New Year's Writing Resolutions

New Year's Eve is one of my favorite holidays--there's something satisfying to me about closing the door on a year and looking forward to a new one. I love making New Year's resolutions. I am not great about keeping them after January, but I am great about not beating myself up about that fact.

This holiday season, however, has been exhausting. I've had strep throat and a sinus infection (not at the same time, thankfully), which didn't help. There were things going on at my kids' school and at church that I had to get through. One of my cousins got married in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I had some extra travel thrown in there. I saw a thread on Twitter about it being okay not to make resolutions for 2019 if you feel like just surviving is all you can do, and that really resonated with me. While I love the promise of a new year, and usually try to capitalize on that, I don't want making resolutions to feel like one more thing on an endless to-do list.

So we'll see how exhausted I feel on December 31st. Maybe I'll resolve to make improvements in my life. Maybe I'll resolve to be okay with just keeping my head above water. Whatever you may choose to do, I hope it brings you happiness and a sense of purpose.

Getting back into things

I quit NaNo because I got strep throat a few days before Thanksgiving. With family in town for the holiday on top of everything else, I just missed too many days to be able to make up the deficit. I was upset at first, because I didn't win last year, and really wanted a win this year to... I don't know, prove to myself that I was able to write a new book?

In the end, I decided I was okay with it, because I hadn't really wanted to start a new book in November. I wanted to work on the edits for the Ghost Girls book. So when I stopped writing for NaNo, I told myself I would work even harder on Ghost Girls.

And then I didn't. I gave myself permission to not write. I read a lot. I worked on Christmas stuff. But today I finally felt the itch to get back to it. And it was glorious. I hope the itch lasts. Because I really love this book.

Fun Announcement!

I'm teaching a class at the Storymakers writing conference next May!

I went to my first Storymakers as a baby writer, and fell in love with the camaraderie of being surrounded by fellow writers, the amazing agents and instructors that appear, and if I'm being 100% honest, getting a weekend away from being MOM. I took a couple of years off when my youngest was born, and now I attend every year. I always come home with new skills I'm eager to try, and at least one new friend.

After the last Storymakers, I stopped by one of my grad school classmates' homes on my way out. We were talking about what I'd been doing all weekend, and I mentioned some of the classes I took, including one on poisons taught by Gregg Luke, a pharmacist and author. My friend and her husband said, "You could teach a class like that, for genetics!" And thus the idea was born. I pitched the class to the conference organizers, and a few weeks ago was informed that they'd like me to teach the class!

I would highly recommend the Storymakers conference even if I weren't presenting. The faculty and special guests are top-notch. The atmosphere is inclusive and supportive. If you're considering attending a writing conference in 2019, you should definitely check it out: http://ldstorymakersconference.com. While many of the organizers and attendees are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the conference does not have a religious angle and all are welcome to attend. I'd love to see you there!

Why I Do NaNoWriMo

(a version of this post originally appeared on Operation Awesome)

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) starts Thursday. I love this time of year; I honestly get more writing done than I do the rest of the year. I write more consistently, and I take more chances. I like who I am as a writer in November.

Because NaNo is such a big part of my life, I tend to reflect on it every October. I wrote this back in 2015 to share why NaNo means so much to me, and how it transformed me as a writer. Here it is again, updated for 2018:

 

When I was in college, I worked at an independent bookstore in Fort Collins (that sadly went out of business several years ago). One chilly day, I was working in the cafe, making drinks for several people sharing a table with their laptops out. I asked them what they were doing, and they told me about National Novel Writing Month. I was in my last semester of my undergrad program, and pretty swamped with applying to graduate school, but I filed NaNoWriMo away under "Things I'd like to do someday." I liked writing, but had never gotten serious about it. I thought maybe this NaNoWriMo thing could help me out.

And then I got married, and started grad school, and had a kid, all in a twelve month period. I was busier than I ever have been in my life. And I forgot about NaNoWriMo.

Then I finished grad school, and became a full-time stay-at-home mom. My husband decided to go for a second bachelor's degree and pursue an opportunity to work for our church's education system while working the 7pm-7am shift as an emergency department admitter three nights a week. I think that was probably the busiest he's ever been in his life.

I got pregnant again during that time, which for me meant dealing with horrible nausea and near-constant vomiting. My husband was gone all the time, my one-year-old was running me ragged, I couldn't keep food down... my life was a mess. And then at the beginning of October, we lost the baby. So while my poor husband tried to keep us afloat, I was mostly alone every night; no longer sick to death, but very, very sad.

On the 31st of October, a friend announced on Facebook that he was starting NaNoWriMo the next day. I remembered the people from the bookstore cafe, and how much I had wanted to join in at the time. My husband was at work, so I signed up for NaNo and spent the rest of the night jotting down some ideas for a novel. And on November 1st, I went for it.

Spending each night writing while my son slept and my husband worked was amazingly cathartic for me. Having something to look forward to every night helped ease me through my grief. There was also a great community of NaNo writers for me to talk to--I'd never had any friends interested in writing before. When I emerged victorious on November 30th, my husband threw a party for me with several of our friends where I got to read some of my book to them. I felt special again, not just an object of people's pity.

That sense of purpose and feeling of community is a huge part of why I keep coming back to NaNoWriMo every November. It's why I love the Twitter community of writers and other publishing professionals, and why I enjoyed contributing to Operation Awesome for the three years I was with them. I believe in NaNo's power to inspire writers, so when my region needed a Municipal Liaison last year, I volunteered. I love giving back to the program, and cheering my band of writers along.

Do you participate in NaNoWriMo? What do you love about it?

Plot twist!

As you may have heard, my agent, Jill Corcoran, is leaving agenting to pursue a career with the Smithsonian. This is great news for Jill, who describes her new position as a dream job. I am genuinely excited and happy for her.

Of course, it does leave me looking for a new literary agent. I thought I would be absolutely devastated at the prospect, but the truth is I'm feeling optimistic. This is just a plot twist in the story of how I become a published author, not the ending.

Cross your fingers for me, friends.

Back-to-School means Back-to-Writing

My two older kids are back in school.

I love my kids, but those two constantly pick at each other, so when they're home all day all I do is break up fights. Now, it's just me and the three-year-old at home during the day, so things are much more peaceful. My daughter likes to take naps next to me in the afternoon while I work on my computer, which means I get at least an hour of writing time every day!

It's THE BEST. THE. BEST.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a scene to revise.

Closing the Book On a Chapter of Life

I have been part of Operation Awesome, a group writing blog, for just shy of three years. Today was my last post as a weekly contributor and team member. It took a lot of agonizing back-and-forth with myself, but something in my life had to be cut out, and I decided it was time for me to leave Operation Awesome.

It can be hard to cut things out of our schedule, especially things we love. I have noticed, however, that as I've grown as a writer it gets a little easier to scale back on my busy life to make time for my own writing. I'm not sure why that is; perhaps a greater confidence that my words are worth my time?

The wonderful thing about Operation Awesome is that it manages to live on through team member turnover. It's a fantastic resource for writers, both for practical craft tips and inspiration. It'll be in good hands, even if those hands aren't mine. I hope I'll get a chance to be on it again someday--hopefully I'll be one of J Lenni Dorner's Debut Author Spotlights! A girl can dream.

Agency Update

This week, my agent, Jill Corcoran, merged her literary agency with Transatlantic Agency. This is an exciting move, but it means some changes for me. I'm still represented by Jill, but will no longer be working with Silvia Arienti. Silvia put a lot of work into RESET, and I'm grateful for all her help getting it ready for publication. I wish her well in her next endeavor!

Meet the Grand Champion of Query Kombat 2018!

Dionna Mann

Dionna is a longtime member of SCBWI who has placed nonfiction kidlit work with Highlights for Children and Cricket magazine. As a work-for-hire author with Spooky Cheetah Press, she’ll soon have two non-fiction books for the youngest of readers published—one about killer whales coming out from Scholastic Press. (WOOT!) While attempting to master the kidlit craft, Dionna has penned a slew of children’s book manuscripts—from picture book biographies to middle-grade novels, from those that are sheer fun and silly to those that tackle serious themes. Her favorite pastime is front-porch sitting while squirrels frolic in her front yard and mourning doves seize the day through song. You can find her at dionnalmann.com and on her blog, where she celebrates kidlit writers, illustrators, editors, agents, and their lovely books.

"Got Me a Daddy Map"

Query:

Ten-year-old Allie’s anger can be a hot-comb sitting on the flame of a stove. Sometimes that copper pressing comb of emotion turns red hot and she does things she later regrets. She wants to stay calm. But emotions are hard to handle, especially when people think your mama’s an improper woman. Allie knows—it’s not Mama’s fault she isn’t married yet has a child. The only reason Allie’s breathing is because of that no-good man who forced himself on Mama. Why Mama didn’t leave her on the steps of the A & P when she born, Allie isn’t sure. But one thing’s certain. Allie’s full-up with empty inside because of it, and she’s going to fill it by finding Mama a decent husband.

That’s why she and her cousin Julius Caesar create a daddy map and hunt for potential suitors for Mama. When they find good prospects—men who like to sing, have a kind smile, and most importantly love Mama's chicken and dumplings—Allie draws a red crayon heart above their names. Before long, Allie and Caesar fix their mind on Mr. Rawls, their band teacher. He must be the one! But when Allie discovers that Mr. Rawls is related to Gwen—that thumb-sucking bully—she covers over his red heart with black crayon and throws out his jar of chicken and dumplings. Now, with her plans ruined, Allie wonders if she'll ever have that perfectly drawn family that others have.

Mama’s Chicken & Dumplings is a 38,000-word, middle-grade novel with a colorful backdrop of Chicago's South Side’s better days of the early 1940s.

First 250:

I’m sitting on the stoop of our brownstone, brushing my old doll’s hair when the fat man comes, smiling his fat smile. He’s come to collect the rent. But I ain’t worried. Whenever Mama comes home from cleaning, she goes straight to her coffee tin and in goes her money. Clink. Clink. She ain’t spared not even a penny, not even to me, though I shed me some tears.

“Please, please,” I’d say. “Let me run down to Mr. Malone’s store and get me a Mary Jane.” Mama’s real tight with pennies, so I’m sure she’s got enough. Least, I hope.

The fat man rings the bell. Ring. Mama will know that’s for her. If he’d rung it two times together—ring, ring, like that—loud-mouth Miss Zelda in her housedress with shout-out colors and a scarf round her head would’ve come from the second floor. Had it been three times, old Mr. Potterfield, who’s up on the third floor, would’ve opened his window and hollered “Who!” And if it wasn’t anybody he knew, he’d grumble like the back of a garbage packer squeezing down trash and slam the window.

One ring is all, and Mama will be at the door, letting the fat man in.

Course, I could let him in, but since he’s acting like he can’t see me sitting here, right up under his feet, I decide I ain’t paying him no mind at all. And I ain’t letting him in. He’ll have to wait for Mama.

Meet the Adult Champion of Query Kombat 2018!

Tessa Pacelli

Tessa is a recovering finance nerd and the professional wrangler of one short, human-like creature known as "the child". She has a couple of fancy degrees (Harvard, Stanford) which really just translates to "I am smaaahhht" and "I can handle things!!!" As you may guess from this quote, Godfather II is her favorite movie. In books and art, she's drawn to the tragic, the sad, the honest and the heartbreaking, because she believes that Crying Feels Good (TM). She writes woman-centric thrillers that feature strong, smart female protagonists who have their feet on the ground and their eyes on the prize. 

Currently, Tessa can be found online at @tessa_pacelli 

Meet the YA Champion of Query Kombat 2018!

Jessica Olson

Jessica currently lives in northern Texas, where she spends the vast majority of her time huddling next to AC vents. Whenever her two deliciously squishy children are sleeping, she can be found typing away at YA fantasy stories or voraciously tearing through the latest bestsellers. She eats way too much peanut butter (Skippy on a spoon, thankyouverymuch), is obsessed with Insanity workouts, sings her guts out at every opportunity, and doesn't think there's anything more satisfying in the world than a well-placed comma. Having earned her Bachelor's degree in English with minors in French and editing, it's safe to say she's a lover of words and doesn't see that stopping anytime soon.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/JessOlson123

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicaolson123/

"Carrion My Wayward Son"

Query:

Eighteen-year-old Alora Delattre should have been burned at the stake. Her power to possess others’ bodies is an ability condemned by scripture as the deepest form of corruption. Her father, the head of the church that would execute her, should have been the one to set her aflame. Instead, he hid her.

Then her mother is murdered by a heretic rebellion, and suddenly death by fire seems like a small price to pay for revenge. She takes over the body of one of the rebels, determined to hunt the killer down and make him bleed. But what she finds in their camp changes everything. For the first time, she sees her benevolent father through the eyes of the people whose blood he has spilled and whose families he has torn apart in the name of righteousness. And then there’s Chet, the quiet, passionate, maddening leader of the rebellion who she swears can see right through her even though he’s blind. She’s risking everything letting him get close—especially while she’s wearing another girl’s skin.

But Scythe, her father’s young, magical tracker, is on her trail and closing in fast. Alora must choose: get the revenge she craves by hauling Chet and his crew to the execution stage, or lead the crusade against the most terrible dictator her world has ever known—her own father.

SONG OF THE VULTURE is a YA fantasy complete at 96,000 words. It is a multi-POV novel with chapters from Alora’s, Chet’s, and Scythe’s points of view. The possession aspect hearkens back to Stephenie Meyer’s The Host, while the father-daughter relationship and the romance will appeal to readers of Marie Rutkoski’s The Winner’s Curse.

First 250:

You will burn, little vulture. Your secret will be discovered, and your body will crumble to ash.

Alora knew the pyre couldn’t speak, knew the words were in her own mind, and yet the threat still raised the hairs on her arms.

The pyre’s great pole shone white as a bone over the housetops behind her. Every time she and Kirsi snuck out of the temple like this, that pole watched her dart from shadow to shadow, followed her around every corner, waited for her to slip up so she could finally meet fiery death at its feet.

Alora glared over her shoulder, aimed an obscene gesture in its direction, and continued on her way.

Hooves clattered on the cobblestones behind them, and Kirsi shoved her into the nearest alley, cursing. They ducked out of sight an instant before the guards rode past. Alora’s heart thundered in her ears.

Kirsi’s dark eyes flashed as she tugged her hood to shroud her pointed nose and deep olive skin. “How in ash do you manage to talk me into this every stupid time?” she hissed once the hoofbeats faded.

“Come on,” Alora replied, breathless. “Dodging them is half the fun.” She pulled Kirsi back down the road. Faster now. The sooner they got to the Frosted Vulture, the better.

Keeping to the darkest parts of the city, they reached the slouching remains of an abandoned shoemaker’s shop a few hours after midnight.