Kristal Shaff: Fantasy Author

Christmas Rejection....sort of

2011-12-21T09:39:00.002-06:00

Well, I've been waiting 9 months for a response to my submission with Angry Robot publishing. Today, I got my answer.

A rejection...sort of.

They liked it, but they thought it felt more like a YA novel than an adult novel. So they passed on my manuscript to their new imprint, Strange Chemistry.

So both good news and bad news today. Which means more waiting for me.

Operation Awesome: New YA Publisher: Strange Chemistry

2011-12-13T10:11:00.000-06:00

Operation Awesome: New YA Publisher: Strange Chemistry: A while back, I wrote about my submission to the publisher, Angry Robot. They had an open door month a while back, and I was able to climb...

Painting Dragons

2011-10-31T07:36:00.001-05:00

Something I've noticed that happens every time this year, is that traffic increases to both my face painting website and to my blog. The trending topic always has to do with face painting. It makes sense. People are trying to figure out stuff to do for Halloween. And because my face painting business is called "The Painted Dragon", you can see that I get a lot of search hits for "face painting dragon".

The funny thing is...that I don't think I have a dragon on my website...or here. So for those of you searching, I'm giving you what you are looking for.

A dragon.

Happy Halloween!

Friday Funnies

2011-10-28T10:27:00.002-05:00

Operation Awesome: The Semicolon

2011-10-25T08:48:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: The Semicolon: I had a meeting with my local writing group the other night, and we had a discussion on the use of a semicolon. Now, back in the early days ...

Friday Funnies

2011-10-21T07:48:00.000-05:00

Friday Funnies

2011-10-14T09:44:00.001-05:00

Operation Awesome: The Ambiguous "Soon"

2011-10-11T08:57:00.001-05:00

Operation Awesome: The Ambiguous "Soon": Like most of you, I've been around the rejection block a few times. And, like most of you again, I've waited long periods of time to hear fr...

Operation Awesome: I Love Lord of the Rings Because...

2011-09-06T11:26:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: I Love Lord of the Rings Because...: Last week I started a new series of "I love ___ because..." to find out what you all thought of writing, to get a wide spectrum of opinions ...

Death by Book Cover

2011-09-01T09:24:00.001-05:00

Today I received an email from David Farland. He has a daily writing email called "Kick in the Pants". If you aren't subscribed to it already, I highly recommend it. I've learned a lot of good tips though it.

Today he talked about book covers. About how how they can make or break a novel.

Considering that I am in the middle of creating a book cover with my artist, I found his information quite interesting. Gave me new thoughts about the cover. I sent the article to my artist and am interested to see what he thinks about it.

I also recently talked to another self-published author who complained about his lack of sales. Let's just say his cover art was very basic and homemade looking. And I knew that he could benefit from something better, and I shared my opinion with him. Let's just say that he still hasn't taken that step.

So anyhow, I thought the newsletter very good, and I want to share it with you all. Especially look at the link he gives about Kris Rusch. If you like it, don't forget to subscribe to his newsletter so you can get it all the time.

David Farland’s Daily Kick in the Pants—Judging a Book by its Cover

As you design your own electronic books, you’ll need to create some cover art. Many established authors discuss professional publishers as if their art departments are a godsend, and they can be. However, I’ve seen so much damage done to potential sales through poor cover art that I have to admit that I’m a bit leery of trusting the publishers.
Years ago, I had a friend whose novel was slated to be the first on a publisher’s list for the month. Then a big-name author submitted a finished book, and my friend got bumped to the number two slot. Now, I’d seen my friend’s cover—a beautifully illustrated piece that was likely to jump off the shelves. But when the book got released, guess what? The publisher had darkened the cover, making it dull and dingy. It didn’t sell. The publisher had actually gone so far as to SABOTAGE the author’s sales.

This got me to thinking, and I came to an ugly conclusion. Guess what? Unless you’re chosen to be the publisher’s major launch for the year, your work too will get a “second-rate” effort. To some degree, you’re likely to get sabotaged. I guarantee it.

The reason? The publishers have to advertise to their buyers, and a wonderful cover promises a wonderful book. So the very best, world’s greatest covers are designed for those special books that the publisher most wants to push. This is almost always the book of a big name author who already makes millions of sales—not the hopeful new author with his or her first offering. Even if a great cover does come in, the publisher may do as they did in the case that I mentioned—they darken the cover, use poor fonts, or in some other way make the book look second-rate so that their main title will stand out.

As a result, most covers, even the pretty good ones, are actually not the publisher’s BEST effort. As authors, we get used to this. When we put out a novel, we silently pray, “Please, don’t let this cover suck.” And so long as the cover is pretty good, we tend to be pleased.

Because of this practice, many authors who are now self-publishing are finding that they can actually create BETTER covers than they’ve ever gotten from their publishers.

Now every author who has written for a few years has probably been given a disappointing cover. I had it happen on my third novel. I knew that my editor wanted a certain scene, a night scene, and I said, “Go ahead and publish that scene, but make sure that it is shown in the daylight. The dark cover won’t work.”

Well, I got a night scene. Even though I very much liked the artist, the cover didn’t work. The novel got reviewed well, but the cover didn’t. In fact, I’ll show you a review, if you like. Note in this review by Orson Scott Card (from the Books to Look For column of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1993) how nearly as much time is spent talking about the dark cover as is spent talking about the novel itself:

“It's a shame when a powerful original work of science fiction is killed by the publisher's art department, but that's what is apparently happening with Dave Wolverton's third -- and best so far -- novel. Not that the cover art is bad. It's just dark and drab and there is nothing about the presentation to suggest that this is a special book.

“To which the obvious answer is that not all books can have "special" treatment. If every book published had embossed or cut-out covers or white backgrounds, or bold, clear art, then these techniques would become passé and nothing would stand out from the crowd.

“That makes sense, of course. I'm just baffled by the decision to make this book blend in with all the midlist and marginal books published at the same time. (The editor is already saying, "We don't publish any marginal books, and this cover is excellent." But editors have to say that; it helps even more if they mean it. But it doesn't change the fact that Path of the Hero has been made invisible on the shelves.)

“Special treatment costs more, and editors have to pick very carefully which ones to spend that extra effort on. I cannot fathom their choices, just as I have no clue why such seminal works as Ben Bova's Mars and Norman Spinrad's Russian Spring managed to make it through the award season without mention by the Nebula voters. Apparently somebody somewhere decides who's hot from month to month, and I can tell you, whoever it is doesn't consult with me.

“You want to know what I think is hot? How about a novel in which a writer takes a now-ancient science fiction motif -- the revival of Neanderthal man -- and makes something astonishingly powerful and fresh out of it? While Path of the Hero is as rip-snorting an adventure as you could hope to find -- a world at war, alliance of many sentient creatures coming together in a last-ditch effort to win their freedom from a slave-based empire, characters you know and care about finding love and meaning in the midst of death and chaos -- it is also a profoundly philosophical work.

“In Wolverton's world of Anee (previously visited in Serpent Catch, a prequel which you do not have to read in order to enjoy Path), terraformers from Earth created a vast zoo in which they restored the flora and fauna of the Jurassic, Miocene, and Pliocene on three separate continents. Several sentient and near-sentient species of proto-humans were included, and when the alien Eridani from another star system effectively ended all human starflight, these ancient people and Homo sapiens were forced to make the best of things on the surface of the Earth.

“Now, long after, two dangers face Anee. The slavers are making their final bid for world domination, wiping out the last strongholds of freedom; and the descendants of the original paleobiologists are now mindlessly setting out to destroy sentient life because it is endangering the environment. And the best hope of stopping both is a man named Tull, who is half human and half Neanderthal -- or, as they call themselves, Pwi.

“For me, what lifts this book out of the first rank of quest-adventures and onto another plane entirely is Wolverton's creation of the Pwi, a people who are as loving and spiritual as Homo sapiens is angry and rational. The Pwi have much greater strength, but also much more compassion, and in the process of this book we learn that the Neanderthals were not defeated in their contest with Homo sapiens. Rather they made a tactical decision, to bide their time until a future that could truly belong to them, the kind of world on which they could happily live. This book is about the struggle to make Anee that world.

“So if you want an extraordinary novel of ideas that coexist quite easily with a powerful story of adventure and character, go look among the bland bluish covers of midlist science fiction books, down near the bottom of the shelf of the last sf rack, where the works of Wolverton are alphabetically fated to reside. Pick up Path of the Hero. You won't soon forget this book.”

In this review, Orson Scott Card succinctly states the problems that publishers face. Sure, they could give us all special treatment, but then they’d have your novel competing against their own best-selling works! So the big fish get all of the publicity, and most of the rest of the authors get scraps.

Well, you can do better than that. Time after time I’ve seen authors design their own covers and come up with work that surpasses that of a professional art department.

Scott was right about the book mentioned above. It got killed. The publisher at the time, Bantam, had been bought out buy a large company that decided to trash the entire science fiction department. Previous books of mine had sold about 60,000 copies each. This book sold something like 16,000 copies.

(Note: I recently put the two books of this series—SERPENT CATCH and PATH OF THE HERO—up as a single e-book, and it should be available soon, if it hasn’t come online already. The two were conceived as one long book, but my publisher convinced me to put them in two. That’s another thing that I don’t recommend that you ever do. The second book in the series had what I considered to be a better title, but at the last minute my editor asked me to change it to something that I thought was bland. My thought at the time was, “Well, a bad title can’t kill a book.” But guess what, a bad title leads to a bland cover, and a the combination of those two—with the fact that the book was the second in a two-part series—turned out to be toxic.)

So what should you learn from Scott’s article? Don’t create bland covers.

There are a lot of ways to create bland covers. I’d suggest that you avoid night scenes. Avoid busy scenes, where there is too much happening in the background. Avoid scenes where the background and foreground have the same color scheme. Avoid “scenery” covers that don’t feature characters. Don’t create covers with too many characters, so that there is no central focus. In fact, there are so many “gotcha’s,” I can’t cover them all here.

In any case, creating a cover comes in part from experimentation. Kris Rusch talked about this in her weekly article recently. Kris found that certain books that sold poorly with bland covers didn’t take off until she came up with splendid covers. With her first book of the Fey series, Kris got the same treatment from Bantam that I did. Her cover was grossly sub-professional.

When the first book in the Fey came out, I remember picking it up and looking at it. You should know that I was once in a writing group with Kris, and I very much admire her. She was a recipient of the World Fantasy Award for Best Editor, an award that she richly deserved. She’s an excellent writer and frequently goes up for awards in science fiction, fantasy, romance, mystery or horror. I’ve seen her as a finalist for half a dozen awards at one time—all under different pseudonyms.

So I’m predisposed for many reasons to buy her work. Since I love fantasy, I looked at that book very carefully. I knew what was happening. She’d sold the book just before Bantam was bought out by publisher that trashed their fantasy line. The art director gave her a terrible cover because they didn’t intend to sell the work anyway. Part of me really, really wanted to buy that book. But I didn’t.

Know why? Because I looked at it and thought, “I don’t want to be seen in public, flying home on the plane, reading a book with such a crappy cover. Sure, I could support my friend, try to help save her career as a fantasy writer by buying that book, but nothing that I do is going to convince people to pick it up.”

Finally, Kris commissioned a new cover for the book and has put it out electronically. It looks great. In her weekly article, Kris shows her old cover along with her new one. You can see them at http://kriswrites.com/2011/08/10/the-business-rusch-comparisons/

Note that in her article, Kris mentions another article who was able to get a gorgeous cover this way, too.

My point here is that people will judge your book by its cover. You do it, I do it, and others will, too. So I think that I’d like to take a couple of days and talk about what makes a good cover.

Operation Awesome: I Love Harry Potter Because....

2011-08-30T13:43:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: I Love Harry Potter Because....: People spend a lot of time on blogs trying to come up with something clever. With something inspiring. We all try to post something that wi...

Me and Random House

2011-08-27T22:10:00.000-05:00

So my critique partner, Kelly, mentioned a tweet contest yesterday. Random House UK had created a new twitter account and decided to do a bit of an experiment. They would offer twitter feedback on the first 25 picture books they received.

I thought, hey, why not. I have like two picture books up my sleeve. I haven't done a whole lot with them, but to get feedback from an editor...how can you pass up that opportunity, right? So I sent them my PB story about a dragon that face paints (inspired from my logo from my face painting business.) And guess what?

The editor asked if she could take it to a meeting next week.

So now, not only do I have a fantasy novel out with the Angry Robot editors, I have a picture book out with Random House UK. I'm starting to think that I should move out to the UK. I seem to be having a lot more luck with them than over here in the states.

I should hear back from Random House after Thursday of next week.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Operation Awesome: Middle Grade Fantasy: First Lines

2011-08-24T08:51:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: Middle Grade Fantasy: First Lines: I've been loving Amparo's series on first lines in books. So I thought I'd chime in with my favorite area: Middle Grade Books. Middle Grade ...

Publishing Updates

2011-08-06T00:06:00.001-05:00

Gosh, has it really been that long since I've blogged? As you can tell, I'm not the most prolific of bloggers. Still... I thought I'd share some updates with you all.

On the Angry Robot front, I was moved up to editorial submission about a month and a half ago. This means that the slush reader liked my full and passed it to the editorial gods. So what does that mean for me? Well, not much really. It means that the editors have a chance to reject it. I still hold no expectations. Hopes? Unfortunately, yes. I always grasp the faint string of hope. Today I found myself fantasizing about a phone call from England asking me for a contract. That is one problem with a strong imagination. You can envision things that most of the time never happen

On the self-publishing front, I received some rough sketches from my artist. The first round he sent me I liked a lot, but some aspects weren't quite right yet. He recently send me another trio of sketches. And this time I really liked it. So now I am also waiting to hear back from him, excited to see what he has done to improve his vision. And I can't wait until I can share it with you all.

Operation Awesome: My Agent-ish Experience

2011-06-14T14:44:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: My Agent-ish Experience: "So last week I talked a bit about self-publishing, and how I've been considering doing it on my own. ( post here ) Well, one of the primar..."

Breaking Dawn Trailer

2011-06-07T22:50:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd share....just because. :o)

Operation Awesome: Self-Publishing: A Change in Perspective

2011-06-07T17:13:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: Self-Publishing: A Change in Perspective: "The past month or so, I've been strongly leaning toward the idea of self-publishing. When I started my publishing journey a few years back, ..."

Cover Art Love

2011-06-01T11:21:00.002-05:00

So two of my writing friends had cover art reveals today. I'm so very excited for them! The first is the awesome Cole Gibsen. You can find out about her upcoming book, Katana, here.

Here is her beau-tiful cover.

The second cover reveal is my other writerly friend, Leah Clifford. If you haven't read her recent release, A Touch Mortal, you need to check that out. Her reveal is for her sequal, A Touch Morbid.

Make sure you stop by their blogs and wish them some Cover Art Love. :o)

An Ex-Agented Author's Thoughts About Self-Publishing

2011-05-27T08:29:00.000-05:00

Self-publishing has been a nasty word in the circles of writers for a long time. I've done the whole query thing. I got the agent. I went on submission. But there are times that, even when we go about the right paths to publication, our best efforts fail. My submissions failed. So did my agent/writer relationship. And like a marriage divorce, I became single again.

Now, in the time that I've been single, I've done some writing. However, the book that was "almost" still haunts me to this day. You see, it might be different if I knew my book sucked. I can deal with that. But when editor after editor would say, "Great writing. Doesn't fit our list," it gets you thinking about other options. It's gotten me to think about the path of self-publication.

I do have one more submission out (I did some on my own). Recently I entered Angry Robot's open door submission month. I was asked for the full. Now, I have no expectations. Actually, that isn't true. I expect the reject. Not because my book doesn't have merit. Not because it is badly written (I had agent edits and editor direction on it), but because it might not be right for their list.

Part of me wants to wait for that final rejection. The other half wants to say forget the waiting. I'm done. Let's get on with it. Four years of waiting is long enough.

So. What do you all think? Start on my self-publishing journey? Or do I wait for my rejection THEN start on my self-publication journey. (grin)

Operation Awesome: Follower Love Month: Agent Query Critique CONTEST!...

2011-02-14T07:28:00.000-06:00

Operation Awesome: Follower Love Month: Agent Query Critique CONTEST!...: "Happy Valentine's Day!! We here at Operation Awesome have so much love to spread, and we decided to give it to the fine folks who make..."

Operation Awesome: Original ideas...or not. Plus more blog love with...

2011-02-08T12:55:00.000-06:00

Operation Awesome: Original ideas...or not. Plus more blog love with...: "I wanted to do a quick post on original ideas. Or, more appropriately, how ideas are never very original. No matter how hard we try and come..."

Snow, snow and more snow...

2011-02-02T22:54:00.000-06:00

So we are out in the Midwest, right smack in the muck of the winter snowstorm. People have been calling it a variety of things. Snownami. Snowpocalypse. Plus several other variations. Whatever you call it, it is a lot of snow. Roads were closed. Toe trucks were not allowed out. Several snow plows tipped over. And because we are in the country, our roads haven't been touched. Nice 4 foot drifts covering the road in front of our house. But all is well. I am thankful. We are warm and safe and having some family bonding time. :o)

We got about 12 inches within the last 24 hours, plus a blizzard on top of it. So there are parts of our yard where you can see the grass poking though the snow, and other parts that are 5+ feet deep. Looks pretty cool. I wanted to take more pictures than I did this morning, but the snow was still howling until this afternoon.

I'll try and take some more tomorrow...

Welcome the Wonderful Michelle McLean!

2011-01-27T07:00:00.006-06:00

First of all, I just want to start off by saying how awesome Michelle is. I met her a few years back when we were part of the original members of the Query Tracker Forum. Since then we've chatted and emailed and even hooked up once in person. Now she is also my uber-awesome critique and blog partner at Operation Awesome.

Last week, her new book came out. (Feel free to applaud.) She is here to answer a few questions about her book and herself.

What is your book about? What does it include?
It is a fun, user-friendly guide that takes the confusion out of writing essays and papers. This book discusses a dozen different types of essays, including the SAT essay, along with tips on how to proofread, cite sources, and prepare for college-level essays. Unlike other books that are so full of technical jargon they confuse more than help, my book uses straightforward language and simple steps to guide students through the essay writing process. Instead of giving general tips on how to write each type of essay, my book shows students what they need to do, leading them through every step of the writing process with easy-to-follow details and examples.

Who is your target audience?
homeschooled, junior high, high school, and college students, and writers. And anyone else who might want or need to write an essay or paper.

Where do you find your inspiration?
Everywhere. For fiction, especially. But with fiction, it’s more about the emotions that are evoked by what I’m experiencing…the songs I hear, the things and people I see and hear. With NF, I’m more inspired by the needs I see and the subjects I enjoy. The struggling student’s need to understand what is going on so they can pass their hated English course without pulling their hair out. The desire to share the things I love – history, poetry, reading, writing. I want to share the joy I find in these things and show people who may not be interested in these subjects that they aren’t as bad as they might seem.

What can you share about some of your future projects?
I am working on a book that will teach students how to write many different types of poetic forms. And I have also begun work on a book that will focus on literary analysis essays and literary criticisms. I have a new YA historical novel in the works as well, and a novel in verse.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
It’s always been one of the things I wanted to do “when I grew up.” Sometimes the desire to write was replaced by other goals for a time, but I always seemed to come back to it. So one day I stopped fighting it and just began to write.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I don’t know that I really have one, unless you count an insane fondness for Post-it notes :) I do fiddle with my hands when I’m in “thinking” mode. Rubbing my fingers and hands together sort of like a cartoon mad scientist :D

How do you get published? What did the process involve for you?
The journey is a bit different for non-fiction and fiction, but both involve querying agents and/or editors. For me, I wanted to go the agent route, since I knew if I ever got an offer, I’d have no clue what to do. So, I started out with a book idea, which evolved into several chapters, and a query letter.

With non-fiction, you don’t have to have your book polished or even finished before you send it off. But you do have to have sample chapters and a proposal. And that proposal can be very intimidating. With sample chapters, it usually ends up being 60 or more pages.

Once you have your proposal ready, you send out your query, and if you get a request, you send your proposal (instead of sending a partial or full manuscript like you would for fiction). If the publisher likes your proposal, the next step is a publication offer. Or, if you get an agent first as I did, your agent will submit your proposal to publishers for you.

Michelle McLean is a writer and the Chief Editorial Consultant for PixelMags, LLC. In addition to her non-fiction work, Michelle writes YA historical novels and other children’s books. If she's not editing, reading or chasing her kids, she can usually be found in a quiet corner working on her next book.

Homework Helpers: Essays and Term Papers is a fun, user-friendly book that guides the reader, step by step, through writing a dozen different types of essays, including the dreaded SAT essay. Using straightforward, plain English, this book shows the reader exactly what they need to do, from start to finish, and includes rough draft, edited, and final draft versions of every type of essay discussed. This book also provides chapters that include tips and instruction on researching, proofreading, and citations.

Where you can find Michelle:

Her website

Her blog

Operation Awesome Blog

Facebook Author Page

Twitter

Where you can buy her book:

Amazon

Borders

B&N

A Recent Challenge

2011-01-26T23:29:00.001-06:00

I thought I'd share with you all one of my face painting designs. It has nothing to do with writing, but it is another part of my creative side. Recently, I was tagged on a face painting forum to come up with a half color/half gray scale design. This is what I came up with.

It's kind of funky, eh? I just kind of went free-for-all on the design. If any of you are interested in seeing any more painting/faces, leave a comment with your request. I'll see what I can do.

Operation Awesome: Win a Customized Blog Banner

2011-01-11T11:05:00.000-06:00

Operation Awesome: Win a Customized Blog Banner: "I did this a while back on my personal blog, and got a good response. I'm no professional, mind you, but I do love to play with banners. If ..."

Inkygirl's Challege

2011-01-04T20:19:00.001-06:00

For those of you in a writing slump....
Click Here

1k a day didn't work so well for me, so I thought I'd make a smaller goal for myself to get me out of the slump.

Operation Awesome: My New Year's Resolution is......

2010-12-28T09:31:00.000-06:00

Operation Awesome: My New Year's Resolution is......: "(drumroll) Nothing. Absoluely Nothing. I don't know about you all, but in the past I've made these so-called resolutions and pretty much ..."

Operation Awesome: The Book Necromancer

2010-12-14T23:20:00.000-06:00

Operation Awesome: The Book Necromancer: " Image found here For those of you who aren't fantasy geeks, a Necromancer is one that uses magic to raise the dead. I'm feeling..."

The Return of Pooh (not poo)

2010-12-08T08:00:00.002-06:00

They are making a new Winnie the Pooh Movie. It's great to see they are keeping the classic look of the original Pooh shows and movies.

'Winnie the Pooh' Theatrical Trailer @ Yahoo! Video

So what is your favorite Pooh character? And who are you most like?

My favorite is Tigger. But I think I relate to Pooh the most, especially when he says he is "a bear of little brain." I have cotton in my head quite often. :o) Or maybe Kanga.

What about you?

Operation Awesome: Getting to Know You

2010-12-07T11:08:00.000-06:00

Operation Awesome: Getting to Know You: "So this morning, I thought I'd post a few random questions to find out more about the people who visit our blog. Here are the questions....a..."

Operation Awesome: Is Chaos Interfering With Your Writing Life?

2010-11-30T11:09:00.000-06:00

Operation Awesome: Is Chaos Interfering With Your Writing Life?: "So how has everyone been doing on their writing goals this month? I was one of those that said I'd finish my first draft for NaNo. It didn't..."

Mystery Agent Contest!!

2010-11-29T13:47:00.000-06:00

Don't miss our contest on the Operation Awesome blog.

Show up on December 1st with your one-sentence pitch ready.

Our agent is looking for all YA and adult sub-genres except for Christian fiction, erotica, MG, and picture books.

And NO, you can't use your recent NaNo Novel.

Spread the word!

And the Blog Banner Winner is.....

2010-11-11T23:27:00.000-06:00

Thanks so much everyone for entering my Blog Banner contest. As promised, I've chosen the winner of the banner.

Then winner is.... (drumroll)

Colene Murphy!

(throw confetti)

Colene, you can drop me an email at ask.miss.java (at) gmail (dot) com. And we can talk shop.

Stay posted as my followers grow. I'll give everyone another chance once I hit 100 followers. I'll be giving away another banner and some other fun stuff as well.

Operation Awesome: What Are Your Characters' Love Languages?

2010-11-09T09:34:00.000-06:00

Operation Awesome: What Are Your Characters' Love Languages?: "I recently had a conversation with a writing friend of mine. She had a dilemma in her current WIP. Her male character had some major stuff g..."

If I were a.....

2010-11-07T08:08:00.002-06:00

I found this on L'Aussie's Blog and I thought I'd post mine.

Note: Some of these were just totally random, first thoughts things. They would've been easily filled with other answers as well. It was a fun exercise though. Would love to see what you all came up with. :o)

- If I were a season, I’d be Fall.

- If I were a month, I’d be October.

- If I were a day of the week, I’d be Saturday.

- If I were a time of day, I’d be 9pm.

- If I were a planet, I’d be Earth.

- If I were a direction, I’d be South.

- If I were a tree, I’d be a Weeping Willow.

- If I were a flower, I’d be a rose.

- If I were a fruit, I’d be a apple.

- If I were a land animal, I’d be a cat.

- If I were a sea animal, I’d be a dolphin.

- If I were a bird, I’d be an eagle.

- If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be an comfy chair.

- If I were a liquid, I’d be coffee.

- If I were a stone, I’d be opal.

- If I were a tool, I’d be a exacto knife.

- If I were a kind of weather, I’d be a gentle rain.

- If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a piano.

- If I were a colour, I’d be purple.

- If I were a facial expression, I’d be a smile.

- If I were an emotion, I’d be passion.

- If I were a sound, I’d be the the wind in the trees.

- If I were an element, I’d be the wind.

- If I were a car, I’d be a bug.

- If I were a food, I’d be pizza.

- If I were a place, I’d be Ireland.

- If I were a flavor, I’d be mint.

- If I were a scent, I’d be rose.

- If I were an object, I’d be a camera.

- If I were a body part, I’d be a hand.

- If I were a song, I’d be "Lean on Me"

- If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be sneakers.

- If I were transportation, I’d be a plane.

- If I were a fairy tale, I’d be Beauty and the Beast.

- If I were a holiday, I’d be Christmas.

- If I were a novel, I'd be Pride and Prejudice.

- If I were a movie, I'd be Pride and Prejudice.

All right - your turn!

The Blogging Secret for All Writers!

2010-11-06T09:23:00.000-05:00

The last week or so, I've been working on increasing my followers. Following other blogs. Commenting. Making sure I am rubbing shoulders with you all. It's working. I'm gaining numbers. My blog to read list is growing. But in the midst of it all, I've realized I'm taking a whole lot of time blogging and less time at writing.

So, how does that help me as a writer?

It doesn't, unfortunately.

It might help me with platform. But, if you don't have a book to sell, a platform is hardly worth it. There needs to be a balance. Blogging needs to come after the craft of writing.

So the secret blogging tip to writers?

Write BEFORE you blog.

Unless you get some writing done, you shouldn't even open your blog. Blogging shouldn't become a procrastination excuse to avoid writing.

So I've created a button for anyone who would like to follow my example.

Have you written yet today? If not, close that blog window and open your Word document. That's right. Do it RIGHT NOW! Come back here after you've written and tell me how many words you did.

Now... go!

Win a Customized Blog Banner!

2010-11-03T07:53:00.003-05:00

I'm no professional, mind you. But I do love to play with banners. Here are a few examples of the work I've done.

Operation Awesome

Elizabeth Briggs

Lindsay (a.k.a Isabella)

Katrina Lantz

I've seen a lot of blogs with the basic template banners, and I'd love to fix you up with something personalized. If you'd like a chance to win a custom made banner by yours truly, there are several ways you can earn points.

Comment on this post: +1

Follow: +1

Blog about this: +3

And yes, this is a total scheme to gain a few followers here and there. But it's also a way for me to have some banner fun! I'll end this contest a week from today.

Who's with me?

Operation Awesome: Contest Rundown and more....

2010-11-02T08:20:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: Contest Rundown and more....: "PHEW! What a hectic last few days! First we ended our orange owl naming contest. And, if you haven't noticed already, the winner is.... ..."

Na No what-the-heck Mo.

2010-10-31T13:11:00.004-05:00

So tomorrow is the day. The month that excites many and makes agents tremble with fear. As I've been pursing the blogs, I'm finding out that NaNoWriMo isn't just writing a novel anymore. There are ten gazillion ways people are altering the event to meet their needs.

Here is the rundown.

NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month.
NaBalWriMo:National Balanced Writers Month
NaNoWraMo: National Novel Wrap-up Month
NaNoRivMo: National Novel Revision Month
NaNoFinMo: National Novel Finishing Month
NaNoNoMo: National No Novel Month. (for those not participating.)

So which one are you?

Agent Led Contest: Monday on Operation Awesome!!

2010-10-30T10:36:00.000-05:00

This Monday get your pitch ready for our Mystery Agent led contest. Have your one line pitch ready to submit.

Visit Operation Awesome on the 1st to find out more!!

This last week, Kristin Nelson posted some great tips on the one line pitch. Visit her blog and make your pitch nice and shiny. Remember, our last mystery agent contest led to representation! Just think, you never know unless you give it a go.

And.....have a great Halloween weekend!!

The Legacy of Harry Potter

2010-10-29T08:03:00.000-05:00

This video gave me chills. It is such a legacy, and it is coming to an end soon.

I read the first book right before the 4th book was released. My son was a newborn and I read in the middle of the night while I nursed him and rocked him by book-light. He's ten now. *sigh* Oh to be able to write something that has becomes such a legacy...

Who's all going to the movies next month?

*raises hand*

Tips from the Queen of Overwhelmed

2010-10-28T11:19:00.000-05:00

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? I do... ALL of the time. At times, the overwhelmed feeling paralyzes me to the point where I accomplish NOTHING. I sit at my computer refreshing the same pages over and over again. My house often reminds me of a quote from Dr. Seuss.

"And this mess is so big
And so deep and so tall,
We can not pick it up.
There is no way at all!"

And if it was just my house, then maybe I'd be able to control the overwhelmed feeling But there is always more. Tons of things I have to remember. Tons of things I NEED to do and WANT to do. I always have a mental running list, like someone is switching the channels of a remote control quickly in my mind.

Dishes
Landry
Sweep
Mop
Switch over clothes
Declutter
more declutter
groceries
cooking
school events
kids homework
kids activities (bowling, dance, piano, Awana, more dance, dentist)
Kids homework
Critiques
Edits
Writing
Bookwork
etc
etc
etc

So what do you do when you have EVERYTHING that needs to get done? Well sometimes I pull out my handy dandy timer. I use a timer a lot. I have like 10 of them floating around the house. Set it for 5 minutes and do something...anything. Then when it goes off, switch to something else.

Timers work great in writing as well. Set the timer, write for 5 minutes. When you only have 5 minutes, you tend to get the words on the paper. Then leave and wash dishes for 5. After that, go back to your story. You get your house clean (er) and some words done.

And the key to having to do EVERYTHING, is that you need to focus on that you did SOMETHING, not that everything didn't get done. Progress is the goal. And as long as you are making progress, you will be one step closer to your goal.

Operation Awesome: How to Write an Awesome Query Letter

2010-10-26T10:44:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: How to Write an Awesome Query Letter: "First of all, I want to shout out the 'winner' of my face painting challenge. I selected Michelle's suggestion of Phantom of the Opera. Than..."

To NaNo or not to NaNo...That is the question.

2010-10-25T08:35:00.000-05:00

So the beginning of this month, I'd made a big push on the Operation Awesome blog about doing a 1k a day challenge.Well, like most goals I make for myself, I flopped badly. I can mentally picture our little owl with its wings crossed over its chest, starting at me and tapping its talons on the sign. I'm not the best at reaching those time set kind of goals.

I am proud to say, though, that two of my critique partners finished their first drafts during this month. (Or they WILL finish). Me, on the other hand... I'm still sitting with lots of words to be done. I did get wordage in, so in that regard I'm not a failure. And if I hadn't challenged myself, I would've have accomplished even half of what I'd completed.

So now comes to the point of my blog post title. I read a post at Elana Johnson's blog this morning. She is going to do NaNo, but is going to do it for her WIP.

My current project I started with NaNo last year.(Another failed goal attempet) As you can see, I've done a lot of flubbing around with it over the last year. I think it would be very appropriate to FINISH the draft during NaNo of this year. No word counts goals for me. I just want to finish the dang thing.

Can I reach THIS goal this time? No idea. But I think I'll give it a go...again. If you'd like to friend me and send me nagging emails, my NaNo name is Miss Java.

Operation Awesome: How To Write a Best Selling Fantasy Novel

2010-10-13T08:12:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: How To Write a Best Selling Fantasy Novel: " I'm not sure where this originally came from, but here is the link to where I picked this up. I've read it over and over though the years, ..."

Operation Awesome: Succeed Through Faliure

2010-10-05T09:04:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: Succeed Through Faliure: " Sooo, how is everyone's 1k a Day going? Getting your word count every day? (crickets) Mine hasn't been the best either. I've been gettin..."

1k a Day: Blah blah, blee blue blah.

2010-09-29T23:21:00.000-05:00

Today's Word Count: 1,005

1k a Day: WIN...mostly.

Of course, the last sentence I wrote was the following:

" He then said, “Blah blah blah, blee blue blah. Blue blue blee blah blah

It stinks getting writer's block like 20 words from your goal.

Ik a day

2010-09-27T23:16:00.000-05:00

Words Written: 1,299

1k a Day: WIN

Procrastination

2010-09-27T08:08:00.000-05:00

So last night was a fail. And even though I said it was guilt free, I'm feeling a little guilty. Part of the problem is I waited until 10pm to get serious about writing. At that point, I was too tired to get much of anything done.

We all make choices. Even in our busy lives, we must compensate if we want to reach our goals. I should have gotten up a little earlier and did some writing in the morning. Or I could have taken a notebook in the bathroom, away from my kids, and got some words in. Or I could have broken it up into ten minutes segments throughout the day. There really is no excuse. I can say I was busy--but we all are. If I want my manuscript completed, the only real thing I can do is to work and get it done.

1k a Day: Sunday, the day of rest.

2010-09-26T22:28:00.000-05:00

So yeah, I know I just started this venture yesterday. But I had a seriously busy day, and Sundays are supposed to be a day of rest, right?

Instead of feeling gulity, I"m going to take today and use it as a day of rest, get to bed early, read a little. But look out tomorrow... some serious wordage is going to happen.

Words Today: 206

1k a day: Guilt free FAIL

Operation Awesome: 1k a Day: Write-a-Thon and Chat News

2010-09-26T20:26:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: 1k a Day: Write-a-Thon and Chat News: "Yesterday, I posted my first 1k a Day word count on my blog. I'm glad to tell you, friends, that day one was a success! (cue applause) I c..."

My first day of 1K

2010-09-25T23:52:00.000-05:00

So today was my first self-imposed day of 1k. Lets just say I procrastinated until like 10pm, then I hooked up with Angie (one of my OA buds) and did some awesome Write-a-Thon. If you don't know what Write-a-thon it, then tune it tomorrow on the OA blog. I'll fill you in and give you the chance to join in as well. So in about an hour and a half, I wrote 1,339 words. I also, in that time, got a snack, did some brainstorming on one of my characters, and chatted with my friend, Angie.

Today's words: 1.339

1k a Day: WIN

Operation Awesome: 1k a Day

2010-09-25T10:07:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: 1k a Day: "So, as I mentioned in my post on Tuesday, I am back on the writing horse. One thing I didn't mention, is my horse is one of those old gray ..."

Operation Awesome: Life After Submission Fail

2010-09-21T15:59:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: Life After Submission Fail: " I had an agent (and yes, it is past tense). I wrote my first novel, edited and re-edited, did the whole query thing and got rejected man..."

Operation Awesome: What Makes An Author Stand Out?

2010-09-14T09:15:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: What Makes An Author Stand Out?: "Thanks to everyone who has entered our 100 followers contest so far! There's still time to enter, so don't miss out! I’m not certain how m..."

My Poppycock Tribute

2010-09-07T12:53:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to post about an America's Got Talent contestant that I've been really enjoying. He's an opera-like singer that dresses in 18th century drag. He performs tonight on America's Got Talent. I really, really, really he makes it though to the final four. I love this guy on so many levels, that I thought I'd share them with you.

Music level: That boy can sing. My college degree was music education, and I appreciate a guy with classical talent. Not that I don't like the current pop star type of talent, but I appreciate one who can use their instrument (voice) properly.

Make-up level: I LOVE his make-up. As a face painter, I can truly appreciate the artwork and time he puts on his face each performance. In fact, I made an attempt at recreating his make-up, and I still didn't do it as well as him. Here is my Poppycock impersonation.

Creative level: Oh my gosh. His creativity is off the charts. Who else do you know that can mix Bohemian Rhapsody, fine china, and a military ensemble. You can watch that performance here. I loved it. And another time, he had this jester type outfit, fit with lights, even. The link for that one is here.

So how does Prince Poppycock have anything to do with writing? Well, nothing yet. I'll have another post using him with writing, so you'll just have to wait until next Tuesday to find out what that is.

Operation Awesome: Identifying Garbage: The First Step Towards Awesom...

2010-09-07T08:27:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: Identifying Garbage: The First Step Towards Awesom...: "Hey there! Kristal here. I’m very excited to be speaking to you all. It took me a while to figure out what I exactly wanted to say in my in..."

Operation Awesome: Teaser Mission: Spread the Awesome.

2010-08-27T23:11:00.000-05:00

Operation Awesome: Teaser Mission: Spread the Awesome.: "Here is your mission, if you so except: Spread the AWESOME! How is one to spread awesome? Well, I'm glad you asked. You can place one of ..."

The Blog Fairy Desendith

2010-08-26T11:24:00.000-05:00

Well, it happened. Almost a year ago, I stated that I would never blog unless the Blog Fairy visited me. Apparently, she did. I am soon to be a blogger again.

My awesome new critique group--appropriately entitled Operation Awesome--is starting a sparkly new blog.

Linkage: HERE

This blog, more than likely, will just be an echo of my posts there. Uncertain if I will get more ambitious than that, but you never know!

Death to blogging

2009-09-06T00:06:00.000-05:00

I have finally come to grip that I am not a blogger. What time I have to write, I prefer to spend it on my WIP at hand. From this point forward (unless the blog fairy blesses me with the desire at some point in time) this page will be dedicated to announcements and updates regarding my writing and publishing progress. Please feel free to subscribe to this blog if you want to be included in any updates.

For more information about me and my writing, please visit my website at www.kristalshaff.com.

Thanks for stopping by.

--Kristal Shaff