Category: writing

Happy Friday, reading, writing

Happy Friday #3 – Anna and the French Kiss and other stories…

Elodie

Yay! It´s already the third edition of “Happy Friday” 🙂 Looking forward to know what made you happy this week? Did you write more than expected? Did you read something amazing? Did you help another writer/reader? Did you enjoy quality time with your loved ones? 

* I finished my first draft!: I am still super excited about this, even though I am now seriously thinking about the best way to tackle the editing process…(and the query :D)…

* Anna and the French Kiss

After diving into several YA contemporary romance novels and loving them, I thought I should dig into the ones I heard so many good reviews about and had not yet read. That is when Anna and the French Kiss comes in. And gosh I´m glad I did!

Awwwww….I had a lot of heart melting moments reading the story of Anna. The voice caught me right at the beginning, right after the first few lines…I actually stopped reading and thought “Wow, I already love the voice”. I mean, I could hear and see Anna from the get go and in just a few sentences!  The story itself wrapped me around its little finger. On top of the love story, the friendships, the first times, I could also see Paris, the streets I know and miss.

I also now read Lola and The Boy Next Door...and let´s just say I cannot wait for Isla and The Happily Ever After

* YA Book club

Tracey announced a yearlong YA Book Club 😀 and I´m quite excited to have joined. It´s starting in February and I am looking forward to discuss the books here and on the blogs of the other YA Book Clubbers 😀 And….I have the badge with the link on the sidebar if you want to take a look and maybe join as well.

* ChangeWriteNow

We´re in our 3rd week and it´s getting a tad easier to fit in the work-outs in the morning…The ladies of my team are still as supportive as ever 😀 oh if you´re not on Twitter or do not check the #ChangeWriteNow you can see a weekly wrap-up here

So tell me any happy stories this week? (anything that made you smile to  is a happy story :-))

writing

The music muse part deux…

Elodie

Not too long ago, I blogged about the music muse for my novel (you know the one I actually finished on Sunday *happy dance again* :D).

I still wonder if the inspiration is already there and the music just seems to fit or if the music actually inspires me.

I had one of those moments waiting for the train last week. I have the musical Mamma Mia in my ipod (yes I do :-)) and as I stood in the cold at around 7am, I listened to these particular songs:

and this one

Both of them always move me. No doubt about that.

However, this time I immersed myself in my WIP and it made “click”. The first song inspired me a scene or released it, it was a very tough one to write (and no it´s not a break-up per se 🙂 but gosh the emotions flowing through it ripped my heart apart).  The second one showed me I need to add some details about the mother/daughter relationship in the story.

Do you have one song which inspired YOU to add something to your story? or inspired you an entire scene? Do you listen to music when writing/editing?

writing

The two magical little words…

Elodie

Magic entered my living room today in many more ways than one….

But the one which stood out and that I want to shout to the world: I finished the first draft of my manuscript!

For the first time since I´ve been trying my hand at writing (and it has been a looooong ride), I put an end to a novel I am working on.

Bumps appeared on the road…days when I thought I would not succeed….many more when I had a blast typing away even if it was just for 30 minutes, stealing precious time from the places I could (aka my commuting).

Getting to the end is exhilarating and scary and everything in between.

I know it is not the end of the journey and my heart races when I think about the editing, beta-reading and all of the questions or challenges I may face in the process. Plus, there is the next book in my mind…

But for now…I am just living in the moment and enjoying it 🙂

Thank you all for supporting me and cheering me on along the way. I am one lucky lady!

Happy Friday, reading, writing

Happy Friday #2 – The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and other stories…

Elodie

Last week, I started the Happy Friday feature and here comes round 2…Looking forward to know what made you happy this week!

This week’s reading

* The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight: Beautiful! Though this is narrated in the 3rd person, I could feel with the main characters. The anxiety of Hadley resonated in me and talked to me in personal terms so I may be a bit partial but for a book to do this, the voice has to be strong. This story is not a simple love story; it is much more than this. It shows difficult family relationships and how love can show itself in the most unexpected places.  Two of my favourite quotes from the book:

  • “And for some reason, that was even worse. in the end, it’s not the changes that will break your heart; it’s that tug of familiarity“
  • “That she’d gadly curl up on the grass for him, make a bed out of the dirt?”

* The Hunger Games trilogy: Amazing! Heart-wrenching! This trilogy will stay in my mind for a long time. It shows the human emotions in such a raw manner, it magnifies them, it blew me away.

I started Cinder yesterday and I’m looking forward to get into the story…

A nice reminder for us writers 😀

Lucky 13s view on “Tough Time Trouble” and especially this part made me smile as it is such a great reminder! (even though I still dream :-))

Most of us will not be the writer who pours out their first book ever in a few weeks, considers drool-ridden offers from 10 agents, has their book go to auction for over half a million dollars, and snags a movie deal as icing on the cake. Those writers are still human. None of these things gives them the ability to poop sunshine or pee rainbows.

A song

I revealed my first name on Wednesday in my Road Trip Wednesday post and I am overwhelmed by the comments this post received. THANK YOU 🙂 and if you wonder how to pronounce my first name…here is a little song from the 80’s


Others:

  • WIP progress: I am almost at 58k…but the moment which made me smile the most had to be writing a steamy scene while commuting and feeling my face getting flushed
  • ChangeWriteNow: I am feeling quite giddy since I did much better than last week. I am falling into a routine, making it somewhat easier and my team is just great! (thank you ladies)

What made YOU happy this week?

Have a wonderful weekend everybody 😀

personal, writing

Pssshhhh…Top secret :-)

Elodie

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This Week’s Topic:

                         If you couldn’t use your own name, what would your pseudonym or penname be?

Nothing fancy, nothing funny…I could actually use the pseudonym “Commutinggirl”which is the one I chose for this blog and twitter…:-)

For me, this topic  actually brings up another question: when will I stop using a pseudonym? I don’t know if you noticed but I’m not out of the writers’ closet yet. No, really my name is not commutinggirl 🙂 

Only a few selected friends, my hubby and some members of my family know that I write (and you of course :-)). I don’t want it to become a big deal at work and maybe I am afraid to jinx it. I have decided that if when I get an agent, I will  let my bosses know and then I can be somewhat out in the open.

This is a scary thought…be still my heart be still… because really by not using my real name I am mainly protecting myself, my current pseudonym resembles a security blanket if you will, or the teddy bear you may still have from your childhood, the one you could tell your problems to without worrying about being judged or laughed at. So my current pseudonym is both a shield and a necessity at the moment.

In the meantime, I thought I could at least give you my first name, to you who help me, support me and make me laugh on the interwebs. Thank you sooo much! I did not know the writing/reading/blogging/tweeting community could be so nice!

Once you find out what my last name is, you may actually tell me to use my maid name or a pseudonym (I mean hubby has a very long Ukrainian name with a weeeird spelling, lol)

So I’m taking a big breath and … : Hi *waves* I’m Elodie, nice to meet you!

Now I’m curious: what would be YOUR pseudonym or when did you come out as a writer?

Happy Friday, reading, writing

Happy Friday: I fell in love with my kindle and other love stories…

Elodie

Welcome to Happy Friday!

Alison spoke about finding the silver lining and it stuck with me…I try to see the positive in life, in people, in little things and while I have been called “sunshine” at work (yes I’m talking to you lovely co-workers), it is not always easy to do so and I do sometimes fail miserably. And that’s where Happy Friday comes in. On most Fridays, from now on I will share some writing/reading/blogging stories that made me smile. Today’s special: love stories. Oh and I’d love to hear in the comments what made YOU happy this week!

My fingertips touched its screen and I knew it was right

Do you remember when I wondered if I should get a kindle? I blogged about it, I asked Twitter about it…Hubby kept on telling me that I should (I think the amount of books in our apartment may have play a role) I decided to get one and guess what? I am in love with it! It’s small, it’s light (a definite plus during my commute), it can hold thousands of books. I am also not the definition of patience…Being able to get a book in a matter of seconds? *happy dance*. I will not give up on paperbacks and hardcovers, I love them dearly but the kindle has now a place in my heart too…

My heart melted a litte: Kreative Award!!! 🙂

Yesterday, I just received the Kreative Blogger Award from Jenny 🙂 I am still so happy about this. Thank you again! I also shared 10 things you might not have known about me and passed on the award to 6 wonderful bloggers.

You had me at hello: Divergent & Catching Jordan

 This book really blew me away and it was hard to catch my breath after reading it. The first words that came to my mind were “WOW” and “AMAZING”. After awhile, I was able to put into more words the magic it created for me and the main reason lays in the raw human emotions Veronica instilled throughout the novel. I felt with the characters, they were close to me as if I could touch them…Cannot wait for the sequel (my full review and summary on Goodreads)

You know the happy feelings you sometimes get after meeting somebody for the first time? Before you start overanalyzing every little word and gestures? Well that’s how I felt about Catching Jordan: the happy butterflies. I never played football, don’t really understand it (and yes I still watched the Superbowl while I lived in the US :-)) However, I was tall in junior high and high school until boys started to get their growth spurt. I reached 5’10 quite fast and maybe I identified with Jordan for that reason or maybe it was just that I enjoyed the interaction she had with the football team or maybe because I developed a crush on Henri and Carter…Seriously, Carter is awesome! (summary and my full-fledged review on  Goodreads)

Bonus smiles:

  • ChangeWriteNow update: I am proud to be the team captain of the wonderful International Women of Mystery, who are great motivators…The first week is almost up, it overall went quite well (apart from some water stories :-))
  • WIP update: A new twist appeared out of nowhere and I reached 54k 🙂 YAY!
  • Upcoming blogfest I will be taking part of: In February, Oasis for YA is organizing That’s YAmore Blogfest 🙂
  • All the comments on my blog!: really it made my week I’ll be replying to each and every one of them over the week-end but in the mean time, feel yourself hugged (if you don’t like hugs a handshake is on its way)

Have a wonderful week-end everybody! I’ll be back on Monday with my To Be Read pile of January 🙂 But before you go, I’d love to hear: what made you happy this week?

writing

Dreaming of a writing retreat…

Elodie

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This Week’s Topic:
Describe your dream writing retreat. Where would you go? Who and what would you bring?
I was talking about this with my hubby not too long ago…so it’s quite a timely post 🙂
I currently write in the train while I commute or on the week-ends at home but if I could, I would fly to the US and hide myself there:
 I would book myself a room in a Bed and Breakfast or a little place close to the sea.  I would only bring my laptop and my kindle. I would go for long walks on “Singing beach”, listen to the sand under my feet and feel the salty breeze on my face. I would sit next to the window or in a little coffee shop and write.
 
Why would I go there you may wonder?
 
I fell in love with that area when now-hubby and I went for a romantic week-end in Sandwich, MA in a great Bed and Breakfast (I can only recommend it: Isaiah Jones Bed and Breakfast).
 
Plus, my WIP takes place in Manchester-By-The Sea 🙂
 
What would be YOUR dream writing retreat?
 
 
 
personal, reading, writing

2012 – Goals, resolutions…and shooting for the stars

Elodie

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you, your family and loved ones. Wishing you happiness, love, success, health and wonderful moments to come in 2012…

I rolled into 2012 with hubby and his family, champagne, good food and lots of laughs…and as I checked my emails in the early hours, I saw that I won a contest! Yay 🙂 I am going to receive a copy (autographed copy!!!) of Shatter me by Tahereh Mafi! Thank you so much Beth!!!! It has been on my TBR pile and I´m so excited about this…

I like the fresh start feeling of a New Year, not the “everything-is-erased-and-I-am-a-new-person” but “I-learned-a-lot-from-you-2011-and-I-am-ready-for-some-changes-in-2012″…On top of learning from the past, one should also never forget to reach for the stars and to dream. So here are my 2012 goals and resolutions!

Writing-related

  • Finish the first draft of my WIP
  • Edit it and make it ready for submission
  • Query said-WIP and find wonderful agent who had desired my manuscript without knowing it, who falls helplessly in love with it and helps me to take it to yet another level…Wonderful agent then sells it to great publishing house and I become part of the class of 2014.
  • Start working on my second novel
  • Establish regular contact with the wonderful people I might swap manuscripts with in the future 🙂 (yes Tarah, Heather and Hannah, I´m talking about you…:-))

Reading-related

  • I am not setting myself a goal of books to read per year because I know I have my commuting time which allows me to read, a lot.
  • However, I will make better use of Goodreads.com and will write more reviews about the books I read (on there and on here).

Other

I joined the Change, Write, Now challenge. It´s not really about the competition, it´s more about the support we will give each other in reaching our goals. I will update you from times to times on how this is going for me 🙂 Part of these resolutions concern:

  • Stepping away from the computer and my cell phone…from times to times…
  • Spend more quality time with hubby (he also says to be nicer to him but it´s wishful thinking cos I´m already super lovely  :-))
  • Become more organized so that I can give myself the gift of time
  • Cut down on some bad habits and pick up some good ones (including working out more often)

In 2012, I will also continue to update my blog regularly and I look forward to “seeing” you on the blogosphere or on Twitter 🙂 because you are awesome! Cheers to you!

Did you set yourself some goals for 2012?

reading, Train, writing

Reading memories of 2011

Elodie

I hope everybody is having a wonderful holiday season and enjoying quality time with loved ones…The Class of 2011: YA Superlatives blogfest organized by Katy Upperman, Jessica Love, Tracey Neithercott and Alison Miller starts tomorrow. I will be participating on Friday (post already scheduled :-))

I have seen in the past days a lot of 2011 lists popping up on the blogosphere which made me think of my 2011 reading year. Are you ready for some flashbacks?

My top 5 reading memories of 2011

1. Fighting to keep my tears in check in the train (and failing) or laughing out loud in the train (and not caring, well not totally caring about others looking at me like I had gone mad)

2. Finally getting some of my historical fiction fix (especially on the very intriguing time of Louis XIV)

3.  Roaming the bookstore, going for an impulsive buy and falling in love with a novel I had never heard of before (for some of them I now almost own all the author´s published books)

4. Relaxing with a cup of tea, a good book and missing my bedtime.

5. Reading so much that my writing has improved (thank you dear published authors out there for making me a better writer :-))

So tell me what are your best reading memories of 2011?

writing

What did I learn this year?

Elodie

“I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself.”

Mikhail Baryshnikov

Before jumping into any good resolution for 2012, I am looking back at what I learned (writing-related) in 2011. Here are my top 5 lessons of the year.

1. Keep trying

This WIP is a long time coming. It´s the first one I am powering through. I have about 5 other drafts from past years which never saw the magical words “The End”. However, I learned to come back, to not give up. Some days might be better than others but I keep the goal in mind.

2. Learn and research

Writing is a learning process. I am very thankful for all the great posts, advice, websites I have found which remind me it is ok to not know everything. It is a very humbling experience. I try to write better than myself and the competition is tough 🙂

3. Take a break

A breather. A walk outside. An evening without the laptop. We all need to recharge and we cannot beat ourselves if one time, we do not reach the number of words we wanted so badly. Why? what is good for us is mainly good for our story.

4. Read and keep reading

I am lucky that during my commute I can devour books. Reading helps me to write and it also reminds me on how much I would like to have people reading my story. Plus, I get to escape in other worlds, walk in other people’s shoes if only for a few hours. It’s just wonderful!

5. Connect

Roaming forums (not anymore a lurker but a proud member of several writing communities), websites, answering questions, starting this blog and getting on Twitter helped me a great deal. It taught me that support may come from unknown places and that many others go through the same loops as I do. Thanks again to all!

What lessons did 2011 teach you?