Mastering Revisions

So far, my blog posts in 2012 have been sparse. With good reason, of course.

I've gone back to college...well, no, not really. But some days it feels like it. I'm determined to learn everything I can about revision and (hopefully) bring my writing to a new level.

So, I've been immersed in just about every online class, workshop, and/or book I can find on the subject. Some of my favorites so far:

1. Margie Lawson's Deep Editing Lecture Packets and Online Classes. I've read through the lecture packets and now I'm taking the online class. It's definitely a lot of work, but well worth it. I can see my writing improve drastically.
2. Holly Lisle's How To Revise Your Novel. Another intense course that's helped me identify (and fix) what wasn't working in my WIP.
3. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. I think I've read this book about a dozen times now and seem to learn something new with each pass.
4. Revision and Self-Editing by James Scott Bell.
5. Darcy Pattison's Fiction Notes which contains a wealth of information on making your novel stronger.

So how do you revise? Any favorite books and suggestions that helped?

Feeling Green

Sadly, I haven't blogged in weeks, but I'm happy to be back just in time for another post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.

While I've been neglecting my blog over the past few weeks, something very exciting happened...I became an aunt to an adorably sweet baby boy.

I love babies. And since I'm done having anymore of my own, nieces and nephews are the next best thing. For seven long years, I've been anxiously awaiting this moment...

So, last year when my sister-in-law whispered in my ear they were trying for a baby, I was elated.

And when she announced her pregnancy last June, I was overjoyed.

But then in October as she revealed baby's gender, I found myself faking a smile as I swallowed something bitter and acidic that burned it's way down my throat and twisted through my gut.

Jealousy. I was jealous because she was having a son and I never will.

Crazy, I know. There are lots of moms out there who would love to have a daughter—and I am blessed with two of them. There are lots of moms out there who would give anything to have a child, and my heart breaks for them. So what was I doing turning green over something so petty?

For me it went a tad deeper. You see, both of my pregnancies were plagued with issues, from personal to health problems, they were nine long months of stress and anxiety. And then there were the years of fertility struggles and the painful miscarriage that separates them. And I'm not even going to get into that whole labor and delivery part. For my sister-in-law, pregnancy was easy and joyous. She wanted to get pregnant, she did. She wanted a girl, she got one. She wanted a boy...well you get the point.

And so there I was, last October, comparing my hard path to having children to her easy one. And the insecurities came...Why does she get it so easy? Is it because I'm not as good a mother, or I'm not as healthy as her, or I'm not deserving...

This happens to me in writing too. There I am struggling along with novel attempt #137, when out of the woodwork somebody lands an agent and major book deal on their first try. And although at first I'm overjoyed and inspired by their success, those jealous insecurities like to force there way out...and then I find myself crying Hey wait, no fair! Why do they get all the breaks?

But deep down I know that just because somebody else's road seems like it was easier, it doesn't mean it was. And just because mine seems harder, it doesn't mean I'm any less than somebody else. Our journeys are just different.

And so on that one October night last year, I had to remind myself of that. To stop comparing and enjoy the road I'm on—the one filled with Disney princesses, sisterly chats, baby dolls, iCarly, Justin Bieber, and lots of pink. And yeah, I'm loving it, every moment of it.

Because once I remember and appreciate the uniquess of my path, I can get back to the stuff that really matters.

Such as being truly happy for the new parents...

And being truly happy for the writer who just sold their book....

And being a mother to two awesome girls...

And an aunt to one adorable little boy and his proud big sister...

And being the writer of that one story that only I can tell.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Book Blurb (from Goodreads): Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction.

As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions.

They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perry, whom she considers a barbarian, to help her get back to Reverie, while Perry needs Aria to help unravel the mystery of his beloved nephew’s abduction by the Dwellers. Together they embark on a journey challenged as much by their prejudices as by encounters with cannibals and wolves. But to their surprise, Aria and Perry forge an unlikely love - one that will forever change the fate of all who live UNDER THE NEVER SKY.


Why I loved this book:

• Beautiful Characters. Aria who seems soft but isn't and the brooding Perry who comes across as cold and ruthless, but is far from it. I loved how natural their relationship developed.
  
• Beautiful Setting. Awesome, awesome world building. I love how the book didn't go too in depth in how everything worked or functioned, but gave just enough to paint a rich and vivid picture of the world Aria and Perry were inhabiting.
  
• The Pace. It's rare for me to not be able to put a book down — even books I love and would give 100s of stars too and buy copies for all my friends. I love to read, but I love my sleep too. But I couldn't put this one down and stayed up half the night last Thursday finishing this book. Now hurry up 2013...I want to read the next one!
  

I love, love, loved this book!!!! I can't wait to see what comes next for Aria and Perry. It was a great book to start off my reading this year :)

Why Yes, Twitter, I am Human. I just can't remember my password.

It's the 1st Wednesday of the month which means a posting for Alex J Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group.

Now since we're only 4 days into the New Year, I thought I'd talk about one of my resolutions. Or rather my only resolution, since I'm not usually a big resolution maker.

In 2012 I'm going to overcome my social media shyness.

Now I don't know if being shy is a symptom of insecurity or the other way around, but I suffer from extreme cases of both. Ever since I could walk and talk, I've been paranoid of new social situations. I'm the one with the mouth clamped tight, inching her way towards the door or the darkest corner of the room.

It's not for lack of wanting to be there. I do love going out — conversations, friends, meeting new people. But oftentimes, especially in new and unfamiliar situations...I get a pounding heart, sweaty palms, and little voices in my head telling me "nobody cares what you have to say."

I thought social media would be easier. Nobody can see you blush through a computer. Time to think about what you want to say. But nope, I'm just as shy behind a computer as I am in front of it.

Past experience has taught me that if I want to get over my shyness I just have to keep putting myself in the situation that's making me shy. So this year I plan on commenting more, posting more, interacting more, and tweeting too (once I remember my password).

What about you? Are you shy in real life? Are you shy on the web? If you overcame it, what works for you?

Hello 2012...

I spent December 31, 2011 the same way I spent December 31, 2010. At home in my pajamas eating homemade pizza and drinking cheap champagne while celebrating the demise of another year with my family, board games, and watching a ball drop.

It was almost like nothing had changed.

Almost...


A year ago...

I had not shared a single word of my writing with anybody.
I would have never shared on a public internet site...such as this blog.
Rejection would've destroyed me.
Nobody outside of my immediate family and my mother were aware of the 'writing thing'.

I referred to writing as 'the writing thing'.
I was afraid to do anything more than lurk on a writing message board, and forget online classes, writing groups, or conferences.
I would have never walked into a bookstore to buy a book about (gulp) writing.
I did not refer to myself a Writer.

365 days later, and not one thing on the above list is true anymore. With every word I wrote, every new obstacle I overcame, every hurtle I've jumped over the past year I've grown into the writer and person I am now. Braver, stronger, and even more persistant...and I like that. Sure, I still have a long long long way to go and so much to learn, but I'm looking forward to 2012 and the new challenges and experiences that lie ahead.

So Hello 2012...