Another, 'Nother Day

I’ve been rubbing it in Husband’s face all weekend that I have the next two days off. He doesn’t find it as exciting as I do. I’m sitting here at 7:30 in the morning, preparing to make my day full and productive, although, I admit, it’s going to be hard with the TV here and Sassafras (That’s her below with Bite-size Bob, her favorite toy at the moment).

What will I do? Well, since I’ve been sick for the past week, my marathon training has been put off, so I’m a week behind. That means, as soon as it gets light out, I will be out running two miles with Sass pulling at my arm the entire way. Joy.

After that, it’s time for household chores—laundry, dishes, vacuuming, cleaning, etc. Never fun tasks. But when that is done, it’s my favorite part of the day! I check email, get updated on all my favorite blogs, update my tally sheet on rejections from agents, contribute to my online writing/critique community, register for a killer writing conference, and then write!


There are things I NEED to get done, but I am forever the procrastinator, so they have been at the bottom of my “to do” list. I need to perfect my query letter and synopsis for The Heir, and fast. There are a couple of agents and one publishing house I want to submit to that require a synopsis, and I’m coming up against their deadlines.

When those are done (or not), I’m going to work on a few other works I have in the mix—all of which I am oober excited about! Atlantis (YAUF), Sadie & Allie (Chic Lit) and The Broken (YAUF). I want to have at least one of those finished by the time the writing conference rolls around in February. I can do it. I really can. I just have to buckle down and say no to all fun things in my life. If I write 3,500 words a week on all of these (which, is totally doable, btw), I will have theoretically have three finished, 70,000 word novels. Now, getting them spit-polished and shining is another thing entirely. I will have to take more time off the beginning of next year for that.

And, to fuel me through the day, is the breakfast of champions (coffee), a supplement (all the rest), and my beloved, apple green iPod (not pictured).

Time to crack the whip and get started!

 

--Me

Another Day

So I started week three of my marathon training. I am now running two miles a day for ten days. And guess what? Yesterday was also the first day of getting sick. This sucks.

--Me

Speak Loudly

This is a poem author Laurie Halse Anderson wrote in response to all the feedback she got in regards to her book, SPEAK, about a young girl who is raped but never reports it.

Now there is a criticizer out there trying to get it banned because he considers it "soft porn". There is nothing pornographic about rape. It is a destructive and cruel thing, for the victim and their family.

There are many people out there blogging about this. Check it out and form your own opinion. Be educated and have a voice. I, personally, agree with everything they say. Censorship/banishment--whatever you want to call it--on this book, this topic, is outrageous. And to think that rape is pornography will ensure that even fewer women come forward to report it and to seek help.

--Me

First, what the criticizer says here.
The author, Laurie Halse Anderson, here.
Janet Reid, Query Shark here.
Author Myra McEntire, here.
Author C.J. Redwine, here.
Author Veronica Roth, here.

Information on Banned Book Week, here.

Random Things

Training for my half-marathon is going great (though it's only going into the second week and I'm only running one mile at a time for now). I found that each day, the mile is getting easier and faster. Already I've cut my time down by about six minutes and increased the speed I'm running at by two and a half MPH. I want to cut my time down further by a couple more minutes. I did the math, and the way that I'm training, I will have run 910 miles by the time Robie Creek hits. If I haven't lost a bajillion pounds by then, I'm giving up on losing weight entirely!


I am celebrating my 4th wedding anniversary this month (yay!) with a great guy (an even bigger yay!) and gave him his gift this past weekend. Some things you should know about me: I love giving gifts to people and making them happy. When I have said gift, it's REALLY hard for me to hang onto it for when I'm supposed to give it. I want them to have it right away. So I gave it to my husband on Saturday. :-) But, I had a very good reason to. They were season tickets to the college football team here. We are diehard fans and he was so excited! National Championship...here we come!


I heard back last week from another agent I queried. Alas, it was a no, but it wasn't a form rejections, so that is good. I'm still waiting on hearing back from the main one I wanted. Her blog had said that she was approached by a publisher looking for the two books that I am trying to push. So, I'm crossing my fingers and praying that she asks for a partial or a full. And then that she comes back and asks for more.


I've only queried six agents so far. I'm working on making my query letter better, typing out a stupid synopsis (which is harder than the entire book and the query letter put together), and then I have two other agents I want to query and a publisher that's accepting open submissions right now. I think that I have to finally just bite the bullet and get 'er done.


Life is so busy right now that I don't have time for anything. I'm starting to think that maybe, just maybe, I have a little too much on my plate, but I'm not convinced just yet. I think I'll wait until I burn out before I come to that conclusion. As long as I have my coffee and my iPod, I will be okay.


Since I've finished the final draft of The Heir, I'm working on a few other book ideas right now. I'm testing the waters to find out which Muse I'm being visited by and which one I will work on getting done. I'm going to a writing conference in February, and I want to have multiple pieces of work to offer the agents there. There are three YA books (one of which is the next part to The Heir), one literary humor piece, and another literary piece that I haven't quite figured out which genre to place it in. Anyways, must go and finish that blasted synopsis that is the bane of my existence. Have a great day, y'all!

--Me

Training for a Half-Marathon

So I've finally bit the bullet and started training for Robie Creek, the most difficult half-marathon around. That's what I'm saying anyway, it makes me feel better about this whole process. Today is Day 4, and I'm going strong. Despite the shin splints, calf cramps and tight hamstrings that curse me violently if I even dare to look at a treadmill, I am running my mile a day. And I can already notice a difference. The first day was the hardest, obviously. It took me about thirty minutes to complete my mile, and I didn't even attempt to run the whole distance. The second day was much easier. It took me about fifteen minutes to run the mile--granted it was only at 4.5 MPH, but only I know that. The third day (yesterday) was the easiest so far. I picked up my speed to 6 MPH and decreased my time to ten-and-a-half minutes. My goal is to get back down to the 6 -7 minute mile of my youth! Wish me luck. When all is said in done, with the training schedule I'm following, I will have ran 910 miles in 26 weeks. Rock on, rock on. That's 10 pairs of running shoes I will have gone through. Can't wait!

This was their poster in 2006. I think it sums it up pretty well. 13.1 miles of Hell uphill.

--Me

Self Imposed Torture

I've decided to do a marathon. Well, a mini maration, really. But at 13.1 miles it's anything but "mini". I'll keep you posted on how it's going. So far I have three people joining me. Woot-woot!

--Me