Small Victories

I wrote the end of my NaNoWriMo project last night. The first draft isn't done, there's still a few scenes that need to be written or completed, but still, I wrote the end. The scenes that have been swirling around in my brain for over three months now, just waiting to be put on paper. The end of the story is really what started me writing the book in the first place. I really wanted to write the events that lead up to that moment and I've had SO MUCH FUN doing it! I have to say that while my current manuscript is a great big lump of coal waiting to be squeezed into a diamond, there is a lot of stuff I really love about it. And the end! Oh! There was a moment there that totally caught me by surprise. It made the whole ending so much better than I was expecting. I'm so excited to get this thing finished and revised so I can get it out to my crit partners and see how other people react to it.

My New Year's resolution for 2009 was to write a book and while it's only a rough first draft, I'm calling it a win. Go me! I wasn't sure I could do it, but there's no stopping me now!

In another small victory, I finally got my facebook page up and running. Friend me if you want. It's looking pretty lonely over there. I was so nervous to put up my full name and a picture, which is ridiculous, because I'm all over the place for my film stuff, but it was still scary to put myself out there and say I write books. Even though I totally do now, because, you know, the end!

Waiting on Wednesday - 7

WOW is hosted by Breaking The Spine. I've been getting into boy books lately, so this week's choice is:

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves - release date January 5, 2010


Love can be a dangerous thing....


Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.


But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.


Bleeding Violet is Dia Reeves debut and she's currently giving away a copy (and some other cool stuff) on her website so check it out! I'm so excited to read this book! I've been waiting for it forever!

In My Mailbox - 5

I'm working at a bookstore this holiday season and we just had our employee appreciation shopping days were we get a huge discount so I went a little crazy with the book buying!

In My Mailbox comes from Kristi at The Story Siren.

I've been getting into boy books lately since my NaNo book features a male first person POV so hence all the Darren Shan. (I actually bought the whole Demonata series (!) but the rest are coming in the mail sometime this week.)

I bought a couple books that I'd checked out from the library earlier this year and loved. (Lament and Paper Towns)

And a couple contemporary books I've been meaning to check out (finally getting to Sarah Dessen) but haven't because I hardly ever read contemporary. (The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian and The Sky Always Hears Me And The Hills Don't Mind)

Here's the full list:
Lament - Maggie Stiefvater
Lord Loss - Demonata #1 - Darren Shan
Demon Thief - Demonata #2 - Darren Shan
The Vampire's Assistant (movie tie-in) Books 1-3 of Cirque du Freak - Darren Shan
Paper Towns - John Green
Just Listen - Sarah Dessen
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian - Sherman Alexie
The Sky Always Hears Me And The Hills Don't Mind - Kristin Cronn-Mills
Nightlife - Rob Thurman
Tithe - Holly Black
Valiant - Holly Black

On Fear and Baring Your Soul

I once had a voice teacher in college (Voice for non-music majors, I should add) who told us on the first day that we would be doing lots of solo singing and it was okay if we were scared because singing for a room full of people was like taking off your clothes and standing naked before them while they judge you. At first I was like, huh? But then he explained that our voice, and the instrument we use to sing is inside our body. It's hidden where nobody can see. You can't look at a person and know whether or not they're a good singer. So the act of singing is taking out that hidden part and putting it on display for everyone.

I think writing is the same way. Until you put words to paper and show it to someone, no one knows what's really inside you. Writing reveals things even you didn't know about yourself. What moves you. What you think is beautiful or scary. What breaks your heart. You're showing people how you see the world and then hoping that even if they don't see it the same way, they will at least get what you're trying to say and love it anyway. That's scary.

It's also really brave. I've always thought that in general, art is courage. Even when an idea burns inside you to get out, actually bringing it to life and sharing it with others takes courage. The truly amazing paintings, music, and books, the ones that changed or made history are the ones where the creator took a risk, followed their gut, and then showed it to the world.

I think to those of us who are unpublished and plugging away this is important to remember. It's supposed to be a little bit scary. You're sharing a hidden part of yourself. You're supposed to wonder if what's true for you will translate and resonate with other people. If you're writing, and every single word you put down has you thinking "They're gonna love this! This is exactly what people want!" Then maybe, (just maybe, because hey, you might be a writing genius) you're not reaching deep enough inside yourself to the things that make you uniquely you. You don't want to do what's already been done. You need to stand out, and that means swallowing your fear (and your pride) and showing all of you, even the hidden parts.

Awards!

So I have been very lax. The extremely awesome Sara has gifted me with not one, but TWO blog awards! I am humbled and honored that anyone would even read my blog at all, much less reward it! And with NaNoWriMo and being sick and my new job, I have yet to post and thank her, so I'm going to fix that right now.

First up: The Best Blog Award



The rules for The Best Blog Award are:

1. To accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his/her blog link.
2. Pass the award to other bloggers that you recently discovered and think are great! Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

The second award is the Superior Scribbler Award:



With this award I pass it on to 5 other blogs that I've recently enjoyed reading.

I'm going to give the following blogs both awards, so here are a few really awesome blogs I think you should check out!

1. Sara at The Babbling Flow of a Fledgling Scribbler
2. L.J. Boldyrev
3. Mary Beth
4. Anna
5. The Black Quill

Teaser Tuesday

I haven't done a teaser in a while, so here's one that I used for Kiersten White's Giveaway last week. It's from my WIP Sleeper. Hope you like it!

I sneak down to my dad’s office and search the web for things like “sudden development of martial arts skills” and “strange dreams”.

According to 99% of the internet I’m a vampire slayer and Buffy is dead. I’m pretty sure that as crazy as things are right now, they’re not vampire-and-demon-crazy.

Mr. White was doing just fine in the sunlight before I knocked him out.

2010 Debut Authors Challenge

2010 Debut Author Challenge
Hosted by: The Story Siren

I decided I could use one more thing to distract me from writing and use up all my money so I'm participating in the Debut Author Challenge!

What is the 2010 Debut Author Challenge?

•The objective is to read a set number of YA (Young Adult) or MG (Middle Grade) novels from debut authors published this year.* I'm going to challenge everyone to read at least 12 debut novels! I’m hoping to read at least 30! You don’t have to list your choices right away, but if you do feel free to change them throughout the year. I will also be focusing on mostly Young Adult novels.

•Anyone can join, you don’t need a blog to participate. If you don’t have a blog you can always share your views by posting a review on Amazon.com/BarnesandNoble.com/GoodReads/Shelfari, or any other bookish site.

•The challenge will run from January 1, 2010- December 31, 2010. You can join at anytime!

Sign Up Here!

Here's the list of books I'm planning to read for this challenge so far:

1. Paranormalcy - Kiersten White
2. The Naughty List - Suzanne Young
3. The Body Finder - Kimberly Derting
4. Bleeding Violet - Dia Reeves
5. Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver
6. The Rise of Renegade X - Chelsea M. Campbell
7. Shade - Jeri Smith-Ready
8. The Secret Year - Jennifer Hubbard
9. Witch Eyes - Scott Tracey
10. Dirty Little Secrets - C.J. Omolulu
11. All Unquiet Things - Anna Jarzab
12. Firespell - Chloe Neill
13. The Witch's Alphabet - Caitlin Kittredge
14. Hunger - Jackie Kessler
15. Other - Karen Kincy
16. The Tension of Opposites - Kristina McBride
17. Exit Strategy - Ryan Potter
18. Faithful - Janet Fox
19. Anna and the Boy Masterpiece - Stephanie Perkins
20. The Deathday Letter - Shaun Hutchinson
21. Party - Tom Leveen
22. Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green and David Levithan
23. The Line - Teri Hall