In a bit of a slump lately.

Every sticker means a good writing day. All those stickers mean I’m a winner. Unfortunately, the opposite also applies.

I got this sweet idea from twitter, to give myself a sticker for every good writing day. Of course, I don’t remember who I got the idea from (it was on a retweet from someone) but it sure sounded good to me.

So I finally flipped my Frozen calendar from the beautiful picture of Hans and Anna dancing together, from February (can I just mention how perfect it is that the calendar people put their picture on the same month as Valentines? Sigh.) Anyway, every day I did at least 500 words on my revision, I got a sticker. Most days I got more than 1,000, and some days were 2,000+, so even on the few 500 days it all worked out to some pretty good writing days.

Of course, I’m showing this picture because that was nearing the end of the streak. I wrote through the 12th, and then everything stopped. Just stopped.

I did get one more sticker, for the 18th, when I met with my writers’ group for Friday writing lunch. Got a lot done. And the ending is so close on the revision that I can taste it.

But I’m still unmotivated to finish. I guess I have a lot on my mind. There’s a medical thing I’m dealing with, and money issues, and a new project I’m thinking about. I’m not 100 percent happy with one of the scenes I wrote in the revision, and that keeps weighing down on me too. There’s a million other things, but I know they’re all excuses, and even if it seems that all odds are against me, I really should just buck up and get back to writing.

Yes. Because that’s what Hans would do.

And we all know that ended well.

Seriously, though, I don’t want to be that other Arendelle guard guy behind Hans, holding that spear but unable to move. Whether it’s a good choice or a bad one, I want to move forward. I want to attack my obstacles and fight to overcome.

I’m tired of standing still.

So, I’m working on a new query letter. Uggo.

#WhyIsANovelEasierThanAGoodQueryLetter

Well, I officially started the first rough draft of LIDDY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER this week. I began writing on Monday, and I’ve done all right getting some work done on it each day. My vision for this is still a little murky at this point, but I think things were the same on my other novels at this point, so it should be fine. I’ll probably jot down some more plot points I know I want to hit, so I stay on track during the early days of this draft. I’m excited about getting this story down on paper. It’s going to be a wild ride.

I’m also working on some minor edits on one story, and more major ones on another. I usually focus on one thing when I’m writing a first draft, so having to split myself will be a new experience. Luckily, I have different playlists for each novel, so if I start up Spotify, I should be able to transition between worlds easier.

I’m making the kids clean while I write this. That’s another thing I don’t do well when writing a first draft – taking care of things in the real world. Here’s hoping I can at least direct them to pick up after themselves, so the house doesn’t collapse under the weight of the filth over the next few months.

And I’m going to write my goal here, in an effort to stick with it. I’d like to have Liddy’s story complete by my birthday, August 6. That only gives me two months to get the whole thing done. I don’t have a goal word count at this point – I always strive to get at least 50K and then see how far it goes after that. So I need to focus on a minimum of 1K a day. Hopefully more.

So now I have to hold myself accountable.

Here we go.

Today I decided to jot down the first rough outline for my next novel. It’s going to be a YA contemporary called LIDDY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER. I’m so crazy excited about this thing – and I knocked out almost 1,500 words of planning in no time at all.

Now I have my idea written down, with the storyline, main characters, and plan for the first scene. I don’t know when I’ll start. I have a billion other things clamoring for my attention, and a visiting niece, and when I start writing I kind of lose focus on everything else.

But creating something new – and writing down those ideas felt so good.

I’ve been hesitant to plunge into Liddy’s world, so I’ve forced my daydreaming thoughts onto my past novels. Writing’s like a drug, almost, for me. Until I type the last words, I’m hooked by the story’s siren song. Homeschooling, housecleaning, cooking, showering, (ha ha) (kind of) and other necessities fall to the wayside as I become the main character and everyone else. It’s not a healthy place to be…but it is a wonderful place to be.

I’ve never started actually writing on a novel without the first sentence or two already in my mind. So maybe it’s time to open my mind to the possibility, and wait for the first words to come to me.

I’m exhilarated by the idea. And a little scared.

So, it’s time for Pitch Wars again!

Pitch Wars is this awesome writing contest hosted by Brenda Drake, and it helps aspiring authors like me make connections with agents, and agented writers, and *gasp* actual, real-live published authors…

Did I mention I’m really into tumblr now, for my Prince Hans fanfiction needs, so I’m starting to experiment with this animated gif thing? Anyway…

So, last year, my incredible friend and fellow writer Gayleen suggested I enter Pitch Wars. She’d been selected as an alternate before, which was huge. I didn’t think my chances would be that great – I mean, I love my stuff but I wasn’t sure about the query, and that was part of the entry. But I figured the worst thing that could happen would be not getting chosen. So I entered the query and opening for THE LAST LETTERBOXES.

And then I spent A TON of time working on CANDID DATES to keep my mind off things. (And also obsessively following the mentors I’d submitted to on twitter, trying to determine which, if any, tweets were about me.)

Amazingly enough (I still have a hard time believing it), I was picked as an alternate by the wonderful Evelyn Ehrlich. I got to work with her, along with Laurie Flynn and Emily Martin, and it was a fantastic, perfect experience from beginning to end. These ladies are seriously, seriously awesome, and I’m honored to even be included in their super-cool circle.

THE LAST LETTERBOXES ended up getting SEVEN manuscript requests from agents in the alternates’ showcase. One of the agents who read it said she read my book through in one setting and cried twice, although she felt it might work better for a friend of hers, who she passed it on to. Another hasn’t gotten to it yet…so it’s still out there. It’s all good.

Plus, I got to meet a lot of incredible people through this. As an introverted writer, finding other writers to relate to has been nothing short of stellar. I get to see their successes…Evelyn had a beautiful story published in a literary magazine, Laurie and Emily both got amazing agents, and Emily’s debut novel has been sold and is coming out in 2016!

And…I’m still…waiting. And writing. Always writing. And I’m so FREAKING HAPPY for my #TeamEvelyn sisters but ugh the WAITING.

So I totally wasn’t sure if I should enter again. I mean, I was selected last year, but the competition is so stiff. Could lightning strike twice? And…should I even enter again? Maybe it would be better to leave it to the rest of the writing community. Maybe it would be weird to do it again. I didn’t know what to do.

But Evelyn encouraged me to give it another shot, since I had another polished manuscript. And I do so love CANDID DATES. Sharing it makes me really happy. Anyway…just like last time, what’s the worst that can happen? Not getting picked? I can live with that.

So. I studied all the mentor bios. I narrowed it down to the ones that accepted Young Adult. Then the ones who were looking for contemporary. Then…I just had to pick four and live with my choices. I did that last year and it worked out spectacularly!

So now it’s back to stalking the #pitchwars tag on twitter. Good thing I have Frozen fanfiction to write and my new novel to work on. Oh, and a house to run and kids to teach and all that. Riiiight.

Yeah. Mostly just waiting for that dream to come true.

Just pretend this turned out better than it did. I always do.