Jennifer Ibarra's Blog, page 2
April 22, 2014
Wooing the muse
We’ve all been there. That Sahara desert of your brain where nothing is in sight and you’re wondering why oh why your muse has suddenly decided to abandon you–often at a critical juncture in the story, when you most need that precious inspiration. Fear not. Rather than despair and/or waste energy trying to wrestle your muse into the ground, there’s a softer approach you can try. It may take a bit more finessing, but ultimately, you (and your muse) may appreciate these actions below more than...
Chasing yourself
I’m a competitive person.
Not in an ARGH!!-I’m-gonna-get-ya!! kind of way, but I do tend to evaluate myself in relation to others. It’s something we’re taught along the way, I guess: in school, we’re graded according to a curve; in business, we look at industry benchmarks to see how we’re stacking up to competition.
Here’s the thing, though. When we’re constantly comparing ourselves to other people, not only do we lose sight of our own inherent value, but we begin to chase someone else’s dream,...
March 9, 2014
Honoring a hero
Four years ago this past Thursday, I lost a dear friend to stage IV ovarian cancer. Brittanie Siobhan Hanson was only 26 years old, and she’d lived more fully in those all-too-brief 26 years than most of us could in an entire lifetime. She was–is–my hero, and there is no character I could possibly write that would ever match her in strength, fierceness, and enthusiasm for life.
Those of you who have readThe Polaris Uprising will know that I dedicated the book to her. But beyond honoring her wi...
March 4, 2014
The long grind
Back in 2005 when I was thinking of joining Team In Training, I had a boss who was an avid runner. He ran a marathon in a ridiculously fast time, and he told me, “Don’t do a marathon. It’s too hard. Run a half marathon instead. It’s all the glory of a marathon, but none of the torture of training for a full.”
I took his advice to heart. What did I know? Back then, I was out of shape and thirty pounds heavier. Of course I was going to listen to the experienced athlete. So for the next three yea...
February 20, 2014
Traditional publishing vs. self-publishing: can’t we all just get along?
There’s been quite a furious debate going on in author-publisher circles this week, after Hugh Howey, a self-publishing phenom, posted some startling data that has everyone weighing in (again :)) on just which path is the “right” one for a new author to choose when getting ready to release a book into the world.
A few have pointed out the shortcomings of the data and its analysis (and as a data geek, I have to agree that it’s hardlyclean, although Hugh Howey himself has acknowledged this). I t...
February 17, 2014
Lessons from the second go-around, part 2
A few weeks ago, I’d reflected on the lessons I’ve learned so far from doing this novel thing for the second time around. Now it’s time for a second reflection…
Practice makes perfect…They say the most successful writers are the ones who write no matter what–whether or not they feel motivated or inspired. There’s definitely something to making it a habit. Just like exercise or flossing, writing has become a part of my daily routine (albeit a much,much more enjoyable part of the routine :)), an...
February 5, 2014
It’s review tour month!
In just a little under two weeks, my review tourgets underway. And to celebrate, I’m doing some cool things this month…
From now until February 28th, I’ll have some special pricing, special swag,and a giveaway! Check out all of the good stuff below:
All ebook formats will be available for $1.99, instead of the regular price of $2.99
When you purchase the print copyofThe Polaris Uprising, you can also purchase the Kindle versionfor free
Thenext 100 people to buy the print copy will receive a free...
January 14, 2014
Disney’s Queen Elsa: why we need more characters like her
Okay, I’ll fess up. The first time I heard aboutFrozen, I dismissed it. Typical story about two female characters pitted against each other, I thought, with one as the “good girl” archetype and one as the “bad girl” archetype. Really, Disney? Do we really need to keep reinforcing these kinds of storylines?
But then I learned more about it, and…mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa. Without getting too spoiler-y (because I think the biggest joy–and surprise–of this movie is the way it plays on our pr...
January 7, 2014
And we have a name…
I’ve been vaguely referring to the sequel forThe Polaris Uprisingas simply “book 2.” So rather than continue to call it by a generic name, it’s time to unveil the title!
Drumroll, please…
Book 2 in the Polaris series will be calledFalling Star.
More details to come over the next few months, including the synopsis for FS. I don’t have an official release date to share yet, but it will likely be available in early 2015. Plenty of time to reread TPU to get those details fresh in your mind :).
And to...
January 5, 2014
Forward motion only
I have a confession to make.
When I was working on the first draft ofThe Polaris Uprising, I would always go back and read what I wrote. Most writers will tell you this is the kiss of death, because you’ll end up hating it and think you’re the worst writer who ever lived and/or get sucked into the vortex of editing before it’s even done yet.
But I did it anyway.
And you know what? I didn’t always hate what I wrote. In fact, many times, I kind of liked it. Oh sure, it wasrough, but even then, I w...
