Catégorie : Writing Tips

Word count goal for this week: 32 500 words
Word count goal so far: 18 517 words

Writing.
I write because I love it, because I can’t help it. When I write books, I feel alive.
I’m doing what I am supposed to be doing: coming up with stories to share with people, to make them laugh and dream, to help ease their sorrow, to give hope when all hope has been taken away.

So it doesn’t feel great, getting a rejection letter.
Especially a standard rejection letter, the one they send when just one person in the publishing house read, oh, between one and ten pages of the book before deciding going « No », or « Yes » (reminder, I live in a small francophone bubble in Canada, with a very small market and no literary agent).
But it is such a small thing. After all, I received many rejection letters. I’m almost used to it.
Plus, for a whole year, part of my job at a publisher’s house was to send those exact same rejections letters; trust me, I know the drill!

But every now and then, the received rejection letter will hit me a little harder.
Because I have good reasons to believe it might work with one or two publishers.
In this case, I sent a good contemporary YA novel to publishers who were looking very specifically for contemporary YA novels.
I did my research, I read some of the novels the publishers have published before, to make sure my novel would stand out while respecting the publishers editorial line.
I really thought it would work. *deep sight*

When it was time to get some creative writing work done, I did some screen staring/shopping for kiddo clothes/pinning things about rejection on Pinterest for a while.
A sentence heard on NovelTea Show was doing loops in my head the whole time: you fail only if you stop writing.

So, I went and did some writing. Plus a mega-ton of editing.

I was merciless with my writing. Erase stuff, straighten some other stuff. Doesn’t matter if I end up erasing it during revision. I felt better just by working harder on the storytelling, on the phrasing, on the characters.

Game plan for next week is : keep the same word count goal. Writing rush week was a total disaster.
I don’t need to feel miserable because the word count isn’t going up fast enough.
I need to feel good because the writing is decent, at the very least.

Thank you for reading. I hope my rambling was in some weird way helpful.
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Until next time!

This week word count goal: 25 000 words
Word count goal so far:

It works for some authors. For me, drafting in a coffee shop is simply as effective as working in my little writing nest at home.
I love my writing nest. There’s a blue couch, a soft cushion with a cute bird on it. There’s the kettle downstairs, the pictures of my kiddo scattered around in the two bookshelves guarding my tiny desk. It’s So Comfy.
Pluuus: fart-free zone. You gotta love those!

On rare occasions, I am forced to go to work in a coffee shop. Inevitably, I end-up pretending to work and spying on other customers. I also often end-up with a bit of a bellyache…

This morning, there was an odd duo sitting at a table decently far away from my comfy chair, but they were having a lively discussion in a relatively quiet place.
One of them was an energetic, literate elderly woman, a therapist of some sort, I am pretty sure, since the guy she was meeting up was at least 30 years younger, athletic type, fresh out of university, maybe.
Anyway, she was there to help him overcome some issues, I think.
I would stare at them from time to time.
And I would look at the lovely retiree lady with her two walking sticks, looking a bit like a tall hobbit (she was wearing shoes – fall weather is pretty cold around here).
Then, two businesswomen sat nearby and oh, they were not there to enjoy their coffee and talk about their love life, no sir no!

I was not able to focus on work. So, I had to make up for it tonight.
First end results: very little creative writing done tonight.
Second end results: so behind word count wise!

I know, every word counts. But I am so, so, so on a deadline with this book, I really have to step up my game here.
According to what I read on literary agency blogs and from fellow aspiring authors, in the YA sector, we are in the middle of the paranormal come-back attempt trend, and that will reach its peak very soon.
The selling clock is ticking.

Yes, it still saddens me a little to think of stories as product to sell.
But so they are; the best, most awesome ones ever !

Thank you for reading.
Find me on twitter or take a look at my Pinterest Writing Boards, or keep in touch and subscribe to this blog.

Until next time!