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!

Let me begin by apologizing for the epic fail that was me keeping this thing updated during NaNoWriMo. Let’s just face facts–I got distracted by the excitement. But I’m back now and still working hard!

To update you all on what happened with NaNo…well…I finally won!!! This was my sixth year participating and I finally crossed the 50k word finish line! It was a hard 30 days, for sure, but I definitely feel a great sense of accomplishment. I always love November. I love getting to spend the month writing just because I can. It’s a great feeling.

Since the end of November, I have been working hard on “Nor the Battle” and trying to get it ready to send to agents. So far it’s been through one intensive revision that, well, kind of hurt my head. The worst revision of them all was changing the gender of a minor character, because I’m still fairly certain that there’s a gender-specific word that never got switched. I’ll be taking it through at least one more round of revisions soon and then start querying agents.

When I’m not working on “Nor the Battle”, I’ve been working on its companion, called “Child of Roses”. So far I only have a handful of pages typed and written, and a very rough outline of characters, but for the most part I’m very excited about where it’s going and where it’ll end up.

Welcome to National Novel Writing Month! This, my friends, is like my Christmas. I spent the month of October waiting anxiously, trying to think of what to write (but not thinking too much, because I’m really good at running out of steam). I counted down practically by the hour on October 31, waiting desperately for midnight. Midnight hit…and then I was off!

I have a 305-song playlist, consisting of pretty much ANYTHING that will inspire me to write. Unlike when I had a playlist for “Nor the Battle,” where I knew EXACTLY what I was writing and EXACTLY what emotions I needed to portray, I’m going into this novel (currently titled “The Missing”) half-blind. I know the general plot, main characters, how I wanted it to start and how I want it to end. That’s about it. So the playlist I put together is mostly just songs I really like or find inspirational in some way. There’s pop music, rock, R&B…Broadway showtunes…movie soundtracks. It’s pretty much a grand melting pot of music I like.

Here at the end of day 1, I’m proud to say that I’m already doing better than I’ve done in recent years. I currently, at this moment (10:21pm) have 5151 words…this means I’ve achieved quota up through Tuesday. It would be great if I could hit 10k in the next day or two. That would build my confidence in my story and my characters ten-fold. For reference, the most I’ve ever gotten in a NaNo was my first year and that was around 15k, I believe. If I could hit 15k and beyond, I’d feel so much better.

This month is dragging by. I can’t wait for November 1 to hit!

Nothing new has changed in the status of my novel. I’m trying not to think about it too much, or just think about gritty details (like…how are my characters going to go out in public? I enjoy making things very difficult for myself, apparently). The NaNo forums over on the main site are bustling with activity. I have 18 dares, I think, which I’m excited to use and I’ve managed to suck in a few more friends (and remind another that, hey, it’s October, she should get her butt over to the boards).

Something I’m very much looking forward to this year is the fact that I’m in a large region again. With this, and the fact that I don’t have school or school activities to worry about, I actually get to participate in regional gatherings! For my region, the kick-off party is on October 25 and I’m very excited to attend. I’m looking forward to the Write-Ins, the Ohio-Michigan (or Columbus-Ann Arbor, I don’t really understand which one it is) word war, the TGIO party, and I’ve heard rumblings about a possible midnight write-in. All things that sound like a blast to me. 🙂