Category Archives: The Dream War Saga

2013 is already getting booked up fast!

I started double checking my calendar for scheduled events to make sure nothing important overlapped and I realized OMG. I’m going to be really freaking busy this year!

Between book and personal trips/events/weddings, I will be visiting Miami (three times), Manhattan (twice), Maryland, Vegas, Orlando, and a few other places I haven’t decided on yet. Considering that in 2012 I was lucky to go to BEA in Manhattan once, I’m so looking forward to this year of epic travel plans! I’ve also signed myself up to write four books, am about to tackle the edits on Sing, Sweet Nightingale and still have to fit my day job in there somewhere because it’s paying my bills right now.

If anyone ever suggests becoming a writer means you’ll have a lot of spare time, I might die laughing. 😉

I’ll post pictures and updates here and on Twitter/Facebook as the year goes by, so keep checking back to see all the exciting things in store for us this year!

Now I should probably go back to the day job before they realize I’m not doing anything…

Hitting the halfway point and making it to “The End.”

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Champagne (c) Design4Y

It may be a few days late (two, to be exact), but I hit 40,000 words in The Dream War Saga Book 2! And, better yet, I think the first draft of this book may come in around 80,000 instead of 100,000 words, so this means I’m at the halfway point! What the freak? How did that happen?

I already know a lot of what I’ve written will have to be tweaked or flat-out changed, but that’s fine. At least now the first half of the story has a shape, something for me to chisel and chip away from or mold and add to.

Hopefully–if my grand plans work out (which, honestly, they rarely do)–I will have a good portion of the book done before I really dive into edits on Sing, Sweet Nightingale in a couple of weeks. Also hopefully, the books will continue to be creepier than I could have imagined and make me question my own sanity more than usual. Because it’s totally been doing that so far and it’s actually really fun!

Is it weird that I think being able to question my own sanity is fun? More than likely. Seriously, though, this book has been surprising in some really interesting ways and I can’t wait to see where the rest of it goes!

Goals: Not meeting them and setting them anyway

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As I’ve said already, I had a winter break this year! It was like a mini-preview of what life as a full time writer will be like and I wish I could have made it last longer. I set myself a goal for the week with both a minimum acceptable level and a slightly higher “aim for” level. I needed at least 20,000 words written in the last week, but I really wanted to hit 40,000 words total in the MS which meant writing 25,000 words.

Those extra 5,000 words may not seem like a ton, but it was enough to make the goal a stretch without making it impossible. And it was enough that I didn’t make it much higher than my minimum goal. At the end of the night yesterday, I was at 36,452 words in The Dream War Saga Book 2.

What I learned from this week is that, especially when you’re writing for yourself (the remainder of TDWS isn’t yet under contract), self-guided goals and deadlines are really important to make the most of the time you have. I am amazingly good at procrastinating and wasting time with very little to show for it, so unless I know I have some sort of progress bar to meet, I tend to lollygag.

I’m actually more than a little proud of myself for even writing 21,000 words this past week considering the week contained two major holidays, a sister visiting from out of state, and friends visiting from out of town. I think I can still hit 40,000 by the end of the week (it’s harder now because I’m back at my day job and so a lot of the day is devoted to that), but at least now I know I’m capable of pushing forward on a manuscript every day and that writing full time is actually a feasible option for me.

That’s really all I have to say this morning, but I’d like to leave you with this unrelated but incredibly pretty picture:

The Path to Fulfillment (c) Annika Banfield

Happy 2013! Hope your year is starting off well!

Dreams and goals for 2013

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Fireworks (c) RAWKU5

Before we begin anew, I want to say goodbye to 2012. Many amazing things happened this year.

I won my first writing award.
I sold my first novel.
I sold my first short story.
I attended BEA and spent ten fabulous days in NYC.
I traveled just because.
I made new friends!

All in all, I call that a very successful year, but did I meet my own goals?

Last year, I posted about New Years resolutions and how bad I am at keeping them (like many others, I think). I set ten goals for myself last year and this is how my list looks now:

1. I will redesign my blog with a custom template. (Done!)

2. I will finish book 2 of my current series. (Progress! Closing in on the halfway mark! :D)

3. I will polish and shop book 1 of my current series. (Begun June 2012 Sold to SHP July 2012!)

4. I will attend at least one conference. (Yay! BEA was amazing!)

5. I will post in this blog at least three times a week. (Good enough, I’d say! I was really close to doubling my count from last year)

6. I will develop the storylines for at least one additional series. (Two different series are in the works with Lani Woodland)

7. I will figure out how to make myself work out… somehow. (Yeah… this one is still an epic fail.)

8. I will develop some kind of a social life, even if it is a sporadic one. (The success of this one has been hit or miss, but I did get myself out of the house more often!)

9.I will budget better so I can either take my dream vacation or move to New York within three years. (Uhm… Yeah. Progress has definitely been made–I’m officially out of debt!–but this goal is still a LONG way off.)

10. I will not let more than two days pass without writing something, even if it’s only jotting down an idea that passes through my head. (The productivity of this year is kind of amazing, so I mark this one done!)

Fireworks (c) RAWKU5

Overall, not too bad, right? Seven complete victories, two partial wins, and one epic fail. It’s a lot better than I’ve done in years past, I can tell you that. But now that I’ve made this much progress, where do I go from here? You always have to have goals or you’ll end up drifting and getting nothing done. So, my new goals for 2013:

1. I will finish two first drafts (of non-co-written books).

2. I will rewrite my book tentatively titled Pyrrhic Victory.

3. I will continue to work on getting myself out of the house to have some kind of social life.

4. I will not let more than two days pass without writing something, even if it’s only jotting down an idea that passes through my head.

5. I will attend at least three conferences/events this year.

6. I will keep trying to make myself work out.

7. I will keep up my blog schedule of posting three times a week on average.

8. I will start promoting Sing Sweet Nightingale — OMG YAY!

9. I will keep saving money to put toward moving out of Florida or taking my epic vacation. Or both.

10. I will take the next step toward becoming a full-time writer.

Some of the goals are the same, but that’s okay. Aiming for productivity is never a bad thing and I really do need to figure out how to make myself work out. I’m really excited about some of the other goals and I know 2013 is going to be a FANTASTIC year!

So this is what my life could be like?

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Sign 2: Men at Work (c) Davide Guglielmo

I have been off work since Friday and I don’t have to go back until January 2nd. Usually when I have time off–especially this much time off–it’s for something like a trip or a conference or something like that. For the first time in a long time (seriously… a long time), I am able to stay home with nothing but a holiday to fill up my schedule. For the first time I’m getting a taste of what my life could be like when I’m able to be a full time writer. After four days, all I can say is OMG CAN I HAS THIS LIFE NOW PLS?

Right now I’m concentrating my efforts on the first draft of book two of The Dream War Saga and I’m hoping to hit at least 40,000 words by the end of New Years Day. I started my vacation at around 15,000 (approximately… I think), so that would mean about 25,000 words in ten days. When I set the goal I kind of thought it’d be close to impossible, but I still have almost a week left and I’m already at 25,000 words!

This book is moving along nicely (it definitely helps that I have an editor-approved outline to work off) and it’s taking twists and dark turns I didn’t expect, which is always fun. Especially when those twists make the book even more tense and exciting than hoped! Maybe, if the pace continues, I’ll have a first draft done by the middle of January when my editresses send me the first set of notes on Sing, Sweet Nightingale. That’s an intensely strenuous goal, but who knows? Maybe possible.

All I know is that when January 2nd comes, I’m not going to want to give up this taste I’ve had of what it’s like to be a full-time writer. It makes me that much more sure I need to amp up production and make sure quitting my job becomes a possibility ASAP because, honestly, this is awesome.

Wish me luck!

It’s the beginning of the end of the world, but just in case…

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This morning the temperature in South Florida is about twenty degrees cooler than it was yesterday, it looks like a serious storm is going to roll in sometime today, and I was actually the first person in my office this morning. All this adds up to make it look very likely that the world is about to end! O.O!

Just in case it doesn’t, thought I’d post here. 😉

Coffee Shop 2 (c) soopahtoe

Today is my last day of work before I get what is basically a winter vacation! My office is closed from around 2 pm today until January 2nd! This is lucky timing and a fantastic thing because I have SO MUCH WRITING TO DO! Now that my lovely editresses and I have hashed out the rest of The Dream War Saga, I have to actually, you know, write it.

I’m hoping to get about 20,000 words of Book2 done in the next ten days. I think that’s a little overambitious considering my sister will be in town and I never get to see her and some friends who don’t live in the area anymore will also be visiting… BUT I DON’T CARE! I am determined to get a good portion of this book done while I have the time to really dive into the story and get into the new parts of the world this book will show off.

They recently opened a Starbucks around the corner from my house and there’s a huge Panera a little farther away. If I crack under the pressure of really wanting a new toy and buy myself a tablet/laptop that actually works, I will probably head to one of these places to get some writing done. Otherwise I will be holed up in my bedroom and trying not to distract myself too much. It’s hard though when I have a ton of awesome movies to watch and even more books I haven’t read! Telling the rest of this story is more important, though. And, just so you know, the rest of this story is AWESOME. If I do say so myself. 😀

So, in case the world ends, I’ll miss you, world. In case it doesn’t, yell at me if you see me online too much next week. I have work to do!

The road to discovery.

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Make it Bigger 2 (c) Joana Croft

Earlier this week I talked about my state of overwhelm. Yeah. It’s still there. However, I have made a lot of progress toward the other side of the tunnel by coming up with a plot for book 2 that meets the approval of my editresses! And I’m excited. Not only do I get to play with some awesomely interesting new characters, the story itself should be a treat to write! All sorts of twisted and compelling.

The biggest lesson I’m taking away from the last few days is trust those you trust. That sounds weird to say, but let me explain.

After I wrote Sing, Sweet Nightingale, I had a vision in my head of where the story went from there. I knew more or less which characters had a part to play and how what happened in SSN changed those people and the world around them. I presented this whole idea to my editors and they came back with questions that made me go back and really take stock of the world. Now I’m still telling the same story–mostly–but the impact will be completely different. And better, I think. If almost anyone else had come to me with the same questions, I probably would have defended and talked them down until they went away and left me alone with my outlines. But I’ve already seen that Patricia and Danielle’s ideas–even when at first I don’t see where they’re coming from–are usually right. They’ve earned my trust, so when they wanted me to reexamine my story, I listened. And I’m really glad I did.

I still don’t know exactly how I’m going to pull everything off or where exactly I’ll end up if I do, but I’m thrilled to be on the journey, to discover new things about this world I’ve created. And, really, isn’t that the important part anyway?

A permanent state of overwhelm.

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Had meeting with my editresses this weekend. They asked lots of questions and made lots of suggestions on the structure and shape of The Dream War Saga series. I went into state of complete overwhelm. In fact, I feel something like these girls (aka my sisters) about to be sucked in and swept away by the Pacific:

Seriously. This happened. Read about it here.

This isn’t the first time I’ve felt this way with this series. Now I’m beginning to think that this state of overwhelm is going to be a near-constant thing in the career path I have chosen. In fact, I’m thinking that, without it, you’re probably not doing your job as well as you could be. At least, I think that might be true for me. Not if I’m working with people who are really going to challenge me.

A good editor/critique partner will not only say, “I liked this and I didn’t like that,” they’ll look at the world you created, see that dark corner you left unexplored, point at it, and then say, “Well, what about going in that direction?”

Maybe that new direction will be a good one, maybe it won’t be. Maybe the path will suddenly open up before you lit with streetlights and marked with road signs and maybe you’ll have to hack your way through underbrush to get where you want to go. Either way, even if you feel completely overwhelmed by the amount of work before you, I can almost guarantee your story will be better for it. And, honestly, isn’t that the point?

Thanksgiving news and new stories!

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Beautiful Doorway (c) jhay0781

Thanksgiving is always my favorite holiday, but this year it was better than ever! I got good news! A short story I wrote this summer will appear in Spencer Hill Press’s upcoming anthology Doorways to Extra Time!

Set in the same universe as my debut novel Sing, Sweet Nightingale my short story looks at what else is happening in the world. It follows Valari as she desperately works to save her best friend Will from a death that never should have happened to him, a death she feels responsible for. Titled Whatever It Takes, the story features characters who will make an appearance later in the series and gives a brief glimpse into the world readers will get to dive into when SSN releases in March 2014.

I’m thrilled to continue working with Spencer Hill Press and can’t wait for the anthology to release next year! More information will be forthcoming as I have it, but for now the news that it will be included is exciting enough!

Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving!

Giving thanks, being thankful, and Thanksgiving.

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Thanksgiving Arrangement 2 (c) Christa Richert

Bar none, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. With no presents and no pressure, Thanksgiving is just about finding people you love, spending time with them, and eating good food. It’s also a time of the year when people remember to take a moment, step back from their lives, and look at all the things they have to be grateful for. For me, that’s a lot this year.

In all honesty, the time between the beginning of 2009 and the beginning 2011 kinda sucked. A lot. There were a lot of things in my life that ranged from stressful to downright horrid and I had mounting pressure financially and emotionally. I made a few changes and things started to turn around in 2011, but 2012 was when things really started looking up. I’m out of debt for the moment, I’m at a job that pays me enough to let me travel to conferences and to visit friends, and I’ve finally made it past the querying stage of the publishing process. I have supportive friends and family, ideas for future books, and a comfortable place to live with people I love. So, this year, I have a lot to be thankful for.

Looking back, I am thankful for:

Friends like Lani who make me crash parties with them.
Everyone at my publisher Spencer Hill, especially my wonderful editresses Danielle and Patricia.
Those years of misery for making me able to truly appreciate what I have now.
A job, which in this economy is a lot to be thankful for!
My family who has supported me through everything and continues to cheer me on as I work toward becoming a full-time writer.
The friends I have made in the writing community for welcoming me into the fold and commiserating with me on my frustrations and celebrating my successes.

2012 was better than 2011 and it looks like that trend will occur again with 2013. I’m thankful for the path that has led me here and excited to see where it brings me in the future.

So enjoy your Thanksgiving if you celebrate it. Even if you don’t, take a moment today to step back and be thankful for the good things in your life.