Category: writing

writing

Is it going to change anything?

Elodie

The recent weeks have flown by…mostly due to the fact that we´re still settling in our new place and I´m getting used to my new job (while still working partly on my old one).

But this weekend I decided to enter the Writer´s Digest Bootcamp to get a good grasp on the first ten pages of my novel.

As I was telling The Chemical Engineer yet again about my publishing dream and how I wished I had more time to write, he turned to me and said, “But wait you already finished two books, how is writing a third one going to change anything?”

He meant it in the nicest way. He wasn´t trying to crush me under his shoe. He got that bewildered look on his face as soon as he saw my face and understood he pulled an Alex.

He simply wondered out loud about the time I dedicate to writing. My first reaction, after the “whaaaaaaaaaaaat????” was “You do know I´m going to blog about this.”

Of course he knows writing makes me happy but does it mean I´m going to get published?

Honestly, I don´t know. But my answer to him was. “If  don´t keep trying, I´ll never know. And I am getting better.”  It´s true. My revised first book isn´t as good as  the first draft of Book 3. I am getting better. I am learning. And I love it.

So…will writing a third book change anything? Maybe. Maybe not. But I know that not writing it doesn´t even come to my mind.

writing

The Next Big Thing…

Elodie

I´ve been tagged for The Next Big Thing blog hop by several wonderful people with awesome projects:

  • Robin is writing a YA horror novel (with ghosts!)
  • Rachel is writing a YA contemporary some of her readers have compared to an angrier THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE
  • Heather wrote a YA paranormal (that I personally felt had a flair of Christopher Pike´s REMEMBER ME 🙂

My WiP is still a first draft. I´m actually a bit under 35k into it and I haven´t talked about it much on this blog…so here we go:

What is the working title of your book?

So far: GUILTY….it might also change to ANGEL FACE…hmmm not sure.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

When I was a teenager, I had to write a paper in my German class and I think it was on the death penalty. I read a book by Victor Hugo as one of my sources. The one called The Last Day of a Condemned Man. One never knows exactly what happened to the protagonist, or what his crimes are but one of the things that really stayed with me for a long time is how the family of The Condemned Man suffers…and then recently, this particular point came back to me and I wondered how a teenage girl would do with her dad in jail. How her family was targeted when he got arrested. How she dealt with everything but the past is now coming back to haunt her. This idea mixed with the idea of beauty pageants…and the rest is history. Or well about 35k so far 😛

What genre does your book fall under?

YA romantic suspense

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Erin (yes, one can dream, no?)

Malik

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

No. Nope. Not yet. Okay all I have is this and please note this a total draft!

Seventeen-year-old Erin may have found a way to pay her way to Yale: becoming the next Miss Teen America. That is if she can keep the fact she´s the daughter of a serial killer secret. But, when Pulitzer Prize wannabee and forever crush Malik decides to write a story about her and people start being targeted, Erin realizes there may be more at stake than a crown. 

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’d love to find an agent. Someone who will fall head over heels for my book and champion it. I guess time will tell 😀

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I’m still on it.

What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?

Hmm it’s a tough one. It has a bit of a feel of THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING by Ashley Elston.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Beauty Queen pageants. Kisses. BFFs. Murder. Debate team. Journalism. Grandparents.  And more…

You´re all tagged! If you want to do it that is 😀 

Query, reading, writing, ya

RTW: Quarterly check-ins…

Elodie

So it’s been FOREVER since I’ve done a Road Trip Wednesday….Happy to be back!

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This Week’s Topic:

Quarterly check-ins! We’re already 1/4 of the way through the year–where are you on your reading and writing goals?
In terms of reading I didn’t set myself any specific goals except the Debut Author Challenge. And I need to review the books I’v read because WOW I’ve gotten lost in some amazing stories!
And I’ve been doing a lot of beta-reading and critiquing. Let me tell you: I’m VERY lucky I get to read all those manuscripts and pages! They’re wonderful!!!!
When it comes to my writing?
  • I finished the extensive revision of ONE TWO THREE and it’s back in Query Land (plus, it got two requests via Cupid’s contest, yay! and it’s off to the agents of the Submission mailbox of YAlitchat.org)
  • To get my mind off querying and because my fingers itched to draft again, I started SHINY NEW WIP, i.e. GUILTY…It was supposed to be a YA contemporary romance novel it’s turning into a YA romantic suspense novel. And I’m excited!
One of my goals was to be more appreciative and to find balance. Well…let’s just say I have to work even harder to find this balance I’m longing for. Work has been very very busy, hubby is traveling a lot and let’s just say it can get overwhelming.
But…
I have some coping ways:
  1. The sun is shining again. That ought to help brighten the mood.
  2. We’re moving closer to the train station, which means: YAY project and YAY having some office space and YAY no more waiting for the bus and missing my train because of it.
  3. Writing and reading.
  4. Spending time with my hubby
  5. Enjoying the small things.
  6. Listening to my cat purring (or snoring :-))
Plus, I need to disconnect from times to times, not from Twitter, no but from my blackberry, that should help 🙂
My writing goal is to finish the first draft of GUILTY by the end of April…that gives me about 2 months and I already wrote 10k in the past couple of weeks!
Tell me, how are you doing these days? Did you accomplish some of your goals?
writing

The excitement of new words…

Elodie

As you know, a few weeks ago, I finished polishing ONE TWO THREE.  I’ve received some additional feedback from other writers telling me it’s really ready to be sent out in the big wild world and how much they loved it. Apparently, one of my strengths is making yummy love interests…Natalya is now more likable on paper and not only in my head. I love ONE TWO THREE. I cross my fingers someone will fall in love with it so it can see the light of the day. It’s back into Query Land, and to contests.

But now instead of stressing about the outcome, I pour my energy into my new story. And it’s EXCITING…

Happy kitty

I know you all will understand what I mean.

The rush of new words. Falling in love with new characters, a story…fleshing them out until they become real. Plus I have the feeling my writing got so much better and stronger since I wrote the very first draft of my last novel. Beta reading and critiquing, receiving feedback on my own writing has helped me grow as a writer and I have all the butterflies, the overflow of creative energy running through my fingertips.

Of course, I’m still scared. What will it become? Am I good enough to tell the story? Will other people love it?

However, I’m enjoying the rush. It’s like the anticipation before a big moment and then riding the wave…Or making music, learning the notes and practicing until they come out as smoothly and powerful as possible…Or taking pictures, finding that one angle that makes the picture full of emotions…

Where are you on your writing journey these days?

Happy Friday, writing

Happy Friday #31 – Cupid´s Literary Connection BSD, the journey and YOU <3

Elodie


Yay, it´s time for Happy Friday 😀 Looking forward to know what made you smile this week!

One of my words for 2013 is “appreciate”  and looking back at what happened this week, I want to sit back and truly appreciate the journey. You all made me feel so happy and cheered on and simply just wonderful about my writing and my dreams!

At the beginning of the week, I talked about contests and entering Cupid’s Literary Connection Blind Speed Dating Contest and….I made it into the agents’ round! I’m so grateful also to those organizing these contests because it must eat up so much of their time!

Getting the words “you’re in” on my entry  in itself is AMAZING and definitely made me grin so much my face hurt! But…the journey to get there, both the writing of ONE TWO THREE and the input it received over the months by some truly wonderful people and the journey into the contest are things I need to sit back and appreciate. I know it’s not the end of the journey, it’s actually still the beginning…And maybe no agents will fall in love enough with this story to offer rep. But…I WILL enjoy the journey, I WILL pause and smile and think how lucky I am to have you all in my corner…(including my dear husband who gets used of waking up to me checking my emails, turning to him and saying “OMG, I can’t believe!)

Writing this post is making me smile …Anyways….let me tell you a story in Twitter format.

Before the contest

CLCBSD The before story

While I was sleeping

CLCBSD - the sleeping story

And when I woke up

CLCBSD

And then…. 

CLCBSD After

(I probably missed some but know that all of your messages, comments and tweets really touched me!)

And Kip even wrote a blog post about it…. 

Thank you! Thank you so much for your encouraging words and your support and simply for understanding what it means to have this crazy dream!

Something else that made me smile is seeing Rebecca’s book “When Audrey met Alice” on Goodreads.com…it sounds amazing and I’m so happy for her!!!!

So, tell me, what made YOU smile this week?

writing

Entering contests…

Elodie

So…

I did it.

I entered Cupid´s Blind Speed Dating contest…If you haven´t heard about it and you have a manuscript that´s complete and revised (or my case revised many times :P), all the info is here

Pressing send is scary. It´s exhilarating but it´s really terrifying. I mean everybody can go and read my updated query (focus on romance) and updated (many times over) first 250 words. (psssshhhh if you want to see it, it´s Bouncer Post 37)

Definitely not as relaxed as my cat
Definitely not as relaxed as my cat

And the other entries are AMAZING  So much talent!

At the end of the month, my pitch and first 250 words will be posted up for PitchWars and I get all nervous just thinking about it too.

But all those contests, they´re not only bringing me amazing connections (through PitchWars I already *met* so many wonderful writers + my mentor extraordinaire Dahlia), they´re also teaching me to:

Put. My. Words. Out. There.

In the big wild world. They also give me great feedback. They help me become a better writer. And I can try to help others too.

Best of luck to all of you entering contests! We´re going to rock them 🙂

Happy Friday, revising, writing

Happy Friday #30 – Getting lost in good books and revising…

Elodie

Yay, it´s time for Happy Friday 😀 Looking forward to know what made you smile this week!

So I’ve been quite the bad blogger lately. I still need to put up my list of Debuts I’m going to read this year for the Debut Author Challenge. I haven’t done any Road Trip Wednesday and I haven’t been responding to recent comments. Though I read them and love them and am very thankful for them! So what have I been doing? Well first work started again which means less time.

But really, I have been doing this *little* think called REVISING…waking up early on weekends to work on ONE TWO THREE, making my characters even more fleshed out, giving them more meaning and also more to struggle with.  I think it’s going in the right direction even though I did have a moment last week where I wondered, where I doubt myself (but that’s for another post :-)). Right now, I am simply excited to get in the train this evening and turn on my laptop, to put my alarm clock early Saturday to revise before my husband gets up.

And I’m also very grateful for Dahlia. She really takes the time to help us, going far beyond to answer our questions and help us make our manuscripts shine for PitchWars. And I cannot wait to read my team’s manuscripts!

And when it comes to reading? This week I got lost into two wonderful books! Both YA contemporary. Both amazing. Both giving me all the feelings. I will review them properly closer to their publication date but just know they both made me SMILE 😀

IF YOU FIND ME

IF YOU FIND ME, by Emily Murdoch

Publication date: March 26th, 2013

THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN’T LEAVE BEHIND …

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen-year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and the girls are found by their father, a stranger, and taken to re-enter the “normal” life of school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must come to terms with the truth of why their mother spirited them away ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go … a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

DARE YOU TO

DARE YOU TO by Katie McGarry

Publication date: June 7th 2013

“I dare you…”

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s home life, they’d send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom’s freedom and her own happiness. That’s how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn’t want her and going to a school that doesn’t understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t get her, but does….

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn’t be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won’t let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all….

So tell me what made you SMILE this week?

writing

HAPPY NEW YEAR – 2013 here we come :-)

Elodie

Happy New Year BubblyHappy New Year!

Wishing you health, happiness, love and lots to smile about for you and your loved ones…

When I look back at my resolutions for 2012, I realize I´ve accomplished some of them, but others were left in the dust.

Last night, on our back to my MIL´s place after a fun evening at my in-laws, a French song came on the radio. And I started singing out loud, a smile on my face, even dancing a little. I felt happy and like I could do anything I set my mind to.

I´d like to keep some of this feeling all year long. I know there will be ups and downs. I know I cannot plan every single thing and that there will be moments I want to curl up in a ball and cry. But…I also need to fully enjoy the happy moments like those ones. I need to not be afraid of what could come and look forward to what I can make happen.

And I´m going to start with THE JAN PLAN – brainchild of Fabulous Christa. In January, I will finish one project.

See last year, I wanted to finish PLAYING WITH FIRE, revise it, and query it. Well…I did finish it, revised it but then realized it needed a rewrite. Instead, I wrote an entirely new book, revised it (several times) and even started querying it before I entered it in PitchWars.  There, not only was I chosen as an alternate by the lovely Dahlia, I also received some feedback on how I could make ONE TWO THREE stronger.

I thought long and hard about the suggestions and comments…and started revising. Again. And wow…I mean…wow. This revision is kicking my butt. Don´t get me wrong, all my revisions were tough but I feel like this one is helping me connect even more with my characters and I think it makes the story shine.

But…I´m only on Chapter 6  and I need to be done with it by the end of January, as even the alternates for PitchWars will be showcased on a blog for agents to look through should they wish to.

I´m on a deadline. And with JanPlan I can also get inspired by all those participating and cheer them on as I work hard to meet that deadline.

What else am I planning to achieve in 2013?

  • Write GUILTY, revise it and maybe query it (if ONE TWO THREE doesn´t find a home…)
  • Do more sports aka stop fighting my husband when he wakes me up to go jog. I do love jogging but sometimes the leaving the comfort of my bed to go jog during the week is tough.
  • Finding more of a balance. Work has been insane last year. And while I don´t think it will slow down in 2013, I need to find better ways to deal with it. Especially since my hubby will probably travel more and his schedule will get even busier.
  • I´m taking part in the Debut Author Challenge – to read and review at least 12 Debut Authors this year. I´ll share the list of Debut I am planning to read this year later on, but I can already tell you I´m quite excited about this year of reading.
  • Find a way to spend more time with my family-even if it´s only on Skype.
  • Enjoy more care-free moments with my hubby (and my cat),and more me-time.
  • I want to cook more, and bake more.
  • Attend the SCBWI conference in Paris.
  • Meet some of my dear blogger/Twitter friends IRL 😀
  • And many more…

My words for 2013?

Several lovely ladies (including Katy and Erin) last year picked a word as resolution…They were inspired by Jessica Corra who instead of coming up with resolutions picked a Word of the Year as she explained: Resolutions are too compartmental, too specific and practical. I prefer a word, an attitude, a way of being.

As you can see, I still like to have some goals and resolutions for a given year but I think there´s a certain way of being that goes along with them.

So for 2013, I ´ll pick two words:

PERSEVERANCE and APPRECIATE

What are you looking forward to in 2013?

 

Happy Friday, personal, writing

Happy Friday #35: Sometimes words don´t seem to be enough…and reasons to smile.

Elodie

Writing my happy friday posts is always a way to remind myself that even if I thought the week sucked, there were still moments to make me smile. Last week, I scheduled my post and it went up before the tragedy in Connecticut.

On that day, I came home and cried my eyes out. I also teared up every time the story came on TV. Thinking about the lives lost, the little children, the teachers, the families, the community broke my heart.

Jess explained in her reading wrap-up of the week: I’ll be enjoying the holiday season, but I have a hunch the children and teachers of Sandy Hook won’t be far from my mind during any of it.

And I think that´s what´s important: remembering, keeping them in our mind and heart, and thinking of all the ways to prevent such a tragedy to happen yet again.

My dad told me once, after an event that still brings tears to my eyes. “Life goes on, we don´t think it will but it does.”   That accompanied  me for a long time. It doesn´t prevent the pain,  or the tears. It doesn´t prevent any of this, but the memories stay, and what we do with them is important. Everybody grieves in different manners, there are no right or wrong ways to do this.

And despite the overwhelming sadness I still feel for a lot of different things, including Newtown, I did smile, and laughed this week.

Life did go on.

That doesn´t mean I forget. Hug your loved one a bit closer, tell them you love them. Every moment counts.

Here´s my round-up of what made me smile this week.

Going to the Christmas Market with the hubby

Christmas Market with Hubby

Warm spicy wine, waffle, walking around the little houses…and simply spending time with my husband.

My new tree ornament

New Tree Ornament

Do you see how cute this ornament is? Well it´s not only beautiful, it´s perfect to represent my novel ONE TWO THREE. Thanks again, Jess for this wonderful gift! It´s really so thoughtful, and brings a smile to my face every single time I look at it. I´m very lucky, indeed!

Writing

I passed 5k on my new WiP! And I love my characters, and the story is unfolding in my mind quite nicely…Exciting. Plus getting back to writing is definitely fun!

A friend receiving good news!

Alex announces winning award

In case you missed it, she is one of the winners of the On-The-Verge Emerging voices award!!!! Her story is awesome…and I was lucky enough to read it. And Alex is made of wins! She´s really sweet and talented and fun. So, if you´re going to the SCBWI NY conference, and if you see her, make sure you go and congratulate her 😀 Oh, and on her blog, she reminds us of something important, take chances! I love the quote she uses from Eleanor Roosevelt  “Do one thing every day that scares you.“

A new blog to follow and enjoy…

Another of my lovely Litreactor classmate just started her blog. Come on, you know you want to check it out 😀

A wonderful blogfest organized by these amazing ladies: Katy, Tracey, Alison and Jessica

Class of 2012 Banner

It was lots of fun! Thanks again….oh and my TBR now has more than 230 books in it 😛

Now, please tell me what made you smile or laugh this week?

writing

You got the look! or a sneak peek into my novel…

Elodie

The wonderful Alex tagged me in the You Got The Look meme. Alex and I were in Mandy´s class. Her book is reminiscent of Fringe and is great! You can also follow her on Twitter….and send her encouraging words on querying (or talk to her about Joss Whedon or Les Misérables, I´m sure she´d love it!)

The rules are as follows:  Search your current WiP and find the word “look” – then post some of the lines around said word.

It fits quite nicely ´cause I have “bad-looking” in the first paragraph of the first chapter of ONE TWO THREE…That counts, right?

Chopin´s saddest prelude is the soundtrack of my life, I decide when the melody of his Prelude Opus 28 n. 4 envelops me. Some people call this piece “Suffocation”, and as a lump forms in my throat, I find it particularly fitting. Clenching my fists until my nails dig into my palms, I blink a few times to fight the tears I know will fall if I´m not careful, and stare out of the window. A few houses and a lot of trees. That´s pretty much all of Everbird, New Jersey. Lovely town. Not. It´s tiny, boring and gray. Okay, there’s a lake nearby and the old part isn´t too bad-looking. But my happy memories of Everbird date back to the summers I spent here with my babushka—my grandmother—and those were forever ago. There´s not much that can make me smile these days.

And you my dear readers are all tagged! 😀 Just let me know in the comments…so I can go and get lost in your writing.