Shhh...
If you've found this page, then you saw the
contest in the August-September newsletter (if not, then hurry up and subscribe to
be eligible for the contest).
This month, enter by
leaving a comment about something writing-related you did this summer that you're proud of. Contest runs through the end of September
Don't forget to click on the Rafflecopter button below as well to enter.
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More than halfway through summer and I have completed a much needed round of edits on my unpublished 84,000 word adult crime manuscript. Pitch and query are where they need to be but composing the synopsis was by far the most difficult.
ReplyDeleteThis summer I sat down and pulled half a dozen "how to write a novel books" out of my buried book collection, ordered a half dozen more, and started planning and outlining the massive sci-fi epic that has been stewing in my brain through the last 15 years of a 35 year work career. I've given myself 18 months to get this out the door and to agents. The plan and goals are on the wall, sticky flip chart papers cover the former dining room/den and living room with ideas, and I am writing the complex alien and protagonist's backstories like a demon. I haven't felt this energized in decades. The best part? The love of my life, my dear Linda, is actually pretty good at this too (I had no idea until last month!) and is co-authoring with me. Even if we don't publish, at least we're doing it together...
ReplyDeleteSo far I have kept my promise to myself to write at least 1 chapter or 2500 words every day of my MG fantasy- feeling great about the results!!
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of the word, happiness, I think of my Grandparents farm in West Virginia. I would watch my grandmother as I worked alongside her, learning things about vegetables and all the good things God gave us. We dug for ginseng and sassafras. At night the fireflies were abundant and my cousins and I caught them in jars, letting them light up our sleeping bags as we 'camped' in the living room.
ReplyDeleteI finished my third novel, Dancing to the Silence, and delivered it to the editor and I finally started a blog that's been on my mind for a while, Down a Dirt Road. Would love to win this critique. Thank you for the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI have entered my first writing competition and ignored my children just enough to pick up a few copywriting jobs for those that want feel good advertising. I'm a bit green, but that doesn't mean I don't feel brilliant one minute and hopeless the next. Writing life is a roller coaster. Hold on!
ReplyDeleteIn June, I put those two magic words at the end of a novel I'd been working on for a year. The End. Now I know I'm far from truly finished but it's the first time in my long life as a working writer (freelance TV/doc) that a novel draft I've worked on earned those two words.
ReplyDeleteThis summer has been the most productive of all. I've combed my memoir for corrections, put headings on each scene to identify them, deleted first versions, completed the first draft and got ready to go into revision. Thanks to you and others online, I also researched the many facets of writing memoir.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, I've been working on getting an agent or finding a publisher for my historical novel.
WHEW!!!
Two, really. I finished the novel I'd been working on for nine months with the wrap up of draft 6 and my three-year-old grandson learned to sit still long enough for me to read him books. 'Read the fire engine one,' he said.
ReplyDeleteI broke my hand in late June but even then, I revised and edited - one finger at a time. Proud to say I was able to cut approximately 1K from my adult PNR. :) Thank you for the opportunity for this giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI am working on a YA novella with a little romance and a little fantasy. I have never written YA and I'm excited about where the story is heading. I would love a professional critique!
ReplyDeleteThis sunner I have had some amazing adventures with my kids and have gathered story Sparks along the way.
ReplyDeleteI started a YA novel over a year ago and thought I would never get back to it again but this summer I realized it is a story that needs to be told.
ReplyDeleteThis summer it's been work...but my favorite memories of summer are when i was a kid...if you've ever seen the movie Sandlot...that's how it was...playing baseball,swimming and hanging with the guys...we won three Legion championships...those were the days
ReplyDeleteI'm revising my police procedural, which is now at the fifth draft stage. However, for the last few months, I've been exploring the MC's backstory through a set of shorts written in 1st person present POV, and I am considering changing the voice in the WIP. MC is a female, bisexual, Goth detective in North Wales.
ReplyDeleteAnd my summertime memory is watching liners in the Solent - fifty years before I was on the QM2 in the Solent.
DeleteI finished my book and it went live today on Amazon.
ReplyDeleteI'm proud the my skin has become really thick from all my rejects. But I won't give up. I'll keep sending out my queries.
ReplyDeleteI've been doing a critique marathon that has exposed issues in a book I thought was publish-ready. Really very eye-opening, and a great experience.
ReplyDeleteI've submitted two short stories, and launched my FB author page and newsletter
ReplyDeleteYes, I did. I saved money to go to the SCBWI conference in September. YaY. I also entered two contests. And I am editing two novels and some picture books. Thanks for the contest, Janice.
ReplyDeleteSomething I did writing related this summer -- Because my littles are home from school during the summer, editing and focus went out the window. But I did do a 31 day sharing challenge on IG from my YA fantasy. It wasn't editing, but it kept me deeply engaged with my story.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite summer memory is picking fruit and making jelly, pie fillings, and canning whatever we could.
ReplyDeleteI've finished the first draft of a paranormal romance that I've been working on for the last six years.
ReplyDeleteAnd my favorite summer memory is always coppertone and small aircraft at the beach!
DeleteFor this summer? It was going to Wiscon with a couple of friends, just hanging out, learning, and having fun. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI finally finished a revised edition of my novel Fear Killer and started on expanding my novella Sneaker into a full length novel. Both of those projects I've wanted to do for year or two.
ReplyDeleteI went to a writing conference and pitched my novel to two agents. One of them gave me great feedback and told me to send her 25 pages once I was finished with the project.
ReplyDeleteThis summer, I went to Stockholm to visit my dearest friend. I've been there a number of times before, but this time I went specifically to scout locations for a future novel. While I was treading the cobblestones, admiring the art in the subways,visiting the Old Town (Gamla Stan), and exploring the still-inhabited medieval town of Visby on Gotland Island, I got not only the locations for the book but the protagonist, plot, and how this book will connect with the others I am writing. It's amazing how being somewhere exotic can put the flow of creative juices on high.
ReplyDeleteThe above was supposed to bear the byline Peggy Hendry.
ReplyDeleteI recommited to my WIP by digging deeper and found the story under the surface.
ReplyDeleteStarted revising the opening chapters for my five novels based on detailed rejections I've received.
ReplyDeleteIn the midst of crunching my 100K+ crime fiction novel to 80K+words, my husband received a confirmed diagnosis of dementia. World turned topsy-turvy, but determined to continue my editing...just at a slower pace. It threw off my projected goal timeline...but that's life. Took on a new critique partner, and will continue to move forward as able. A solid critique from a "pro" could be invaluable to my precious writing time.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marcia Smart
After a few years of working on the first draft of my first romance novel (90,000 words) which I hope to turn into a trilogy, I finally finished the first draft AND the first round of self-editing this summer. This is the most I've done with my writing life in one season, and I've wanted to be an author since I was a young child.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to say that I've got back in the querying game after parting ways with my agent earlier this year.
ReplyDeleteThis summer? That hasn't arrived yet! I'm in the wrong hemisphere. My most recent summer I finally finished my first draft of the YA novel I've been chipping away at for a long time.
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely reading all the happy writerly achievements shared here.
This summer, I finally found a critique group for kidlit and they are AMAZING! Through their guidance, I have honed my craft and really focused on finishing/polishing my MG novel.
ReplyDelete