Good News and Bad News

After a year or so of not looking at my finished teen manuscript, I finally decided to pick it up and read it last month. I got about 3/4 through and couldn't finish it. I hated it! The romantic scenes made me cringe and the characters were flat. It just didn't read well. I felt like I'd picked up a stranger's amateur novel. I was incredibly disappointed in my work. I wrote this book for about six years, and there I was, hoping no one (aside from my sister) would ever read it.

I think I know what the problems are. Firstly, I have grown a lot and worked hard to make my writing better, so I can understand why something I started writing six years ago seems so terrible now. Secondly, I've come to realize that it was a story I didn't really want to tell. My passion lies in fantasy, but this story was a realistic story. I know now that I was forcing myself to write a story I didn't really care about.

The majority of the books I read are fantasy: Harry Potter, The Shifter's Series, The Hunger Games... the list goes on and on. So you see, it didn't make sense for me to write a book about a subject I usually don't read myself.

However, I'm in the third chapter of my new fantasy book, an adult series, about two people with extraordinary talents. I'm very excited about it! It's a story that's been in my head and dreams for a very long time now, and it's exciting to get the characters onto paper.

I'm also taking a different path in the actual writing process. My last book was all about getting the words onto paper and editing them later, but this was messy and I don't think it was a process that worked for me. This time, every time I sit down to write, I reread and edit the last day's work before I begin the next chapter. It's a slower process, but the manuscript reads clean and looks polished.

In other news, I was rooting around some of my old writing binders and found two complete handwritten novels that I wrote from around age 12-15. I'd forgotten all about them! Maybe someday I'll revisit them.

Till next time!

First Person, Past Tense: Good or Bad?

I wrote one of my short stories in first person, past tense. That means that it went something like this: I walked down the hall and saw a man there... etc. Personally, this is my favorite tense for first person narrative. I really dislike first person, present tense, i.e., I walk down the hall and see a man. It seems so stilted and uncomfortable to me. It just doesn't read well!

However, in my creative writing class, my professor said, "Writing the first person account in the past tense suggests she is retelling the story." There were other comments that suggested he wasn't a fan of this tense because of the effect it has: that it leads the reader to expect the character narrating has survived and is recounting the story.

I'm not sure I agree.

One of my favorite authors, Rachel Vincent, writes in the first person, past tense. Her Shifters series and Blood Bound series are written this way, and not once while I was reading them did I say to myself: Oh, look at that. It's written in first person, present tense. Therefore she must be successful by the end of the story! I didn't feel that Rachel's characters were retelling their stories. I felt that I was right there with them, every step of the way.

I'd like to hear some other opinions on this, so please feel free to comment, fellow writers and readers! Do you agree that this viewpoint leads the reader to believe the narrator has survived and is retelling the story?

Life Keeps Me Busy!

Well, it's been too long since my last post, but in my defense, I have a lot going on! I'm in my fourth year of university and the light is at the end of the tunnel. I'm so excited to be finished school and get busy with editing and writing.

A lot has happened since my post in January. I've joined the Editor's Association of Canada, and doing so has given me a leg up into the world of editing. My business is up and running, so I've been doing small projects here and there in between the homework I have to do. It feels good to be doing a job that I love!

I also got into a Creative Writing Class at the U of S with Guy Vanderhaeghe and so far, it's been really helpful. I've written a lot of short stuff that has potential with more work. It's really nice that some of the homework I have to do is writing assignments, especially since some classes seem to be especially dull this year.

As for my novel, it's been sitting here on my desk for a while since I finished writing it. I'm going to edit it myself one last time and then I'm going to send it to another editor to look it over. I know it might be a weird concept, because after all, I should be able to do all the edits myself, right? Wrong! My manuscript is my baby and I'm extremely bias, so I'm unlikely to see the flaws. Every author needs an editor! Even the authors who are also editors.

Till next time (which hopefully won't be a year from now)!

Computer Crash

So unfortunately, I had the bad luck to have my computer crash on me. It was devastating, to say the least. I lost numerous short stories, all of my copy editing stuff and other important documents that I had saved for future reference. But the biggest hit of all was the loss of my most recent manuscript. Thank goodness that I have a hardcopy that I can retype. Despite this setback, I’m confident that I can try to rewrite a few of the short stories from memory, and I have come up with an idea for the second book in what I’m calling my Saskatoon series. I also seem to have to find things out the hard way, but at least I’ve learned that things need to be backed up frequently! I have my writing stuff now saved on an external hard drive, another computer AND on a jump drive. I think I may be slightly paranoid, now!

Well, I have to hit the books. I gotta say, in my third year of university, I’m tired of reading textbooks and writing essays! It’s been really difficult to get back on the school horse after the holidays.

Talk soon :)

And life has gotten in the way of yet another post... Sorry folks!

It has been so long that I've posted that I feel thoroughly ashamed! Well, I'm here now, so I'll let you know what I've been up to.
I'm currently registered in a copy editing class, which is helping me on my way to becoming an editor. I love it so far. It's nice to finally be doing something that has to do with my career choice. I've also applied for a creative writing class next term and I'm hoping they'll love the stories I attached to the application because I really want to take the class.
The short fiction class I'm currently in has definitely inspired me in my own writing. Thanks to studying the likes of Poe, Gilman and Faulkner, I've learned what it takes to write a great short story. I wrote a new story that I entered into the Canada Writes contest and I feel like it's good enough to win. I also entered the Writer's Digest Horror Competition with an older story of mine that I spiced up after I read Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher".
As for my novel, I haven't had time to sit down and do the last edits due to the 12 papers -- yes 12 papers!-- that I've had to work on this term. Six down, six to go! I'll be doing that at Christmas. I also decided that I might as well send it to a professional editor so I can see what he/she does in the field and get some experience there and also to get all the stuff I've missed myself.
Well, that's about whats new with me when it comes to writing. Speaking of writing, I have an essay to work on.
What's new with all of you? I'd like to hear how your writing is going.

Update

So I have some good news! I've finished the serious edits to my book! As much as I want to hit it again with the small edits, I've given it to family members to read, which is probably best. I hear all the time that it's a good idea to set the manuscript aside for a while before you go back to it, so that's the plan. However, I'm itching to get back at it. What I will do for the rest of the summer is look for potential publishers. I'm thinking about going with an agent, but that's something I need to do a bit more research on. If you have any experience with agents, I'd love to hear about it! Other plans for the summer are as follows: beach, read, party, fair, and other various fun things, not necessarily in that order!

OH by the way, I have picked a new title. I'm calling it "For the Love of You." What do you think?

till next time!

Who's been published? ME, that's who!

I just wanted to brag a little bit. I've been published in the spring/summer issue of In Medias Res, a liberal arts magazine at St. Thomas More, which is an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan. I'm very excited because this publication adds some meat to my Author's resume and people finally get to read my story, 'The Pope and the Joker.' Click HERE to see the magazine and read my story. I hope you enjoy it!

A long absence...

Hey folks,
So I've decided not to post anything until I finish editing my book. Right now I really need to concentrate on school as finals are literally just around the corner, but after that my book will be my number one priority. Oh, that and work, I guess. Again, if you'd like to hear more from me, I keep twitter updated. @lilychild713

Till next time!

Time to prioritize my goals.

Alright, so as (I think. I'm pretty sure) I've mentioned, one of my New Years Resolutions was to finish my book this year. When I say finish, I mean DONE. I mean ready to send out to agents or publishers (haven't decided yet). It's about time that I really bust my bottom so I can not only say," yes, I have finally, FINALLY, finished my book", but also because I have a bunch of other projects that I feel I can't work on right now. If I do decide to spend some time on those other projects, I hear a little voice that says "Shouldn't you be working on that other book, Miss Procrastinator?" And then I feel guilty.

I'd also like to apologize (yet again) for my lack of posting, but I'm a busy lady. If you want to get to know me better, I spend a bit of time on twitter, so you can follow me there at @Lilychild713.
Till next time!

Finally, I have a minute to write a new post, seeing as all my damn buses drove by me or didn't show this morning, so I'm unable to make it to school. School has been keeping me pretty busy, but I can't complain much! I love being an English major (despite the amount of essays) because I get to read tons of books. I'm currently reading Margaret Atwood's "Edible Woman" and Shakespeare's "Richard II", and both seem to be pretty interesting so far.
I haven't made much progress on my book lately, but I plan on getting my hands dirty today. My mom and sister have been kind enough to read the chapters that I have edited and I've gotten some great feedback and suggestions from them that will really make it a great story.
Alright, more news soon (I hope).

A Blast from the Past

I just found this picture of me after I was published for the first time. I think I was fifteen at the time and my family and I were so excited! I had a short story published in Young Writers of Canada, I think it was called 'Anna and the Whisperer.' If you look at the cake my mom made, it's in the shape of a book with the page sticking up. How cool is that?! I just submitted an excerpt of my novel to Glimmer Train today so fingers crossed that they accept it!
With December comes Christmas break and finals, of course, but I'm excited to be able to read non-school books and get tons done on my own book. I have no plans to travel, except to go home to visit my parents and then go visit my grandparents and I shall enjoy my break thoroughly. What are your plans, people?

No, I haven't been kidnapped by aliens.

Hey readers!

So sorry about the long silence, I've been busy with school and life in general. I don't have any news about my manuscript right now but editing is in progress and man is it hard! However, I have taken the advise given to me by Jai Joshi in my last post (thanks Jai!) and her method of revision is a lot better than mine! See here.
I'm taking a Shakespeare class in university and right now I'm writing an essay on Romeo and Juliet. Although I haven't read all of the plays on sonnets yet, I'd have to say this one is my favorite so far. Though I love a good happy ending, the tragic end to Romeo and Juliet is sad yet thrilling. Reading the play was like being on a roller coaster, and even though [Spoiler for those who haven't read it] you know that Romeo and Juliet both die at the end, it's hard to put down!

I should get back to that essay... Till next time!

Epic Fail

I must say that I did not reach my goal of finishing the editing of my novel this summer. Although I am disappointed in myself, I realized that I have a serious procrastination problem that needs to be dealt with. I have two excuses for my failure:
1: I had to work hard during the summer because I have no income during the school year, so a lot of my focus was on earning some moo-lah.
2: Frankly, I had a seriously hard time even getting started on the editing process!
The task seemed too huge and my brain kind of shut down. I didn't know where to begin or what needed to be done. It was like I was trying to climb these stairs and every step got a little bit bigger. I had a hard time moving forward because the step was too high. Hopefully that little metaphor made sense...
It seems like a task way too big for me to handle and even now I have no idea what to do... Any editing tips my faithful readers can provide would be much appreciated!

Oh boy...

So, I haven't be on blogger for quite some time, due to me working and trying to earn an honest dollar, so for that I apologize. I also looked at my blog and remembered that I have set a goal for myself to have revisions DONE for September! What was I thinking?! AHH! Can I do it? We'll all find out I suppose...

I think I should get to work on it...

Ah sweet brilliance...

I'm about halfway through reading my manuscript (which is sad, I know, but I've been busy trying to find work and then working... however that is a sad excuse) and I am really pleased with myself. Yes, there's more than a few parts that need reworking and cutting, but there are small moments of brilliance where I think, "Did I  really write that? Wow." So that's pretty cool.

So I thought I'd also mention that I'm setting another goal for myself, that I hope not to fail. I'm hoping to have revisions done by September, and I know a year ago I set a goal to have my 1st draft written and I didn't in time, but at least I'll be motivated, right?
Anyway, gotta go! Cheers!

1 year (belated) blogaversary and other news.

Hey all! I just realized today that I have officially been blogging for a year as of May 23rd, which is really cool! I'm glad that I've stuck with it (though sometimes, it's relatively on and off sometimes lol) because it serves as a source of inspiration for my own writing and I've met some great people who share my passion.
In other news, I haven't really had a whole lot of time to read or write lately. I've been doing some serious job hunting and though I finally got one, it's only part time and paying for parking to work there is costing me an arm and a leg. I gotta say, sometimes its scary being a grown up! I really hate worrying about finances... thank God I have such supportive parents who help me out when things get tough.
Anyway, cheers all!

Finished my First Year of University!

WOO HOO! Only three more years to go! I'm very excited because I finally can focus on doing the things I want to do! I have already crossed Shift, by Rachel Vincent off my Must Read list, and today I'm going to focus on editing Chapter four.

Shift was fantastic. I love Rachel's whole Shifter's series and I'm so sad that there's only one book left! I highly recommend her books, but start with Stray. It's a series with great characters and a fantastic plot in every book. Pick them up and read them, I guarantee you'll fall in love with them!

I'm wondering at how to go about this whole editing process now that I can actually sit down and do it. I've been reading my novel chapter by chapter and fixing it up that way, but I'm wondering if I need to read the entire book before I begin serious editing. Any opinions?
Till next time!

Books I am dying to read...

So as a student, the only reading I get to do is textbooks. I think I got to read a book that I wanted to read way back in first term, but as I remember, it put me behind in my text readings. I can't wait till school and exams are  over so I can finally crack open these books that I've been dying to read:

 Shift by Rachel Vincent
My Soul To Save by Rachel Vincent
Hard and Fast by Erin McCarthy
The Taking by Erin McCarthy
Fire Study by Maria V Snyder
And I'd love to reread the Harry Potter series

There are are a hundred more books on my shelves that I'd love to get to, but those are the ones on my mind right now...
What books are you dying to read?

My truth revealed!

Okay, so I guess I should tell you my one truth from the list of lies.  No, I do not wear high heels for everything. I wish I could, but if I did, I would have stumps for feet. I did not elope on my grad night, though I do think it would have worked, with the white dress and his tux :P. I hate writing essays. They take me away from the writing I really want to do and put me behind in all my other homework. I can use public bathrooms, I'm the least organized person on the planet and all the socks in my underwear drawer belong to my sister (sorry Jill!). My one truth is number four: Homer's make up shotgun. While I am sure that it's not every girls dream to get shot in the face every day, it sure would give me a lot more time to work on homework and other stuff. I'll make it clear though that I don't really want a make up shotgun.... only some days.

My First Award!

So Jai from Jai Joshi's Tulsi Tree gave me an award for "Creative Writer" and it's my first one, so I'm very proud of it, so thanks Jai! Also, there's a little game type thing that should be fun:



1: Thank the person who gave you the award and link to them.
2: Add the award to your blog
3: Tell six outrageous lies about yourself and one truth.
4: Nominate six creative writers and post links to them.
5: Let your nominees know that they have been nominated.


Okay, so six outrageous lies and one truth...
1) I make supper in high heels because it makes me feel very 'Bree Hodge' (you know, from Desperate Housewives). I also wear them to do homework, to work out, to do laundry, to write my book...
2) I eloped on my graduation night with my boyfriend because my dress was white. It seemed convenient, so why not?
3) I love writing essays. I get to learn all about a subject and put it down into 2000 words... Go Pepin the Short!
4) You know that make-up shotgun from the Simpsons that Homer invented? You can put on all your make-up with the simple pull of a trigger. Sometimes I wish I had one.
5) I can't use public washrooms because they're gross.
6) I am always organized and never lose a damn thing.
7) I have never EVER stolen socks from my sister. Never.

And my award nominees:
1) Dorraine Darden at Free Ice Cream
2) Elyzabeth M. VaLey at In a dream beyond...
3) Jeanne Tomlin at Writing and More
4) Megan Rebekah at Megan Rebekah Blogs... and Writes
5) Wendy at On the Front Porch
6) KatieBabs at Babbling about Books and More

Cheers all!