Friday, February 27, 2009

Met My Writing Friend

And it was awesome!

My friend has some great story ideas and he really liked this one that I am formulating (got put on the back burner) called, The Untitled Story. He asked me if his writing was good or crap in my opinion.

My response?

"Well, it depends on how you look at it. I mean, your writing is good, but the fact that all the stories end right when they get interesting is crap."

He got a kick out of that.

Seriously, he hasn't really written much recently, but I think this guy has talent. I think he has the potential to tell a really good story.

Unfortunately, I was on a time limit, so we didn't get to finish. I didn't get to read half his stuff and he didn't get even a quarter through mine. I have a LOT more than he does, but I guess that's just because I've been working harder for longer. We will have to meet again and I'm hoping we can do it soon. I have a talent for becoming close friends with people I hardly ever get to see. :(

My friend says he wants to finish a story and pursue publication. Don't we all? So I am going to do my best to help him navigate this wonderful industry. As the Musketeers say, "One for all. All for one."

Or maybe a better quote to describe it: "Birds of a feather stick together."

Happy writing, all! :D

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Not Much To Say

Sorry I've been gone for a while. I just moved into my new house (yeah!) and there's hasn't been much time for writing. My net was down for several days and there just hasn't been time to get anything writing related done.

But that kinda changed today. I am working on the first two books in my new series, The Unicorn Queen and it's very exciting! I love working on new pieces! :D

On a very happy note, I am meeting one of my friends this week to exchange story ideas! Whoot! We both have so many that are missing that extra spark or we just don't have the discipline to sit down and write certain stories. Who knows? There may be a bestseller lurking within our piles!

Hey, one can dream! :D

Friday, February 20, 2009

Weird....

Before I get to what my post is about, this is my 100th post! YEAH! :D

OK, remember a few days ago when I said all my adventures in my new series, The Unicorn Queen, were all planned out. Well, turns out, that's not too true.

Because I found out that the adventure for book one won't work as is.

But that's OK. I've gone ahead and started writing book two. This isn't a series with cliffhanger endings, so I can skip ahead no problem. Book two: A Silent Killer is already in chapter eight! I'm very pleased with it so far. Basic rundown is Sapphire has to deal with the first murders ever committed in her land of Harlindale and her own sister is suspect for one of them.

Cool.

Besides book one, these adventures seem to be turning out really well. I hope it stays that way! :D

Also, there's a very interesting post for you writers out there on Pubrants, the blog of literary agent Kristin Nelson about music and writing. If you want to check it out, you can find the link to her blog on my blog list on the right side of the page. Check it out! :)

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Have You Noticed Something?

Because I sure have! I recently posted about my story status. You can look over those titles again if you want to.

I used to say that writing young adult was my favorite audience to write for.

Now, I think, my mind has changed.

Why?

Well, all of my stories listed, except for The Ultimate Evil, are for middle graders.

There's something about writing for that age group that I absolutely love and I didn't know why until just a few days ago. It's because the kids are still young enough where you don't have to explain the logic of your fantasy. If you say it is so, then they believe it.

And there's something about that....magic, if you will. It's addicting and it's wonderful! :D

(Guess this means I should switch around the age groups I write for under my blog title, huh?) ;)

Monday, February 16, 2009

Literary Updates

OK, I'm going to update you all on all of my stories and their statuses so far:

The Ultimate Evil: Submitted to 17 agents and rejected by 11. Do not believe query will hook remaining agents. Once I have heard back (or not) from all of them, this story is going to be put on hold for revamping. It's missing something, but I can't pinpoint it yet.

Khaladin: Submitted to 26 agents and has been rejected 10 times. This story I will query till I have exhausted all options. May re-write my query before querying more agents, though. It might not be reading as well as I thought. Plan on submitting to all e-mail query friendly agents first before going to snail mail agents (I am in the process of moving, so that's why I have it this way).

Help! My Parents Are From Outer Space!: Never rejected! OK, so that's because it's never been submitted. But the query letter is done, should I ever need it. This story is still in editing, but not in need of a major overhaul that I can see at this point.

The Unicorn Queen: All 13 adventures have been planned and all major characters formulated. The first five chapters of book one are complete. I plan to write all the adventures and then go back and edit them. I will not pitch this series till every book is complete, which I don't think will take too long. I'm hoping each story will be around 15K-20K.

So, that's it. I'll update again when I have something new to report. Till then, happy writing! :D

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Sapphire Pic

Here's my Photoshop picture of Sapphire. She's pretty, no?



I am in chapter five in the first book of her series, The Unicorn Queen. I have already come up with all her adventures and the titles for each book (subject to change). Here they are:
1. The New Queen's Challenge
2. A Silent Killer
3. The Marred Unicorn
4. Gallop of Life or Death
5. Innocents and Facades
6. A Betrayer In Our Midst
7. A Journey Through the Sea
8. She Is Not the Queen!
9. The Temple Secrets
10. The Blackest Night
11. Sapphire Comes to Earth
12. A Human Goes to Harlindale
13. Kroboth's War
So, what do you think?

Friday, February 13, 2009

A New Series In The Works!!

Yes, that's right, I'm going to be beginning work on a series that I have been trying to write since I was about seven or eight years old. I created this unicorn (will post drawing of her later) named Sapphire and I have always wanted to write a series for her.

Well, last night, after midnight, I couldn't go to bed yet. My dad was in the bathroom and I didn't want to go to sleep with dirty teeth (eew!) so I waited up so that he could finish. While I was waiting, I was rumaging through all my story ideas and pieces. I wasn't thinking too hard, just going over everything, when suddenly, I found all these short little adventure ideas that could work in a series! So exciting! I started to put together a story folder and I've filled it with a lot of information. So today, I am going to begin book one in my new middle grade fantasy series, The Unicorn Queen.

So, yeah, you've probably noticed that unicorns are my favorite mythical creature. I never wanted to be referred to as "The Unicorn Writer", but now I think that I will bear that title with pride! :D

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Happy

As the title suggests, I am happy. Why? Because I am going to be helping a friend write his very own novel. I have already read part of it and am really intrigued. Good thing he says he doesn't mind harsh criticism, because I'm a tell-it-as-I-see-it person.

To bring you up to date, I have recieved more rejections for The Ultimate Evil and Khaladin. However, I'm not recieving rejections with Khaladin as quickly as I was with The Ultimate Evil. Hopefully that's a sign of good things to come! :D

Friday, February 6, 2009

Right Now, The Magic Number Is 26

As of right now, I have submitted Khaladin to a total of twenty-six agents. I have never sent a story to this many agents. Hey, there's a first time for everything! :D

So, out of that twenty-six, two agents have passed on my soon-to-be-NYT-Bestseller. Hahaha, just kidding! Hope I'm not, but..... :D

I'm in a new ballpark now. I have more determination to get this story published more than I ever have with any other. I guess that's a good thing.

Navigating the wonderful world of literary agents is not easy. I have run across several scammers. Having nearly succumbed to one, I can now spot one a mile away. I found one that was even boasting that they are the last agency accepting new authors. Pha! Now there's a scam if I ever saw one!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Discouraged

So, today I received more rejection letters. The ninth for The Ultimate Evil and the first for Khaladin. This is the third time my dream agent has rejected me. Maybe it's just not meant to be.

Anyway, I've begun to wonder just what a person has to do to break into this industry. It's harder than becoming an actress. You can be an actress even if you never get a speaking part. But with writing you're either published or you're not. Simple. That's they way it works.

So, I sound a little depressed right now, but I'm OK. This isn't the first time this has happened to me, and I know it won't be the last. I've got to build up a tough skin if I want to go into this industry and I know I can do it. My chin is still up! :D

OK, my little venting session is over. On the bright side, I got Help! My Parents Are From Outer Space! back from my second Beta and she enjoyed the story and gave me some fabulous comments. Now it's on to more edits and agent hunting. :D

Monday, February 2, 2009

Another Rejection And Another Query

So, today I received a very nice, personalized rejection letter for The Ultimate Evil. It was by far the nicest letter I have received to date! :D

I have to tell you....my mom is not a fantasy fan. At all. I mean, she loves the Lord of the Rings movies and Willow, but that's about it. Well, she knows all about Khaladin and she loves it! She hasn't read it yet (no time) but she wants to. Super exciting! My mom loves horses and since my unicorns in Khaladin have more of a horse rather than dog mentality, she already knows she loves it.

My mom is probably the best encourager I have. She's told me time and again that Khaladin is the best story I have written right now and I have to agree with her. It's a fun, if emotionally draining, tale.

Honestly, she's been wondering why I have been querying The Ultimate Evil rather than Khaladin. She told me tonight that I really should query this story.

So, this is what I'm going to do. On a complete whim (aghhh!) I'm going to query my dream agent with Khaladin. I already have everything ready and it's a better eye catcher than The Ultimate Evil. So, I'm going to send it out. Whatever will happen, will happen.

My mom thinks I'm doing the right thing. I have nothing to lose doing this, and maybe everything to gain! Say a prayer for me! :D