Your First Time

Remember your first?

It doesn't matter what "first" you thought of when you read that question - obviously you remembered it. First contest, first trophy, first crush, first kiss, first - um, we'll stop there.

It's deer hunting season in WI (and if you are totally opposed to hunting, still feel free to read on and comment - and also read my note below). This morning, (it's Sunday and I'm hoping for the best with the darn Blogger scheduling system THAT USED TO WORK AND NOW NEVER DOES) my son took his first shots at a deer (he did shoot a turkey last spring).  The adrenalin hit and his arms and legs started twitching and his mouth wouldn't stop smiling and his fingers wouldn't stop pulling the trigger.

Seven shots. Zero hits.



It's okay, girlie. Head on home.

First times are awkward and uncomfortable and absolutely the most exciting moments of your life (so far).

Now, to apply that to writing (you knew I would). Think of your first story. Your first 20,000 word completion. Your first *gulp* draft of a full ms. Your first *double gulp* beta. Full edit.

Query.

Exciting? Hell yes.

Now use that energy and get out there. Again and again and again. Someday, your arms might stop twitching and your smile might fade - but that's when it can happen. Don't lose hope. Sometimes, your next deer big opportunity is hiding just behind what appears to be a closed door.

And don't be afraid to twitch a little. :)


note: I understand the theories behind not being supportive of hunting. I myself do not hunt, although I married into a hunting family and have relatives of my own that do. I also live on a farm and we practice good management. We also eat the meat harvested and if there's extra, donate it to families in need. These are all good things. Trust me.

note #2: my son is 10 years old. To learn more about the WI mentoring system that allows 10-year-olds to hunt, please click here. I was not completely supportive of this at first. But for my family, it's working. As usual with new regulations, your mileage may vary. :)

one of the reasons i suck at writing queries

Um...and querying.  Yup, it's me, Christy with her one-track mind.  (Not that kind of one-track mind....get yours out of the gutter.  I'm almost nine months pregnant, which means huge and uncomfortable.  Jeesh.)

query, query, query.  if you're sick of this topic, sorry (BUT, there's a chance i'll switch topics at some point in this post.  i may have a one-track mind, but it's also hard to stay focused on any one thing for too, too long these days.)

one of the reasons i suck at querying is...

 i still have no confidence when it comes to writing one. 

so, i love every single version i create...until it gets a critique or a rewrite. 

then, i'm like, oh, yeah, you're so right. ack, it's ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!  i SO see what's wrong with it now!!!!  (i was like so blind before!)

(trash it.)  (rewrite it.)  (send it out to people who may or may not be sick of seeing the 167th version of shelby's query)

another critique comes in.  this time a rewrite by a stranger on a forum! (fresh eyes. yes!)  ooooh, this version is GREAT!  why couldn't i put it like that!  (i use the rewrite in its entirety.)  was it even in my MC's voice?  probably not.  who knows, really.  i lose shelby's voice sometimes when i'm in the midst of query drafting. 

(to be totally honest, i lose a bit of my MIND when query drafting!) 

(do you wonder why i punctuate even though i don't capitalize?---see, that's me getting off-track.)  shh, don't tell christy I added this - but why does she capitalize WORDS when she doesn't capitalize letters? these are things I want to know. er - erica

(am i even supposed to hyphenate one-track and off-track?) 

and that's my signal to sign off for this post.

more query talk writing posts pregnancy updates crazy blabbering to come from me next week

i bet you can't wait!!!

Oh, and anyone else having trouble with Blogger? We schedule our posts and they're not going up on time. Which accounts for us posting on random days and times. >:(

Sophomore Status and a Snippet

I wrote my first completed ms in about 4 months, most of it longhand, before I got my laptop - while raising two kids and working full time. Sure, it took awhile to edit, but the idea was there, the desire was there, and I did it. Did I mention that I decided to write a book about 2 days before I started? Don't hate me. (I mean really, it isn't published yet. or even agented).

But you know what? Writing that second book is hard. I got half done with one, trashed it, started over, and got about a quarter through again. Then I started another one. And another. And, now, another.

So, well, here's a snippet of my newest. It's about a girl whose entire life changed when her older sister had something tragic happen (how's that for cryptic?). But it does go back to my 17-year-old girl voice, which I absolutely love. (and this is totally first draft. no editing or critquing necessary! God knows in 2 years when I finally decide I'm done, this part will no longer exist. ;) (and to continue the parentheses - wow I love this book) (and, oh, the mc's name is Sydney, aka Syd):

(the mc's sister, Devlyn, is a writer. yes, original, I know *shrugs shoulders* *smiles sheepishly* *wants to tell you Dev's also a really great painter, but feels weird now*):

I sat next to my big sister.



"Can I read it?"


"If you want to. I told Elizabeth I'd send it to her tonight if I could get it finished on time. Can you dye my hair later? This one's all faded."


"Sure, what color did you get?" Devlyn was crazy about her hair. She'd been every color of the rainbow, including this one phase where she made me streak it like a rainbow.


"There's a box in the bathroom. You can pick one if you want."


Mom glanced at the bathroom door and back at me. I shrugged an apology. Five years ago, when Dev lay on the bathroom floor, bloody and pukey and dying, my parents flipped out. Called 9-1-1 and then ran around crying and screaming. When I saw her, I hugged her and told her I loved her and didn't want her to ever leave me.


Now, I did the same thing every Monday.


"I wrote this poem about a girl with cancer. I read about her on the internet. She went through so much pain, yet had the best outlook on life ever. She deserved a poem about her, right?"


"Definitely. Read it to me when I get back," I said, walking out to get the box out of the hall bathroom we shared. Mom followed.


"What'd you do to make her mad this time?"


"She's hiding something, Syd. She was putting something in her closet when I walked in."


"Who cares? She's twenty years old and hardly ever goes anywhere or does anything. All her friends live inside her computer. Maybe she painted a picture of a guy or something. Let her have a little secret."


"Dr. Waverly says -"


"Dr. Waverly is paid to tell us to watch every little thing. That doesn't mean we have to freak out whenever one of them happens. Besides, she said she's sending a new poem to Elizabeth tonight. That's a good sign."


"There's a reading on Saturday that they're getting ready for."


"Even better. Dev's good when she's working. Plus, she wants to dye her hair again, so that's good. The green's been making me nauseous."

(ha, and you wondered why I made it such a weird color)

Any tips on finishing the second? Leave 'em below!!

DID YOU SEE IT YET? (and querying)

While many are getting ready to see Breaking Dawn (part one), there's another movie you may be psyched to check out this upcoming spring. And now you can see more of it than you ever have before.

The trailer for THE HUNGER GAMES is out. And we have it for you. Right here.



QUERIES
They're all I think about lately. They're all I talk about. All the sites I link you to have to do with QUERYING.

While there's plenty out there telling us how to formulate those important paragraphs sharing our hook, characters, stakes, plot points, etc,.... what do we do with those "other" paragraphs? The ones that go before/after the paragraphs we sweat, bleed and cry over?

The personalization, novel info and bio paras? Hmmmm?

You don't want to make them too long. You don't want to add any irrelevant information. You shouldn't personalize it just for the sake of personalizing it. Meaning: don't just type out meaningless crap that you took only seconds to research. Take it from (click link) Mary Kole,  "Just like with citing comparative titles, if you’re not going to do it well, don’t do it at all."

You don't want to comp titles/authors that are too well known.  You don't want to use books published too long ago.

You don't want to include information about yourself that doesn't pertain to your novel, yet you want to give the agent a sense of who you are.

Many times there is a lot of conflicting advice floating around on agency websites, in agent interviews and on agent blogs, and in feedback from various agents.

What's a writer to do?

I think for us newbies, the best bet is to keep it short and simple.

DO personalize.  BE specific.  Tell the agent about a specific conference you attended with them and quote them.  Tell them something they said that you connected with or felt was brilliant.  Mention a specific blog post they wrote and how it helped you.  Mention something they said in a specific interview.  How did that comment/information lead you to believe you and the agent would be a perfect fit?

DO share  about your education/studies in one sentence.  DO share any published work you have, but INCLUDE the publisher, the date, the specific information.

DO state your novel's title, word count, genre, and intended audience.

DO comp your novel to others IF you can be specific.  Does your novel match another author's voice? (Make sure it shows if you've included pages.) Does your MC have the same spunk as so and so's MC?  Is there a conflict in your novel that matches the conflict in a published novel?  Does the romanctic tension in your novel mirror that of a published novel?  Does your world-building compare to another author's fantasy world?

HOWEVER.  If comparing your novel to others out there, make sure your query shows how it will stand out next to all the novels already out there that have similarities.  Otherwise, you know, it's like...yeah, been there, done that.  Already published!

What's your advice to me on how to handle the beginning and end of my  query?  Where do you tend to put the novel information, at the beginning or the end?  Why?

Got Football?

It's been a pretty darn good year for Wisconsin sports. Although I won't lie, the fact that the Cardinals took the World Series is killing me stings a bit. BUT the Packers are right back where they finished last season - winning games and taking names. What are you doing tonight? How about a little football???

There are so many great plays in this, but I LOVE Clay Matthews at about 1:33

But who can watch football without snacks? And since we're watching Wisconsin vs. Minnesota, there HAS to be cheese involved. (I recommend deep fried cheese curds whenever you can get them, but since I've never made them, let's go with this) (then again, yesterday at a salad bar, I topped a piece of french bread with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and bacon bits, so obviously I'm not picky about my snacks) Enjoy!

Super Easy Quesadillas

4 soft-shell tortillas (either spray with cooking spray or brushed with melted butter)

1/2 cup salsa

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or a cheddar/jack mix or for the adventurous, pepper jack

jalapeno slices (optional)

1/2 cup shredded chicken or smoked turkey (optional but highly recommended)

Place 2 tortillas side-by-side on cookie sheet. Top each with remaining ingredients and put another tortilla on top of each. Broil in oven, 5-6 inches from the heat for 3 minutes per side until golden brown and nice and cheesy. (I think you could also bake at 350 for 15 minutes, but haven't tried it) Provide salsa and sour cream for dipping.

OH and I can't forget - if you need Christmas presents for people you love, give cheese. Yes, cheese. Christy's inlaws can totally hook you up. Go here and try not to drool: Springside Cheese