The Good, The Bad, The Funny?

As a writer we will always face critics. Usually more in our heads than anything, but all the same. I wasn't really sure what to blog about today, but I posted something to Facebook last night that made me smile, and I wanted to share it. Here's the thing: there will always be people who don't like what we do. Whether it be a loved one, or a complete stranger, we have to remember that we write for ourselves. Yes. Only for us. Now, I realize part of being published (or soon to be published) is inviting criticism in, but an even bigger part is to remember who that final product is actually for: you. It's for you. That being said, don't be afraid to take those negative nellies and put them in their place. Privately, of course. Much better than dwelling on the bad.

This review is from: The Texas Millionaire's Runaway Wife (Kindle Edition)
AGAIN AND AGAIN same type greedy lady writer who want...s a millionaire handsome hero to settle with poor beautiful heroin.really fed up with this impossible stereo type stories.

My response would be:

Dear Jay,

I am humbled by your astute review of this book! How Ever did you figure out I was a greedy lady writer? I mean, most of the time I'm able to hide my greediness from readers, but you, oh you, you figured me out. Now, I realize it's probably frustrating reading books where the heroine falls for a millionaire and especially when you don't see it coming. Unfortunately, in this case, I plopped that fact right in the title. This book was written for a series about millionaire's for my publisher and since it's an ongoing series, I felt it best to warn you there are more to come. I would suggest you also avoid such books as: The Millionaire's Baby, The Millionaire's Secret, Triplets for the Millionaire Bachelor, and, Millionaire By Day, as they will all equally offend your sensibilities. Please don't take my response to your thoughtful review wrong. I truly appreciate you buying and reading this book. We in the Greedy Lady Writer Club all rubbed our hands together maliciously when we saw your purchase. Muah ha ha.

Sincerely, Mary Malcolm Duncanson


So here is my challenge today: take something negative and own it. Own the hell out of it. Make it yours. And, if you feel daring, share it on here!

Love, Me

Get Outta The Way!

Wanna write? Then get out of your own way.

So I've been thinking about this post for a few days now. Mary asked me to come here and say something inspirational to everyone.

You can do it!

You're good enough!

You will find that dream agent!

Blah.

All those things are great, but in my opinion, they're just fluff. Empty words with little meaning meant to soothe your nerves. I could sit here until the mutant cows come home, telling you happy shiny things about being an author, and it wouldn't do a damn thing for you. In fact, it'd be the most detrimental thing I could do.

When I started doing this, someone was kind enough to look me in the eye, give me the ugly facts of being an author, and you know what? It was the most inspirational three things I've ever heard. I owe you no less.

1.  You will not be holed up in a dark room, hiding behind your computer to work on the next great American novel.

This one is a two-parter.

First, for the shy people like me, this one was hard. I'm socially awkward. If there's something to trip on (I fell down the stairs at BEA in 2012 in front of hundreds of people…) my feet will find it. When I open my mouth, stupid, random things WILL come out. But that's okay. I'm not the only person like this out there. And this career? it's helped me come out of a shell I never thought I'd find a way to crack. I've met some amazing people.

Part two? Not everything you write will be universally loved. In fact, nothing you write will be universally loved. Do we all love the same foods? Colors? Hell, no. That's what makes our world so freaking awesome. We're all different. And that includes taste in books. Not everyone will love every story. You need to walk into this with a thick skin and unfailing determination. That's the only way not to crumble at the bad reviews. Because, there will be bad ones. There will be horrific ones. But there will also be good ones. Ones that take you higher than you can possibly imagine. Those are the ones to focus on.

Not every book you write will soar to the top of the charts, either. Some books are going to be received better than others. That doesn't mean you're a hack or that you should give up. Keep writing. Every word you get out brings you closer to your goals. Never, ever forget that.

2.  You'll never finish the book if you can't get out of your own way.

Seriously. Finishing a book is HARD. Even if you think it's the biggest piece of shit the world has ever seen, a finished book is a finished book. Do you have any idea how many people sit down to write a book, and are still trying to write that book three years later? Finishing is HUGE. No first draft is going to be awesome. Or the second, or the third. The good news about this? It's fixable. No, really. I swear. As long as you lay the groundwork, it can be tweaked and made to shine. The ugly part of this one? It’s hard. No lie. This isn’t going to be something you sit down and do on a lazy Sunday afternoon. You're going to bleed and sweat and cry. Then, cry some more. You may even overdose on caffeine and bang your head against the wall. But nothing that's worth it is easy. When you're done, you'll have something amazing. Something you fought for. Something you can be proud of.

3.  If you don't need to do this, then don't.

For me, this little bit had the biggest impact. It may seem like the least inspirational, but when you think about it, it's not. The hard truth is, being a writer isn't easy. It's not glamorous. There's a million things to stress over, long hours, deadlines to meet, and hard compromises to make. It's not the career path for the faint of heart. You need to want this. No, need this. Lori Wilde said to me once, that if you can see yourself doing anything else, then being a writer isn’t for you. I guess it all comes down to that nothing in life that's worth it is easy thing again. Even on my worst days—and yes, there are bad ones—I still could never imagine doing anything else.

The up side of this one is, if you want it, you can have it. Don't let anything discourage you. Craft can be improved. Drafts can be fixed. Plots can be rearranged and mended. If you need to be a writer, then you can be a writer.

The only thing that will stand in your way is you.

 

 

JUS ACCARDO spent her childhood reading and learning to cook. Determined to follow in her grandfather's footsteps as a chef, she applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. At the last minute, she realized her path lay with fiction, not food, and passed on the spot to pursue writing.

Jus is the bestselling author the popular Denazen series from Entangled publishing and last week released the first book in a paranormal new adult series, RUINED. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald.

Want to win a copy of Ruined by Jus Accardo? Comment on this post! One lucky commenter between now and Friday will receive their very own Kindle or Nook copy of Ruined. Good luck!

 

 

The Year In Review...

Your resolutions are set, so far you’ve only slacked on one or two of them, and it’s Friday. Time for a How Is Your Writing Coming Along? check. What is that, you ask?

I know, you didn’t really ask. That’s okay, I’ll tell you. Every Friday that I don’t have a guest is your chance to self-brag. Or, if you’ve not done so great, time to fess up.

Here is my brag: Two day’s in (not counting today) and I’ve managed to write every day, as committed, and have written a total of 3500 words. I’m trying to get to the point of writing 5K a day, but not quite there yet. Still some work to do.

Yay me!

Here is my tattle: Being the procrastinator that I am, I have been waiting until 11:00 PM every night to get my writing in. *sigh* I had all these plans to go to bed early, get up early, do it in the morning. Yeah, not so much. At least yet. Still a goal, though.

So as you can see, I’m moving along and have plans to continue to keep improving.

How about you? How are things going for you? Do you have a favorite line, paragraph, whatever you’d like to share? Have you been reading in prep of writing and haven’t started yet? Are you enjoying the last few days with your family before you start? Tell me! I want to know!

Remember: We are all in this together.

 

 

Mary Duncanson, who sometimes writes as Mary Malcolm, lives in North Texas with a menagerie of animals and roommates. She is currently looking to adopt a husband, preferably housebroken, preferably as silly as her. When she’s not on Facebook goofing around, she’s talking to the characters in her head and hoping they talk back. When she’s not doing all that, she can be found wandering around Central Market with a happy, drooly foodie look on her face. Do not judge her, it is her Mecca.

Mary’s been writing since she was a teenager, though she spent quite a few years studying toward becoming a doctor before she realized she wanted to be a full-time author. Unfortunately, the people who own her student loans still want to be paid for the years they supported her medical dreams.

She lives on a steady diet of coffee and chocolate and feels, like Eleanor Roosevelt, that people should believe in the beauty of their dreams. Also, that people should ignore the word “should” because really, it’s kind of a judgmental word. Mary dreams of one day living as a full-time, well-paid novelist (hint, hint) and also of traveling to Chile to pay homage to her soul mate, Pablo Neruda.

 

Why I Write

What is So Exciting about being a writer that there are so many people who aspire to write a book one day? We smell somewhat funny, our fingers hurt, a lot of us drink, and you practically have to take a vow of poverty if you decide to be one full time. So what is it?

Actually, other than the finger thing, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. When I was thirteen-years-old, my family moved to a small farm in Arkansas. I went from living in Kent, Washington with views of Mount Rainer and the Cascade Mountains from my bedroom window to a farm on top of a mountain. I moved from a subdivision that included a park for all of us local kids to a house where my nearest neighbor lived a mile away...and they were 180 years old.

I did not take the move well.

Still, I’d always been a bookworm. I fell in love with reading at a very young age and my parents always encouraged us to read whatever we wanted from their considerable library of books. Shortly after school started that year, I decided to take my angst out in writing. I started a book about how my teenage protagonist had parents who hated her and moved her from her lovely, amazing home, to a farm in Arkansas. Banished I think is the word I used. Eighty-six pages in, my book was complete.

OHMYFREAKINGOD, I never felt so proud of anything before in my entire life. A short life, granted, but mine. I was hooked from that moment and it only took me nineteen years to make my first sale. I gave up writing for a number of those years as I pursued life and other things, but in the back of my mind I always believed one day I would be a writer.

We all have stories to tell. Every single one of us. The reason so many want to write is because watching something from deep down inside of us come to life on paper is one of the greatest feelings in this world. Yes, it can be frustrating at times, and yes, sometimes I just want to stop and do Anything else with my life but there truly is no greater feeling than writing the words The End after spilling my heart and soul onto the page.

So here is my question, folks: What is your story? What is it that makes you want to write?

 

 

Mary Duncanson, who sometimes writes as Mary Malcolm, lives in North Texas with a menagerie of animals and roommates. She is currently looking to adopt a husband, preferably housebroken, preferably as silly as her. When she’s not on Facebook goofing around, she’s talking to the characters in her head and hoping they talk back. When she’s not doing all that, she can be found wandering around Central Market with a happy, drooly foodie look on her face. Do not judge her, it is her Mecca.

Mary’s been writing since she was a teenager, though she spent quite a few years studying toward becoming a doctor before she realized she wanted to be a full-time author. Unfortunately, the people who own her student loans still want to be paid for the years they supported her medical dreams.

She lives on a steady diet of coffee and chocolate and feels, like Eleanor Roosevelt, that people should believe in the beauty of their dreams. Also, that people should ignore the word “should” because really, it’s kind of a judgmental word. Mary dreams of one day living as a full-time, well-paid novelist (hint, hint) and also of traveling to Chile to pay homage to her soul mate, Pablo Neruda.

 

The Fabulous "Pre-Published" Lisa Fenley

True confession time:  I hate New Year’s Eve.  I hate the pressure of a forced good time, just because the calendar says it’s the end of the year.  Every New Year’s Eve party I’ve ever attended proved disastrous and the more money I spent on the event, the higher the ‘wretchedness’ factor.  As a ‘glass half-empty’ kind of gal, the end of the year also marks a review of all of the goals I didn’t accomplish: unfinished work, deadlines unmet, obligations I owed to family and friends that weren’t fulfilled as they should have been.  In short, New Year’s Eve depresses the heck out of me … but I love New Year’s Day. 

Something about the clean slate of a New Year makes me dream of possibilities.  As with most goal-setting in my life, I record too many items on my New Year’s Resolution list, usually involving fitness, work, weight loss, finances, family and friends, and I set unrealistic time frames in which to achieve these lofty goals.  Today, while I pondered my resolutions for 2014, I came across a quote by Brad Paisley:

“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book.  Write a good one.”

I’m sure Mr. Paisley didn’t mean this statement in the literal sense, but I’m a writer.  A page a day:  a short, measurable goal that yields a book at the end of the year.  I can do this!  If I can do this, then I can set other goals in other facets of my life – break big goals into small chunks, pieces I can accomplish on a daily or weekly basis. 

As an unpublished paranormal romance / urban fantasy writer, I troll websites of authors I admire to see what works for them, hoping something they do will work for me, too.  One of my favorites, Kresley Cole, approached the start of her writing career as a business.  To quote from her website, “If you’re set on publishing, then don’t dabble. Decide if you’re in or you’re out. Then do whatever it takes to achieve your goals. I had a “25” plan. At any given time, I would have my writing out in 25 myriad forms—either contests, critiques, agent queries, publisher queries, etc. I believe you have to jump in with both feet.”

While I agree with her sentiment, I have to scale this for me and I am a wife, a mother of two, a community volunteer involved in a number of organizations, a daughter, a sister, a friend … and a writer.  I wrote business plans at one point in time (I am a former HR Director who worked for a Fortune 500 firm), so the business approach makes sense to me, but I will tailor my plan to me.  I want to accomplish my objectives this year – I’m all in – so I’m setting achievable goals.

The bottom line?

I’m swimming in a smaller pool, but I’m in with both feet. 

Come and join me – the water’s fine!

 

Lisa’s Professional Goals for 2014:

1.      Write a minimum of one page per day – do not edit that page.  Edits occur when the novel is finished.  (Achilles’ heel – I over-edit.)

2.      Complete Recurve (current work-in-progress), by end of May.  It is one-third complete.

3.      Attend RWA’s conference in San Antonio.  Pitch to one editor and one agent.  Follow through on the pitches.  (Another Achilles’ heel – I’ve pitched four times over the last two conferences and I’ve never sent in the requested material due to fear.)

4.      Establish a pen name and a social media presence by the start of the RWA conference.

 

Lisa’s Biography:

If a rolling stone gathers no moss, then Lisa is a moss-free gal.  The daughter of an Army Master Sergeant, Lisa spent her childhood in Florida, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Okinawa, Japan, and Texas.  While all this travel would make some the life of the party, Lisa chose to create friendships and build worlds that could travel with her and her family.  Convinced she was a long lost princess of some kind, she began chronicling the adventures of other long lost princesses who found their roads home (The Four Little Seasons, her magnum opus, she penned at the age of eleven.)

Her rolling stone ways continued after college, where dry business trips became new worlds to explore and new experiences to bank, all of it fodder for her future novels.  You’ll find the kingdoms of Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Kansas City, Washington DC, and Dallas featured in her works. 

While she’s still convinced she’s a long lost princess, she’s found her kingdom.  Lisa lives in a very modest castle in Texas, where she resides with her husband, their two children, and their two royal dogs. 

 

 

 

 

Mary: Lisa, is there anything you'd like to ask our readers?

Lisa: Yes! What are your professional goals for 2014?

Happy New Year!!!

If you're here, you've probably made some resolutions. Maybe you're going to hike the Appalachian Trail this year, or become the astronaut you've always dreamed of being. Maybe you're going to win American Idol (is that still relevant?), meet-woo-and marry the person of your dreams. Go for it!

How about write a novel?

Crazy talk, you say? Nah! It's a New Year, baby! You have 365 brand spanking new unused days to do with as you please.

What if you wrote only One Page per day. That, my friends, is how novels are made. In fact, I want to dedicate this years blog to motivating writers to write. The goal is to finish a novel in a year and work toward writing every day. I'll even give you 31 free-days to do with as you please. At the end of the year, I'll give cash money (well, probably gift cards and a virtual high-five) to five random people who participate (check out the bottom for the very sparse, probably going to grow much longer list of rules, regulations and etc).

PLUS! Throughout the year, I'm going to give away prizes to people just for checking in and saying hello. Tell me how you're doing. Leave a comment. Whatevs.

Short.

Sweet.

Now, go party...for tomorrow, you write!


Love, Me