meomeoim

Instead of doing anything productive, I've decided to waste my time. I have a cold, and I don't enjoy it at all. I could be writing my book. I've got two of them going, and I enjoy them. Or I could be editing this other girl's. But I'm doing this instead. Wasting time. I read an article, and they said "real" writers write during the day. They get up in the morning, and then go, working it like a normal job. I cannot do that. I can write for like 12 hours at a time, but not during the day. It feels wrong. It's probably because I'm usually not awake during the day, but I am... and its all wrong. Also, I work in the evening. So that probably effects things. But I suspect that I will be a night writer. Obviously, what matters it the amount of time and the committment you put into your writing, not that actual time. So I'm might just be the expection to the rule. I am that, sometimes.

I just took a personaloty test, and I enjoyed it because it said that I am a visionary, a dreamer, a talented writer, laidback, and I never lose my sense of wonder. Those are things I pride myself on, and I'm glad they're true. My internet is being slow and stupid, and I suspect that's from the tremendous wind that is blowing outside.It's super cold in the house, and it sounds like I'm in a haunted house in a bad horror movie or something. It would be a lovely fall day if the wind weren't being so ridiculous. I'm very excited to see Where the Wild Things Are and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parsanuss , both of which open in a few weeks. I doubt they'll come to Austin, but I'd be willing to drive up to Rochester or the Cities to see them. They seem very magical and wonderous. Which, according to my personality type, I like. I watched the making of Labyrinth last night, and somehow, learning how they made it made it even more awesome. I really wish I cou...

If you haven't seen Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog , I strongly urge you too. It's mostly funny, Joss Whedon's writing is delightful, and Neil Patrick Harris's singing is stunning. Okay, I am going through a musical phase right now (which sounds even odder to me than it does to you), and I might be partial. The hype over Switched is exciting for me but frightening. I want to believe that it's awesome as everyone says it is, and part of me does. But the rest of me is nervous about jumping all in when there's always the possability of rejection. I'm trying that whole Secret thing so I know I shouldn't believe that. I mean, I'm supposed to believe that everything already has worked out or something. But its hard. Self-preservation is a tricky thing. I have been ridiculously happy lately. For normal people, I'd imagine this is what falling in love feels like. My current life soundtrack is: "Rainbow Connection" by Sarah McLachlin, ...

I would gladly spend the rest of my life watching Jim Henson films. If this writing thing doesn't pan out, I'm totally going to puppetry school. And if this writing thing DOES pan out, I'm totally setting up scholarships so other people can go to puppetry. The magic that Jim Henson created in unparalleled. Ditto for John Hughes, but at least I don't have to watch films with CGI Molly Ringwald. Although, I did just see Jennifer's Body , but really, that would be more of a bad take on Kevin Williamson than a bad take on John Hughes. At any rate, Switched was my best attempt at combing my favorite elements of Jim Henson and John Hughes. My biggest inspirations, specifically, I'd say would be Labyrinth and Willow (not Henson, but in the same vein) and Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink . I didn't recreate anything scene for scene, as I shouldn't. That's called plagiarism, not inspiration. But I think I took the feel. Its not quite as magical as Jim He...

I sent off pages and I can't explain how rough that was. I always get so nauseous and panicky attacky. Because this time could. If I just do it right. If write things just right, and market them just right, and they get to the right agent at just the right time. If all the stars in the heavens align perfectly... I've done the work, but I never know if its hard enough. I never know if my work is polished enough. I read it over and over again. I make other people read it over and over again. I cut things and move things, so the rough drafts look like a rainbow threw up all over them thanks to all my highlighter use. Sending off queries doesn't bother me that much. Getting rejected from them doesn't either. Sending off pages freaks the hell out of me. That's something. That's somebody actually taking the time to read my books, and that rejection is actually rejecting me. I know it's supposed to be personal, but that's my book. You read my work. And for what...

Okay. I understand the nature of this business. That it’s mostly rejection, no matter how good you are. But I don’t think its fair that because I know that, that I shouldn’t take any of this personally. That I know it only takes one “yes,” that I’m not allowed to feel bad about any of this. Because I know this hurts, it shouldn’t hurt. Because I can’t change it or fix it and I have nothing new to say about it, I shouldn’t say anything at all. Because this sucks and everybody knows it, but that’s the way it is, so I should just take it and smile. I mean, this isn’t in any way a diatribe about being agents or being rejected or anything like that. I understand where they’re coming from. But the fact is that it hurts. And most of the time, I think I do a really good job of dealing with it. I get a rejection, and I go, “Alright. Let’s look at another agent” or “Let’s tweak the query letter or the book” or even “Okay. Maybe this idea isn’t quite right. Let’s try writing another book entirely...

I'd rather be an agent. I'd rather be selling and reading someone else's work. Then I'd know. With my work, I'm too close. I never can tell. Sometimes, I think its really fantastic. Other times, I think its horrible. Most of the time, I think its just what a book should be. Its just what it's intended to be. But when I read about the books agents are looking for, and I hear the way they talk about them, and the way I try to talk about mine, it doesn't sound like any book is that amazing. At least not any one that I've read, let alone one I've written. So I don't know how to tell anymore. Today is a Debbie Downer day. It's my last day of vacation, and I've felt the sting of rejection today. Sending off queries is so exciting, but then the rejections come, and I start feeling vaguely suicidal and like destroying everything I've written. I know I need a thick skin, and sometimes I really do pull it off. And in my heart, I think my books ...

Now that I have the internet, I have once again entered the exhausting and anxious business of trying to get my book published. I have decided to focus all my attention on Switched because it isn't as generic or redundant as book about vampires right now. (Not that My Blood Approves is either of those things. But it is about vampires.) And not that many people are writing about sexy trolls and have high school bands referencing John Hughes. I win on those counts Here is my query letter, if you feel like writing one: "When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother tried to kill her because she was convinced Wendy was a monster. Eleven years later, Wendy’s still not sure if her mother was right. In my 90,000 word urban fantasy/young adult SWITCHED , Wendy finds herself being “stalked” by Finn Holmes, and she can’t decide if he’s creepy or foxy, or maybe both. Then he tells her that she’s a changeling, and despite her better judgment, she lets him take her back to the world of...