HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!
Enjoy your day. I hope you get some rest and do something fun, hopefully with you family.
I've got a lot of exciting things coming up:
On Wednesday I'm interviewing debut author Laura Pauling and giving away a copy of A SPY LIKE ME. Laura's a follower so I hope you'll stop by and congratulate her.
Next Monday I'm interviewing Elana Johnson (her book releases the next day) and giving away an ARC of SURRENDER. Guys, this is one of the best second books in a series I've read. Many of you know Elana and I hope you'll come out to support her.
Don't forget Tuesday Tips tomorrow.
See you on Wednesday.
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year from us here at Literary Rambles. We hope you rang in the day safely and with optimism. Personally, I think 2012 is going to be a year of happenings. Maybe that means finishing the book you spent 2011 writing and revising, finally getting an agent or book deal, seeing your book hits shelves, or something unrelated to writing all together.
Whatever event you're moving toward, may this be your year!
Don't forget to come by for Natalie's interview with Marie Lu and giveaway of LEGEND on Jan 9th, followed by an interview with Caroline Rose and giveaway of MAY B on Jan 16th, and our 2000 Followers Thank You Giveaway January 18th.
Want to discuss dreams and resolutions? What's your hope for 2012?
Whatever event you're moving toward, may this be your year!
Don't forget to come by for Natalie's interview with Marie Lu and giveaway of LEGEND on Jan 9th, followed by an interview with Caroline Rose and giveaway of MAY B on Jan 16th, and our 2000 Followers Thank You Giveaway January 18th.
Want to discuss dreams and resolutions? What's your hope for 2012?
Merry Christmas
Natalie and I want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas. We hope your day is full of love, thankfulness, (new books) and good cheer.
Relish the day!
Don't forget to come back after the holidays for Natalie's interview with Marie Lu and giveaway of LEGEND on Jan 9th, followed by an interview with Caroline Rose and giveaway of MAY B on Jan 16th, and then our 2000 Followers Thank You Giveaway January 18th.
If you'd like to read an interview with me, hop on over to Route 19 Writers where you'll find part one posted 12/23 and part two posted 12/26.
Relish the day!
Don't forget to come back after the holidays for Natalie's interview with Marie Lu and giveaway of LEGEND on Jan 9th, followed by an interview with Caroline Rose and giveaway of MAY B on Jan 16th, and then our 2000 Followers Thank You Giveaway January 18th.
If you'd like to read an interview with me, hop on over to Route 19 Writers where you'll find part one posted 12/23 and part two posted 12/26.
Happy Thanksgiving
It's Thanksgiving here in the U.S. and I want to wish you all a wonderful holiday.
I have a lot to be thankful for, not the least of which is YOU, my readers and friends, this wonderful community, and Natalie, who gives precious time to this blog and makes it an even more giving place for writers.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, and have a beautiful day!
I have a lot to be thankful for, not the least of which is YOU, my readers and friends, this wonderful community, and Natalie, who gives precious time to this blog and makes it an even more giving place for writers.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, and have a beautiful day!
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY
Hope you are all enjoying the holiday. I’m glad to have a much needed three day weekend. I’ll keep this brief so you can get back to your relaxing day.
I probably won’t be following many blogs this week because my in-laws are here visiting. I hope to spend a little less time on the computer.
A few reminders:
You can still enter to win DELIRIUM, DESIRES OF THE DEAD, ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS, and THE IRON QUEEN here until midnight on July 9th.
Don’t forget that on June 6th at 9:00 pm EST, WriteOnCon’s doing a live chat with Tessa Gratton, Maggie Stiefvater, and Brenna Yovanoff.
Next week I’m interviewing Andrea Cremer and giving away a copy of her book NIGHTSHADE. I loved her book and am excited that WOLFSBANE comes out on July 26th.
On July 18th I’ll be interviewing an upcoming 6th grader who loves to read. Her answers are awesome and it’s her birthday. So be sure to stop by and wish her Happy Birthday.
See you next Monday.
I probably won’t be following many blogs this week because my in-laws are here visiting. I hope to spend a little less time on the computer.
A few reminders:
You can still enter to win DELIRIUM, DESIRES OF THE DEAD, ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS, and THE IRON QUEEN here until midnight on July 9th.
Don’t forget that on June 6th at 9:00 pm EST, WriteOnCon’s doing a live chat with Tessa Gratton, Maggie Stiefvater, and Brenna Yovanoff.
Next week I’m interviewing Andrea Cremer and giving away a copy of her book NIGHTSHADE. I loved her book and am excited that WOLFSBANE comes out on July 26th.
On July 18th I’ll be interviewing an upcoming 6th grader who loves to read. Her answers are awesome and it’s her birthday. So be sure to stop by and wish her Happy Birthday.
See you next Monday.
Laura Lascarso: Will You Be Mine?
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! To mark the day, I have a fabulous guest post by Laura Lascarso on creating a good critique group. Comments on the topic are welcome and encouraged. Enjoy!
Will You Be Mine? Tips for Wooing Other Writers
One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever know and it is especially true in writing.
I wrote for five years in solitude before I finally joined up with a local writers’ group. There I met my mentor, Heather Whitaker, and grew as a writer exponentially. She taught me things like conflict, plot, protagonist (seriously) and also pointed me to some really great books on writing, which laid out all those tricky devices that I’d been experimenting with, but had never mastered.
After that group dissolved, Heather and I continued meeting once a week at a local coffee shop where we wrote side by side or traded good reads or gave feedback on whatever project we were working on. A year later, Angele McQuade moved to town, and with her background in writing nonfiction as well as her pub business savvy, we formed the power of the trinity, aka the Red Eye Writers.
Good groups are made, not necessarily found. Having been a part of various groups over the years--from college workshops where the writers were amateur and the criticism biting, to a mish-mash of writers of different genres--I’ve learned a few tricks to wooing and retaining your writing beloveds.
Genre: While it may not be necessary for everyone to be writing in the same genre, it certainly can’t hurt. For instance, if you are a YA writer in the midst of Adult fiction writers, they may question why it’s necessary to get to the conflict within the first chapter, why age and description of the protagonist are important, why slang is acceptable, why the entire story is staged in a few months rather than a few years, and on and on.
Respect: I cannot stress this one enough. Constructive criticism is asking questions of the writer, giving specific examples of what aspect of the story isn’t working, offering up suggestions of books that do this one aspect well. We all want to make our writing better and criticism paired with suggestions on how to improve is so much more valuable than blanket statements without specificity.
Praise: This one is sometimes forgotten. Never forget to mention to your fellow writers when they are doing something right. Writers are delicate creatures with fragile egos, or else they are fearsome giants with steel armor, sometimes both. But it’s important to let your critique partners know what they’re doing well. Because who hasn’t been in the throes of revision, wondering what should be cut and what should be saved. Knowing what is working is just as valuable as knowing what needs fixing.
Commitment: Our writer’s group meets one morning a week and I look forward to our meetings all week long. Sometimes we critique each others’ work or brainstorm plot ideas or talk about marketing, conferences and the various facets of the biz. We often trade good reads and discuss why a certain book worked for us or did not. We stay in contact throughout the week via email, forwarding articles, conference information, good blog posts, etc. Everyone is busy, everyone is stressed, but if you’ve already made the commitment to writing, than make a commitment to your group, because they are the ones you go to when you lose your way.
Outreach: Recently, our group has begun to reach out to our local community in giving talks on writing and hosting literary events. This, in addition to increasing our web presence, not only allows us to share what we’ve learned with other writers, but also lets us connect with readers and establish a base of support for when we ourselves get published.
But how can I find my truly beloveds? Writing conferences are great opportunities for networking with other writers. Also, many communities have local SCBWI chapters that meet regularly. There are several online author forums or simply putting up a flyer in your local library or bookstore can bring great results.
Love is fleeting, but a good writers’ group is a romance that can last a lifetime.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you all have a delightful and scrumptious Thanksgiving! It's an impossible task to list all the things I'm thankful for, but I'm certainly thankful this blog has brought each of you into my life, especially those of you I've become close friends with. Life has never been richer. <3
Last Post of 2009
I hate to double post on a Spotlight Thursday, but it just seemed all wrong not to have a "last post of 2009" and see what everyone's doing for New Year's Eve!We don't have any particular traditions over here. When I was a kid my family partied with my best friend's family every year. We ate food, played games, stayed up and banged pans at 12. That was fun. Hopefully as my kids get older we can develop some kind of tradition like that. But for now, since they're so young, I think the kids will end up going to bed at the usual time and hubby and I will watch a movie or two.
What are your plans for New Year's Eve? Do you have any family traditions? Anything fun you do with your kids?
Happy New Year!
A Belated Merry Christmas
For those that celebrate, I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, and for those that don't I hope you had a lovely Friday and weekend. We sure did! My mom is here visiting for the week, so I'll probably be scarce, out goofing around and shopping and the like.
If I don't post anything but the regular until then, I hope all of you have a very happy New Year and get a great start on all your resolutions and goals!
Cheers!
If I don't post anything but the regular until then, I hope all of you have a very happy New Year and get a great start on all your resolutions and goals!
Cheers!
Happy 4th of July!
What are you plans for this lovely day of Independence? Hope everyone has a great one full of good ol' American food, comradery, and twinkles in the sky.
Happy Father's Day!
Jesse came home with a new set of pots and pans on Friday and said, "Happy Father's Day!'
Well, shoot. That was easy. Don't you love a man that loves to cooks and buys himself nice cookware? Add the gifts from the kids and me this morning, and I'd say he's having a good day so far.
But the family time is what really matters! I'm off to cook him breakfast and then we're going over to my dad's for a cook out.
Should be a lovely day. Hope yours is too!
Well, shoot. That was easy. Don't you love a man that loves to cooks and buys himself nice cookware? Add the gifts from the kids and me this morning, and I'd say he's having a good day so far.
But the family time is what really matters! I'm off to cook him breakfast and then we're going over to my dad's for a cook out.
Should be a lovely day. Hope yours is too!
Wednesday's Word Count
Happy New Year's (eve day) everyone! I'm not sure anyone is doing much writing at the moment, but I thought I'd throw this up just in case.
Prior Goal: Outline / have baby.
Achieved: Zilch.
Goal for new week: HAVE BABY!
Excuses / comments: I'm officially "overdue" now. I went overdue with my first as well, so I guess I should have expected this. There isn't any writing or outlining getting done over here. I'm just waiting and pouting and waiting. I was really hoping he'd come before the end of the year, but it looks like he wants to be a 2009 baby!
Have a safe, fun New Year's tonight! I hope everyone is gearing up to tackle their new 2009 goals! I love when a new year starts - it feels so refreshing to me!
Cheers!
Prior Goal: Outline / have baby.
Achieved: Zilch.
Goal for new week: HAVE BABY!
Excuses / comments: I'm officially "overdue" now. I went overdue with my first as well, so I guess I should have expected this. There isn't any writing or outlining getting done over here. I'm just waiting and pouting and waiting. I was really hoping he'd come before the end of the year, but it looks like he wants to be a 2009 baby!
Have a safe, fun New Year's tonight! I hope everyone is gearing up to tackle their new 2009 goals! I love when a new year starts - it feels so refreshing to me!
Cheers!
2009 New Year's Resolutions / Goals
This is coming a tad later than I had planned (yup, I'm still here and large *grumble*) but here it is - my 2009 New Year's goal post!Like I mentioned before, I'm not entirely sure where my writing will fall in the scheme of life once the new baby arrives, but I'm hoping I can get back into a routine within a couple months and be able to meet these goals. And now, without further ado... my public declaration of goals for 2009.
- Write new outlined book by May or June.
- Edit / Revise / Beta-read by September (hopefully.)
- Start querying in September (if manuscript is really ready.)
- NaNoWriMo 2009 through November
- Continue querying through the end of the year (unless I magically get an agent sooner.)
- Continue working on NaNo manuscript if I'm happy with it.
- Buy and read at least two or three books a month (shouldn't be a problem *grin*)
- Continue to learn about writing / publishing.
- Continue blogging regularly.
- Start doing more book reviews on my blog.
- Post either a teaser here or something for critique at AW every few months (at least.)
- Focus on overcoming weaknesses and issues found in 2008.
- Review this list every month.
I have high hopes for 09 and hope my Blogger / writer friends will stick through it with me. And speaking of, what are your goals for 2009? Feel free to post them in the comments, especially those of you that keep up with our weekly Wednesday goals!
If I go MIA on the blog front before then (please baby, please) have a safe and Happy New Year's!
Merry Christmas and Reflections on 2008
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas yesterday! I ate waaay too much but had a wonderful, relaxing day.Before I disappear into the land of baby bliss (I'm still hoping he'll show before the first,) I wanted to reflect on the waning year.
So... 2008, let's see.
2008 was a year of very few goals and accomplishments for me. My only writing goals, really, were to keep learning, improving, and to finish at least one manuscript. It's debatable whether or not I truly accomplished these things, but I'm going to say I did - I just don't feel extremely good about them.
But, I did accomplish the following:
I became more interested / determined in becoming a published author.
I made some awesome new writing / blogger friends. *Waves*
I became a somewhat regular blogger.
I kept writing throughout the year, despite an awful spell of "writer's block."
I experimented with writing different genres.
I learned a ton about the publishing business.
And,
I started reading YA, which I now love.
I'm cautiously optimistic for 2009. It's hard to say what I'll be able to manage with the new addition mixing things up, but I've got some New Year's resolutions and goals brewing in the brain for when things start to settle down. Providing I haven't had the baby, I'll be making my New Year's goal post some time this weekend.
Have a beautiful Holiday week if you don't hear from me!
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