Writing

My whole life I have tried to be the perfect person. In second grade, I was the math whiz who only missed one question the entire year. In fourth grade, I was hated by the teacher, because I was so far ahead of her class, she had to find random things for me to do. …

Writing saved me. That might seem overly dramatic to you (especially if you know me), but it’s true. If it weren’t for writing, and blogging, specifically, I would not be here today. If It Weren’t For Writing, I Would Not Be Here Today About 7 months ago I went through a pretty life-changing event. An illness …

I’ve got so much stuff to do. I should be working on my manuscript, working on my pitch for said manuscript for an upcoming writer’s conference, tackle various freelance design jobs, organize a class I’m teaching at a said writer’s conference, keeping my house at human occupation levels, and oh yeah, I’ve got an 8-5 …

Just what are nipple clamps for anyway? It’s a post-Fifty Shades of Grey world, and there is a huge demand for super-sexy romantic novels. Authors work hand over fist to supply readers with what they want, and as a freelancer, I copy edit a lot of erotic romance. What does a copy editor do? Nitpick, …

October is here, and with the crisp weather and the promise of Halloween on the wind comes the traditional horror movie marathons. We watch in giddy anticipation of the hapless hero stumbling upon a murder in progress. Then we yell at the screen when they idiotically run upstairs instead of outside to the already running …

Okay, so, I know you’re probably thinking “What the crap?” (ha!) but I’m going to break it down for you so you can get the straight poop. I’m sure to disgust pretty much everyone who reads this, but you know what? Since I was a little kid, I always made up very…. odd analogies to …

Back in college I was The Planner Girl. I was that kid with the color coded planner class schedule who had assignments blocked off for when I needed to start, when they needed to be finished, due dates–everything. As an adult, I’m not much different. The only change is the style. Confessions of a Planer …

If you’d known me when I was thirteen, you would’ve known three things: First, I wanted to be the first female to play in the NBA. Second, I wanted to be the first female President of the United States. Life experience acting as the killer of idealism, I abandoned my presidential dreams, but who knows, …

I use Grammarly to check grammar online because it’s better than having my grandma proofread my erotic novels for me. I kid, I kid! I love having my grandma proofread those. 🙂 A couple of weeks ago, I was approached by Grammarly. They asked me to try out their service and write a review. So, …

It’s banned books week, and that makes both happy and sad. It makes me happy to know that we as a society care enough about reading and free speech to devote a whole week to the books others are trying to ban, but it makes me sad to know those people trying to ban books …

I know how to write, and that’s a good skill to have. But–I’ve always wished I could draw. Sure, I can draw a flamingo, and I can write tempera paint a sign with the best of them. But, that’s really the extent of it. The thing is, I am SO jealous of people have that …

A fabulous friend of mine, Leigh sent me her take on the storysaurus. And, I love him so much I had to share him! Adorable, right?

I’ve started a new feature here at the blog. Wednesday is guest post day. It might not be every Wednesday, hell let’s be honest here–it might even just last a week, but I love the idea of a guest post. It’s the virtual equivalent of having someone over for ice cream and cookies. And who …

Don’t forget that the contest to win an autographed copy of The Splendor Falls is still going on! If you haven’t left a comment to win, get over there and do that! It’s that time. The time where I waste an entire day’s worth of blog posting to wrap up the month. You know, though–it …

That’s right, I just used a twitter hashtag in the title of my post. Let’s just move past that, shall we? I am going to spend the rest of the week getting my book into shape so I can send it off to beta readers. But, I need two things from you… (What, you thought …

I’m sort of pre-occupied with editing right now, so amazingly inspiring blog posts of awesome aren’t really coming to me this week. But, here are a few things I’ve been up to: Storysaurus was hard at work this weekend for Cheryl’s manuscript. I’m not going to lie though… I’m a little scared that her storysaurus …

This week at the Totally the Bomb headquarters (aka my couch), we’re talking online platform. The plan is, by Friday, you’ll all be savvy internet marketers kickin’ butt and taking names. Okay, so maybe you’ll like be kickin’ booty and taking drink orders, but still… you should learn something. Yesterday we picked out our avatars. …

Last week I did an interview over at Elana Johnson’s blog, and one of her questions was how often have I wanted to give up. I was pretty honest and admitted that there have been more than one or two times along y little writerly journey that I’ve really just wanted to say screw it …

As part of my goal to blog more this year, I decided to break it down month by month so I wouldn’t get overwhelmed with the idea of blogging every day of the year. So far, it’s been pretty successful–except that I haven’t actually made it an entire month with a blog post every week …

**If you’re visiting from the lovely Elana Johnson’s Blog today. Well, Howdy! Thanks for Stopping by. But, if you don’t know what the heck I’m talking about then click here to read her interview with me. Thanks Elana!** Okay, so you all know how perplexed I am about the love triangle. (For those of you …

I was talking to a friend about writing stories the other day. You see, I’m working on something right now and it just didn’t feel like it had enough oomph. I knew there was something missing, I just couldn’t put my finger on it–then we got to talking about the layers of a story. Well, …

I read a great book while I was camping this weekend, Divine Misfortune by A. Lee Martinez.* It was cute without being too cute, fun without being too funny, and just all around awesome. Now, I know this isn’t the normal kind of book I write about, but it was just too good NOT to …

Today, I’m going to do something special*… I’m going to let you in on how I put together a blog post. This isn’t the way I always do it, but this is what usually works for me. This is what gets comments and retweets on twitter. And, if we’re being completely honest, isn’t that what …

I read a lot of books, but I read a WHOLE lot of young adult books, and I’ve noticed a few repeats here and there. Here’s the thing… there are a lot of words in books, and there are a lot of different emotions, actions, looks, and such. So, I am cool with the repeats. …

Well, Well… I told you guys that you could ask me anything, and you did not disappoint! Now I have piles and miles (See, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to say miles and miles or piles and piles so I just decided to do a combo thing–did it work? Yeah, I don’t really think …

Okay, so a big part of a lot of novels I read (and write) is the classic love triangle. It’s so fun because there’s automatic conflict and someone ends up having to make a big important choice. You have three major players in the triangle. Now, I am not saying it’s always the same, but …

Let me just say first that I love books. I love character development, and I love watching characters grow over the course of a story into something they didn’t know they could be. It’s exciting, entertaining, and pretty much the only reason I read a story. I want the girls in my stories to be …

This weekend my husband and I took our daughter to the Casa Manana children’s theater. We have season tickets that my mother-in-law gets us every year. All in all they are awesome. I was wowed by their production of Treasure Island, I cried when Charlotte climbed up to her web for that last time, when …

All this talk about grammar rules yesterday really got me to thinking… When I was younger, I was one of those kids who would make up a game for everyone to play, and then change the rules right in the middle of it just because I didn’t think it was working the way I wanted …

Okay, first off–Holy Crap February was short. How am I sitting here writing my monthly wrap up post? So, let’s start with the writing. I’m still hard at work on my gamer girl book, but it’s not finished. So, writing is well, but nothing exciting to announce or anything. Daughter is loving the new preschool. …

When I think about characters, they start out perfect. My gamer geek is actually a hot as hell bimbo blonde who kicks butt, my teachers are wonderful caring people that want to nurture and such… and of course there’s the guys. The first drafts of my guys are super model-quins who love unconditionally and overlook …

So much so that I made an informative graphic: Now that I’ve just come out there and admitted it, I feel much better. I hate socks, and I hate shoes more. If I could just wear flip flops year round I would, but it’s been like snowing in Texas so that’s not really an option …

When I was in second grade, Ms. George taught us how to write a story. She used the storysaurus. He was a dinosaur with spikes on his back. Each spike represented a chapter, and his whole body represented the story’s main plot. I fell instantly in love with storysaurus, and I still use him to …

The thing about writers is, until we figure out that we’re actually supposed to spend our lives living in make believe lands and telling pretend stories–we are a little lost. So, we work some pretty interesting jobs. What’s so great about those experiences, though is that they give us a chance to see and learn …

So, I blame a lot of stuff I do every day on the fact that I write for teens. I figure it’s time to come clean. Truthfully, I love all this stuff. 🙂 Online Gaming – I love playing games with friends. So much so, that my new character has a bit of an online …

Because it’s Tuesday and because you rock, I thought we should do another author signed book giveaway. So, hooray for signed books. They make me so happy! This week, we’re giving away Courage in Patience by Beth Fehlbaum. (This is is an older YA book, so keep that in mind.) You can also check out …

I’ve been thinking a lot about super powers lately. Yeah, I know that most of you probably don’t spend a lot of your spare time sitting around thinking about what you’d do if you had special powers. (Or maybe you do, and that’s why you’re here. In that case, wanna go for coffee? I’m buying.) …

As promised I am going to do some book reviews around here! I thought about how I’d do this for a long time, because here’s the thing… I know how hard it is to write a book. I know the time, energy and even love (oh yeah I said love–make fun if you must) that …

That’s one of those quotes that you instantly know. I mean, right? I assume you know what movie that comes from, or seriously, we can’t be friends. Actually, pretty much the second I hear it, I have to do a youtube search and watch the part again. But, because I am such a good friend, …

If you’re like me, you love books, but you love books signed by the author EVEN more. (Seriously, it’s like my guilty pleasure to go and look at my signed books on the shelves in the family room, it makes me so happy to see someone write their name on that inside page!) So, in …

Okay, so here’s the thing. I’m from Texas. You know, the Lone Star State. Now, it’s important that you know there are some cowboys here, we do have a lot of trucks, and there is the occasional hoedown. But Texas is more than that. Dallas is a freakin’ technological mecca, we have some really great …

So, I’m sitting around at iHop last night, (yeah, I like to pretend it’s an apple product, makes me feel all cool) and we started talking Young Adult Literature. (That’s YA for those of you in the biz.) The thing about YA is you want to keep it young and fresh without sounding like an …

So, I’ve been working a little on the ‘ol Work in Progress book and it’s way fun. One of my favorite things I did was to make character collages of my three main characters. I totally ganked the idea from Tera Lynn Childs, and I love the way it’s helped me to tell the story. …

Write what you know. How many times have you heard that? I am guessing if you’ve been at this any amount of time… quite a few. What’s that? You write fantasy and you’ve invented a whole new world entirely in your head so how could you possibly write what you know? I am here to …

Let me set the scene for you: It’s a chilly morning at a Target in a high end neighborhood. (Not the place I live, but you know–the place I drive to so my kid can get a fancy education.) The red-shirted cashier turns to the lady in front of me with a fake smile on …

Persistance. Persistence. Although I apparently don’t know how to spell it, this word means something to me. Without persistence, I wouldn’t have a completed manuscript, I wouldn’t have a group of writing friends that I’ve come to count on, I wouldn’t have an agent, I would never get to submit my book to publishers, and …

This is greatness, and I plan to listen… or at least TRY to… I kinda suck at the listening.

I’m not so great with the resolutions. I am the kind of person who just sort of shuts down and does nothing when overwhelmed. Note to self: An awesome resolution would be to try and work on that whole shutting down when you’re overwhelmed thing. Note to self that just wrote that note to self: …

Bonus points if you recognize the quote… So, it’s the end of the decade, correct? Last time we were partyin’ like it was 1999. Um, except we aren’t all stockpiling canned goods and worried that computers would take over the world. But, if the computer overlords look anything like this skin job, then I for …

Right now I am pretty much the busiest I have ever been. I am working back and forth a little with my agent of awesomeness on my book, my kid is doing the usual thing–dance classes, preschool, playgroups, etc., and oh yeah WE’RE MOVING. We’ve been packing and cleaning out closets, storage bins, etc. It’s …

Revisions are a part of every author’s life. You write a story, and when you’re writing it, you absolutely fall in love with the whole thing. It’s the greatest thing ever written, and then you go back and read through it–whoa. It’s pretty crappy. So, you go through again, and make it suck less. You …

This writing thing’s a tough gig. You write a story–polish it until your eyes go crosseyed, and then query it to fabulous agents that you know can champion your book with the best of them. It’s all very exciting and fun-filled. But, then you wait…. …and you wait…. … and just when you thought you …

A couple of days ago a friend of mine read my book that I am currently querying to agents. She said a lot of things about it, but there were a couple of things that really stuck with me, and I want to talk about them a little here. She mentioned that she thinks YA …

It’s no secret I want to make a lifelong career out of writing books, but I think in this whole crazy day and age writing your story just isn’t enough. I don’t understand why more authors/publishing companies, etc. aren’t trying to build up entire online communities around a series of stories. It wouldn’t be that …

For those of you that don’t know, I am obsessed with twitter. I tweet about random crap all day. It gets me through all the book writing fun. I like meeting new people, and the world of twitter makes me smile. But, I have a book I want published, and I want an agent to …

Okay, I’ve had my book in both past and present tense, and I am STILL not sure which one is the way to go… so I have the first few lines written BOTH ways for your viewing pleasure. <br /> <a href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1676901/” mce_href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1676901/”>Should Sketch McGee be written in past or present tense?</a><span style=”font-size:9px;” mce_style=”font-size:9px;”>(<a href=”http://www.polldaddy.com” …

So, I am reading a friend’s book, and she has a love triangle in the plot. What’s the first thing I say to her? Oh be careful with that you don’t want to be a twilight clone. Damn you Meyer! She wrote her triangle in such a pivotal way that the rest of us are …

I LOVE editing, I mean seriously. Writing the story is one thing, but shaping it into something fabulous and wonderful makes me so happy. Sketch is fun to edit, but it’s difficult as well. I didn’t feel like my family of villains was bad enough… so now I need some super swankalicious high powered gadgets …

Well, you asked for it, so here it is–Ten reasons I need to keep playing WoW. 10. It’s something to do in my free time. Sometimes you just want something mindless and fun to do, warcraft is exactly that. There isn’t a whole lot of thinking behind mindless daily quests and raids you’ve done before–so …

So, I have been spending a lot of time in the editing process of my super villain book. In short, my main character is a sixteen year old super villain that can alter the future with her drawings, when she’s not busy being a geeky high school student that is. She’s awesome. I love her …

I’ve been getting really into facebook lately, and I recently friended someone from high school that was on the drumline with me. That’s right, I was a bona-fide band geek. I lived for marching season, and it was straight up the most fun ever. I lived for marching season, and honestly… I was pretty cute …

24105 / 65000 words. 37% done! I officially made it past the 20k mark in my book! I feel like that is such a milestone. It’s when the book kind of starts gluing itself together and revealing all it’s juicy secrets to you. You start to fall in love with all the right characters, and …

A friend of mine had an interesting post earlier today about the stories that have influenced her. I started to comment, but then my comment got a little out of hand, so I decided to post it here instead. I read a lot. Hundred books in a year? No problem.Especially now that I can just …

15046 / 65000 words. 23% done! Oh Snap!  Look at me! I hit the 15k word mark, and let’s face it, that just makes me a total pimp, right? I have been hard at work with good ‘ol Sketch McGee, and I love the twist the story has taken. Her super power has become more …

Okay, so in my mind… Sketch is so much cooler when she’s all cartoon character’d out. So I found this on the internet, played around to make it super sketch… and now I have her! I love her!  It’s so perfect! I just think this is total Sketch McGee. I have been writing like a …

9088 / 80000 words. 11% done! Well,that isn’t too bad!  Despite the fact that I am apparently a crazy nutcase this week, I did actually get some writing done. Look at that!  It’s more than ten percent, so that makes me happy!  I really like where the story is going so far, too. I love …

I have officially written my first book… from cover to cover. There is a beginning, a middle and an end. It’s GOOD, and it makes me happy to read it. I can’t believe I finished it, but I got to the climax, and the book just sort of started writing the end all by itself! …