P.J. Schnyder's Blog, page 17

Guest Post: Silent Pages

Silent Pages is another guest from Write On!, a blog for teen writers and for teen readers.

I invited these talented teens to share a little about themselves, why they are participating in NaNoWriMo, pros and cons they see about the writing challenge, fun ways they are participating like write-ins or online support and what they plan to do with their novels once the month is over. (With parental consent for those under 18)

After reading this post, I am very glad to have Silent Pages as a guest on my blog.

***

You can call me Silent Pages, I'm seventeen years old, and I've been doing NaNoWriMo since I was about twelve. I've also participated in/won Script Frenzy and Camp NaNoWriMo, and for the past two years I've been writing 50,000 words in fifteen days, instead of thirty.

In fact, last November I wrote two 50,000 word novels. Simultaneously. I'm currently revising one, and the other we shall never speak of again.

I think that last sentence says a lot about the process of NaNoWriMo. I'm a NaNo veteran. Mostly, I win — and defeat my mom, who's been my official rival ever since I started.

The question is, what do I win? What does anyone win?

After getting this question a lot over the years (from family, classmates, strangers I started rambling to in the street) I'm still not sure I have a legitimate answer.

There's the certificate. The web badges. The discounts on writing software, the bragging rights, and of course the gigantic bar of chocolate (now you know what the stakes are for Mom and I) but in the grand scheme of things, we don't seem to get a whole lot out of this crazy, hectic event.

Chances are, our NaNo novels are going to suck. Even if you decide to revise, they're going to take a whole lot of work. Is it really worth it to use up a whole month (and most of our sanity) on something that might land right in the trash bin?

But on the other hand, first drafts usually suck. Would it be so bad to get one out of the way? Even if your NaNo novel is the worst thing you've ever written, chances are you'll be able to find bits and pieces of usable material; gems stuck in the dirt, just waiting for a good polishing.

For thirty days, you were writing. Every day, no matter how busy you were. That might have been more than you were doing before. I think NaNoWriMo is what first got me writing on a regular basis. It's what got me to actually finish my stories, rather than fizzling out and moving on to something else.

Then there's the social aspect. The writing group my mom started is hopefully having a write-in on the first, and it'll be the first I've ever been to. I live in a rural area, where hard-core fiction writers often seem like a rare breed, so plunging into the challenge alongside the few who are around seems like it's going to be really cool. I'm also happily waiting for the word count updates, filling up my feeds on Twitter and assorted writers' websites. The word wars, the (pity) parties, and all the shared experiences. For one month, thousands of writers all over the world are going to be doing the same crazy, wonderful thing.

Which is very cool indeed.

I've got my rough outline for this year set. I'm dusting off one of my old secondary characters and telling her backstory in all its messy, tragic, literally insane entirety. By the end of it, she will hate me. But I'll have told her story, which is what I've wanted to do ever since I first wrote about her. I'll also have figured out the world of that series more. I'll probably launch into a round of revisions on the first book.

However my NaNo novel turns out, good or bad, I'll have my story down on paper.

After that, I'll start polishing.

- Silent Pages (www.probloguewriter.blogspot.com)

Guest Post: Susan Edwards – BOOK IN A WHAT??

Why Do Book in a Month?

When I told my husband that I was going to participate in NanoWriMO (Book in a Month), he asked why? I explained that I needed a push to start writing a new series and that the goal was to "vomit 50-60K words onto paper–to just push yourself to get as much of your story written, no matter how bad a draft it is.

Again, I got that "okkkaayyyy" look followed by another "why?" In his mind, there isn't a purpose or point to writing something that I couldn't sell and it is just a waste of time and energy.

So I explained that I wouldn't be tossing those words, that my participation in Nano wasn't a waste of time. It is a way of getting a rough draft of a book written, and that editing, rewriting and clean-up came after. As I was telling him of this, I was also reminding myself that the purpose of Nano is to get the foundation of my book written.

Normally, I write a chapter or two then go back. And edit, rewrite, edit some more, then I write another chapter or two and once again, I take a couple steps back. I call it Sue's Staircase To Success (or insanity!) method. Two steps up toward that goal of a finished book, then one step back, a few more up, a couple more back.

You see, for me, writing is like taffy pulling. The more you pull, the weaker the center gets. But once you smush it all back together and do a bit of kneading, you can start pulling again. And once more, the center grows thin and bits of stringy goo separate and dangle in thin air. For me, this method keeps me from losing sight of the goals, going down too many dead-end paths etc.

This method of writing makes succeeding in Nano's Book in a Month very difficult for me yet I sign p nearly every year. Why? Because any amount of words, any push forward on a book is a damn good thing.

Even knowing that I most likely won't get from beginning to end in a month, I'm more than satisfied that I'll be further along in the story than I would have had I not made a commitment to finish a book.

Plus, there is that something extra called a deadline. A deadline means I'll push myself, strive to put the old way of writing behind me and try my hardest to make my goal of a 50k rough first draft.

So this year's Nano is nearly upon me. I have a new book/series nearly plotted out and a few more days to do more pre-writing then come November, I'll put the housework on hold as much as I can, make the animals fend for themselves and the husband as well, or at least as much as I can. In fact, I'll put much of my life on hold and devote myself to putting words, lots and lots of words to paper.

It will be a challenge, especially this year because I have 4 of my backlist of books coming out in E-format so I'll be hip-deep in marketing and promotion and new to me this time around, Blogging!

Still, come December 1st, where will I be? A lot further toward typing those sweet, wonderful words The End. So wish me luck and for my fellow writers out there, the best of luck to you as well.

Links to purchase above titles Available 11/21/2011 through Amazon.com

White Dawn — http://tinyurl.com/3clgomd White Dusk — http://tinyurl.com/3keu8y3

White Shadows — http://tinyurl.com/3djbb3j White Wind — http://tinyurl.com/3ut3hhc

Guest Post: Nicole Peeler – Edumacating with Nano!

I first met Nicole at Authors After Dark. Nothing like sitting together on the sauciest panel of the con to break the ice. LOL.

Props to Nicole for the funniest readings of the hottest hankity pankity scenes even under pressure of a surprise camera crew and a boom microphone lowered to your face out of nowhere.

***

Hi folks! My name is Nicole Peeler and I write urban fantasy for Orbit Books.

But I'm also a professor of English literature and creative writing at Seton Hill, where I teach undergraduates and graduate students in our MFA in Popular Fiction.

In some ways, Nano seems like the opposite of the sort of thing an academic institution would support. After all, it encourages quantity over quality, in that it focuses on writing a lot rather than writing well. Nano also tells students to put aside their inner-editor, when it's that very inner-editor we're so often trying to hone in a classroom setting. Finally, it tells people they've "won," when all they've done is produced a mass of words. A monkey could, theoretically, "win" by typing in random letters with enough space breaks to make 50,000 "words."

So when my colleague, Lee McClain, and I decided to host Nanowrimo at our school as an extracurricular activity, we had a lot of "splainin" to do. First of all, we had to explain what Nanowrimo is, as it's not something many academics know about. After all, it's completely impossible to write an academic treatise at the pace of a few thousand words a day, as such writing requires research, data analysis, et cetera. Just the concept was difficult for some to process. And then, after we explained it, we had to defend it.

The fact is that, from the perspective of someone who has never written a novel, Nanowrimo sounds completely crazy. Why would anyone want to work that fast? What's the point of spending a month writing a pile of what could be steaming horse manure? Especially as you might have to spend six months turning that pile into anything resembling a "real" publishable work?

In the end, our critics asked the same questions all critics of Nano ask: What on Earth can be learned from this experience?

As a published author and professor, I recognize that Nano is not perfect. Obviously the process of revision is not only an important stage of the writing process, but is also arguably more difficult than rough-draft writing. Furthermore, authors need editors, both internal and external. Finally, 50,000 words isn't even a full length novel, but a novella.

So Nano isn't perfect, but it does impart some incredibly important lessons.

First of all, a few thousand words a day is not a lot for a "real" writer, especially of popular or genre fiction. In following New York Times Bestsellers like Richelle Mead or Rachel Caine on Twitter, one discovers that most days finds them writing a quota of 5,000 to 7,000 words a day, usually at least five days a week. And I mean that word, "quota": they have to write that many words to complete their contracts, which demand they write three books a year.

Second of all, there's a fine line between "inner editor" and "inner critic," and oftentimes that inner critic becomes that "inner excuse not to finish a manuscript." As one develops as a writer, gaining more experience in the craft and more confidence in one's own abilities, having a genuine "inner editor" becomes both more important and more realistic. But in those beginning stages of writing, when a new writer is inexperienced with how the process works, that inner voice is more often a critical bully than an editor. After all, one of the things we learn through writing a lot and finishing many projects is that first drafts are terrible. They're meant to be. They're the draft in which we get everything out, so that we can fix it. It's even on the label–rough draft–and yet it's so easy to let that first, unevolved inner critic tell us that the first draft should be genius, or it's worthless.

Long before I had my own inner editor beaten into its evolved state by my PhD supervisors, I would constantly sit down, write three lines, realize they were stupid, and so I'd stop. It was only much later, after I'd written numerous stupid first lines, that I learned the important lesson: "First first lines are supposed to be stupid." They get replaced later with slightly less stupid second and third first lines, and then a (hopefully brilliant) final first line. It's the same process with an entire draft.

So by forcing students not to listen to that inexperienced tyrannical inner critic who, let's face it, is used to being graded by people like me, it means that they can work through to a completed rough draft. And that's such an important thing to do, as a writer–to get to a stage where there's enough crappy writing to call it quits, so revisions can begin.

In other words, Nano, at least to me, is more about learning the process of writing, and the importance of finishing that rough draft, than it is about a completed product. That said, many Nano projects have resulted in publications, with the notable recent example of Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus.

And obviously I'd love it if one of my students came out of Nanowrimo with a huge success like Morgenstern's. But I think they're going to be a winner if they learn any of the following:

That being a writer means writing–a lot.
That rough drafts will be rough.
That the criteria for judging a rough draft a success is not its quality, but if its finished. For only then can revisions begin, and all work needs revising.
That inner critics should not be inner executioners, killing our ambitions, aspirations, or dreams
That the only way to combat such nasty inner critics is by forcing them to become inner editors through putting them to work. And they can't do any work till that rough draft is ready to revise. So complete that rough draft and then make them revise it.

And here's what my colleague, Lee, says about Nano:

"Nanowrimo gives students a fun, supportive environment in which to write more than they ever thought they could. The online component and local meetups make novel writing a social event, and the craziness of writing a whole novel in a month appeals to writers young and old who tend to be, well, extremists. I can't wait to get started!"

And here's what a student, Sarah Last, said about her experience completing Nanowrimo last year:

"Nanowrimo is an incredibly inspiring activity. I like that it has no restrictions as far as what is written, and that they send emails of encouragement throughout the entire month. I'm going to be working on the same novel I've been working on since I've been in high school–and I'm really eager to get more written."

Nanowrimo may not be the perfect vehicle to catapult students directly to publishing deals, but it teaches a number of important lessons, all of which are wrapped up in a fun, frenetic package.

That we get to eat pizza during our SHU Write-Ins is just the pepperoni on the pie.

Guest Post: Malakai M. Mohica

Malakai is a guest from Write On, a blog for teen writers and teen readers.

I invited teens from Write On to share why they write, participate in NaNoWriMo, and what they plan to do with their manuscripts and their writing in the future. (With Parental Consent from my under 18 guests)

***

Adult romance huh? That'd be an interesting niche to get into.

I'm 19 years old, a college student attending CSUN, a Creative Writing major, and have plans to hopefully start my own freelancing company by the time I graduate. I'm passionate about writing, and I've been freelancing for almost a year now, I've definitely gained a lot of experience and learned a lot in that time. I want to be able to write for a living, but I know that most writers can't make ends meat publishing fiction so that's why I'm focusing so hard on starting up a company of my own. I've got a number of book ideas, and I'm going to use NaNoWriMo to motivate myself to buckle down and bang one out, regardless of school, job, or freelancing – no excuses. I want to start a NaNoWriMo support group at CSUN, I'll be attending the kickoff in L.A., and I know there's a bunch of L.A. writers who meet every Monday at Denny's that I've been meaning to meet up with. As for what I'll do with the novel – I'll probably sit on it for a while, all proud of myself for finally writing it, and then I'll take a hacksaw to it and make it shine. Then I'll submit it to publisher's and try and use the few connections I've made to my advantage! But even if I don't get my first one published, I know it's not the end of the world – Stephen King didn't get his first one published until years after he'd made it big. All you can do is keep your head up and keep on writing, and then die. haha, just kidding

Malakai M. Mohica

[redacted]

Freelance & Ghostwriting Services

Guest Post: Robert C Roman

Disclaimer – Anything in parentheses was forced on me by Agatha and Penelope.  I take no responsibility for persons reading it while imbibing milk or less wholesome beverages.

When PJ asked me to write a guest post about NaNo, I was thrilled.  After all, I've been doing NaNo for the past six years, I completed it the past five, and I've even sponsored a number of young writers for NaNo YWP.  This year I've got nearly twenty writers at my high school writing with me, including two other teachers.  I'm just a NaNo fool, really.

So writing a blog post about NaNo ought to be easy, right?

OK, right now PJ is probably fuming, because the deadline for this is rapidly receding in the rear view, and it's still not done.  Kind of like I do NaNo, really…

Actually, that thought is a big part of what I'm writing about today; a big part of what NaNo does for me.  You see, like I implied in my recent post on why I teach, I'm generally overloaded.  I don't know whether it's a reputation for getting things done (nah), the quality of my work (maybe) or the fact that I'm a schmuck and won't say no (we have a winnah!), but folks tend to ask me to help them with stuff.  I'm not talking about guest posting / panel attending / I want to do it anyhow stuff, either.  I'm talking about stuff I normally wouldn't even consider doing, like going around collecting for retirement presents for people I don't know.

I mean, seriously, how am I going to convince someone to donate for that?  "Oh, yeah, she's really nice!  Do I know her?  Um, no, not really."  But for some reason, I was the guy.  It happens a lot.  It's the schmuck thing.

But I digress (I do that a lot)…

NaNo forces me to focus on my writing.  Whether I have ten other things on my plate or not, I have to sit down and write.  I may write in solid segments after the kids are asleep, or I may write in little snippets stolen from between classes at school, I write.

And I love it.

In October, I have to force myself to sit down and write.  By November, I'll wind up sneaking writing time whenever I can.  That's what NaNo does for me.  To paraphrase Edna Mode, it reminds me who I am and what I love to do (other than the Ur-Goth).

In fact, some of my best writing is done in the hectic month of November.  If you want to see what I wrote last November, head on over to Amazon or Decadent and check out my latest, What Not to Fear.  If you want to see what I'm writing this November…

You'll just have to wait for December.  ^_^

http://www.robertcroman.com/

Guest Post: Stephanie Beck – Leading Up To Nano

My fingers twitch, but I hold them back from hitting the 'new document' icon. The notebook beside me keeps growing with ideas and character sketches and location details, but I refuse to give them life. New characters chit chat in my head, but I refuse to listen.

October, in my world, creates a huge conflict of interests.

For the past two Novembers, I've participated in NanoWriMo. I happened by it early in my writing career and I thought, what the heck, I can do that. And I can! I love the challenge of putting so many words together in a single month. I spend less time networking and researching, but so much more time actually writing. David's Angel is the result of 2009's NanoWriMo and though I haven't submitted my 2010 work, I'm still thrilled with the horror story that emerged and will one day see the light of publication.

Nano presents a special difficulty for me. Because I'm a constant sort of writer, I have to force myself not to start anything new in October. Instead, I stick to finishing up other projects, editing, submitting and tying up loose ends. It's a good thing for me to do, since November is a time of so much focus on new writing.

But now, as I'm writing this blog with three weeks until the big start, I'm getting the new writing itch. I've got the story building, a ménage m/m/f that will be a follow up to my best seller, Poppy's Passions. I love these characters already, but I have to tell them 'no' at least for now. Their names have changed four times in the last few days. I wonder what they actually will be in November.

What does everyone else do to prepare for Nano?

I'll be sharing my Nano journey on Facebook and Twitter

www.facebook.com/StephanieBeckAuthor

www.twitter.com/StephBeck123

Come on over and share your Nano stories!

Guest Post: Allison Pang

Writing is a solitary pursuit, for the most part. We create characters and plots in our heads, and while we can share ideas with others, the fact of the matters is that we have to write it down in order to truly get our visions and stories out there.

Which sounds easy, but often isn't – after all, we're the only ones that can truly say what we want…and how we want.

Often we'll get swept into a brilliant piece of prose, the opening chapter or two of what we know will be the most epic story ever…and then it stutters and stops and we never look at it again. Maybe we get bored with the idea. Maybe we get stuck. Maybe we become afraid to keep going – after all, if we finish it, we'll have to do something with it, right? People might read it. They might think it stinks. Maybe we just get too busy. Or we make excuses day after day as to why we can't write today, but tomorrow? Oh, tomorrow we'll have time and we'll work *extra* hard.

And then tomorrow comes and the story continues to languish, because hey, we have *things* to do, right?

Sometimes writing is easy and the words just flow onto the page…but sometimes it's hard. Forcing yourself to push past the doubts and trivial excuses as to why you can't write is even harder.

And that's where something like NaNoWriMo comes in. It's a heady month of writing in groups – whether that's online, the library or a local coffee shop. There's something invigorating about knowing all of you are in the same boat, trying to work on the daily word-count and encouraging each other.

That being said, there are pros and cons that you should probably be aware of if you choose to embark on this month-long writing journey:

1)      50k does not a novel make. If you're writing adult fantasy/sci-fi in particular, you're looking at 90k at the lower end of the scale. YMMV depending on the genre, but just keep in mind you're most likely not going to have a completed novel by the end of the month.

2)      I tend to liken this sort of fast-paced writing akin to "Dirty Drafting." In general, you're not going to have time to go back and edit – and that's fine. Editing at this stage will most likely just slow you down. Your goal is word count right now, not perfect prose. It's better to make notes in the margin of what you'll want to change later – and then just pick up and write as if you'd made the change (assuming it's a major plot issue.)

3)      Outlines vs Pansting. Some of us need to have a complete road-map of where we want our story to go. Some of us prefer to wend as the story takes us. Because NaNoWriMo only takes place in a single month, it's probably best to have at least an idea of what sort of story you want to write. You don't want to be doing a lot of research in the limited time you have – many people spend the weeks beforehand planning everything out and attempting to get all the story details lined up.

4)      Editing. Along the same lines as above – by the time you're done with NaNoWriMo, you'll have 50k worth of novel.  No reason you can't keep up and finish the rest of the book in the next month or so – in which case you'll be going back to edit. And edit. And edit. Do NOT just wrap it up and attempt to self-publish or send it to an agent. Chances are it will need some form of reworking – after the craziness of the NaNoWriMo, it's not a bad thing to put the story aside for a least a few weeks and let your brain decompress. When you come back to it later, you'll be able to see some of the flaws with a clearer eye, as well as potentially find places it can easily be strengthened.

5)      Habit. NaNoWriMo is sometimes looked down up on by professional authors because it floods the writing world with "Wanna-bes." Which is true.  It's also true that even published authors were once "wanna-bes", so obviously there's hope.  But the thing is – if you want to be a writer, you have to write *every* day. (Or at least until you figure out a pace that works for you – there are some people who only write weekends…but they write 10,000 words per day…so YMMV). Even if it's just 1000 words a day. Even if it sucks. Use the insanity of NaNoWriMo to get you into this habit, because when it comes down to it, you are writing for *you.* Support groups are nice, but you won't always have them – use them as a resource, not a crutch.

Good luck and happy NaNoWriMo!

Guest Post: Diana Pharaoh Francis

I am delighted to welcome Diana Pharaoh Francis to my blog for NaNoWriMo.

My first introduction to her work was Path of Fate and I've enjoyed her books ever since. You can imagine the *squee* factor for me when she became a NaNo buddy last year just after I'd become published myself. She's down to earth and super friendly. I hope you'll enjoy her perspectives on NaNoWriMo!

***

Hi Everyone! And thanks to PJ for inviting me over for a visit. * makes self at home. * PJ asked me to talk a little bit about my experience of nano, and so I figured I'd just offer some of the things that I think about most when I think about nano.

But first, is everybody ready to be exhausted? Are you already exhausted? Four days into nano—are you tearing your hair out yet?

I'm afraid this isn't my first nano this year. In fact my professional writing life is very much like nano. That's because I have a day job and so when I get free to write, I have to go flat out, which I've already done several times this year. However, just at the moment, nano happens to coincide with some time to write and a deadline. So I am digging in like a tick on a fat dog.

When I first started writing, making even 500 words a day was a struggle. Now 2K is fairly easy and 3K has become a regular goal. Sometimes that works out well and sometimes it doesn't. I've learned that if I don't make it, I just have to keep going and not beat myself up. But it's one thing to warn you about. It's really easy to not hit your goal and then to either punish yourself for not doing well enough, or freeze up because obviously you can't do this. Strangle that voice. Beat it to a pulp.Whatever you write is stuff you didn't have. If it isn't what you wanted, so what? You're making words and frankly, it can take time to develop the habit of making words. Be kind to yourself.

The real secret of nano is that for this month you can submerge in and wallow in your story and characters. So don't let anything or anyone destroy it for you. Sink down in the mire and wriggle around and get it all up in your cracks and crevices, under your nails and in your hair. Revel in it. No negative voices allowed–not the ones in your head and not anybody else either.

The wonderful thing about nano is that it's freeing, and that for one month, writing is far less isolated than it normally is. For this month, you can talk about writing to more people than you can imagine: the guy at Subway, the girl next to you on the bus, the man at the grocery store buying cheese . . . . You can come to the nano site and talk about it. You can go to a thousand other sites and do the same. It will trend on twitter and facebook will be flooded with it. For this month, you are part of an enormous writing community. Wallow in that too. Reach out, make friends, commiserate and celebrate. It really isn't about the word count, it's about creating wonderful stories of every stripe.

One thing that I do that is helpful for me, is to participate in word wars. I do this throughout the year because I do find it so helpful and it's also nice to visit with other writers who are writing. Many of you may already know what word wards are, but in case you don't, word wars are when you get together with some other writers either in person or online, and you might chat a bit and then everyone writes for a designated period. I usually do a half hour. Then we all come back together and report our word counts.

In between wars, we cheer each other on, bitch, whine, freak out, and then go again. I find it to be an extraordinary useful tool for writing. The sense that people are waiting for word counts, that I need to produce in a half hour, and the competition of it really makes me come up with stuff. The fact that I have to do it fast unlocks my creativity. I don't have time to overthink it. If you think you might be interested, we do ours in a chatroom. Go here to find the link and post when you might be in the room. http://toonowrimo.livejournal.com/  Be sure to introduce yourself when you go into the room and say you're new. This place is available all year long. Just remember, it's a place to write, not a place to hang out. But you're welcome to come and join us. I'll be there a whole lot these next few weeks especially.

One last thing to remember: for a month, your house doesn't have to be that clean, you don't have to go out as much, and you can cut down on the TV and social life. For this one month, you can steal time and devote it to writing. No guilt.

Thanks for letting me hang out!

If you're interested in what I produce, come check out my website: www.dianapfrancis.com  You can read the first chapters from all my books plus some free stories. I'd love for you to come poke around. I do have a new book out in December, Shadow City, also. It's up for preorder if you're so inclined! (hint hint, nudge nudge, wink wink). Happy writing!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

coming out December 27th

Diana Pharaoh Francis

dpf@dianapfrancis.com

www.dianapfrancis.com

Twitter: @dianapfrancis

 

Available at Most Bookstores:

Horngate Witches:

Bitter Night

Crimson Wind

The Crosspointe Chronicles:

The Cipher

The Black Ship

The Turning Tide

The Hollow Crown

The Path Novels

Path of Fate

Path of Honor

Path of Blood

NaNoWriMo 2011

The year has flown by. Can you believe it's already the end of October?

For those who've been with me over the last year or two, you might know that I participate in National Novel Writing Month every year. It's a great event for adding a little kick to your writing habits. It's also a challenge writing 50000 words in a single month when that month includes a major holiday, one of THE biggest retail sales of the year and various other high maintenance events depending on your life.

For the month of November, I've arranged some special guests to talk about NaNoWriMo. They'll be sharing why they participate, some things they do for it and what they might be doing with their manuscript afterwards. There might even be some contests or giveaways, who knows? Join us, leave comments and share NaNoWriMo with us. It'll be fun.

Plus, I'll be making NaNoWriMo special this year by doing a trial run of the special beta version: Scrivener NaNo '11 Trial for Windows. I've been watching Scrivener for a couple of years now, but I'm a loyal AlienWare (pc) user. I was elated to see a beta version come out for Windows and what better time to give the software a go than November?

I'll do a post on what I thought about it in December, similar to my other tech posts.

The Next Step

In the last couple of weeks I've badgered a bunch of industry friends, buried a few under an avalanche of TMI, thought so hard my brain broke (there might even have been a few tears) and in general, made a huge decision – career changing one. Actually, maybe change isn't the right word. Perhaps we could call it evolution.

I've accepted an offer of representation from Louise Fury of the L. Perkins Agency.

Yes people, I have an agent.

OMG.

*breathes*

This will be a great partnership. I will work even harder and develop more as a writer as I put in what it takes to make this partnership successful. Plus, it's going to be fun.