manuscript in progress...

Along the lines of celebrating hurdles when you reach them... Friday I printed out my latest novel for my first readers to edit and give feedback. This is the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo and at 65,000 words, it is a half ream of paper - the perfect length. It feels so good to see it in physical form. (I keep petting it - nice manuscript.) But the most interesting thing about this story so far (there will be another round of revisions) is it's taken me all of three months - November 1 - February 3. My last novel took 2 1/2 years (currently out on submission). The one before that took 4 years. I have to wonder if I'm getting the hang of this writing thing.

12 x 12 in 2012: Picture Book Writing Challenge

Come join me in this new challenge hosted by children's book author, Julie Hedlund, at Write Up My Life. Per her blog:

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write one picture book per month for each of the twelve months of 2012. This means a first draft: beginning, middle, end. NOT a submission-ready piece. Sounds easy right? It sounds easy to me, too. But when I looked back on my writing output from 2011, I discovered that I only completed one draft from all 30 of the PiBoIdMo ideas I came up with in 2010. I did draft, edit and revise other pieces I had in the works, but I am not content with my overall 2011 results. So I decided to challenge myself to write many more in 2012, and I figured, why not invite others to join me so we can support and encourage each other along the way?

Logo design by Linda Silvestri.

Ira Glass on Storytelling

How many of you have made writing goals for 2012? I know I have. And it's not always easy. In fact, writing can be one of the hardest things you've ever done. But there is hope and there is help...

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

Thanks to Teaching Authors for the heads up.

Time lost and found

Anne Lamott on finding time to write, at "Time Lost and Found." Worth the read.

How to Write 10,000 words a day

I love this article by Rachel Aaron, author of the Legend of Eli Monpress: "How I Went From Writing 2,000 Words a Day to 10,000 Words a Day."
     During NaNoWriMo this year, I was writing 2,000 words a day. It felt like an amazing accomplishment. Heck, it was, as I ended up with a 50,000+ word novel in one month. (Work-in-progress title: "Two Lies and a Truth.") But I can see how her advice could kick that up a notch. And I definitely agree with 'know what you're going to write before you sit down to write it.'
     That was the secret to writing my own novel. And I often left myself hanging - to write that next scene that I was dying to get to the next day. It made me eager to dive back in every time I sat down. Very cool.