Online Critique Groups - My Arch Nemesis....

...Writer's need good, honest and constructive feedback in order to grow. We don't trust our friends. We have convinced ourselves that our friends are either a.) biased or b.) sparing our feelings. We love our friends for this...

We just don't trust their feedback...

So, living in a small town with a university complete with a flourishing MFA program and shockingly NO public writing groups, I naturally turned to the internet.

The internet is great, you can be pretty anonymous and post chapters for critique. I did this for months with my first manuscript and it worked great. Until it did not work great. The quality of critiques waned and then one was down right flippant, which I took really personally until I found out the critter was 13. At that point I stopped completely.

But here I am with a new nearly completed new manuscript, in need of critique. I feel like I'm going back to a bad relationship.

Comment if you know of any writers in the Forest Grove area looking for a writing group (especially if they like urban fantasy)!

To blog or not to blog....

It's mid October...more specifically, its 13 days 'til NaNo 09. I'm in the middle of a novel, about 65K words in, a quarter left to write/edit before Nov 1. Plus, I still have all my outlining to do for my NaNo novel. For those of you who know me, it has been an enormous amount of effort to get this far...kids, husbands, 30 Rock, dishes...but I digress...

Which brings me to the reason for this post.

How the hell do writers find so much time to blog!?!?

For me, every spare second I have is spent writing. I don't have a ton of spare time so I have to be really diligent about what I work on and blogging is never a priority. I never feel like I have anything clever enough anyone would want to read. In truth, what I think I am missing is the fact that people who blog regularly don't have anything clever to say either, they are just blogging about the journey...but still, do you know how long I have been sitting here at this computer thinking of a blog topic? And the most clever thing I could come up with was a blog post complaining about my inability to blog...?

...And reader clicks backspace >here<

SO, because I am under a tight deadline, AND am lamenting about how difficult this is for me, it is, of course, the perfect time to dig myself further into a hole by committing to blogging every day for a month during Nano.

...well, at least every business day...
...unless I'm sick
...but not starting until the first day of the month...

I imagine you all are sick in delighted anticipation of all the witty insights you are about to experience...So am I, so I'm off to read someone else's blog...!!!

*During the course of writing this post, it took me 35 minutes total time, over the course of 36 hours in which time I was interrupted 43 times...I'm exhausted already.

My sisters, a universal dedication for pretty much anything I write in the future...

They are probably the reason I have such a rich imaginary life. AND they want to read my books. Then when the do read them, they tell me how much they love them, and they want to read more.

Which may be sisterly affection that is biased...

But I don't care, I love them for it anyway!!

My sis, Cathy, designed me a jacket cover for a hard bound draft copy of my very first completed manuscript so we can edit it as a hard copy. It is wonderful and I love it!

It's the most wonderful time..of the year!

Back to school!

Which means hours of time to dedicate to finally finishing this manuscript. (See previous post, New Projects Loom...) I'm about 60% done with the 2nd draft and have already got a handful of edits for that 60%. Finger's crossed, I'm finished the 2nd draft end of September, finishing edits end of October! The good news, however, is that I still really love this manuscript.

That alone is an accomplishment.

And I can easily say I have advanced from Faery-lore 'novice/moron' to Faery-lore 'competent'. Which wasn't exactly on my bucket list but still...

In response to Michelle's post on The spiral Path, asking where we write, I have this to say:

50% of the time, I am here:

with 30 Rock or Arrested Development playing on the TV in the background...

The other 50% to follow...

2010 BOOKS!

...I can't believe its fall. Since the publishing industry moves so...friggin'...slow...I am going to start my list of much anticipated, much hyped SEQUELS...even though we won't get to read them for another year!

1. The Dead-Tossed Waves, Carrie Ryan (sequel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth which was brilliant!!)

2. The Demon's Covenant, Sarah Rees Brennen (Sequel to The Demon's Lexicon which was also brilliant!)

...disclaimer: I'm pretty much not going to hype a sequel if I didn't find its predecessors brilliant, I just thought I'd throw that out there...

3. City of Fallen Angels, Cassandra Clare (The City of Bones Series - This series was totally not on my radar but I loved every minute of them and am happy to have another book, even though I'm not the biggest Simon fan on the planet...I will be happy to be proven wrong!)

4. The Clockwork Angel, Cassandra Clare (A new series from her, a mortal instruments prequel - looks delishous)

5. Radiant Shadows, Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovley Series - I'm actually kinda pissed off I have to read this book. I thought I had made a commitment to a trilogy, then I got a bait and switch...BUT I have to find out what happens, I won't rest until I do.)

Michelle...did I miss any good ones??

More Chapters FOR YOU!

I've just added through Chapter 25 of the Birthright. Check it out, I'll be adding the rest throughout the week and putting this baby to bed. I feel good about it as a first effort and learned a lot. Not sure if I'll get around to editing the sequel.

Particularly if no one is reading... ;)

The Demon's Lexicon...

...Is still haunting me. When I finished it late last night, I didn't think it would. The twists and turns spun throughout the narrative was very compelling, and then there was, of course, the ending.

But why its still haunting me is because I'm left in awe of what an amazing undertaking it is to make a technically unlikeable character so likeable. And now that we know the playing field, where will she take us and how can we reconcile ourselves to this protagonist? Or is he even a protagonist after all (I think he is, and the very fact that I ask this question, is how this book raises the bar for YA fantasy)?

YA writers everywhere...the game just got interesting.

And check out the author: http://sarahtales.livejournal.com/