It's a Query Letter not a Ransom Note!

The fine art of querying sends many writers running for the hills or seeking shelter in a cave. For some reason it makes many of us cringe at the thought despite the fact that a query really is just more writing. So why do we all seem to hate it so much? Well, there are many things you can do to make the process less painful, and there's lots of tips on how to craft a good query if you know where to look.

I will preface by saying, although I have not sent out a formal query letter yet, I have spent many hours researching what makes a good query letter and follow many agents/editors on twitter that do #10queriesin10tweets. I have learned quite a lot about querying. In fact I've learned enough to know that if you have half a brain, pay attention to submission guidelines, and are polite and professional you are probably ahead of about 50% of the pack right off the bat. Crazy I know but it's true! A quick Google search is really all it takes and that's before you even consider the synopsis, writing, word count etc. of the manuscript being queried.

I will say if you are a writer that is querying or you are even thinking about querying at some point in the future, follow #10queriesin10tweets periodically, the information there is invaluable. It really puts things in perspective. In the hundreds of tweets to this hashtag I can count on one hand the number of requests for pages I've seen result from queries. And as discouraging as it sounds, to me it's simply not because of the common offenses I see committed when people query. 

Follow the submission guidelines

I'd say that the biggest thing that gets a 'no' is not following submission guidelines. Which is anything from querying a genre the agent doesn't represent, to not pasting in the first 10 or so pages, to sending attachments. By the way most agents hate attachments because it puts them at risk for a whole host of viruses and malware so they simply do not open them and often just reject the query. You don't open attachments from unknown senders, so why should they? (and if you do shame on you!)

Lack of plot/conflict

I also see a lot of rejections because the query letter fails to explain what the book is about and what the conflict is. Agents want to know why they should fall in love with your book but if you are just giving them a play by play then they don't need to read your book they already know what's going to happen. Avoid the and then, and then, and then syndrome in both your manuscript and your query.

Word Count

Word count isn't always a make or break but knowing your genre and a rough range you should fall in can save you a lot of headache. If you are way outside the estimated range, think long and hard before you query. And no don't go in thinking you are the exception to the rule, you most likely aren't. There are tons of posts about word count out there, so I will just say Google to find your genre and a good range for it.

Proofreading

An error or two in your query are not the end all be all, but if you query is littered with grammatical mistakes this tells the agent you don't know your craft. Would you send out a resume with a bunch of typos and expect to get a job? No! So make sure you proofread your query letter and get at least one other set of eyes on it to catch as many mistakes as possible.

Weak Writing

This I see a fair amount as well and this one is harder because it's often difficult to see fault in our own writing. Even if you have a critique partner or group, you sometimes don't know when you are done, ready to query and if you've done all that you can. And yes every writer should have at least one person they run their writing by that isn't a close friend or relative that will be honest and objective. So this one is tough to see, and usually means we as writers need to work more on our craft and continue to improve before we query. But the good news is, in most cases weak writing can be fixed.

Demands

Now these are the query notes that I usually laugh at when I see them on twitter. No you can't have a book deal and a film deal right off the bat, no you are not the next J. K. Rowling so you can't be a diva about your query, and no you shouldn't query your self published novel looking for an agent to make you more money. And then there was this one that I saw yesterday that made me flat out cringe.

Now I won't pretend to read the agent's mind here but I'm going to wager a guess that this query was possibly on the verge of having additional pages requested when the agent got to the demand of "6 figure advance." Not only did this writer shoot themselves in the foot but they cut their legs off, threw them in a river, and then tried to run a marathon. We as querying writers are in no position to make demands. Don't get me wrong there is a time and a place for some negotiations (and I use some generously) but not when you are querying.

The purpose of a query is to introduce yourself and your manuscript to an agent and see if they are interested in looking at more. Nothing more. You are selling yourself and your manuscript to the agent. So when you as a writer start making demands, you immediately become an undesirable person to work with. Publishing is a business and it's professional. Would you walk into your current boss' office and demand a six figure salary? No! So why are you doing it in a query letter?

So when I saw this tweet I cringed and nearly wanted to cry. In my experience most writers do it because they love the craft, love getting lost in the worlds they write and love spending time with the characters they create. In the beginning, most of us would be ecstatic just to see our name on the cover of a book that we wrote. The advance is nice but by and large we want to see our manuscript in print, out there in the world being enjoyed by others. Writing is not a get rich quick profession and if you think it is maybe you need to reevaluate your priorities. 

So remember this when you query: it's a query letter not a ransom note! You can't hold your manuscript hostage for unreasonable demands or you will never get anywhere in the publishing world. By all means wait for the right agent that gets your work, loves it like you do and has a good plan for how to revise and sell your work but don't be ridiculous.

The more I research the more I find that querying really isn't this huge elusive mystery. Writers tend to make the process way more complicated than it needs to be. Do your homework, write a well structured to the point query that has all the required information and query the right agents. We are writers so querying should be just like writing anything else, write, revise, perfect, execute, yet we tend to stress over the process. Yes the act of querying is stressful but actually writing the query shouldn't make us sweat so much. Take a deep breath, be polite and professional, follow the guidelines and put your best work forward. Eventually you will find the right place for your work.

Why You Should be an Extroverted Writer

Writing is not a solo sport. As much as we would like to crawl into our writer's cave and hibernate in there until our book is complete, that just isn't possible or a good idea. Trust me I'd love more than anything to hide in my introverted self. Writer plus engineer does not equal extrovert, but I've forced myself to step outside my comfort zone and its been to my benefit in many ways. 

It takes an army....

... to publish a book. There's typically an agent, editors and many others that are involved in the process. But it also takes an army to write a book. You can't do it 100% alone. Even if you can find the motivation, time, and drive to complete a book start to finish on your own, you can't be a one writer show. You need feedback and lots of it. As writers we are too close to our work and its impossible to single handedly catch every mistake, pov change, awkward phrase, pattern, abused word, etc. The list goes on an on. Not to mention, you personally can't find the points that don't make sense or need more detail by yourself. You don't know how others will view the story and you need that input. To get that kind of feedback you need to interact with others.

The power of critique partners/groups

I've already discussed why you should have critique partners and get feedback, but there is a lot of other things a group of critiquers can do for you. First on the give aspect, I've learned a wealth of things just by critiquing others. In seeing things that other writers need to improve upon, I often am able to notice similar faults in myself and correct them. The more I critique the more my writing improves because of it. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. 

Not only do critique partners help me tighten up my writing but they provide me with a drive to keep going. There is nothing like an angry critique group waving their flaming pitch forks at you asking for more to you story to keep you writing. Okay maybe I exaggerated a bit about the flaming pitch forks but having someone say they love your story and they can't wait to read more is great motivation to keep you writing. If you aren't extroverted enough to go find a critique partner or group you are missing out. Not to mention they are great sounding boards for working through writer's block, plot issues and the general stuck in the process feeling. They are a great shoulder to "cry" on because they've been there too, they get it. In addition, there has been many occasions where I've helped other writers work through trouble spots and its sparked an idea for myself, or helped me realize a change required in my own manuscript.

Write ins

This is something that I'm new to, but if I hadn't stepped out of my introverted box I never would have tried it. In meeting other writers, I've made some new friends. And there are times where we all say to each other, I need to write. So what better motivation than to group up at a coffee shop or library and write together. In most cases write ins were not times I normally would have been writing but because I knew other people were expecting me to show up, I came and got stuff done. It's also great for sticky points. There are times when you are writing and you get stuck on some wording or plot point and have to stop. But if you are writing in a room full of writers you have the potential for a quick instant brainstorming session. In the short time I've spent doing write ins I've already increased my productivity because I'm being held accountable for my work and I'm scheduling in time, that I may not have typically planned.

Twitter

Twitter is a huge wonderful resource for writers. I know some people roll their eyes, and I used to be one of them, but there is a great writing community on Twitter. There are writers, authors, agents, publishers, and editors all out there sharing great publishing (#pubtip), editing (#editortips) and writing tips(#writetip, #writingtips), as well as keeping you up to date on the latest trends and happenings. And its all free! There is also a whole slew of writing contests you can find via twitter where you can win critiques, edits or even possibly get signed by an agent. However if you hide behind your word document you are losing out to all of this. Not to mention there are great hash tags such as #askagent where real agents will answer your questions. 

Long and short of it, don't be afraid to interact with with these hash tags or even the people behind the accounts. They are people too, they don't bite and you'll find a lot of them share similar interests as you. Do however be professional. Don't twitter pitch to them unless there's a specific contest or they ask for it, and do not spam, either your stream, anyone's account or the hash tags. Doing these things will put you on a crazy insane bad list that you don't want to be on. You will find the more you interact, the more resources you will find, the more fun you will have, the more you will learn, and if all that wasn't great enough, you'll find you are starting to build your brand as a writer. If you are being respectful and sharing good insight and things you like, you will find that you will start to gather a following. Whether published or not, its great to have this kind of reach. None of which would be possible if you didn't embrace your extroverted side.

So there's a few great reasons to step out of your box and be an extrovert. What are somethings you do to be more outgoing that have in turn have benefited your craft? I find that the more extroverted I become in the writing realm the more my skill improves and the more work I get done. So don't be afraid to step outside your comfort zone. Get out there and get to know your fellow writers. 

 

Dealing with Plagiarism

This morning I learned that one of the worst things that can happen to a writer happened to me. I was plagiarized. My hard work was taken without permission from me or the site I wrote for. It was posted on another site and passed off as being written by someone else. However, before I continue I want to take a moment to define plagiarism:

Plagiarism - an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author.*

*definition from http://www.dictionary.com

See what I did there with the *? That’s called crediting the source. If you are going to use word for word, paraphrase or slightly rework something some one else wrote, then it is imperative that you give a source. It’s even better if you check with that source and get permission before using it, but always credit the source. It’s as simple as that. This however is not how things happened for me.

As many of you know, over the past few months I’ve been writing for an online news site that posts articles and editorials on the latest movies and TV shows. In the recent weeks, the site I write for discovered that another online TV and movie site took not one, but dozens of articles, slightly reworked them, posted them on their site without permission or citation and passed them off as their own work. When I initially heard this, I was extremely angry and it wasn’t even my articles that had been stolen. Without ever experiencing it prior, I knew having your work stolen is heartbreaking.

After today I can now say I know exactly how it feels and heartbreaking doesn’t even begin to cover it. This morning I woke up to a tweet that said (and out of respect for the person that runs the site I work for and the site that has been stealing I will not cite names.) “By the way XXX site ripped off one of your articles too. I thought you should know.”  After reading that comment I was a bit taken back, one because I just woke up and two because I was completely shocked that it happened to me. I couldn’t even spell plagiarism and I haven’t even had the “pleasure” of being rejected by editors or agents, so how was my work being stolen? The site stealing the work is a much larger site than the one I write for, so why would they need to steal from someone else? Maybe they were looking for fresh ideas or one of the writers really didn’t know what they were doing was wrong. Whatever the reason, what they did was stealing and I was crushed.

After the swirling questions and emotions, I decided I wanted to see for myself. Not that I don’t trust the person who told me, because I do 100%, but because I needed to confirm with my own eyes. So I logged on to the offending site and began to scour their lists of articles. Nothing recognizable for pages until….. oh wow that title, and supporting image looks awfully familiar. I clicked on the article and my heart sank into my feet. It probably would have fallen into my downstairs neighbor’s apartment if there wasn’t solid flooring below me. Right there before my eyes was my article down to some of the exact pictures and formatting with a slight twist of words. And the stake to the heart was seeing that the author’s name, picture and bio at the bottom of the article did not belong to me. This was an article that I spent weeks toiling and agonizing over and finally perfecting until it was just right. One of the most difficult articles I ever compiled and wrote was stolen, badly rewritten and said to be authored by someone else. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

After I picked up my jaw off my desk, I wanted to start hurling things and write nasty comments like This is a great article but I liked it even better when I wrote it. But I stopped and took a deep breath before I burst into tears or spontaneously self combusted.

When I finally wrapped my head around what happened, I started to wonder what one does when this sort of thing happens. And after some careful consideration, I came up with the following list:

  

1. Take a deep breath: It’s first important to realize that although this is a horrible thing that happened to you, you are not alone. There are some things you can do about it even if you feel powerless and broken.
2. Do not act out of anger: Acting on extreme emotion will only make the situation worse and could mean that you lose all chance of remedying the situation. So think long and hard before you submit that nasty comment, email, or even facebook, twitter, or blog post trying to defame the offender. Professionalism is key.
3. Document: Take screen shots or copies of every instance of plagiarism. If it is a website, don’t rely on the link of a site in case the site is later taken down but do make sure the link is visible in your screen shots. Then gather your work that was plagiarized and if possible show proof of dates your work was written. You will want evidence of every instance of plagiarism and copies of your work to compare, to ultimately prove that your work was stolen.
4. If you are working with an agent, editor, company, or site owner, contact them and send your evidence. Unless they ask for more information or ask you to do something specific, let them handle it.
5. If you are independent, try contacting the author of the offending article, with a professionally written email informing them that they have copied content that does not belong to them and ask that they either remove the content or credit you as the source. Do not get angry, it’s possible that it was just a case that they forgot or didn’t know. If you receive a reply back saying they will comply and they do, then your work is done, but if not see the next step.
6. If you are ignored or the person does not act appropriately, try contacting the manager, site owner, or person in charge of the overall content with a similar professionally written email informing them of the copied content. Provide your proof, and information about your correspondence with the author of the article. Again be calm and polite, the owner or manager may not even be aware of the issue and if that is the case they may not be at fault. They can however take action and if they do deal with the issue then you are done. 
7. But if you are again ignored or met with any other response than compliance, then it’s time to make a decision. Do you let it go or continue on with this? If this is something you decide you want to pursue further, you will probably want to seek out legal representation. Although expensive, they will have more advice and know the laws. They can help draft a formal cease and desist letter or seek further action.

While plagiarism is a horrible thing, in a weird sort of way, I am a little bit flattered. If someone stole my work it is probably because they liked it enough to try and pass it off as their own. While that doesn't make it right and I’m still very angry about the whole situation, I’ve learned a lot from this experience. You are not immune to the horrible things that can happen to a writer, even if you are new to writing, and/or unpublished. But you are not powerless to the situation either. You can choose to let the anger and sadness of the situation overtake you or choose to rise above it and be the bigger person, by dealing with the situation in a professional manner. Although my case is not fully resolved, I know that this is not going to destroy me as a writer. I am merely choosing to take the backhanded compliment and keep writing in the future, working even harder than before.

Katana Review + Giveaway

Rileigh Martin is a sarcastic skater girl. When she and her best friend Quentin get mugged she is mysteriously able to take matters into her own hands and fend off the attackers with amazing fighting skills she never knew she had. She wants to believe it was an extreme adrenaline rush, but that doesn't explain the strange dreams she has about a 15th Samurai, and the voice inside her head that warns her about danger. When a good looking martial arts instructor named Kim visits Rileigh and tells her she's been possessed by a 15th century samurai, she is afraid she's losing her mind. Kim tries to convince Rileigh to train as a fighter and embrace her inner samurai. And as if being possibly possessed by a samurai isn't enough, she's starting to develop feelings for Kim and another boy from school. Rileigh must decide whether or not to embrace the warrior within at the risk of losing herself.

Katana is an amazing, fabulous book. It's sarcastic in all the right places and is action packed. Each of the characters is intriguing and fun to follow. Cole Gibsen is the master of metaphors and wields them as well as Rileigh manipulates her katana. I can't sing enough praise for this book, I had a very hard time putting it down, finding myself lost in Rilegh's world and hanging on tightly waiting to read what happened next. I am anxiously awaiting the second installment.

Now for the giveaway, one person will win a signed copy of Katana plus a signed Katana bookmark. Two people will win signed Katana bookmarks + other Katana swag. To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter and be sure to follow the blog and leave a comment answering the following question: If you could be possessed by anyone (profession wise or person) who would you choose and why?

*Giveaway open internationally, closes on 6-17-12

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The End of an Era: What the Flamel Series Means to me

On the eve of the release of The Enchantress, the final book in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, I'd like to share some thoughts on what this series has meant to me.

Life long friends

At the request of friends that I met through our love of Harry Potter, I read The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series. At the time I did not know how much one book series would mean to me. Through  my involvement on the fansite, I have worked with and met so many amazing people that I never would have come into contact with if it wasn't for the series. I've traveled across the country and the ocean to meet some of the wonderful people that share my love for the Flamel story. And I've developed life long friendships that I don't know where or who I'd be today without them.

New experiences

Aside from the travel, I've had so many new eye opening experiences that never would have happened if it weren't for this series. I learned so much about myself and that I can really do anything I put my mind to, even if I know nothing about it from the start. I learned to podcast, I learned to edit, I learned to write and I learned to be adventurous.

A fabulous author

If you've ever had the esteemed pleasure of meeting Michael Scott you are truly a lucky person. He is one of the most fun and down to earth people I have ever met, and the fact that he writes amazing books is a huge bonus. He loves his fans and goes above and beyond to interact and answer questions, even if its just a deviously cryptic response that leaves you with more questions than answers. His books leave me with a something not many authors have done, a want and love of reading.

A love of research

This series has introduced me to new places, new mythology and new characters from history. Its sent me to Google, numerous websites and even the library for countless hours in an effort to learn more about the elements from the books. I've tried and tried to get one step ahead of Michael Scott and figure out what could be coming next, but as those that have read the series know, that's impossible because he's always twenty steps ahead of his readers. For the true love of research for the series starts with him, and I've never in my life seen so many people, young and old, find a similar lust for research and fact finding that this series has brought about. 

A love of writing 

The first author I ever heard say "If you want to be a writer you have to be a reader first and foremost" was Michael Scott. He said out of the love of reading you will want to tell your own stories or in some cases think you can do better than the words on the page in front of you. At the time of hearing this I did not know how deeply this statement would affect me. In fact I never had aspirations to be a writer. But because of the Flamel series, I started reading, more than I'd ever read in my life. The more I read, the more ideas started to swirl in my head. And one day those ideas completely took over until before I knew it I was writing. Words became sentences, sentences became paragraphs , paragraphs became chapters and then finally a full on manuscript, and then the realization that I didn't want to stop at just one. I had to write more and more. And then a huge transition in my life, I started calling myself a writer.
 

So after years of following the Flamel story, a huge, enormous thank you Michael Scott for this amazing series and for bringing so many great people together. The words you've created have meant so much to so many people. Congrats on the release of the final book that has been years in the making. I'm looking forward to the next great adventure.

The Tales of a Closet Pantser

If you've been reading this blog you know by now that I'm an engineer and a writer. And if you haven't been reading, why not? Because I'm an engineer, when I write I think very logically and plot through things as they are supposed to happen one thing leading into the next. So recently it has come as a complete shock to me that my current WIP, like a stubborn toddler, downright refuses to be plotted - a phenomenon we writers call pantsing (see it wasn't as dirty as you thought). No matter how much I try to plot my WIP, Orion, my devil muse (who I probably should have named Loki), has been throwing wrenches into my carefully plotted and logical outline. 

This act of throwing tools, sends me into a tailspin of back and forth between the voices in my head. Yes hearing voices is perfectly normal for a writer. I'm not crazy I swear! So starts the intern conflict....

If I change this, it will change the location of that event in my manuscript. Hmmm maybe that's better. But if I leave it as is then I have more tension here. Oooo that's good. BUT if I change it, then I have more tension throughout.... OOOO even better! The evil voices in my head laugh. Yes call me a sadist but I love torturing my main characters.

The problem with changing things though, is that the minute I do, I turn around and see that Orion has bested me by shoving me into a closet and leaving me with my pants around my ankles. CURSE YOU PANTSING! How could you be better than my tried and true carefully thought out and planned outline? How dare you ruin my perfectly fine method! It works or at least it worked until this WIP, that still doesn't have a detailed ending. What's with that Orion? You have some more tools to throw at me? BRING IT! 

Pantsing it is!

*runs off to write*

Note: I am not crazy. I SWEAR!

Finding the Time to Write and Sticking to it!

I like a lot of writers hold a full time job in addition to the writing that I do. So how do I find the time to write? Somewhere in between working forty hours a week, dance class, family, my boyfriend, friends, podcasting, the list goes on and on. There's a million and one reasons that could keep me from writing and sometimes they do, but there's a few things I do to protect my precious little writing time.

Plan ahead.  

I get most of my writing done on the weekends, usually on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. If I know I have a busy weekend coming up I try to block of a time to do some writing and sometimes I have to think weeks out. Likewise if I have a less busy weekend, I ahead of time will block off a larger chunk of time for writing so that I don't schedule things over that time.

Set goals. 

When I block off my time for writing, I also try to set some goals on what I'd like to get done. I'm a very goal oriented person so if I say I'm going to do something, I do my best to do it. Do I always make my goals? No, but there are times where I go above and beyond them and that makes up for it. Goals keep me grounded and when I meet my goals or go beyond them, I feel an extra sense of accomplishment.

I put it on Facebook.  

This may sound a bit silly but those of you that are friends with me on facebook probably see me posting a lot that I'm writing or editing. The reason I do this is twofold. One, if I put it on Facebook, I'm making myself accountable for it. If I say I'm doing it, I better be doing it. Otherwise, I just became a big fat liar to all my Facebook friends. That's a lot of people I'd have to say I'm sorry that I lied to and frankly I just don't have that kind of time. Likewise, if I post that I'm writing and twenty minutes passes and I'm still on Facebook, twitter, Google, whatever, I can say to myself "Hey you just told everyone you were writing you best get to it." It goes back to goal setting a bit. I'm holding myself to my goals and the things I'm saying I'm doing. 

The second reason I post to Facebook is purely motivational. Every time someone likes one of my posts that says I'm editing, or writing or that I wrote x words that day, is one person saying "hey great job!" Everyone needs a cheerleader every now and again and although I may not talk to everyone of my friends in person every day, interacting with them on Facebook gives me that extra boost in confidence and makes me want to write even more. So thanks to every single person that has ever liked one of my posts about writing, it means more to me than you will ever know!

Caving in to temptation... sometimes. 

Sometimes I cave in and do something else, even when I tell myself I'm going to write. I say hey I'd rather be doing..... and then I go do it. I let myself cave because if my heart really isn't in it, I'm not going to produce my best work or give it my full attention. I also cave because it feels like I'm being naughty, like eating that cookie when you know you really shouldn't. It feels a bit like a bonus reward! I like writing don't get me wrong but like your day job sometimes you just need some time off. So if your head really isn't in it, take a break for the day. That said, when I let myself have a break, I only allow one break. The next scheduled writing time, I sit down at my computer and get stuff done. No matter how much my brain says hey let's go do something else I can then say, "You know I skipped out on writing the last time and now I need to get down to business." Guilt trip and writing all in one fellow swoop!

So those are some of my tips and tricks to protecting my writing time and sticking to it. What tricks do other people use?

My First Writer's Conference

This past weekend I attended my first ever writer's conference here in town, The Missouri Writer's Guild Conference Write Time, Write Place, Write Now. Going in I expected it to be completely overwhelming, but I was not prepared for the amount of emotion I was surrounded by. The conference ended up being terrifying, exciting, and inspirational all at the same time.

Friday night started with agents reading through the slushpile. I watched in awe and horror as five agents listened to the first page or two of people's work and decided within just a few short paragraphs what work they might consider wanting to see more of. They explained why piece after piece they would probably reject and sometimes this occurred after a few short sentences. Prologues are bad, too much dialogue early on is bad, not opening with the right scene is bad... bad, bad, bad. As I watched each of the five agents take turns gong showing the first pages and essentially squashing dreams, I started to realize how subjective writing really is. When you query an agent, editor, or publishing house the chance of them saying yes is slim. It's essentially one part doing your homework - query the right agents who want what you have to offer, writing a good synopsis/query letter, and putting your best work forward - and nine parts luck. I say nine parts luck because ideally what you are looking for is the one agent/editor/publishing house that loves your work as much as you do, and takes that love of your manuscript and gets it published. Finding that passion can be hard because even though your work may be flawless and technically correct in every manner, you still need someone to connect with your work on a deep level. This experience really jump started my thinking.

By the time Saturday seminars rolled around, I was losing the zest and excitement for writing. It was somewhere between learning how to write synopsis of varying lengths and hearing how to look for red flags on the first page that things suddenly got hugely real for me. Getting published is not only hard work (which I knew prior to this conference), its downright insanity. With the deck stacked so far against you, the odds of succeeding are like finding a twelve of hearts in a deck of cards. I began to wonder if I was nuts for thinking I could do this. Was this really what I wanted? I'd shelled out quite a bit of money to attend this conference. I've spent countless hours writing, editing and seeking out critiques. I joined the local writer's guild. All testaments to how serious I am about writing. So I'm doing all the right things and learning a lot but it is enough? Does it even matter when the odds seem impossible? What the hell was I thinking?

As the crazy began to overwhelm my thoughts and I felt a hollow shell forming where writing used to sit inside me, something amazing and unexpected happened during my last session of the day. As I sat listening to Christie Craig discuss how to add humor to your writing, my mind wandered to how I needed to head home and let my dog out. I was about five minutes from walking out early when the most amazing thing happened. Looking back it was one of those defining, prospective setting moments.

Christie pulled out a manilla envelope stuffed full of crinkled paper. Slowly she pulled a few from the envelope and said I want to end with this. "Rejection hurts." She dropped the letters into a suitcase on the floor and pulled out a few more from the envelope. "Its a part of writing. People don't believe me when I say that I've received over ten thousand rejections." She continued pulling out letters and letting them fall into the suitcase. She talked on while dumping more and more letters into the suitcase. "But you have to know its not a reflection of who you are as a person. And you have to decide whether or not your are going to let these rejections define you." She picked up a half sheet of paper off the floor and said "and this one, it really pissed me off because they couldn't even reject me on a whole sheet of paper." And then continued to fill the suitcase. When she emptied the envelope she reached underneath the pile of rejection letters and pulled out a second envelop and continued on filling it. "So when do you decide to quit? After one hundred rejections? two hundred? a thousand?" The suitcase was nearly over flowing with rejection letters at this point. "Because if a girl like me, with a tenth grade education can write books and get published and make the NY times best seller list you can too. You are in control of you dreams. So go out there and make your work the best it can be and keep pursuing your goals. Never give up."

In that moment I remembered why I was doing this. Writing came unexpectedly into my life but its something I love to do. I want to be published one day and that dream is enough. The shear fact that I want this and I'm going to do what it takes to get it is more than enough.

On Sunday more as I sat through Christie's master class on POV, I learned two things. One I finally understand POV, its taken a year and a half of struggling but she explained it in a way that made perfect sense. And two, as I watched her fill the suitcase a second time and recite her speech again, there was no doubt in my mind. I am going to find my twelve of hearts even if it means getting creative, because I want to be a writer!

Battling Writer's Block

We all have those times where we sit down to write and things just don't work out. We don't know what to say or we are stuck on a plot point or a character issue. But its how we deal with those times that help define us as writers.

Diagnose the problem
Figure out whats keeping you from writing and try to fix it. I know easier said than done in some cases, but if we know what's bothering us then sometimes we can come up with a solution and move on. Although other times the issue is bigger and we need time to clear our heads and really work through a solution. Its in those times that I really define myself as a writer. However, its almost always not in the way I expect. Its when I'm stuck on one problem, that a new idea usually presents itself. More often than not its completely unrelated but its exactly the distraction I need. It gets me going on something else and allows for my subconscious to deal with the issue behind the scenes. When the right solution presents itself, it bursts through loud and clear. Although, don't always expect a quick fix, sometimes the right answer can take days, weeks or even months.

Take a break
If its not working, don't force it. Usually a little distance helps the juices start flowing again. And when you take a break don't let your mind worry about the time you are "wasting". You aren't, in fact "wasting" any time, you are resting your mind. Only when your mind gets a true break, can it naturally flow back to the world of writing and the story you are telling.

Talk it out
The expression two heads are better than one holds true with writing. Writing is not a solo sport as much as a lot of people would like to believe. Talk through your issue with someone else. Sometimes the other person doesn't even have to say anything, and just hearing yourself talk through the plot or the characters presents the right answer. Other times its something the other person says that sparks an idea or possible solution. Don't keep your writing to yourself. It's okay to get help!

Stay positive
A positive attitude goes a long long way. Keeping your spirits up and being excited about your writing causes a chain effect. One good idea can start a spark and one spark is all it takes to cause a wildfire. Run with the ideas, get excited about them and keep writing.

Do what you need to do to keep moving forward
If you need validation get it, but do realize seeking criticism is a two way street. Not everyone is going to like everything you write and that's okay. Criticism will usually be constructive. Odds are you have a good idea but you may need help with execution, description, character development, point of view, you name it. No one is perfect and writers all need help with something. So don't beat yourself up over the criticism, use it as a guide to improve

Find inspiration wherever you can
Read the news or blogs, watch TV, read books, people watch. Whatever it takes. You never know where your next big idea is lurking. So if you're sitting around staring at your blank computer screen waiting for inspiration, odds are its not going to strike. Get out there and live your life, inspiration will find you.

The law of averages
Yes I'm an engineer and yes that sounds like math but its not entirely. I swear it applies to writing. So you had a bad day you only wrote five hundred words, or maybe two hundred or maybe even just one hundred. Or maybe you only wrote one single word. Hey you wrote something and that's more than you had yesterday. Don't sweat it though, because remember that day last week when you wrote two thousand? Or maybe tomorrow you'll have your best writing day yet. Tomorrow is always a new day and you never know what it might bring you. So if you only wrote five words today, at some point it will balance out with the thousands you write another day. Not everyday can give you the word count you hoped for. Some writing days are like Mondays and others are like Fridays. Take each day as it comes and let the numbers fall where they do. It all averages out in the end.

Don't let yourself get hung up on the right wording
The right words come but not always when you are writing a first draft. Don't let this stop your flow. If the right word or phrasing isn't coming, try a thesaurus. If you cant find it quickly, write down what you have and move on. Don't waste precious writing time on looking for the perfect phrase. You'll never find it that way. Wait until editing. You never know that sentence you spent hours trying to make perfect, might just get thrown out later. So don't sweat the details early on.

Whatever it is that's causing you to struggle with your writing, don't let it define you or take over. Take a deep breath, stare the beast in the eyes and tell it "you don't own me." Then go out there and have fun with it. We write because we feel. If nothing else turn this horrible experience into a small writing piece. Who knows one day you may look back at that piece you wrote at your low point and smile at how far you've come.

The Hunger Games: A Perfect Example of How to Effectively Adapt a Book to Movie

Screenwriters, producers, directors, and actors take note, The Hunger Games is exactly how you execute a book to movie adaptation. Were scenes added, things removed, details change? Of course, but it was the exact right blend of those things that made The Hunger Games as a movie such a fantastic adaptation. This is really saying something when you go from inside the head of one character in the book to an outsider perspective in the movie. It's even more powerful when you do this in such a way that anyone including fans of the series and those unfamiliar can understand and fall in love with the story and the characters.

The world The Hunger Games exists in, was built and put to life on the screen in spectacular fashion. The premise and the stakes were clear from the instant the film began and the juxtaposition between The Capital and District 12 was evident right off the bat. It was abundantly clear that The Capital had it all and the districts had nothing.

The right pacing. The story moved and didn't have any extra fluff. They got in all the essentials, told the story and moved on to the next important piece of the puzzle. There were no extraneous scenes and nothing felt out of place. The flow was spot on.

The Additions. The added scenes with Seneca Crane and President Snow not only set the stage for the first movie but also the entire series. They were effective in showing the iron fist with which President Snow rules and controls the twelve districts. The scenes with Caesar Flickerman showed that The Hunger Games above all else is a sport and for the sole entertainment of others, not just a reminder of the past. The control room scenes illustrated that no matter what the tributes did, the gamemaker was still pulling the strings. Finally the scene between Seneca and Haymitch proved the importance of the ideology - if things don't go according to plan you fix it so it does, because if you don't the wildfire gets out of control. All groundwork set forth for the second installment Catching Fire.

Casting. I'll admit I had some reservations about some of the casting. However after seeing the movie, I 100% agree with every single casting decision made. The actors did an amazing job bringing their characters to life and I couldn't have imagined it better myself. In some cases such as Haymitch, I actually enjoyed the movie portrayal better than the book. And that is really saying something.

With that I say a huge thank you to every single person involved in bringing The Hunger Games to life. I've never been so impressed with a book to movie adaptation. It was exactly what I hoped for and you've made fans extremely happy. Thank you for proving that even though nothing can replace the imagination generated from a good book, movies representing the characters and worlds from books can be done right. The odds are certainly in your favor for future adaptations in the series!