Tuesday, July 28, 2009

So, I Leave For A While....

...and look what happens! I have more followers! Whoot! Maybe I should disappear more often! :)

Ok, so that was a joke. But I really am sorry that I haven't been on here much. I haven't had a lot of time to write because I am trying to get ready to go to school. I am finally able to actually enroll in a college that is not online! I am SO excited!

For those who are curious, I am trying to get my Physical Therapy Assistant Associate's Degree. But that program only takes 30 people, so pray that I get in! :)

On the writing front, I have taken a look at two of my WiPs. One I think I need to make it MG instead of YA to make it work and the other is YA and fine at that age group. If only I could figure out the rest of my plot lines!

Oh, so far, Khaladin is still getting nothing but rejections. I've gotta look up some more agents to query. I'm not giving up yet!

Hey, I thought I didn't have much to say, and this post is already WAY longer than I thought it would be. I guess that's a good thing. :)

Anyway, till next time, happy writing! :D

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Do You Guys Know Gary Smith?

Yeah, Gary Smith. The famous writer for Sports Illustrated. The guy who's one of the best (if not the best) magazine writers in America.

Wanna know something neat?

I just found out that one of my neighbor's, who is a freelance writer, is his brother.

Weird life we are living in, huh?




My neighbor just let me borrow a book by his brother called Going Deep (cover above). I must say that it is really good. And I'm not even a sports fan!

Seriously, if you have not read this book, go buy it. It's an amazing read. :)

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Yes, I Am Still Alive

Not much has been happening on the writing front lately. But I have been staying active...just not on here and mainly with my horses that I work with. :)

Me and Gorden

So, yeah, that's it for now. Sorry I've been ignoring you guys, but I'll change that.


Later!

Monday, July 6, 2009

FINISHED!!!

That's it, I'm done. Not even ten minutes ago, I just finished all my edits in Khaladin! The story went from thirty chapters and 39,000 words to thirty-three chapters and 42,000 words. It sounds so much better now and I am very proud of it! :)

Well, with the query and story done, it is now time to rewrite the dreaded synopsis. Writing a synopsis, so far, is the only thing I have found I hate in writing. It's hard to condense a 42K story to five to eight pages.

I am going to try to write my synopsis in five pages. I have found that's about the average and that will give me a good model to go by should an agent want a synopsis that is longer or shorter.

Hopefully I can complete my synopsis soon. If I'm lucky, it might even get done tonight. Once it is finished, then the queries can go out again. Hopefully this story will generate more interest. Do you know how pumped I'd be if an agent wanted to look at sample pages or read the entire manuscript? Forget a contract, just one reading my work would make me feel so awesome. And if that contract did happen to come my way, then it's a good thing you don't live at my house, cause I'd be screaming. :)

TTYL, guys! :D

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Two New Chapters Done

OK, so far today I have added two new chapters to Khaladin. There's more on the way, but I've written over 1,000 words today alone, and that's great, considering I haven't been able to do that in quite a while.

I've had a lot of time on my hands to write. Today especially, because I am SUPER sore. Why? I have taken up a new sport and that sport is horseback riding.

The owners of the barn that I volunteer at are so nice that they are giving me riding lessons for free. I ride a beautiful Quarter Horse mare named Sooner. When I get some pictures, I'll post them so you can see. :)

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

An Editing Update

So, I have been editing Khaladin the past couple days and have edited nearly half the book. I'm very close to where the revamp is going to be taking place in the story, so I'm trying to plan everything out. I've got a few ideas, but not quite sure how to make it all work yet.

In the meantime, I got my query letter for Khaladin probably as close to perfect as I can. I ran it a LOT on AW and it got to where fewer and fewer people would edit it and then it got to where the edits were nit picky. Once you get to nit picky edits, it's my opinion that you take those hints that you want and leave the rest and lean back, hoping you have the right query letter.

And this one really didn't turn out bad! In fact, I'm rather proud of it. It's the best query letter I've ever written, but I want to share it with you to get your thoughts as well. So, here it is:

Dear Agent:

I am seeking representation for my middle grade fantasy novel, KHALADIN, which is complete at 39,000 words. (word count subject to change with edit *wink*)

Thirteen-year-old Judy never imagined her aunt’s horse would give birth to anything but a normal foal, until she saw the colt’s tiny horn. She’s thrilled to have a baby unicorn to take care of, but she soon learns it’s not easy keeping Khaladin’s existence a secret. When a greedy casino owner discovers him and steals him away to auction him off to the highest bidder, Judy knows she has to save him.

The road to rescue isn’t easy. Judy and her aunt follow the casino owner to his ranch in Arizona where Khaladin is being held. Judy knows that if she can’t rescue Khaladin, he’ll become nothing more than a status symbol- but if she succeeds, she’ll be condemning him to the same imprisonment he faced before. Judy wants Khaladin to be free to choose what life he wants. She just hopes his choice won’t break her heart.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

me

So, feel free to tell me what you think. :)