It's Friday . . .

Yep, it's Friday, and it's been raining on and off for days. It certainly doesn't help in my productivity department. Weather affects my mood. Anyway, I'm in limbo. It's that time in a writer's life where I finished a manuscript and it's out to betas for round one and I don't know what to do next. I wrote a query, which my computer lost (long story), then I wrote another one that I'm not super psyched about. It's the ho hum time. I want to write something new, but can't get into it and then I want to revise something old, but can't get into it. We all go through it. I'm anxious and annoyed. I need something to occupy this urge, this want. Drives me crazy, but it happens. It's part of the whole cycle. I'm reading a book, but I'm not fully feelin' it. You get the picture.

Anywho, a couple of things are going on.

1. Check out my beginnings links on YaLitChat in the Craft Masters group. Later in the month, the lovely Dianne Salerni gives her advice on writing the first chapter.

2. Write Club is up and open for submissions. It's a fun way to put a piece out there and get advice without anyone knowing who you are. D L Hammons is a wonderful host.

So what's new with you?

Are you in limbo too? How do you get writing again?

Have a great day!!

Wordy Wednesday

Well, today things are totally random hence the crazy title. I'm catching up and reporting what's happening. Sort of like fun facts Friday, but it's on Wednesday.

1. I finished my revision. Yes, I'm pumped. Now onto edits, then betas. Yikes. I know this process, but no matter how many times I do it, I still get nervous.

2. THE CAGED GRAVES by Dianne Salerni is out. Go check it out and get your copy. Congrats again, Dianne! I attended the signing last night, which was awesome! I can't wait to read it. Dianne is an amazing and talented lady.


Blurb (per Barnes and Noble .com):
The year is 1867, and seventeen-year-old Verity Boone is excited to return from Worcester, Massachusetts, to Catawissa, Pennsylvania, the hometown she left when she was just a baby. Now she will finally meet the fiancé she knows only through letters! Soon, however, she discovers two strangely caged graves . . . and learns that one of them is her own mother’s. Verity swears she’ll get to the bottom of why her mother was buried in “unhallowed ground” in this suspenseful teen mystery that swirls with rumors of witchcraft, buried gold from the days of the War of Independence, and even more shocking family secrets.

3. Go and congratulate E.C Myers. FAIR COIN has won the Andre Norton Award. You go, Eugene!Congrats! I'm so excited for him. He is a very talented and awesome guy! So, go, and throw confetti.


Blurb (per amazon.com):
The coin changed Ephraim's life. But how can he change it back?

Sixteen-year-old Ephraim Scott is horrified when he comes home from school and finds his mother unconscious at the kitchen table, clutching a bottle of pills. The reason for her suicide attempt is even more dis­turbing: she thought she'd identified Ephraim's body at the hospital that day.

Among his dead double's belongings, Ephraim finds a strange coin--a coin that grants wishes when he flips it. With a flick of his thumb, he can turn his alcoholic mother into a model parent and catch the eye of the girl he's liked since second grade. But the coin doesn't always change things for the better. And a bad flip can destroy other people's lives as easily as it rebuilds his own.

The coin could give Ephraim everything he's ever wanted--if he learns to control its power before his luck runs out.


4. I'm the new moderator for the Craft Masters Group on YaLitChat. Come on over and say hello and let me know what topics you would like to see covered.

What's new with you?

Have a great day!

Test the waters

Getting critiqued can be scary. The idea of someone reading what you (heart and soul) wrote may give you  nightmares of blood red ink scratched across each page with comments of how to fix this and that, along with what you need to learn in the margins. Embarrassment, hurt, saddness can take hold and a tear may fall. You open your eyes. It was a nightmare. A big sense of relief, but at some point, you have to share your work. Why? To grow. To strengthen. You need to know what is wrong to fix it.

For some, it's easy. For others, not so much. For me, I wanted lots of people to read my stuff and tell me what I needed to do. It doesn't mean I wasn't chewing my nails or eating a load of chocolate everytime I sent it, or I didn't fall hard when I got some of them back. I did and I still do. You learn how to deal and tolerate it in some way. But I realized the only way for me to learn is to 'see' what I'm doing wrong.

Where do you start? There are many places to begin.

1. Ask a fellow blogger or writer you trust. It's a start. Send something small if you want to test the waters.

2. If you are feeling brave try one of these ultra helpful sites. Both take only small snippits of your work and give some great feedback. Plus, you can remain anonymous. Easy peasy.

Christina Lee and Stina Lindenblatt's First Words Workshop

Dianne Salerni and Marcy's (Mainwords) First Impressions

3. If you're really brave try something more. There are forums where you can load more of your work for feedback.

YALitChat-For young adult

Figment

Authonomy

Miss Snarks's First Victim

It's not easy. No one said it was. Testing the waters is just another step in becoming a better writer.

Have you tested the waters?

If you want to share any other tips or sites, please share in the comments below.
Have a great day!