Broaden your horizons

Stepping outside my comfort zone today.  I belong to Oklahoma Writer's Federation Inc.  There are several offshoot groups.  I belong to the Oklahoma Romance Writers Guild as writing romance is my bread and butter.  But another group posted about having a homicide detective as a speaker at their monthly meeting.  

Anyone who knows me knows that I love knowledge.  I hoard it like a dragon with treasure.  I want to understand what makes everything work like it does.  I want to understand what makes people do the things they do.  I want to understand.  Period.

I've had an incredibly busy week.  Today is no different.  I'm adding chapters on my Vella stories and working on another book.  Setting up my schedule for next week.  Tomorrow is already mapped out.  

But I've rearranged my schedule to lunch at 11:30 with these wonderful writerly people and then listen to this speaker at 1:30.  

I know no one.

Normally, that would be a "hell no" automatically.  But what good is that?  It isn't.

I'm awkward as hell meeting new people.  I talk too much.  I say shit no one understands.  I am WEIRD, people.  WEIRD.  I prefer neuro-spicy.  Either way, it's stressful.  

But guess what?  I'm showing up.  It's too easy to shrug my shoulders and miss this wonderful opportunity.  A little discomfort is a small price to pay for what I'm gaining.

Believe me when I say I understand being uncomfortable in social situations.  But there are so many wonderful things out there where that is the price of admission.  

I'm going to go and be awkward and ask questions and blush at the ripe old age of 50 because people are looking at me.  And God help me, I may be asked to introduce myself.  Does that shit EVER end???

But I'll live.  And I'll have more knowledge to tuck away in the Mind Cabin.

Wish me luck.

Always writing*

...and biting bullets

But what do you want???

I touched on this briefly in an earlier post, but I'm about to run my fingers all over it again.

There are several places you can look to see what an agent prefers to represent.  Twitter, agency website, MSWL, Publisher's Marketplace, interviews, QueryTracker, Association of American Literary Agents, etc.

The problem arrives when you've done your due diligence, you think, and you send off the query.  Secure in the fact you have fit into the agent's requirements.  Only to find out, they don't represent what you've sent.  I had this happen.  Found an agent by searching who represented Fantasy, only to send off the query and receive an email back stating she does not, in fact, represent that genre.  😮 

I was stunned.  What the what?

Saw a tweet this morning from another writing saying she fit an agent's MSWL nearly to a T, only to receive a form letter rejection.  😩

An agent posted a tweet yesterday about NEEDING a story about skiing.  Okay.  Let's take that.

I can write a book in three to four months.  I decide to BE that writer.  (Sidenote:  I'm NOT that writer.  I've no interest.)  I start researching and plucking away.

In the meantime, a month later, a beautiful child with disabilities is recorded at the local bowling alley bowling an almost perfect game.  He/she wins the hearts of the nation.  Pledges come in from all over for their charities of choice, and suddenly everyone is about bowling.

Taylor Swift is inspired and writes a song that sells millions.  Celebrities hold tournaments all over and show up at local alleys, prompting one big lovefest across the nation.  Kingpin is the buzz term, and we all wear bowling shoes and button-up shirts.

Skiing is now...stale.  Even I don't give a flip about it, anymore.

This is why I don't write to the market or even keep track of what's "hot" right now.

Write what you want to write.  It hasn't been done yet?  THEN BE THE FIRST!!!  I cannot stress this enough.  Writing for someone else ends in nothing but disappointment.  If you interested in skiing, then please, by all means, write the story.  But if you'd rather walk through hot lava, then don't make yourself because you think it's the only way you'll be published.

Let me fold this burrito up and tuck both ends.

Agents may switch agencies.  Agents may switch preferences.  Agents may look you dead in the eye and tell you they don't represent something they represented a week ago.  It happens.

Write your books.  Love your books.  They are a part of you.  Why change pieces of yourself to fit elsewhere?  DO THE DAMN THING.  Do it again and again and again until you're comfortable enough to write what your soul wishes.  Because when you're writing what you're meant to be writing?  There is nothing that compares to that feeling.  Absolutely nothing.  I swear to God I think I glow.  😄💖

Doubt I'm done with this particular subject, but I am for now.  I want to stand on my soapbox with a megaphone and yell at all these wonderful people they are good enough with what they want to write.  Write that.  Keep looking for an agent.  Maybe indy-pub.  There are so many options.  But not writing isn't one of them.  

Okay.  My short ass is winding down.  I've queries to send and worlds to create.

Always writing*

...and cheering you on!!!

Editing

 Oh, the joy of...bullshit.  Utter bullshit.  I enjoy editing as far as tightening the story and choosing better words and phrases.  I like shading in areas I didn't have enough descriptives.  Yes.  Yes.  All that.

But do I enjoy editing as a whole?  It's tedious, and I have a hard time focusing sometimes on the smallest of things.  I find my mind wandering and have to go back, AGAIN, to try and read the damn paragraph over.  

I loathe writing the synopsis.  In comparison, editing is a walk in the park.  In the dark.  With an iffy flashlight.  

Am I writing this blog to simply bitch?  Why yes.  Yes, I am.  Instead of editing?  😑 Damn it.  

Always writing*

...except today.  Today I'm editing.