#11

For Christy's Query Letter Blogfest Entry, please click here (or scroll down two posts). Thanks!

ooh we are getting down there (on our countdown)!  so that means we're also getting closer to christmas and a brand new year.  (which is why i've been a little absent on your blogs and on some comments lately.  sorry!  i still have mountains of presents to buy.  i just finally ORDERED my christmas cards (yes, ordered, NOT sent out.  that'll hopefully happen over the weekend).  and there's been christmas concerts and cookie baking and decorating and shopping.  well, i'm sure many of you are doing lots of the same things.  you understand.

the 11th on our countdown of best/worst things about being an aspiring writer is not a comparison.  there is simply a best and then there is a worst.

BEST:

YOU ALL.  since writeoncon i've met some wonderful, amazing people.  i didn't even know so many people aspired to be published authors.  now i recognize people's names and writing pieces as i peruse the blogs.  i've met some really nice people and helpful critiquers through "the voice". and rach's crusade. very importantly i've met and befriended my blog partner, erica, who also helps me tons with my writing.  through her i met michael who also helps me out with my wip.  erica has opened lots of other doors for me and kind of holds my hand while sharing all the things she's learned along the way. :0)  plus, we spend most of our free time emailing each other and have even hung out on a saturday night together.  (virtually, anyway!)  thanks for being a great friend, erica!!!

and, i've met so many people who visit us here at our blog.  i really can't convey how much your comments mean to me.  and how insightful, witty, comical, inspiring, and informative your blog posts are over at your places.

thank you very much.  i sincerely thought about each of you the other day while i was driving home.  i listed names in my head and thought about how lucky i was to have gotten involved in this amazing online world.  we have such an amazing support group here.  my husband doesn't understand why we all blog so much.  he tells me that once a week or even once a month would be sufficient.  and that no other group of people (those working in IT, teachers, other business venues) blog as much, if at all.  i thought about it and decided that those people all have coworkers they see every day.  teachers, for example, chat, vent, bounce ideas off one another in the halls and the teacher's lounge daily (maybe even hourly).  we (aspiring authors) don't have that in-person advantage.  THIS, the online blogosphere and twitterville is our lounge, our happy hour with one another. our cubicle and conference room. i don't know about you, but i need a near-daily dose.  who else would i vent to or run to with a new idea, or ask all my writing questions?

 i would love to list each and every person's name who stands out in my mind, but i would feel horrible if i missed any one of you.  please know that if i've ever visited your blog or you've visited us.  or you've been on the boards at the voice or have emailed me.  i thought of you.  i'm grateful for you. 

WORST:

on a completely different note.  voice.  THAT word.  that very, non-specific word.  when someone tells me to add voice.  or to create my own voice.  or to find my voice.  or to differentiate my voice from someone else's. what on earth are they talking about?  we use the same word for many different things!  character's personality, author's writing style, the tone of the book.

 i've been fortunate to find these helpful sites (below).  i'm sure there are many, many more. and if you have any at your fingertips, feel free to leave their links in our comments.  we'll create a list of VOICE links under our tips tab.  easy go to place for helpful writing information.  (new year's resolution:  add more helpful tabs and organize the mess of favorite sites i have saved on my computer.)

this link is from nathan bransford and it delineates the different elements of voice.  i so appreciated the clarification.  (how to craft a great voice)

this link also separates the various forms of voice.  woo hoo! (nicola morgan @ help! i need a publisher.  helping you find your voice)

this link has some great voice exercises you can try to get "into character" or into the right mood to write your book.  (shannon whitney helping you find your character's voice)

anyways, i think being told to improve your voice is one of the vaguest forms of feedback there is.  especially when it comes from an agent rejecting your manuscript based on a voiceless query.  it's been one of the hardest aspects of my writing to grasp.  so, for me, it's one of the worst things about being an aspiring author because it was the hardest thing to wrap my revising mind around. 

however, if i may contradict myself, it's one of the best things, too. because voice is so much fun to learn and add and change and, well, voice is the spunk of writing.  and that just makes it the party, too.

it's late. i ramble when i'm not blogxausted and pre-holidayxausted.  so forgive me if this post made no sense.  i totally planned on it being like five sentences. you may have stopped reading after only that many.  i'm stopping now.  leave a comment if you're not dozing on your keyboard.

happy holidays and thanks.
christy