RTW: Rewarding yourself

Each week, YA Highway hosts Road Trip Wednesday, a blog carnival in which YA Highwayers discuss a topic on their blogs and invite readers to do the same. This week's RTW topic is:

How do you reward yourself when you meet your writing goals?

For small goals, I don't really reward myself. I don't like counting my chickens before they hatch, so I feel like I'm not done until I'm done, you know?
For bigger goals, such as finishing a draft or a particularly difficult scene, I reward myself with time off from writing. I find that taking some time off allows me to return more appreciative and clear-headed.

After I sent MAGGIE out to betas last November, I took all of December and January off, and I loved it. It gave me time to enjoy the holidays, take care of some household projects that had been piling up, watch a little TV, and have fun with some of my hobbies (I paint, draw, scrapbook, bake, and do a few other creative things when the mood strikes me).

As far as rewards for if I get published... I've always wanted to get my teeth professionally whitened. Then again, the dentist says I don't need it, and I have very sensitive teeth, so it might not be good for my enamel, cold sensitivity, etc. Realistically, I probably wouldn't actually have it done. Maybe I'll just invest in the more expensive Crest White Strips. I've used the cheaper ones before, and they do work!

Another thing I'd do if I had the pleasure of receiving a publishing advance is to buy personalized Honor and Remember flags for the families of the men who died in action while serving with my brother. It's very important that our military families, especially those who've lost loved ones in service, know their sacrifices and their pain are not forgotten.

If I received a big fat advance, I'd love to take a monthlong backpacking tour across Europe with Bear. That, or take my whole family on vacation somewhere fun.

How do you reward your writing successes? How would you reward yourself if your book sold? Play along and tell us!

RTW: The scars remind me

Each week, YA Highway hosts Road Trip Wednesday, a blog carnival in which YA Highwayers discuss a topic on their blogs and invite readers to do the same. This week's RTW topic is:

What is the story of your best scar?

While my favorite scar is not, in fact, the perfect map of the London Underground (and let me tell you, I didn't realize how handy a scar like this might actually be until I traveled on the London Underground!), it comes with a funny story:

Growing up, my brother and I fought a lot. Sometimes playfighting, sometimes bickering, sometimes kinda-play-fighting-but-not-really, sometimes full-on brawl mode.

Occasionally, I did something to make Bro mad enough to chase me. I knew he'd never actually hurt me, but just because he wouldn't hit me didn't mean he wouldn't find other ways to torture me if I was caught.

So I was 15, Bro was 12, and I did something to make him mad enough to chase me. We were having a cookout, it was toward the end of summer, and I ran and ran, laughing, bobbing, and weaving around the yard.

I jumped on a small plastic lawn table instead of jumping over it and BAM! It slipped out from under me. I hit the underside of the sharp plastic, renting a 6 inch gash across the right side of my left knee. For some reason it didn't occur to me that I was, hello, actually hurt, so I continue laughing as I army-crawled away, dragging my bleeding knee through the dirt and grass. Finally I realized my brother wasn't chasing me anymore. And oh yeah, oops — there was blood all over my knee.

You might not be able to tell in pictures, but anyone who has met me in person can attest that I am so pale I'm almost translucent, making scars very noticeable on my skin. But between owning feisty cats my whole life, being incredibly clumsy, and being comfortable with my paleness, scars don't really bother me.

This one, though? It looked horrible. It was bright red, wrapping from my knee cap to almost behind my knee. To make matters worse, I have a tendency to pick my wounds, meaning it took forever to heal and scarred awful. My knee looked like an amateur slasher got a hold of it.

Eleven years later, my best scar has faded to a 2 inch, slightly raised line, but the memory of that afternoon will stay with me far longer than the mark on my skin. In my mind, it has come to represent the 'fun' fights my brother and I had, the ones that were annoying but somehow ended with both of us grinning.

So, what's the story of your favorite scar? Tell me in the comments or join us on our Road Trip!

RTW: A MAGGIE tidbit

Each week, YA Highway hosts Road Trip Wednesday, a blog carnival in which YA Highwayers discuss a topic on their blogs and invite readers to do the same. This week's RTW topic is:

What's your favorite line of your WIP (or of a recently read book, if you're not writing anything)?

In PRODIGAL MAGGIE, some of my best lines come from bickering brothers Winter and Hunter. This is an argument between them. The first speaker is Hunter:

"I know everything about her – she's fascinating, she's beautiful – what's not to like?"

"You know what she's told me. That's not the same as knowing everything about her. She's boring. And timid. And too damn polite."

"How can you be too polite?"

"Trust me. You can be and she is. The girl's like warm cardboard."

Hunter bristled. "Stop insulting me girl or I'll kick your arse."

And here's a line about Ainne, Winter and Hunter's older sister:

Ainne stiffened mid-stride. She turned slowly, unsheathed a dagger with a turquoise hilt from her belt, and rubbed the blade lovingly. "Do you know how easy it would be to shove this through your temple?" She tapped her own temple lightly and smiled.

So tell me! What are your favorite lines, either from your own work or someone else's?

Each day's a gift and not a given right.

Each day's a gift and not a given right - Nickelback

I was going to do YA Highway, but then I read this post by Sarah Enni.

Please go read it.  I'll wait while you do.

...
...
...

Thank you.

Sarah's post is a reminder for so many things.

As Christmas approaches, please remember to enjoy it.

Live each day so that if you never get tomorrow, you'll have as few regrets as possible.

Tell the people you love that you love them, every time they walk out the door and every time you get off the phone.

Take a deep breath before arguing. Decide if it's really worth it (this one I especially can work on).

Avoid fighting unless you really have to, but don't let anyone run you over either.

Be deliberate in your actions.  Think before you speak.

As Sarah said, follow your dreams.

Choose to be happy.  It's okay to be sad, to grieve, to be down, but getting back up is vital.

And always be kind, especially to the ones who really need it.

I'm closing shop for the holidays to spend time with my family. I wish each and every one of you a safe, loving Christmas.  It's looking like it might be a White Christmas for us, which would be a first in my life, so I'm very excited for that possibility.

See y'all in 2011!

RTW: On a serious note, Santa...

Each week, YA Highway hosts Road Trip Wednesday, a blog carnival in which contributors discuss a topic on their blogs and invite readers to do the same. This week's RTW topic is:

You spot Santa at the mall, climb onto his lap, and whisper that you've been a good boy or girl in his ear. What do you want Santa to bring you this year? Go wild! Have fun! After all, you earned it!

I don't mean to spoil the fun spirit of this week's RTW (which is an awesome topic), but really, if I could have anything...

My brother, Iraq, Christmas 2007

I'd want my brother home safe in the States.

If Santa could fit the other 100,000 troops in Afghanistan and 50,000 troops in Iraq in his sleigh, that'd pretty much make not just my day or my Christmas, it'd make my universe.

As we celebrate Christmas, keep in mind how many empty chairs and heavy hearts there are around the country, spouses and parents and children and siblings missing their Soldier or Sailor or Marine or Airman with all their might.

My brother's unit has lost so many men this deployment. One is far too many, but the number of men they've lost is... I can't imagine a strong enough word, but let's just say it's devastating. As Christmas approaches, I think about and pray for my brother's safety and well-being, and I also think of the names and faces of the men we've lost, imagine what this Christmas must be like for their loved ones...

It breaks my heart. It makes me appreciate what I have.

If you come across a service member or their family this Christmas, please thank them. It will mean more than you know.

RTW: One life, 6 words

Each week, YA Highway hosts Road Trip Wednesday, a blog carnival in which contributors discuss a topic on their blogs and invite readers to do the same. This week's RTW topic is:

Write your six-word memoir (inspired by I Can't Keep My Own Secrets)

My memoir:

Love from family equals unlimited possibility.

There is no me without my family. My husband, my parents, my siblings, my grandma, my aunt... We rely on each other, do for each other, care for each other. When someone is down, we rally around them. When someone gets messed with... well, you don't mess with someone in my family without riling up the whole pack. And we are a pack with teeth, trust me.

Some grow up feeling held down or limited by their family's expectations. I thank God that's not the case for me. My family has always encouraged my dreams, gone out of their way to help me achieve them. Being loved fiercely and unconditionally gives me an incomparable safety net in life: I can follow my dreams without fear because I know if I fall, they are there to catch me. 

RTW: Desert island fun

Each week, YA Highway hosts Road Trip Wednesday, a blog carnival in which contributors discuss a topic on their blogs and invite readers to do the same. This week's RTW topic is:

You're packing for a month on a deserted island. What, as a reader and writer, must be in your backpack?

First of all, I'd like to know why I know in advance that I'm going to be on a desert island for a month? Is it some kind of reality show? A social experiment? Anything but a lost episode of LOST!

Okay, so since it wasn't specified, I'm going to say my desert island is one of those in Jamaica that are really close to the inhabited islands, so I can ride a Sea-Doo there for dinner every day (guess that means I better pack my debit card...)

Anyway. What to pack... what to pack...?

(Besides my husband and a Sam's Club-sized palette of sun block, that is. Those are givens, hello.)

As a reader, I'd definitely need a mix of old favorites and never-reads to keep me entertained:

• The HARRY POTTER series
• GONE WITH THE WIND
• WORLD WAR Z (Actually, scratch WWZ, otherwise I'll be imagining the shuffle of zombies in the sand.)
• TWILIGHT series (I've not reread them yet, I figure a month on a desert island's as good a time as any, right?)
• A bunch of books in my to-be-read pile, including HEX HALL, THE SUGAR QUEEN, THE HUNGER GAMES series, SCRAMBLED EGGS AT MIDNIGHT, and the last 2 NARNIA books.
• The Bible (I don't go on any trip without it.)

As a writer, I'd bring:

• The multicolored pens my sister-in-law sent me from Japan
• A pack of blue fine-tip, no-bleed-through Sharpie pens
• A bunch of notebooks (and these do triple-duty, because I can write a desert-island-set novel, draw, and compose future blogs in them!)

I'd also need:

• Above-mentioned Sea-Doo
• A giant Zip-Loc bag to keep my stuff from getting wet
• A solar-powered clock (can't stand not knowing the time)
• A solar-powered fan
• A tent
• My favorite blanket
• A first aid kit (and maybe my health insurance card, being that the hospital is only a Sea-Doo ride away)

What would you pack?

RTW: When to give up

Each week, YA Highway hosts Road Trip Wednesday, a blog carnival in which contributors discuss a topic on their blogs and invite readers to do the same. This week's RTW topic is:

How do you know when a project will work out, and when it won't?

We've been told, over and over, Never. Ever. Ever. Give Up.

I'm here to tell you you should give up.

Under the right circumstances.

Not on writing in general. That's what 'they' refer to when they say never give up. If writing is your passion, never, ever, ever give up.

But on individual projects, sometimes it is necessary. How do you know which projects are worth quitting?

Two things come to mind:

1.) It's like being in love - hard to explain why you know it's right, but you know it with all of your heart;
or, if you prefer
2.) It's like pornography - you can't define it, but you know it when you see it.

Sometimes I am not right for the story; sometimes the story is not right for me. Sometimes it takes a while to realize that. There's no reason I should keep going just for the sake of not quitting. Continuing to work on something that is fruitless and wrong for me is a good way to get irretrievably frustrated with the writing process.

My personal rule of thumb is: If you stop (as in, never come back to it, not take a break from it - we need that sometimes) because you're lazy and don't want to figure out a way to fix whatever problems you are encountering, then yeah, you're quitting. Bad writer, bad!

But if in your heart, you just don't feel it, there's no reason to continue. It is a waste of time, energy, and talent.

And no one can determine that but the writer.

Find what is right for you, and see it through completion. But don't feel bad about not finishing every little idea you jot on a napkin.

Now that I've done my philosophizing for the day, I must make a mad dash to get ready. We are headed to a Backstreet Boys concert multiple hours away tonight (yes, I love my 90s pop!) and want to make sure we're not late!

Happy Wednesday, all!

RTW: Literary tats

Each week, YA Highway hosts Road Trip Wednesday, a blog carnival in which contributors discuss a topic on their blogs and invite readers to do the same. This week's RTW topic is:

What tattoo would you get to celebrate your book's success OR in honor of a favorite book?

Tattoos require some form of this:

Just looking at that needle makes me squirm.

And this is what I require when getting pricked by a needle:

Once quite literally.

Needless to say, tattoos for me? Not a viable (or welcome) option.

All the same, let's examine tattoos honoring some of my favorite books:

HARRY POTTER

TWILIGHT

GONE WITH THE WIND

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

For more literary tattoos, check out this website.

And finally, a tattoo of one of my favorite poems, a poem a thousand times more romantic than TWILIGHT could ever hope to be (from the great flouter of punctuation and capitalizing himself):

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

- e. e. cummings, i carry your heart with me

Pansy Parkinson's Tweets are really getting on my nerves...

Each week, YA Highway hosts Road Trip Wednesday, a blog carnival in which contributors discuss a topic on their blogs and invite readers to do the same. This week's RTW topic is:

If literary characters had Twitter accounts, whose tweets would you follow?

What do you mean IF literary characters had Twitter accounts? They're driving me crazy! I'm ready to unfollow every single one of them! I can barely see my fellow authors' and writers' Tweets over their incessant Tweet-yammering.

Pansy going on about how much she loves Draco. Ron whining about his brothers. Rhett provoking Scarlett.

Don't believe me? See for yourself.

My Twitter feed from last night:

See what I mean?!

Mad, all of them.

(Except Scarlett and Hermione, who are—as always—awesome.)

What's right with the publishing industry

Each week, YA Highway hosts Road Trip Wednesday, a blog carnival in which contributors discuss a specific topic on their own blogs and invite readers to do the same. This week's RTW topic is:

Discuss something positive about the publishing industry.

(This topic is inspired by agent Colleen Lindsay's No Whining Week [#nww on Twitter])
 
Positive, positive... hmmm...
 
Only kidding. :-)
 
To outsiders, the publishing industry is all about glamour, money, and fame. As writers (or agents, or editors), we know better. Waaaay better. The publishing industry is about hard work. Dedication. Perseverance. Community.
 
And that is one of my favorite things about the publishing industry - community. I've blogged before about how much I enjoy 'meeting' other writers online, and that still holds true. The more writers I speak to, the more I realize we are all in the same boat, going through the same things, and that makes a difficult, oft-misunderstood profession feel a lot more fun during those moments you just wanna give up.
 
So thank you, writing community. Y'all are grade-A awesome.
 
 
...And while you're online, won't you check out the amazing, dessert-making, South-loving Rachel Bateman? She's 1 Follower away from 50, so if you enjoy her blog (and how could you not?!), Follow her!

Authors aren't necessarily celebrities

Each week, YA Highway hosts Road Trip Wednesday, a blog carnival in which contributors discuss a specific topic on their own blogs and invite readers to do the same. This week's RTW topic is:

What author's career would you love to emulate?

Nathan Bransford asked this same question a few weeks ago. My answer then was,

Someone who has success but not constant media attention. I wouldn't want JK Rowling's or Stephanie Meyer's career. I'd like to be somebody somewhat under the radar but never completely forgotten about, someone who achieves success but not up in the stratosphere kind of success... maybe Jennifer Weiner or Lauren Willig?

My answer still stands (except adding a few dashes... it should read "up-in-the-stratosphere" as I mean it).

I want to be an author, not a celebrity. There's a difference between being well-known or famous within a co-culture (i.e., YA fans, women's fiction fans, readers in general) and being a celebrity, someone who even your great-grandmother can name. I'll be happy whether I publish or not, but if I am published one day, I'd like to generate just enough interest to have a solid fan base without having to worry about stalkers or people digging through my trashcan.

A limerick for Jo

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
 
Each week, YA Highway hosts Road Trip Wednesday, a blog carnival in which contributors discuss a specific topic on their own blogs and invite readers to do the same. This week's RTW topic is:

Write a limerick about your favorite book or your work in progress.

For those who don't remember what a limerick is exactly (I know I sure didn't - third grade was a long time ago), a limerick is an often silly 5-line poem in which lines 1,2, and 5 rhyme and lines 3 and 4 rhyme.

A limerick about my favorite series:

There once was a woman named Jo
Who created a boy wizard you might know
   He had a lightning-shaped scar
   His adventures were bizarre
And to Hogwarts he did go!

And as a slight teaser, a limerick about my book:

There once was a girl named Maggie
Who lived in a house none-too-shabby
   Then she went to Ireland
   In the Modern World she was banned
And met some pixies who were a little too gabby.

Hope everyone enjoys their corned beef and cabbage today!

These are a few of my faaaaaavorite links!

[Imagine the title to the tune of "My Favorite Things" and it'll make a lot more sense]

Each week, YA Highway hosts a blog carnival called Road Trip Wednesday in which contributors discuss a specific topic on their own blogs and invite readers to do the same. This week's RTW topic is:

List your favorite reading/writing blogs and/or resources.

Like many bloggers, most of my favorite writing-related sites are listed on my sidebar. →

Agent blogs:

• Daphne Unfeasible (Kate Schafer Testerman) - Daphne is a shoe-obsessed super-agent who reps some of my favorites, including Maureen Johnson and Stephanie Perkins. Daph is an entertaining and informative read.
• Janet Reid is the Query Shark herself and provides straight-up, no-nonsense advice. Check her sidebar for a plethora of helpful information, including her Rules for Writers blog series.
• Kristin Nelson blogs contracts, publishing math, foreign rights, and all the nitty-gritty things you need to know about the publishing world, from the query and beyond. Check out her Agenting 101 blog series, linked on her sidebar.
• Nathan Bransford is the blog-father of the agent blogosphere, and provides insight on everything from the publishing industry to queries to general writing advice. Check out the forums on his blog, which are becoming so popular they could give AbsoluteWrite a run for their money. Read his The Essentials blog series before you query anyone.
• Rachelle Gardner offers motivational advice and a Christian perspective that makes you look at the publishing world in an entirely different (read: more positive) way. 

Agented/published writer blogs:

• Elana Johnson's motto is "Stop the violins. Write it greatly." Elana is honest about how hard the writing process is, but reminds her readers (and herself) to stop whining and keep working, because nothing starts great, you have to make it that way.
• Jennifer Weiner's sarcastic, not-necessarily-what-you-want-to-hear-but-will-help-you-in-the-long-run advice can be described in one word: AWESOME.
• Kiersten White writes! Kiersten White blogs daily! Kiersten White vlogs occasionally! Kiersten's debut novel, PARANORMALCY, comes out in September. She is funny and helpful and my favorite blog read.
• Natalie Whipple is entertaining, upbeat, and repped by the blog-father himself, Nathan Bransford. She blogs about the writing process, with everything from anime to Warcraft to ninjas sprinkled in. And her Saturday sketches are a lot of fun, too!
• Stephanie Perkins is funny and daring and her debut novel, ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS, comes out in December. Plus her blog design is just gorgeous!
• YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesday is a fun chance to connect with other blogging writers and their Field Trip Friday is great wrap-up of the week in YA.

Other helpful sites/blogs:

• The Bookshelf Muse maintains a collect of Emotion, Setting Description, Color, Texture and Shape, and Symbolism thesauruses (thesauri?) that help writers add a little extra meaning to our writing. A great resource when you begin adding subtle foreshadowing during the editing process.
• Dropbox is a program that allows you to sync your files online and across your computers automatically. For more information, check out their website or the post I wrote about it on Monday.
• Weronika Janczuk is a writer and publishing intern who offers excellent advice based on her own experiences with the writing process. She is also very generous with her time and enjoys helping other writers improve their work.
• TV Tropes is a wiki that lists thousands of tropes, or devices and conventions, in writing. It's a great place to surf if you are in need of ideas, but be careful, because you might get lost in there.

Getting things done the procrastinator's way

Don't forget you have just over 48 hours to enter THE TABBY CATT's In Like a Lion contest!

Each week, YA Highway hosts a blog carnival called Road Trip Wednesday, in which contributors discuss a specific topic on their own blogs and invite readers to do the same. This week's Road Trip Wednesday topic is:

The ways you procrastinate.

I, my friends, am an expert procrastinator. How do I do it, you ask?

Well...

I'll tell you in a little while.

What's that?

You need to know now?

For this exact post?

Oh, okaaaaay.

The main ways I used to procrastinate involved reading Hollywood gossip blogs like TMZ and trolling MySpace, but I realized I was wasting a lot of time reading negative stuff about people I don't know (hmmm, goes for TMZ and MySpace), so I stopped visiting those sites.

I made the switch to Facebook-only last year, and I've found I can stay in touch with friends on there without the time-drain MySpace was bad for. Unless you play Farmville, for which there should be a Farmville Addicts Anonymous support group. I played it for one week and then quit cold turkey. A time-sucking vortex, that game is.

Another way I procrastinate is by blogging or reading other writers' blogs. Though I consider blogging/reading blogs to be a part of my job, this is what happens when I am procrastinating:

I'll just see if I have any new comments on my blog. I'll just see if anyone I follow has posted anything new. I'll just see what new comments were left after mine on Kiersten White's blog...

On it goes.

And finally, my biggest procrastination tactic is... *DUM DUM DUM*

Reading.

When working on my book is just too darn difficult and I want to put it off until later (at which point I will of course magically know exactly how to fix the one sentence I've been staring at for 30 minutes straight), I read.

Because, you know... it is a part of my job, after all. An even bigger part than blogging. It's really important that a writer read ALL THE TIME, right?

Right?

A guest in my favorite book moments

Every week, YA Highway hosts a blog carnival called Road Trip Wednesday in which contributors answer a specific question on their own blogs and readers are invited to participate as well. This is now an official weekly feature on THE TABBY CATT. Enjoy!

This week's Road Trip Wednesday question is:

If you could be any character in a book, who would you be?

If I had to choose, I'd be Hermione Granger, because I, too, am the most talented witch in my year. Just ask my brother. Although his definition of 'witch' might differ from mine.

Hermione and I share a lot of similarities, like love of learning and a no-nonsense attitude. I admire her strength, intelligence, and perseverance, all of which get her through the HP series fairly unscathed. Plus, I took a quiz on Facebook called Which movie romance are you? (while crossing my fingers that I wouldn't get Edward and Bella - no offense, but everyone else on my status feed was Edward and Bella!) and the answer was Ron and Hermione.

I think this might be photoshopped fan art, but that's okay.

But really, I wouldn't want to be anyone from a book. Books are interesting because the characters in them endure hardship. Compelling characters confront loneliness, frustration, grief, terror, and pain.

Thanks, but no thanks. There's enough of that in the real world.

I would enjoy a few moments as a guest in quite a few books, though.

I'd love to spend the day at Twelve Oaks, sipping mint juleps and watching Scarlett enchant every man at the barbeque in the last few glorious, carefree hours before war broke. I wouldn't want to be Scarlett when she was stuck in a besieged Atlanta or when she had to shoot the marauding Yankee or when they were all starving at Tara.

To sit with Ron and Harry and Hermione by the lake just after exams and watch the giant squid sun himself would be amazing. But being Harry as he faced a possessed Quirrell or after he touched the TriWizard Cup or during the Battle of Hogwarts? No way, Jose!

Chilling in the Shire with Frodo would be a relaxing treat, but being Frodo? Carrying that ring? Dealing with Gollum and that giant spider and the Orcs? Uh-uh!

It'd even be fun to accompany Kaye and Roiben to the apple orchard in TITHE to see all of the gorgeous faeries, but pretty much everything else in that book would be terrifying to experience in real life.

So yeah. I'll stick with being me.

Who would you be if you could be any character in a book? Would all the bad be worth it to step into their shoes?