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?