Registered for Nationals. Now I’m stuck.

I even found a roommate! (Poor Lisa has no idea who she agreed to room with. ROFL.)

I’m excited. Last year was a lot of fun. This year should be too. And since Joan flaked about going, I get to be her award recipient if (WHEN) she wins the GH in RS! That should be cool too…

(Must finish reading HIPS so I can pretend to be her and go to the GH parties…)

Bwahahahaha

Paty has exciting news!

And though she didn’t post it (tsk, tsk, tsk) , the link to Wild Rose Press is here.

Go congratulate her!!!

Thanks to everyone for your advice on Nationals. It looks like the votes are unanimous…I should be going. I think I agree. And I might just have a roommate…

Keep your fingers crossed for me. (And Lisa, email me.)

And just for fun on this Friday afternoon…I pilfered this from Piper’s blog. Pretty fitting – the seeing stories as movies in your mind – that’s very true for me.

Enjoy, while I go brave revision hell…

You Should Be a Film Writer

You don’t just create compelling stories, you see them as clearly as a movie in your mind. You have a knack for details and dialogue. You can really make a character come to life. Chances are, you enjoy creating all types of stories. The joy is in the storytelling. And nothing would please you more than millions of people seeing your story on the big screen!

href=”What’>http://www.blogthings.com/whattypeofwritershouldyoubequiz/”>What Type of Writer Should You Be?

As most of you know, the RWA National Convention is coming up. I had a fabulous time at Nationals in Reno last year and learned a lot, and the thought of going to this year’s conference has been in the back of my mind for a long time. Living on the West Coast though, it’s a big expense to travel all the way to Atlanta, esp. since I am unpubbed and unagented. So while I didn’t want to commit to going or not, I made a decision that I wouldn’t spend the money on Nationals this year unless 1) I finaled in the GH, or 2) I won a conference registration. Well, I didn’t final in the GH, but I did win the conference registration through the Romancing the Tome contest in February.

Now, at first, I was really psyched about going to Nationals. I’ve been looking forward to this year’s National Convention in Atlanta for several reasons: 1) it’s just such a cool conference, 2) my cousin lives in Atlanta and I’m excited for an excuse to go see her, 3) Linda’s in Georgia and part of me is hoping if she’s not going to the conference, maybe I can talk her into driving up for dinner or something, and 4) networking, networking, and more networking. However, now I’m just not so sure if I’m going to go.

Last year we had nearly twenty people from our chapter attend Nationals. It was close and cheap and a lot of people who probably wouldn’t have gone from our area did. We had a great time. I saw people all over that I knew. Always had someone to pal around with in the evenings and someone to sit with during lunch and dinner. This year, no one from my chapter is going, so if I go, I’m really not going to know anyone. Sure, I know names from online loops and websites, but no one personally. In addition, I don’t have a roommate, and I can’t see spending the money for a single room (they’re more expensive than they were last year.) Money isn’t really the issue. I won my registration, and my mother’s offered to buy my airline ticket (because she thinks the whole reason I’m hedging about going is money-related, which it isn’t.) But the thought of putting my name out there for a roommate makes me feel a little odd (anyone see Single White Female???). Not sure I want to do that.

The real reason I’m hedging is because the conference is overwhelming. It was overwhelming to me last year and I wasn’t alone. This year I think I might be way overwhelmed, esp. with no one to chat with and let off steam with about the whole experience. I know several of you find this hard to believe (knowing my snarky personality) but when I’m in a new situation, surrounded by people I don’t know, I can be really shy. Esp. in a group full of women (and we all know how women can be.)

But here’s the thing. Do you believe things happen for a reason? Do you believe in signs? I can’t explain it, but I feel like there’s a reason I won that registration – when I’ve never won anything before in my life – and a reason I’m supposed to go to the conference. I don’t know if it’s writing related or not. And in the back of my head this little voice is telling me I’m nuts. There is no reason. It’s just a coincidence. If I go, I’ll feel foolish. But if I don’t go, I have a feeling I’m going to regret it.

So someone tell me what to do. I’m very indecisive at this point. I need to make a decision within the next two weeks. PRO agent/editor appt sign-ups are mid-May and if I’m going to go, I need to have registered before then. There’s no guarantee I’ll even get an appointment, but if I go, I’d like one.

What do you think????

Last night was my local RWA meeting. It was good – I love getting together with my group. They’re a fabulous bunch of ladies who love to talk all things writing. However, I’m starting to think maybe I shouldn’t hang with them anymore. After the last meeting, I got deathly ill with the flu and was on my back for a week. Today, I have the head cold from hell. Hmmm…I’m starting to think this is a sign…

One of the things I love so much about my group is that whenever I leave a meeting I’m fired up about writing. Last night was no exception. Part of it was the fact they flogged me with a wet noodle for not meeting my goal two months in a row (ahem, same goal both times – finish the darn wip), part of it was hearing Piper gush about my wip which she’s critting. (Ah, Piper, you’re good for the ego. I loves you!). When I got home I was too tired to write so I ended up taking a sleeping pill (because I’ve been so exhausted lately) and managed to get a really good night’s sleep. So as long as the head cold doesn’t get any worse, I’m hoping to get some work done on that goal later today. Wish me luck.

And going along with the theme of goals and RWA, I’m going to share a little of what we discussed last night. Paty and I gave a joint talk on contests at our meeting. If you read my post Monday at Romance Worth Killing For, you know I’m a non-planner and a procrastinator. I, of course, waited until yesterday to organize what I was going to say while Paty plotted her portion out days in advance. (Oh, eek. Sorry. Paty PLANNED her portion out. LOL) Regardless, I think we both presented some good info for the group and hopefully they learned something useful regarding contests.

As for what I want to share here, I put together a bunch of links to great articles on the pros and cons of entering contests. Best thing to keep in mind is know your goal when you enter a contest. Know whether you’re looking for feedback, prestige or name recognition, the chance to get your work in front of a specific agent or editor, a prize, or simply want to try a new experience. If you know what you want to get out of the experience, and you don’t have unreal expectations, you won’t be upset with your results.

Enjoy!

Can Contests Be a Freeway To A First Sale by Roxanne Rustand

Contests: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly by Bronwyn Jameson

The Pros and Cons of Entering Contests by Elizabeth Rose

10 Tips for Winning Writing Contests by Writers-Editors Network (via Sharyn Bowman)

Top Ten Ways to NOT Final in a Romance Writing Contest by Tami Cowden

One Size Does Not Fit All: Choosing The Contest That Works For You by Tami Cowden

Contests and Vanity Anthologies by SFWA

What Do Editors Really Think About Contests? by Tracy Cozzens and Roxanne Rustand

I was too tired to write after a full day of hosting Easter, so I vegged in front of the TV last night (never happens). There was a new show on ABC called What About Brian? Did anyone watch this? Okay, if you didn’t, it’s about three couples and one single guy named Brian. Brian’s like the seventh wheel, a serial dater who has committment issues. Actually, he doesn’t have committment issues, he’s just in love with his best friend’s fiance – who he kissed and spilled his heart to in the first episode and then said he’d shut up about it because he couldn’t “do that” to his best friend or to this woman he supposedly loves (after he’d already done it).

Okay, so that issue aside, watching this show you can tell it’s going to be a new version of Thirtysomething. Thirty-ish couples who are all having some sort of relationship “issues”. Now maybe I’m just out of touch with what’s on TV, but there were so many unbelievable situations going on I had trouble watching. One couple has three kids (the only couple with kids). Aside from the fact the woman does not look like she’s had three kids (snark), anyone with kids knows it’s near impossible to keep friendships up with other single or childless couples – you’re just not in the same place. These people get together all the time and party with or without their kids? Yeah, right. As someone with three small kids, I find that hard to believe. (Oh yeah, and when the wife of this couple declared she wanted to have an “open” marriage so she could go off and have sex with her yoga instructor, I just rolled my eyes.) I really hate those stereotypes that portray married couples as having dysfunctional sexual relationships – that you never have sex again after you’re married. Like marriage is the death of sex.

Where was I? Oh, the show. One guy broke up with his girlfriend and then asked her to marry him the next day. When he was talking to Brian about it later, he said he broke up with her, then was watching her sleeping later that night and realized he’d made a mistake. Uh…if he broke up with her, why was she sleeping with him??? Again, shaking my head here.

And am I really out there, or am I the only one who has trouble believing men talk about intimate feelings with each other? The lead guy Brian kept going on and on about how much he loves this woman to another guy friend (The friend who’s wife wants to have sex with other people). I was looking at DH saying, “do guys do that????” He just shook his head.

This is why I don’t watch TV. I’m disappointed more times than not. I feel like I wasted an hour of my life last night that I can’t ever get back. If you’re interested, the first “official” episode of What About Brian? will be on tonight on ABC. Last night was a sneak preview, I guess (or pilot). Me? I think I’ll be writing. I don’t think I can handle much more of Brian and his thirty-something friends.

It’s no secret I’ve been stalled on the wip. I wrote the first part of the climax and haven’t been able to write more. Why? I wasn’t sure. I thought it was life getting in the way. I thought it was me just being tired. Last night I figured it out.

My bad guy is the wrong bad guy.

Well, Duh. That’s a no brainer!

I’ve known who my villain was from the start of this book. While I don’t plot, I’ve had this “idea” and could see the story play out in my mind (my version of plotting). I’ve built toward the climax and the unveiling moment when he’s revealed. But last night it hit me – he couldn’t have done it. He’s not behind it all. It just doesn’t work if he’s the one. Therefore, it has to be someone else. And I think maybe I’ve figured out who. It makes a lot more sense. I feel like a light bulb’s been turned on. And maybe, just maybe, it means I can start writing again.

Of course, now I have to go back and change a few things, but surprisingly, not that much. (And whoohee, it doesn’t change much my CP’s already critted, thank goodness.)

I’m going to go leave you now and avoid cleaning the house by writing.

Gah! Almost forgot about that damn Easter bunny thing.

Okay, writing AFTER the Easter bunny goes shopping. Wish me luck…

Oh, crap. Then I have to clean the house because we’re hosting Easter dinner tomorrow night.

*pounding head on keyboard*

Don’t you hate it when life gets in the way of writing????

Kristin Nelson’s talking about the market on her blog. She’s currently in NY relaying what the editors there are saying is HOT right now. If you write (or want to write) erotica, it seems now is the time to break into the published author’s world. Seems the majority of the “first” sales I’m hearing about are erotica sales. One girl on RWC recently announced she sold her first ms in a 6-book deal to Kensington’s new Aphrodisia line. Too bad for me I write RS – sexy RS, but not sexy-enough to qualify as erotica.

In other news, I’m playing ostrich. Lin will appreciate this. Some time ago I got the bright idea to query a publisher about an RS ms of mine. When I didn’t hear back after several months, I figured it was a no go. Last week I got a full request from said publisher on said ms. Cool news, right? Not really. The novelty of full requests has definitely worn off for me, even though I haven’t spent much time targeting publishers at this point.

So here’s the deal: I’m close to finishing the wip (okay, how many times have you heard me say that? Lord Almighty). Like one or two chapters away. Granted, it’s the climax – which I hate writing – but I’m still close. If I bail to give the requested ms a read (ahem, which means I’ll tweak and change and get pulled into it AGAIN) I’ll lose my momentum on the wip. So that’s my ostrich excuse as to why I haven’t already printed and mailed. Sounds good, right?

Not.

Okay, here’s the REAL deal: Said ms has been read by several agents – full requested but eventually rejected. It hasn’t made “huge” rounds, but has been with a handful of agents. Part of me thinks it’s not the one. I don’t know how to explain that, it’s just a feeling even though I really like this ms. One agent said she loved the characters, had issue with the plot. One agent said she loved the plot but had issues with the characters. One agent loved the dream sequence intro, another recently blogged about how awful romance novel dream sequence intros are. See my dilemma??? I’m hearing way too much conflicting advice which has me stymied, so my answer is just to ignore it for the time being. Hence, playing ostrich.

Someone give me a good kick in the ass and tell me to get to work.

Here’s some uplifting advice. On the PRO class loop, Anne Stuart and Judith Arnold are talking about the author/agent relationship. Here’s my favorite bit of information:

…nowadays getting an agent is almost harder than getting published. One of the best ways to get an agent, if you haven’t gotten one already, is to do your research, sound them out, and then approach them once you have your first contract. I know, it seems stupid to give someone 15% when you’ve done the hard part, but trust me, keeping track of things is an important part of the job.

Gee, I guess that means we should be targeting editors on our own? Gah. More conflicting advice. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say not to target editors because then agents have less places to send your work. Perhaps I should ditch the wip and go work on that requested ms.

Oh, and I almost forgot I’m giving a talk at my local RWA meeting next week with a fellow writer. She sent me her portion of our presentation. Did I mention she’s a plotter and I am not? Ahem, I am not a plotter in anything really. I wing it nine times out of ten. That’s what I did when I was teaching and what I still do now. (Subs could never go off the chicken scratch lesson plans in my plan book.) Guess I need to go get to work on this so she thinks I’m at least a little prepared. And yes, it’s a good excuse to ignore both the wip and said requested ms.

Later…

Today was Gremlin #2’s birthday party. Just a small family deal – nothing big – and a couple friends. He picked an army theme (he’s four), because army dudes are cool and he loves to play army men with his dad. So I ordered his cake from the local grocery store. They *of course* didn’t have anything army-ish, but I gave the decorator one of his invitations and she assured me they could do something in camouflage colors and that they’d make four frosting mountains all over the cake so we could position army men on the top ourselves. Sounded good to me.

And then I saw the cake:

Now, tell me. Do those oblong brown things look like mountains to you???

The adults were sitting at the table eating lunch, and the cake was in the center. My SIL leaned over and said, “Um, Elisabeth? Where are your dogs? And just, out of curiosity, what is that on the cake??? Because it looks like something that should be out in the yard.”

Yes, Gremlin #2’s cake had shit-mountains. Luckily, he could have cared less, but it was a little less-than appetizing for me.

BTW, did you notice the lettering wasn’t centered on the cake either? Holy cow. My brother assures me it’s a sign the economy is doing well when minimum wage workers actually act like minimum wage workers. I’m not so sure.

And did you see it’s in two different shades of blue? On the way out of the store the clerk stuck the cake on the bottom of my grocery cart. I loaded the groceries in the car, pushed the cart back to the cart corral and then jammed it into the cart in front of me. When it didn’t go in, I jammed it again and THEN realized the cake was still at the bottom of the cart. Eeek! They had to redecorate half of it because I’m a moron.

*sigh*

I think I need a Corona.

So Thursday after I blogged, gremlin #1 had a friend over to play. I was downstairs straightening up from gremlin #3 (also known as the little tornado) and glanced up the stairs and saw both girls were sitting on the bathroom counter. Actually, my daughter was sitting on the counter, the neighbor girl was standing on the counter behind her doing her hair. Ahem. Not good. I calmly tell them to get down, that we don’t get up on the counters for hair or anything else. I turn my back to chase the little tornado and not even thirty seconds later hear a loud thud followed by a huge scream.

I leave the little tornado screaming (because I closed the kitchen drawer he was destroying) and dart up the stairs. The neighbor girl has the biggest eyes I’ve ever seen, and my daughter is lying on the floor screaming bloody murder.

(If you’ve never heard a bloody murder scream delivered by a 7-yr old girl, let me tell you – it’s loud.)

I pick her up and take her into my room, lay her on the bed. She continues to shriek this ear-piercing scream that makes my head spin. The neighbor girl runs down the stairs and says, “I gotta go home!” (good thinking). Okay, daughter’s not moving, still screaming, I deduce she’s really hurt. Call DH who is at Costco picking up our new patio set. Get home now!

In the meantime, it’s five o’clock and gremlins #2 and #3 are downstairs wreaking havoc because they’re hungry and being ignored. Gremlin #1 is upstairs screaming for her daddy because he’s the nice one and I’m the heavy telling her that’s what she gets for climbing on the counter.

DH finally gets home and I tell him Gremlin #1 is really hurt and might need to go to the ER. Gremlin #1 is hysterical because she can’t move and is worried about how we’re going to get her in the car to go to the dr. (Actually, she’s more worried if we take her to the hospital they’re going to cut her arm off or do surgery – DH had shoulder surgery and has a long scar on his shoulder, so I guess this fear is understandable, but all it did was make me laugh.) DH helps her up. She screams, then sits up and quiets and says in a calm voice, “Oh. Look. I can sit up.” DH and I look at each other. Drama Queen. I’m thinking she’s been faking the whole time. All the sudden she screams and flops back on the bed. DH helps her up again. She stops screaming. “I think I’m okay.” Then out of nowhere she screams and flops back on the bed again.

So I’m thinking, if she’s flopping around like that, she’s not really hurt. I roll my eyes, leave her to DH because my eardrum is permenantly damaged at this point, and go down to run herd on the other two.

DH comes down a few minutes later and says he’s taking her to the ER anyway. I’m thinking, Drama Queen. She’s fine. But I don’t say anything.

They leave. Call me about two hours later. Snapped her collar bone in two.

Hmmm…so much for my medical expertise.

Now she has a sling. They don’t do anything for busted collar bones. Apparantly it will heal on its own without any intervention, although she’ll have a big calcification where the bones are overlapping. She’s milking it for all its worth. I’m letting her because I feel bad for not thinking she was really hurt.

I guess you could say I get the mother of the year award. Honestly, I don’t think I’m a natural-born mother.

On the writing front, J keeps asking me if I’ve finished the darn WIP yet. *frown* Um, not yet, J. Every time I think I’m close, my climax just gets longer and longer. I’m hoping to get some serious writing done today and tomorrow (famous last words.)

If, that is, the gremlins let me. Pray for no more broken bones.