Writing Process Blog Tour

Tags

new friends, pitchwars, revising, thoughts, Writing process, YA fantasy

The wonderful YA/ NA fiction writer Rhiann Wynn-Nolet has invited me to share the magic that is my writing process. Follow her on Twitter @RhiannWynnNolet. She’s a fellow artist turned writer! What could be better! Go visit her blog, http://rhiannwynnnoletblog.wordpress.com/ read her post and wave!

Ten years ago at the age of 31 with two toddlers, I asked my hubs for a laptop so I could write a book. Crazy! I know! So I did. And I had found my passion, the job I am meant to have. I have seven manuscripts sitting inside the twisted innards of my computer. First drafts, second… tenth drafts all waiting for their turn for a final read through, for their chance at entering the querying world. They have to wait their turns. I am a stay-at-home-mom of two kids. Now at 13 and 12, they need less and less from me, but I am still in charge of getting them everywhere, of conversing with them, and making sure they are emotionally okay.
My writing and the creative process has changed considerably in the ten years I have been setting words to page (or screen). As I grow as a writer, so it does. On to the questions!

What am I currently working on?

I am gearing up to tackle the final revision of my YA fantasy DOORS. I wrote this ms years and years ago when a simple idea entered my mind… what if you could go anywhere in the universe, what if there was a door. When I read the first chapter at my writers’ group years ago, it wasn’t right. So I set it aside, but I didn’t forget about it. So last year, I brought it out again thinking that I knew how to fix it. I read again at group. Almost… but through the comments I knew what to do. Revisions, revisions, CP comments, revisions, more readers’ comments, and revisions have lead me here to a final read through then off to pitchwars it goes.
I am also working on edits for my two stories that were chosen to be published in the Reuts anthology of twisted fairy tales.
I will also be writing a short story for Pen and Muse blog, who are calling for shorts featuring a haunted house. If that appeals to you, go sign up to participate. Should be FUN!

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I dislike this question. Mostly because I’m afraid it isn’t different, that it won’t stand out again the piles of YA fantasy out there. But it won’t be like the others, because I wrote it, using my strange view of the world, my odd way of stringing words together, my fascination with everything weird and scary. Can my work co-exist happily beside the works of Neal Shusterman and Holly Black? Yes because I offer my unique view.

Why do I write what I write?

Because those are the stories that appear in my brain and in my heart. Because writing from a place of love is the only way to go. I write for teens (for kids) because they still believe, because they stare out at the world wondering where they fit, hoping to add their magic.

How does my writing process work?

Weeeeelllll, I am not a plotter. I tried outlines and they ended up frustrating me more than helping. I find now that a calendar works best. I draw a timeline and add the scenes, moving them when necessary.
My characters talk to me. I have notebooks full of people, of what they look like, what they love to do, how they think. I learned to call this a character bible at the Midwest Writers’ Workshop. Whenever I can’t remember so-and-so’s eye color, I can look it up. I will show them to you, but they end up a crumpled, scribbled mess. Writing is not neat and orderly here in the land of Kathy.

Then I write it from beginning to end.

I have to write the entire thing with no edits or I will get trapped forever editing and never finishing. Believe me, I get caught in the revising trap after its done, so I don’t need to fall in that pit too early.

I LOVE CPs! I LOVE comments! I LOVE making it better, solving the problems (even when it means pulling my hair out and beating my head against the wall). Relaxing, not dwelling on problems, taking a moment to do nothing will unlock all the answers. I do not believe in writers’ block. The more we try to pry open the box holding the answers, the more locks appear. So no worries, the answers will come when they will.

Now to pass the baton to a few friends.

I met Sarah Carson on Twitter, follow her @QueSeraSarah10. Uplifting and fabulous, she is always willing to help and even read Doors for me even though fantasy is not her cup of tea. In return I was honored to read her ms and was blown away. I can’t even wait for her words to find a home, to be published so everyone can read them. http://secarson.weebly.com/

I also met Kris Holt on Twitter, follow him @KrisHolt1. He is from far, far away across the ocean. *waves* Always willing to join in funny conversations and keep the laughs rolling, I want to know more about him so invited him. http://4thousandwords.blogspot.com/

I recently attended the Midwest Writers’ Workshop and met tons of people. I have invited a new friend from the conference to join me on this magical tour. Julie Artz, follow her @julieartz. I loved her business card… written on demand for any who wanted them! I should have thought of that. She was one of the many brave souls to pitch to an agent at the conference! http://www.terminalverbosity.com/
Go forth, dear readers, and follow the tour, get insights into how our minds work… it’s fascinating and a bit scary.

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After the Craziness… Midwest Writers’ Workshop

Tags

agents, Midwest Writers' Workshop, self doubt, thoguhts, writing

I survived my first writers’ conference.

Last Thursday I drove to Muncie, where I met up with two Twitter friends Rena @originallyrena and Jamie @Jamie_Adams22, and attended class after class after class. Wow!

I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea how I would react. And my reaction was not what I ever would have guessed.

Let me begin by explaining… I did not sign up for a query or manuscript critique or to pitch to an agent. I was looking for a low stress experience. The agents were great. They weren’t set before us and then whisked away under heavy guard, but mingled among us, ate with us, chatted. Seriously, did those brave souls feel at all like prey? When an agent asked to sit at our table after dinner one night, we nearly fell out of our chairs. The faculty was amazing, always willing to talk, to share what they know. Our knowledgeable teachers burst with insights and facts.

By the end of Friday, my head buzzed.

By the end of Friday, I wondered what the heck I thought I was doing mingling with all the cool. I am not cool.

By the end of Friday, the amount of talent in the room made me want to curl up in a corner. Listening to the agents, I suddenly realized they would never want to represent me. I slipped further into a dark place the more words of wisdom shuffled into my head.

This was the last thing I expected. Granted I had no clue how I would react. I hoped for more of a “Yea for all the info! I can do anything! I am ready to write!” But sadly, no. I was overwhelmed. I was intimidated.

I questioned the very idea that I could be a writer.

Weird. I know. And my dear friends jumped to my side telling my I was crazy. I was a writer.

I am a writer.

One of a writers’ constant companions is self-doubt. Tucked away in my living room cut off from the world, I shove the doubt in a dark corner, but faced with the plethora of writers out there in the real world…

ALL looking for that agent…

ALL looking for that book deal…

ALL hoping and wishing and having SO MUCH TALENT…

The demons hiding in the shadows of my mind jumped into the light, waving their twisted limbs and flashing evil grins.

I listened to every piece of wisdom. I talked to other writers (yes, people I didn’t know!). I had a good time. I learned writerly stuff. I was lucky to get to hang out with my Twitter buddies and get to know them better.

I arrived home with my mind spinning and my little friend self-doubt sitting on my shoulder. But I don’t have time for him and all his depressing talk.

I have blogs to do, tours and a review. I have two stories to edit for Reuts. I have a manuscript to revise ONE LAST TIME before pitchwars and sending it off into the world. I have a story to write for the PEN and MUSE blog for their haunted house collection. Ahem… Sign up for that it sounds SO FUN! I am waiting to hear about a short I sent off months ago. I am waiting to hear about a ms.

So self-doubt… GO AWAY!

I am a writer. Without the words I would be nothing.

Anyone else, dear readers, who have had a strange reaction to things like writers’ conferences? Or is it just me?

FYI- I have begun to reread HP to make myself feel better. And there is chocolate.

 

Midwest Writers’ Workshop

Tags

fear, friends, live, Midwest Writers' Workshop, new experiences, smile, thoughts

I am driving to Muncie, IN today to attend my first writers’ conference.

OHMYGOLLYGOSHWHATAMIDOING… THEREWILLBEPEOPLETHERE… IMIGHTHAVETOTALKTOPEOPLE! I am packing PANTS, dear readers, PANTS.

So with visitors and vacation, I pushed the thought of the conference to the back of my mind, but yesterday it hit me. I was going, venturing out into the unknown. The unknown is scary, pretty sure monsters lurk there. *mixes up monster spray*

Stepping off the comfortable life-path makes my mind scream “NOOOOOO!”. Seriously, I am considering hiding in a closet. But I will not be alone. Not only will there be a bajillion writers there all wishing they could curl up in a quiet corner and read a book, but I am lucky enough to get to share the days with two fabulous Twitter-writer friends Rena Olsen and Jamie Adams. Together we will be awesome.

Taking the leap into the shadows gives me hope that when one of my manuscripts is accepted for publication, I will not freak out (completely), but will be able to stride semi-comfortably into the world of publishing.

I suppose that’s what life is, from when we take our first steps to when we reach for who we want to be, for what we want for ourselves. I will face my fears, reach for my dreams, and mature… a bit, but I promise to never grow-up. I will keep my eyes open to watch for the magic in each and every phase of life. Over the next few days, I will giggle and laugh, smile and stay out of the shadows, no matter how uncomfortable, how nervous I am. When I return, I will share what I find. Now back to laundry, packing, and generally freaking out.

When it’s difficult to find that happy, dear friends, I hope my shaky grin will lift you up. We’re in this together, whatever we do with all our insecurities. Writing. Parenthood. Relationships. Learning.

Living.

So live.

The Magic of Far Away

Tags

Black Hills, camping, Crazy Horse, family, inspiration, Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, thoughts, vacations, Yellowstone

I went on vacation! YEA! For everyone who missed me… HELLO! For everyone who didn’t even know I was gone… HELLO! *waves*

We went far away.

11 days.

6 states.

4225 miles. Yes, we drove.

Tons of fun, experiencing new wonders, and learned a bit.

And met a mega-fabulousTwitter friend in person! Which rocked! *waves* Hi, RENA!

Vacation. Everyone has a definition in their head. A trip to the beach. A cruise. A ride on a plane to exotic locals. Staying at home doing nothing. A cabin in the woods (though as a horror movie lover, I don’t advise it). An adventure in a big city.

For me, it’s mountains. Waterfalls. Trees. Roasting marshmallows and reading a book by a fire. This trip gave me all of that and more.

As we drove to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, we encountered many sites and places to stop. First Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Wind Cave, and Custer State Park in South Dakota. We spent one fun-filled, super-packed site-seeing day. Whew! We traveled on into Wyoming, stopping at Devils Tower… well, because duh! I hummed the theme to Close Encounters during my entire visit. On our way up through Montana, hubs couldn’t resist a stop at the battle site of Little Bighorn (history buff). Of course, too long wandering and an incident where the keys were locked in the truck we arrived too late to enter Yellowstone so spent the night in the truck in Bozeman.

Yeah. Ew.

NEVER AGAIN!

Anyway… we found a great campsite in the park the following day and spent the next four days SEEING EVERYTHING!

It was fabulous. Let me give you a taste. Let me tell you, what I saw was inspiring… as in ideas, dear readers, ideas for future books!

 

Yea! Camping!

Aw!

Crazy Horse Memorial

Mount Rushmore

Pretty mountains

Cathedral Spires in Custer State Park

Sylvan Lake, Custer State Park

Devils Tower… and ME!

Camp site in Yellowstone

My kids and me near Wraith Falls

Mammoth Hot Springs

Fairy Falls… hiked there because, well, fairy.

Prismatic hot spring

Grand Teton Mts.

There were Bison IN THE ROAD!

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Lower Falls

Dragon Mouth Spring

So… there’s a slice of what we saw. If you have never been to the Black Hills or Custer State Park in South Dakota… if you have never seen the geysers, waterfalls, and wildlife of Yellowstone, I suggest you go. You don’t have to camp. I promise.

Now, back to laundry and unpacking and generally putting life back into the realm of reality. Ug. But I only have a sec, because tomorrow is my writers’ group The Summit City Scribes summer get together where we eat and chat and have a lot of fun! Then Thursday I shall blog about my next adventure… something new and exciting, so I am completely terrified, but I will have support in the form of Twitter friends! Rena! Jamie! But more of that later.

I hope everyone has great vacations. Whatever it is you choose to do, have a blast!

 

When Twitter and Reality Collide… BOOM! MAGIC?

Tags

excited, fears, friends, meeting new people, nervous, thoughts, Twitter, vacation

We leave on vacation tomorrow. There is camping involved, so there’s a lot to do.

I am running around moving things here and there, adding things to the list, checking the list, doing laundry.

BAH!

Yes, we’re excited to see Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone! I am nervous about leaving my home, spot on the couch, my wifi (SERIOUS PANIC HERE!), computer, and cats. I’m sure the pool, which I have been working on keeping clear and gross-free, will be a mess when we return.

But that is nothing. I’ve done all that before. And I survived.

This trip is different because we are stopping (TOMORROW NIGHT! RED ALERT) so I can visit – face-to-face! – a friend I ‘met’ on Twitter about a year ago. RENA!

I AM SO EXCITED!

AND NERVOUS!

What if she doesn’t like me? What if we sit there staring awkwardly at the floor?  What if putting two Twitter friends together in reality (let’s be honest I don’t like it there) will make the world explode?

Comfortably conversing with people over the Internet from my couch is my happy place. I can edit all my thoughts so I don’t sound like the true idiot I am. I can sensor my words so I can be cool. That will be taken away from me. I’ve seen pics of her, but really I don’t know how tall she is. What if I’ve been pronouncing her name wrong in my head this entire time? I’ve never actually heard her speak? Will she sound like I imagine?

This reality thing is serious beeeezzzneezzz, people.

*flails*

*takes a breath*

Anyway…

I’m sure it will be awesome, because Rena is a fairy queen and incredibly nice and super supportive. Stalk… I mean follow her on Twitter @originallyrena. Because.

And we will not let fear conquer us. Another Twitter friend Jamie Adams blogged so beautifully about fear http://jamieadamswriting.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/about-fear-and-the-things-beyond/ … go read it. And then follow her on Twitter @Jamie_Adams22. I get to meet her too later this month!

AH! All the new things! I have dreams of how magical this could be. A fantastic new friendship beyond the boundaries of the computer. I WILL BE AWESOME!

I think.

I will return a better me. All who face their fears will be.

 

 

The Magic of Motherhood

Tags

babies, becoming a mom, birthdays, growing up, life, special moments, teens, thoughts, toddlers

Thirteen years ago today, I became a mom.

Pregnancy wasn’t my favorite thing. Hello heartburn. Good-bye any kind of control over my bladder.

But the thought of a baby really made me shudder in fear. I have admitted to not being a ‘baby person’. Those little bundles of crying and pooping joy cause panic to trample through my brain.

Thirteen years ago, I had never changed a diaper. I had never fed a baby. Then BLAM-O I had my own.

I WAS SCARED TO DEATH!

What was I supposed to do with him? What if I dropped him on his head? What if I DID EVERYTHING WRONG?

My mom did not live around the corner. Hubs loves babies, so he was in heaven with his new son, but soon hubs went back to work. I became a stay-at-home mom.

Day by day, did what I thought a should. My boy seemed happy. He was growing, gaining abilities (none of them super-power related – bummer). I was getting the hang of it. Of course, as soon as I figured out one thing, everything changed.

But I made it. And today I celebrate my son Logan, who is now a teenager. He is a fantastic kid. I am so proud of him, and, as much as I would love to take credit for his fabulousness, I figure most of it he found by himself.

We enter the dreaded teen years, I am not afraid. He’ll be who he is and we’ll all roll with whatever happens. (ask me again if I am afraid in a little over a year when my daughter turns 13)

I have found a happy place here in the land of older kids. As soon as I lived through babies and toddlers, life made more sense. All of us out there with kids, celebrate them! They are awesome and each day they get closer to moving out, to face the world, to add their special touch to reality. Enjoy who they are, enjoy watching who they become, savor every moment for it goes all too quickly.

All moms and dads, guardians and parental figures raise your hands … HIGH FIVE!

Cake anyone?

 

Family Magic

Tags

childhood, family, life, love, magic, road trips, thoughts, vacations

My sister and her family (hubs and two girls) are ON THEIR WAY HERE! They have quite a drive, so I’m sitting… waiting. The house is fairly clean. There is food in the fridge and fun awaits us for the next four days.

Eeeeeek!

Company is coming. Isn’t it great?  YESSSSSSS!

I grew up in Peoria, Il. and moved to Springfield the fall of my junior year of high school (yes, tramatic, but a story for another day). My dad grew up in St. Paul, Mn., my mom in Holliston, Ma.

I know everyone is wondering… how in the name of all things geography related did we end up in Illinois? My dad was sent to work in Holliston and rented an apartment down the street from my mom’s house. Cute story of boy meets girl follows. Dad got a job in Peoria and they moved.

I grew up away from all my relatives. We did not go to Aunt So-and-so’s house for Christmas Eve, head to one set of grandparents for Christmas morning then go to another relative’s house for dinner. Nope. It was us. Mom, Dad, my two sisters and me. Rarely did we ever have a holiday away from home. We had school. Dad had work. And the drive time eliminated any and all three day weekends.

We visited during the summer. One summer we’d head up to Minnesota and the next we’d make the trip out to Massachusetts then back up north then out east – you get the picture. I looked forward to those trips, seeing grandmothers (I never knew my grandfathers), aunts, uncles, and cousins I didn’t know. And it never mattered. We were family. After a few awkward moments all was well.

When I grew up, moving away seemed like the thing to do. To Indiana we went because that’s where hubs got a job. The drive to see my parents and sister in Springfield or my sister in Missouri is not quite as killer as Massachusetts. Nope. Just 5-6 hours. My kids see their relatives A LOT more than I did. It’s pretty cool how excited we all get when someone comes to visit or we go invade someone’s house.

The distance between family doesn’t matter. There’s a magic bond that ties us together. Through sickness, frustration, joy, and the other roller coaster aspects of life. We’re there for each other. Because.

I still love to go visit my relatives in Massachusetts. We have a great time. And even though I no longer have family in Minnesota, I hang onto my fond memories.

Even though my sisters and I screamed and yelled at each other growing up, we couldn’t live without each other now. I’m sure there were times when Mom wanted to run away from her three darling little girls… now she can’t wait until we’re all together.

Funny, that getting older thing.

Even crazier that family thing. Hang onto yours, whatever it looks like – adopted, step-families, really good friends that earn an honorary membership. Enjoy each other. All the flaws and fabulousness. We only get one shot at this living thing.