 I've got a deadline. April 1st. That's not an April Fool's Day joke. That's for REAL. That is my deadline to have a polished, revised, manuscript to my editors so book three of The Zombie West Series can make its release debut in July. I've known about this deadline for quite some time now, and it's coming up quicker than I'd like. I also fear I won't make it. I still have a little over two months to make the deadline...but my muse seems to prefer watching videos on HULU and posting pins on Pinterest. (Stupid muse). I can't seem to MAKE myself write. It's almost as though the looming deadline has crippled my creativity. I'm anxious, nervous, and fearful, which is never a good combination for a writer. To meet my deadline, I figure I need to write 1,000 words a day. Every day. So that I have plenty of time for revisions and beta reading. So ask me what I wrote yesterday? Na-da. Not a thing. I have my manuscript open on my laptop, the little tab beckons me, but whenever I try to write, I find myself fixing a few words here and there or adding a few more details to what I've already written, but not really adding significantly to my word count at all. If I don't get my act together, then the having to write 1,000 words a day will change to HAVING to write 2,000 words a day, which is even worse. And the even worser worse thing (I know that's not the way to say that, but I like it)...not meeting my deadline at all and having to push back the release of book three to sometime in the Fall. I really don't want to do that, yet, if things don't change soon, that will be my reality. Without deadlines, I will just screw around. With deadlines...I'm still screwing around. So what is wrong with me? Maybe I'm just a screw-arounder-kinda-gal (Wow. That sounds bad). You know what I mean. Somehow I've got to get into a groove...somehow. *takes deep breath to calm rapidly beating, anxious heart* How to fix this, how to fix this...I'm at a loss. But something has to change. I don't have to like the deadline or the concept of one, but I do know it's needed or else nothing will ever get done. My catch-22. Goals in writing are dreams with deadlines--Brian Tracey Help. Any suggestions to get my muse to stop screwing around would be highly appreciated. What tricks or tips do you use to meet deadlines? What do you think of deadlines overall? How do you keep yourself on track? Leave a comment, 'cause boy do I need some advice.
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And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. ~Sylvia Plath In a effort to get my mushy brain to start thinking creatively (its been on a hiatus for some time now) I decided to open my blog and just write whatever comes to my mind. I sure hope this is going to work. My brain has been kind of a bugger lately--sluggish, easily distracted, rather sleepy and uncooperative (sounds like my teenage son). Anyhoo...here goes nothing: He whispers in my ear, a humming sensation that causes me to tip my head closer, but his harsh words, though sung in a lullaby rhythm, sting my senses. Let go, he says. Just walk away. Who are you trying to fool? His breath is warm, so contrary to his icy fingers that slide up the length of my neck and pinch my skin, refusing to let me go even as I whimper, "I can do this." He chortles. His tongue flicks my earlobe. Keep telling yourself that, my perfect little liar. He pinches me harder. I listen to him, though I know better. His words coat my soul in grey and sink in deeper, filling me with self-doubt and despair. He isn't real, but his presence is crippling. I try and shake him off and move away, but I feel his invisible mouth brush the crook of my neck even as I switch rooms, switch scenes, switch states. You and me, we're a pair... He whispers, so sickly sweet. And I'm not going anywhere. Not too shabby. I just wish I knew what it meant :) What do you think it means? Hey, if you decide to do a free write of your own, leave a link in the comment section below so I can pop over and check it out. I won't know you stopped by unless you let me know :)  Before I'd ever been through the editing process with any of my books, I used to read other novels and nitpick at the errors I'd find. Especially with self-pubbed books and Indie Books. My attitude was, if you're gonna publish it, then you better darn well make it PERFECT!
Quite a while ago, I had a self-pubbed author ask me to read and review her book for her. I read it, I loved the story and thought she did a great job. Her writing was fantastic...but there were a few mistakes. Only a few. So of course, doing my duty, I pointed them out in the review I left. What a jackass I was, because as time went on, and as I read more and more books (both indie and traditional) the more I realized, her few mistakes were actually not that big of a deal. They weren't. If fact, her book was one of the better edited that I've read. AND...I'd never been through the editing process myself to see exactly how hard it is to find each and every error. I assumed it was easy and that NOTHING should slip by an editor. Not even a misplaced comma. For shame. For shame. But, I've come to the conclusion, as an author having gone through the process now several times, that there is no such thing as perfection. It's darn near impossible. I can't tell you how many rounds of edits my books go through and how many eyes take a look at it before it's released. One book had several beta readers who caught errors for me before it even made it to an actual editor, and then TWO (yes, two) different editors read and marked it. Guess what, a 3rd editor read it just recently and found a few more (albeit, tiny and hardly noticeable mistakes, but mistakes nonetheless). That's a lot of people. THAT'S a lot of well-trained, highly educated, amazing editors who missed that "parent's home" should actually be "parents' home". The horror of that misplaced apostrophe! It wasn't until the 3rd editor read it that it was caught and corrected. How is it possible that the two previous editors didn't catch it? Because they're human. And because editing is HARD. For those of you who have gone through the process, you get it. For those of you who haven't, it's a pain in the @$$. Be prepared. I'm extremely lucky to have so many fantastic editors at my disposal through my publisher. Four? How many authors can say they had three editors review their work? Not many. Most are lucky to have one. So I've decided that from now on, when I find a mistake in someone's book, any book, I won't let it ruin my overall reading experience again. If I don't change my attitude, then I'll never be able to read another book and truly enjoy myself. Now don't get me wrong, if there are a slew of mistakes, back to back, and an obvious need for an editor to look over the book, then yes I will point that out. But the occasional missed comma or apostrophe...I think I can let it go. But again, that's just me. I get it now. I get how impossible it is to find every error. Even the best of the best will still make mistakes. The only thing any of us can do is STRIVE for perfection. If we can get as close as possible, then that's a job well done. Because perfect isn't going to happen. I no longer want to be that jackass. I'd much rather be a unicorn, happy, content and less judgmental :) What do you think? Can you look past a mistake or two? Should we?  Today is the day! Here it is, my 4th book, DESERT FLOWER. Wow. What an amazing journey it has been to get to this point in my writing career. There have been many ups and downs, but I'm thankful to say it has all been worth it.
When I wrote DESERT RICE, I'd never been so overcome by a character as I had been with Sam. She sat on my shoulder, day after day, whispering her story into my ear. It sounds spooky, but in all honesty, it was AMAZING. That book came fast and furious. It was also a very emotional book to write. It touched on subjects I'd never planned to delve into (that's the awesome thing about being a pantser and not a plotter). So when I completed the book, I planned to take a writing break. I needed a breather. Just for a little bit. But dang it! Sam would not let me be. She kept knocking on my brain until I pulled out the laptop and started writing more of her story. I think my writing break/breather lasted all of two days. With everything Sam had endured growing up, how in the world would she be able to navigate through boyfriends, love, and life now that she was nineteen? How would she handle sex if that situation presented itself? These questions, plus a whole lot more, spurred the writing of DESERT FLOWER. And once again, this book came spilling out fast and furious. It was also very emotional to write as well and several scenes were difficult to write. Now that it is complete, I have this little voice in the back of my head saying, "Write book number three." It's there and it's pestering me. So who knows? Maybe there will be more of Sam in the future. I do have to say, Sam is by far my most favorite character that I have ever written, with Boone coming in a good #2, of course. She tugged at my heart strings and my greatest hope as a writer, is that she will capture your heart as well. This book is being labeled as Upper Young Adult/Woman's Fiction. Yes, Sam is a teen. But keep in mind this book does deal with some adult topics. So parents, read it first and then decide if this is a good fit for your 16+ teen. Now that this book is out, I'm looking for feedback. Good, bad, in between (fingers are crossed for good, though). I do think this book can stand on its own, with enough background for any reader to understand her situation. But in saying that, DESERT RICE should probably be read first just so you can get a feel for the characters and their history. I would love to giveaway a few copies of DESERT FLOWER to anyone who has the time to read within the next week or two, and who would be willing to put up an honest review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, etc... THAT is the only way I will know if this book works and if Sam makes the impact I'm hoping for. The first 10 people to leave a comment, who truly want to read this book and help me out with a review, I will gladly give an ebook copy of their choice (ePUB or MOBI). So leave a comment, make sure to fill out the blank with your email addy and I will get you a copy right away :) I hope you enjoy it as much as I did in writing it. All writing is difficult. The most you can hope for is a day when it goes reasonably easily. Plumbers don’t get plumber’s block, and doctors don’t get doctor’s block; why should writers be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working, and then expects sympathy for it? ~Philip Pullman  My inner demon looks a little like this. Being a writer is hard. It is. But I guess you could say it's hard being an elementary school teacher, dentist, bus driver, waitress, nurse, etc...Every job (yes, writing is a job) has its difficulties. And some, more so than others. I SO get that. But if you go to a dentist and you don't like him, do you send them a rejection letter? Or how about review them on a Dentist website and give them a one star? Would you ever think to call your dentist a hack? A wannabee? And if he gave you a cleaning you didn't quite like, would you tell him? Would you tell all your friends and make a public spectacle out of him? Most likely you wouldn't do any of those things. You'd simply not go back. If you had a bad waitress, you'd probably just not tip her and then walk away feeling justified. She may never know how bad she is...well, until she gets fired. But anyway...  For a writer, the fear of ALL those things (and more) always lingers in the back of our minds. Are we good enough? Will people like us? Our WHOLE existence is based on public approval. Every review. Every comment. Whether our book sells or doesn't. It's all about the public (YOU, the dear reader) loving us and loving what we do. So rejection and approval is one inner demon we battle each day. We have to battle it. We have to shove it to the side so we can go on writing again and again and again. It never goes away either. It's always there, with every page we write, and with every novel we publish. You'd think it would get easier with time, but, at least in my experience, it doesn't. In fact, it's almost a little worse. What if I let my readers down? That is always a possibility. It can happen any time too, without warning. We may think our folllow-up book is pretty darn good, and then WHAM, a reader tears you apart, letting you have it. *I just shivered* I haven’t had trouble with writer’s block. I think it’s because my process involves writing very badly. My first drafts are filled with lurching, clichéd writing, outright flailing around. Writing that doesn’t have a good voice or any voice. But then there will be good moments. It seems writer’s block is often a dislike of writing badly and waiting for writing better to happen. ~Jennifer Egan  Another demon we fight...the dreaded Writers Block. Is it a real thing or not? It can be debatable (see the quotes from above), but I've been there, where my fingers sit on the keyboard, hour after hour, and NOTHING comes.I remember once going to the local cafe, hoping to get past my block by putting myself in a new atmosphere, only to walk away four hours later having only written 400 words. One hundred words an hour. It was awful. And the more I tried to write, forcing myself to do something, anything, the worse it got. I felt like such a loser. Fortunately, I worked myself through it. Those 400 words really did help to get the ball rolling. But guess what, for the past several months, all I've been doing is editing. Editing and writing are two totally different things. They're different modes of thinking. Now that the editing mode is coming to an end (shameless plug here for DESERT FLOWER coming out January 15th--fingers crossed). And here I sit, trying to get back into the writing mode. IT'S TOUGH. It is. I'm really struggling (thus this blog).  The worst demon to fight...the demon of DOUBT. Ahhh...that stupid doubt demon! Doubt actually encompasses a lot of the above and so much more. What if I'm not good enough? What if people hate my writing? What if no one will publish my book? What if no one buys my book? What if no one buys my next book? What if my publisher drops me? I actually wrote a poem about this exact thing called: Doubt's Big Hairy Behind. It's another one of those things a writer has to fight EVERY DAY. I think every time you put yourself out there, open yourself up to the world by creating something and then sharing it with others, there will be fear, there will be struggle, and there will be doubt. It will probably always be there too. And...it's not necessarily a bad thing. Once we lose the fear, the doubt, and writing becomes easy, THEN I think we're in a heap of trouble. Without these things to fight through and motivate us, we will become complacent and cocky. A cocky writer is the worst. They won't improve because they think they don't need to. So maybe being humble and constantly afraid is a good thing (trying to put a positive spin on this). I have never thought of myself as a good writer. Anyone who wants reassurance of that should read one of my first drafts. But I’m one of the world’s great rewriters. I find that three or four readings are required to comb out the cliches, line up pronouns with their antecedents, and insure agreement in number between subject and verbs…My connectives, my clauses, my subsidiary phrases don’t come naturally to me and I’m very prone to repetition of words; so I never even write an important letter in the first draft. I can never recall anything of mine that’s ever been printed in less than three drafts. You write that first draft really to see how it’s going to come out. —James A. Michener  Remember, you're not alone. All the demons above are demons all writers face at one time or another. Don't believe me? Then check out these statements made by writers when I asked them what scared them (via facebook and twitter):
Kayla Mccoy @TWFanmilyKM being called a bad writer. Leila Vázquez @LeilaIrea I am amateur writer (I write fanfic), but what scares me is that people do not like what I write. Darcy Flanagan @DShenanigan25 stories not being good enough, people not liking them, having long term writers block. Shana Hammaker @Literarygrrrl My well running dry Megan Trefry-Bennett Never getting another idea Marie Borthwick That no one will like what I write Sara Beth Cole I'm with Marie. Rejection terrifies me. Amanda Rinker Writer's block. Yikes. Robynn Gabel The EDITOR! LOL Kortnee Bryant that someone will see my google search history Rhi Paille That nobody will read my books. Surreal Nyx Losing my writing mojo. Looks and sounds familiar, doesn't it? So we're not alone. In fact, we're quite normal to feel these things. So what do we do about it? The only thing we can...WE WRITE. Then we keep on writing. And then we write some more. That's it. Or give up. But who here wants to give all this up? Not I. And I hope, certainly not you :) How do you fight your inner writing demons? What's worked for you when you found yourself in the midst of writer's block? What do you do to keep yourself plugging away, day after day? Please share. We'd all love to know. Advice is TOTALLY welcomed and appreciated here!  About the book: From her cheating boyfriend to her dead father and cold, judgmental mother, Daly knows she can't trust others to be there when it counts. This cynicism begins to melt away when she meets Kashi, a light-hearted charmer from India, who decides he cares too much to let her fade into the background of her own life. After a series of false starts, their quirky romance carries them to India, where Daly must win the approval of Kashi's family in order to seal their "forever." Meanwhile, Laine struggles to cope with the pain of early widowhood, fleeing into the pages of her well-worn library and emerging only to perform her duties as a social worker at the crisis pregnancy center. Although her daughter wants nothing more than to work as an artist, Laine doesn't know how to redirect Daly to a more suitable profession without further damaging their tenuous relationship. Can Laine look past her pain to learn from an unlikely mentor? Has Daly finally found someone whom she can trust? Will the women recognize their common bonds before the relationship is broken beyond repair? Torn Together, Emlyn Chand's first sojourn into Literary/Women's Fiction, illustrates how our similarities often drive us apart. Get Torn Together through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Kobo Books. My Review and Thoughts:  About the author: Emlyn Chand emerged from the womb with a fountain pen clutched in her left hand (true story). When she's not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm Novel Publicity. Best known for her Young Adult novels, she is also developing a small, but devoted, following to her children's book series and is beginning to dabble in other genres as well. Emlyn enjoys connecting with readers and is available via almost every social media site in existence. Visit EmlynChand.com for more info. Don't forget to say "hi" to her sun conure Ducky! Connect with Emlyn on her website, Facebook, GoodReads, or Twitter.
About the prizes: Who doesn't love prizes? You could win one of two $50 Amazon gift cards or an autographed copy of Torn Together! Here's what you need to do...
Please enjoy this guest post by Melissa McPhail, author of the spellbinding epic fantasy, Cephrael’s Hand. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including a Kindle Fire, $450 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of the book.  One of the most enticing aspects of writing fantasy is developing a magic system. The author’s magic system is inextricably woven into their world and contributes greatly to the reader’s vision of the world overall. The way a system is created either makes the world seem real or unreal, depending on how well the author has grounded the system with laws and limitations.
For example, scientists in our own world have defined laws—inertia, gravity, the periodic table—that describe the physical limitations and properties of energy. We don’t expect a stone to rise upwards when we throw it, but we might believe it could float if it were somehow made of helium. Likewise in a fantasy world, it’s important to codify the system with laws and rules (and to stick to those rules once established), to set boundaries for what the magician can and cannot do with magic, and to establish consequences for and ramifications of magical misuse. This all shows that magic systems require significant thought and research on the author’s part to develop realistically. Yet for all of this, the manner in which one might design and describe the magical process is potentially limitless—there are as many magical systems as there are fantasy novels, and equally as many readers eager to pontificate on their pros and cons and/or to organize the systems into categories and types. The one thing most magic systems have in common, however, is that they all handle energy. Whether that energy is spiritual, omnipotent, corporeal, or derives from physical objects or living things, the working of arcane arts surrounds the manipulation of energy. I designed the magic in Cephrael’s Hand based on scientists’ existing understanding of electrical fields. The process of thought has been scientifically proven to produce energy, and human bodies are known to generate electrical fields. For the magic in Alorin, I proposed that all living things produce a metaphysical energy which is formless but which flows across the world in natural currents. This energy is called elae. This is the energy a magician of Alorin uses to produce arcane workings. How he does this is the creative part. In Cephrael’s Hand, all things are formed of patterns. A single leaf derives its pattern from the larger pattern of its motherly oak. The snowflake harbors the pattern of a storm. Rivers form patterns that mimic the pattern of the world, and a living man harbors within him the pattern of his immortality. These inherent patterns collect and compel energy (elae) toward a certain purpose—growth, action, states of change. To compel energy, a magician of Alorin (called a wielder) must learn to first identify and then usurp control over the pattern of a thing in order to command it. This is a laborious process requiring a lifetime of study. Unlike wielders, the Adepts in Cephrael’s Hand are born with the ability to manipulate certain patterns. Adept Healers can see creation patterns (life patterns) and mend them where they’ve become frayed. Truthreaders can hear certain thoughts and read minds to see what a man saw versus what he says he saw. Nodefinders have the ability to move long distances with a single step by traveling on the pattern of the world. And Wildlings tap into a variant aspect of the lifeforce called elae to shapeshift or even skip through time, among other intriguing talents. The last type of Adept can sense the patterns of nonliving things—stone, air, water, fire, etc.—and use those patterns to compel the elements themselves. Adepts are limited by nature of their birth—they can only inherently work one category of patterns. They are limited by their training, their inherent intelligence, talent and ability. And of course, like us in real life, they are limited by their own vision of their capabilities. Above all of these limitations, we find Adepts limited by “Balance.” The concept of Balance draws from my studies of Eastern philosophies. It is the high governing force, the yen and yang, karma, cause and effect, fate. It’s as esoteric and arcane as these concepts imply. How far can the Balance be pushed in one direction without lashing back at the wielder? Which actions stretch it and which ones defy it? Balance is a complex and complicated subject—as difficult to define as our own world’s myriad competing religions. The only real agreement on the subject of Balance is that all magical workings stretch the Balance to some degree. Understanding how far they can be stretched without snapping is central to survival in the arcane arts. The concept of Balance provides, well, the “balancing” force to all magical workings in Cephrael’s Hand and is central to its plot. You see, the entire realm of Alorin is out of Balance and magic is dying—and the Adept race dies along with it. As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Cephrael’s Hand eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include a Kindle Fire, $450 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of the book. All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win! To win the prizes:
About Cephrael’s Hand: Two brothers find themselves on opposite sides of a great battle, neither knowing the other is alive… A traitor works in exile while preparing for the disaster only he knows is coming… A race of beings from beyond the fringe of the universe begin unmaking the world from within… And all across the land, magic is dying. Cephrael’s Hand is the first novel in the award-winning series A Pattern of Shadow and Light. Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. About the author: Melissa McPhail is a classically trained pianist, violinist and composer, a Vinyasa yoga instructor, and an avid Fantasy reader. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, their twin daughters and two very large cats. Visit Melissa on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads. |
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