Jennifer Ibarra's Blog, page 3

Begin at the beginning…

It doesn’t matter how many words I’ve written, or that I’ve finished an entire book–or that I’m almost halfway done with the first draft of a second–I still get a mild panic when I sit down to start a new writing session. It could be the start of a scene or chapter, or it could be picking up where I left off in the middle of one, but either way, I still have to give myself a pep talk right before I begin.

What is it about a blinking cursor or a blank sheet of paper that instills fear into the...

Reaching for the stars…

Author and story coach Larry Brooks has often written about the importance of having a vision for your story. Some writers struggle to articulate this, but I agree with him that in order to truly reach your story’s full potential, you need to know what your vision for it is. What do you hope to accomplish with it? What will “success” look like for this story? The good news is thatyou get to define this. No one else ever could because guess what? It’syour story. No one else’s.

When I think of m...

Sometimes it pays to be a data geek…

In my day job, I work a lot with data. A lot. My first job out of college was as a data analyst, and even as I moved into marketing roles over the years, I never lost my love for looking at data and all the cool things you can uncover by paying attention to the trends.

After all, numbers tell a story, and I am in the storytelling business ;).

When I publishedThe Polaris Uprising, I learned right away that paying attention to the data would be crucial for me. It would guide my business decisions...

The curse of thin skin

Everyone warns you it’ll happen at some point. You try and brace yourself for it the way you might prepare for a hurricane that’s looming: you gather your supplies, you board up your windows, you make sure you’ve got non-perishable food to see you through until it all passes.

The problem is, there really isn’t a good way to prepare for it. I’m talking about a bad review.

There is no such thing as boarding your windows to keep the storm away. When you put your work out there, you know that the j...

Lessons (so far) from a second go-around

After I finished my first marathon–actually, evenbefore I finished it–I swore up and down to anyone who would listen that I would never do another one. That sentiment lasted all of twenty minutes or so after crossing the finish line. Standing there, surrounded by friends and family, with my space blanket wrapped around myself for warmth, I said, “So… maybe [the Napa Marathon] wouldn’t be so bad…”

Four and a half months later, I ran marathon #2 (of what would eventually become 7).

After finishin...

Permission to suck (or…why I love writing first drafts)

Ava Jae had a fantastic post about first drafts today, and it got me to thinking about why I love the first draft process, when so many other writers seem to break out in hives at the mere thought of them.

I know a lot of writer friends who prefer the editing process to the first draft one. And while I can’t argue with the results (it’s definitely true when they say the magic happens in revision), it’s about as fun to me as a dental exam is.

(And by the way, I do recommend dental exams every si...

A very special cause

Last week, Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest typhoon ever recorded, hit the Philippines. As a Filipino-American who was born in Manila and spent a few years of my childhood there, I’m heartbroken at seeing the devastation that my kababayans have suffered.

I can’t do much from here, but what little help I can offer, I will. So to that end, I’d like to do something very special: for the next 30 days, I will donate 50% of all my royalties fromsales ofThe Polaris Uprisingon Amazon. That’s roughly $1 p...

More ways to win!

Feeling lucky? There’s more than one giveaway you can enter! I’m also running a giveaway on Goodreads–you can win one of two signed copies of the book!

Check it out…

Goodreads Book Giveaway


The Polaris Uprising
by Jennifer Ibarra

Giveaway ends December 31, 2013.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Ready, set…RELEASE!

I’ve waited over a year to say this, but…we are officially live!!

I’d announced earlier that November 18 would be the official release date forThe Polaris Uprising, but I’m thrilled to announce that things came together sooner than I’d anticipated and it is now available for sale on Amazonand will be available very soon (in the next week or so) at other online retailers.

Buy or pre-order your copy here:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Apple
Kobo
Smashwords

And…the most exciting part? What’s a release without a...

Onto the finish line…

A week ago, I ran my seventh marathon. It’ll very likely be my last (although I never say never ), so I had a lot of time to reflect during every one of those grueling 26.2 miles.

I’ve blogged before about how similar my writing journey has been to my marathon experiences. Both require passion, endurance, and sheer faith that however hard it may beat that very moment, that moment will pass and youwill get to that finish line. And it will feel glorious.

One week after I crossed one finish line,...