Sharon's Journal

Apparently I'm not so good at this journal thing. How many weeks have I missed? Anyhow, let's see if I can catch up...

Action!
Actions I've taken as a writer. Where am I? What am I doing?

On the writing front not much has changed...For the foreseeable future, will be buried in a read-through/revision pass of GHOST PLANET. This pass has been interesting, though. It's been over a year since I read it, and since then I have completed a second project and started a third.

The objectivity this has given me is AWESOME. I think I've made some real improvements to dialog especially. (I'm no longer so in love with my own wording!) And I've clarified backstory a bit, which I think will enrich the story overall. The drawback is I'm struggling to find a rhythm. I tinker with bits of wording for far too long. And I have this funny, tentative feeling..sort of waiting to fall back in love with my characters. Worried me at first, but then I realized the same thing happened when I tried to shift from writing GHOST PLANET to ECHO 8...

Discoveries
New authors, cool web sites, great resources, great workshops

This week I was contacted by a Danish student of Library Sciences who is researching the Sci-Fi Romance subgenre and community. (Interesting!) He sent me a handful of very insightful questions. He is hoping for participation from both writers and nonwriters. Are you an SFR fan/reader who doesn't write? If so, and if you'd be willing to answer a few questions, please post in the comments, or email me at info @ sharonlynnfisher.com. 

Pssst!
The latest buzz. Submission calls. New publishers. Industry changes. Inspirational sayings or quotes for writers. And our take on them.

One of my Ruby sisters (also an RWA chapter-mate of Laurie's), Shea Berkley, has just sold a fantasy novel to Entangled Publishing. They have a very interesting model. Check out their Web site and Facebook page, but here is an excerpt...

Founded by industry-savvy authors and backed by a successful media corporation, Entangled Publishing utilizes a bold new business model to bridge the gap between traditional and indie publishing, giving our authors the best of both worlds. We implement the agency model across all departments at Entangled, which means everyone from the copy editor to the marketing director has a financial stake in your book.
In other words, we don’t make money unless you make money. Lots of it.

Random Distractions
'Nuff said 

Part of the reason I've been AWOL is, in celebration of my recent sale and Golden Heart final, I took my first vacation in more than two years. Two weeks in Costa Rica. We had an amazing time. Here is a photo of me and my fella.,.well, sort of. You will have to use your imagination. ;) Sure wish I always looked that relaxed.

But writers are never fully on vacation. While on a Monteverde Cloud Forest walk, I learned about a plant that has a symbiotic relationship with a specific bug. Basically keeps the bugs happy inside a flower "hotel" by giving them drugs. When the flower drops off, the bugs stumble out with a massive hangover. They're addicted to the drug and immediately go out looking for a new flower...voila, pollination! Some form of this is definitely going to show up in my new novel.

Ping Pong
We'll comment back to our co-bloggers on things they've posted on their journals.

@Donna - Really enjoyed reading your post while on my vacation:

Top 5 ways to guarantee romance readers will hate your SFR novel

@Laurie - So, what's the dress decision?????

Sharon's Journal

Action!
Actions I've taken as a writer. Where am I? What am I doing?

Three pages into revisions on GHOST PLANET and I'd already rewritten a scene that need more showing, less telling. In the time since I last read GP I wrote another entire book, and I felt like I grew tremendously as a writer through that second, more complex effort. This is going to be interesting...

I had a brief chat with my editor this week as well, and she sent me a copy of editorial's guide for new authors. Very interesting info about timelines and my responsibilities throughout the process. Looks like after this round of revisions I'll be reading through the manuscript *at least* two more times.

Discoveries
New authors, cool web sites, great resources, great workshops!

I know I sound like a broken record when it comes to the Ruby-Slippered Sisters, but it is just an awesome blog. This week I read the first two installments of a series on using Twitter. I've been tweeting for some time and still learned all kinds of useful stuff.

Master Tweeting for Authors

Excerpt:
I felt like I’d been dropped in the middle of a cocktail party where I knew no one and kept picking up partial conversations of which I couldn’t quite elbow myself into.

[You said it, sister.]

Master Tweeting for Authors II

Excerpt:

It’s all about the @ on Twitter. Where you put the @ in your tweet makes the difference in who sees your tweet and who doesn’t.

Pssst!
The latest buzz. Submission calls. New publishers. Industry changes. Inspirational sayings or quotes for writers. And our take on them.

Here is a quote I look at every day, on a "sticky" on my Mac desktop. Do you agree? 

Craft is always secondary to the truth of emotional connection.
- Constantin Stanislavsky 

Bookshelf
Books we're reading and mini-reviews. Writers must read voraciously. Sometimes we find gems in the literary universe or sometimes certain elements of a book really speak to us (and our muses). Do we know about book giveaways? A big debut? We'll dish on those.

I have started reading John Scalzi's Old Man's War on Laurie's suggestion. He's a fellow Tor author. The last book I read on Laurie's suggestion was a fabulous read: The Outback Stars, by Sandra McDonald. (Tor again! Coincidence we ended up critique partners? I think not.)

Happenings
Events, conferences, cons as well as Facebook, Twitter and blog events.

MARCH 25 - Are you ready?

Real-time announcement of finalists:

The Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood (blog party)
Judi Fennel (blog party)
Romance Writers of America (official results)

Do you know of others?

Here is a great excerpt from today's Ruby post prepping for the big announcement. Exciting as the day will be, it's going to be a let-down for the majority of entrants. This is good to keep in mind:

If you happen to become one of those disheartened writers tomorrow, please remember that a lot of luck was involved. Being a RITA or Golden Heart finalist means a great deal. Five judges had to agree they loved that entry, so it must be pretty darn good. At the same time, NOT getting a call means absolutely nothing. It’s not a sign that your story or writing aren’t excellent. I am living proof of that.  My non-finalist entry in 2005, which had been a 2004 GH finalist [...] was also an American Title finalist and went on to WIN the 2006 Golden Heart a year later without a single revision. 

Random Distractions
('Nuff said.)

For three days now a very small spider has been running laps around the rim of my desk lampshade. (Actually, today it is looking a little fatigued.) Spiders completely creep me out. Not so much the little ones, but this is the kind that grows into the big, brown, jumpy...SHIVER.

I'm in a quandary. I've formed a bit of an attachment, I'm afraid. What if I squish it and it turns out it was my muse??? I had a dream about praying mantises once (which also creep me out), and it spawned an entire story idea.  

Charlotte, is that you?

Sharon's Journal

Action!
Actions I've taken as a writer. Where am I? What am I doing?

In the wake of the big news last week (whew!), I'm settling in on revisions for GHOST PLANET. I have a two-page editorial letter I'm working from, but also I am rereading the novel for the first time in over a year, so I know I will find additional stuff I want to change. I feel excited and nervous - like you might feel after being apart from a boyfriend for a year and going out on a reunion date. Will we still feel that spark of attraction? Do we still have stuff in common? Will he still laugh at my jokes? I'll let you know next week!

Alexi Murdoch in Seattle

My mental/emotional prep for all this began last week. Just a couple days before my news was announced, I went to see a live performance by one of the musicians who inspires me. Alexi Murdoch's song Shine is on my playlist for GHOST PLANET, and in fact I think something of his has been on all of my writing playlists. He has a way of singing about despair and sadness that makes you feel hopeful. (Yes, I do realize that makes no sense.)

Discoveries
New authors, cool web sites, great resources, great workshops!

There's been a bit of chat in my cohorts' journal entries about the 2011 Golden Heart, so I'm jumping on the bandwagon. The big day is NEXT WEEK! My 2009 GH finalist class, The Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood, is holding an announcement day blog party. It was loads of fun last year, with live announcement of finalists and lots of nail-biting and celebration. I know of at least three sci-fi romance entries in the paranormal category this year - all of which have won other RWA contests - so it promises to be exciting!

Ping Pong
We'll comment back to our co-bloggers on things they've posted on their journals.

Laurie, have so enjoyed reading all the research you've been churning out on self publishing. I know you're facing a tough decision, but the reason for that is a positive one, eh? The fact that more and more authors are making it pay. Can't wait to hear what you decide!

Donna, really connected with your post on info dumps. Seems like I've faced that dilemma in every story I've written. I often research a particular point, stick in all the gory details, then find myself yanking out 3/4 of it in revisions.

And to both of my co-bloggers and all of our followers - thanks so much for celebrating with me over the last week. The support and enthusiasm have been just amazing.

All right, it's late. Signing off until next week...

Mission Success: Sharon's Journal

Sad for you that you are now forced to contrast my first entry with Laurie's. Between some personal life upheaval and a cold/flu bug my preschooler and I have been battling for more than three weeks now, I have just weathered my first extended writing drought in three years.

Action!
Actions we've taken as writers. Where are we? What are we doing?

The good news is I have been easing back into it and plan to seriously get down to business tomorrow. I too am sadly, sadly behind on my Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood Winter Writing Festival (WWF) goals. (Even sadly-er, I AM a Ruby-Slippered Sister!)

So, goal for tomorrow: Finish rereading the science book that helped inspire my first novel (Ghost Planet) in preparation for starting revisions. I get much of my inspiration from science books, and I tell you, Symbiotic Planet by biologist Lynn Margulis (who was once married to Carl Sagan) is a fascinating read. (By the way, the title similarity was just a fun coincidence!)

The Squeeze
Writers are sponges when it comes to soaking up writing tips and tricks. Here's where we squeeze out our sponges for the week.

This may be cheating a bit, but thought I'd point to a post I wrote for the Ruby blog in mid-January: New Year's Resolution for Pantsers. Having finally learned to embrace my own process (or lack thereof), I wrote this post as a sort of group therapy for pantsers. I shared some of my own tools for maintaining sanity while pantsing, as well as some quotes from a favorite pantser who presented a workshop at RWA. There was some lively discussion in the comments.

Also, an excellent post on high concept that Laurie called to my attention: Want to Get High (Concept)?. Very worthwhile.

And this, because I still laugh out loud every single time I read it (and we all need more of that):
Offended By Rank Objectification of Writers

Ping Pong
We'll comment back to our co-bloggers on things they've posted on their journals.

Terrific first journal entry, Laurie. I ALWAYS learn something from your Spacefreighters posts.