NaNoWriMo 2019 and The Writing Barn

I'm thinking about it! NaNoWriMo was how I wrote TAKE THE REINS and several other books of mine. But I also owe Agent Josh edits on a tween horse book, sooo that really needs to happen soon!

It really feels good to be back in the swing of things. I had to take some time away from social media and the writing world, but I'm slowly immersing myself back in all bookish things and it feels great.

Oooh, also! I'm teaching two online writing classes via The Writing Barn starting in January 2020! The classes are HOW TO WRITE MG AND YA THAT SELLS and PUBLICITY AND MARKETING: ALL THE TIPS YOU NEED TO SELL 1.5 MILLION BOOKS. Anyone can sign up, but space is limited!

I hope everyone's fall is off to a great start! If you want to re-add me as a buddy (NaNo wiped the old forums), my new username is "jessicaburkhart."

Lady Gaga & Greyson Chance

What's everyone up to this weekend? Anyone getting in the Christmas spirit or totally over it? I walked down an avenue block last night after picking up food and so many gorgeous lights and displays were up. I'm like a little kid--they make me SO happy. I live in a very diverse neighborhood and it's interesting to see how each culture decorates for Christmas. There was a Puerto Rican parade today that went down my street, though, I don't think it had anything to do with Xmas. ;)

I'm totally bumming around this weekend. Recovering from post-finishing a book hangover. Next book--COMEBACK--isn't due until March, so I've got some time to chill. I intended to start working on a project today, but chose to read (Ruthless--Pretty Little Liars #10), Teen Vogue, Glamour and some other fun mags lying around.

(CHECK those shoes! I'd *never* be able to stand in them!)

Did anyone catch yesterday's Ellen? Lady Gaga and Greyson Chance we on. First, I adore Greyson! Kate and I saw him the very first time he appeared on Ellen singing "Paparazzi." She discovered him singing that on YouTube, brought him on, signed him to her record label and well, you probably know more than I do about him now. ;) He's such a cutie!

It came full circle for him because he got to meet the artist whose song he played that got HIM a record deal. :)

I loved Lady G's "Marry the Night" performance. She also had some of the best one liners I've heard from her. I've always been insanely inspired by her work ethic. The song, too, is about making the choice to commit to your work or give up. She's barely a year older than me and the girl works hard. She said, "People ask me when I'm gonna take a vacation. I'm like, 'I didn't get into signing to sit under a palm tree.'" That's kind of how I feel about writing. I'm "married" to my work because I love it so much. I'm happy to work long hours (except when my wrist or arm hurt! Bleh!) and I want to put everything I have into what I'm doing. That's for you guys--the readers--Team Canterwood.  

Here's her performance if you want to watch. :) Fill me in on what you're all up to this weekend!

xoxo

Three face of writing . . .

I REALLY wrote that?

Idea! Write it down!

5 minutes later . . . that wasn't a great idea.

And now back to writing and making those faces.

Next week is gonna be busy!

This weekend, I'm in The Cave. You know, the 24/7 writing cave. As long as my arm holds out, with the help of medication, I'm working my way through CHOSEN. And man, it's FUN. I think, well, hope, it's going to be a great book and the voice is very different as are the horses, boys, characters and drama!

Next week, I've got 2 Skype classroom visits. If you want me to visit your classroom, have your teacher contact me. I'd love to "meet" you! :)

Back to work--got an orange cat and a sick :( BFF next to me. What's everyone else up to?

Writing with friends

I've always been a solo writer. It felt like something I had to do on my own without people around. When I moved to New York, I tried the coffee shop thing. It was okay aside from my people watching. And I would have gone broke because I kept buying frozen yogurt, coffee, etc. Not. Good.

But several of the past few weeks have been marathon working sessions with Kate and Ross. When we're together working--stuff gets DONE. We're pulling our hair out at the end of the day, but there's also a huge sense of accomplishment. I wrote 13 pages yesterday, Ross knocked out a bunch of revisions and Kate got a ton of editing done.

So, I like the BK Trio we've formed to work and it's proving to be quite productive and fun. :)

Don't forget to see yesterday's post and enter to win a signed copy of HOME SWEET DRAMA!

Writing like whoa

I got two new freelance assignments last week that are due in March. Both are on SUCH different topics--one is very serious--huffing and inhalants. The other is about horseback riding! That article will discuss options about how to ride if you don't own a horse and what you can do to get lessons for a reduced cost or even for free.

It'll be fun to switch to non-fiction for those pieces. I don't actively query anymore--I just don't have time. I love it when editors send me ideas for pieces they need done. So, I'll be working on that later in the month.

But first--back to book writing!

Hope everyone had a fab weekend!

And, if you haven't already, go congratulate Editor K on signing with an awesome agent. She's a talented writer who doesn't even realize her own potential and I can't wait to see her writing career bloom.

D-I-S-T-R-A-C-T-I-O-N

Oh, yeah! It's everywhere. :) I was, uh, reading an unauthorized bio of R Pattz this afternoon when I should have been, you know, writing. Then, a friend sent me his manuscript that I've been *dying* to read. I started to read it and then had to use it in my write then reward system. So, I've got to write 500 words before I can read another chapter of it. 2500 words need to go down today and my evil Excel chart tells me my grand total is 269 so far. Eeeep. But I'm ready to go now!

Btw, on Friday, look for an announcement about all of the fun things to come to celebrate the October 20th release of BEST ENEMIES. Yaay! There will be *tons* of sparkly prizes. Woo! Also, if you won a signed copy of BE from the giveaway, it went in the mail yesterday. Hope you enjoy it!

Ready, set, type!

I Tweeted this pic yest, but in case you don't have Twitter I wanted to share it. That's the BFF's cat who watched me work yesterday. She's usually attracted to my handbrace that I wear when I type. And when I say "attracted," I mean she attacks it and then falls in love with it when I take it off and put it on the couch.

Got 10 pgs typed yesterday--not even close to what I wanted (*bangs head*), but I'm starting again now and we'll see what happens. Every bit of housecleaning that can be done is complete so I can't be distracted with any of that. Lame, right? But that's become my "I can't work because I have to sweep/mop/do dishes, etc" even though it's not necessary. Things are sparkling now so no excuses. I've got coffee and Diet Coke on my bedside table and have my twinkly Halloween lights plugged in, which makes me happy.

Btw, I talked about it on the Canterwood forum, but if you notice on Amazon.com or B&N that there's a different pub date for Rival Revenge (#7)--it's true! The book is coming out in January instead of Feb. Very cool because it comes out on Jan 26 and my birthday's on Jan 29. Fun week!

Off to work!

PS- NaNoWriMo starts next month!! Who's doing it? If you are, friend me! :)

Writing advice from Nora Roberts

Fab writing advice from Nora Roberts about writing 70 books, not waiting for a muse and more. Found this at Fangs, Fur, and Fey.

Happy Friday! :)

Everything and nothing

I started writing LITTLE WHITE LIES (Canterwood Crest #6 (SIX! *falls over*) yesterday. I Tweeted (stupidly, LOL) that I was going to stay up all night writing and hit 5k before I went to sleep.

Didn't happen. I wrote 500 words and stopped for the night. I needed a few hours to absorb outline changes and just think about where I needed to go with the book.

Today, I got started late and hit my stride. I had one of those rare "OMG" writer moments where I sat back and actually said, "Oh. Whoa. Wow. Um." out loud. One of those crazy-talking-to-yourself writer moments where you actually start to cry like an idiot for no reason.

But a few things hit me full force:

* I'm writing book freaking six. S-I-X. There was a time when I thought I wouldn't be able to write one book. Not one. Just short articles, nothing book length. And I'm not saying this to be like, "Oh, wow. Look. You've written five books." I'm saying this because so many writers e-mail me and say they're sure they can't write a book but so want to. That they can't write past a few pages. I used to think that too.

* I'm in love with a character. A character that I didn't fall for until twenty minutes ago. And I'm hard core crushing. (And man, I'm sooo gonna regret posting this part 'cause EK will read it and never let me forget it when I tell her my new love interest. As if she needs another thing to hold over me, LOL.)

* This is the first book I've ever written in New York and it'll be my only first book in NYC. It feels sparkly just for that reason.

* I'm not the writer I was when I wrote BEST ENEMIES. Not better, not worse (I hope!). Just not the same.

* Everything and nothing has changed. Everything in my life has changed. Nothing in my character's lives has. They were all there--waiting for me to come and move things for them. I'm almost annoyingly giddy to be back to Canterwood (I sound like a student, LOL) and into writing.

And not just writing.

Writing that I love.

There's a difference.

And it took a while for me to find it again. But I have.

Okay! Sappy much? Seriously. :) As you were.

Thank you, readers!

I have the *best* readers EVER. It's a fact. Last night, I sent out the first Canterwood Crest newsletter and when I checked my e-mail this morning, I had over 30 new messages from you all saying the sweetest things about the books. I'm floating this morning--thank you!! You also did something awesome and put up new reviews on Amazon. How lucky am I?!

If you haven't signed up, check out the sidebar and do so. I'll be sending a newsletter once a month or whenever I have super big news to share. The subscribers of the newsletter got to hear a secret that hadn't been announced here yet. The news?

Behind the Bit went into its second printing! Yay! I'm so excited about that.

Onto other things...

I think I moved to Seattle and not NYC. Is it supposed to rain this much here? I reeeeaaallly need to go out today, but didn't want to anyway and then when I saw it was raining I was like, "Ha. It's raining. Excuse. Staying in."

I'm in my cozy writer clothes (yoga pants, t-shirt and hoodie) and am working on Canterwood Crest marketing. I'm making a list of big horse shows for junior riders and other equine associations to contact about the series.

Also, I've got an ARC of HUSH, HUSH by Becca Fitzpatrick that looks so amazing. I Tweeted about the cover yesterday and y'all agreed with me--amazing cover.

And, finally, in this random jumble of a blog--I started writing a new story on paper last night. Paper. The last time I wrote a book on paper? Um, never. I type way faster than I write and it seems like a waste of time to transfer paper writing to the computer. But I *wanted* to start this story on paper and I'm hopeful about what I've got so far. I ended up writing a page with one opening, then starting over and switching to another. Then I changed format. And the weirdest part is that I still like it this morning. Usually, I hate my writing the next morning. I look at it and go, "Ugggh! That's the worst thing ever! Delete!" But I actually like this. And I came up with a sick tag for it that I can't share, but I'm excited.

So, I'm going offline to write more on paper. How odd. How about you guys? Anyone write on paper? Or is it computers only?

Call for author quotes for mag article

Hey, author friends!

I'm on assignment for LISTEN MAGAZINE (reaches 100,000 teens) and I'm writing an article for their October issue that'll advise teens about how to get published.

I'd love to get a few quotes from my pubbed author friends. If you're interested, leave a comment here to say that you are and I'll email a few of you to get quotes. I'll just ask 3 or 4 questions about how you got published, what your journey was, etc.

If you agree to give me quotes, I'll need 'em ASAP because the article is due in early April.

Thanks!! :)

Plot hole = evil

I've been project juggling lately. That's unusual for me because I usually start an idea and stick with it till it's finished. But not now. A month or so ago, I started Dark YA and got 5k in before chatting with People and deciding to drop it. For now.

Then, I shifted over to Secret Sparkly Tween Book (thinking of it as one of three) and have wiped out the 10 page outline five times. Five. Of course, that then makes the outlines for Two and Three useless.

Grrr. *headdesk*

I have all of the plot lines for One, Two and Three, but One is missing something pretty big. What? The reason WHY my characters do what they do that kicks off One, Two and Three. Very vague, I know. Been pondering this for weeks and have no answer.

*thinks*

And so it begins...

I'm starting the first draft of TRIPLE FAULT this morning. Like, now. Right now. OMG. There's always that moment (okay, more like day) of panicked "I can't do this! I forgot how to write a book! I'm supposed to do what?!"

Happens every time I start a book. But it's okay. It keeps things interesting and I'd rather be freaked out instead of all "Whatever. I can so do this because I'm the best writer ever." That would be boring!

Lucky for me, I had my Writer Freakout yesterday in anticipation of starting TF today. So, I'm ready. I've got my trusty outline, a sparkly pink pen for notes, cinnamon bun flavored coffee and fuzzy purple socks. You know, all things a writer needs.

Wish me luck! *

Cover Copyright © 2009 Simon & Schuster. Photo © Monica Stevenson.

Quick announcement

Just a note that I've got Class of 2k8 author Kristin Tubb on my blog tomorrow. She's super-funny and I had a great time interviewing her. :)

BEHIND THE BIT status update:

Word count: 28,456

Date started: 10/10

Number of times I used "grinned:"11

Number of times I used "smiled:" 34. Uh oh...must fix.

Writing a series

As of today, I'm just over half-way through the first draft of BEHIND THE BIT, book 3 in the Canterwood Crest series. Half-way. Mmmm. Two magical words for writers! Now, I didn't say the draft was pretty, or anything, but it's down. Ahh.

So, I've been thinking a lot about how different writing a series is compared to a standalone book. I wonder how different the draft to publication process would have been for my first book if it had been on its own. Maybe not at all. I'm not sure.

I do know I've learned a lot about series writing. Let's see...


What I've learned:

* Keep a spreadsheet of vital information like character eye color, hair color, names of siblings, etc. You swear you'll remember everyone's shoe size, but as more characters come into play the easier it becomes to confuse them. Actually, I should do this with standalones, too....

* Remember that you're writing a series! I want people to read TAKE THE REINS and say, "OMG! I have to read CHASING BLUE to find out what happens!" Don't tie up everything in one book.

* Cliffhangers are your friends. (Thanks, K!) My cliffhangers have escalated with each book.

* Torture your characters. (K, that's from you again, lol) Well, not really. But I've recently began to embrace the "a book that's happy on every page is boring" manta. I've been putting Sasha, my MC, through some tough situations that heighten with each book.

* Love your series! Obviously. If you're going for a series instead of a standalone, you MUST love your plot and characters for a while. Otherwise, it shows.

* New characters are good. Sure, you've got your main characters, but adding new people here and there keeps things fresh.

Okay, anyone else have something to add?

Cheryl Klein's speech at Harry Potter conference

Cheryl Klein, senior editor at Arthur A. Levine books (Scholastic), recently posted this. It's "A Few Things Writers Can Learn from Harry Potter" and it was her keynote speech at a Chicago Harry Potter conference.

First, how cool of Cheryl to share it with everyone. (She went from fangirl to editor--how awesome is that?!) Second, wow. If I wasn't already inspired by JK Rowling and Harry Potter, I'm that much more impressed now. (Now I have to reread the books...again)

Check out Cheryl's speech to read how she referenced character, plot, theme and show vs. tell. This is a speech to print and read.

Enjoy!

Edits are complete!

Whew. I just finished my fourth round of edits on my new YA. That means...it's finished! After one more round of reading and checking for silly grammar mistakes, off it goes! I'm so, so excited to have that *this close* to being finished. Getting the draft down was exciting, but I'm ready to have someone else read it and give me feedback.

I sent a two magazine queries out this weekend because it felt, well, weird not to have any queries out there. I've just been accepting assignments as they come and not querying, but I'm trying to break into bigger, glossier mags this year and I've got to at least send a couple queries.

Before I started writing fiction, at my peak of magazine querying, I had 30 queries out at once. So you see how zero feels odd. But I do think taking a short break from magazines and writing only fiction has helped, but I'm at the point where I can slowly start working on breaking into different magazines while keeping my focus on books.

Strengths and weaknesses in your writing

Over the past few weeks, I've been writing lots of new things, editing and thinking about how my writing has changed since I signed with Agent A almost one year ago. (Seriously! Wow!) We've all got our writing strengths and weaknesses. Mine? Okay. My strongest writing comes with my plots. When others read my MSS, their first comment is usually, "Wow, I didn't get bored for a second. You kept things moving." Then the next comment is, "But I didn't feel inside the character's head enough." So, strong at plotting and weak with internal emotion. Fixable, right? Sure, and once someone points out your weaknesses, it should only make you more aware of them so they can be addressed. When I first started writing book-length fiction in November 2006, I had no idea how dialogue tags worked. They were a MESS. Now, it's second nature. Don't even notice my tags. Practice definitely pays off.

So, what are the strongest and weakest parts of your writing? Have you mastered something you once struggled with?

P.S. Isn't the class of 2k8 widget (see right and scroll) adorable? It'll show a new book every time you refresh the page! Clever.