I think I’ve seen this video in the past or maybe I the quote somewhere but I have found it again and I thought I would share. If you haven’t seen it watch it. It is from Ira Glass. It is not just advice for writers but to all people in creative work. If you’ve seen it, watch it again. Nothing like a friendly reminder that you’re not alone and you have to keep fighting for what you want. If you can’t watch it this second, (you’re reading this a work right now aren’t you. No judgement.) I have posted the text below. So be inspired. Don’t feel so alone. Keep fighting.
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
– Ira Glass
I have a few other quotes and speeches that help me trucking along. Stay tune for more advice form others that helps me keep going on a troublesome writing day. Do you have simple advice that keeps you writing?
Mother’s Day was busy. In the morning we planted the garden. Beefsteak and Big Boy tomatoes, red bell peppers, frying peppers, and eggplant have made it into the grown. Just like last year we pulled the weeds which wasn’t much compared to last year. Instead of adding manure this year we added peat moss. We spread the peat moss over the top of the area and was going to turn over the soil but the rotary tiller wasn’t working. After sometime we just decided to let the moss enter the soil naturally. We laid the seeping hose and pinned in the weed barrier fabric with staples. I planted the tomatoes in a row in the back, the peppers to the front near the stoop and eggplant next to the driveway. (Picture below). We left a space for the Romanian tomato pepper. I didn’t know I had to soak the seeds before planting so they ended up being late bloomers but from pictures below you can see they are growing strong and heathy. We are thinking of putting them in the grown this weekend or sometime next week. I was nerves after years of tilling that the worms present in the soil have been torn up. So we added some new worms to the soil. I didn’t take a picture but we also planted cucumbers and kale over in a small area of the yard.
This week we are helping the boyfriend’s grandma plant some of her veggies in her planter pots. So excited. I love gardening and I can’t wait for the veggies to start growing.
If you’ve been reading along you know I’ve been sending out queries. Most of the responses have been general rejection until a few weeks ago. Whenever a submission’s response pops into my inbox I am uncertain of the outcome. Crazy I know because I think if it was good news they would call me. But always, this little part of me hopes they accepted my story and want to schedule a meeting to discuss something along the lines of publishing. So far most submission responses have been generic rejections except for the last one. I finally got a rejection with some positive and the negative feedback.
It’s amazing how criticism can stop someone in their tracks. I was looking for more places to send, writing more stories, writing and promoting this blog when this email made me stop and think. Why am I writing? But it took me some time to continue on and just say, “this is one story. This isn’t the end.” Also, I didn’t expect this story to be wildly successful. Just something I thought could be out there on the shelf of a bookstore or in someone own personal collection.
It still can be. I have decided not to quit on this story and it’s characters. While, this was just this one person’s criticism there have been quite a few rejections and maybe this is what the others are thinking. Maybe it was what I was thinking deep down. As a writer I think I always knew something was off. It’s hard to see being so close to the story. Handing it off isn’t always easy either. Friends and families just give a once over and gush over the perfect. I was thinking of reading and editing one more time. Seeing if the narrative voice does need tweaking. I’ve been away from this character for some time. Fresh eyes can be all that’s need to make this story everything I know it can be. Even if, in the future, it’s not published I don’t think this was ever a waste of time. I’ve learned so much. Here I go, back to the writing board.
Should I buy the hardcover additions of The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Series? The debate still lives in my mind. And an update on the box set available in October is a price decrease from $57 to $51. Barnes & Noble has even a better deal. The box set is only $37. Thanks B&N for making my decision a lot easier. In this post, to help my brain, I will review the second book in the series Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Talyor. If you haven’t read the first, warning, just the synopsis may give away some spoilers. Read ahead at your own risk.
Karou has finally learned about her past. She know knows where she comes from and who she is. Karou’s stories continues but she sets out without her family or friends. Karou must work for The White Wolf the same wolf that ended her last life. She uses the skill she learned from Brimstone to make monsters to fight in the Wolf’s army. Her once-beloved, Akiva, tries to undo some of the wrong of his past and ties to save as many as he can.
I still love the wonderful unique prose. The first half of the book was slow and made it hard to get into until it wasn’t. The world building is clear and vivid. The character descriptions of half human/ half beast is imaginative. Still the same engaging characters and a few new interesting introductions. Taylor has gift by making the reader feel the defeat of her character’s and their situation but as the story plays out the reader can feel the main characters, Karou and Akiva, grow from followers to leaders. Love how this young adult novel has found a grown-up voice with the cold truth of the ugly side of war. This story is not all daggers and pain. Taylor still manages to add some humor, romance, and hope. What I loved about this story is that this is not just about star crossed lovers but the depth to save a people, save two worlds, and save themselves.
I have hit the 100 followers mark on this WordPress blog. Thank you to all my followers for reading, liking, and commenting. I started this blog a little over a year ago and I can’t believe how much it has grown since I started. I can’t believe how much I have grown. I have seen my writing improve and I have seen the weeks I struggled with words and finding topics to talk about. I greatly appreciate all of you. For some 100 followers means nothing. Especially the ones that have 1000’s but for me I am shocked, amazed, and happy. Also, would like to thank all the follower on my other platforms. Just because Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter haven’t reached a easy round number doesn’t mean I don’t love you any less. You are all my favorites.Thank You! I hope to continue to post once a week so here’s to many more posts in the future and many more Thanks.
I’m trying to keep the spending down. For me this isn’t hard when it comes to things like cloths or extracurricular activities but books, they are my spending weakness. I’ve been doing well lately. I have mostly borrowed from the library and friends. There hasn’t been too many books I’ve come across I feel I need to own. I’ve been pretty happy reading them and giving them back. I’m very proud when I’m able to put down the books I find in book stores and simply check it out of the library. It has saved space on my bookshelves already overflowing with read and to-read copies of dozens of books. I now have a set of books I feel I need to own and in hardcover no less.
The book series is The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. I love the story, the characters, the settings, and the cover art. I’ve tried to win them in Goodreads giveaways but I’ve had no luck. The good news, the hardcover is still available for the first book in the series. Since this thought has been on my mind since the release of the third novel in the series I decided to look up the damage this purchase would cost my wallet and the outlook is not good. I understand what I wanted but it still hurts when you see the $56 dollar price tag. But that total was all the individual books added to the cart. Next, I looked up to see if they have a box set. It looks like the box set is not out yet and not planned to be released until late October but with a $52 tag. I think I will wait and keep an eye on the price of the box set to see if it decreases before October. Maybe by October my wallet will be a bit better, the set will be somewhat cheaper and I can justify a great series on my bookshelf. If you haven’t read The Daughter of Smoke and Bone series my short review is below of why I think it’s worth the read.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone Box Set
I came across this book because of Vaginal Fantasy, a book club introducing me to romance genre books with strong female leads in the urban fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction. The first book is calledThe Daughter of Smoke and Boneand as I said above it is by Laini Taylor. This story is about Karou, a blue haired, tattooed, knows multiple of languages, art student, and orphan living in Prague. To her sassy, sarcastic, lovable best friend, Zusana, Karou is a girl who draws amazing monsters in a sketch book. What Zusana doesn’t know is Karou’s demons are real and the only family she has known. Karou is just trying to get over her crummy ex-boyfriend and do her job, collect teeth for her beast like foster father Brimstone. As Black Hand prints start showing up on Brimstone’s portal doors in cities around the world what comes to past is a history with no good or evil but a muddled gray of sides.
This book is labeled young adult but I believe it can appeal to an adult audience. The author has an impeccable writing style. The world building and setting is clear, imaginative, and beautiful. The characters are unique. I liked Karou, Brimstone, and the shop full of teeth. You know that Karou’s job to collect teeth is serious business when it is on the black market in exchange for wishes. Taylor doesn’t disappoint when the reader learns what the teeth are being used for. The romance that develops in the second half of the narrative slows down the book a bit but the mystery of the characters and their pass is what kept me reading. When the story ended I was left with more questions and looking forward to the sequel.
Favorite Quote:
“You were true to her, even if she was not to you. Never repent of your own goodness, child. To stay true in the face of evil is a feat of great strength.”
“Strength,” she said with a little laugh. “I gave her strength, and look what she did with it.”
I want to thank Felicia Day, Veronica Belmont, Kiala Kazebee and Bonnie Burton (the girls from Vaginal Fantasy) for opening my mind to wonderful books I would have missed out on like this one. I’ll write a review for the second book in the series, Day of Blood & Starlight next week. Maybe this will help me make some bookshelf decisions by then.
When I had the money some days I would go to the MET. I would find a favorite painting, statue, or place, sit in front of it and write. Sometimes it was just a journal entry, an idea or a story. Sometimes it was nothing. When it was a story it was usually about what I stared at. I loved those days and miss them. I would go by myself. I could take the day and wonder wherever I wanted. There was no worry it wasn’t what someone else wanted to do. All that mattered was what my mind and writing hand wanted to do. Sometimes I would spend hours in one section or at one painting. But sometimes if the day was nice it was through Central Park for some nature inspiration. I hoped nothing would become to familiar or boring. That my mind would clear and my writing would take off. Sometimes I could write pages upon pages. The worst days were when no ink would leave the pen tip.
I looked for someplace closer. I use to write at the Starbucks by me. It was a long walk, and a noisy place. Before people yell at me for not supporting a nearby cute Mom and Pop cafe there isn’t one near me. Still this Starbucks feels like a homey cafe. Maybe it’s the small town feel surrounded area or the baristas who seem to know many customers that come in by name and their drink. All that’s missing is the to stay (London style) ceramic mugs. I liked the ambient cafe noise. I liked hearing the sound of steam hitting the milk as coffee foam was made and the people around me working or talking. In the cafe I could people watch. I liked catching meet and greets, business deals taking place, the old men playing chess or children and teenagers giggling and laughing just a little to loud. I liked being able to get any type of coffee or tea creation. Probably the one thing I never went for that most did was the free WiFi. I found it easy to shut off Internet access and write. I stopped going because of bad weather, calorie intake, and maybe that one nosy interrupting person.
Next I tried the library. It seems it has been the one place I have always had trouble writing. In one library I couldn’t get any work done. One of the Assistant Librarians knew me from around the neighborhood and would love to chat with me. He was loud for the library and even said embarrassing, inappropriate things that got looks from other patrons and workers. Needless to say it made me feel uncomfortable. I tried to be polite but it was an every visit occurrence so I stop going to that location and tried another. I realized from another library location I have always believed libraries are too quiet. Hearing every turn of a page can be maddening when I’m trying to write. I look up from the screen with every movement.
I think the best writing I do is when I’m on vacation or away. A new city, place, and constant stimulation. I know what I have to write about and the short amount of time I have to write. It’s not story writing but journal writing and who cares? I write like a fiend. (Sorry for the cliche). I don’t care about imperfections just as long as I get everything I want to remember down. The air, sights, sounds, and the events of the day.
Lately I’ve been writing from home. I make my own tea and use the Coffitivity or Rainy Cafe website to get the ambient sound I need to write. When I need to leave I take a walk around the block or to the dog park to clear my mind. It always helps to watch my dog, Lana, run free from the leash and tumble around with her doggy friends.
Do you find going someplace helps you write? What place has inspired you? Or do you need complete silence to get words down on the page?
Ever read other people’s writing and think, “They are so much better than me. I’m hopeless. I should give up.” I’m not talking about strangers I’m talking about friends. For me writing is a struggle but they can write with such ease. They write and the first draft makes sense. They can sit down and write pages upon pages of a story with a word count over the thousands. Worst are the ones who never thought to write but they sit down and bang out a story. How much that hurts? It’s not their fault. I have been trying to be more confidence about by goals to be a writer maybe even an author. Sometimes I just don’t feel smart enough to succeed. I was always struggling through school. And while my mother always said do the best I could and didn’t pressure me to get top marks I pushed myself to be a good student. I got A’s in some subjects but no matter how much I tried I did get D’s and even F’s sometimes. Test for the classes I may have loved weren’t always kind. Sometimes the teacher and tutors weren’t helpful too. I can remember the negative as well as the positive but it is the negative I still fight against.
I had to keep reminding myself that just because that other student was a top student didn’t mean they would be successful. Hell, many now seem to have normal 9-5 jobs they hate and didn’t become famous or do better than me. But I am still reminded by the mean things that followed me through life. The tutor that told me, “You can’t expect to become a writer if you’re a bad speller.” Or the teachers who didn’t want me in their class because I was a “slow” student and would never “understand Shakespeare”. The adviser who told me my grades would never cut it in the profession I wanted and I should think about changing majors. The customers who were shocked I could read let alone read novels and told me I must be stupid because I was working as a cashier. Or the stranger at Starbucks that told me my goal for writing as an author was unrealistic. He said something like I shouldn’t expect to coast through life and I either had to get a job or married and pregnant because I’m not getting any younger. People.
I tried to not let it get me down. I tried to find ways around my weaknesses. At my essay exams I started becoming the Thesaurus queen so I could insert similar words to the ones I couldn’t spell. I went to the library and checked out Shakespeare plays and sonnets. I found I understood Shakespeare and even loved some I read. The adviser I went to in college didn’t help me and didn’t give me good advise but I didn’t fine out until I left college missing a few classes that would have looked good on my real world resume. So I try to hold on to the fact that I’m over coming and fighting to keep doing what I love no matter the “should’s” or “should nots” from strangers and listen to my loved ones who are great at incurring. I will keep going and try to fight for my passion.
All who read this, if you feel the need to say something to strangers’ maybe say nothing at all. You may mean well but when you don’t know the whole story you could be hurting someone. If you’re a teacher or tutor encourage and help a student learn. It may not be that you didn’t teach it right it could be the student has a different way of learning.
Everyday I fight the negative thoughts that have burrowed deep. I will try not to let hurtful words from memories bring me down today or in the future. I will try not to get angry with the ones who write with structure and ease because it’s not there fault I see their ease at writing as my failure. After all most of my doubts are only sticking with me because of my mind’s finger is on the repeat button. Guaranteed on the occasion you talk to your friends about their writing insecurities they will tell you they feel the same about other writer’s they have read.
Spring is here. It’s time for new growth. Time to get out of the house, feel the sun and warmth and shake the negative. Maybe feel inspired to write even if it’s not perfect…ever.
Last Monday through Thursday I did another week of a prompt a day and I think I was successful. Today I didn’t do a prompt. But today I felt I didn’t want to keep working on stories that may go nowhere. I wanted to start working on some ideas I have shaking around in my head. Today I started work on my short story. I think it’s the Irish spirit inspiring me to finally start since I want it to be a story about Irish folklore and fairies. Also, I’m hoping to start an outline for another story I thought up after a strange dream. Finally I hope to start writing my novel somewhere in between all of that. Who knows if publishing will ever come to past but nothing will get published if there is nothing written down to publish. So I write or do things writing related. Outlining, promoting, or brain storming.
Thursday night into Friday morning I slept a only few hours. I couldn’t find the energy to get my brain to form words on paper. Really, I tried, but I could barely form words into speech. I promoted my Facebook Author page to friends. I think it was a successful writing day since I worked on something writing related and my page has 28 likes as I’m typing this so YAY! And more positive news is I still have some open queries to agents floating around so my little guy still has a chance. I guess what I’m saying is I’m trying to make my life more about writing. Even on the days my mind tries to fight my positive progress. Grabbing at straws? Maybe. But nothing is going to happen without practice and forward motion.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all and Irish blessing all around.
I’ve been doing well writing my daily prompts. I’ve been posting my progress and what prompts I use on my Twitter and Facebook. If you haven’t been following here is a review of the prompts I used the last few days, word count, and the process I’ve noticed in my writing. I’m thinking if you read it and see a prompt you like you can try it. I’ve been googling a lot of these prompts from different sites and generators. Also, the prompts used I write about a page, singled space on Word. I prefer to type my prompts and I do go over the page mark when I’m on a roll with my story. I figure this isn’t college so I can bend the rules since they are my rules.
I won’t go over Friday and Monday’s prompts other then to tell you what they were. My last post I wrote about the writing progress and my word count but I never posted the prompts that gave me inspiration.
Friday’s prompt was, “The city burned, fire lighting up the night sky.” and Monday’s was, “Write a favorite outdoor childhood memory. First person, present tense.”
Tuesday was, “He wanted her job and it would be easy enough to take.” I had a little trouble staying in third person. I kept catching myself drifting into first. I did write a nice (clique) twist at the end but I did write 670 words.
Wednesday I wrote 801 words using “Outside the cabin, the wind howled through the trees, while inside, the old woman’s fire was nearly out.” It was a great prompt. I went the horror route on this one. It is just so fun to put a sweet looking old lady in a creepy cabin. My writing was more focused.
Thursday I wrote 592 words with the prompt that started, “She kept checking her phone and email, wishing someone would make contact.” This prompt’s story line ending up being based some feeling had a few years ago. It was quite therapeutic but I couldn’t for me write the ending.
And today I ended the week strong with 774 words. The writing prompt was about a character stuck in a zombie apocalypse. Another fun, imaginative exercise. My writing is becoming more distributive but next week I have to work on sense of smell. I see my characters are describing their feels and hearing scary things but they haven’t smelled much. I want to work on a clear picture of surroundings that readers can see.
SO that’s it. Do you think you will try any of these prompts? Do you know any good prompts you think I should try? I would love to here from you.
Random Thoughts 
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