Write. Stop. Repeat.

Sometimes there are days when the words come easy. Those glorious moments where you hit your word count and still want to write more.

Then there are the days where getting just. One. Sentence. Out. is torture.

So, despite the kind of writing day you might be having, it's good to know that you are not alone in those moments.

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." 

Ernest Hemingway (Quote via Goodreads)

"Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters." 

Neil Gaiman (Quote via Goodreads)

“Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of a job: it's always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins." 

Neil Gaiman (Quote via Goodreads)

The main thing to do, even when the writing is tough, is to keep on going (and remember to have plenty of snacks and caffeine on hand).

Happy writing.

Did you know our fabulous January Mystery Agent was revealed yesterday?

No?

Then check it out here

The Weather Outside Is Frightful

We're just over halfway into January. How did that happen? Snow and ice and all things cold have settled over my little part of the world.

(Image via www.bbc.co.uk)

Snow and ice creates different reactions in different people. 

A) Snow means fun and sledging. Snow means throwing snowballs and running inside to drink hot chocolate to warm up. 

B) Snow is a huge pain in the butt. It's freezing. It makes traveling take forever. The traffic is a nightmare. 

These two different reactions give a little example of how weather can affect the mood of people. And it can have the same effect in a novel. 

We know it isn't advisable to begin a story with weather, but (like I said before) weather plays an important role within writing. Weather can be part the setting and add conflict. Weather can be symbolic for the mood of a character or foreshadowing events. But writing weather needs be done carefully or it can become cliche (think of all those movies where the heroine is crying in the rain). 

Think about layering in some weather the next time you're writing, or revising, a scene. Your characters don't have to talk about how horrible the rain is, but think about how the rain affects their mood? Or their plans? Or adds conflict to the scene? It could add a whole new layer to your story. 

Now I'm off to play in the snow. Happy Wednesday.

Want more weather writing links? Here are a few helpful ones:

Writing about the Weather 

The Bookshelf Muse  

The Emotional Thesaurus  by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi

Manuscript Mechanics

My car is sick. Not the kind of sick where it refuses to do anything, but the kind of unpredictable sick where it tricks you into thinking it is going to work before it passes out when you really don't want it to. After an afternoon of trying to fix it (changing the spark plugs, cleaning the air filters etc), I decided to give in and book it in to be seen by a mechanic who'll do a proper diagnostic to pinpoint the problem (instead of spending the next week changing different parts on the car and getting nowhere).

But how do my car woes relate to writing? I promise I'm going somewhere. *grin*

I got to thinking how my car like a manuscript. You've been working in harmony for a while. There haven't been too many major problems. Everything on the surface might seem like it's working fine, but there are always things happening you can't see. Like the undiagnosed problem in my car, a manuscript might have a problem you can't see yet. It could be a problem with the plot. A character isn't quite right (or just doesn't work). You might not start in the right place. The pace could be off.

You try to work out the problem. You revise. You rewrite some scenes and chapters. You add scenes. You might even go on a delete button rampage. Sometimes you can see the problem. A simple fix could be all it takes to get your story running again. But sometimes, as much as you try, you might not see the problem.

You call in a mechanic (or, in writing terms, a critique partner). You need someone who can take a step back and look under the hood. Then, and only then, can you start to work on the problem that's really there. Then your manuscript (and, fingers crossed, my car) can start running again.

Happy writing.

Are you doing revisions or just want some tips? Hang out and read our New Year's Revision Conference posts.

New Year's Do Something New Resolutions

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

We all know that New Year usually begins with the dreaded resolutions. All those things we'd like to try to do (maybe tidy that one cupboard/drawer where all the odd bits of junk/take away menus/old batteries live) or hope we can keep up (like the dreaded January detox after the holiday food has been eaten). 

I used to try to make resolutions, but I tend to find my resolve falters around February (and my family suggesting that I, "Maybe try buying less books this year" is NEVER going to happen. EVER).

So each year I resolve to do something new. Something I know I can keep going or, even better, something I can focus energy on AND be productive at the same time. And, as you might have already guessed, most of my new things revolve around writing. 

I may decide to plot that story idea I've had brewing in the back of my brain. I could try writing a genre I've never tackled before. I might get out an old MS and edit or recycle it (my thought is that there's usually something salvageable in any shelved manuscript that deserves a second chance, right?).  

I open the New Year's Do Something New challenge to you. What new thing would you like to do this year? 

It's Almost Time...

So Christmas is almost here. While everyone is busy preparing for the holiday season, I just wanted to remind everyone that the New Year will be just as awesome with our New Year's Revisions Conference.

Don't forget to check out Amparo's post from Monday here. There you'll find a sneak peak of our super agents who'll be answering the questions you submitted back in October. And stay tuned for the full conference schedule to be revealed soon. Yay!

Happy Wednesday.

It's About the Story

Image from www.bestquotesaboutlife.org

We all love writing. The discovery of a story. Finding a new world to explore. And we may love a happy ending, but the journey is the adventure. Only through the journey can we find out who we are, what we are capable of and how we become the person we are meant to be. 

So where will your story take you today? 

Happy 12/12/12.