Author: elledesa

Hey 20’s, our time together is running out

So I might have forgotten that this little blog of mine existed. I’m mildly comforted by the fact that it’s practically a shout into the void for now… no shade to my close family and friend followers or the strangers who may come across this and somehow make my world feel smaller… cozier.

I’m rapidly approaching my 29th birthday and doing a lot of reflecting on my post-college adult life and my future. My goal is to walk a path of authenticity and take control over my own happiness. I pray for the strength and courage to make choices that serve me positively and to commit deeply to all that I cherish and all that brings light to my life and to the lives of those whom I care for. I want to live open, and honestly, and beautifully. I want my happiness to be so evident to my loved ones that if I were to die tomorrow, they could know, with no doubt, that I lived– or at the very least, worked very hard toward– my very best life.

Here’s my slice of #vulnerablepie …
(more…)

Changing Gears

Hello and happy Saturday!

The school year is off to a good start. I’m teaching some pretty cool kids biology, but good teaching means busy weeks. I’ve spent more weekends than I care to admit bumming around my apartment playing the procrastination game with papers that need grading. I’m happy to say that I am currently caught up (well, let’s say 95%) and life is good. I’ve even started planting the seeds for my next novel, which is insane because that means I’m getting to the point where I can imagine finishing my current work in progress (what!?). Also, another word on my students- I’ve told many of them over the last couple of years that I’m writing a book and can I just say how much it warms my hard when I see kids in the hall and they say, “Hey Ms. D! How’s your book coming? I can’t wait to read it!” Just, joy to the world. Little (big) sweeties.

On my last post I shared some last-half-of-the-year goals with you all and I think it’s about time for an update. Below are the goals I set for which my self-imposed deadline has passed:

~~Complete a second pass through my 6^th draft by 8/23~~ DONE! albeit not by that date

~~Send draft 6 to CP (Thanks Twitter) and Betas by 8/25~~ DONE! Again, not on time, but done

Draft a synopsis and query letter by 9/15 Not done, but in progress!

Have a list of at least 50 agents to query by 9/23 (I currently have 13) Not done, and I haven’t even tried, if I’m honest

So far I’ve met none of my goals on time, but that’s been pretty standard since I started this novel writing journey. The bright side is that I am, indeed, accomplishing the goals that I’ve set… just on an extended timeline. I am a bit disappointed in myself for literally spending ZERO time searching for more agents to query. That is a critical part of the process and I need to start devoting more time to it.

Sending my manuscript off to my critique partner and betas felt pretty momentous. It’s the first time people will be reading my book from start to finish, which is an exhilarating combination of scary and exciting. It also felt like a major transition point. I’ve been drafting for years and now I’m getting to the place where I have to seriously consider what comes after I decide I’ve polished my MS to the best of my ability. There is a very different vibe to this side of my journey. So far I’ve been focused on writing the best story I can. Now that I’m about 90% done with that part, I have to start thinking about how I can pitch my story in a way that will hook agents. It’s difficult, but I find the change of gears enjoyable. Summarize my 86,000 word novel in 500 words? Challenge accepted! …I’m currently failing the challenge, but I’ve got faith. I haven’t done much on the query side except play around with the first few sentences. It’s tough, but I’m glad to have a break from drafting and revising my MS.

I’ll check in again when I get feedback from my CP and betas. Hopefully that will set me up for my final draft… or maybe they will tell me my story is crap and I’ll spend another year revising… mysteries of life!

Happy Writing!

-ED

Follow me on Twitter: @ElleDesa_Writes

I’m on Pinterest, too: Planning My 1st Book , Writing Inspiration and Tips

6th Draft Done and Feeling Ambitious!

Hey Folks!

In January I set goals to blog more and get comfy with my then newly-created Twitter account. I’ve been successful with one out of the two. I bet you can guess which one was the fail (Hint: this is my first blog post in five months). Anyway, Twitter has been awesome. It has given me the opportunity to interact with other writers every single day. The “amwriting” hashtag is my happy place. It’s lovely to read little snippets from people working their way through the same general process as me. Likes, retweets, and replies are super encouraging on tough days. I love doling them out as much as I love to receive them. It’s a really supportive environment and a quick and easy way to keep myself accountable. Accountability is actually the reason I started this blog, but it’s a bit easier to disappear from here than it is from Twitter. It’s easy to make excuses about not having time to sit down and write a blog post, but I can’t say the same for 140 characters. Still, I’m keeping this blog around because I do enjoy having a space for the occasional long update… and update time it is!

Since I last posted I’ve written two more drafts of my WIP. I just finished up with draft six last night. I’ve truly come to love that feeling I get at the end of a draft. It still feels like a huge accomplishment, even 2.5 years in. I was particularly proud of myself because I made a pretty significant plot-tweak that forced me to change quite a bit at the end of my book. I haven’t given it a reread yet, but I can say that I felt very, very positive about the changes I made and the words that I wrote last night. Right now I’m feeling confident and excited about my next steps. Granted, tomorrow could be a completely different story, but I’ve learned to relish in these optimistic moments. They are the perfect time for goal setting and planning. I’ve come to notice that there are two times a year where I’m guaranteed to be feeling hopeful and ambitious: Just before the start of a new year, and just before the start of a new school year. I’m sure many people are familiar with that late December, early January “I can make changes in my life, I can be successful” vibe. Well, I’m a teacher and I get hit with that same vibe right before I go back to work in late July and it usually hangs around through the middle of August (this happened when I was a student as well). I try to take advantage of these time periods because there are surely a couple of rough patches throughout the year that are set on undoing any awesomeness I’d previously achieved.

In the spirit of goal-setting and high ambition, this morning I a made a list of writing-related things I’d like to achieve by early 2017 and some estimated dates by when I’d like to achieve them. Here’s a little sample:

Complete a second pass through my 6^th draft by 8/23

Send draft 6 to CP (Thanks Twitter) and Betas by 8/25

Draft a synopsis and query letter by 9/15

Have a list of at least 50 agents to query by 9/23 (I currently have 13)

Begin draft 7 upon receipt of feedback from Betas/CP

Complete draft 7 by 11/25

Polish MS, synopsis, and query letter by 12/30

Send out first batch of queries by 1/8

Guys I THRIVE off of goal setting so I can’t even tell you how happy this list makes me (and it really is a small sample). Of course, the hard part is actually meeting these goals. Things happen and I’m sure life will get in the way of at least a couple of them, but I try not to beat myself up too much about it… so long as I’m really trying (for instance, if I write draft 7 and decide my MS just isn’t ready to query, I won’t see that as a failure). It’s also nice that I have a full week off work in September and November, and two weeks off in December. School breaks are golden writing marathon/catch up weeks for me.

I’m going to take a mini-break from writing for the weekend. My draft needs to rest a bit before I dive back in anyway. I go back to work on Monday and need to get ready for the coming school year. Hopefully I can also knock a few books off my reading list.

Wishing you all a little mid-year spark of inspiration and ambition!

Happy Writing!

-ED

Follow me on Twitter: @ElleDesa_Writes

I’m on Pinterest, too: Planning My 1st Book , Writing Inspiration and Tips

Fourth Draft Complete

Hey Folks!

My first major writing goal of the year has been met. I wanted to have the fourth draft of my novel completed by 2/21, and I’ve brought it in four days early. I’m currently on winter break so I will likely devote the rest of my time off to putting a dent in draft five. Right now, I think draft five will be the last one. We shall see. If I don’t feel like it’s ready, I sure won’t be rushing to begin the querying process. That said, aside from a few notable things I want to update, I’m not sure continuing to fiddle with the story will add anything of value and I’ve heard that that is when it is time to stop, lest you go on tweaking until the end of time.

I’ve quite enjoyed the revision process. Getting the first draft out was like pulling teeth, but I’ve found loads of joy (okay, the kind of joy that is drizzled with frustration) in figuring out how to make that little story I wrote better. I love challenging and pushing myself.

Stats on draft four:

Word count: 82,000

Time to complete: 48 days

And just for fun… stats from draft 1:

Word count: 71,000

Time to complete: over 364 days

Goals for draft five:

Do not allow word count to exceed 83,000 (awesome if I can find a way to hack it back down to 80,000)

Finish by 4/6

Make it as awesome and polished as I can

Happy Writing!

-ED

Follow me on Twitter: @ElleDesa_Writes

I’m on Pinterest, too: Planning My 1st Book , Writing Inspiration and Tips

Reminiscing and Music Playlists

The first seeds of my WIP plot line were planted in March 2014. I had an outline completed by May, but it wasn’t until the following May that my outline had been successfully converted into a 70,000 word manuscript. Since then, my story has seen three more drafts and lots of changes (including 10,000 additional words).

As I approach the next stage of my novel writing journey, I often find myself reminiscing about the early days. It was teaching my 9th grade biology students a lesson on overpopulation that first sparked the idea for my book. I’d tried and failed to write novels before, so I decided to take a more organized approach this time. I started by loosely following Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake Method. I kept all my ideas in a notebook that I’m still writing in today. A few days ago I found myself reading through the whole thing. The experience was pretty surreal. It’s amazing to see how much I’ve learned over the past two years. It’s also great fun to see how far my plot has drifted from my original ideas, but at the same time, still rests on those original building blocks. I’ve got other fun stuff in that notebook too, one of my favorites being a list of songs that fit the vibe of my story. There are several tracks from The Civil Wars, Mumford & Sons, Alabama Shakes, and Citizen Cope. At some point I think I’ll actually download all the songs, but for now, I’m still adding to the list. Recent additions: Let it go- James Bay, Family and Genus – Shakey Graves, Broadripple is Burning – Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s, and Is This How You Feel? – The Preatures.

What artists or songs would make the ultimate music playlist for your story?

Happy Writing,

Current progress: Draft 4, 13/37 chapters revised

Making Time to Write When There Seems to Be So Little

First and foremost, I’d like to point out that, in my experience, there is always more time available to write than there seems to be – it’s about making a commitment and maximizing on opportunities. For instance, I’ve been on Christmas break for two weeks. I enjoyed lazy days filled with coffee, revision, and Downton Abbey, with no care given to the time of day. This translated to going to sleep at 3am and waking at 10 or 11 (plus a late afternoon nap or two). I forced myself to wake up early this Sunday morning to break the cycle and spent the day at work prepping for the new semester. I happily fell asleep at 9pm. Problem? It’s 2am and I’m wide awake. I could toss and turn in my bed, or watch TV, but I’m taking the opportunity to write a blog post instead. Perhaps by the time I’m done, I’ll be ready to squeeze in 3 more hours of sleep.

I point all this out to say, seize the opportunities as they arise. And when they don’t arise naturally, make them. Value your craft. Put it above those potentially time draining activities like watching TV or staring at the ceiling, wishing you were asleep. This is going to be more important for me than usual, as I enter my most chaotic time of year. As a teacher and lacrosse coach, I’ll be leaving home at 6:15 every weekday morning and not returning until at least 12 hours later. Game day? Make that about 15 hours. Throw in all the grading and planning many teachers must do at home and there is minimal time for anything but dinner and sleep on Monday through Friday evenings (it’s a good thing I like my job). I’m still amazed that I somehow managed to finish my first draft and complete the final semester of graduate school last spring without neglecting myself, cat, students, or team. That proves that it is indeed possible to find the time. Oh, and shout out to any teacher-coach-writer-moms /dads out there. I know you exist and WOW… It’s a struggle just caring for myself. Go you!

Anyway, here’s how it usually works out for me: I do very little writing, if any, Monday through Thursday. I choose to look at the writing and revision of my novel as another job. This job has a flexible schedule, but there are certain weekly requirements (writing and revision goals I’ve set in advance). I choose to spend the weekends (minus a few lacrosse filled Saturday’s) working to meet those requirements. The problem? Making time for friends and family. I end up turning down lots of invitations. Often times, “just lunch” turns into a five hour outing- an enjoyable outing, but one that most certainly has negative consequences on progress with my book. Does that mean I never see friends or family in the spring (semester)? No! I take advantage of breaks from school and 3 day weekends and I play catch up with my writing when I’ve indulged in a playful weekend. It helps that my friends and family know what this time of year is like for me and they understand what my writing means to me. Still, I appreciate that they also know when it’s time to forcibly draw the hermit out of her shell.

The take away? If you want it badly enough, you make it work. No exceptions. Repeat this to yourself over and over on tough days and you’ll look back with pride, wondering how the heck you managed it.

Happy writing… Whenever it is you make the time.

-ED

Follow me on Twitter: @ElleDesa_Writes

I’m on Pinterest, too: Planning My 1st Book , Writing Inspiration and Tips

I Think I’m Getting Close

I’ve spent the first couple days of 2016 alternating between working on the fourth draft of my current novel and learning all I can about how to build a platform. Something definitely feels different about this draft. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent too much time reading about querying, agents, and publishers, but I think I might be working on my last draft (well, let’s be real, second to last) before I try sending my baby off into world. Perhaps it was the subconscious realization of this that led me to begin my research about what comes next in the first place. Who knows, but it sure is exciting!

Yesterday I shared two of my goals for this year, but both of them had more to do with the “build a platform” side of things. I took some time this morning to outline goals for my WIP and ended up creating a list of all the things I’d like to achieve/do (deadlines included) between today and the end of June. What can I say? I’m a goal setter through and through and if I don’t hold myself accountable, who will? Plus, I’ve gotten really good at setting realistic, acheievable goals. Everything I wrote down is 100% doable, even with the busy schedule of a teacher/coach.

Highlights:

Finish draft 4 by 2/21
Complete final draft and polish by 4/6
Let manuscript rest about a month. Use that time to knock some books off my reading list and think about other projects
Read and revisit manuscript by 5/8, make note of problem areas
Revise by 5/31 (the last day of school)
Use first few weeks of summer vacation to write query letters etc.
Start sending out queries, maybe participate in a Twitter Pitch Party or Pitch Wars

Of course, I could finish draft 4 and decide the whole thing needs a complete overhaul, and if that happens, it happens! I’m not going to rush the process if my book isn’t ready. Maybe I’ll work ahead of schedule, maybe I’ll be forced to push back some of my personal deadlines, but either way, I take great joy in having a plan.

Happy writing, y’all.

-ED

Follow me on Twitter: @ElleDesa_Writes

I’m on Pinterest, too: Planning My 1st Book , Writing Inspiration and Tips

Building My Platform

I hope that you all enjoyed bringing in 2016 last night! My top three accomplishments of 2015 were coaching my lacrosse team to the state playoffs, getting my masters degree in biology, and writing the first three drafts of my current work in progress. I’d like to do all I can to have a similarly successful 2016. Now that I’ve proven to myself that I can commit to an idea deeply enough to write a book start to finish, my next goal is to truly put some effort into developing my platform. I still have more drafts to write and more polishing to do, but I’d like to start preparing for the next step. I set goals year round, but like so many others, I’d like to take advantage of the extra motivation that a new year brings.

My first two goals:

Develop a Twitter presence
- I had a personal twitter account, but I primarily used it to communicate with my students. Once Remind (an app that allows communication with students and parents through text messages) became a thing, I quit using Twitter as a teaching aid. Last night I made a new account that I would like to use to tweet about writing and connect with others in the industry.
Get serious about blogging
- I originally created this blog as a way to keep myself accountable and update friends and family on my writing progress. It’s time for my blog to do some growing up! It’s time for me to make connections and start writing about things that people not so close to me might be interested in reading. I have a few ideas, but cluelessness is my overwhelming emotion. Using Google for help has only served to amplify this emotion, but I felt that way when I first started writing my book, too. I have always found persistence to pay off.

What goals do you have for 2016? Who should I follow on Twitter? Post your social media info in the comments and I’ll find you!

-ED

My Twitter: @ElleDesa_Writes

I’m on Pinterest, too: Planning My 1st Book , Writing Inspiration and Tips

Hello… It’s me.

Sorry. I couldn’t resist the lame title, but it has been a while, and I feel like quite the stranger to WordPress. Last time I updated, I had just completed my second draft and now the completion of my third draft has sent me wandering back. Revision has been going well, but I still feel like there is so much to be done. That’s alright though. I plan to keep nurturing this thing until I feel I’ve done the best I can do. I know I can still make it better and that knowledge is exciting to me. Right now my sweet little WIP is sitting at about 80,000 words – that’s up 10,000 from draft one. I’m not overly concerned by that though. Draft one was seriously lacking some meat. It needed a little oomph. Now, I might have packed on a bit too much oomph (me and my book… have you guys ever eaten Christmas Crack? my goodness…), but I think my next plan for revision will trim away at some sloppy bits.

I printed out my first and second drafts, but I’ll skip the hard copy of three. I need to, or else I’m going to have a six foot stack of drafts. My plan is to save the draft as a PDF and, between today and tomorrow, just read it. I want to read my book without nitpicking every word (hahaha, right). After that I’m going to create a chapter by chapter outline. I did do that originally, before I ever started trying to throw paragraphs together, but a good bit has changed since then. I want to see a skeleton view of my story as it is now. Hopefully it will easily reveal problem areas and I can start making note of changes to be made for draft four (or rather, start making more notes of changes to be made). I’ve also played around with the Hemingway app and might make a little use of it as I revise.

I hope you all have a happy New Year filled with lots of lovely reading, writing, and dream chasing (and achieving!).

Second Draft Complete!

I completed the second draft of my very first book just a few minutes ago. It feels great, even despite the self-doubt that crept up as I approached this milestone. Once I realized that I was actually committed to my story enough to complete the second draft (I wasn’t so sure during a two month slump after editing the first 70 pages), I started reading up more on writing query letters, finding agents, and how to get your work published. I’m sure many of you know/can imagine how discouraging the information out there can be for a new writer. I took it all with a grain of salt at first though. I figured I would just write the best story I could and hope somebody would fall in love with it when it was done. That sounded just fine until I got about three quarters of the way through the second draft and realized my story would still need some MAJOR work before I could even think about writing a query letter. All these fixable, but numerous, plot issues starting springing up left and right. Just the thought of all the restructuring needed to fix the problems was daunting. Suddenly, all I could focus on is how long it would take me to polish my book, and how much doing so would throw off the lovely little outlining-to-publishing timeline I had in my head (as if I’ve actually stuck to one timeline I’ve made since I started). It took a reminder from a good friend to get me back in the right mindset. All he said was, “The goal should be to make the book as good as you can- not get it sold.” He’s right. I would love to worry about selling this book one day, but I’m not there yet. Right now, I need to put all of my energy into crafting a piece of fiction that I can be proud of. That way, whether I get a shot at sending my baby out into the world or not, I can still feel that sense of success.

It’s been about a year and half since I started this journey. I’m not sure how long this ride will be, but I sure am going to make the most of it.

Next up, draft three! I’ve got a plan for how to approach it… time to execute.

-ED

*My book is an apocalyptic/dystopian/scifi young adult novel currently sitting at about 78,000 words (306 pages)