In Which I Make 2016 Goals

Before we get into this post, how exciting is it that it's Leap Year today?

I didn't know that women are supposed to trap men in marriage on Leap Year. I should best get going

I think this is my first Leap Year post, even though my blog is over 6 years old. Anyway, it's not actually a big deal, just kind of a little bonus.

Also, it means, that it's still February so I'm not making my goal for the year ridiculously late. Like in March or something.
No. It's February. It's fine.

So, last week I talked about my 2015 goals and how I did, so now it's time to lay out some 2016 goals. Let's get to it.

In no particular order:

1. Read 100 books. I didn't make this goal last year, but I'm going to try it again this year. We'll see how it goes.

2. Finish my MG fantasy. This means both finish the draft and fully revise it.

3. Revise my YA fantasy. Draft is done, but it needs some work, which I'm excited to get to.

4. Teach a class. It can be anywhere on anything.

5. Teach a query writing workshop. This was a goal last year, too, but things just kept coming up. So we'll see how it goes this year.

6. Put the house up for sale. We'd really like to move this year. We'll see how it goes.

And that's pretty much it!

How about you? What are some of your goals for the year?

In Which I Look Over Last Year's Goals

So, like I do every year, I make goals and then when a new year comes around, I look back and see how well I did.

There's no weight or anything behind them. I'm not sad if I didn't meet a few goals, and I'm not, like, ridiculously happy if I do meet them. I just like keeping track of things. It's fun.

So here are my 2015 goals and the results:

1. Write not one, but TWO novels! *GASP*. Yes, this is a pretty big goal to reach for. BUT, I think it's doable. One, because I have to write book 2 for HarperTeen in the next few months here. And 2, because I'm going to be working on a MG fantasy for school. The kicker is whether I'll be able to actually write all of that MG fantasy, but I guess that's what we'll find out.

Failed. I mean, don't get me wrong. It was close. I wrote all of book 2 and I wrote half of the MG fantasy. But then things got in the way. Mostly the ASSASSIN'S HEART launch and all that jazz. But, I will be working on the MG fantasy now, and hope to have it done by the end of spring.

2. Read 100 books. Yes I read 140 books last year, but I also had my MFA reading list I was completing and a lot of those books were picture books and graphic novels or shorter kidlit. Now that I'm done with the reading list, will I be able to still hit 100? (I can tell you that the year has started out slowly, anyway)

Failed. I gave it a good shot, but, like with the novels above, things got in the way. I did read a fair few books, though. 71 to be specific. And that's not too shabby.

3. Buy a standing desk. You know, the kind that you can transform into standing or sitting. I've been thinking about one for awhile, and then a few months ago I was like "what am I waiting for?" I sit too much during the day, so hopefully this will help. Also I can take my current desk, which is very nice and sturdy, and give it to twin so we can throw out her computer desk (which is the old rickety desk that also used to be mine) But the standing desks are not cheap. And it's not easy to switch out furniture in our office

Met! Of course, it's not like it's really hard to, you know, buy something. But there you go. I bought it. I put it together. Moved some things around and I love it. I stand at least 2 hours a day.

4. At least partially re-do the upstairs bathroom. Our medicine cabinet has the lights for the bathroom and room for four bulbs. But it's old, and every time a bulb burns out, we're either unable to get the bulb out, get a new bulb in, or if we do, it no longer works. Of the 4 original lights that work, we are done to one. As soon as that bulb burns out, well, it's time to get a new medicine cabinet and light fixture. And if we're going to do that we might as well get a new vanity to match, etc. We should also reeeeeally do a new, updated floor, but that's a bigger commitment that involves tile and I dunno if it's something we really want to commit to at this point.

Met! This one was a huge met, too. Because we didn't just partially re-do it. We redid the whole thing. The only part that is still the same is the shower/bathtub. Everything else is new. And we tiled for the first time.

5. Try really hard to teach a query writing workshop for my MFA. This is a bit of a cheap goal because it's kind of out of my hands since I'm not in charge of scheduling. All I can do is keep expressing my interest to the powers that be and hope they put me on. (On the plus side, it seems likely it'll happen at some point, but we'll see. You never know how scheduling can go)

Failed. This really was out of my hands. I put in a request for two residencies to teach a workshop but it didn't happen. And I put in a pitch to do a workshop at a small local conference and that didn't happen either. *sad trombone* But I am going to put in another request to teach it at Alumni Weekend this summer, so we'll see how that goes.

So there you go! How was your year?

In Which I Make New Yearly Goals

Last week I wrote about my goals I accomplished. Which means it's time for some new 2015 goals!

Yes, we're in to February already, and probably I should have made goals before this point.

But HAHA!! I DID make goals before this point! I just didn't have a chance to write them up, yet. Until today that is.

ONCE MORE, INTO THE BREACH!

1. Write not one, but TWO novels! *GASP*. Yes, this is a pretty big goal to reach for. BUT, I think it's doable. One, because I have to write book 2 for HarperTeen in the next few months here. And 2, because I'm going to be working on a MG fantasy for school. The kicker is whether I'll be able to actually write all of that MG fantasy, but I guess that's what we'll find out.

2. Read 100 books. Yes I read 140 books last year, but I also had my MFA reading list I was completing and a lot of those books were picture books and graphic novels or shorter kidlit. Now that I'm done with the reading list, will I be able to still hit 100? (I can tell you that the year has started out slowly, anyway)

3. Buy a standing desk. You know, the kind that you can transform into standing or sitting. I've been thinking about one for awhile, and then a few months ago I was like "what am I waiting for?" I sit too much during the day, so hopefully this will help. Also I can take my current desk, which is very nice and sturdy, and give it to twin so we can throw out her computer desk (which is the old rickety desk that also used to be mine) But the standing desks are not cheap. And it's not easy to switch out furniture in our office

4. At least partially re-do the upstairs bathroom. Our medicine cabinet has the lights for the bathroom and room for four bulbs. But it's old, and every time a bulb burns out, we're either unable to get the bulb out, get a new bulb in, or if we do, it no longer works. Of the 4 original lights that work, we are done to one. As soon as that bulb burns out, well, it's time to get a new medicine cabinet and light fixture. And if we're going to do that we might as well get a new vanity to match, etc. We should also reeeeeally do a new, updated floor, but that's a bigger commitment that involves tile and I dunno if it's something we really want to commit to at this point.

5. Try really hard to teach a query writing workshop for my MFA. This is a bit of a cheap goal because it's kind of out of my hands since I'm not in charge of scheduling. All I can do is keep expressing my interest to the powers that be and hope they put me on. (On the plus side, it seems likely it'll happen at some point, but we'll see. You never know how scheduling can go)


And that's pretty much it.

How about you? What are some of your goals for 2015?

In Which I Met Goals

So every year I make a list of goals (things that I can actually accomplish. It's more of a year long To Do list as opposed to resolutions)

And at the beginning of the next year I get to look back and see if I accomplished them.

So here we go!

2014 Goals:

1. Write a new novel. We have to work on something new for the MFA, but actually finishing the whole thing is what I'm going to aim for. I'd really love to finish it before my second semester, but we'll see how things are going and how crazy my life is.

Result: Accomplished! I finished my WIP (tentatively titled Monsters Within) in early November

 2. Write at least two short stories. I've been sitting on two that I want to write and I originally planned on doing them while I was querying ATR, but it turned out I didn't query it very long so I didn't have the time. So now I want to make the time to get these buggers written and hopefully submitted somewhere
Result: Failed. I'm still sitting on these stories and really looking forward to when i'll have some time to get them down.

 3. Read 105 books. I somehow managed to read 103 last year. Was it a fluke? No frickin' clue. So I guess we'll find out in 2014 if I can do it again. Aim high or go home, I guess.

Result: Accomplished!  I actually read 142 books, though a fair amount of them were picture books and graphic novels

 4. Look into teaching a class. For awhile now I've thought about teaching a query letter workshop at The Loft, our local writing center. But I've never been a teacher and I have no idea how to put together a lesson plan or anything like that. I'd like to spend some time figuring out the logistics, so I can maybe put in an application this year or the next to teach some query skills in the future. Just trying to pay it forward and all that junk.

Result: Semi Accomplished. I guess I don't know specifically what this one meant. Was just looking into it enough? Because I did that. Or was I supposed to actually teach one? Because I didn't do that.

 5. Redo our basement bathroom. Not a writing goal, obviously, but our basement bathroom needs a complete overhaul due to water damage. It's a very small bathroom, but we've never done drywall before so there'd be a bit of a learning curve. Of course, as always, our motto is "I could do a lot of things if I had money."  *nods head seriously*

Result: Accomplished! It took longer than we hoped, just because there was a leak we couldn't fix on our own, so there was a delay while the plumber came out, but after that it went pretty quickly. And besides some wonky mudding in a corner, it looks pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

 

 

 

So that's it! How did your 2014 goals go?

In Which I Pick Books

I read a crap ton of books in 2013. 103 or so, to be exact. I didn't know I had it in me. My goal was 62 and I thought that was going to be a stretch.

Guess I was wrong.

But in my usual spirit of things, it's time to pick the top 5 books I read in 2013. It's going to be harder than usual BECAUSE there are so many great books on my list, but nonetheless, it must be done.

Here they are, in no particular order:


WHITE CAT By Holly Black

This is one of those books that I wish I'd written. That's how much I loved this book and the whole trilogy. I've always been a fan of mob families and these books have that is spades, combined with magic.


STUPID FAST By Geoff Herbach

I read this book on my kindle, so I had no idea what it was about other than a kid who played football. Turned out it's sooo much more than that. Geoff Herbach said that he didn't even realize it was a sports book until he saw the cover

LOVE THIS BOOK. I seriously think everyone should read it. The voice is awesome, and there's sports and mental illness and discovering your past and all this awesome stuff that just makes a great YA book. I don't know anyone who doesn't like this book. Added bonus, Geoff Herbach is hilarious and amazing in real life.


OKAY FOR NOW By Gary Schmidt

This is one of those books that I would have never read on my own. It was on my MFA reading list and I dragged my feet a bit about it. I read the dust flap like 4 times, each time thinking "this is not going to be for me". But it turns out I was dead wrong. I was immediately hooked. So hooked that I started blabbing about it to twin almost immediately and made her read it, too, before I returned it to the library. She also loved it. Gary Schmidt does not treat his characters easy, and there is a lot of darkness, but also a lot of heart in this book. Don't let the cover or the dust jacket description fool you.


SPLIT By Swati Avasthi

I really wanted to like this book. I'd heard good things about it. Luckily my expectations were beyond met. Another book I made Twin read before I returned it to the library. I also plan to buy my own copy sometime in the future. It's nice to see a book on domestic abuse where things aren't wrapped up tidily and where there are permanent repercussions, sometimes, for kids who grow up surrounded by violence. Also, I love a good brother story.


DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE By Laini Taylor

I'd heard mixed things about this one. Mostly regarding the ending. I was told that pretty much the whole book was a prologue. I don't know if knowing that going in altered my opinion at all, but I loved this book. I loved the world, the characters the writing. Reading this book made me wish I could draw better so I could draw some badass fanart of the characters. I also love books where major magical things happen and the rest of society takes notice. It's refreshingly realistic for a book rooted firmly in the fantasy.



So, that's it! There were probably another 5 more that made the short list, and a few that I felt really bad that I couldn't include, but these were the books that I thought about all year after I finished them so I think they earned their place on my list.

How about you? Have you read any of these books? And what were some of your top reads you read this year?


 

In Which I Set Goals

(Wednesday Weirds will return soon, for those of you who are frequent WW readers. Yes, you.)

We're well into January now, which means it's time for me to lay out some 2014 goals.

Things are a bit different this year, of course. I have an agent now (MUPPET FLAIL!) Which means this is my first year in awhile when querying something or other won't be on my list of goals. Which also means I have to come up with some new ones.

Also, I'll be tackling my MFA, and will have duties for that as well. I'm going to try to avoid any MFA related stuff on my goals, because I HAVE to do that, so it's not really fair putting them on the list, if you follow.

Anyway, here was my list from last year.  And now onto my list for 2014


1. Write a new novel. We have to work on something new for the MFA, but actually finishing the whole thing is what I'm going to aim for. I'd really love to finish it before my second semester, but we'll see how things are going and how crazy my life is.

2. Write at least two short stories. I've been sitting on two that I want to write and I originally planned on doing them while I was querying ATR, but it turned out I didn't query it very long so I didn't have the time. So now I want to make the time to get these buggers written and hopefully submitted somewhere

3. Read 105 books. I somehow managed to read 103 last year. Was it a fluke? No frickin' clue. So I guess we'll find out in 2014 if I can do it again. Aim high or go home, I guess.

4. Look into teaching a class. For awhile now I've thought about teaching a query letter workshop at The Loft, our local writing center. But I've never been a teacher and I have no idea how to put together a lesson plan or anything like that. I'd like to spend some time figuring out the logistics, so I can maybe put in an application this year or the next to teach some query skills in the future. Just trying to pay it forward and all that junk.

5. Redo our basement bathroom. Not a writing goal, obviously, but our basement bathroom needs a complete overhaul due to water damage. It's a very small bathroom, but we've never done drywall before so there'd be a bit of a learning curve. Of course, as always, our motto is "I could do a lot of things if I had money."  *nods head seriously*


That seems like a fair amount of goals. I thought about putting Revise ATR with agent Mollie on there, but, like the MFA, that's less of a goal and more of something that's for sure going to happen, so it felt a bit like cheating to include it.

So there you have it! How about you? What are some of your goals for this year?

In Which I HAVE AN AGENT!!!

Guys. GUYS!!!!

SERIOUSLY!

Okay. Wait. Let me calm down and back up a little. I'm just so excited because since I started this blog, alllll the way back in 2010, I've seriously dreamed about writing this post, guys. THE POST.

The I GOT AN AGENT POST!!

Because I did.

And this is how I feel:

I honestly wish I could dance this well

 

Okay, so let's tell a tale, a tale of queries and revisions and offers. But first, we must go back to a conference. (prepare yourself for a long ass post)

Wait. One more dance:

 

In NaNoWriMo 2011 I wrote the first 50k of ALL THAT REMAINS. Then I put it aside for a year because it was fighting me and I was working on something else. For NaNo 2012 I finished the last 50k of ATR and I loved it and decided I would take my time revising this one. And I would take a class to workshop it. And I would not rush.

In October (2013) I attended the MN SCBWI conference, which was fun and awesome. I had signed up for a MS crit from either an editor or an agent and I was assigned to the editor. But instead of giving me a crit, she mostly just said that she loved my first five pages and that she wanted to see the full of ALL THAT REMAINS.

Which was amazing and great. I told her that I planned on querying because I wanted an agent and she agreed that an agent would be the best way to go. And then she did something awesome--she told me if I wanted to, I could use her name in my query. So I did.

I began querying on Halloween. I sent 2 out, got 2 fulls, and then sent out a full batch of 10. My goal was to query through November, take a break in December, and then start up again when I was done with my MFA residency in mid January. Also, I had a new strategy with this MS: I was going to start off by targeting agents who had read previous manuscripts of mine.

I had a very large request rate. A lot of requests is normal for me, but this was different. This was also no rejections. Even with a lot of requests on the other manuscripts, I still pulled in the Rs. But not this time. For awhile I had an almost 100% acceptance rate on my queries. I even broke my rule and queried a few agents who had only rejected me in the past, and even they requested. For a brief moment, I thought about pulling out of the Baker's Dozen contest, but my family convinced me otherwise.

I got a partial request in mid Nov. Then that agent bumped it up to a full. And she tweeted about me, guys. That . . . that was a crazy moment. That she was so excited to read the full that she had to tweet it.

In early December, the same agent sent me an email that she wanted to call and talk revisions. She raved about ATR. She comped it to an amazing book that I lurved (*cough* LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA *cough*). And she wanted to give me her revision notes asap because she was pretty sure I would get an offer from another agent soon. And her revision notes were great, so I dove in.

And then I got 3 more R&Rs within the same week. Now, I'd had R&Rs before, but these were different. They were exuberant. There were phone calls and excitement and more agents telling me that I would most likely get an offer from another agent soon.

One agent only wanted to see revisions on the first few chapters. A kind of "feeling me out" sort of deal, to see if I could actually pull the revisions off. And that I wasn't crazy.

So I dove into those first, because they'd be faster. I sent them back to her a week before my MFA, but this agent was still out of the office because of the holidays.

Then, the day before my residency, when I'd be in lectures and workshops and readings for 11 days straight, all day, this agent said she wanted to call.

I thought it would be an offer. So I managed to skip some of the non-required readings, and took the call in a classroom.


And she offered.

And my new MFA friends freaked out in enthusiasm and excitement and congratulations and that night we went to a Korean restaurant/bar and performed some major karaoke.

That night I nudged everyone who had the MS, including the 3 remaining R&R agents and the few queries I still had out.

I had another offer a few days later. I actually had dinner with this agent because she happened to be in town, visiting in-laws. The dinner was lovely and I had a great time.

Then I had another offer. And another. And by this time the residency was over and I had just a few days to reach out to agent clients and do some final research before I had to make a decision. But during this time the offers still came in.

 

But, when it was all said and done, there was one agent that just struck a chord with me. When I was finished speaking with her on the phone, I felt excited to get to work. It was my gut telling me she was the one.

I am happy to announce that I am now officially repped by: MOLLIE GLICK! Of Foundry Literary + Media

I'm so excited to get to work on revisions with her.

Me, signing the agent agreement

 

Twin baked me a cake!

It was butter pecan. And it. was. delicious!!

So. The Numbers, since I know some people love the numbers (I know this because I am a numbers person. I love reading the "I got an agent" posts and I love seeing the stats)


Queries sent: 25
Query rejections (before the offer): 3
Partial Requests: 3 (2 bumped up to fulls)
Full requests: 14 (including the bumps)
R&Rs: 4 (3 stepped aside after the offer)
Number of Offers: 7


But, I think it's important to remind people that, yes, even though those stats are pretty awesome, this is after 2 other queried manuscripts. I've been querying almost steadily since 2011.

So here are some quick stats on those, because I want to remind people that sometimes it takes a lot of work and patience to reach this point. And there's no shame in it. I loved every step of the journey, both the ups and the downs, because it meant I was putting myself out there, that I was working hard and trying and I knew trying was the only way I'd reach my goals.


GLIMPSE OF ANOTHER SHORE
Queried for 8 months in 2011 and 4 months in 2012
Queries Sent: 96
Partial Requests: 1
Full Requests: 17


BREAK FREE
Queried for 6 months in 2012 and 7 months in 2013
Queries sent: 106
Partial Requests: 5 (three bumped to fulls)
Full Requests: 11 (not including the bumps)
R&Rs: 3


So. There you have it. over 200 queries in 3 years. 48 manuscript requests. 7 offers. 1 agent.

Thanks for reading and for being awesome. Because you are.
 

In Which I Look Back At 2013 Goals

Another year, another list of goals met or failed.

Looking back at this time last year, these were the goals I'd made for myself for 2013:



2013 GOALS

1. Revise All That Remains
2. Query All That Remains
3. Take at least one writing class before querying ATR
4. Start another novel
5. Lose weight
6. Read 62 books
7. Revise Break Free (again)
8. Seriously consider getting my MFA

1. CHECK (mostly). So I did revise the crap out of it. Then I started sending it out. But, as these things work, I'm back to doing some revisions on it. All for good, exciting reasons, but still.

2. CHECK. I did indeed start querying ATR. On Halloween as a matter of fact. It's going really well, though I did take a short hiatus over December and probably won't start again until after my residency (or maybe not until I hear back from some agents. We'll see)

3. DOUBLE CHECK. I took 2 classes this year, a YA novel class and an advanced children's writing workshop. I met some great new people which has been one of the best parts of the classes

4. CHECK-ISH. I've written 15 pages on my next WIP. So, not a lot, but still. It counts I guess.

5. UNSURE Probably I should have written down my starting weight somewhere... But probably I haven't lost anything significant

6. HUGE CHECK I smashed my goal out of the water. As of writing this post I've read 103 books and I'm on schedule to finish 1 or 2 more before 2013 closes out.

7. CHECK It was just a small revision, but I still got it done.

8. BIG CHECK I considered it hard, applied and was accepted. My first semester and residency begins on Thursday, the 9th. I'm so excited! My workshop faculty for the 10 day residency includes Anne Ursu, which will be awesome. And I'm excited to see who I get paired up with for a mentor.


So, looking at all that, it seems 2013 was pretty successful. I have to think on some goals for 2014 (and the next few days/weeks could change things one way or another) but once I get back from the residency I'll make my 2014 goals list.

How about you? Did you meet your 2013 goals? Are you making goals for 2014?

In Which I'm Going Back To School

So, one of my goals/resolutions for 2013 was to look into Hamline University's MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. It's a low residency program which means if I decided to apply I'd be able to keep my job, which is a requirement when you have like a mortgage and junk.

So look into it I did. I did Internet research and I attended a luncheon info session. And everything I saw made me like the idea even more.

So I got my ducks in a row and I applied. And then I tried not to think about it. I was pretty sure I had a good chance of getting in, but of course you never know. I knew of one person who had applied and didn't get in so it was clear they didn't just take anyone, you know?

But then a few weeks ago I got a phone call from Hamline and they told me I'd been accepted!!!

Yay! Woo! I'm so super excited!

I'm also excited because two of my local writing pals may also be applying, which would be awesome if they did and they got in.

I don't start until January (they asked if I wanted to start in July, that they'd make room for me, but I said no. Way too soon for me) which means I've got around 5 months to prepare. I have to read 120 books by the end of my first year and they want 40 of them done before you start so I'm going to get started on that immediately. I also am going to try and curtail a lot of my frivolous spending. It's never too soon to start saving for those student loans.

Exciting times in the future for me!

So how are things going for you? How's the summer treating you?

In Which I Write An Essay (Or Not)

So I'm trying to get my stuff together to actually apply for grad school. My goal is to work on it all this week.

Most of the stuff isn't hard. Letters of rec I've got lined up, transcripts I can have sent over from the U of MN. 20 page writing sample... that's one's a bit tricky. Not because it's hard or anything, but just because I'll have to look through some options and decide what's the best to showcase with. The beginning of something? An exciting chunk in the middle? But I'll get there. I just need to devote some time to it.

No. The writing sample I'm not really worried about. What I AM worried about, though, is the 3-4 page critical essay.

Pshaa. Like I'm going to handwrite it with crayons. THAT will make a good impression I'm sure

This is what they say about it: 

...focusing on an element of craft or a particular subject in a children's or young adult book that has impressed you. For example, focus on the ways in which the writer created tension on the page to move the reader forward through the book. Or, focus on the ways in which the author developed the characters in the picture book you read. Or, based on a particular book, discuss what elements make a successful sports novel for girls. Please use specific examples from the text as evidence to support your opinion(s)

I mean, on paper, that seems easy. And actually the idea of it's not what I'm worried about. 3-4 pages is nothing and I'm sure I can blab on about pace in the Hunger Games or something.

What I'm worried about is writing the actual essay. I used to be really good at writing these kinds of things. But I haven't had to do anything like this in about 10 years. I can't really remember how to do it. Like, I can't even remember how to start one, let alone format it and junk. It's kind of stressing me out. More than it should, probably.

I used to save all my papers and junk from college and even a few from high school. But I've upgraded two computers since then so I'm not sure I can find any of them. I still have one of my old laptops and I plan on plugging that in this week and seeing what I can find. I'm just not sure that I transferred any of my school work from my desktop at the time to my laptop.

If there's nothing there, I guess I'm going to have to trust to the interwebs to steer me in the right direction.

Apparently essay writing IS a skill that you lose if you don't use. I never would have guessed that.

What's up with you? Written any papers or essays recently? Have a good weekend?

In Which I Have Lunch

So, as mentioned on my 2013 Goals post, one of the things I plan to do this year is to seriously consider getting my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

Lucky for me, I was invited to a luncheon at Hamline to learn more about their low-residency program. I thought about not going, but then Twin more or less smacked me upside the head and told me I should go and I realized she was right and I was mostly just trying to be lazy.

So anyway, I went to the event on the 19th. And man, am I super glad I did!

So the way the low residency works is, you're assigned a mentor (a published author) who works with you the whole year. You have a packet, which is, more or less, monthly assigned work. And then twice a year you attend an 11 day residency at the campus.

The luncheon event took place during one of the days of the current winter residency, so the prospective students (me and about 8 others) got to sit in on two of the lectures, then have lunch with some of the faculty, alumns and the director of the program, and then we were invited to stay for the rest of the day.

The lectures were great (I'll probably post more on them next week with specifics) and there were about 45 students currently enrolled in teh MFAC program. And it was clear they were an awesome little community of writers. And I totally want to be part of it.

Lunch was great. Well, the food was no big deal, but I sat next to a girl who also wrote YA novels so we talked a lot, and then we got to ask questions of the faculty and director.

When lunch was done, myself and two others walked out to our cars together (none of us had planned on staying) and the three of us talked about how awesome the program seemed. I know for me, it made me wish that I was already enrolled.

So as it sits, I'm pretty sure there's a high probability I'll be applying for the MFAC program for the 2013 winter semester. I'm sure I'll have a lot more to talk about in the future.

In Which I Rate Some Books

So. Here we are with a new year and a new year's worth of books to consume.

Which means it's time to look back on last year and pick my top 5 books I read in 2012.

In no particular order:


The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch

I'd been hearing about this book for awhile. I think Alex Cavanaugh said it was one of his favorite books of 2011. And also, I'd heard Scott Lynch speak a few times at a local conference and he's kind of awesome and funny.
I was not let down by this book. I loved it hardcore. The magic, the debauchery, the violence, the characters. Even when horrible stuff was happening (and so much horrible stuff happens, guys) I couldn't put it down.


The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

My good friend TL Conway told me that this book kind of changed her life. So even though it was sort of on my radar, her rec bumped it up some.
It's a little slow to get into. And it's long. But oh so worth it.
I read the last third in a hotel in Madison (at the Wiscon conference) sobbing in my hotel room and using up all the Kleenex. Because even though I knew it would be sad (and there is plenty of warning in the book that specific bad things will happen) I wasn't prepared for HOW sad and heartbreaking it would be. I think this book made me cry more than any other book ever (even more than Where the Red Fern Grows).

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

Learned about this one from my good pal Teebore at one of our writing group meetings. I went home that night, downloaded it for my kindle, and started reading.
I think I finished it the next day. Then I made Twin read it. Then I bought it for Brother's b-day, even though he rolled his eyes at me (he loved it too).
I mean, a book where it's all about video games and pop culture from the 80s? Yeah. Sign me up for that. Sign me up HARD.
I really hope the movie happens, though it seems it has stalled out some since the crazyness of trying to snatch up the rights.

Fire - Kristin Cashore

I liked Graceline a lot. I mean, really, I loved it Hard. But Fire - Fire I loved even more. It had all the awesomeness of what I loved about Graceling (the adult fantasy themes which I frequently find missing in YA fantasy (ie: pregnancy, violence towards women, poverty, etc) but then the world building pretty much blew my mind. I mean, a place where monsters are animals (or people) that are so beautiful they ensnare non-monsters? And how monsters crave monster-flesh?
Awesome. And the characters. LOVED all the characters.
I kind of wish I was Kristin Cashore. But not really, because then I would miss out on reading her books.

The Lost Girl - Sangu Mandanna

I snagged this book at an SCBWI conference. There was only a small stand selling books, and this was the only YA novel they had for sale, and since I'll be damned if I don't buy a book when there are books for sale, I snatched it up, not really knowing much about it.
Oh man, totally a good decision.
This book also made me cry. It's broken up into 3 section, and I cried all through the middle. It's really a novel about loss, and grief and love and trying to learn your place in the world. I highly recommend it to everyone. It's wonderful.



So there you have it! What were some of your favorite books of 2012?

In Which I Make New Goals

All right! We're already a few weeks into 2013, so time to get going on these 2013 goals!

It seems IE is the problem with my inability to upload pics. I switched to something else and Voila!

2013 GOALS

1. Revise All That Remains
2. Query All That Remains
3. Take at least one writing class before querying ATR
4. Start another novel
5. Lose weight
6. Read 62 books
7. Revise Break Free (again)
8. Seriously consider getting my MFA

1. Pretty clear what this means. Revise the shit out of it. It needs it, too. I really hope I can get the word count down. BUT I'm also worried the word count is going to grow...

2. Just what it says. When it's ready, start querying. (unless of course I snag an agent with Break Free, which is still a possibility, since I'm not even halfway through my query list yet (things were delayed due to revisions))

3. I had a discussion with a writing pal recently (*cough* Lola *cough*). And I explained to her that I feel like I put in a lot of time and effort and hard work into writing. And even though I truly believe all things happen when they're supposed to, I'm also constantly worried that maybe my "trying hard" isn't quite good enough. I feel like I need to grow as a writer and though I did have some growth this year (Break Free was a HUGE step in the right direction for me) I still feel like maybe I didn't grow quite enough. SO! That means writing classes. At least one. Maybe more. I'm going to skip some conferences this year and put that money towards classes. I've already signed up for one, which starts at the end of Feb. I'm super excited!

4. I always like to have something going when I'm querying, so when I start querying ATR, I'll need to start a new novel to keep my mind off it. And, if for whatever reason I don't start querying it this year, there's always NaNo.

5. Same old goal. Already down a few pounds (probably just Christmas fat)

6. I hit my goal of 60 books last year so I moved it up a bit more. If I succeed, next year I'll up it again.

7. I got a free edit from an editor a few weeks ago (due to QT connections) and I got the notes back. The majority is just little line edity stuff, and since I agree with most of it, I'll be digging in zazzing it up once more. But it won't be anything huge, so I don't have to worry about the existing fulls already out.

8. Yep. Hamline University, which is a local university here in the Twin Cities (of which my good pal Teebore is an alumni) has an MFA in Fiction Writing for Children's and Young Adults. Which I knew about, BUT I just recently realized it was low residency. Which means I can keep my job AND work on the MFA at the same time. And since it's just down the street (pretty much) the twice a year on campus residencies is as easy as getting in my car and driving a few miles. I have some serious decisions to make, regarding this, as well as submission materials and all that jack to get in a row (not to mention financial stuff, which I am not great at figuring out) so I don't want to force myself to make a decision. BUT I do want to force myself to have a sit down, crunch some numbers, get things aligned before I decide one way or another.


So there you go! Nothing too crazy or out there, and I see 2013 being successful.

How about you? What are some of your new goals or resolutions? 

In Which We Reflect On 2012

Well, we're about a week into the new year. I've already had one cold (hence no post on Friday) so that has to be my quota for the year, right? RIGHT?

Anyway, I thought today would be a good day to look back on my 2012 goals to see how I did. And then next Monday I'll probably write up some new goals. I have some in mind, but haven't actually sat down to think about any others.

Okay, so here were my goals for 2012:

2012 Goals

1. Query Glimpse of Another Shore
2. Query Break Free
3. Finish another novel
4. Sell another short story
5. Attend a writer’s conference
6. Join a new crit group or find some more crit partners
7. Go on a date
8. Lose weight
9. Read 60 books

 

All right, let's break these down some more:

 

1. Check. I did Query Glimpse, up until the end of April. Then I stopped because I wanted to query Break Free and while I know some people query more than one MS at a time, I'm just not one of those people. I make enough query mistakes without doubling up

 

2. Check. I took a short break (well, I guess it was more like 4 months) for some requested revisions, but now I'm back at it and plan to keep querying into 2013

 

3. Check. All That Remains clocks in at a whomping 110K, but I've started revisions and am hoping I can get that down with a new beginning the removal of an extraneous character

 

4. Not check. BUT! I have 2 out on sub right now. If you think querying is slow going, short story subs are glacial. So slow.

 

5. Check. I hit Wiscon. And while it's not only a writer's conference, I tended to stick to the writerly panels. It was a lot of fun

 

6. Uncheck. I had a few new online CPs, but they've all vanished into the ether. I came close to joining 2 new local ones in in the cities, but one had older members and they were uncomfortable with swears or off screen sex (both of which I tend to have in my writing) and the other is full up, though I'm on a waiting list. Le Sigh. On the plus side, we did add another member to my Hannah and Teebore writing group, and that's been awesome! We actually have our first 2013 meeting tonight. Woo!

 

7. Check.

 

8. Check and uncheck. I lost 15 pounds early in the year. But then I gained 10 of it back. So I'm still down 5, but I still need to lose a lot more.

 

 

 

9. Check! With about a week or two to spare.

 

 

So how about you guys? How did your 2012 treat you?

 

In Which I Write In

So Hannah and I currently have the same goal: finish our WIPs by the end of August.

Doable, yes? Yes. Maybe. I don't know but I'm going to try. I'm about 40k in to All That Remains. I think I need at least another 40K. Though I'm not always so good about estimating that so I won't really know until I reach The End.

I figure if I can get done by September, that will give me enough time to start editing etc for poooooosssibly entering the Authoress's Baker's Dozen competition this year (since I missed it the last two years) and also set me up for possibly doing NaNo again this year. And I guess, if worse comes to worse and I don't finish by then, well, no real harm.

Of course right when I make this goal, the day job gets cray cray, and also some other writerly stuff came up and I had to put All That Remains aside while I deal with that. I'm still hoping the goal will stick. I mean, even I have to NaNo the crap out of it and try to do it in just a month, then I guess that's something I'll have to do.

Since Hannah has the same goal, we've set up some write ins, to hang and write together to try and get them done. It's always nice to have a shared goal with someone.

So what about you? Any recent goals? And how are they going?

In Which I Run A 5K (With Zombies)

So I originally posted about Run for Your Lives here, but our race was this weekend and it was both terrible and awesome. It was me, Twin, Brother and our dad competing in the race. Our mom was spectating and trying to snap pics when she could

To start off, I don't really know if there's any sort of way to effectively train for this. I mean, you start by running up a massive hill while dodging zombies, and that pretty much wiped everyone out. Then it was a trek, still uphill. At that point I know we were all thinking this race would be too difficult for us, but after that trek it got really fun. There was a lot of walking, but we did tons of sprinting around zombies.

The obstacles included:
A mud slide
Walls to climb over
Smoke house with electric shock wires
Monkey bars over a water pit
Tubes to crawl through
Barriers to crawl under
A river to walk through
Wall with a rope to climb
Wooden lattice to climb
Balance beam
Cargo net
Giant water slide
Electric fence to crawl under
Zombies to dodge

Brother and me, sliding down the mudslide right past the zombs

Twin and Dad heading over a wall (zomb on the left)

smoke building, filled with hanging electric shock wires. Brother got shocked in the knee

Me coming out of the building while Twin avoids zomb

Twin kicking butt on the monkey bars (not pictured, me, in the water, cleaning off mud)

Giant water slide at the end. 2 seconds of Wheee! Followed by 3 seconds of stark terror. Ends with a smash into a pool of water. Felt like you were a hammer smashing an anvil

Top to bottom: Twin, Dad, me, crawling under electric fence. I got no further and had to be pulled out by twin (stalled on slippery mud while getting shocked)

The cargo net, for me, was the worst. It wasn't that it was so hard to climb up (it was) but that I was just a bit too short to manage it well so when I got to the top, I had troubles reaching the net on the other side with my foot.

We made it really far with our flags but we finally got snagged towards the end, in the final fields of zombies who were really trying hard to get your flags at that point.

Before pic

After pic

So it was exhausting and I'm bruised and banged up and sore, but I would totally do it again. I think the earlier you run, the better, since the course is still fresh and things like the mud slide are really fun instead of painful due to rocks and stuff.

So. First 5K down. Boosh.

In Which We Run

So, since I really, really wanted to lose weight and get in shape this year, Twin, Brother and I decided to give the Couch to 5K a try. We actually completed it two weeks ago and it was both hard and easy.

There was one week where you're running for 8 minutes, then walking for like 3, but at the end of the week you suddenly have to run for 20 min, which is a HUGE increase, but we all did it, and once we crossed that bridge, the last few weeks weren't bad.

Anyway, while we were doing all this, we discovered the wonderful awesomeness that is Run For Your Lives.


Run for Your Lives is a 5K, with obstacles. Oh, and zombies chase you.

Once Brother discovered this, back in January, we KNEW we had to compete. So we're signed up for the June 2nd Minneapolis run.

We're all super excited, both because we'll be running our first ever 5K (and actually be able to run the 5K) and also because there's zombies chasing you, trying to steal your flags.

If you make it out at the end with at least one flag remaining, you're considered a survivor and you get a survivor shirt. No flags means you died and you get a zombie shirt.

So we still have two months to train for it. Weather permitting (which is questionable right now) we're going to try running outside at least once this week, so wish us luck!

Here's a video of a 2012 Run For Your Lives in Atlanta. I'm just crossing my fingers that we'll have no rain, unlike them.

What about you? Would you participate?

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In Which I Read Books

Well, I finished my goal of reading 55 books in 2011. For awhile there I thought for sure I wouldn’t make it, but I read like 10 books in November which helped a lot. Natch.

I actually finished out the year with 58 books read. Which is pretty awesome. And I thought I’d share my top picks from the year.

In no particular order, here are my top 5 books of the year (I could’ve easily spread this to 10, but I wanted to keep this list succinct)

Divergent

Have you read this book yet? No? Why not? Because it’s excellent. I’m pretty particular about the dystopian I like, but throw in a lot of action and badassery and I was hooked from page one. I was lucky enough to snag an arc of this and have passed it on to other members of the fam to read.

Soulless

Steampunk, Victorian paranormal?  Yeah, sign me up. LOVE these books! It’s such a refreshing take on the same old Vampires and Werewolves paranormal we’re all used to. I mean, I love Sookie as much as the next person (though I’ve officially give up on Anita Blake) but these books made me fall in love with the idea all over again.

The Liar Society

I used to read mystery when I was in middle school. Then I moved onto horror, then SFF and the rest is history. If not for “knowing” L and L through the blogosphere, I don’t know that I would’ve picked this book up if I’d seen it in a bookstore. Just because it’s not my usual cup of tea. And that would’ve been a travesty. I LOVED this book. Could not put it down. Who knew YA mystery could entertain me so much? I cannot wait for the sequel(s)

A Companion to Wolves

Sometimes I read YA to the detriment of everything else. I forget that I love adult SFF. This book reminded me, hard, how much I love it. And I don’t know why. Lot’s of guy on guy action, giant wolves, Vikings, etc. Loved this book. I made Twin read it right away and she also loved it. Can’t wait to read the sequel (it’s in the mail, shipping from B and N as I write this)

Blood Red Road

I picked up this book at a Border’s closing sale. It was the last weekend and I though I’d pop in to see what they had for extra cheap. They had a whole stack of these books and though it sounded kinda meh, it was only a few dollars so I thought I’d give it a shot. Great decision. Completely different that the back cover made it seem and I loved it. Love the voice of the MC, loved the plot, loved everything about it. Will definitely be buying the sequel.

So, that’s the top 5. Many were close to making the list. What about you? Have you read any of these books? What did you think? What was your favorite book you read last year?
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In Which I Make New Goals

All right, time to get going with these 2012 goals! Time’s a wasting!

2012 Goals

1. Query Glimpse of Another Shore
2. Query Break Free
3. Finish another novel
4. Sell another short story
5. Attend a writer’s conference
6. Join a new crit group or find some more crit partners
7. Go on a date
8. Lose weight
9. Read 60 books

      1.  I stopped after two months last year to make some changes on the MS. But because I was in 

           the middle of writing Break Free, and then had NaNo, the revision got pushed back more than

           expected. BUT I think it’ll be ready to give the agent waters another test starting in February.

           Maybe a bit earlier.

2. Once I start querying Glimpse again, I’ll work on finishing this bad boy up. It needs line edits and beta readers, but I think it’s very strong. I’m hoping for a late spring/early summer query date, but we’ll see where we’re at with Glimpse. I don’t know if people query more than one novel at a time but I don’t know if I could handle the confusion and the double roller coaster.

3. I’ll probably tackle All That Remains, even though I still have rough feelings about it. I mean, I’m like 50K in. It shouldn’t take much just to push that baby through to the end. I also plan on writing my Shiny New Idea in 2012 as well, but whether I’ll do that for NaNo or not, I’m not sure. Time will tell

4. Again, like last year, I don’t have much control of this. The best I can do is submit some stories and see if I get any bites. I’ve got 3 in the wings that I plan to submit this year, hopefully. I’d also like to see if I can get into SFWA, though the horror markets that grant you membership are few and far between.

5. I’ve gone to Fourth Street Fantasy the last two years, but that’s not necessarily a writing conference. This year, I’m going to hit one with actual agents and junk. I’m aiming for Wiscon, so let me know if you’re planning to hit it up to. I WANT TO MEET UP WITH YOU if you do.

6. I’m part of my existing writing group with Hannah and Teebore, and I love it, but I’d also like to get to know other writers as well, especially locally, so I’m going to see what I can do. If I can’t get in one locally, through SCBWI, then I’ll probably be looking online for some more crit partners especially people who may be at the same stage as me (querying, etc) (hint hint, if you’re looking)

7. Yep. That’s just what it sounds like. Even if it’s just a single date, that’s fine by me.

8. Always a goal. We got new treadmills this year, which is awesome, but our poor elliptical died on us. We'll be tackling Couch to 5K in our hopes we can hit a Warrior Dash this year. Anyway, excercise is not really the problem, nor is eating healthy. It’s just portion control. Once more into the breach 

Warrior Dash, here we come!

9. 55 Books was touch and go, but I made it. So I have to raise the bar. Will I be able to hit 60 books read? I have no idea. Guess we’ll find out this time next year.

And that’s it!  How about you? What are some of your goals for 2012?
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