Friday, May 27, 2011

The Reluctant Writer by Christy LaShea

The title of this post is not for my latest book. Don't get excited for me as my writing world is as humdrum as the sand in the cracks of my driveway outside.... except, I think even the sand has some sparkly sediment to it that makes it quite interesting. If I were writing, there may be some spark in my writing world too. But, I'm not and it's not. 

The title of this post simply represents where I am right now. I've got ideas in my head, but when I sit down at the computer, it just won't happen. I spend too long wasting time on things that produce intangible things that will fade as quickly as they are written or read. I'm speaking of Facebook status messages, emails, blah, blah, blah...

So here I am, on my blog where I can whine and either you'll read it and move on, or read it and comment. It is your choice and I'm not requiring either. 

A bit of writing-related news is that the Maggie Contest is about to draw to a close for entries. The deadline is June 10. That's a Friday and I believe is only about 2 weeks away, or less. I would love to enter my historical. Last I heard, there were no Inspirational entries and Charlene Patterson of Bethany House is the editor who would be the final judge AND will be at our M&M conference this year. So, if you have any sort of inspirational story, I say get your entry in soon. It's the first 35 pages, and that includes a synopsis in that page count.  The website is 
http://www.georgiaromancewriters.org/

What are you waiting on?
Please don't wait on me... I may not happen.

So I'm thinking I will begin to post my progress again.... Writing progress that is... The good or the ugly, I will post what I'm up to. June 10 is the deadline for the Maggie. Can I have 30 pages ready to go with a synopsis?


If you want to participate, share what you will be working on...


On a side note, I learned a friend of mine gave up on contests. She was frustrated with the feedback she received and decided to start querying agents. After about 10-15 rejections out of 50 that she was planning to query, she heard back from an agent and got an offer. How wonderful for her! Waving at Melanie!


What do you think? Query, Query, Query, or do Contests, Contests, Contests to secure success?


I think the first step is writing. You've got to write the best book you know how.


And we all know how that's going for me....

5 comments:

Misha Gerrick said...

I'm coming to the end of a looong time off from writing. I needed the break and it was wonderful, but I couldn't help but notice how much more satisfying it can be to write something "tangible" than to update twitter.

My priorities lie with editing for now, but I will update on that when I start in June. :-)

On the question of competing versus querying, I'm probably going to go for both.

See you around!

Lisa Jordan said...

I have four chapters left to complete my second book. Four chapters. You'd think I would be willing to hurry to finish. Well, I would except my muse has decided to take a vacation and didn't buy me a ticket. I have been swamped with other deadlines, so I'm not surprised that my creativity has dried up temporarily. This weekend I will be deadline free so I'm planning to knock out those four chapters! Then I'm taking off the month of June from writing to give my brain cells a rest.

Sarah Forgrave said...

I just saw the ACFW loop message about the Maggie. I'd love to enter, but I'm not a member of RWA. I might have to rectify that soon so I can jump in the pool. :)

As to your question, I'm pretty choosy about which contests I enter, usually based on the final round judges.

And I hope that inspiration comes to you soon! The words have started flowing for me lately, but I had to pump the well a little bit to get it going. :)

Christy LaShea said...

Thanks for all of your input! I love reading your comments and opinions!

Misha, so you're telling me there is light at the end of the tunnel?

Lisa, keep pushing through! You'll be on deadline for that 2nd book soon!

Sarah, I started off submitting to many contests, but have gotten choosier and like you, look at who the final round judge is. You know, I've got to renew RWA and it's so expensive! Hurts the purse! Try to enter the Maggie if you can!

Sherri Wilson Johnson said...

You are exactly like me. I have the ideas and then I sit down and nothing happens. So I hop on over to FB or Twitter and then an hour goes by! Ugh! I am currently writing my fourth novel (which is the sequel to one that is about to be published by OakTara) but I just can't stay motivated. I just finished homeschooling after 14 years and thought the juices would be flowing much more rapidly. Happy writing to you!!

Finalist!

I've always enjoyed reading historical novels. As a child I actually imagined living in the mid 1800s. My grandmother fed my imaginatio...