What I've Learned Wednesday: My Special Day

For todays "What I've Learned Wednesday," I'm going to place all the attention on me. I want to be published author, so I may as well get used to all the attention. Right? So what I've learned is before you even get published, you need to get you name out there. So, social network! Yah, for blogging and Twitter. I've met lots of nice people through it. And my name is out there, even if it's just on a small scale. Why I am saying all of this?

Because today's my birthday!!! I'm the big 29! So exciting!

So as a birthday present to me, I want at least 50 comments on my blog telling me Happy Birthday! It would be nice to get at least 20 new followers, too! hehe Bring on the cheers of happiness on my day! Make 'em creative, kids. (Kids = term of endearment) Please, make my head bigger than it already is. No, really, I have a big head. It's the King curse. hehe.

Thank you! Or written in Chinese 謝謝

What I’ve Learned Wednesday: The Many Hats of Writing

December 2009. I had a dream. Dream turned into a plot. Plot turned into a manuscript. Manuscript turned into an endless string of edits. Endless string of edits turned into me pulling my hair out. Pulled out hair eventually will turn into a published work! Published work will lead to wearing more hats than I do now. Wearing more hats than I do now will be really cool.

In December 2009, I had absolutely no idea what industry I was getting myself into. The writing industry is way more than just plucking away at your laptop. Being an author requires many hats. I haven’t even put on all of the hats, but still am way excited to wear them all.

I attended a writing conference last year. Brandon Mull, author of the Fablehaven series, The Candy Shop War, Pingo, and The Beyonders (released 3/15/11), was the keynote speaker. He spoke about all the hats that authors get to wear. “Get to” cause it’s way fun! He said a few things, among many, that left an impression on me.

You get to be a speaker, marketer, small business owner, and reading advocate. I hope to be an author who gets to go around speaking to people about writing and other related topics. I’m already marketing my name, my book. I’ve got a social networking business up and booming. I wouldn’t call it a business, though cause I have way too much fun with it. And I get to be an advocate for reading. Seriously, what an awesome job it is to be an author.

Being an author has lots of other aspects other than the writing part. The writing part is the most important, but you have to remember that there are other parts to this industry, especially if you want to be published. I’ve found that during my writing/editing stages, social networking has been king. I have to get my name out there, my brand, Writing Jewels. I really enjoy blogging and have to admit that I’m obsessed with Twitter.

Which authoring hats to you love to wear? Are you just as giddy about all these pretty, fun hats as I am? Were you surprised at all the other things you’d have to do in order to get published? Or were you pleasantly surprised?

What I’ve Learned Wednesday: Voice

I started listening to “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert the other day. From the very first word I fell in love with the book’s voice. Glibert’s writing voice is so unrestricted, so playful, so extraordinary. If I could eat a writing voice, I would gobble hers up in about two seconds.

Not only is the writing voice beautiful, but Elizabeth Gilbert’s speaking voice is stunning (fyi: she narrates the audio book). Her voice is like being stranded on a deserted island for twelve years, and then you finally are rescued by someone. When they speak, their voice rings in your ears as the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard. That is how I feel about Elizabeth Gilbert’s voice. I sort of wish mine sounded that breath-taking. In other words, I’m going to say her voice rocks!

Taking all of this into consideration, I have been thinking a lot about writing voice. I’ve found that reading A LOT helps me to develop my voice, my style. With reading other authors, you can see what you like about their writing voice and what you may not like as much. Like I said, I really liked Elizabeth’s voice, however, it doesn’t lend itself easily for my book. It has given me some ideas, though, of how I can polish my manuscript and make it even better.

So on this “What I’ve Learned Wednesday, I am going to suggest that you read a lot and study how other authors relay their voice to you through their stories. You may even want to do the same with blogs. I’ve found some way awesome voices through the blogs I that frequent (ie: Carrie Harris & Kiersten White). This may help improve your own voice with the added benefit of eating up a good story at the same time.

So tell me, how do you cultivate your own writing voice? And which author’s writing voices do you absolutely love?

What I've Learned Wednesday: The Ups & Downs

Over the past few days, I've been feeling way overwhelmed with writing. I haven't even touched my manuscript. *shame on me* It's happened many times before, and will happen again and again, I'm sure of that fact. One thing I've learned along the way is that being a writer is hard. It is a difficult process; one that has many ups and downs. One day I feel like I'm the queen (or King cause that's my last name) of writing and other days I feel like I'm the scum of the earth type of writer. Writing is tough, can make you depressed, and yet, can make you more happy than you could ever imagine. Writing is not for the faint of heart, that's for sure.

More for selfish reasons due to my being in a bit of a writing funk, I pose the following questions:

• What do you do to get past the lows of writing and rise back to the writer who feels like he/she can conquer the world one one at a time again?
• How do you cope with the downs?

Lets start a conversation right here on my blog to help not only me, but all those writers who may be struggling as we type. Lets help each other get back on the top again!

Yippee! Hallelujah! Hot Dog! Did I just say "Hot Dog?" Yep, and I'm keeping it there.

What I’ve Learned Wednesday: Critiquing

Thanks to President’s Day I had the day off from work on Monday, giving me tons of time to commence another revision of my WIP. *Yippee* I got some great feedback and suggestions from Sarah and Robin. They edited my manuscript. Thank you girls! I have to admit that this revision is making me really nervous, but it will make my manuscript shine!

In the past, I’ve always been way apprehensive of people reading my work. I avoided it like the plague. This is a way bad idea, my peeps. You must share your work with others. Never feel afraid of the red pen. The problem is that you are so attached to your manuscript that you miss the flaws and/or plot holes. Some hard-core suggestions are the only way that you can get outside of your narrow, blinded box to make your story pop. I’ve worked a little bit with a critique partner, but not as much as I desire. That is a goal of mine—to utilize a critique partner more in the future.

With critiquing, you may get some feedback that is really tough to take—tears may form in my eyes, however, it was a kick in the bum to drive me to a higher level of writing. I grappled for a full two days with thoughts that I was a terrible writer. I was overwhelmed by what was ahead of me in order to make my story *sparkle*. Now I am ready to dive into the deep end of writing with some great direction. I have people supporting me, so I won’t be sailing alone in the vast and sometime scary sea of writing.

What are your experiences with having critiques done of your writing (the good, bad, and the ugly)? Do you use a critique partner? How has that helped your writing evolve?

PS: I have made some great headway revising my manuscript over the past two days. I feel it is going to be even more amazing. :D

PPS: Don't forget to enter to win a $20 Amazon.com gift card. Just follow this link to get to the rules: Bookshelf Photo Contest

What I've Learned Wednesday: Goals!

Writing is a long process, however, can be further drawn out without having goals. I finished my rough draft in five months. I wish I could say I quickly arrived where I am now, but I would totally be lying. After completeing the rough draft, I dilly-dallied around, perhaps editing a couple times a week, if that. I wasn’t particularly driven to get my manuscript where I wanted it to be. I made it through an edit and started another. Same thing, I didn’t dive head first into the revision. Seven months after finishing my rough draft, I realized it was time to get really serious. I made a goal to get through another revision within three weeks, and I made the goal! *party time*

If there is one thing I regret about the past year’s writing, it would be my lack of goals. I can only imagine how much farther in the writing process I would be if I had been driven by goals. But. I can’t dwell on regrets; I can only press forward with goals to finish my manuscript.

When I start future projects, I will for sure set up a time-line in which I will follow, so I won’t elongate the already lengthy process. These goals will be helpful for the day when deadlines are imposed upon me by editors/publishers.

How I set goals: A visual representation helps me to be goal-driven. I make a calendar that specifies how long I will edit within a given day. I schedule out a certain amount of days and expect myself to be done within the given amount of time. I also write my progress on the calendar, too. The calendar is placed in an area of my house where I’ll see it multiple times during the day as a reminder to make my goal. Also, have someone you report to in the process.

Be careful not to push too hard in your goal setting, you don’t want to get discouraged. Take into consideration your other life responsibilities. IE: work, family, kids, etc.

What are your methods to reach your writing goals? If you are published, what advice would you give to the unpublished writer to gear up for deadlines?

Don't we all have a goal to be a purse when we grow up? I would rather be a published author, though, but that's just me. :)  This pic was way to cute not to put it on the post.



What I've Learned Wednesday: We've Got the Beat

Beets—I love beets. Webster’s dictionary defines beet as “a plant with a dark red fleshy root, used as food to produce sugar.” Yep, I love beets. Actually, I despise beets to the dark red fleshy root core. The kinds of beats I do love are writing beats. These beats could be dark red and fleshy if your character is chewing ravenously on a dark red and fleshy beet as he discusses the beets that are being ravenously eaten. Wow, that was a mouthful. I'm exhausted just from writing that. Tell me never to do that again. *Bad Sentence*

The writing beat describes a scene by providing imagery. The trick is to not overuse the beats. Make sure your reader can still use their own imagination while reading your story. You need not describe every little detail as depicted below:

        “She walked over to the pay phone, opened the door, shuffled into the small space, wiped off the receiver because it was disgusting, pressed it to her ear, and dialed one number at a time until she heard the familiar ringtone.” That is overkill on the beats.

You still want to use them to livin up your scenes—bringing reality to your story. Here’s a scene from my book. It sort of won’t make sense without having read the book, but I find the imagery pretty great and want to share it as a TEASER. Yep, I’m mean not to give you more. Background: The scene is a part of a conversation between two of my characters—Pierre Rousseaux (the hero) and his police partner Luc Broussard (the funny-man of the story). Catch the beats as you read.

      

        “Alright, but one thing Pierre.” Luc tripped, but steadied himself before he face planted it on the floor. “Oops,” he said in a deep voice, gazing sheepishly around the office. “Anyway, I’m not a professional at dating, but if I know one thing, it's that you are madly in love . . . Rousseaux, whatever happened between you two doesn’t matter.” Luc tripped again. “Damn it, can I even walk today. I might be the next lieutenant admitted to the hospital today. I can see it now, ‘The Embarrassment of the Department, Luc Broussard—Injured While on Duty—Cause, He Tripped.'” © Julia King 2011

The beats I used were short, hopefully illuminating your imagination to see the comical moment had during the conversation.

How do you like to use the beat or would you rather just eat beets?

Or do you love The Beets just as much as Doug from the Doug cartoon does? Watch the video below to find out more about some Killer Tofu.

What I've Learned Wednesday: The Essential Writing Hook

Honestly, months ago, the beginning of my book was blah, bland, boring. I described the setting more than anything else. Bad Idea. An absolute fiction writing no no. You can describe, but don’t make it your ONLY purpose for the beginning of your book. The beginning of my story was good, but lacked what would thoroughly entwine a reader into my story. I did some research on fiction writing back in December and realized that I had to jump right into the story, and I literally did do that. The first chapter in my book is called "Jump" and for good reason. On the first page, I left no room for doubt that this story is going to be a trip. It is going to be mysterious. It is going to make you ache to find out what's going to happen.

This brings me to hooks. Hooks leave the reader wanting more. They may bring a new element into the story. They may stop abruptly in the middle of something intense, therefore, your reader turns the page to the next chapter. Hook your reader into your story from the very beginning and, thereafter, keep hooking them in at the end of every chapter.

I just started reading “Across the Universe” by Beth Revis. Her first chapter left me with that ache to know what's going to happen. Each subsequent chapter left me with the same feeling. She utilizes the hook to press your nose farther into the book. Also, Cassandra Clare is brilliant with hooks to the point where all I could think about is what is going to happen to Clary or Jace or Simon. Her series “The Mortal Instruments” got me hook, line, and sinker (cliché, I know). They made me want to keep reading, even deep into the night.

Hooks are not just important, they’re CRUCIAL to keep the reader interested. No fictional writing should be done without hooks.

As I said before, a hook found in the first chapter is imperative. We all have read books where we stop reading it because it doesn’t catch or hook our attention. This may be because the hooks aren’t strong enough to make a reader want to invest their time in the book. Yep, reading is an investment, so write something that makes people want to invest their time in your book. Undoubtedly, hooks will force your reader to press forward with your story. Hook them so they will not leave your book behind—but will relish in every page—chapter after gripping chapter.

What I've Learned Wednesday Begins!

Over the past year, I’ve learned loads about writing and the publishing industry. I would like to hand off a bit of my “tip of the iceberg” knowledge to you. Plus, writing and the publishing industry are fascinating to me, so why not blab on about something I love, right?

Today, for the first “What I’ve Learned Wednesday”, I want to share about the infamous phenomena called “Social Networking.” I started writing my novel in December 2009. It wasn’t until the summer of 2010 that I became obsessed with getting it published. With talking to a few people, they told me a piece of WAY important advice. Social Network. Social NETWORK. SOCIAL NETWORK. Being an aspiring author, no one knows you at all—at least in the publishing industry. Even though I don't have a finished manuscript yet, I can be doing something incredibly important to get my name out there, right now and not later. Therefore when I have a finished manuscript, more people will know who I am than would have otherwise.

I already had a blog that I randomly posted on about my book, but was not consistent with posting. I decided then and there that my book is important enough to take on social networking. I WANT people to read my story, and NEED it to be published, therefore I had to place myself into the industry. I started blogging on a consistent basis, loving every minute of it. I found myself thinking of new things I could post—funny stuff, writing related stuff, etc. Be prepared because you’ll become obsessed with it.

In the process of social networking, you’ll eventually fall into a routine and be thinking of new ways to attract people to your blog. I share my posts on Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz, and via email. You’ll find yourself revamping your blog to make it attractive and user-friendly. Make sure it screams YOU! You are selling yourself, so be yourself.

But. The key to my social networking absolutely was joining Twitter (emphasis added to express major I-can’t-control-myself enthusiasm). Twitter developed into a writing forum for me. Within a short period of time, I was chatting with people I didn’t even know. We discussed our love of writing and reading, even stuff not related to writing. At the beginning, I was given some valuable advice from one of my “Tweeps.” She said, “Don’t just talk to people, talk with people.” I have tried to implement that advice into my networking, especially on Twitter. Start a conversation, open up dialogue, and be yourself in the process.

If there is one piece of advice I can offer any aspiring author, it is to social network. NOW! Don’t wait. It takes some time to get into the swing of things. You may not have many people follow your blog at first. I am still working on a consistent following. You may not have people commenting on your posts, but keep going! Be persistent. Have patience. And be consistent. If you are consistent, people will wonder what you are going to post next on your blog, or say on Twitter. They’ll be expecting it. Once you have a following, you owe it to them to post, to tweet, and—in the end, have a book people want to read. Social networking has pushed me to get to the point that I’m at now—almost having a finished manuscript in hand.

Last tid-bit of advice from me to you is: Follow. Other. People’s. Blogs. You will learn an amazing amount of knowledge from them about writing and how to present your blog. Make sure that you comment on their posts. This will get your name out to people who follow the blogs you comment on. Comment on other people’s tweets as well.

Social Networking is the way I hope to get my baby—my novel—published, and it’s way fun too!

PS: This can be useful for other things you are trying to promote. It’s not just for writers.

I Made it to 1000

I thought it would be cool to document--with a really crappy picture--that I've had 1000 people view my blog. It was a happy moment for me.  I can't believe I have made it to 1000. I feel like there should be confetti thrown and a band marching down the street in my honor! 

Or better yet, in Taiwan, when there are festivals or the such, they drive down the small roads lighting off fireworks from the back of a truck and play strange clanking music.  I love the music. Bring on the Taiwanese fireworks baby.  Note: I lived in Taiwan for 13 months and loved it. I appreciate your following so much. Happy blogging from me to you!


FYI: I will be started something called "What I've Learned Wednesday." Obviously, this will be a weekly event taking place on Wednesday.  Yep, I'm always the one to state the obvious. I will be blogging about what I've learned thus far in my adventure in writing. I hope to share any bits of wisdom that I wish I would have known before I started writing.