Arianna- Haha! I have music on the brain. What can I say?! I still like my zombie "Some Body That I Used to Know" rendition. Goyte would adore me, I think.
Ms. Elle Fredericks- I love you more than you could ever know. Thank you for the lovely comment and for being there for me on my bright days AND the ones in between. :)
Nicole- I'm so glad the post sat well with you and that you loved the song! Oh, my heart swells with joy when those words are uttered. :] Hey, Girl. Kick orientation's butt! You're going to have a great year if you remember to stay as beautiful as you are right now, but grow from anything Life throws at you to try to persuade you otherwise. You've got this!
Why, thank you for noticing! I responded to the two beautiful ladies whose comments did appear in this follow up post about my feelings toward the CHAPTER OF EVIL after it was actually done. But I wanted to do a follow up to that follow up because I found Maya's comment to be quite inspirational and though you have the wonderful advice from Arianna and Prerna in the previous post, only I was able to read Maya's comment. Here's what she said:
"I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the "Leave nasty comments" part. :D I won't do that, but I'll definitely try and cheer you up XD Imagine chapter thirteen is an angry swarm of bees, hiding inside a huge hive. The bees are really irritating you, because they bzzz their way through the night and you can't sleep. You can't do anything about them in your pyjama's, but you can definitely TRY when you put on the right gear and attack them with a net. But you don't have the clothes bee-catcher gear, so you have to go to the store outside of town to get it. It's a long drive, but if you have severa; passengers with yousomeone, it'll be much easier. I don't know who said this, but there's an awesome quote that I think applies to you: “Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.” You're strong, optimistic and you CAN do this. Just don't give up. "A dream is a flame that burns out if you give up." Write the chapter, whether it sucks or not. It doesn't matter if it's a horrible as Voldemort's face, or not, because once you write it you can always go back. But if you give up, you'll never reach the end. This will definitely make you feel better; Determinate, by Lemonade Mouth ( I know, I'm so lame I chose a DISNEY band.) It may not be their best song, but the lyrics are totally inspiring and the part where Adam Hicks raps is crazy cool! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn0DFUBaxlA And after watching it, eat nutella straight from the jar, then get to work and DETERMINATE! xox, loads of nasty comments, Maya (LOL!!)"
There are two things I want to hit from this comment. The first is this idea of being able to do anything with a support group. Maya says, "It's a long drive, but if you have severa(l) passengers with you... it'll be much easier." I smiled because gosh! Ain't it true! I am so fortunate to have a kind of partner in crime with all this. Aria has been my lifeline and my crutch on more than one occasion. It was with her insistence AND encouragement that I sat down and typed the darned thing up. She wouldn't let me rest. Ask her!
But, boy, am I thankful for that! Am I thankful that there is even a single soul out there who takes the time to comment on my blog, talk to me on Twitter, prod me via email, or do some combination of the three because they care about someone else's sanity. And I'm so glad--- so very glad--- that the someone else you guys care about is me. I mean... that's mind blowing. I may never get to thank you in person for it, but thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for being along for the ride.
And though there are other gems in this comment, the second thing I want to talk about is how Maya reiterates what all of you were telling me from the start.
Some people are great at giving advice. Others are great at taking and receiving it. But me? I'm the kind who loves to give but can't take it. Wrong, I know. But this was like, "Woah." The combination of Maya asserting herself (did anyone else hear, "Write the chapter... OR DIE" or was that just me?) plus the Harry Potter reference for giggles plus hearing, for the first time, someone who knew very little about my book say "you'll never reach the end," totally sparked this light in me. It was an "ouch," at first, but it was enough for me to know that I never wanted to hear her (or anyone else!) say that ever again.
Because the truth hurts, doesn't it? "A man who does not work shall not eat"--- It's the law of life. And a girl who does not write the CHAPTER OF EVIL will not finish her book. That's how it works. No pain, no gain.
I hope you writers out there copy and save Maya's comment somewhere. Use it to fuel a fire within yourselves. And read the other comments from that whiny post and LEARN SOMETHING FROM THEM. Everyone is saying the same thing. "Just do it!" It's not gonna kill you, I promise.
So, Maya, thank you for commenting. And everyone, thank you for reading. Writers, get to writing. And Blogger, fix yourself so that brilliant comments like this don't go disappearing on me ever again.
"...Get to work and DETERMINATE!" -Maya
Love,
Deserae
P.S. No comments to comment on! But you can still read my last post if ya wanna.
Long time no see. It's been longer than I wanted it to be (and ohemgee! I have a mini blog series I TOTALLY wanted to finish and must finish some time soon!), but I thought I'd come by and share something I read today.
You see, there's a lovely lady called Rachel Vail (author of IF WE KISS, and the LUCKY, GORGEOUS, BRILLIANT books) and she's put up a post about a trick she uses to overcome writer's block. Although I won't go into the logistics of it, I thought I'd share about my recent ventures into editing my latest WIP because I feel that maybe, just maybe, it'll be theraputic to talk about.
I've been working with this project for at least a gillion (eight) years, so I know the characters, the plot, and the flaws inside-out. In this draft, the rough edges have been smoothed, the humor has been amplified, and it's good--- that is until we hit chapter eight. Chapter eight is where I've gone dark. Where the elusive (imaginary) writer's block has reared its ugly head. Up until this point, it's been all about rearranging, subtractions, multiplications, a little bit of division and some slight additions but CHAPTER EIGHT is kicking my butt. Why? Because now, it doesn't exist. There's chapter seven. There's chapter nine. And in between there is this hole the size of Jupiter, saying, "What now?" and I'm staring at it wondering the exact same thing.
But then I read Rachel's post, and, to some, that simple exercise may not mean much, but it was like the light in the darkness that made me say, "I know what to do" and my manuscript answered, "Whoopee! Let's do it!" Short exercise, nothing much to it, but the right something to get me motivated.
It's nothing secial but I'm writing a book, and what I've learned on the blogosphere is that to do so, one must actually WRITE. So here is my word of encouragement to you: write, Baby, write; you won't ever regret it (and can always edit it later).
BTW, that video up there is not for the faint of heart. Watch it at your own risk. :)
I've been to a lot of book signings, I've read a jillion blog posts on the "secret writing formula," and I've heard authors say this a million times: there is no ONE way to write a novel. "There is no formula," they'll say. "Writing is different for everyone, the process can never be nailed down--- it's only what you make it. I can't tell you how to write your book."
But it's all lies, I tell you. There IS a secret formula. "And the secret ingredient," I tell you, "is that there IS no secret ingredient!"
Rewind.
There IS a secret formula.
Check!
But there IS no secret ingredient.
That's right.
Because you know the formula--- you knew it before you even sat down to write your novel. But tonight on Jackson Pearce's live chat, Carrie Ryan (author of the Forrest of Hands and Teeth series) said something I think will change your life as a writer forever. And, of course I'm going to bait you a little longer before I repeat those words as they were repeated to me.
The truth? Writers write. The big idea of BEING WRITER is that little you with all of your big hopes and aspirations--- YOU are willing to put something IN so you'll get something OUT. And it may not surprise you to know that the thing you're putting into this Writer Stew are the words that you want forever associated with your name.
The "Secret" Formula for the best pot of Writer Stew in the world:
YOU + IDEA + BLANK PAPER + SPILLAGE OF WORDS ONTO THAT PAPER = A NOVEL
Congratulations! You now know the first part of being a writer--- Writers write, and if you're going to be a writer, you're going to write, too.
Carrie Ryan's words are just one in a million examples that authors realize this important truth. She said, "Write. You need to put words on the page how you want them to come out, and you need to find your voice and passion." And Julie Kagawa (author of The Iron Queen) really solidifies this by reminding us that "All authors started exactly where you are right now."
Remember this, Writers; part of being who you are is producing the best piece of work you possibly can--- by producing a product that you wouldn't mind representing you to the whole world. But to get to the end you must first begin. Remember that there is no "secret" ingredient; there is only you and the page before you, what you do with it is a matter of choice, but please promise me you'll attempt to do something.
Tune in tomorrow for the next chapter of BEING WRITER. Good night, All!
~Deserae McG
I pride myself on two things: being a writer and being a thinker. Being a thinker doesn't make you a writer, but as a writer, inherently, you've got to be something of a thoughtful person. And no, I don't mean "thoughtful" as kind here; I mean thought-full--- full of philosophies, opinions, and ideas that mold who we are on and off the paper.
So in the spirit of being one who thinks and one who writes, I think I will write something encouraging to you all, in the form of a four part series called BEING WRITER, a lesson (or a reteaching, rather) on what makes us writers in the simplest form of the word. This isn't called BEING AUTHOR--- this series isn't professional and it's not going to get you published. What it is going to do is encourage you. Motivate you. Slap you around a few times and then slap you again. Remind you that writing is a way of life (and sometimes, life, itself) before it becomes a career. BEING WRITER is about you; it's about all of us individually and collectively. And the four pieces that I'm going to elaborate on starting Monday of next week (Feb. 7th) are the four things that I've been meditating on for the past week or so as I attempt to understand who I am in this relationship I've invested in for the past who knows how many years of my life. Writing starts with you and starting Monday, I am going to reveal my thoughts on how to ensure that your foundation is set before, during, and after you set out to write that first draft.
Projects keep me going, People,
Deserae McG
P.S. The official schedule for BEING writer looks like this:
Monday: How to Write a Novel
Tuesday: Why we Write and What Inspires Us.
Wednesday: Handy Dandy Notebooks
Thursday: Who we be
And guess what! Tomorrow's Friday! Check back in for the first installment of my short story blog series!
Starting Friday, I'm going to post a chapter every week of a mini-story that came to me in a dream. No, I was not attacked by a vampire like Stephanie Meyers in the middle of the night, but I was inspired to write a page of something I don't forsee being novel-lengthed. I just want to write it. That happens sometimes, you know. As a writer, it's easy to forget that writing and writing your next publishable piece are two separate ideas: the latter is what you do career wise; the first is what you do primarily for yourself.
I've told you, I have a WIP that I am really trying to get down and dirty with. The truth, though, is that as soon as a flame sparks, there's always going to be something around that tries to put it out. That's why writing for yourself is so important--- as long as YOU can remember why you love putting words onto a blank piece of paper, it won't matter whether you're published, unpublished, or somewhere in between. All that will matter is that you're doing what you love, and I'm looking forward to sharing something that I love (in all of it's unpolished, imperfect glory) with you (invisible) people.
