That word is “writerly.” As in, “I’m thinking about writerly things tonight.”
That’s true.
I’m at the end of this novel of mine, and I quite like how it’s turned out. I’m kind of stuck on this character my book has just met. This is how my character Jay talks about him when he enters the room:

A tall man walks through them, and he’s all angles with bony fingers and a sharp, beaklike nose. He has long, greasy brown hair tied up behind his neck and bright blue eyes. I scan him up and down, my stomach turning over. Despite his long-sleeved button up, detailed black tattoo designs peek out past his wrists towards the tops of his hands.
“Joan.” is all he says, but his voice is husky, which startles me a little. I guess I expected something comical, like an annoying squeaky voice, and I don’t really want there to be anything appealing about him. At the sound of her name, Joan softens visibly. I can only see her from behind, but I bet she’s giving him that eerie smile of hers.
I focus my eyes back on the man with all the edges. He’s staring at our feet, and I bet he thinks I’m wearing shoes, too: they’ve gotten pretty dirty.

Ugh, that sure is choppy. Wrote that on a car ride in the dark yesterday. (That’s actually a good place to write, as you don’t get the chance to edit at all.)

I plan to edit this novel, maybe bug some literary agents with it. (I’ve been considering teaming up with someone. We’ll see how that works out. Phew.)
Since I’m already getting ahead of myself, I’m feeling stuck between two different projects. I’d really like to write a young adult novel (young-young adult, towards the preteen crowd), but I already have something in mind that takes place a long time after this novel is written. Luckily, you don’t need to read one to enjoy the other, so I consider it a pretty realistic project to start on.
Harumph. I’m unsure. I think I’m going to go with what was planned, and push back my Y-Y-A for later.
I feel like I don’t have nearly enough time to write everything I want to–my gosh, I’m not even twenty yet. Calm down, Katie.

More later.

I decided at the last moment to participate in NaNoWriMo this year, and I’m so excited with how I’m doing.
(Gloat gloat gloat)
I’ve never thought it would work for me, but since I’ve had a painfully unproductive month or two, I decided, “what the heck.”
With my slightly competitive and very stubborn nature (I mean that in the best way possible), plus the support of other writers going through the same grueling process, I participated in a 10k “sprint” tonight, and finished with two minutes to spare.
That brings me up to a good lead; if something happens and I can’t write for a day, in other words, I won’t be ruined. (Still, let’s hope for the best and that I’ll keep working hard each day.)
Is anyone else finding success in NaNoWriMo this early on? Feel free to add a comment or NaNo message me. (I have the same username due to my extreme creativity)

Updates soon, my friends. Sleep time is now.
(I have things to talk about! Life! School! The publishing world and my experiences with it!)

I’m not getting work done tonight.

I told myself I’d write from 8:30-10:00, which is when Andrew calls, but it’s just my mom and I at home, and she wants me to keep her company, and…
And it ain’t working. If I don’t have English 221 homework tomorrow, I’ll do some writing in my free hour. If I didn’t love my laptop so much, I’d bring it with me on campus, but I don’t trust the kiddos there. -.-
Either way, I’ll get work done…
Ugh. I’m going to a movie tomorrow. Why do people want to spend time with me and stuff?
Tomorrow I’ll get /some/ work done. I’ll sneak it in somewhere. I’ve gotta.
And I’ll write a paragraph tonight. Just to keep me fresh on it.

It doesn’t help that this work is completely out of my usual niche. It’s important for me to try new things and not become stagnant, but it makes the writing process a lot more intimidating.
I’m waiting for response letters from the publishing houses I contacted. It’s insane, thinking I’ll have to wait four or five more months to get even a rejection. But…well, that’s the business, I suppose.

In your opinion, do you think fiction writers should always contact agents before sending to publishers? Or, if you have a blog written about this topic, would you comment and leave me a link?

In other news, the research I’m doing for this book is hilarious. In my favorites are pages about:
-The Doomsday Vault
-How viruses work
-Haitian voodoo
-Washington D.C. weather, landmarks etc. (even though I’ve been there, xD)
-US maps and mapquest pages

Any ideas as to what the heck it’s about? XD
Some of the pages are just to learn more about the genre and basic idea. Does anyone else know about The Doomsday Vault? I had no idea. Really fascinating.

Anyone else find themselves clinging to the internet as if it were a lifejacket?

My boyfriend just went off to school. When he was here, I’d go to class, come home, hurry to finish my homework, then hang out with him. When he left, I poured myself into my work because I had no other chance.

When I’m not busy, I get less done. 

I just sent my manuscript out on Tuesday. Today, I should be getting back to work on my new piece (which I am indeed very excited about; more on that later), but I find myself letting minutes tick by while getting nothing done.
Worst of all, doing nothing puts me in a bad mood. I get really down if I’m stagnant for too long.
Anyone have good tips for focusing? I’m going to make myself something to eat and then force myself into working. It just seems tough, sometimes, with the internet, friends, television, etc. keeping my attention.

So. I’ve printed out almost everything I need to mail out- all’s left now is addressing those SASE and packaging it all up.

In other news, I feel like collapsing. I’ve had a great weekend, only now it’s hit a barrier at high speed. Ugh.

I’m not sure if I’ll get to see my boyfriend again before he goes. After tonight, I mean. (Final Destination!) I’m really tired, overly concerned about his new school, and bummed about my next four months. (He’ll be closer next semester. It’s complicated.)

The two people I’ve loved hanging with for years both so happen to be entering relationships this week. (Not with each other.)  My friend Natalie just got her first kiss and is completely smitten with her new boyfriend (he sounds nice), and Austin “may or may not, but most likely may” be in a relationship with this incredibly sweet girl named Emily by the end of this week.

Point is, as soon as my boyfriend can’t be with me, my friends become incredibly occupied.

It’s terrible. I keep feeling like I could burst into tears. I started crying while saying prayers in church today. Andrew (my wonderful boyfriend) didn’t see me. I made sure. He’s sad enough about leaving, and he won’t get to go to church with me for a long time.

Sigh. I have to leave for the movies soon. I hate feeling like I just want to fall asleep until things get better. (If I did, I’d miss my last interactions with my boyfriend for four months.)

Good news is I’ll get back to writing soon. I’ve been editing/sending out for way too long. I’m ready for the nitty gritty.

Best wishes,

Katie

This will be a quick post, since I’ve promised myself I’ll send out my manuscript with the company of my boyfriend, who leaves for school on Wednesday. Therefore, I need to finish that blasted plot summary and package/send the whole shabang.

This being my last week with my boyfriend for a few months, please forgive my posting lag. I’ll have a lot more time on my hands late next week, I’m afraid.

All’s well, though. He’ll be back for Thanksgiving. I’ll miss him like crazy (understatement), but I’ve homework, housework, karate class, and writing to keep me busy. Did I mention I’m going to miss him like crazy?

How’s it going for all of you in the writing world? Found any inspiration as of late?

Hey all.

Whether you’ve stumbled across this page or been forced here (wouldn’t that be strange?), I offer you a hearty welcome.

I’m writing this blog in order to meet up and chat with other writers (or other interested folks!) about life, the writing craft, the publishing world, and anything else that might come up.

I’m new to WordPress, so give me a break. ^^ Working on changing the header/css, only my laptop has no editing program and I haven’t been able to find the time thus far.

Today is Saturday, and I’ve spent the day scrapbooking when I should have been writing. (It was important, though! This was high-priority scrapbooking, I assure you.)

I’m currently finishing up query letters for my first novel and writing out a plot summary required by one of the publishing houses I’m sending to. I must say: query letters are slow-going, but plot summaries are torture! It’s like taking all your work and stripping all of the dialogue, description, and any other oomph from it in order to get your point across.

Does anyone have any stories or experience with query letters/plot summaries?

I bought my 2010 Writer’s Market Guide. If I ever have trouble reaching the pedals, I know what I’ll sit on.