Oh so quiet!

Update! I am still working on Holly's How To Think Sideways and it is really great! I just don't have a lot of time even though I should make time. I have bought a lot of classes from Holly. One of them, How To Publish When You're Broke, contains a revision lesson titled, One-Pass Manuscript Revision: From First Draft to Last in One Cycle. It is available on her blog at http://hollylisle.com/one-pass-manuscript-revision-from-first-draft-to-last-in-one-cycle/ and I recommend it.

I have also been reading a great marketing book titled, SMART Social Media for Authors by Chris Syme. It is filled with great ways to increase your writing presence and sales on social media. I recommend this, too.

I will be transitioning this blog to a website in the near future so watch for it!

July 2015

 Although I have not published a post in a while, I have been busy. I started the How To Write Sideways course by Holly Lisle in February and I have to say it is really great. Some people can come up with ideas fully formulated while others, like me, run into problems along the way. Maybe I start out with a great idea but come up short on conflict. Maybe my characters aren't as fully formed as I would like them to be. Etc. Etc. This course uses both the left brain and right brain to generate ideas and never be at a loss to write, how to plan a book, and how to write between genres. My description really isn't doing it justice. It is the best writing instruction I have ever read. Check it out  here.

I have also been working on flash fiction, fiction which clocks in at 500 words or less. I am hoping to have these stories up on my new website, which is also a work in progress. Too much to do, so little time in which to do it.

Nanowrimo Winner!

I am the worst blogger in the whole world! I just finished Nanowrimo 2014. This time I used it to further the paranormal novel I am writing about gypsy witches living in modern day Chicago. The hardest part is constructing the rules by which the world operates. Everything has to be thought out.

No NaNoWriMo For Me

Yes, it is November, but no, I am not doing NaNoWriMo this year. I considered it briefly, but decided not to. I already know that I can pound out a 50,000 word novel. Can I write a 90,000 word novel? I have started working on a trilogy that requires a lot of research. I want to make sure all my facts are straight and details are worked out before I take the plunge. I am terrible at revision. I can type up 50,000 words that make no coherent sense with the promise of editing later, but I won't.

So, no NaNoWriMo for me this year.

Spring in Colorado means lots and lots of snow, apparently

It has been a rough four months.

My original goal of having my novel out by the end of January was pushed back due to illness, then more illness, then a tragic family event, and now here I am at the end of April. At least I have a book open namely, the 2012 Guide to Literary Agents. My novel is finished. As an aside, I just opened up the novel's Word file and the last time I opened it was exactly one month ago. It is time to start the next chapter of this life.

I have identified an agent to whom I will submit my novel. She wants a 1-2 page synopsis along with the first 10 pages of my book. So does that mean a query letter, too? From what I am reading, no. A query letter contains three paragraphs: the hook, a short synopsis, and a writer's bio. So no, I guess that I don't need a traditional query letter.

I am terrible at this sort of thing.

I am also going to identify other agents to submit to if the original one passes. My family has asked me  why I don't self publish but I think I will do that when I have been thoroughly rejected by everyone. I haven't even been told I am awful by the proper Writing Officials™ so what did I know? 

I'll keep you posted, as always.

Oh, and I added a Goodreads widget to the blog that highlights what I am reading right now. 

Wow

A whole year has went by and I haven't posted once! Terrible. To be fair, 2012 was a terrible year. Let's not talk about it.

I have been busy. I have been editing my novel religiously, although I did miss my deadline of 1/31/13 to have it finished. I was stuck on Chapter 13, an unlucky number, true. I just could not get over the direction one of the male characters took. But, after talking to my husband about male behavior, I left it in. So, I am now on Chapter 15 out of 23 chapters. I am going to market it as a transformative tale wherein a young woman learns to trust herself.

I have also made several resolutions for the new year:

-Sell Tomorrow's June, the novel mentioned above.
-Write and sell two short stories. I already have one that needs tweaking but I have a great idea for another one.
-Make writing and editing a habit.
-Get my other romance novel ready for sale. This is more of a traditional romance set in modern times. It needs tweaking.
-Develop new projects. My husband and I have several ideas for books and screenplays we want to develop.
-Finish Buy Here, Pay Here, my screenplay about the car lot.

Last year was not a total loss. I started reading novels voraciously, particularly romance novels because I have to know what the market is like. I found a few great ones: the Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning rocked; I loved Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark; and last, but not least, The Fallen Angels from J.R. Ward, which brings me to my next topic. I was so taken by the male lead in the Fallen Angels series, Jim Heron, that I devoted NaNoWriMo 12 to writing a fanfic novel about how the series ends. Ward is positioning Heron to have a happily ever after (HEA) with a 19-year-old virgin named Sissy. This won't do. I didn't want my poor mom to continue to listen to my outrage over this blasphemy, so I wrote an alternate series-ending novel where he ends up with someone more suited to him. Like me. The exercise accomplished three things: first to show that I can pound out a novel in a month, like old times, and have it be good with just a bit of mild tweaking needed; second, to get me back into a writing habit; and third, to show that I could write fanfiction. I won't offer it for sale because the characters are Ward's and it would be nearly impossible to change the particulars, but at least I know I can do it.

I also transferred my domain name to a new web host and I bought www.carolinefuller.com. Caroline Fuller is the name I am going use to write. Caroline Fritz is too tied up with work. Although I am working on a romance novel writing name like Anastasia Caldwell. I don't know. The new website is not up and running yet. I am going to work on it in between everything else. I will keep you posted as to when it is up and running, again.

I  envision 2013 being a productive, successful year. I also was just promoted to editor of my own magazine, so I will be busy, but it is a good busy.

End of year

Well, I will start this off by not apologizing for not writing because it only calls attention to it!

I took classes again this semester, a non-fiction workshop and a capstone class for seniors in the writing program. I read a lot of really great books and some that were disturbing. Good ones were Carrie by Stephen King, You Believers by Jane Bradley, American Pastoral by Philip Roth, A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, and poetry by Tim Geiger and Ashley McHugh. The reading was helpful to me in learning about structure. I think I knew about structure without actually knowing I knew it.

I have also come to the conclusion that I don't read enough. And I have not been writing at all. I really suck. I am reading The Cider House Rules by John Irving right now and I wanted to save this passage because it is really beautiful:

"Spring in St. Cloud's meant trouble; drinking trouble, brawling trouble, whoring and raping trouble. Spring was the suicide season. In spring, the seeds for an orphanage were planted and overplanted."

Very nice.

Because I was so busy with school, I did not do Nanowrimo this year. I thought I would feel bad for missing it, but come to find out I didn't miss it at all. Probably because I have so many novels in various states of flux that I can't possibly be burdened with another one.

That being said, I am taking classes again next semester with the promise to read even more and work on my novel. I think "A Middle Distance" because that one has the most promise and seems pretty grown up to me.

Oh, and I moving to Colorado in the next couple of months. Should be interesting.

Terrible! Terrible!

I am a terrible blogger. I have not updated since March and I am the worst slacker who ever slacked. Now that we have that out of the way, here is what I have been doing. I am taking a couple of writing classes at UT and have been working on that. Mostly a lot of reading. I had no literature in high school so now I am making up for it.

I am not doing Nanowrimo this year because I am so busy with everything else. But that's okay. It is one thing to write a bunch of novels it is another thing to actually do something about it. I am working on a book proposal for my Nanowrimo from '08 right now. It needs a lot of work but at least the hard part of putting it on paper is over, right?

I will keep you posted.

My website is up and running!

I finally have my website (www.carolineifritz.com) up and running. Go visit and tell me what you think!

A lot has happened, writing-wise, since the last time I blogged. I finished and won NaNoWriMo but it was a terrible struggle. I wanted to make my characters crazy and unlikable, but was unable. It was awful.

I am taking three classes at the university, a Fiction workshop, screenwriting, and a literature class. The Fiction and screenwriting classes rock. I have learned so much in Fiction that it has changed the way I look at writing. Screenwriting is a lot of fun and I have learned a lot too. I am a bit embarrassed at how much I didn't know. I am unsure if I am going to return in the fall for more, but for now, I am really enjoying it.

Nanowrimo progress report

 I am really struggling with this Nanowrimo because, like everything, I over analyze and have to plan so much that I am paralyzed and can't do anything. The whole point of Nanowrimo is to write by the seat of your pants. This I am not doing. I am thinking about knocking off the rest of the night because I am introducing another character and it is too much to worry about right now. I want him to be the perfect blend of psycho and nice guy. Is that too much to ask?

Nanowrimo update

Nanowrimo started Monday and I have to say that I haven't gotten off on the best foot. My day job interfered and then I had class Monday night. There really aren't enough hours in a day. I was unmotivated last night and tonight, I am going to try and catch up, but I think I will have to revise my daily word counts. In fact I know I will have to because I am going out of town this weekend and am not taking my computer.

Ah, the thrills and chills of Nanowrimo. I am extremely rusty as I have not written anything in a long, long time. I am pushing through though and will do my best.

Nanowrimo 2010

Another year has passed and Nanowrimo is, literally, right around the corner. I am participating this year and will be sharing word count updates throughout the month. Sign up at http://www.nanowrimo.org/ and join us!

Facebook presence

In my day job, I work with a lot of social media. I decided to take what I know and apply it to my writing. To that end, I have created a Wordfulgoogie group on Facebook and will include the links to my blogspot blog and my new website, www.carolineifritz.com/. Increased visibility brings new scrutiny and I will make sure I keep everything updated on a regular, if not semi-regular basis.

Fall check in!

I always vow that I will keep up my blog, but life gets in the way. 'Tis no matter because I haven't done any writing and I stopped writing for the content entry sites in June because it was too much work for an uncertain outcome. I am still working on my fear of submitting my work to a real live publisher. I am reading The Courage to Write by Ralph Keyes. Hopefully it will help. NANOWRIMO is coming in November and I am doing it again this year. My other news is that I am going to take a screenwriting class at U.T. next semester. I always wanted to take it when I was still in college, but the class was always held in the afternoon and I had to work. The class is now held at night, so I will be able to take it. So yay! The best part is that I have no choice but to write and do my homework. Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes. Plus, I will get feedback on my writing. I see an adviser on the 18th to get registered.

Long time, no hear

Even though I haven't updated my blog lately, I have been busy writing, mainly informative articles for both GardenGuides.com and eHow.com. I have also been setting up accounts so I can write for other websites as well. I will include URLs when these are up and running. For many of the sites, I can write my own articles on any topic.

So the question is, Is there something you would like to read about? My mom had a good idea about wanting to read an article on kitchen hints. Maybe, The Top 10 Kitchen Hints. How about you? Anything you are interested in reading about but not interested in wading through the pages of websites to get there? Let me know.

Along with this non-traditional writing, I have been working on the edits of my book and my day job. You can say that I am a writing fool!

Revising in earnest

I have good news to report. I have been working on revising my book every day. My general plan when I write is to go as fast as possible and fill in the blanks later and this is a slow process. But, it must be done.

I have also been writing for the freelance site. I seem to have slowed down in my output, so I have to work on that.

I bought the domain name: www.carolineifritz.com and will be setting up a commercial writing website. I am looking into different website hosts so watch this space!

Keep on keepin' on

Well, 2010 is upon us and it is time to create some goals to ignore. I would like to send my book out, decide what I am going to do about content writing, create a writing website, get over my fear of rejection and join the local writer's group.

I was looking at my book this past week and I have to say that I just don't get the point of it. What is the point? To tell a story of course. But so what? What about the story? Is it even worth telling? Or is this another way of devaluing my work. Apparently I thought enough about it before I wrote it to start writing it and sticking with it over all of these years. So I will keep on, keepin' on. I guess that is the theme of 2010.

Another successful NaNoWriMo!

Well, I won NaNoWriMo this year. I wrote 11,000 words on the last day. What a nightmare the whole month was. Just horrible. I have been writing freelance articles and I thought I would be able to bide my time between the novel and freelance work but I couldn't. I ended up getting burned out very quickly. The freelance is still pretty rough. I have a goal every week of 20 articles I would like to get done but I have yet to meet it. Take today, for example. It is Saturday. You would think I would have all of the time in the world to write. But no. I wrote one article today and started another one. One. That is all. I wrote seven on Thursday and four yesterday. Let's hope tomorrow goes better.

I think that NaNoWriMo was hard this year because I already had the novel written in my head. It didn't exactly turn out the way I wanted, probably because I ended up writing the ending 15,000 words ahead of time. I had to go back and fix it. It was really hard. Here is the medallion I won:

NaNoWriMo starts today!

In what will surely be a testament to my organizational skills, I am once again participating in NaNoWriMo as well as working toward my goal of writing 50 extra freelance articles a week and working a full time job. I must write faster! Faster!

Writing like crazy

I haven't written in a while because, surprise! I have been writing like crazy. I am writing freelance articles for an online site and it consumed my summer. The gig pays weekly and I just really need the money. At its worst it is a frustrating, maddening experience, but at its best it is nice to be able to get paid for something that I am good at, or think I am good at.

I missed my deadline for sending out my book by the end of summer, but I have been working on getting it together. According to all sources, I need a query letter and a synopsis of my novel to send out and I have begun work on these. My new goal is to have it sent out by the end of the year.

I am also going to do NaNoWriMo next month. I wrote a book in my head while running last summer and I would like to get it down on paper. It is a harmless little romance novel and why not?

I have also gotten interested in writing for television. I know that I mentioned my sitcom script that I sent out for a contest. I didn't win, but I would like to pursue TV writing. I am currently reading three books on the subject: How to Write for Television by Madeline DiMaggio, The TV Writer's Workbook by Ellen Sandler and Write to TV by Martie Cook. Of course I will keep you posted.

I used to despair that I never did any writing in my off time and now all I do is write. I have come to the conclusion that writing is not my problem, it is having confidence in the finished product that is troubling. I guess the constant feedback on my freelance job is helpful in that I find out how I can do better and get a "hide on me like an alligator" as my dad used to say, and not take criticism personally. All I can say is that it is a process, that is for sure.