Deep Fried Cheesecake and Christmas Music

Things that make me happy, even on a Monday:

1. The rodeo cookoff I went to on Saturday. Amazing barbeque, miles of carnival rides, and deep fried cheesecake (yes, really). SOOO much fun.


2. The Oscars! Did anyone else love Jennifer Lawrence’s whole look? And Cate Blanchett’s quirky dress looked stunning to me.

3. Chocolate chips. Perfect in cookies and brownies and by the handful all on their own.

4. Christmas music. Yep, I’ve already started listening to it again. What can I say, it makes me happy!

5. Everyone's book recommendations from Friday. Thank you all so much! I have some great new books to check out.

Happy Monday, everyone! Anything making you happy this week?

Five Random Thoughts on a Friday

1. Spring is here! It’s in the 70s and gorgeous outside, which of course means I want to be out there and not inside writing.

2. How is it that I can love pretty much every song by Joshua Radin? He’s just perfect for weekend mornings in pajamas with big cups of coffee.

3. I’m in a bit of a reading slump. Nothing is really holding my attention or tempting me these days. Anyone have a book I absolutely need to read?

4. If I had one superpower, I would definitely choose the power to fly. I mean, you get to travel anywhere you want for free, and what could be better than that feeling of soaring through the air?

5. Is anyone else crazy excited about the movie Little Red Riding Hood coming out? It looks beautiful and fun and perfect for a new guilty pleasure.

Happy weekend, everyone! Anyone have any fun plans?

The Journey

One of the things I know I need to revise in the Birdie WiP is to focus more on the journey. My characters, just out of high school, go on a road trip around the country. I’ve written a lot about the different points they stop at, but I don’t spend all that much time in the car with them. I don’t write about the music they listen to, the landscape out the window, the ways they pass the time. And in a book that basically espouses the idea that it’s about the journey, not the destination, this is unacceptable.

It got me thinking about writing as a whole. We all focus, of course, on getting published. On getting that book on the shelf. We want to be able to tell people that we’re authors, that we have a second book coming out soon, etc. But there’s something so valuable about the journey, too.

Right now, I write for myself. I write because I have to. Because it’s something akin to a basic need. I can’t imagine a life without writing. So I carve these stories out of my imagination and pour my soul into them because it’s my calling. I take the time to perfect my writing, revising it again and again until it’s something I can be proud of.

Maybe someday I’ll be published. I’ll have that book on the shelf to point to. But deep down, I know that incredible feeling won’t compare to the lessons this journey has taught me. I’ve learned so much more about myself and, really, about life from this writing process, and that’s invaluable. It really is about the journey.

Writerly Moments and Strong Coffee

Things that make me happy, even on a Monday:

1. Those moments where I absolutely have to write something down—a story idea, a sentence, even just a word. You know, when you have to drop everything, sometimes literally, to find pen and paper? Those moments make me feel like I’m a real writer.

2. Spur of the moment baking. Chocolate chip brownies were a great idea.

3. Damon Salvatore from the TV show The Vampire Diaries (I don’t read the books). I didn’t think I would like a murderous vampire, but, well. He’s awesome. You just have to watch.

4. Singing along with the radio in the car, even when I know people can see me.

5. Super strong coffee. A whole big mug of it.

Happy Monday, everyone! Anything making you happy this week?

Five Random Thoughts on a Friday

1. Welcome to all my new followers! You guys are awesome. I'm hoping to make it to all of your blogs soon!

2. I have a new TV obsession (I know, like I needed another one): Bones. Does anyone else watch this show? It's about a forensic anthropologist and an FBI agent. The gory bits--they identify dead bodies and find killers--make me squeamish, but I love the characters. They're all distinct and quirky without being too stereotypical.

3. Speaking of Bones, it's produced by and based on the life of a real forensic anthropologist and writer, Kathy Reichs. I have to read her books now, especially her new YA novel, Virals.

4. Can I just say that I love Vanity Fair? Reading that magazine, especially its articles about world economies and the economic collapse, makes me so much smarter.

5. I've started reading through and revising my first WiP, Broken Mirrors. I haven't looked at this one in months, so it's amazing to come back with fresh eyes and see some new ways to improve it and make it the best it can be. Hopefully this whole "I love writing" kick will last a while longer. :)

Have a great weekend, everyone! Anyone have any fun weekend plans?

Some Very Rambling Thoughts on Writing

Well, I did it. I finished the first round (first of many, I’m sure) of my revisions for the Birdie WiP. There’s something so satisfying about finding problems and fixing them. About adding sensory description and cutting unnecessary characters and finding your MC’s real voice.

I have a long way to go. I know that. There are still some problems I haven’t been able to fix, and I know there are more problems I haven’t even discovered yet. The manuscript isn’t clicking yet, the way it does when I know I’ve done all I can do and I’m proud of it.

For now, I’m taking a break so that I can return to the manuscript with fresh eyes. I’m going to do a round of revisions on my first WiP, the one I truly believe in. I know that it’s so close to being just the perfect, polished story, ready to query.

This whole writing process thing is long. And difficult. And frustrating and anxiety-producing. And still, in the midst of all that, fun. I’m a writer. This is my passion. So no matter how many rounds of revisions and sleepless nights and rejections, I still love being a writer.

What about you?

Just Kiss Already

Christina and Stina are hosting a Just Kiss Already blogfest (CLICK HERE for more details and the list of people participating).

Ok, I'm not against Valentine's Day or anything (how can you be against a day of chocolate and candy and flowers?), but I thought I'd give this blogfest a twist and post a not-so-happy kissing scene. A kissing scene between my main character's ex and his new girlfriend. Here goes:

I was wearing my comfiest pair of pajamas, the ones with flying toasters and a lot of unintentional holes, and my hair was in its usual just-out-of-bed state: frizzy and out-of-control. So of course that’s when I saw Daniel kissing some beautiful girl in his front lawn. I mean, really kissing. Like he was going to have his way with her or something right there in the flowerbeds.

I couldn’t think. I couldn’t move. All I could do was stand there like an idiot fish with my mouth gaping open until they broke free of each other and saw me. The girl was almost as tall as Daniel with choppy black hair that framed her heart-shaped face just perfectly and big almond eyes that any girl would kill for. She was wearing a miniskirt that made her legs look miles long, and I wanted nothing more than to kick her in her perfectly toned shins.

Daniel whispered something in her ear, and she sauntered into his house, where his mom was probably making her signature cream cheese brownies. The brownies she had always made just for me.

Daniel approached me like you would approach a potentially rabid animal: hands up, slowly shuffling forward.

“Hey, Bird,” he said, stopping just far enough from me that I couldn’t have hit him. You know, if the thought had entered my mind.

“Who is she?” I asked.

He sighed and lowered his hands. “Her name’s Winnie.”

“Winnie? Like Winnie the Pooh?” I meant to scoff, but my voice would do nothing but squeak.

“She’s a great girl, Bird. You’d like her.”

I just stared at him.

Hope you all liked it! Can't wait to read all the swoonworthy entries!

Five Random Thoughts on a Friday

1. I’ve revised all of my WiP except for the beginning and the end. Which, you know, might be important. But the end of the first round of revisions is so close!

2. I’m officially obsessed with Darren Criss, who plays Blaine on Glee. I fall in love with every song he covers, and he’s just adorable!

3. Sometimes I wish I could do visual art. Like drawing—drawing would be fun. But even my stick figures come out funny looking.

4. I went to a swanky cocktail party and talk about fairy tales last night in a mansion. Seriously. It was put on by the Museum of Fine Arts here. I’m loving Houston.

5. I’m finally reading Across the Universe by Beth Revis, and oh my goodness, am I loving it! So much suspense!

Have a great weekend, everyone! Any fun weekend plans?

Setting a Deadline

I told my friend and critique partner that I would send her the Birdie WiP on February 15th, because that was when I would be done with the first round of revisions and would need an outside eye to help me with the second round. I have no idea why I picked that date, but I’m holding firm to it, because that’s what keeps me motivated this week to just get it done. It’s why I woke up at six in the morning yesterday and opened up my word document and made myself focus.

Setting arbitrary deadlines and sticking to them is one of the things I learned pretty quickly when I started writing. I start small: setting word count goals for the day and week. Eventually, when I feel like I’m nearing the end of a first draft or a round of revisions, I pick a date, write in red in my planner, and do everything I need to do to make it happen.

Having a goal or a deadline is the only way I can make myself sit in that chair in front of the computer. It’s the only way I can ignore my friends and family on those nights I need to work. It’s the only way I can wake up early and stay up late. Because sometimes I love what I’m writing, and I get so into it that I pass my goals completely. But sometimes it doesn’t come as easily, and I need another motivator.

What about you? Do you set firm deadlines for yourself?

MIA Snow and Meandering Walks

Things that make me happy, even on a Monday:

1. Snow. See, snow in Houston would have made me happy, but it didn’t happen. All we got was some ice that no one here knows how to drive on, so the city shut down for a day.

2. Spying on what other people are reading in public. Best subway pastime ever.

3. When the book you’ve been dying to read finally, FINALLY comes on sale. Thank goodness Delirium is out now! I’m loving it just as much as I thought I would.

4. Taking long, meandering walks. It’s the best thinking time for me.

5. Sleep. In any form: naps, sleeping in, dozing off. Sleep always makes me happy. Well, sometimes I wake up all discombobulated and grumpy after a nap. But sleep usually makes me happy.

Happy Monday, everyone! Anything making you happy this week?

Five Random Thoughts on a Friday

1. It’s supposed to snow here today! Real snow! You have no idea how exciting this is for Houston (though we’ve gotten more and more snow the past few years, always when I’m not here).

2. As thrilling as the chance of snow is, it meant that the Lauren Oliver signing I was going to go to was cancelled, which was just a bummer. I can’t wait to get a copy of Delirium!

3. According to some of my non-Southern college friends, I’m sounding more and more and Texan these days. Not the accent, really, which I’ve never had, but my cadence. I talk slower and my voice is more sing-songy or something. I have no idea, but I find it hilarious.

4. My revisions are finally picking up pace! I feel like I know more where I want the story to go, and I’m beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Yay for the end of revisions! Well, ok, the end of the first round of revisions. We’ll worry about the next twenty rounds later. :)

5. I have a new favorite writing snack: almond M&Ms. So bad for me! I need to find something healthier. I may try carrots and hummus or something. Anyone have a healthier suggestion?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Cleaning up the Clutter

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the need to make every detail count. At the beginning of my rough draft of the Birdie WiP, I introduce a ton of characters very quickly, and some of them we never see again. All this does in confuse the reader, distracting from the characters I want them to get to know.

I’m also cutting a ton of scenes this week that I’ve found unnecessary. Scenes that don’t move the plot forward or, in some cases, just seem to come out of nowhere. There’s really no reason for me to show the party the night of graduation, which is how I started my first draft. It does a good job of introducing my characters, but it slows the beginning down, and I can introduce my characters in a way that also helps advance the plot.

When I read books for fun, I always notice the details and the minor characters that are never addressed again. A good author makes all those details become important later, tying everything in. That’s what I want my book to be, and if I have to kill some of my darlings to do it, so be it.

What about you? Do you try to make every detail and character matter?