Gabe Cole Novoa's Blog, page 4

Cutting Back

Photo credit: mind on fire on FlickrSo. I'm sure you've probably noticed that for the first time in seven years, I've been missing blog posts as of late.

Sorry about that.

At this point, I think I have to come to terms with the fact that I'm overwhelmed. I thought things would get better after my school semester ended—and they have!—but I still have so much to do between freelancing, CP stuff, and my own writing that I feel perpetually behind everything which has not been awesome. And I've been so overwhelmed with that stuff that unfortunately I've been dropping the ball with blog posts.

So I think it's finally time I admit I need a break.

I'll continue posting my vlogs here—but if you really want more blog-like posts, you'll want to go to my Patreon. I do post there every month with updates, including newsletter like formats and random musings. Even the lowest tiers get access to the casual posts I put up every so often.

But mostly I need to buckle down. I haven't been able to touch revisions on a manuscript I desperately need to get out to my CPs—and I'm dedicating the rest of the day today to do that. But I also need to fully plot a book and write the first draft this summer, and much to my alarm May is nearly over. I'm also over twenty books behind on my reading goal of the year, so all of this is to say I need to give myself more space to focus on words, and reading—and, you know, breathing.

I'll keep posting here with updates, random writing posts and what not, but irregularly.

Thank you all for your support and patience.

<3

Vlog: Was I Ready to Write a Series?

Today's question digs into my experience debuting with a trilogy—and whether I felt ready to tackle three books when I agreed to do so.




RELATED VLOGS: 

On Plotting a Sequel/SeriesSeries? Standalone? Companion Novels?On Writing Sequels
Have you ever considered writing a series? 
Twitter-sized bite:

In today's vlog, @Ava_Jae answers whether or not they felt ready to tackle a trilogy with their debut. (Click to tweet)

What Feels Like Home

Photo credit: gary.hge on FlickrFrom May 10-15, I was in Michigan, visiting family in the house I'd lived in for roughly two years.

I've had a rather migratory life.

In my twenty-six years, I've lived in six homes and two dorms scattered across three states. My late teens and early twenties in particular were especially uprooted—between colleges and family moves I was constantly aware that wherever I was was temporary, that I wasn't going to stay. This made a lot of things awkward—especially relationships—but the most lasting effect was I never really felt at home.

Which, you know, comes with knowing you don't plan to stay. You don't want to get attached to anything—not even a building—if you know you'll be packing up and going elsewhere soon.

But as I flew back to my apartment, in the lovely city that welcomed me back in September, I was struck by a realization. Though I've only been here for about eight and a half months, for the first time in literally years...I really feel at home.

For the first time in ages I'm planting roots. I'm planning to stay. I'm making long-term relationships and collecting things of my own and most of all I feel good here. I can really say it's good to be home.

Which, to put a writing spin on this, has me thinking: what is home to my characters?

The answer, of course, will vary manuscript to manuscript and character to character. But I think it can be an interesting question to consider while drafting—and you never know what insights it might give you into your characters' minds.

What is home to your characters? 

Twitter-sized bite:

After 6 homes, 2 dorms, & 3 states @Ava_Jae considers what feels like home to them—& how to use that question to develop characters. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: On Book Ideas and Organization

Answering more related AMA-week questions! This time on idea generation and keeping track of ideas for your WIPs.


RELATED VLOGS:

How to Get Book IdeasHow to Pick Your Next Book IdeaOn Shiny New Idea SyndromeDon't Worry About Idea Stealing
How do you keep track of your ideas?
Twitter-sized bite:

How do you keep track of your ideas? @Ava_Jae shares their strategy in today's vlog. (Click to tweet)

On the Cusp of an Exhale

Photo credit: Marcelo Campi Amateur photographer on FlickrI've just walked out of my last day of class of my first year of grad school.

Wow.

I'm not 100% done with everything—have one more thing to turn in, but that just requires light revisions before handing it over. And that has weirdly coincided with my publishing deadlines, which also still need to be turned in, but only require light revisions. So I can see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. I'm on the cusp of an exhale.

I've had an incredible first year. And an incredibly busy first year, lord I've been juggling so many things. And this summer I'm going to be ramping up the writing and reading with the time I had to spend on school stuff.

But overall, I feel good. I made it (almost). I've done the hard part (all of it). It's been a wild time and I'm so glad I'm here.

Now the things I'm looking forward to:

finishing revisions on my YA Thriller and getting that out to my CPs and agentplotting and first drafting my first MG ever (!!!)READING. ALL. THE BOOKS. ALL OF THEM. playing Assassin's Creed: Origins. Also Horizon Zero Dawn. having an actual social life (whaaaat?) my first Pride :)
Lots to look forward to, lots to do. But the hardest part of this too-much-work mountain is over, and that feels really damn good.

What are you plans for the summer? 
Twitter-sized bite:

What are your writing/reading plans for the summer? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: On Finding Motivation to Finish Your WIP

Got two related questions during AMA week on one important topic: how do you stay motivated to finish writing a whole book? So let's talk first drafts and making it to The End.


RELATED VLOGS: 

How to Write When You Don't Want ToHow to Finish a WIP
Where do you find motivation to finish your manuscripts? 
Twitter-sized bite:

Struggling to find the motivation to finish your WIP? @Ava_Jae shares some thinking that helps them reach The End. (Click to tweet)

Guest Post: On Inclusion and Representation by Ariel Kalati

NOTE: Hey everyone! As I buckle down to try to finish final papers, I've got a special guest post for you guise from Ariel Kalati, of the Ch1Con and Ch21Con convention team! It's a great annual convention I absolutely encourage you to consider, and this year they'll have speakers including Karuna Riazi, Amanda Foody, and Christine Herman, which is pretty cool! Hope you enjoy the guest post!




Hi, I’m Ariel Kalati, and I do want to talk to you all about Ch1Con and Ch21Con. First off, though, I’ve promised some insightful publishing thoughts. Over the last few years of being part of publishing Twitter, I have met so many amazing people and seen so many organizations working towards diversifying publishing. What particularly intrigues me is the need for #OwnVoices work- not just representation of marginalized groups, but the presence of marginalized people in all parts of the publishing process.
The need for #OwnVoices is there for many reasons: more accurate representation, providing income for marginalized people, and ideally one day, a shift in the power dynamics of the publishing world. However, I’ve noticed a reason that is more personal and emotional in nature, but not any less important. Being surrounded entirely by people who don’t understand your identity and your struggles can be scary. Even with allies, it can be alienating. And seeing books that are only published by privileged authors can cause that same sense of alienation.

Panels and attendees at publishing conferences can be just as important. To create a truly effective and open publishing community, you need all sorts of voices. Groups like We Need Diverse Books have been calling out whitewashed panels for years now. But smaller organizations and individuals can also work to ensure a diversity of voices. At Chapter One Events, for example, one of our foremost goals is to make sure that every young writer who attends feels safe and feels that their individual voice can be heard. A major way to ensure that is to support all kinds of marginalized identities, in places like our author panels and speaker lists, and by using our online presence to support #OwnVoices books.

I don’t think we’re a perfect organization in this regard yet. But I think that moving towards diversity is about wanting to help alleviate that sense of alienation for marginalized people. And creating a safe space for young writers to congregate and learn about their craft goes hand in hand with that goal. I hope that Chapter One Events follows in the footsteps of other great nonprofits and writing organizations in creating safety and community for all voices.

Make sure you check out Ch1Con and Ch21Con! 

How to Revise a Book

Photo credit: freestocks.org on FlickrGet your edit letter from your critique partner.Go over everything you need to fix.Wallow in the enormity of what you have to do.Eat your feelings in ice cream.Look at that edit letter again, this time while taking deep breaths.Translate your edit letter into actionable checklists.Figure out a solution for each issue you need to tackle.Make some tea.Tweet that you're in your revision cave for the foreseeable future.Put on your noise-cancelling headphones and favorite playlist.Revise.Keep revising until you're too tired to continue.Rinse and repeat the next day.And the next.And the next.Untilrevisionsaredone.
How do you revise your books?

Vlog: On Dealing with Writerly Struggles

Today I'm answering another question from Ask Me Anything week! This time about dealing with writerly struggles—because they do not go away.


RELATED VLOG: 

Ask Me Anything (About Writing)What If Your Writing Sucks?
What writing struggles have you dealt with?
Twitter-sized bite:

How do you deal with writing struggles? @Ava_Jae talks about their own struggles—and how they never really go away. (Click to tweet)

I Have Been Terrible at Reading

Photo credit: malias on FlickrIt's April and I've only read ten books so far this year. And I feel bad about it. It's not as if I have a shortage of books I have access to—I'm fortunate enough to both generally be able to buy books when I want them and also often have access to free ARCs or final review copies from my grad school program and day job.

So what this means is I actually own a lot of books I want to read—my physical TBR shelf is nothing to scoff at. But what I have an abundance of in books I lack in time and energy.
I try to cut myself some slack. I know I have approximately a million things going on right now—grad school, part time job, book edits, my social life, etc. So it makes sense that I might find it slightly difficult to squeeze time in there to read, but that doesn't stop the part of my brain that makes it clear in no uncertain terms that my reading lag is some kind of personal failure. 
Granted, I know that's not true, but it still feels not great to not be reading much when you're fully aware of how important reading is in your field and also you want to. 
Anyway, sometimes schedules don't line up the way we'd like and make reading more difficult—and I'd like to acknowledge that, because I'm sure I'm not the only one. I'm hopeful things will be easier on the other side of book deadlines and finals but...we'll see. 
Do you ever struggle to squeeze reading into your schedules?
Twitter-sized bite:

Do you ever struggle to squeeze reading into your schedule? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)