Wednesday, October 7, 2009

WIP Wednesday: Entertaining the Brain

I haven't written one of these posts in awhile, so for those of you who are new to this blog, WIP stands for Work In Progress and basically this "weekly" post's purpose is for me to fill you in on what's happening in my writing life.

So, what is happening in my writing life?

Well, not a lot, to be honest. Usually I squeeze in at least a couple hours on Sunday afternoons to write, but the rest of the week is hit or miss.

I'm about 5000 words into my newest WIP, titled Back. I love this book already. The only problem is that I'm having a hard time hammering out an outline, and I don't want to get too far into it without a good idea of where the plot's going. Otherwise, I'll be buried in revisions and rewrites. Not that I probably won't have to rewrite most of the book anyway, but being fairly confident in your plot saves a lot of work down the road.

My finished WIP, V-Day (previously titled Any Day But) is in its sixth draft and is right now in the hands of another one of my wonderful writing buddies, Christine. After she finishes reading it and I make the changes she recommends I may be brave enough to start querying it to agents. It's crazy how quickly this book has gone compared with my first one.

Speaking of my first novel, Up Lantau Running, which I shelved a couple months ago ... I know I said it was shelved, but I am considering entering it in the Delacorte Press Contest for a First Young Adult Novel. Read more about the contest (if you'd like to enter too!) here.

Okay, my baby just woke up and I have to start dinner. Boy, I sound positively domestic, don't I? I am a housewife, after all. I guess my novel-writing habit keeps my mind entertained enough so that I don't get tempted to turn on the TV and watch soaps. So, even though I'm not bringing in any money with it, I guess it's good for something.

2 comments:

  1. Darn tootin' it's good for something. When you're a homemaker it is still so important to still have something, an ambition or goal or driving interest, just for you. I felt so lost for a while wondering why my son wasn't completely fulfilling me. I sat down one naptime and hashed out a children's book. I had such an amazing feeling of accomplishment and excitement after that - OK, so it wasn't going anywhere, but I still had potential! It was wonderful to feel that again. I strongly believe everyone needs something to work towards besides a healthy dinner and an empty laundry basket. It's not only a sanity-saver for me, but it is so important to me that my son also sees his mom passionate about and active in a career or ambition - so he can grow to learn just how fulfilling "entertaining the brain" can be!

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  2. Ann, Great words! True encouragement. Thanks!

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