NaNoWriMo Start of Week Three

I'm a couple days late on this because I spent the start of week three with my sister, writing in a coffee shop and binge-watching Gilmore Girls. Day well-spent.

In the spirit of NaNoWriMo, this post will be completely all-over-the-place. Here are observations from week two:

On day 10, I wrote a scene between friends that really moved me. Don't get me wrong--it probably sucked in all the technical ways because it's free-writing, but I was down-to-the-bone pleased with it. The scene is kind of nitty gritty. My characters have started taking real shape and acting like real people. They surprise me. And one of them likes to swear. I generally don't swear, by the way. I mean, I do sometimes when I'm driving and someone honks at me and freaks me out or when I'm feeling emotionally intense or when trying to make my husband laugh. But other than that, not really. My character does, though! And I started to feel kind of embarrassed, like, "When so and so reads this, they're going to be like, 'Jess has a secret potty mouth...tsk tsk.'" Well, sometimes. But this isn't me! Can I deny my character the way he talks?? It's so stifling to worry about this, so when I wrote the scene I didn't worry-I was true to the character and it felt awesome.

Now, in a Christan book, I get that unfortunately that's probably a no-no. But I don't think this will be a Christian book, and that's okay. It can honor God without that label and with the naughty words. And if people don't like it and they think less of me for it, that's their choice.

I RESPECT the heck out of James Dashner for his tough characters and their nitty gritty language without the swearing. He found a way to have them swear without swearing, which is mad genius. And it works. But it seems like my characters like the old fashioned kind, and I think I'm okay with it. :)

Also, my MC and her best friend (the potty mouth) like to say inappropriate things to each other. I have no part in this.

Last week, I said that I had my doubt about this book and it sucks and all that. Well, his week, I started to see how it could be awesome one day. There's diversity. Friendship. First-love. Teen angst. And there's a twist!

A sort of dark, psychological thriller-type twist. Which I LOVE and always want to write, but cant. Or I can't do it on purpose anyway. My ideas always start out as every-day stories. Stories about the people at their core. Quiet stories. My characters are funny and lighthearted. And then things change.

My characters do questionable things. They have secrets. They get dark. Twists happen on accident and shock me. It's the best. And it wouldn't happen if I didn't push through the suck and write anyway.

In week one I started writing out of order. I've continued that this week because it helps to write whatever scene I feel like writing instead of whichever one comes next. It's a happy, hot mess.

Writing with other people is more fun than writing alone, but only if the other people is just my sister. 

I've been a little wobbly this week when it comes to spitting out my target word count. As you'll see in the graph below. But I'm not too far behind, which is better than every other year I've done this.

Goal for week three:
Stay above that line every day. Even if it's just a smidge above.


 

NaNoWrimMo: Start of Week Two

Week one of NaNoWriMo is done! Today is the start of week two. Below you'll find observations and thoughts from week one, plus goals for week two.

Observations:

Writing this much makes me ten thousand times more hungry. Not a terribly thing. Eating is good--especially since I've been healthy! I homemade a couple healthy desserts (carrot cake oatmeal cookies and strawberry cream truffles) so I could rightfully indulge and still do my body good. (I'm not an amazing cook or anything, but I tore it up in the kitchen this week.)

I've ben especially pale these past few days. New anti-tan from so much computer time? Or is it the new ultra bright lightbulb in our bathroom?

On day six, the excitement started to wear off. Maybe I was tired. Or maybe I was tired specifically of the story. Either way, I felt like I needed a hard core nap--and that was after I had already had a nap. I was PMS-level grumpy/verging on whiny. (Note: Was not PMSing.) It was so bad that when I went to the store to get some unsweetened coconut flakes for the truffles (Which were amazing, by the way!), I stared at all the sweetened coconut flakes, hoping they would turn into the ones I needed. When that didn't work, I walked down the aisle a bit, then back where I glared at the coconut, like that would make it change. I'm not proud to admit I did it again a third time.

It was after that I decided to call it a day after only 1k words. I clearly needed a break. Plus, I'd been promising myself a coconut bath for days and not delivering. I felt cheated and unappreciated by myself--never a good thing. Lesson: Don't hold back on the rewards. And that's pretty much a solid life lesson, so you're welcome. 

After giving myself a break on day six, the problem was pretty clear on day seven. I had stopped having fun writing. It had become all about that bass getting the word count out so I could finish. But what good is that if I'm not learning and enjoying?

To fix this, I decided to give myself extra writing time by cutting out the Netflix rewards between writing sprints. Instead, I redid my writing board by adding helpful writing charts and inspiration. And then? I focused not on what would move the story forward in the way I thought it needed to go, but what would be fun for me to write. Even if it meant jumping out of order, what was I dying to add to the story right then? Doing this helped me tremendously and was extra loads of fun.

I finally gave myself that bath on day seven. Candles. Relaxation music. It was HEAVENLY. More, please.  


Other things...

Unwelcome fear: This book sucks and will always suck and it's not the next One and no book will ever be the next One because I could only write one good One.

 Strategy: Write in 500 word bursts and then break for half an episode of Arrow. Repeat. Sometimes replace Arrow with online dress shopping or Facebook. Worked pretty well, but sometimes Arrow sucks me in and I'm less than productive. Maybe less of that this week? Yeah...

Another strategy: Update my word count on the nano site every three hundred or so words because it helps me see that I've crept along and gives me a boost of pep to keep creeping along.

Cold hard fact: No writing will ever happen before 9AM. Don't even try.

Warning to my tomorrow self: Don't join in on the virtual write-ins because all it is is a distracting chat room. Maybe instead you could join one of the Jackson group's actual in-person write-ins. But who am I kidding, right? People. I know you won't.

Here's a screen shot of my NaNoWriMo progress!

Right on point! This week I want to get just a little ahead so I can start making a padding for Thanksgiving. My goal is pretty much the same as last time. 1,500 words/day on the weekends. 2k words/day on the week days. Yay for doable goals! Also, I'm going to start each day by asking myself what would be fun to write. What would add shimmer to the story?

xoxo,
Jessie



 

NaNoWriMo Eve

It is the Eve of one of my favorite and also one of the most hectic months of the year. November.

AKA National Novel Writing Month

AKA NaNoWriMo: The adventure of writing a 50k word novel in 30 days.

(But that doesn't sound fun...)

Oh, but it is! Because you're SUPPOSED to write crap. By writing crap you also write some gems. By setting out to finish, it means you aren't trying to perfect your story, so you can actually have fun being insane. You call kill off anyone and decide to bring them back because you need them. You can change ages and backgrounds and setting. Being carefree like this cracks your creative, wild side right open.

I can't wait for tomorrow.

At the start of each week, I'm going to make a little blog post about the joys and woes. I'll set goals publicly and then have to publicly admit failure if I don't keep them. Hopefully this will help me not procrastinate. I'll keep track of what I'm learning because the cool thing about NaNoWriMo is that no matter how many years you participate, you always learn. Or at least I do. This will be my forth time.

 My first time was actually for a college class (BEST ONE EVER) and we did it in February, so we only had twenty eight days. That novel (Capture Me Strong is the current title) ended up being so special to me that I'm still pouring into it after all this time--four years later. I want to get it published.

The other two I did? Not so much.

While I've tweaked and shined Capture Me Strong, I've also tried multiple times to write my next book I'll try to get published. I've started a few and then lost interest. The stories ended up not jiving with me. I just didn't care about the story or the characters.

I think I've found that was because of a lot of reasons.

1. I was going off an idea that was exciting, but that I didn't care about at a heart level.

2.

Yup, actually, I think it pretty much boils down to that one reason. I had others, but as I went to type them it was obvious number one is the only one that counts. The other things would be easy to change if my heart were in it.

So, as I go into NaNoWriMo tomorrow, my goals are:

1. Keep my heart in the story.

2. Write like no one will ever read the story except me.
If I worry about people reading this down the road, I'll only end up making time trying to be perfect. There's no room for perfection this month. 

3. Don't try to write well--just write quickly.
Make a mess! My inner editor can clean up later after I let her out of the dungeon. The most important thing for me in writing that first draft is getting it out. I've tried making it nice along the way, and it ends up not getting finished. This is the only way that works for me.  

4. Try every single thought I have that I think might make the story awesome, even if it means I'm making a giant, gooey mess. Even if it means I'm burning down houses and then magically resurrecting them.
My ideas always start out literary and then turn into sort of thrillers. It's like a mix. But so far I'm not good at making up thriller stuff--it just happens as I write, which is really exciting for me. Like watching a movie. I can't plan it, so I need to allow room for things to happen naturally.
I have an outline, which I'm sure will be torn to shreds and rebuilt into something that can potentially be pretty. 

5. Understand my weaknesses and restrictions and plan accordingly. I WILL NOT overestimate myself.
Every single year, I fall behind (after setting unrealistic goals) and then end up writing like ten thousand words a day at the end. I tell myself I can do that no problem...and I do it, but it's definitely a problem. No stress this year, yeah?

6. Write 3,000 words by Monday. And then write 2k words a day at least, making my word count goal 13k by the end of the 7th.
Like I said, I know my limits. I should be wracking up the word count in the early days, but the hubs has the weekend off and we have parties to go to. It's more important to me to enjoy as much time with him as I can. I'll try to get higher than I need to during the week, but I'm not setting unrealistic goals because there are other things I have to do with my life.

So there you have it! I'll check back on the 8th to start week two with some reflection and new goals.

If you want to be my writing buddy, you can find me here on NaNoWriMo.org.    

#PitchWars Peeps to Check Out

As promised in my last post about how I feel about not getting picked in Pitch Wars, here are six Pitch Wars people I want to highlight because THEY ARE AWESOME. And they willingly told me their secret super powers, so that tells you a lot about their character.

 
1. Brenda Drake
Secret super power: Able to multitask in a single bound.
Blog/website: http://www.brenda-drake.com/
Book: Library Jumpers
Release Date: 2015
Twitter: @brendadrake
Library Jumpers blurb:

"The gateways between the great libraries of the world don’t require a library card, but they do harbor dangers.

Sixteen-year-old Gia Kearns would rather spar with boys than kiss them. That is, until Arik, a leather-clad hottie in the Boston Athenaeum, busts her staring at him while she’s with her friends researching for their summer essays.When he suddenly disappears, Gia swipes the book he abandoned and unwittingly speaks the key that sucks her and her friends into a gateway book linking the world’s libraries, where hidden behind bookcases lies a magical world and a rising evil that will alter both the Mystik and human realms, returning them to a time when frightening creatures openly roamed the earth and fed on humans.

Jumping into some of the world’s most beautiful libraries would be a dream come true for Gia, if she weren’t struggling to fit into her new life as a Sentinel—magical knights charged with protecting humans from the creatures traveling across the gateway books—or busy resisting forbidden love. But as the threat from an exiled wizard seeking revenge rises, Gia must choose between her heart and her head, between Arik’s world and her own, before they’re both destroyed."

2. Sharon Johnston
Secret super power: Internal energy source allows her to operate off very little sleep.
Blog/website: http://downunderwonderings.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @S_M_Johnston
Book: Sleeper
Release Date: TBA
Sleeper blurb:  

"A new heart should mean new life, not a living nightmare.

Mishca Richardson’s life is at an all-time high after her heart transplant.  With new boyfriend, Ryder, the two of them have the perfect summer romance. Even the nightmares that have been plaguing her sleep since her operation can’t dull the high she’s on.

Things start to unravel as Mishca develops superhuman abilities. She does her best to hide them so as not to end up a science experiment in a lab. But she can’t ignore the instant attraction she experiences when she meets her university professor, Colin Reed.

Torn between the blossoming love and the obsession, Mishca must decide if she wants Ryder or Colin. But the organization responsible for her changes and her connection to Colin, is moving to secure Mishca so that she can be the weapon she was always intended her to be. If Mishca can’t resist her programming she’ll have a lot more to worry about than romance."

Sharon also has short stories in: Basics of Life
Buy it here!


3. Stephanie Scott
Secret super power: Stephanie did not give me a super power, so I will take an educated guess and say her powers is that she goes above and beyond the call of duty.
EDIT: I have heard back about the power, and the verdict is: Planning prowess!
Blog/website: http://www.stephaniescott.net/
Twitter: @StephScottYA
Book: 2014 RWA Maggie award finalist for manuscript ALTERATIONS



4. Rachel Lynn Solomon
Secret super power: Obsessively detail oriented.
Blog/website: http://rlynnsolomon.blogspot.com/
Book:Twitch
Follow the above link to read a little about Twitch!
Twitter: @rlynn_solomon


5. Trisha Leaver
Secret super power: Predicts the future.
Blog/website: http://www.trishaleaver.com/
Book: The Secrets We Keep
Release Date: April 28, 2015
Pre-order here!
Twitter: @tleaver
The Secrets We Keep blurb:

"A girl takes over her twin sister's identity in this emotionally charged page-turner about the complicated bond between sisters."

Ella and Maddy Lawton are identical twins. Ella has spent her high school years living in popular Maddy's shadows, but she has never been envious of Maddy. In fact, she's chosen the quiet, safe confines of her sketchbook over the constant battle for attention that has defined Maddy's world.

When—after a heated argument—Maddy and Ella get into a tragic accident that leaves her sister dead, Ella wakes up in the hospital surrounded by loved ones who believe she is Maddy. Feeling responsible for Maddy's death and everyone's grief, Ella makes a split-second decision to pretend to be Maddy. Soon, Ella realizes that Maddy's life was full of secrets. Caught in a web of lies, Ella is faced with two options—confess her deception or live her sister's life."

Books co-authored with Lindsay N. Currie (below):
Hardwired
Release date: 2015
Creed
Release date: November 8, 2014
Pre-order here!

6. Lindsay N. Currie
Secret super power: Invisibility cloak.
Blog/website: http://lindsaycurrie.com/
Twitter: @lindsayncurrie
Books co-written with Trisha Leaver (above):
Hardwired
Release date: 2015
Creed
Release date: November 8, 2014
Pre-order here!
Find more on her website!

Creed blurb:

"Three went in. Three came out. None even a shadow of who they once were.

When their car breaks down, Dee, her boyfriend Luke, and his brother Mike walk through a winter storm to take refuge in a nearby town called Purity Springs. When they arrive, the emergency sirens are blaring and the small farming town seems abandoned. With no other shelter, they spend the night in an empty house.

But they soon discover that not everything in Purity Springs is as it seems. When the town's inhabitants suddenly appear the next morning, Dee, Luke, and Mike find themselves at the mercy of the charismatic leader, Elijah Hawkins, who plans to make Dee his new wife. Elijah's son, Joseph, offers to help them escape . . . but the price of his help may be more than Dee and her friends can bear."

____

So basically, this is how I feel about all these books:

And...

Thanks for checking out the fabulous talent!

#PitchWars Aftermath

For those of you who are completely out of the loop, here's the skinny on Pitch Wars: It was a contest on Twitter where signed writers gave their time and skills to help unsigned writers. These honorable, beautiful people are called Mentors. The unsigned writers, like myself, submitted a query letter and the first chapter of of manuscripts to up to four out of seventy five Mentors. In this round, the Mentors picked one Mentee and one Alternate. I read the average Mentor got eighty submissions, so this contest was huge.

I'm going to make a separate post about Brenda Drake (who started all this) and the Mentors to whom I subbed, so you can check out their blogs and pre-order their books! These ladies are mad talented. And of course generous to the bone because they didn't have to participate in this contest, but they did. So, look out for that.

Now, for my personal results! I was not picked. Yes, sad face.

Except my face isn't actually sad because:

1. This is one contest, and there were a huge amount of submissions with tons of talent. I know I'm not the best writer out there. But I am the best writer I ever have been, so I can be happy with where I am now as opposed to where I have been. I'm giddy for all the writers chosen. They are talented and have worked hard to get that coveted spot. I wish them all the best in the agent round!

 

2. For the past couple weeks, I've been a part of a truly inspiring writing community. Never have I seen so many writers encourage and connect with each other. I saw courage. I saw vulnerability. I saw talent.

Because of that, I am more open to the idea of finding a writers group or critique partners either where I live or online. To be honest, this scares me a little because I don't trust people with my book. What if it gets stolen!? To be even more honest, I'm afraid if I join a writer's group or get a critique partner, they'll be one of those I'm-so-smart types who like to talk down and feel superior. Pitch Wars Peeps have proved to be a humble, fun bunch, though! That gives me hope. Yay, friends, and community and stuff.

3. A rejection does not mean I have failed. It means I have succeeded in finishing a project, and that I have the guts to put it out there. Being rejected means I'm trying. I won't get anywhere otherwise.

4. The Mentors are giving feedback to everyone who subbed, and I got my first feedback this morning from my favorite Mentor. I cannot tell you how important this was to me. This Mentor helped me with my query letter in such a huge way. She also gave me feedback on the writing in my MS that will help me grow tremendously.

Two things I need to work on: grounding my readers in the setting (I knew I wasn't very skilled at this), and "showing" instead of "telling". That one surprised me because I thought I'd been making a conscious effort to show not tell. See how hard it is to recognize our own flaws? That's why her feedback was so important. Now I can take that and delve into learning and revising in that aspect.

Another feedback wasn't as specific because she simply said she didn't connect with the voice. She was encouraging, though! I'm still waiting on feedback from the others.

5. This is the big news I've been waiting to tell. Drum roll, please.

One of the Mentors, Sharon Johnston, tweeted about needing a blog assistant, so I jumped at the chance because the more experience I can get, the better. We talked over email about the position, and then she said she wanted to offer me something else she thought I would like better. That is...a spot on the blog, YAtopia, as a contributor! As in, I am now one of the writers. To be real with you, I feel unqualified. These other writers have so much going for them, that they can and should absolutely write about books, writing, and publishing! Me? I'm just over here writing a few blogs and trying to get an agent for my book. But I won't argue! I feel so dang blessed with this opportunity.

 I'm brimming with thankfulness over it all.


Now, I'm going to bust out all my fun writing supplies and get back to it! Never surrender!




 

Pitch Wars (Potential) Mentee Bio

Pitch Wars is the awesome thing you can read about if you click here. The submission window closed last night, and now tons and tons of hopeful writers are staring at the Pitch Wars feed and constantly checking email to see if they have page requests. Not that I know anything about that because, um, I'm not, like, obsessing or anything...ahem.

I turned in my submission last night! Yay!! Now that none of us can focus on anything else, there's this new thing where we make bios like the Mentors did. If it'll get me to look away from Twitter for a second, why not? Plus, EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT. Peer pressure is real.

 My name is Jessie. Actually it's Jessica, but that's feels so...

So I go by Jessie. Or Jess. Or sometimes Jessbaby McSwagg.  Because those feel more...

I have a hilarious, super cute sexy, cuddly, strong, hardworking husband named Gary. Or Gare. Or Garebaby McSwagg. We've been married for almost two years, and dating for a whole decade! Yes, we're middle school/high school sweethearts.

*Some facial hair has been added.

I have waaaay too much fun writing about periods, so I let out all that glory and gore on a blog called Period Fairy. Sometimes it's gross. Mostly funny. But also I have this thing where my jokes are so funny most people don't laugh...so...

I also have a short publication called Obstacles in Our Adventures on Whole Magazine.

The novel for which I submitted by query to Pitch Wars is a Contemporary Christian YA Thriller. I started in in 2010 when I had to write it in twenty eight days for my novel class at Hope College. I have since shaped and sharpened it, and it is the book of my heart.

Short list of things I do besides writing:
-Help lead youth group with my sister and the rest of our team of leaders
-Hang out with my husband and family and play stupid games
-Play Sims
-Read
-Peruse bookshelves
-Learn about babies and parenthood because I want da bebe!

Obessions:
-Organic hygiene
-Tea
-Books
-God's love for me
-Singing really loud while driving
-Swimming under water
-Shopping at thrift stores
-Listening to storms
-Gifs
-Supernatural

Thanks for taking the time to read! I hope the best to all my nemeses participating in Pitch Wars!

Cheers.

I Picked a Genre

Here's an update to anyone wondering what's happening in Writing Land.

In short: Wonderful things!

In long, there are four things:

1)  I've been working on a top secret, new novel while I send out queries for Capture Me Strong. It's going slowly, but well. I'm just fiddling and building characters and plot.

2) I send out queries in little bursts because if I get no responses/all rejections back, then I know I either need to tweak the story or my query. So, I've been doing that. Sending, waiting, tweaking. Not to be confused with twerking.

3) Some of you may have seen on my author page on Facebook (Click here to check it out, and "Like" if you haven't, please!) because I talked about it there, but there has been something wrong with the beginning of Capture Me Strong, but I haven't been able to figure out what the problem is even with Beta Readers. I was working on the top secret project when it hit me! I suddenly knew what the problem was and how to fix it. I fixed, and it energized me so much that I had the best writing day ever, and was able to edit for number 4.

 4) I noticed while I've been querying that I was trying for too vague an audience. Or it seems like it to me, anyway. I'm still learning about the publishing world. When I queried, I wasn't quite sure what genre to choose. Mostly I would say "Contemporary Christian YA with crossover appeal because it addresses faith, but it's not preachy". In case you don't know, that's not a great way to put it. The reason I said it, though, is because I felt like a few small things about my book would be off-putting to a Christian publishers. I used some "real" language that some conservative folk might find foul. To me, they aren't forbidden words. I use some of the words every day. To some, they are swear words. Plus, one of my characters speaks a bit crassly of a sensitive, hot-button issue. So that might not make some Christian people happy. Which means I didn't now if it as "Christian enough" for the Christians.

On the other hand, I knew it was "too Christian" for people who aren't into that. There's talk about God. I explore some of the big questions, like why do such bad things happen on Earth if there's a big, loving God? How can I believe God is my protector when something horrible happens to me? How can I have faith in such goodness when all around me there is such evil? You don't have to believe in God to appreciate those sorts of questions, but there is too much God-talk for it to not be classified as "Contemporary Christian" or "Inspirational Fiction".

I have not read a book that straddles the lines like mine does, and it would be amazing if it could find a home with a publishers as it's line-straddling self. I would love more books that are faith-based but also very real, i.e. not super sugar-coated.  If you know of any, please do mention it!
 Yes, I could leave it as-is if I self-publish. No, I do not, at this time, want to self-publish. Traditional is the dream.

So I prayed about what to do about this. I felt like I needed to make it a solid one or the other. So I thought about what both versions would be like. After consideration, it was clear to me that I cannot take the faith issues out of the novel. The very heart behind Capture Me Strong is so I can share hope with survivors of sexual violence, that there is healing in the Father. I need to be careful not to preach a message, but to simply tell a story and let the reader, no matter what faith they have, explore their own beliefs and come to their own conclusions, just as the protagonist will come to hers.

This change is also the easiest because I can still make the language very "real" without using language that may offend some people. I greatly admire James Dashner, Veronica Roth, and Susanne Collins (to name a few) who are excellent at showing raw, deep emotion in dialogue without using offensive language. I can do this, too. As for the crassness of the aforementioned character, I can also find ways to stay true to her without being offensive. All it takes is wise word-choice. These changes can be done without changing the important parts of the story. If  I took God out of it, it would be like taking my heart out of it, and I can't do that.

Plus now that I'm sticking with "Inspirational/Contemporary Christian YA", I feel like I don't have to be so careful on my Twitter (@Je55ieMullin5) and author FB page not to share my faith too much. That's how I felt before. Like, "okay, I'm going to straddle this line, so I can't say this and this". I want to be free. I feel free this way. 

So, I'm making those changes, and I feel great about it. I may end up with a smaller market, but it's vital that I stay true to myself and to the story.

Yay, progress!

Thanks for reading. Stay sweet.