Tag: writer

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?

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?
 
 
 
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?

writing, young adult

Déjà Vu Blogfest: A picture is worth a thousand words…

Elodie

Today I am part of The Déjà Vu Blogfest , where we bring back our favourite post or the one we believe may not have gotten enough attention (click on the link to see who else is participating :-)).

I decided to bring back my moonlight muse…I mean I wrote about the music muse and received quite a bit of comments. However, before I actually had followers (thanks again by the way, hug to everybody and if you´re not into hugs, I am shaking your hand very formally), I shared a picture of an evening which inspired me. Cannot wait to read  if a sun or a moon or a butterfly or a traffic jam can get  you to write or to think about the story of a book you read!

A picture is worth a thousand words…

By what do you get inspired? It is almost like asking: why are you writing?  It is difficult to grasp where the writing scenes come from…

Sometimes one can recognize in the MC´s habits, way of talking some small traits of a loved one, of an acquaintance, of somebody from the past or even of oneself.

Tonight, as I was outside looking at the moon reflecting on the water, I wondered what my main character would feel on an evening like this with everything she has been going through…

Is she thinking of Aleksi, the one who not only gives her butterflies but is no longer as mysterious as she first thought?

Is she pondering the words of Ben? Is she wondering what he meant when he said Aleksi was dangerous? How does he even know him? The guy just arrived…

Or maybe she is actually tired of the stupid drama and just wants to figure out why this entity is coming after her and her loved ones, why she has flashbacks from another time and what the heck happened to Marie and Elijah, those girls who are linked to her over the centuries?

As I type this and look at the moon, I know a scene is unfolding, I feel the pain of my character and I just want to tell her “Sorry you have to go through all of this but remember, you have it in your power to make the right decision…this time around”

And if she did hear me, her reply would be “Can´t you be a tad more specific? I mean come on people…I just cannot guess what you think, you need to spell it out for me. I am tired of this!” and she would storm out.

She does have a little temper of her own…(my husband would say I am projecting :-))

Do moonlights inspire you or remind you of a book you´ve read?

writing

Writing and The Seven Dwarfs…

Elodie

First of all: Joyeux anniversaire, Maman! 🙂 (I know she is a lurker sometimes…)

Now off to the topic, we are all moody. We can not be sunshines 100% of the time (I try, I really try), we are sometimes angry, sometimes tired, sometimes shy, sometimes just happy. That is what makes us likable people 🙂

As writers, we also go through different stages and that´s when Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs came to my mind…Here is my take on the Seven Dwarfs and writing : (and I´m looking forward to know YOUR mood today, writing or not-writing related)

Doc: That´s when I am in the researching mode, trying to make sure that some historical elements in my novel are correct, that the setting is right (and I do wear glasses when I am working on the computer :-))

Grumpy: When I´m stuck or when I feel like a sentence, an entire part of a character could be much better but at that particular, it is just not happening. Or when I don´t have room in the train to write or…or… I do have some grumpy moments 🙂

Sleepy: When I get up earlier to get a few words out or to try to keep my working-out schedule (I can hear my husband laugh but I DO try to exercise). When I am in the train during the evening just wanting to close my eyes but that I know I need to write ´cos that may be the only time I really have to do so.

Bashful: This is me talking about my writing with people I know. Only a selected few are aware that I am working on a novel, that is one of my passion. That will also probably be me once I start looking for a beta reader or crit partner…

Sneezy: That is me when I am getting distracted by my environment, when I can not get into the writing process…

Dopey: I get Dopey-like when I am super excited about something going on in my novel or in the books I am reading. I don´t care if I look silly, it´s just the way I feel and it is usually a great feeling 🙂

Happy: This one comes around the most often. I usually am in the happy place when I write, when I talk about writing, when I discover that my plot is getting even more intriguing or when my characters feel like they come to life. I am also happy when I read and reading is crucial to my writing. Without loving books, I probably would not be trying to write one myself 🙂 Oh and I do happy dances for others, when I hear about publishing, getting an agent, finishing a draft…you get the picture.

Today I am Sneezy, Sleepy and Grumpy but that´s because I am not feeling well so I do get distracted and annoyed.

So now tell me, what is YOUR mood today (writing or non-writing related)?