as to the fantasy?  Well, the whole point is to allow readers to escape from the real world for a minute... To have fun and imagine what life could be like if just a little bit of magic were real... How could anyone not want that?

♥me

PS Current word count is: 32,115!

A Rose By Any Other Name...

What's in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;

From Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, 1594

Unfortunately, I'm not so sure the same principle applies to books and their titles. I know this is probably awful to admit, but most of the time if a title doesn't appeal to me (regardless of the genre) I'll rarely pick a book up. (Unless a book has been recommended to me, then the title doesn't matter, I'll definitely give it a try.)

I know writers have disparate methods toward choosing titles. Sometimes they complete the work to find something that fits what they've written. Sometimes they think of a title and then write the story strong enough to fit it. And sometimes it's something in between.

In my poetry, and in the short stories I've written, I've used all three of the above mentioned methods. I'm sure most people have. But here's the thing. I can't think of a title for Project Jane. And it is driving me CRAZY!

I should be patient. I have no doubt that something will come to me. But I feel like there's an idea right on the tip of my tongue. And I can't pull it out. It has to be perfect. I've never whittled away at something for this long without figuring out what I want.

It has to be powerful. I'm thinking one word. And it has to be a word that can be followed by two or three more words - one to title each of the rest of the books in the series (since I'm planning for a trilogy or quartet).

I'm frustrated down to my core - but also excited because I KNOW the perfect name is out there. I just have to let it come to me.

Oh well. Back to writing!

PS Current word count is: 29,550!

♥ me

Project Jane

The novel I'm working on doesn't have an official title yet. I tried to give it a working title (when I submitted two chapters to a workshop class) but I hated it. So, I'm currently referring to it (to myself) as Project Jane. Aka PJ.

The main character's name is Jane, duh. I'm not sure how much I am supposed to give away, or put out on the World Wide Web, but here's the general idea behind my story:

I'm working on a young adult fiction - the main characters are high school students who live in Annapolis. A few of them develop some exceptional abilities in the face of an ancient evil. So obviously fantasy is one of the genres the piece will fit into. Of course there's also a major romance and adventure, and some fun and twisty teenage angst and drama. I'm hoping this will be the first in a trilogy - or maybe four-book series. I'd really like to be finished with the first draft by late November, but we'll see.

Some current thoughts:
I am really, really passionate about the storylines I've got running so far! I'm pretty much obsessively in love with the few otherworldly elements I've incorporated/planned for.  Don't worry... There are no vampires, or werewolves, or wizards involved (as much as I love those things).

I know the word "fantasy" scares some people - "I'm just really not into those types of books," I've heard more than a few times. But give this book a chance! It's set in real world Annapolis, with real social dilemmas and has a real focus on character relationships and growth.  It's not on a different planet, there are no little blue people running around, and it's not based on weird (cool in my opinion) futuristic scientific technology.  I definitely think that there will be a place for everyone's enjoyment within the pages I write.

(Side note - let me be clear though, I do happen to love, love, love sci-fi and fantasy.  Orson Scott Card, Sara Douglass, Carol Berg, George R.R. Martin, Patrick Rothfuss... my list of favorite authors almost all fall in that realm!)

OK, it's 12:30 am as I type these very words, and it's time for me to get back to Jane and her current crazy quandary!  (I've found that writing in the late night hours works best for me.)

♥ me