Kelly Hashway's Blog, page 122

Welcome!

Welcome to my new YA and MG site. I'll be blogging here as well as from my children's author site , but this site will focus on my young adult and middle grade novels. Since my other site was being taken over by my works for younger readers, I wanted a place that focused on my older readers, and this is it.

I'll be blogging every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Topics will focus on YA & MG books and writing for these age groups.

I hope you enjoy the new site. I'll be adding to it as I go, so stay tuned for more info on my works in progress.

Thanks for dropping by!

A Year of Great Books

Since Thanksgiving is over and the end of the year is fast approaching--let's face it, this part of the year flies by--I thought I'd take the time to reflect on some of the great books I've read this year.

Now, this is not a complete list of what I've read. These are just the books that I loved the best. And not all released in 2011. I've been playing catch up on my TBR list. So here it is.

*If you click on the cover, it will take you to the book on Amazon.

And here are some books I'm looking forward to reading since I have them in wait or they are on my birthday/Christmas lists:

What books have you loved this year?

A Whole Lot of Thanks

It's Thanksgiving Eve, and I have to take the time to be thankful for all the great things 2011 has brought me. Here they are, in no particular order.

My agent  I signed with my agent at the beginning of the year, and I am so thankful for Lauren's guidance in my writing career. She inspires me, motivates me, pushes me to be a better writer, and looks out for my best interest.My writer friends  I've met so many amazing writers, including my agency sisters. I value you all. The writing community is awesome, and I couldn't be happier or more thankful to be part of it.My picture books  This year brought three picture books for me and several other picture book contracts. Seeing books I wrote in stores is such a great feeling and one I'll never take for granted.My editing clients  I have some of the best editing clients who keep me busy and let me enjoy the incredible stories they write. They make me love my job.My family  (Like I said, these aren't in any order.) I have an extrememly supportive family. They have shared my tears--both of sadness and joy. They've encouraged me and given me many needed hugs.I could keep going, but I'm going to stop there for now because I want to hear from you. What are you thankful for?

Monday Mishmash 11/21

Happy Monday! Here's what's on my mind today:

Thanksgiving  I don't really like Thanksgiving food, and it makes me sad that the day has become more about food than being thankful. Look for my Wednesday post to see all the things I'm thankful for this year.Reading  I cringed this weekend when I realized I've been reading the same two books for a while now. It has nothing to do with the books. I like them both. I've just been busy editing for clients, revising my WIP, and planning a new manuscript.Black Friday  I have never gone shopping on Black Friday. I'm a Cyber Monday person instead. I hate lines and traffic. No shopping this Friday for me.New Novel Idea  I'm working on a new idea. The opening of the book came to me in a rush. I had an opening line and a general plot, but no specifics. I'm working them out now, and I'm pretty excited about it.Promotion  I have to admit I've been slacking lately on self-promotion. I have a signing coming up and am scheduling a school visit, but I need to work more on this.That's it for me. What's on your mind today? 

Tense About Tenses

I started a new WIP this past weekend. It's been nagging me, and even though I'm revising a manuscript, this idea demanded I write the opening. So I gave in. When the idea came to me, I immediately thought it had to be written in present tense. Okay, no biggie, right? Wrong.

I tried to write this in present tense. It started out that way. But every once in a while, I realized I wasn't in present tense anymore. I was in past tense. I couldn't help it. Past tense is what I'm good at. Want to know the funny thing? Back when I first got into writing novels, I wrote a book in present tense. I loved present tense. Now I can't write it.

I love the story quality of past tense. And I have a thing against the word "say". I don't know what it is, but I dislike the word. Yet I can read books in present tense with no problem. I read He Loves Me... He Loves You Not by my amazing agent, Lauren Hammond, and I loved it. But I can't write it.

Do you have a tense you stick with in all your manuscripts? Can you write both?

Did I Really Write That?

I'm revising one of my YA manuscripts right now, and part of my process is to look for words that make me cringe. Yes, cringe. I'm talking about words better left unsaid. Confused yet? Here are a few I look for and almost always delete:

Then - Think about this for a second. Do you really need the word then? Sentence position alone will show this word without saying it. Also common sense factors in. (I'm not referring to "If this, then that" type sentences. Totally different story. I only mean the word then being used to show a sequence of events.)Just - I'm totally guilty of overusing this word in my drafts. And in most cases, the word serves no purpose in my sentence. Delete.It was/There were - Beginning sentences with these words is weak writing. In most cases, you can delete them. If not, reword the sentence. Ex: There was no way I was going for that!  or No way was I going for that!  The latter is better.That - In many cases, this word can be deleted. Make sure your sentence needs it. If not, delete.What words do you look for during revisions and find yourself deleting the most?

Monday Mishmash 11/14

Happy Monday, everyone! Here's what's on my mind today:

Skype Author Network  Anyone know anything about this? I really want to get into Skype author visits and saw this mentioned on a blog. Anyone use it or know someone who does?Holiday Cards  I already have my holiday cards printed up and ready to go. I guess I should wait until after Thanksgiving to send them though, huh? LOLDentist  I have a dentist appointment on Tuesday, and I'm worried. Darn Laffy Taffy! Why do you have to taste so good? Someone needs to take this stuff away from me.Fan Mail  I love getting fan mail from kids. It puts the biggest smile on my face. I got the greatest email from a student last week, and I'm still smiling from it.Website Organizing  I organized the pages on my website so there aren't as many visible. They are all still here, but my short stories are all grouped together now. If you hover on them, you'll see the sub pages come up. It's the same for my PBs. I think it looks cleaner this way.That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Shiny and New

Well, it's happened again. I shouldn't be surprised, but yet I am. Every time I finish one manuscript and am about to dive into revisions, a shiny new idea pops into my head. Now you're probably thinking, well that's good, right? Yes and no.

I jotted my idea down and even used my digital voice recorder to record thoughts that were coming too quickly for me to write. I should be happy. I know what I'll be working on when I'm finished with revisions on my current WIP. Not quite.

This new idea won't leave me alone. It's not satisfied sitting in my writer's notebook and on my recorder. It is demanding to be written. And not just that, it's demanding to be written in present tense, something I've only done once and even then I wound up converting it to past tense. 

So I'm at a loss. What do I do? Revise? Give in to the shiny new idea?

Do you get new ideas at bad times like this? Is there really such a thing as a bad time for a shiny new idea?

*Today is the last day to enter my Goodreads Giveaway for a copy of MAY THE BEST DOG WIN COLORING BOOK EDITION.*

Deadlines: Do You Set Them?

I figured since it's NaNo time we should talk about deadlines. I set deadlines for all sorts of things: 

word count per daynumber of days to complete a manuscriptnumber of submissions (for short stories) per monthamount of time to reviseamount of time to edit for a clientI love deadlines and hate them at the same time. I love them because they force me to be accountable. I can't put something off if I'm on a deadline--even if I'm the only one enforcing the deadline. But the downside is that deadlines add pressure. And sometimes I set deadlines that I can't completely control. 
Some of these deadlines include:finding an agent before my daughter started pre-k (I met this right after I enrolled her!)getting X number of acceptances in a given period of timegetting an offer for one of my MG or YA novelsThese are kind of killing me because like I said, it's not all up to me. Yet I continue to set deadlines for myself and push myself to achieve them. Why? It makes me feel closer to my goals. It makes me feel like a writer, which I am.
Do you set deadlines for yourself? What are your reasons for setting them or not setting them?

Monday Mishmash 11/7

Happy Monday! Here's what's on my mind today: 

Goodreads Giveaway I'm doing a giveaway for May the Best Dog Win Coloring Book Edition. You can enter to win here .Research  I'm researching a new WIP. It's always exciting to come up with a new idea and explore all the places you can go with it.Revising  I have an 83,000 word YA novel to revise, and I'm looking forward to jumping into it and seeing how my first draft came out.Reading  I'm reading Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn, and I'm loving her writing style. If you haven't checked it out yet, you should.Recording  I bought myself a digital voice recorder for those times when I can't write down my ideas. I love it! I use it while cooking, driving, getting dressed... Don't know how I lived without it.*Don't forget my newsletter comes out this evening. Sign up here if you aren't already.
What's on your mind today?