Total Epic Crit Partner Fail

So....I'm a horrible crit partner.  

Friday I'm all getting ready to go out of town for Little Monster's gymnastics meet. You know, packing last minute, cleaning the kitchen, running around like a chicken with my head cut off...the usual...and I email Colene to let her know we're leaving in a bit and I probably won't have internet all weekend (we're addicted to emailing each other- if we don't hear from each other within like, 4 or 5 hours we're convinced one of us is dead).

I get this text from her:  Um, so aren't we meeting today?
Me: Uh....
Colene: We're supposed to meet today to go over my section? (we "hang out" on google+ -  pretty sweet gig, actually)
Me: Uh....wait...what?
Colene: Yeah, I sent you my ms last week and we're starting back up with meetings, right?
Me: HOLY CRAP!!  I mean..yeah, totally.... (I'm silently kicking myself because I TOTALLY forgot).
Me: Oh man, we're leaving in a bit...I'm SO sorry.  How about you and Jennie just meet and then I'll send you what I have Monday and then we can go over the next 25 next Friday.
Colene:  Well, you guys aren't sending me your notes, remember?  We're waiting till the end.
Me: Uh...wait...what??  CRAP...what the heck is wrong with me?? (okay so I may have used more explicit words in that text but I gotta keep this post PG...for my mom, you know)
Colene: Um, yeah, we talked about it last week...
Me: Okay I'm stupid...apparently I slipped into a black hole or other dimension when we were emailing about this.  But now I remember.  I'm SO Sorry.  And tell Jennie sorry I totally failed you guys as a crit partner.
Colene: It's okay, don't worry about it.  We'll meet next week.
Me: *love*  (Big sigh of relief.)

Anyway, so that was me crashing and burning as a crit partner.  But it's all good.  I've got our meetings back on the calendar now and I'm good to go!  I'm very lucky my crit ladies love me so much.  I mean, seriously, who wouldn't?  Teehee.

Have you ever "failed" as a crit partner?  Did they ever forgive you?

The Dreaded Synopsis

So one of the things I worked on during my break was my synopsis.  I pounded the thing out in an evening and sent it on to my crit partners.  Apparently they died of boredom so bad one even forgot to send it back to me with notes.  Sigh....

So, back to the drawing board.  Thankfully my wonderful crit partners were able to explain to me a little more about what it's all about and give me some great notes as well as give me this great link from Elana Johnson's blog :  How To Write a Synopsis

I'm still a little clueless as to how we are supposed to make an essentially dry and boring book report into something so juicy you want to immediately sink your teeth into it.  It's one of the most frustrating things I've dealt with in my writing "career" so far.  But I'm working on it...(as you can see by the self portrait)

So tell me, how did you overcome the dreadfully boring synopsis and make it shine?

(also, don't forget to enter mine and Colene's contest HERE!)

Ode to My Crit Gals

Oh, my lovely crit gals, you come from far and near,
To rip apart our precious books, of which we hold so dear.
Arkansas, California, and Canada are the places you call home,
And me in Missouri, too far for me to roam.

Every Saturday, the four of us meet on Skype,
Ready to talk YA books, Fantasy, our type.
Although our convos can lead to zombies and black rocks,
We always come back 'round, with grammar in our talks.

50 pages is what we crit, once every week,
Watch out for Lady M, her crits are not for the meek.
Miss Coco is the grammar Nazi, marking our pages with red,
While Ms J gushes, building up confidence in the head.

My crit gals make me stronger, more confident in my work,
Catching things I may not see, giving my brain a jerk.
We cheer each other on, wish the rewards come ten fold,
I hope we keep on doing this, even when we're wrinkled and old.

Love you gals!!

Hacking The WIP

I've had a revelation.

A couple weeks ago, after careful debating, consideration, and frantically emailing my crit partner, I've come to the conclusion that I need to hack a major part of my WIP.

For some reason I thought I needed to have both my main character's POV and the love interest's POV (and for the life of me I can't remember why I came to that conclusion).  But I kind of didn't decide that until a little ways into my book.  So I had my MC and her personal journey and conflict, and the overarching conflict all the characters had to go through, but the love interest didn't really have his own story.  He was just there along for the ride.

After a question was brought up about his POV, I began to think about it.  Was his POV necessary to the story?  Did he propel any of the plot forward?  While he is considered a big character to me (it's sort of an ensemble cast of four characters, with my MC as the main-main character), I couldn't figure out his purpose (besides making out with my MC).

So I'm chopping his POV.  Cutting it right out and making it all from my main character's perspective.  It's going to take a while, but I think it's worth it.  I think it will make my MC stronger.

While their love story is a significant part of the novel, I want to focus more on her personal journey and the four of them as a group and their collective journey together.

Tell me, have you had to chop a significant portion of your book?  Was it hard to let go of a big part of your "baby"?

Crit Partner Meet-Up!

What a great weekend guys!  The weather was beautiful (well, at least in my neck of the woods), I got to write at my Secret Writing Place with no distractions, and I met one of my Crit Partners for the first time!

Colene and I became crit partners several months ago and sent each other our manuscripts.  We found out we live somewhat close to each other and decided to meet this weekend and trade what we had done!

It was so much fun, and time went by way too fast!  Before we knew it, we had been chatting for at least 2 hours.  Not exactly sure how long, because one of us was late due to getting lost (not naming any names, cause you know, she'd be totally embarrassed).  And then we left and realized we hadn't taken any pictures!  So we turned around and went back to take some pics.  I always do that- in fact, in the beginning I told her that I always bring my camera but then forget to take pictures.  And then you know what happened?  I forgot to take pictures.

So here we are, yucking it up at the local Ruby Tuesdays:

Oh look, there's a baby growing out of my shoulder



Then we decided to try to take one ourselves, cause you know- we drove all that way back so we had to do something different:



Colene's got "cocktails" framing her face, hm, what does that mean?

 Anyway, so it was a blast and I'm so glad we got to meet.  She's super cool so go check out her blog if you haven't already. 

Come back on Wednesday for Word Count Wednesday and some happy news!

Kicking my Crit Partner's Butt

One of my crit partners, Andy Thompson said I came to him in a dream the other night and literally beat him over the head with his future published book telling him to WRITE WRITE WRITE! (click on his name- he blogged about it!)  I told him it was my future self coming back from the future to tell him to write more.  I think Michael J Fox was with me too...in the DeLorean. 

Oh wait, wrong dream- okay here we go:

(I so hope he didn't picture me as one of the Sanderson sisters- doesn't his book look awesome though?)

I'm so glad I can have such an impact on my crit partners!  They love me so much that they dream about me beating them to a pulp with their future novels.  I feel so special.  No seriously, I do.  I can't really abuse them in real life, so coming to them in a dream is the next best thing (or from the future). 

I am so grateful I have my crit partners.  Andy and Colene are so encouraging and help me get through this crazy world of writing.  They each bring their own perspective and it's cool to see what they have to say about my work.  We can lament together about our anxieties about the publishing world, and we can relate and feel connected.  I can talk to Hubsies until he's blue in the face about my work and fears about being published, but it's different when you talk to someone going through the same thing.

And I know that they'd extend the same love and courtesy and beat me over the head with my future novel if I needed it.  And boy, do I need it sometimes.

And then, (because everything can be related to Back To The Future), I'll write a book about it, and it'll become a bestseller.

Interview with Aspiring Author Colene Murphy

Hey guys!  Here is another installment of my aspiring author interviews!  Today, it's with Colene Murphy, my new crititque partner! (I now have 2 crit partners- how awesome is that??)



  I just printed off the first 100 pages of her novel, and I'm so excited to read it!

So, without further ado, here are her questions!


When did you realize you wanted to be an author? 

 It was when I started to really read YA. I was a little hesitant about it at first because at the time, I felt  like buying in the YA section made me look juvenile and immature. It was a mindset that in my 20's I should be more grown up - reading autobiographies and political novels and stuff. But when I started I just couldn't stop reading them. Devouring them. They took my breath away, made me cry hysterically, made me laugh like a loon, and I knew I wanted to affect people that way.

What genre do you like to write?  

Westerns! No, YA


What authors inspire you?    

Different ones for different things to write are inspirational. J.K. Rowling is my go to when I need to see how she created emotion with characters.  James Dashner is great at nail-biting suspense. Laura Whitcomb weaves words like magic. Every sentence is beauty with her, no matter what she's writing about. And of course, Suzanne Collins, Kim Harrison, Garth Nix, Jenny B. Jones, Neal Shusterman, and C.S.Lewis. Tons more, but I bet you want to move on and all.

How often do you write? 

 I try to get something, anything, down every day of the week. I like thousands-of-words days but if I can write a decent paragraph it isn't a waste. Weekends are harder. I'm trying to find more discipline for weekend writing. I bet I could get 10x more done if I did.


Are you a plotter or a pantser?    

Oh, pantser definitely! The first and last novel I plotted out, scene by scene, I screwed up beyond repair! It was awful. I had these set things I demanded of my novel but my characters I created just didn't want to do that. I ended up with a weird, unfinished ending that you could tell was rushed. It was like me and my characters dueled for the ending and no one won. Now I just write. I have an idea of my main character and maybe a second one. I give myself a beginning and a vague idea of how I want the MC to grow and then just sit down and type. They take me where I need to go. It always works out and I am much more satisfied and proud of the end result. One idea's rough draft actually finished thousands of words sooner than I intended, just because that was where it needed to.

Where do you write best, and do you listen to music while you write? 

 I love music. Most writers say that, but its the truth. And the kind depends on the scene and how I need to feel. Pandora Radio is the best website created for that. I write a lot at work and on my designated love seat. I tried to write at my desk before but can't focus when I'm there. Just doesn't feel right. I need to be comfortable or in a familiar atmosphere and the home office is most definitely not either.


What is on your TBR pile? 

Oh, gosh. What isn't? A Matter of Magic, Personal Demons, Once a Witch, Divergent, Z, Neverwhere, Lament, Across the Universe, The Cinderella Society, Firelight, Paranormalcy, Angel Fire, Scorch Trials, Nightshade, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, Bleeding Violet, Winter Garden, Matched, The Replacement, Nevermore, Halo, Seers of Light, Poison Study...oh I could go on and on! I have a disorder...YABookaholic much?

If Stephanie Meyer and JK Rowling got in a cat fight, who would win?

J.K.Rowling looks like she could throw some good punches if need be. I'd bet on her any day. Her characters would own Meyer's characters easily too. It's just facts, I only repeat them.


What is your “day” job?

Bounty Hunting unicyclist. Oh wait, you meant the boring one. Receptionist.  Someone seriously called the other day to ask me what time we closed at noon. But it pays the bills and I have some awesome bosses so no complaints here.

What can you not leave home without?

(cell phones are off limits- NO ONE can leave home without one of those) Lint roller. 5 cats makes you constantly furry.


Mac or PC?

PC! I know how to trouble-shoot and replace parts in PC's thanks to a computer techy dad. Mac's are as good as Mar's to me. Wouldn't know where to start.

Favorite dessert?  

Anything strawberry. Icecream, shortcake, cupcakes, pie, cheesecake. You get the picture.

Favorite desert?   

Rangipo Desert. It's in New Zealand near 3 active peaks. That sounded like I knew what I was talking about, right? Totally just wikipedia-d that junk. But it does look cool and isn't as scary as the Sahara either.

Where is your dream vacation?  

I would love to hop around Europe seeing all the famous sights and museums. One day, you know I will.

Finally, link us to your website, blog, fb, twitter and anything else you might like to shamelessly plug for yourself.          

Sweet! Thanks! http://cejourney.blogspot.com/
Thanks so much, Abby. Been a great pleasure and I love your blog!

Interview with Aspiring Author Andy Thompson

I'm going to be occasionally posting interviews with aspiring authors on my blog.  I will throw in some published authors here and there as well.

UPDATE: I totally forgot to add...if you are an aspiring author shoot me an email or leave me a comment!  I'd love to interview you!! 

The first interview is with my Critique Partner, Andy Thompson.  He's got all these great ideas for this awesome fantasy world.  He's writing an epic adult novel, and will also write a YA novel set in that world.  I love reading his material, and can't wait for him to finish!

When did you realize you wanted to be an author?
I don't want to be an author, being an author is way too much work.  I just want to be a storyteller who gets paid to tell stories in book form. Even though I have never really wanted to be an author, I started building a fantasy world and a story in high school and I have been working on it ever since.  It was only after my wife's encouragement in the last couple years that I thought seriously about turning it into a book to be published, and only after that did I think that perhaps I could turn it into a career.

What genre do you like to write?
I write what I read, and that is epic sword and sorcery fantasy.  My primary project is an adult series, but I also have a young adult trilogy in the works that is set in the same world.  Eventually I would like to have a children's series set in my world too.

How often do you write?
Not often enough.  Writing is a very difficult labor intensive process for me and so I don't do it as much as I should.  My wife and I bought our first house in April and that took a lot of my time up until about a month ago.  But regardless of the excuse, the fact is that I am out of the habit of writing. My goal has always been to work on my books for a minimum of an hour a day, but I would say that recently (meaning since April) I probably write around 3 hours a week.  I am really trying to get back in the saddle now that summer is over though.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Both, I have worked very hard to build vibrant world and I know the whole story already in my head. But as far as the actual pen to paper is concerned, I allow myself to go where the writing takes me.  Although I will make an outline every once in a while if I am having trouble getting the story to where I need to go.

Where do you write best, and do you listen to music while you write?
I go back and forth between my recliner and my desk.  Currently my desk is covered with paperwork so right now I am writing in my recliner. I always listen to music when I write. I want to give out a mix CD of the songs that inspired me when I give out copies of my book if I get published. I can tell you that the song that most inspires my adult fantasy series is Kiss From A Rose by Seal.  That would definitely be the theme song if my books would someday be made into a movie.

What is on your TBR pile?
Well I am rereading Harry Potter before the movie in November so I am currently in Goblet of Fire.  I am reading the ARC of the first book in Brandon Sanderson's new series, entitled The Way of Kings. I am also starting The Seven Realms Series by Cinda Williams Chima, starting with The Demon King.

If Stephanie Meyer and JK Rowling got in a cat fight, who would win?
It would never happen because JK is too classy, but in a fight between their fans, Rowling fans would win.  Hands down.

What is your “day” job?
I work as a Computer Technician for the Springfield Greene County Library

What can you not leave home without? (cell phones are off limits- NO ONE can leave home without one of those)
I am pretty low maintenance.  I carry keys, phone, wallet, wedding ring, and Chap Stick.

Mac or PC?
Depends on what I am doing.  If I want something reliable then Mac, but if I do not want to pay a premium and I like having versatility I would go PC.  For devices I would definitely go Mac.

Favorite dessert?
Éclair Cake

Favorite desert?
The Pillars of Creation (Gold Star for you if you get this reference )

Where is your dream vacation?
Touring the USA, going to every NFL stadium

Finally, link us to your website, blog, fb, twitter and anything else you might like to shamelessly plug for yourself
You can catch me on twitter: @crazywriterblog
At my daily sports blog: http://thecognitivecacophony.blogspot.com/
And at my writing blog: http://writingmyselfcrazy.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the great questions!


Thanks for letting me interview you, Andy!