The Types of Stories We Tell

I've been thinking a lot about stories. Like most hope-to-be-published writers, I've piled up a lot of manuscripts. Flipping through my files, I realized each one is different. Each one taught me something new. And, being the obsessive, analytical person I am, I started categorizing them.

There's The One I Wrote First.
Ah, my first toe dip into the freezing pool of writing! Admittedly, I had no idea what I was doing, but I had a dream and I put my fingers to the keyboard and wrote it down! I refused to show it to anyone. Then I queried it and got a whole lotta form rejections. I got upset. I threw it aside. I moved on. Either way, it was special because it was my first.

The One I First Felt The Rush.
I once affectionately called this the writing equivalent of "chasing the dragon." I didn't sleep. I didn't eat. All my friends were mad at me. The house was dirty. I didn't do laundry for two weeks. And I couldn't care less because I was writing and I was on FIRE!

The One I Didn't Feel The Rush.
Why don't I have that same feeling? Remember when I wrote that last one and the characters felt familiar? The dialogue flowed out fresh? What's wrong with this one? Was that other one a fluke? Have they all been a fluke? Was writing always this hard??

The One That's In Pieces.
And, most likely, will always be in pieces. The characters aren't fleshed out. The story makes no sense. No matter how much time I put into it, it just doesn't seem to come together. I wonder if I should scrap it. I wait for that moment of clarity where it all makes sense and I find the most perfect piece to fill those gaping potholes. Any day now...it will make sense.

The One That Was Awful (aka The Pancake Story). 
After I snagged my agent, I had trouble writing the next book. I wanted to write, but I was creatively exhausted. Instead of taking a break, I wrote anyway. It was awful. I look back on it now and relate it to throwing that first pancake in the skillet. I knew it was going to be messed up, but I cooked it anyway so I could move on and cook up the rest of the batch.

The One That Was Just For Fun.
I used to think every single story had to be so incredibly meaningful. Then I wrote a story just for fun. To make my CP laugh. To keep my agent turning the pages. I smirked the entire time I wrote it, biting my lip while my characters said ridiculous things and twisted the story around.

Let me know what categories your stories fall in! And no matter what...when in doubt, remember:

What's Up Wednesday - 6.4.14

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what's up.

You can participate by going to Jaime's blog here. Or Erin's blog there.

I'm back! I'm back! I'm back! I took a very looooong blogging hiatus over the winter. I needed some necessary unplugging so I could finish up a project and get another one started. I missed this meme a lot. I'm so excited to be jumping back in--and I love the new tree design! -->

What I'm Reading

I've been majorly book binging. My husband recently had back surgery so we've been doing a lot of hanging around the house the last few weekends. I've been devouring my TBR pile--which was perfect because it was becoming a bit unmanageable. Here were some of my faves from the last few weeks:

I can't recommend these enough! If you loved Eleanor and Park, try Like No Other. If you want a Tarzan retelling, try Wild. And Second Star is up there with Tiger Lily for my favorite contemporary Peter Pan retelling.

Right now, I'm reading Todd Strasser's NO PLACE. I've been really into grittier contemps that show teens living in diverse settings (i.e., not in the suburbs). If you have any recos, let me know!

What I'm Writing

I'm between projects right now, but I'm starting to daydream and plot out something really fun to write this summer. I recently participated in the My Writing Process bloghop and talked a bit about my cork board process. 

What Inspires Me Right Now

I know it's a tad self-promo-y, but I love the Writers Like Us series on my blog. I started it as a joke with Jodi Meadows when she mentioned she gets asked the same questions a lot in interviews. So I set out to come up with a list that was a little different--what made us all the same as writers.

I think it's really fun to see what authors still have issues with when they write. Most say things like wrapping up their endings or plotting or things I alway struggle with. Also, I love seeing what a typical comment from their critique parters is. Michelle Krys had an awesome this week, "slow your roll, 50 Shades. This is a YA novel!"

Check out the series here.

What Else I've Been Up To

Other than being a complete bookaholic, I also lovingly call myself a product ho. I've been signed up with BirchBox for six months now and have been collecting more samples than I know what to do with! I wish there was a product swap meet up so I could unload some of these. 

I actually got to the point where I looked at this box and thought, "Okay, this is officially ridiculous." So I might spend the rest of this week reading while covered in lotions and lip gloss samples.

See you next week!

What's Up Wednesday - 8.14.13

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what's up.

You can participate by going to Jaime's blog here. Or Erin's blog there.

This my very first What's Up Wednesday and I'm exciiiiited! Hello, hello, What's Up Wednesday-ers!

What I'm Reading

Maggie Steifvater's THE RAVEN BOYS and OH MY GOD is it good! I wish someone would have told me "you know this book is about cute rebellious boys who drive cool cars, right?" about six months ago. 

What I'm Writing

Something that I'm slowly and quietly falling in love with. This hasn't happened in quite a long while for me so I'm keeping it close to the chest for the now. <3

What Else I've Been Up To

Settling back into work after a pretty awesome vacation to Key West. It's really strange opening the laptop and realizing you have to start all over again. 

What Inspires Me Right Now

This gif of Channing feed a puppy is pretty much the greatest thing in my life right now. I have a thing for him, you know. 

Top 3 Blog Series To Follow

There's been so much great feedback after Writers Like Us debuted this month that I thought it's only fitting to give some shout outs to some other new blog series...

Real Men Read YA - Not only is Aaron (@RealMenReadYA) reading YA books, but he's reviewing them from a man's point of view on his blog. If you haven't read his take on Anna and The French Kiss (even Stephanie Perkins approved!) or Hush, Hush, you are in for such a treat! I can't wait to see what he reads next–and if maybe I can convince him to read my favorite book, Something Like Normal...

When I'm Not Writing - Stacey Lee (@Stacey_Lee) started a new series to showcase what writers do when they aren't in front of their laptops. So far she's interviewed Sharon M. Johnston (who revealed her super hero obsession) and my wonderful agency sister, Monica BW (who showed us her Crocs and her favorite beach). I can't wait to see who's next!

The Big Reveal - Albeit not new, I don't feel enough people know about Suzi Retzlaff's (@SuziRetzlaff) awesome blog series, The Big Reveal. She asks a series of questions to featured writers from all levels, un-agented to published. Questions vary from "Do you do a lot of research for your novels?" to "Do you like to re-read books?" and it's always interesting to see how answers vary–or are the same! Also, *cough cough* I have signed on to give my answers for her next installment!

Make sure you're following these new series, and let me know in the comments if you've found any good ones I need to follow back!