Long time, no post! Yes, I fail miserably. But in my defense…I started a full-time temp job around the time of my last post. I’ve only just started figuring out the whole writer-with-a-day-job thing a couple weeks ago. And even then, all my writing energy has been going toward my freelance theatre writing job (on Examiner.com…I’m the Columbus Theater Examiner) and my WIPs (more on that later). But I haven’t forgotten you guys and now I’m here to update! Woo-hoo!

So…agent search. Nothing too exciting since my post about the partial. I haven’t heard back yet on that, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for good news. My new totals are…30 queries sent out…eight replies (7 rejections, 1 partial)…2 closed. I’m holding out hope and still have a TON of agents still to query, so I’m not going to let the rejections get me down! And, as a boost to my self-confidence, my younger sister just finished reading the current draft of “Nor the Battle” and told me that she really liked it. I figure that’s good news, especially since this is just the latest of generally good feedback I’ve been getting from my readers.

I’m keeping myself plenty busy with other WIPs, though…to the extent of insanity. I can’t seem to stop with coming up with ideas I love. As of today, I have three stories I’m going to try to work on…one that I’m focusing 80% of my attention on, the other two are just to keep me sane. Three different genres. And I haven’t even started edits on “Child of Roses” yet. Awesome.

Here are my current WIPs, just for kicks and your own info, in case you were dying of curiosity.

Boxes of Pandora: (fantasy) In theory, this is the first in a planned trilogy. Think…Narnia meets Greek mythology. And friends. And drama. Yeah, we’ll go with that. It’s my first time seriously trying my hand at fantasy and it’s the project I’m focusing most of my attention on. The biggest reason I have the other two projects is so I can go and hide with them when THIS project starts intimidating me.

Ship of Dreams: (historical fiction) I’ve decided to go back to my historical fiction roots, because I used to write a lot of historical fiction back when I first fell in love with writing. Which is strange, really, because I’ve never really liked history itself. I’ve just found certain events or time periods fascinating. And Titanic was an event I found interesting back in elementary school. I found it so interesting that I read as many books (fiction and non-fiction) as I could get my little hands on. I could rattle off any obscure fact at the drop of a hat. And now I’m trying again, on a more serious level than I used to write back in the day. The story of Titanic will be told by three points-of-view, one each in each class. And to make life more exciting for me, the Titanic exhibit is returning to COSI Columbus (the local science center) at the end of this month for quite a while and I’m going to use it for research. Woot!

And, my most recent addition…as in…I started writing it today at lunch…
The Memory Game: (general YA fiction) This is my comfort novel for now. It’s a genre I’m more familiar with, so this is where I’ll probably run to to hide the most. It’s the story of a girl who, for a reason I’m not going to reveal right now, can’t remember anything before she was seven. And so she needs to try to recover those memories and come to terms with the truth of her past. I’m still working on the details (obviously), but there you are.

Okay, that was a really long post. Whew.

Quick post to share this news, because Grey’s Anatomy will be starting soon and I always take my computer downstairs to write while I watch it. (No, don’t bother asking why…it’s just something I started doing over the summer.)

I got my first partial request from an agent on Tuesday! It was refreshing to receive word that wasn’t a rejection. Now I just have to find the time (and money) to get the partial shipped (yay snail mail) and I’ll be good to go. I still can’t believe that someone actually asked to see part of my manuscript. It’s a great feeling!

It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve been querying agents for two weeks. It doesn’t feel like two weeks. It feels like much longer.

My new totals are 17 queries sent out, 2 rejections received. That’s all the response I’ve gotten so far, so I’m sorry that I don’t have anything more exciting to share with you this week. Who knows…maybe I’ll have something more exciting to share soon…

Let’s see…what else is going on? It snowed about 14 inches over this weekend, so I’ve pretty much been spending every minute indoors (except for this morning, when I had to go down to church to play handbells for BOTH morning services). I took a nap this afternoon, so that was exciting. Other than that, I’ve been working hard on my fantasy trilogy concept and reading lots of books.

This coming week will be quite eventful for me. Tomorrow (Monday) marks the end of the liquids-only part of my diet. I’ve been doing that part for five months (ugh). Doctor monitored, of course. Keep that in mind–if you ever want to do one of these intense diets like liquids-only, make sure you do it through a doctor to stay healthy! So tomorrow I’ll finally get to eat normal food again (hooray!). And on Tuesday I get to start my shiny new full-time day job as a temp at a Nationwide office. I’m looking forward to having money again and *gasp* being a grown up. 🙂

Anyone who knows me probably knows that I rarely go anywhere without a book or a journal. Sometimes it’s one or the other, but usually it’s both. I even invested in a new purse over the summer just so I could more effectively carry books and journals with me everywhere I go. I do this because 1) I never know when an idea will strike me that I have to write down and 2) I never know when I’ll have downtime and wish that I had something to read.

Like I said, 99% of the time I have a book or journal with me. The other 1% of the time happens rarely and usually either happens by accident or because I’m only going on a short trip where I really don’t think I’ll be bored enough to read a book or have the opportunity to write down any ideas. One of these rare moments happened last weekend. After that experience, you can pretty much guarentee I won’t make the mistake again.

My friend Tracy and I went to Curves on Saturday morning. Since it was my turn to drive and we pretty much leave as soon as the workout is over, I didn’t really feel like lugging my big bag with me that morning. I usually do, but that morning I didn’t. So, after a few minutes of internal conflict, I decided to leave the book and journal behind. BIG MISTAKE.

We finished our workout, left Curves, and got in the car. Put the key in the ignition and…nothing. Take a deep breath, try again. Nothing. Just this aggravating chattering noise coming from my engine like it was trying REALLY hard to turn over. I tried six times (at least) and then called my dad. My parents were at the grocery store, they told me to try the ignition again in five minutes and then call them back. Five minutes later…the stupid engine is still chattering. I call my parents and then I call AAA.

AAA tells me it could take up to 75 minutes for someone to get to where I am.

Cue me kicking myself for leaving my books and journals at home.

Tracy and I sat in that stupid car for forty minutes before my dad was able to show up. Of course, because this is how my life works, he got my stupid car to start on the first try.

During those forty minutes, the only thing I could think about was how much I wished I had my book or my journal. You can be sure I haven’t gone anywhere without them since Saturday.

(And, in case you’re wondering, my car is fine. It was a faulty battery, which has since been replaced, so hopefully I won’t have to deal with anymore car issues for a while.)

Well, friends, here we are at the end of week one of my agent search. Granted…there’s still technically Sunday, but things have finally stopped being quite as tedious and un-blog worthy as they were an hour ago (yes, things changed just that fast).

This week, counting tonight, I sent out 11 queries to various agents. The official start date was January 26. I received my first response an hour ago. It was a form rejection from a query I sent out two days ago. While the rejection hurts, I still remember that I have 10 other queries out right now, plus a whole slew of ones I’m planning on sending throughout the coming weeks, months, etc. Also, I’m happy that I at least got some response, instead of being ignored.

When I haven’t been researching agents, making lists, and sending out queries, I’ve been working on my other writing projects. I have a fantasy trilogy I’m trying to get started (slow going) and I’m also trying my hand once more at historical fiction with a novel about Titanic, an event I was completely fascinated by when I was in late elementary school. It’s one of those things that I haven’t fully grown out of and I’m still fascinated by it and the drama that surrounded it. I can’t help it, really. So I’ve been juggling those two projects for the time being.

…And, no, the answer is not “butter”. Thanks.

The reason I’m on a roll is because (drum roll, please) I finished writing another novel. That’s right, friends…the first draft of “Child of Roses” has been completed! Overall, I’m pretty happy with how the entire thing turned out. Even the epilogue turned out better than I’d hoped. I did, however, have significant trouble finding that one perfect ending sentence. This resulted in me letting my main character ramble on for a paragraph and saying some things that probably didn’t need to be said. Whatever. That’s what revisions are for.

Now, you ask…what am I working on? Allow me to share that with you. It’s finally come time when I feel ready to begin querying agents. I have a handful of (relatively small) things to fix in “Nor the Battle” before I go and embarrass myself (I’m a big fan of first impressions, don’t judge). Once I get those little things fixed, I’ll start. I already have something at least resembling a query letter…and I need to do a synopsis. Seriously, I know I’ve drawn out this step, but that’s because it terrifies me. I can feel it though…it’s time. I can’t hide from this forever.

In the meantime, I always need to be writing SOMETHING. That something is me trying my hands at a YA fantasy trilogy. That’s right. I’m trying, not only fantasy, but a trilogy. And I thought it was a good idea to give myself 5 different protagonists, who each get the chance to tell the story from their own point of view. Crazy? Probably…I’m more convinced on this fact the further I get in the process for this new project. But I think it’s going to be fun. And it’s something I can keep my mind on when revisions on “Nor the Battle” start getting to me.

So that’s the world right now for me. Keep checking back, and I’ll keep you up-to-date on the agent search!

In case you’re wondering, I finished that chapter I was dreading last night. It took me disconnecting from the internet for a few hours to get anything accomplished. At one point, my younger sister asked how things were going. The conversation went something like this:

Laura: Having fun?
Me: Not really…
Laura: You don’t like writing your novel?
Me: I just don’t like writing this chapter.
Laura: Maybe if you turned off the TV…
Me: Then I’d play Solitare instead.
Laura: You’re weird.

Yup, that’s pretty much the relationship between Laura and me.

So that’s my accomplishment–finishing that chapter. Things are going to get so much better to write from this point onward, I’m sure of it.

Now you might be wondering…but what about the lists you mention in the entry title? That answer is quite simple. I’m compiling a list of literary agents to start querying. I hope to do that soon. I know “soon” is a very vague time-frame, but right now “soon” is about all I can work with. I’m also trying to find a full-time job and I’m working on losing weight, so my attention span for finding a firm time-frame for the agent hunt isn’t so great. So, “soon” it is.

I’ve been procrastinating all day. In fact, as I write this, I’m still procrastinating. And this time it’s not because I don’t know what to write or I don’t know how to start the chapter. I’ve already started the chapter, I know how it’s going to go and I know what I need to say.

But I don’t want to say it.

Honestly, this is the first time I’ve been this fearful about writing a chapter. Maybe it’s because this particular main character I’ve already tortured more than any other I’ve ever written. Maybe it’s because I know this is really going to SUCK. I’m afraid to find out the reactions to this particular moment of the other characters. I’m afraid to make my main character hurt more than I’ve already hurt her. It’s probably going to take me the rest of the day to get over this hump, but get over it I shall and then both my main character and I will be able to move on. That will be a glorious moment, but it still doesn’t ease my fears about this chapter.

Let’s see…what have I done this afternoon other than writing this chapter? I’ve read other books, watched bits and pieces of movies airing on TV…I’ve checked Facebook and Twitter so much that there’s nothing new anymore…I’ve checked my email copiously (in case you’re wondering, there’s nothing new)…I’ve watched multiple shows on Food Network. I talked to the Girl Scout who stopped by our house while my mom was ordering cookies. I looked on ebay for fingerless gloves. I remembered that I own fingerless mittens from high school marching band, and went on a hunt for those in the basement. I read some more. I decided I REALLY needed to chew some gum, so I needed to find that too. I decided I was cold and needed to go find my sweatshirt blanket and slippers. I went and poured myself a glass of sparkling water, which I then spilled on my writing desk, so I had to clean that up too. I’ve wandered around the house.

Every so often, I decide to write another few sentences in the chapter before I choose to check Facebook again.

I’m pathetic.

I’m sure this chapter will get written eventually today…or tomorrow…and when that happens, I’ll feel so much better. But that doesn’t change how much I DON’T WANT to write this chapter. As much as I KNOW this chapter has to happen, I still don’t want it to. So I will now go and stare at my Word document again, perhaps write another few sentences, and then resume watching Food Network.

Hi, friends! Happy New Year and welcome to 2010! I’ve decided that this is the year I’m going to get an agent and move forward on the whole publishing-a-novel thing. Yup.

My new favorite way to write, which I just discovered a week ago, is to take my laptop into my bedroom, light a scented candle, blast my playlist while my iPod is plugged into my iHome, and write for a few hours. Not only am I creating my own private writing oasis doing this, but I also can completely block out the rest of the world. I can just curl up with my novel and write a couple chapters. With all the snow right now in Ohio, it was nice yesterday to spend the evening doing that. I successfully managed to make my main character’s life significantly crappier, and then I made myself feel better by finally letting her fall in love (which had been planned since the beginning, but it felt like I was being nice after putting her through hell and back).

I never cease to be amused by the reactions I get from my family and non-writer friends when I do something that seems random, but really just has to do with my writing. For example, a couple months ago my dad learned the importance of not being sarcastic or funny with me when I’m having a mental breakdown/mood swing because of something I’m writing. The most recent amusement for me was when I asked my mom where the medical dictionary was. She found it for me and then asked me what I wanted to look up. I figured honesty was best, so I told her…I needed to find information on head injuries for my novel and google was making my life difficult at the time. I think I freaked her out. BUT, I found the information I needed, so freaking out my mom was a small price to pay.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! I know I did…regardless of my (now quite annoying) all-liquids diet that I’m doing through my doctor. But that’s another story entirely.

Because of this all-liquids diet, I avoided the dinner table on Christmas Day, which meant I was writing as a coping mechanism. Over the last four months, writing has become my coping mechanism even more than it ever has been before. I figure this is a good thing. First of all, hi, it’s writing and I love it. Second of all, if I’m able to make writing my main coping mechanism, maybe once I’m off this diet, food no longer will be.

Anyway, using writing as a coping mechanism means I get a LOT written when I’m avoiding big meals, which included Thanksgiving and Christmas (but not the Dudley Christmas, because it was buffet-style, so I didn’t have to stare at the food in the middle of the table for three hours). For Thanksgiving, I got a lot written for my National Novel Writing Month novel. For Christmas, I got a lot written for “Child of Roses”, the companion I’m working on for “Nor the Battle”. Yes…I’m still editing/revising “Nor the Battle”, but I have to actually write something, because I can only edit/revise for so long in one sitting before I get irritated with myself.

In other news…I got a shiny distraction this week. I mean, Christmas itself is a pretty shiny distraction (look at all the pretty lights!), but I’m talking a writing-related shiny distraction. It’s a dangerous thing that tends to happen to me far too often to be appreciated. I got another story idea. But here’s the proof that I’ve finally grown into better writing habits over the last couple years…I’m trying to ignore it. I wrote it down in a notebook, and every so often I’ll write down more ideas for it, but I’m not going to start writing it until I’m done (or close to done) with “Child of Roses”. When I was younger, I never finished anything. I have probably fifty half-finished stories and “novels” sitting in my desk or under my bed at this moment, because I’m great at getting thrown off course by the shiny distractions. And then I never finish. But that’s changed now, because I’m making myself finish “Child of Roses”. I think that’s a great improvement.

Hopefully I’ll post again before (or soon after) the New Year. I can’t believe it’s almost 2010 already! If I don’t get the chance, though…have a safe New Year’s Eve and a great start to 2010!