Tag: revising

Ready Set Write, revising, What´s Up Wednesday

What´s Up Wednesday? And Ready. Set. Write! update – The Latvian edition…

Elodie

*waves from Riga*

 For those of you on Twitter, we created a list of writers who are doing Ready.Set.Write!, if you´re not on the list just tweet me and I´ll add you. Oh and don´t forget to subsribe 🙂

Tweets from @commutinggirl/ready-set-write

Of course, you can still join us for this wonderful and flexible Summer intensive,  see all the details here. If you´re participating, don´t hesitate to add the link to your What´s Up Wednesday post on Jaime´s blog here.  From there, you can also discover new blogs and encourage other writers!

What´s up Wednesday is the brainchild of Jaime and Erin.  It´s a way to keep in touch in just four headings…

What I´m reading
I’m almost done reading CODE NAME VERITY…and I have a weird feeling, like I put up a wall between myself and this book, because I know I didn’t want to cry and to let myself go. It’s strange and I can’t explain it. I’m reading very slowly and it’s like I’m not emerging myself in the story but not because I am not ‘feeling’…just because I don’t want to feel ‘too’ much. Yeah. Weird and strange. So I will re-read this book most likely in the Fall. Don’t get me wrong, my heart pounded while reading and I gasped and I shook my head at the horrors humans are capable of and loved the love humans are capable of but I still know it could have affected me more if I had let it happen…
So anyways…on an happier note, I am super duper excited to dive into Ghenet’s revised manuscript. I’ve read it once already and LOVED it so beta-ing it is really something I’m looking forward to.
What I’m Writing
ready set write button
I revised my Chapter 9: YAY! And…started revising my chapter 10 but there won’t be any pageant scenes…the pageant scene will need to come later. I love love love when my characters take me unknown places…
Here’s a short excerpt from my chapter 10 (remember it’s non edited, you’re the first ones to read those words!)

Mama frowns and smoothes the bed sheet before sitting down on the edge close to me. “I know you’re angry but you were little, you don’t remember how hard it was on you, on all of us.”

I blow air in my cheeks and expel it forcefully. “Of course I remember. I remember the bruises on your face. I remember leaving in the middle of the night. I remember Nana coloring your hair and crying as she cut mine. I remember much more than what you think. You know what else I remember?”

Her eyes widen and she shakes her head.

My chest constricts as if my entire squad was standing on it. “I remember walking into that Seven Eleven with him. Seeing both Laura and Mona. Laughing. And then whispering as they looked at him. He gave them a smile, crouched down to me and asked me to choose which one looked like a princess.”

“I know you remember that.” She sighs and glances away.

My head sinks deeper into my pillow and I close my eyes. “But do you know I remember the smell of the hot dogs on the counter? The slight perfume of Mona as she picked up something for me because I couldn’t reach it and he was too busy planning how he would kill her, her voice as she told me I reminded her of her little sister.” I pause, open my eyes and rub the back of my neck. “I saw what he did to her.”

“What?” Mama cries out.

My goals for next week?

  • Finish revising chapter 10
  • Revise chapter 11
  • Revise chapter 12
What else I´ve been up to
I’m currently in Riga for a business trip and the city is beautiful!
Beautiful Riga
Beautiful Riga

What inspires me right now

Others. Have you seen the incredible website launched by a bunch of amazing ladies? The YA Buccaneers sounds like it’s going to be wonderful to “hang out” with…

Going outside and feeling the sun.

My husband.

Oh and if you want to join Ready. Set. Write!, you can still sign up and check out who’s participating below! And if you are posting an update today, don’t forget to put your link onto Jaime’s website

Sign up here:

I can’t wait to check all your posts and see what you’ve been up to 🙂

Ready Set Write, revising, What´s Up Wednesday

What´s Up Wednesday? And a Ready. Set. Write update :D

Elodie

Hello!

*Waves*

Welcome to What´s Up Wednesday and to the third update (WOW already third!) of Ready. Set. WRITE!

 For those of you on Twitter, we created a list of writers who are doing Ready.Set.Write!, if you´re not on the list just tweet me and I´ll add you. Oh and don´t forget to subsribe 🙂

Tweets from @commutinggirl/ready-set-write

Of course, you can still join us for this wonderful and flexible Summer intensive,  see all the details here. If you´re participating, don´t hesitate to add the link to your What´s Up Wednesday post on Jaime´s blog here.  From there, you can also discover new blogs and encourage other writers!

What´s up Wednesday is the brainchild of Jaime and Erin.  It´s a way to keep in touch in just four headings…

What I´m reading
I’m still reading CODE NAME VERITY…Let me tell you something, I know this book will break my heart. I stopped halfway through and had to put it down…I know this book will affect me and I got scared a bit. So for a few days I read some NA contemporary romance novels.
I needed some time. I’ve picked it up again and am deep into the story again. So much that I know this time I won’t let my fear of getting my heart broken stop me.
What I’m Writing
ready set write button
Before I update you on my writing, I wanted to mention some exciting opportunity: if your want your first page critiqued by teens, check out this post over at YA Confidential. I´ve done it and it was VERY helpful!
I didn’t achieve my goals. Work got very very busy last week. But over the weekend, I picked up the pace and managed to achieve:
  • Reread chapters 1 & 7
  • Revised Chapter 8 AND introduced a major change during that particular revision.
After sending random tweets to Alex, this happened:

I’m ALWAYS super scared of sharing non-edited/non-CPed/non beta-ed snippets but I also LOVE it 😛 So here is another snippet of my story, part of the Chapter 8 I revised last week.

The car closes in on us. It´s too small. There´s not enough air, my lungs hurt, my right hand reaches for the handle.

“Are you okay?” Malik´s voice comes from far away.

I crack the door open and stumble out of the car. Leaning against the trunk, my skin prickles as the wind pounds on, merciless. I close my eyes and concentrate on the noise and startle when Malik´s hands fall on my shoulders.

“Breathe, Erin. Breathe in and out. In and out.” He sounds so calm and his hands so warm. Droplets of rain fall on me and I open my eyes. My shoulders feel heavy and my mind feels like it´s been run over twice or three times since this morning.

My grandmother was run over. A wall bigger than the Chinese wall stands inside my chest, constricting everything. My Nana´s gone. She´s really gone. And my father…Thoughts rush in, unfiltered.

Shit. My breathing accelerates again.

“Pshhhh. You´re okay.” Malik doesn´t sound like I´m freaking him out which distracts me. Mama totally lost it the first time I had a panic attack and even Kelsey called 911 when I told her I couldn´t breathe properly.

Usually biting my nails until I bleed is enough to ground me, but there are times like now where I totally lose control.

“I can´t breathe,” I mutter the obvious.

“Of course you can. You´re hyperventilating and your carbon dioxide is going through the roof. Simply breathe in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth.” He pauses. “Let´s do a few steps.”

“How do you know?” I gasp.

“My mom. She had a rough patch with anxiety when my dad lost his job a few years back.”

My fingers slowly stop tingling and I bring my coat closer to my body. The rain falls harder and I face the sky, drinking in the feeling of being alive.

Malik takes my hand in his and pulls me toward the tiny visitor center. It´s close since we´re off season but we can hide under there, right where the maps stand. He doesn´t let go when we fall on the bench that´s right by the entrance.

My goals for this week are more manageable I think:
  • Revise chapter 9: Introduce more depth to one character, bring on more tension and creepiness.
  • Revise chapter 10: Pageant scene – new threat.
  • Write down how I want to change one a later subplot to make it even more believable.
What else I´ve been up to
Work. Work. Work. And spent a lovely weekend with my dear hubby.
Oh and watching LOTS of GLEE. We just started watching the show so I’m on season 1 – but we really enjoy it. (yes the Chemical Engineer also loves it :-))
That…and my hubby surprised me on Sunday by getting us tickets for a concert. Have you heard of Zaz? One of her songs reminds me of JUST ONE DAY – at least when both protagonists thought it was “just” one day…

What inspires me right now

This post. Beth Revis: Failure is not the Enemy. Because yes failure happens.

This other post.  Inspiration spots, bubbles, and ideal readers. Because Bubble Girl is a great reminder and because Rebecca has a beautiful way with words.

The support writers are giving each other for Ready. Set. Write! And what it means for their writing!

You can still sign up and check out who’s participating below!

Sign up here:

I can’t wait to check all your posts and see what you’ve been up to 🙂

Ready Set Write, revising, What´s Up Wednesday

What´s Up Wednesday? The second Ready. Set. Write! edition…:P

Elodie

*Cough, cough*

*Clears throat’

Before returning to your regular What´s Up Wednesday programming, please find below a Ready. Set. Write! public announcement.

Ready.Set.Write! started last week and woah! we were blown away by the response we got. You guys rock! For those of you on Twitter, we created a list of writers who are doing Ready.Set.Write!, if you´re not on the list just tweet me and I´ll add you. Oh and don´t forget to subsribe 🙂

Of course, you can still join us for this wonderful and flexible Summer intensive,  see all the details here. Oh and if you´re participating, don´t hesitate to add the link to your What´s Up Wednesday post on Jaime´s blog here.  From there, you can also discover new blogs and encourage other writers!

*Blog fades*

Welcome to What´s Up Wednesday…The Second Ready. Set. Write! edition

What´s up Wednesday is the brainchild of Jaime and Erin.  It´s a way to keep in touch in just four headings…

What I´m reading
CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein – so many of my blogger/writer friends have recommended this book and I understand why. It´s a slow read for me at the moment, not only because my brain is in revision mode but also because I know more tragedy is bound to happen. And…I am very impressed with the way Elizabeth wrote the story.
What I’m Writing
ready set write button
I am pleased to report that I achieved my goals for last week. I have a revision plan, I finished rereading my novel, I added comments to the document and I revised more than one chapter. Actually, I did even more! I revised three chapters and I am finding ways to raise the stakes while “explaining/showing” more of why my character is where she is at the moment. I am LOVING it.
And Ready.Set.Write! really pushed me in getting my butt in the chair every morning at 5am. I know that revising in the train doesn´t work as well, simply because I need more time to revise.
My little notebook
My little notebook
My motto this week
My motto this week
I probably still need to work on this one
Spent a lot of time with my Chapter 7

And…I revised my chapter one. Again. This little snippet comes from that revision round.

Kelsey´s eyes dart from me to Malik. I need to say something. He can´t dig up the truth. If the media knows where we´re hiding, they´ll be back faster than the birds in that Hitchcock movie Kelsey and I watched twice already.

They´ll pick at us until we have no brains left.

No matter how hard Mama and my grandparents tried to shield me, paparazzi had gotten pictures of me. Most of them come from the day I testified against my father. I was six years old, tears were running down my face. The lawyer and counselor were pulling me toward the court. People stood on the sidelines and screamed we should die too. The room smelled like old tobacco. My father watched me as I walked up to my seat. Watched me as I told the jury what I´d seen. Watched me as I repeated his words. And he smiled when I glanced his way. His Daddy-loves-you smile but then his index finger ran across his neck.

I inhale and exhale, focusing on Malik, his smile, his eyes.

  • Revision goals for this week:

– Finish revising Chapter 1.

– Take another look at Chapter 7.

– And…change subplot…

– Add one pageant scene.

What else I´ve been up to
I´ve been spending some time playing the piano and I am still organizing our new apartment…
Some of the music I´m currently playing
Some of the music I´m currently playing

What inspires me right now

You. All of you.

And….being very very very very happy for a writer friend. Very. Happy. Really, the type of happy where I could actually smile despite the train being one hour late after a long day at work and the scorching heat.

This writer friend inspires me to believe and to work even harder.

Plus, I´m simply so happy for her. Did I mention that? 🙂

I can’t wait to check all your posts and see what you’ve been up to 🙂

Ready Set Write, revising, What´s Up Wednesday

What´s Up Wednesday? The first Ready. Set. Write! edition…

Elodie

Today is an extra special What’s Up Wednesday…as it’s also the post where I’m setting my goals for Ready. Set. Write! (you can still sign up if you want to, just click here)

What´s up Wednesday is the brainchild of Jaime and Erin.  It´s a way to keep in touch in just four headings…

What I´m reading
Well. Right now I’m reading GUILTY. My YA romantic suspense novel. (more explanations below(
What I’m Writing
ready set write button
Disclaimer: I’ve been procrastinating when it comes to the revision of GUILTY. It’s like I’m standing in front of a mountain and I really want to climb but I’m afraid to fall on my butt and break all my bones (dramatic I know).
It’s funny because I know the story is good, I know my writing is good (for a first draft) and I want to make it better, I want to make it amazing…I’m just scared.
  • Goal for the summer: Send off my manuscript to my CPs aka finish this revision. Add the layers I need to add, up the tension, up the stakes, make the romance more sizzling and the story even more dramatic.
  • Goal for this week: finalize the actual revision plan, finish re-reading it, add comments and nice colors into the document and revise one chapter.
Oh and if you’re wondering about what GUILTY is about, check out this post (and please note I officially suck at blurbing my own novel).
What else I´ve been up to
I’m currently in Finland…on a business trip until tomorrow…
I was interviewed by the lovely ladies over at DiversifYA...I’m talking about being European and I do mention food somewhere in there.
Otherwise, I enjoyed a lovely weekend with my husband, including an impromptu lunch date.
Going out
And….we got a piano! Even though it’s a digital one, the sound is great and it’s pretty and I can finally play again! So happy!
piano

What inspires me right now

The amazing response we got for Ready. Set. Write!

It’s really amazing and humbling and exciting and did I mention amazing?

You can still sign up and check out who’s participating below!

Sign up here:

I can’t wait to check all your posts and see what you’ve been up to 🙂

Ready Set Write, revising, writing

Let´s sign up for Ready. Set. Write! *happy dance*

Elodie

It´s finally time to sign up for Ready. Set. Write! The wonderful idea of the lovely and talented Alison Miller 🙂

Alison Miller, Katy Upperman, Erin Funk, Jaime Morrow, and I are hosting this summer writing intensive Ready. Set. WRITE! and we’d LOVE for you to join us!

  • You can join us now or later…
  • You can decide to write 100 pages a week or simply revise one sentence.
  • Whatever will help YOU achieve your goals and whatever YOU feel comfortable with.

We even have a button!  (created by Erin).

ready set write button

So what is this exactly?

Purpose: for drafting/revising/writing novels, flash fiction or short stories—whatever! As long as we’re writing!

Timeline: We’re kicking things off today, but the REAL goal-setting starts tomorrow! Please join us for What’s Up Wednesday and tell us what you plan to be working on (in the What I’m Writing section). Don’t know about What’s Up Wednesday? Check it out here and here. And here.

We’ll keep the awesomeness going every Wednesday until August 28 and we’d love for you to participate as many weeks as you can. Like Alison, I love reading snippets, so don´t hesitate to share away!

Some Other Really Cool Stuff…

Twitter parties! We’re going to try (operative word = TRY) to host a weekly twitter writing/revising party in which we basically choose a start time to write and then pop back in on twitter several hours later recapping our progress. Sounds fun, right?!

Our Twitter hashtag…cue music….#ReadySetWrite

BUT to do that we kind of have to be twitter-connected. Below, you´ll see our Twitter handles, and we’d love for you to leave your twitter handle in the comments so we can make sure we’re following you too!

Our twitter handles:

Giveaway! The five of us LOVE giveaways so we’re including one as extra motivation.

Mid-way through (mid-July), one lucky writer will win a Writer´s Care package…it´s going to be a package full of fun surprises…

Something you simply do not want to miss.

Keep track of your progress and be prepared to update on the rafflecopter post in July.

SO, are you ready for Ready. Set. WRITE?! Commit to a summer of writing by signing up on the linky below! And don’t forget to post tomorrow—share your goals and tell us what you’ll be writing/revising!

In the meantime, write a little. Or a lot. Grab the button and spread the word! And get ready to Ready. Set. WRITE!

Sign up here:

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?

 

revising

My revision is a marathon…

Elodie

No I haven’t disappeared. I mean, yes. I have. But nowhere dangerous. I feel like a bad bad blogger. I haven’t participated in a YA Highway in ages…and it takes me days to reply to comments *hides in a corner*.

I’m doing a marathon.

A revision marathon. Those who believe that it’s a sprint, a few big bursts of power and then pouf, done. Well…that’s wrong. At least in my case.

Oh I need those bursts of powers, but even when I’m all creative-sweaty, I continue. I push through.

I’m on draft 9.

 

And the end of the tunnel is near. I see some light shining through.

What did I learn?

  • Beta readers and critique partners: they’re the best. Mine in particular. Ladies: THANK YOU! They reply to your freaked out emails, they tell you what works, and what doesn’t. They’re not afraid to say: “I don’t think so” or to say “Your sex scene works very well.”  Or “Is it bad that I’m developing a crush on your 18-year-old character?” They help keep me sane while pushing me to work on my manuscript
  • I also sent my first 50 pages to Taryn. And she kicked my butt…in a good way. I got some new tools and ways to make my voice shine through even better.

And all these amazing people not only pointed out where I could strengthen my plot, they also noticed some things I do in my writing that just won’t flow:

  • Using the word “just” –  I deleted about 125 of them
  • Using the verb “to start” – How many times can one of my characters “start driving” or “start yelling” or “start counting” or “start crying” or “start walking”…well apparently mine can also more than a hundred times. Well..not anymore. Now they either press their foot on the gas pedal, or they march/step/stroll/walk…
  • Passive – I didn’t have as many but I was a pretty bad offender in cases where it’s not warranted at all…
  • “Lips turn upwards” –  Now my characters either smile, show a dimple, the side of their mouth edge up.

And yes…my hubby must get tired of it. Sometimes…But it will all be worth it at the end.

Right?

How is your writing/revising going?

Happy Friday, revising, writing

Happy Friday #28 – Time with family, reading and revising…

Elodie

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

I am on business trip until this evening and tomorrow, we´re off to Russia…So I will see you next week! 😀

Revising: I´m getting there, really, slowly but surely, I am getting there! And my story is so much better now than where it started. Again, CP extraordinaire and great beta readers, THANK YOU!!!! Oh and my query is ready (crazy!) and here Ian and Christa, you totally amazed me for helping me so much!

Reading: This week, I read IF I LIE and PERFECT CHEMISTRY! 😀 and wow, wow, wow, both books brought out a LOT of emotions! More on them later 😀

Time with my family: Last weekend I went to France and this was a much needed reunion! Spending time with my parents, my sisters, my aunts, grandmother, niece and nephew was wonderful! Sometimes, living far from home isn´t easy and going back is always a treat! Plus I got to meet my second niece 😀

My newborn niece 😀

So, tell me what made you smile this week?

revising, Road Trip Wednesday, writing

My Love List….

Elodie

Today is Road Trip Wednesday 🙂 RTW 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: Inspired by Stephanie Perkins’ post on Natalie Whipple’s blog, what is your novel’s “Love List”?

Whenever Stephanie Perkins starts a new project, she creates a list called “What I Love About This Story.” You really should check out her post! (plus you know it’s Stephanie Perkins :D)

I love this! Love it! Which is good for a love list, right?

Please bear with my ramblings as I only had a few hours of sleep. I attended the 10 queries in 10 tweets webinar by Sara Megibow (and due to the time zone difference, I got up at 2am) While my query got a pass, she did say the concept was strong and gave me pointers how to better it.

So exciting! (especially as this doesn’t count as a rejection)

Anyways…

grace in winter 2
Uploaded by Ekabhishek (Wikicommons)

ONE TWO THREE has been pretty much consuming my time, and my thoughts. Husband can testify to this, right hubby? And my wonderful beta readers as well as my critique partner extraordinaire probably nod their heads as I’ve been sending them emails 😀

And it’s important to remember why I love the story. So here is my love list. And it doesn’t even include my characters. Really, I love my characters.

  • Friendship
  • Love
  • Shoulders
  • Ballet
  • Arabesque
  • Plié
  • Chopin
  • Piano
  • Soccer
  • Kisses
  • First times
  • Tequila
  • Family
  • Grief
  • Field
  • Tutu
  • Disney
  • Restaurant
  • Piano
  • Car
  • Arrogant
  • Funny
  • Charismatic
  • Salsa
  • New York
  • Pelmini

Now, tell me what comes on your love list?