Too Many Ideas???

One of the toughest (and most exciting) parts of writing a book is having too many ideas swirling in your head. And, no, I'm not talking about too many ideas for your book (which can also be a good or bad thing and will possibly be the subject of a future post). I'm talking about having too many ideas for other books that I could be writing. On the one hand, it's exciting because every new book idea presents so many possibilities and, before you know it, you're thinking of the plot and the characters and wondering about the story these new characters have to tell. On the other hand, it's really tough because it can take your attention away from your current work-in-progress (which is where your attention is most needed). I am currently having this problem. Usually, taking ten minutes to write down the idea and saving it in my "Ideas" file helps, but this is the first time that I've had a manuscript in front of an agent that is meant to be a series, and it feels different. I've tried writing a new story completely (as posted in my last blog) and it was going really well until I hit a little writer's block. It isn't a big deal because I know why it's happening and how to fix it, but the second that writer's block hit, I started thinking of other stories that seemed more compelling. And all the while this is happening, I am in love with the manuscript that is front of the agent, and what I really want to be working on is the next book in the series. So, basically, I feel like I'm in limbo right now. I can't work on the next book in the series (well, I could, but I want to wait until I hear back from the agent that is reading the first one), and I can't seem to focus on a different story completely because I'm thinking about the series idea that I'm in love with.

I've heard of other writers working on 2 or even 3 books at once, but that doesn't seem like it would be productive for me. So, for now, I'm just going to keep filing those ideas into a folder for later and, hopefully, I'll feel like I'm out of limbo soon.

Btw, I know it sounds like I'm complaining about having too many ideas, but I am thankful for it because I would rather have too many ideas than not enough. I just needed to rant about feeling like I'm in limbo, because I know there are other writers out there that have been in the same spot or are in the same spot now.

Thanks for letting me rant : )

Just a quick post to say I'm a little over 20,000 words now on my second story, and I'm feeling really good about it : )

I do have to say, it's amazing how many things go through your mind as you're waiting to hear back from an agent that is reading your full manuscript. First, I wonder if she even received my manuscript because I never received a confirmation on it. Then I start to worry, because what if I don't find out she didn't receive it until it's too late and she's no longer interested because it's been so long? After that thought goes through my head, I wonder if she's read it yet. I know that agents are extremely busy and for all I know she might have a stack of fulls to read and mine's at the bottom. Then I think, what if she's read it and has put it aside to consider it? I've read that a lot of agents do this to see if they still like a manuscript as much a couple days after they've read it. Or, the option that makes my heart drop a little, she's read it and hasn't had time to send me the rejection letter yet.

All I know is that, even if she rejects it, I am going to keep writing because it's what I love to do.  And, to me, it's just amazing that someone in the publishing business actually wanted to read something I wrote. I am so honored, and it only makes me more certain that, no matter what the outcome, I want to keep writing and keep trying to get published.

Pet Peeves and Book Recommendation

I made it to 15,000 words on my second story today! Yay! I wish I'd had a little more time over the weekend to write, but we were pretty busy. Still waiting to hear back from the agent, but I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed every second of every day : )

So do you want to hear about one of my biggest pet peeves? Well, I'm going to tell you anyway. Loud music on TV shows and movies that completely drowns out the dialogue. My fiancé and I watched the first episode of the second season of Friday Night Lights this weekend, and it had this problem. The background music was so loud that we could barely hear anything that was said during this episode and we pretty much had to guess what was going on. I don't know how the people that produce and edit these shows do not realize this is a problem. Luckily, the second episode was much better and we haven't had any more issues so far, but it was still really annoying.

Book recommendation of the day: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I finished it over this weekend and, while it is an amazing book and a fun read, I have to warn you that it starts out really slow. There's enough mystery in the beginning to keep you reading, but I got to a point within the first eighty pages where I would have put the book down if I hadn't heard such great things about it. Luckily, the book has had so much popularity that I decided to read a little more, and I finally got into the main story around page 86. I have to say that if you are having this same problem of being bored in the beginning, please keep reading because it really is worth it. However, the last one hundred pages have the same problem as the first one hundred pages: it slows down considerably. Which on the one hand is great because it's the resolution and it's okay that it's slower, but a resolution that takes one hundred pages? That gets to be a bit much, which is why I am going to wait a while to read the other books in the series so that my brain has some time to relax. But the main point of all of this is that I am going to read the other books in the series because the writing is wonderful, the characters are lovable and memorable, and the mystery unfolds beautifully.  

New Story

So, I read some advice a couple days ago on sequels on a published author's blog, and it made a lot of sense to me. This author said that it's smart to write out a synopsis for the sequel to your book, but that you should write a new book until your first one gets picked up by an editor, even if you already have an agent (still no news on the agent front, btw). This is because, in case your first book doesn't sell, you'll have another book already waiting in the wings, and you would not have wasted time writing another book in a series that didn't sell. It made sense to me and even though it made me sad to temporarily put my beloved characters away and start on something new, it was also very exciting. I had a lot of other story ideas already written down, so I thought I would choose one from those, but this new idea just suddenly popped in my head while I was walking the dog, and I've been excitedly writing it since. The thing that amazes me is that I've fallen in love with these characters already, too, which is a great sign because if you don't love the story you're telling or the characters you are writing, then you are definitely heading down the wrong path. As of this moment, I am almost 9,500 words into it : ) I had just started writing the sequel a couple days before I'd read that advice, so I was only a little over 7,000 words into that one. I might keep adding to the sequel on the weekends, but it all depends on how my other story is moving, and right now it is moving so fast that I can barely type fast enough!

On another, completely unrelated note, I just have to tell you that the TV shows I can watch anytime and that always make me smile are Friends, Gilmore Girls, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Frasier, Happy Days and I Love Lucy (if you are a Lucille Ball fan and you've never visited the museums in Jamestown, NY, you are missing out! Here's the website if you want to check it out: http://www.lucy-desi.com/) I've seen all of the episodes for all of those shows already (except Happy Days, although I believe I've seen most of them) but it still makes me happy when I catch reruns of them even though I already know what's going to happen. What brought on this unrelated note, you may ask? I've been catching reruns of Gilmore Girls and Friends a lot lately, and it made me think of the other TV shows I love to watch no matter how many times I've seen all of the episodes.

Dinner/Friday Night Lights

No news on the agent front yet, but hopefully I'll hear something soon : )

Last night I made a Barefoot Contessa recipe that was delicious and easy to make: cheddar corn chowder. I would highly recommend it, but make sure you have enough chicken stock. I was in the middle of cooking when I realized I didn't have enough and my fiance had to run to the store to get some. Here's the recipe if anyone's interested:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/cheddar-corn-chowder-recipe/index.html

And since there is no news on the writing/agent front, I feel the need to tell you about my latest tv obsession: Friday Night Lights. I had seen the movie (which is also really good), but I never managed to catch the show until it began airing on ABC Family. The first episode is a little slow until they get to the football game, and it actually took me a couple days after to decide if I wanted to watch the second episode. Then, with nothing else to do, I decided to give it one more try and became obsessed! I cannot recommend this show highly enough; it's funny, exciting, and, most importantly, dramatic.

Another thing I will recommend is the new The Karate Kid movie. I know, I know, it's not the same as the first and Ralph Macchio is the true Karate Kid and yada yada yada, but it is still a great movie. And it takes place in China which provides beautiful scenery. Anyways, give it a try, and as long as you're not obsessed with comparing it to the first movie, you'll enjoy it.

My first blog post!

Okay, so I wasn't entirely sure about this whole blogging thing. I mean, who wants to hear about my life? But then I realized how much time I was spending reading other authors' and agents' blogs and how much they've helped me keep my spirits up in this crazy process of trying to get published. So I thought that maybe my blog could help someone else out there, or at the very least entertain someone out there.

So here’s a little bit about me:

I live with my fiancé and our 5 month old german shepherd/lab puppy (who, by the way, ate a dried up dead bird yesterday. I didn't even know she had something in her mouth until I heard the crunching, yuck!), and right now I am a full-time writer, but unless I get a book deal really soon, I think I am going to look for a part-time job after the wedding. And, although I would love to be a full-time writer for my entire life, I may go back to school next summer to get my Masters in Education depending on whether I get that book deal that, for now, still seems a bit out of reach.

I finished writing my first young adult (YA) novel in September, and I have been sending query letters out to my dream agents. So far, I've sent out 14 queries, received 6 rejections and 1 request for the full manuscript from an amazing agent! I sent her the manuscript last week and I've been anxious to hear back ever since. To keep myself occupied, I've been working on the sequel to my first book and doing a lot of housework. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do now but pray that she loves it!

So the point of this blog is to keep everyone updated about my experiences and adventures in trying to become a published author, but as I'm sure there will be slow days in the writing business with not much to talk about, here are some other things you can expect me to comment on:

-book recommendations/reviews
-movie recommendations/reviews
-Dancing with the Stars and other great TV shows
-My puppy, Dee (named after Sweet Dee from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and, apparently, her adventures in eating carcasses.
-my hubby to be
-complaints about housework
-whatever else I may find amusing/interesting on that day

Well, that's it for now, but I promise to keep you updated on my search for an agent! Keeping my fingers crossed! : )