People are People So, No Matter Where You Go.

So I have been out of the country for a few days and have found it to be the best of character studies. Here are my findings.

First: People are seriously. pretty much the same no matter where you go. I have been riding the subway system in Madrid and haven't noticed much of a difference between the people I see in New York, LA, or San Francisco. Same people, different country. It's wild!

Second: People of certain nationalities do seem trapped in a time capsule. I can't tell you how many times I saw people wearing the parachute style, low riding crotch, MC Hammer pants. Seriously, I though those died in the 80's. But here I am witnessing their come back first hand. WOW!

And Third: It's great to see amore in all ages and stages when you walk around an unfamiliar city. It truly is a universal language. Sometimes it brings a smile to our face when we see two people so in love, sometimes it brings a jealousy, but no matter how you see it it's just nice to know it exists no matter where you go.

So inspiration is out there in different places, with different people, but always flourishing. I have a lot of new and fun characters to pull from now thanks to this excursion.

Rejections: Still 11
Queries Out There: Still 9

Pages on new book: 15
Pages on book 2 in Series: 110 (But I am currently editing pages 1-100 to get back into the groove of it.)

In search of the ever elusive 2 Hours.

They say that if you can at least find two hours a day to dedicate to something you want to do (in my case write) then you can accomplish what you wish to.

I have recently discovered that finding those two hours is harder than you think and I have so much more respect and empathy for those who work a full day and then come home to contend with a house that screams for dusting, vacuuming, dinner to be made and kids to contend with. Just thinking about it makes me tired.

You see, I just recently jumped into the world of the day worker and am suffering a bit of shell shock. I use to work nights and could count on a good 4 to 5 hours of time when my son was at school to take care of things around the house with no interruptions and have those precious 2 to 3 hours to write. Now I am trying to shift gears and still take care of everything I did before but it is a lot more difficult than I imagined.

There are perks. Don't get me wrong. The extra 2 hours of sleep I get a night is fabulous. And yet I still feel drained by 9pm. I feel a little more normal because I am in the working world, doing the hours most people do. There are a lot more food options available to me for lunch than what I had on the night shift. And it has been great to be able to meet friends after work for a drink and what not.

But carving out those precious two hours to write has been a challenge and left me feeling a little daunted. I feel like I'm starting to lose the momentum I was building with my characters and have vowed that I will get a schedule of some sort figured out within the next week.

I leave for a week to go overseas and got a netbook to keep the writing flowing and I am hopeful that with the long flight ahead of me that I will get at least waist deep into my stories and start making progress again. I expect the next couple of blogs I post will have significant increases in page counts. Fingers crossed.

How do we find time????? I may take out an add.

Professional Career Woman seeks Two Hours of Time.

-Must be available on a daily basis at any hour needed.

-Must be flexible on location. Coffee shops, restaurants, and parks are an option.

-Must like music or just pure silence.

-Must understand that there will be interruptions.

If interested, please jump up and bite me in the arse because seriously I don't know where you are right now.

Pages written to Date on Book 2: 110

Pages on new Book: 13

Rejections: 11

Queries Still Out: 9

The WhoopsieDoos of life.

Rejection 11 came in yesterday so there will be more about it at the end of this post. It was a good one. I even typed out what the agent said.

But first, the WhoopsieDoos.

You may be asking what the heck they are? Physically, they are those speed bumps on residential streets that are too big to make you really slow down yet, big enough to do serious damage if taken at full throttle. This term was coined after I heard a friends daughter say it as we went over one of those bumps fast enough to make our stomachs have that roller coaster feeling.

I thought it was cute and have yet to lose the term. But I was also thinking more deeply about the WhoopsieDoos and how they relate to ones life. Think about it. Are you the cautious type who slows way down on approach to barely feel the bump? Or, do you throw caution to the wind and step on the gas just a little harder when you see one?

I prefer to take these Whoopsies on a day by day basis. Sometimes the day is so craptastic and the last thing I need is a ruined car, so I slow down. Other days (like Fridays, woohoo the weekend has cometh) I feel a little reckless and would love nothing more then to catch a little air beneath the tires.

Mostly though, I take them with just enough momentum to cause that lovely dropping feeling in my stomach without accumulating any real damage. So this is how I have chosen to look at daily situations in life and how to handle them. Here's a great example:

At a gas station the other day a woman pulled up in front of me and because we were both on the wrong side of the pump for our cars gas tanks, I was a little too far forward for her to reach her pump. Mind you I was also almost done, but that didn't matter. So she goes to the other side (where there were a ton more open pumps) but made a point to come and tell me that in the future I need to "leave more space for other cars."

I could have gotten back in her face and asked her to explain how to do that given where my gas tank was located (Hitting the whoopsieDoo at full speed and escalating the argument.)

I could have ignored her because she was one of those people who never makes a mistake and that needs to be a be-atch just to feel better about herself (Hence slowing down at the whoopsieDoo to a snails pace.)

Or hit it somewhere in the middle. (Which is what I did). I looked at her, smiled as big as I could, and said, "Okay...No Problem...I'll remember that next time."

OMG, it was awesome. It totally pissed her off more, but there was nothing she could do. Maybe she was having a bad day or was late to something. Maybe she was just a genuine be-atch, no matter, she wanted an argument and not giving it to her made her that much more angry. It was funny because I could tell she went into the store to pay for her gas complaining because a few people were watching when she came back out probably waiting for a fight.

I just smiled at her as I got in my car and left. WhoopsieDoo hit at the perfect speed. It was great. And I owe so much to the serene people I have me at my writing group, my wonderful friends reading this blog and supporting me, and to the writing. I definitely have a new perspective on situations that would have me normally all worked up and angry beyond belief, but the universe has many more Zen parts for me these days. Thank You all my Zen masters you are a blessing.

Rejections to date: 11

I received number 11 yesterday and was giddy about it. Seriously, it was the nicest rejection. It was so personal that I felt like it was from a friend. Here's what the agent said:

Dear Stacy (Love it when they use my first name.)

Thank you for sending me the opening pages of your manuscript. I enjoyed the partial but am going to have to pass on the opportunity to look at the full manuscript. (Key words here for me were ENJOYED and OPPORTUNITY. It means she liked it on some small level, but here comes the negative.)

Unfortunately, it never quite captured my imagination. (Boo)

Please keep in mind that this is a very subjective business. I wish you all the best in finding a great agent and thanks so much for thinking of me. (She is thanking me for thinking of her? What an awesome person in my book. And how encouraging)

She even signed her own name. I can get all the rejections in the world if they all come across like this. Although, I would rather get an offer.

Queries Out There: 9

Pages on Next book in Series: 110

Pages on New Book:10

What's your Deadline?

This weekend was the monthly meeting of the writers group I belong to. And as always it was an incredible meeting full of inspiration and encouragement. It's hard to leave these meetings without coming away with some valuable and insightful information.

This month I learned about all the things a publisher of inspirational romance would deem inappropriate for the genre (Which would most definitely mean I would never, ever get published in this particular genre.) And I learned about the difference between Chick Lit and Women's Fiction. It was all very enlightening.

In inspirational they will kick it to the curb if you have kissing with tongue, any bad language, violence, sex (naturally), inappropriate PDA and any mention of inappropriate topics, drinking, and (unless it's a historical) dancing. That was interesting. My book would have been killed with the first three pages read.

The cool thing with women's fiction is that the main characters are usually older than their twenties and have heavier topics to deal with. Also, there may not always be a happy ending as there is in Chick Lit. Women's fiction pulls you in with intense emotion and feelings.

I found all this fascinating.

I also had a huge sense of pride as I was presented with my 'PRO' pin. This was given to me for the simple fact that I finished the manuscript and have been rejected. Seriously, how awesome is this group? I rack up rejections and they award me for the effort. Talk about inspiring and supportive. This is why I keep going. This is the fuel that drives me and has me submitting more queries to agents. The women at these meetings are so amazing and have such beautiful spirits that you have no choice but to be inspired by them.

Also the meeting was the deadline for the writing contest the organization puts on each year. And all I can say is Wow! People were bringing in their submissions right up to the very last moment. I think I would have thrown in the towel and waited til the next contest. What troopers though. I know I would have been too paranoid that something would be wrong and there would be no time to fix it.

That's my question for today: What's your deadline?

Are you the type of person that needs to have things in early and in a timely manner? Or, do you thrive with the threat of a looming deadline and get a high from procrastination?

I discovered that there is no wrong or right way to handle deadlines. Only, the way that works best for you. So be the first one done or the last one there as the door is shutting, as long as you get in, it's all good.

Rejections to date: 10

Queries Out: 10

Pages on Book 2: 110

Pages on New book: 10 (10 seems to be the magic number. I'll play the lottery this week.)

Back in the Writing Saddle Again.

It took some doing but after four days the character sheets are done; fact sheets done; and future story ideas-documented. I feel I can now breath a very large sigh of relief.

And the great thing is that the writing will now resume. Thank God! I feel slightly lost when I am away from my stories for too long. I miss my characters. A large problem right now is that since I started the second story I feel drawn to a whole new group of people I am creating.

Does that make me a two-timer? If so I am deeply sorry but I now feel like I owe a little time to both stories. So I guess that in all fairness there is no other way to go.

It's also like a really fun game for me. Writing one scene in the sequel book then flipping over to the new story because something in the sequel brought up a great visual for the new book.

Something else I discovered today after talking to a dear friend who is feeling a little defeated and discouraged with her own writing is this: You should not be out to please anyone but yourself.

Everyone will have opinions. Some will be beneficial and others will be, let's face it--CRAP. And some people just won't get your vision, and that's okay. What matters most is if your happy with it and if you have the passion and the drive to keep moving forward. If so all the details in the beginning can be revised at a later time. The main thing is to get to the end of the story to better facilitate the start of it.

So many people I have met spend too much time worrying about what others will think and re-write the same pages over and over to the point that eventually their vision is gone and they feel disappointed in themselves. For this reason I refuse to get too upset about my rejections and critiques and choose to take everything with a large grain of salt.

I know somewhere out there the force is with me and it will be strong when that perfect agent or editor take on my manuscripts. I will rule the Death Star. (Wait, that was the bad guys...right?) Anyway, I'll rule something. Maybe the laundry machine. Oh...wait...I already rule that one.

Pages written to date: 108

Pages in New Book: 9

The pages will start rolling tonight!

Rejections: 10 (It's like the lyrics in that old song: "One is the loneliest number..." So now my one has nine friends to keep him company.) How's that for positive thinking?

Queries Out There: 10 (Decided to keep it even with the Rejections.

I've Now Made it to Double Digits!

The rejections keep a com'in. But the nice thing I can say is that the last two have been placed on a standard 8x10 sheet of paper and I was personally addressed as: Dear, Stacy.

That is always a nice touch. It cushions the blow and takes the sting away ever so slightly.

One agent even said that she wasn't enthusiastic enough about it, but that out there somewhere there would be the agent that was. I found that encouraging if not a wee bit scary. How do I find that agent? And will they be accredited like these other agents that are recognized by my writing organization? I guess the only way to find out is to send more queries out into the vast unknown and keep my fingers crossed.

I read a great thing on my writing groups website last night. It was simply this:

If you don't send out queries, you'll never get rejected.

If you don't send out queries, you'll never get published.

Take your pick.

I'll take the risk, please, with a large side of rejection. Why not?

Pages written to date: 108

Pages on new book: 9

Rejections: 10!!!! Double digits for me. It's a small milestone.

Queries out there:7