Posted in updates, Writing

Doubts and Optimism

#Pitmad came and went without any success. I prepared over ten different pitches for Clan of Ash but they didn’t work. With this, I can’t help but think that maybe I should put Clan of Ash away for awhile and try to get it published later.

I know there’s self-publishing out there but I don’t want to do that for this book. I have another, Crimson Queen, that I would self-publish but not Clan of Ash. Maybe I’m being stubborn but I want to see Clan of Ash make through the traditional route. Call be stubborn or delusional. I just can’t help it. It just so happens to be a goal of mine.

I try to keep myself from overthinking whether or not I should keep trying to publish Clan of Ash. I know getting publish is tough and famous people had tons of rejection letters. At some point, I just wonder and then I realize that if I stopped, I’ll most definitely regret and that’s a part of what keeps me going.

Even though I wasn’t successful this year, many of my fellow writers on twitter got there tweets liked and I’m super happy for them. I really hope they manuscripts get published. I saw a lot of good pitches yesterday. Luckily, there are more opportunities for #Pitmad coming in June so I’m not discourage.

If anything, I optimistic. I know there’s more opportunities and it’s not like I’m going to quit. Luckily, I am also keeping myself busy with other projects. I’m going to keep working towards my goals until I succeed and even after, I’ll keep going.

Posted in updates, Writing

Progression

After a very long month, I was finally able to sent out my 8k words to Sarah from Lopt & Cropt. At the end of last year, I entered a contest on the blog, A Writer’s Path. I was the winner of said contest and having 8k words edited by a professional was one of the prizes.

Sarah provided a free sample edit before I sent over the 8k words. Thanks to her wonderful feedback, I got a broader feel and sense to my story (Clan of Ash). While I planned to send my 8k words to her immediately after her initial edit of 15-20 pages of my manuscript, I didn’t. Instead, I focused on NaNoWriMo which is where I wrote Clan of Blood, the sequel to Clan of Ash. Let me tell you, that broadened my view of the story even more.

In essence, this caused me to look back at the 8k words I was going to send Sarah. I ended up rewriting almost the entirety of those 8k words with a few exception. I did copy pasted a couple of sentences here and there the plot for those scenes stayed the same. They were just rewritten in a better way. I even discovered a minor plot hole that I fixed right up. That being said, I have to make a couple of more changes down the line but I already have a few ideas on how to remedy that.

Even as I wait for Sarah’s response, my work doesn’t stop. While I didn’t make any new year’s resolution, I did make goals for myself. One of those goals is to completely finish rewriting Crimson Queen. Slowly but surely, I will.

Posted in updates, Writing

Starting the New Year

2018 has started out to be very productive. I have finished my first book of the year called Vampire Hunter D, Vol. 1 by Hideyuki Kikuchi. Now, on to Vol. 2 which I have to find somewhere in my closet. It’s a series that I’ve been meaning on reading for a while now and I hadn’t been able to find any of the paperbacks for until only recently.

Each day has been filled with productivity and I won’t think about how my motivation might diminish in the future. Instead, I’ll focus on the now and worry about all that later. There are a few changes I wanted to implement in my writing routine. I don’t it’s anything drastic so to speak. This week, I’ll start off with including a scene I wrote for the prompt: “Do you remember the first time we met?” he asked.

“Do you remember the first time we met?” he asked.

“No,” she replied icily.

His face contorted in pain. “Casey,” he began.

Casey turned her body away from him. She focused on the breeze pulling at her braid and on the darkening clouds overhead. A few families were speckled throughout the park. The sings squeaked with every push and the children’s laughter reached Casey’s ears.

Of course, she remembered when they first met. It had been a day much like today. The only difference was that it was raining. She was practicing for a marathon and he was riding his bike without his glasses. Their meeting started with a trip to the emergency center. Casey took a deep breath distancing herself from those memories.

“What do you want?” she asked bluntly. “After all this time you call me and want to speak. What do you want?”

She twisted around, resting her back against the uncomfortable bench. Her arms were crossed. Jonathon reached toward her but stopped.

“Why do you think I want something?”

Casey clenched her jaw. Her gaze was focused on the dancing blades of grass in front of her. “Because you’re the type of person who uses people and discards them like trash.”

“You don’t know me.” Jonathon’s voice was low.

Casey smirked. “I date you for almost two years,” she said softly. “Trust me. I know you.”

“Why are you making this difficult?” Jonathan suddenly cried. “I just wanted to talk.”

His words reawakened a long-buried anger. Casey swirled around. “Oh, so now you want to talk,” she spat. She stood. “You didn’t want to speak when it actually mattered. When a simple explanation sufficed. You’re unbelievable.”

Jonathan jumped up. “What was I supposed to do? You didn’t want to tell me –”

“It was none of your business,” she interjected.

“You were my girlfriend!”

“Because that actually mattered back then,” Casey retorted. Her hands clenched. “I was only your girlfriend when it was convenient for you.”

“What was I supposed to think when you disappear for days with another guy? There were pictures Casey. Was I supposed to ignore that?”

Casey’s chin trembled. “You were supposed to trust me.”

That’s what I have so far. I might expand this a little more once I figure out enough details. Mostly, I was making things up as I went. In my humble opinion, I don’t think it’s a bad start.

Posted in updates, Writing

2017 in Review

While the year hasn’t exactly ended, 2017 is coming to an end. Looking back at it, it’s been a crazy year both professionally and personally. A lot of good things have happened and a lot of bad things have also happened.

I completed two NaNoWriMos this year in July and November. There some personal issues that I had to take care of. There’s always some good with the bad. I think it was all balanced out. While my novel wasn’t picked up, I still haven’t lost hope. There are other projects that I can work on and it’s not like I can’t take a break. Options are available.

On top of it all, I’m going to start a new career in my day job. I still want to make a living from my writing but I’m very aware that, that won’t happen so soon. Because of this, I actually plan to get my teaching certification through an alternative certification program. This also means that I have to go back to school for a year or two but, in the long run, that doesn’t seem too bad. I already survived a four-year college experience. I’m sure I can get through two years of school.

As 2017 comes to an end, my goal of getting published wasn’t accomplished. I’m a bit sad about that but I believe there is a reason why stuff happens and this year, just wasn’t meant to be. There are others years as well. While, I might have to think about retiring the book, I can keep that train of thought in the back of my mind for now.

I won’t be posting anything else for the rest of the year. I’ll be picking up blogging again in January.

For now,

bye and Happy Holidays!

 

 

 

Posted in NaNoWriMo, updates, Writing

The End is Coming.

The end is near.

45k words down,

5,000 words to go.

Writing while fighting a cold is terrible.

Powering through the last few days.

It’s almost over.

I can do this.

You can too.

We got this!