NaNo

I found out about something pretty cool a few days ago. November is "National Novel Writing Month."
In honor of this, many authors participate in writing an entire novel during the month of November. I haven't researched the details fully yet (been too busy writing myself), but I loved the concept.

So now, I'm trying to decide if I should participate as well. I figured I'd leave it up to my Guardians since I'm forced to do whatever they want anyway. I am currently writing the 3rd book in their series, and I'm 1/4 of the way done with it. I seriously doubt I'll finish the book in less than 2 weeks (#1: that would be insane, #2: editing takes FOREVER). But, that doesn't mean I could start on the 4th if the Guardians so will it.

Something I found interesting about this NaNo thing is that some of my fellow authors (who have participated before) explained how much better stuff they wrote when they were under this kind of pressure. A huge part of me is seriously curious about how I would do under this kind of pressure, and wonder if it is anything like the pressure you are under when under contract for books.

It might be good practice.

To find out about NaNo, go here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/

I Came, I saw, I... Failed

Well, I heard back on the HOW Writer's Contest, and although I figured I wouldn't be a finalist, the truth of it stung a little. But, all in all, I'm glad I tried, and I won't let this hinder me from continuing on.

On the 1st novel in my series, I got the following scores (the max each judge could give is 135):
129
124
57

On the 2nd novel in my series, I got:
124
100
53

I could tell that the same three people judged both entries. They all gave feedback that I can work with in my many, many revisions that are sure to come. Some of their comments contradicted each other, so I'll just have to be sure to go with my heart on any changes I make. Because, really, my characters are in charge, not me. :o)

The world of E-Pubbing

I got an email today on e-publishing. I've been considering going down that road for a while, and was happy to receive some information on it. An author posted about her successes with E-publishing, listing the amount of E-Books she's sold since she uploaded them few months. Now, I know not everyone sells the same number of books - some are higher, some are lower- but I was seriously shocked at how well her book was selling, knowing that there isn't really a good chance for marketing your book. So, I think I'll start researching freelance editors who would be interested in editing my 1st (and possibly 2nd) book. I figure that if I can't get my foot in the door with agents or publishers, then at least I can go down this road and get myself out there.

We'll see what happens. I know I have a lot of research ahead of me, but hopefully you'll see my books on the shelves (er, virtual ones) soon!

Lucky Curse

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a multi-tasker. I keep pretty busy at work everyday, but I'm also constantly thinking about my books. Some days, I feel lucky that I can do that; other days, it feels like a curse. Because of this lucky curse, my mind doesn't know how to shut down. Like I said earlier, I keep really busy at work, and even though I'm working on reports or trying to troubleshoot a system issue, my mind constantly plays out the stories that I need to write (or parts I've already written). I have the same problem at night when I'm trying to sleep. I'll lay in bed, close my eyes and try to drift off, but instead scenes will start playing in my head. And sometimes those scenes just keep on going, its like my own personal  movie that I can't type fast enough to keep up. Many scenes are from future books that I haven't even started writing yet, my characters are just getting impatient and want me to get with the program.

And that's not even the worst part!

My Paranormal Romance series is the main one that I'm trying to write - let's face it, they characters in that series are the loudest - but, I have two other series that I started writing months ago. They're both YA, and they only randomly pop into my head. Well, now they're pushing really hard, and I'm afraid that being pushed in three different directions, by oh, so many characters might just make my brain go on strike. Here's to hoping that I don't go crazy. Why aren't there more hours in the day?

What We're About

There are four of us that are all writing novels and often times we have the same issues or experiences with the writing process that we come across. I'm sure there are lots of other people out there with the same things and we thought it'd be cool to have somewhere to blog where we can ask questions and have people post, or people can post with questions and we can respond with our own experiences. We are all writing a variety of different genre's and we all have very different writing styles so there will be a wide range of comments and opinions to hopefully help everyone.