tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6902505192990857522024-03-12T21:08:20.625-07:00Anna Langford Learning how to writeMy journey through writing my first novel to its hopeful publicationAnna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-37186785199163104632016-09-20T18:03:00.000-07:002016-09-20T18:03:21.495-07:00Call to Action - No More Death
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Dear members of the black community,<br /><br />I am so sorry. I weep with you today. I see the body lying in the street from the comfort of my home and I know I will never feel your pain. But I can hold your hand as you cry.<br /><br />I write to you today sitting in a room of white bodies. I look around and I wonder who amongst these people knows that a man was murdered yesterday. How many saw the video? Had any of them used one of those lines while talking amongst friends?<br /><br />-Well, he should have cooperated.<br /><br />-Blacks kill more blacks than police.<br /><br />-They commit 70% of violent crimes, what do they expect?<br /><br />It makes me sick when I see it. It hurts even worse when it’s someone I know: a family member, a friend. My twitter feed is full of voices of color and writers and people who care. It’s a safe space in that I can attack any stranger who posts racist, anti-Semitic, disgusting things.<br /><br />Facebook is not so friendly. That’s where my family resides. My racist, homophobic, #bluelivesmatter family. Every day they’re there. And when they are blatant in their vitriol, I call them out. Calling out the daily micro-aggressions is harder.<br /><br />I share, I write, I try to educate, but it’s hard to fit anything in a cup filled with tRump.<br /><br />And my family full of Republicans, those gleeful tRump supporters you see on TV and wonder huh?, they know better than to bring anything up in my presence. At a birthday party, I could tell they all walked on eggshells around me. When someone would bring up something mildly political they would look at each other in a silent, don’t bring it up or the liberal will start whining in her SJW voice.<br /><br />While that means I had the peace of not listening to their bile, I also did nothing. I left the room of proud, gun-toting Mericans to continue in their hateful ways. And whenever I see the story of another black man murdered at the hands of police, I see their faces. I hear their voices in the press, in the fox news commentators. I read their words in every stupid twitter justification.<br /><br />It only furthers my resolve.<br /> <br />White people, I’m talking to you now. We can do better. We can take part of the load. When you see the racism, call it out. When you see hate justified, correct with the facts. Get educated and get vocal.<br /><br />We owe it to humanity. These aren’t just black bodies in the streets, that’s a human, a brother, a father, a son, a husband. Weep, pray, and then use your voice.<br /><br />And for the love of it all, get out there on November 8th and vote. Because while you may think that Hillary has her share of problems, and she does, the other option only exacerbates the hate, the violence, the deplorables. Don’t let our community fall prey to it. Keep hope alive. You can make a difference.<br /><br /> Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-87296853390308478522016-08-06T06:22:00.000-07:002016-08-06T06:24:16.123-07:00Statistics Fun!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yea! Let's have some statistics fun!<br />
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<img alt="fun theme park skipping happy amusement park" class="a-gif" data-absolute-url="/gifs/reactiongifs-4f6nWE71hrcRy" data-bitly_gif_url="http://gph.is/1llGEke" data-edit-url="/gifs/reactiongifs-4f6nWE71hrcRy/edit" data-gif_id="4f6nWE71hrcRy" data-id="4f6nWE71hrcRy" data-image_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/4f6nWE71hrcRy/giphy.gif" data-mp4_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/4f6nWE71hrcRy/giphy.mp4" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" data-padding-top="90" data-preview-image-url="https://media.giphy.com/media/4f6nWE71hrcRy/100.gif" data-still="https://media.giphy.com/media/4f6nWE71hrcRy/giphy_s.gif" data-tumblr_share_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/4f6nWE71hrcRy/giphy-tumblr.gif" id="gif" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/4f6nWE71hrcRy/giphy.gif" /></div>
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What? There's no such thing? Well, that's probably true, but
let's give it a whirl anyway. </div>
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Let me start out by saying I'm not a statistician. That
takes more school and math than I am willing to do, but research and statistics
cover most my background and I get paid to make meaning of globs of data, so
let's pretend like I'm qualified. </div>
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Meaningful statistics are a combination of three components.
If any of said components is lacking, your statistics are bullshit. Which I
would say 90% of statistics people tout on the Internet are bullshit. See that
made up number? It's not real, but it feels real so you want to believe it.
Stop doing that.</div>
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First, we need a good data sources. Trust nothing that could
have an alternative agenda or is a biased organization for raw data sets. If
you don't know what I'm talking about, please check out any guns and ammo
magazine or pro-life website. If they're gathering data themselves, it's
probably wrong. Data collected from the Department of Justice or National
Health Organization, those are real data sources; Department of Police Services
or Organization for Healthy Living may not. Beware of real-sounding
organizations that are just propaganda machines because they are very good at
creating names that sound legitimate.</div>
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<img alt="research" class="a-gif" data-absolute-url="/gifs/Zjgjwl1h0ilUc" data-bitly_gif_url="http://gph.is/295juwP" data-edit-url="/gifs/Zjgjwl1h0ilUc/edit" data-gif_id="Zjgjwl1h0ilUc" data-id="Zjgjwl1h0ilUc" data-image_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/Zjgjwl1h0ilUc/giphy.gif" data-mp4_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/Zjgjwl1h0ilUc/giphy.mp4" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="360" data-padding-top="124" data-preview-image-url="https://media.giphy.com/media/Zjgjwl1h0ilUc/100.gif" data-still="https://media.giphy.com/media/Zjgjwl1h0ilUc/giphy_s.gif" data-tumblr_share_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/Zjgjwl1h0ilUc/giphy-tumblr.gif" id="gif" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/Zjgjwl1h0ilUc/giphy.gif" /></div>
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Second, is what's being tested the real data. Wait, I'm
asking you to check the data? Yes, because pulling up shit results in shit
statistics. If we're looking at the percent of Chipotle burritos with
salmonella, it doesn’t make any sense to pull the results of the taco shells.
Yes, someone is shitting somewhere, but the taco data doesn’t tell us if the
burrito was to blame.<br />
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And finally, the data needs to be interpreted properly. I
mean, you can’t run a chi-squared test if you’re comparing two separate
populations. That would just be ridiculous.</div>
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What? Too technical?</div>
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How about you can’t say more puppies were adopted than kittens
this month because 60% of the puppies were adopted. I mean 60% is obviously
more than half, but that isn’t what the statistic is telling us. This goes back
to the data set. If we have 100 kittens and only 50 puppies, then 60% of
puppies being adopted is 30 puppies adopted. And 40% of kittens being adopted
is 40 kittens. More kittens were adopted than puppies even though the statistic
made it sound the other way.</div>
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<img alt="fun roller coaster roller coaster" class="a-gif" data-absolute-url="/gifs/reddit-roller-coaster-11u7t453jrQxY4" data-bitly_gif_url="http://gph.is/GFgQyP" data-edit-url="/gifs/reddit-roller-coaster-11u7t453jrQxY4/edit" data-gif_id="11u7t453jrQxY4" data-id="11u7t453jrQxY4" data-image_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/11u7t453jrQxY4/giphy.gif" data-mp4_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/11u7t453jrQxY4/giphy.mp4" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="353" data-padding-top="48" data-preview-image-url="https://media.giphy.com/media/11u7t453jrQxY4/100.gif" data-still="https://media.giphy.com/media/11u7t453jrQxY4/giphy_s.gif" data-tumblr_share_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/11u7t453jrQxY4/giphy-tumblr.gif" height="450" id="gif" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/11u7t453jrQxY4/giphy.gif" style="height: 450px; width: 450px;" width="450" /></div>
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What am I trying to get at here? Don’t trust all the
statistics you read. Do your research before you re-quote something, even if it
proves your point. Especially if a politician is using it. And stop flinging
around bad statistics to back up your bad ideals. To misquote the immortal John
Oliver, “Don’t bring feelings to a fact fight.”*</div>
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* <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNdkrtfZP8I"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "calibri";">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNdkrtfZP8I</span></a>
Minute 7:40 </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Thank you to Giphy.com for the use of their gifs.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-62225390653225652922016-05-24T13:47:00.000-07:002016-05-24T13:47:31.959-07:00Critique: It's not as scary as you think<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It’s been nine months or so since I’ve last posted. So much
has happened in that time—good, bad, scary, amazing. And yet what brought me
back to the blog was none of it. I’ll save all that for another time.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Today I want to talk to you about a very serious issue.
Something every writer needs in their arsenal if they want to be read.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Critique.</span></div>
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<img alt="New Girl scared scream screaming nick miller" class="a-gif" data-absolute-url="/gifs/new-girl-fox-new-girl-3osxYxemaG5RVSDjVu" data-bitly_gif_url="http://gph.is/25kI2tA" data-edit-url="/gifs/new-girl-fox-new-girl-3osxYxemaG5RVSDjVu/edit" data-gif_id="3osxYxemaG5RVSDjVu" data-id="3osxYxemaG5RVSDjVu" data-image_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/3osxYxemaG5RVSDjVu/giphy.gif" data-mp4_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/3osxYxemaG5RVSDjVu/giphy.mp4" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" data-padding-top="84" data-preview-image-url="https://media.giphy.com/media/3osxYxemaG5RVSDjVu/100.gif" data-still="https://media.giphy.com/media/3osxYxemaG5RVSDjVu/giphy_s.gif" data-tumblr_share_url="https://media.giphy.com/media/3osxYxemaG5RVSDjVu/giphy-tumblr.gif" id="gif" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/3osxYxemaG5RVSDjVu/giphy.gif" /><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Stay with me now. I know to some people it’s a four letter
word that sends your writing soul curling up in the fetal position. It was for
me too, at one point…</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Lately I’ve been seeing too much backlash when it comes to
the critique. I get it, it’s hard to listen as someone tears apart your sweet
written baby. They don’t understand, they haven’t worked on it for hours upon
weeks upon years. You know everything about your world and the story, they
don’t know anything. Idiots.</span></div>
<img alt="angry work archer office frustrated" class="gifs-gif unloaded hovering" data-animated="https://media3.giphy.com/media/13KbizKBgz2llS/200.gif" data-height="200" data-still="https://media3.giphy.com/media/13KbizKBgz2llS/200_s.gif" data-width="400" id="13KbizKBgz2llS" src="https://media3.giphy.com/media/13KbizKBgz2llS/200.gif" style="height: 110.51px; width: 218.02px;" /><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">And that’s the point.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you want other people to read your work, then you need to
open your ears to them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’m going to share a little of my own pain. I don’t know if
it will help, but misery loves company. There are three critiques that have
stuck with me, critiques I will never forget, as they have shaped my critique
receiving behavior forever.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When I finished my baby MS, I had bright doe eyes, ready to
share with the world and hear what others thought about it. I tried different online forums with mixed results. The truth was, the anonymity and mean-spiritedness of online didn't work for me. So I searched on meetup.com and found I found a critique group in my local area.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">They first time I
walked in the door of that Starbucks, I wanted to throw up. Surely these were Craigslist kidnappers who murdered people showing up to their "writer's group." To my surprise, none of them seemed the kidnap/murder-y type and I actually felt a little at home with the eclectic group.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">They were welcoming, but the leader made it clear from the
beginning: we aren’t here to critique sandwich you with fluffy happy stuff.
We’re here to work. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">And as scary as that sounds, I appreciated the honesty. So I put up my first piece and braced myself for my first real critique.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It was brutal. To my never ending embarrassment, I didn't know how to properly use quotations, I committed so many commatrocities I thought I would be jailed by the grammar police, and I used the phrase "magically delicious".</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://media4.giphy.com/media/igR5863TALcSk/200.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="frozen elsa let it go" border="0" class="gifs-gif unloaded hovering" data-animated="https://media4.giphy.com/media/igR5863TALcSk/200.gif" data-height="200" data-still="https://media4.giphy.com/media/igR5863TALcSk/200_s.gif" data-width="250" id="igR5863TALcSk" src="https://media4.giphy.com/media/igR5863TALcSk/200.gif" style="height: 200px; width: 250px;" /></a></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But I learned, and I kept submitted. I won't lie, I usually had a drink beforehand because it took some of the sting off. But I kept at it and I got a little better each time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Then one day during my critique I heard these words, "You've got a problem, and it's a big, fucking problem."</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest.
It was happening all over again. I shouldn't be a writer, I was a pathetic
impersonator. Every horrible thought that writers think, I went through in the
moments and hours and days after.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">hen I felt less vulnerable I read the piece. You know, he
was right. Everything they said was right.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
After that moment I started listening more. And I learned
some very important things. Not just about the pieces being critiqued, but
how attitude can make or break you.</div>
<img alt="ron swanson nick offerman headphones listening" class="gifs-gif unloaded hovering" data-animated="https://media1.giphy.com/media/TbPh7p3cfUAPC/200.gif" data-height="200" data-still="https://media1.giphy.com/media/TbPh7p3cfUAPC/200_s.gif" data-width="241" id="TbPh7p3cfUAPC" src="https://media1.giphy.com/media/TbPh7p3cfUAPC/200.gif" style="height: 164.6px; width: 197.35px;" /><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
Don't argue and say, "Well, if you get to the next
chapter then it'll be explained." Because the truth is, if someone reads
it and it doesn't make sense, then it doesn't make sense. If you want to be
read, then you have to appreciate reader feedback.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
Not everything in critique is perfect, and sometimes
different people will argue over if it fits in the piece or not. But it's your
job as the author to review that section with a critical eye and decide if it
needs fixing. Don't dismiss your critics just because your ego is too soft.
Open your mind and your writing will thrive.</div>
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-26900670977557852922015-08-31T20:09:00.004-07:002015-08-31T20:09:34.602-07:00Ready, Set, Write! Wrap-Up<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6DEm8O8xU8n_AzGr01ZuxFQmSNpIb68h8BO3grCs9URk-cknUwE8VpulMZ0Q33GXOssIrmwo4usHGN7Jgor2R2YWnWvEBfvABvPCHIrJWQfGkzc69yn9xDDpHHClXpqnSDfNBYIF4EJd/s1600/RSW7.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6DEm8O8xU8n_AzGr01ZuxFQmSNpIb68h8BO3grCs9URk-cknUwE8VpulMZ0Q33GXOssIrmwo4usHGN7Jgor2R2YWnWvEBfvABvPCHIrJWQfGkzc69yn9xDDpHHClXpqnSDfNBYIF4EJd/s1600/RSW7.png" /></a><span style="color: #274e13;">It's late, so I'll be brief. Which suits my writing style.</span></div>
<span style="color: #274e13;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">I have taken Beauty Bound from 80,000 words to almost 100,000. Because of the revisions I put the query search on hold. But I will be picking back up with a new and improved MS.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">I added 8,420 words to Arrow Nocked.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">I ran two chapters of Survivors through critique group, then put it on hold. It needs more time and research.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">The most important accomplishment of the summer was one I hadn't planned on. I feel like I took a step forward in my writing. Through some excellent feedback and critique I saw a huge writing issue that I had. So my MS is so much better now, I feel embarrassed for even thinking the first one was ok.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">Because I have to go into work tomorrow, I can't use the paint quite like I had intended. But I would use the following colors:</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><strong>Dark green</strong> on the thumb- to represent the growth and spirituality in nature</span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d;"><strong>Blue</strong> on the index finger- to represent the ocean and sky as they point to peace</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>Red</strong> on the middle finger- to flip off the evil</span><br />
<span style="color: #93c47d;"><strong>Light</strong> green on the ring finger- for a secret twist</span><br />
<span style="color: #ea9999;"><strong>Pink</strong> on the pinkie- for the littlest surprise</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">Have a wonderful rest of the year. Keep up the wonderful words!</span><br />
Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-7871342742017364952015-08-17T11:03:00.000-07:002015-08-17T11:03:50.487-07:00Ready, Set, Write! Update # 10<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipeEEHPBwA3wKjbfX7-pQ_n9VVgK_yXREdysswNy5T0IrpolaQs6-Mcqwy0xOFbD9XYlFu5wWXtpjUW3rYSlmZiP3_WQhUKV0RHM-H44pVfM29REB2hgEh5WI-NByMwCWtAo7-9krWnG40/s1600/RSW10.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipeEEHPBwA3wKjbfX7-pQ_n9VVgK_yXREdysswNy5T0IrpolaQs6-Mcqwy0xOFbD9XYlFu5wWXtpjUW3rYSlmZiP3_WQhUKV0RHM-H44pVfM29REB2hgEh5WI-NByMwCWtAo7-9krWnG40/s320/RSW10.png" width="267" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/2015/05/get-ready-for-ready-set-write.html"><span style="color: #073763;">Ready. Set. WRITE!</span></a><span style="color: #073763;"> is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at with our writing projects—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are </span><a href="http://alisonmiller20.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #073763;">Alison Miller</span></a><span style="color: #073763;">, </span><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/"><span style="color: #073763;">Jaime Morrow</span></a><span style="color: #073763;">, </span><a href="http://erinlfunk.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #073763;">Erin Funk</span></a><span style="color: #073763;">, </span><a href="http://elodienowodazkij.com/"><span style="color: #073763;">Elodie Nowodazkij</span></a><span style="color: #073763;">, and </span><a href="http://katyupperman.com/"><span style="color: #073763;">Katy Upperman</span></a><span style="color: #073763;">. We check in every Monday and conclude on August 31.<br /><br /><strong><u>1. How I did on last week’s goals</u></strong><br /><br />Add 5,000 words to Beauty Bound: I put it over the 90,000 target, so I feel accomplishment, even if it's not the total 5,000<br /><br />Perfect #PitchWars entry: yes, and submitted<br /><br />Exercise three days this week: yes, including a very fun dance party with the family to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy<br /><br />Finish piece for critique partner: no, bad girl<br /><br />Read a book off of my "to-read" list: no, in my sheer panic I pulled out my comfort book (ACOTAR) and re-read</span><br />
<br /><span style="color: #073763;"><strong><u>2. My goal(s) for this week</u></strong><br /><br />Pick up Arrow Nocked and write in it, it's feeling sorely neglected<br /><br />Finish piece for critique partner<br /><br />Exercise three days this week<br /><br />Read a book off of my "to-read" list</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763;">Clean my sorely neglected house</span><br />
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<strong><u><span style="color: #073763;">3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote</span></u></strong><br />
<strong><u></u></strong><br /><span style="color: #073763;"> “I'd be happy if you were naked.”<br /><br /> She tapped him on the forehead. “Not once have you looked genuinely happy. Not even when I am naked. So do what I say and stop talking.”<br /><br /><strong><u>4. The biggest challenge I faced this week (ex. finding time to write, the siren song of SNIs)</u></strong><br /><br />The panic of pushing myself to a deadline. But I think it was good practice. <br /><br /><strong><u>5. Something I love about my WIP</u></strong><br /><br />My villains.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Write because it makes you happy!</span><br />
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Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-2463750146102259172015-08-10T19:21:00.001-07:002015-08-10T19:41:01.552-07:00Ready, Set, Write! Update #9<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6DEm8O8xU8n_AzGr01ZuxFQmSNpIb68h8BO3grCs9URk-cknUwE8VpulMZ0Q33GXOssIrmwo4usHGN7Jgor2R2YWnWvEBfvABvPCHIrJWQfGkzc69yn9xDDpHHClXpqnSDfNBYIF4EJd/s1600/RSW7.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6DEm8O8xU8n_AzGr01ZuxFQmSNpIb68h8BO3grCs9URk-cknUwE8VpulMZ0Q33GXOssIrmwo4usHGN7Jgor2R2YWnWvEBfvABvPCHIrJWQfGkzc69yn9xDDpHHClXpqnSDfNBYIF4EJd/s1600/RSW7.png" style="height: 283px; width: 306px;" /></a><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/2015/05/get-ready-for-ready-set-write.html"><span style="color: #783f04;">Ready. Set. WRITE!</span></a><span style="color: #783f04;"> is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at with our writing projects—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are </span><a href="http://alisonmiller20.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #783f04;">Alison Miller</span></a><span style="color: #783f04;">, </span><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/"><span style="color: #783f04;">Jaime Morrow</span></a><span style="color: #783f04;">, </span><a href="http://erinlfunk.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #783f04;">Erin Funk</span></a><span style="color: #783f04;">, </span><a href="http://elodienowodazkij.com/"><span style="color: #783f04;">Elodie Nowodazkij</span></a><span style="color: #783f04;">, and </span><a href="http://katyupperman.com/"><span style="color: #783f04;">Katy Upperman</span></a><span style="color: #783f04;">. We check in every Monday and conclude on August 31.<br /><br /><strong><u>1. How I did on last week’s goals</u></strong><br /><br />Add 5,000 words to Beauty Bound: Up 4,000, so pretty good<br /><br />Perfect #PitchWars entry: Will it ever really be perfect?<br /><br />Blogpost on MWW: YES!<br /><br />Exercise three days this week: Done!<br /><br />Finish piece for critique partner: half done<br /><br />Read a book off of my ever-growing "to-read" list: Thirteen Reasons Why, fantastic, but terrifying as the mother of girls<br /><br />Scope out places and setting for author photos: a little, now to convince the husband to do them<br /><br /><strong><u>2. My goal(s) for this week</u></strong><br /><br />Add 5,000 words to Beauty Bound<br /><br />Perfect #PitchWars entry<br /><br />Exercise three days this week<br /><br />Finish piece for critique partner<br /><br />Read a book off of my "to-read" list</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;"><strong><u>3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote</u></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br />How long could she last? Where else would she go? She couldn’t go home. Her nightmare would only come back.<br /><br /><strong><u>4. The biggest challenge I faced this week (ex. finding time to write, the siren song of SNIs)</u></strong><br /><br />Finding focus. Finding time. Finding my brain.<br /><br /><strong><u>5. Something I love about my WIP</u></strong><br /><br />The characters and their complicated relationship.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Write like no one is watching!</span></div>
Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-38808746879605752132015-08-04T15:25:00.000-07:002015-08-04T15:26:28.570-07:00Oral Pitchin is BitchinOr the bane of a writer's existence.<br />
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Yes, the second one.<br />
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If you've never been to a writer's conference and engaged in the horror that is the oral pitch session, then you have lucked out. Don't get me wrong, you give me three alone minutes with an agent or editor, I am happy as can be. I just hate what pitching does to authors.<br />
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I recently attended the <a href="http://www.midwestwriters.org/" target="_blank">Midwest Writer's Workshop</a> for the second year in a row. If you live in the Midwest and haven't been, you are missing out. It is one of the highlights of my year. And not just my writing year. You get to meet tons of writers in your field or out of your field or you just like to drink beer with them. And, of course, there are the agents.<br />
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<a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/rg.gif"><img alt="Why are you so obsessed with me?" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-23808" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/rg.gif" height="192" width="350" /></a></div>
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Agents. It is easy to imagine them as a lion to stalk and pounce on as soon as you might get a free moment with them. Yet you look around the conference, and everyone is freaking out about their pitches. If you haven't been in the world of querying hell, then it's hard to understand just how exciting it is to get a real, live agent in front of you. They will say yes or no. No waiting for three months and never getting an answer. A three minute decision. And you'll know.<br />
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The problem is, you don't know. It's one agent, who is the best fit for you out of seven agents. Querying is about identifying agents who fit your category and genre, making sure they like what kind of book you're writing them, then sending them your carefully crafted query that encapsulates the essence of your book and has been revised as meticulously as your manuscript. Or at least it should. You're a writer, written words are your craft.<br />
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Oral pitching is like word vomiting on someone and praying that they like you.<br />
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<img class="mainImage" data-bm="12" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznPcVHrNOs9pe6NvDAEQwo6TRYArZ54jVcehI9RRoB6GpSjtRbNgYfhywcG4Hp0v8GuQEIGG-9-T5CFvoTKgKTTf6n3OOLoIVT-ZX_l6fhhj-8-4pMfi403Q1f_vIVncI0xgxC8JWg4A/s200/word+vomit.jpg" width="91" /></div>
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But pitching doesn't have to be evil. I pitched the past two years, and the experience was amazing. You just have to treat it right to make it not so stressful you think about losing your continental breakfast beforehand.<br />
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At MWW there were a lot of people around to help with pitches, which essentially is boiling your book to a paragraph. Kind of like a QUERY. But I say, take the pitch prep a step further. Taper your pitch down to one sentence or two. Your hook. The magical, elusive hook.<br />
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<a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/tm7o0.gif"><img alt="It's Magical" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20882" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/tm7o0.gif" height="282" width="400" /></a></div>
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So BAM! Hit them with your hook. Both times, with my initial hook, the agent sat back. They appeared refreshed by not having words chucked at them in rapid succession. Then, the best thing happened. The agent/editor asked me a question.<br />
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<a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/fantastic.gif"><img alt="fantastic" class="alignnone wp-image-6254" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/fantastic.gif" height="315" width="386" /></a></div>
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The question they wanted to know, not what I guessed they wanted to know. So I would answer, then they would ask another question and another. Last year, I got a small bit of interest, but what was more valuable, I could see where I lost her. And I could tell what the important parts of my story were from the agent perspective. Not my warped writer's perspective.<br />
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So yes, some of my fellow writers got requests for 100 pages, and I am super duper excited for them. But I wouldn't want to put myself through the stress some people did, only to be told by the editor that she's not into medieval settings. That's cool, I got to talk to her for three minutes about what she did like.<br />
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This method might not work for everyone. Some people want to be completely prepared. It might be your dream agent and you want the pitch to work perfectly. But if not, consider the alternative.<br />
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Have pitchin day!</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">All GIFs provided by </span><a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/"><span style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.reactiongifs.com/</span></a></div>
Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-39468102346464719192015-08-03T07:25:00.001-07:002015-08-03T07:44:14.636-07:00Ready, Set, Write! Update #8<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJOI2DOAZh7021z7vVaczFoAyA-LYij-6BawHhuNUhAnigzgmNEjNhkzkt8BYic0NqG70sNLg_3y6ZLIaF8sAR3IlOIqpAyYWqWed9-edAsXIdXY4NPFo2o6Ps0vZkxJWsSXpqQ0iukkjA/s1600/RSW4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJOI2DOAZh7021z7vVaczFoAyA-LYij-6BawHhuNUhAnigzgmNEjNhkzkt8BYic0NqG70sNLg_3y6ZLIaF8sAR3IlOIqpAyYWqWed9-edAsXIdXY4NPFo2o6Ps0vZkxJWsSXpqQ0iukkjA/s1600/RSW4.png" style="height: 254px; width: 534px;" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/2015/05/get-ready-for-ready-set-write.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Ready. Set. WRITE!</span></a><span style="color: #990000;"> is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at with our writing projects—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are </span><a href="http://alisonmiller20.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #990000;">Alison Miller</span></a><span style="color: #990000;">, </span><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/"><span style="color: #990000;">Jaime Morrow</span></a><span style="color: #990000;">, </span><a href="http://erinlfunk.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #990000;">Erin Funk</span></a><span style="color: #990000;">, </span><a href="http://elodienowodazkij.com/"><span style="color: #990000;">Elodie Nowodazkij</span></a><span style="color: #990000;">, and </span><a href="http://katyupperman.com/"><span style="color: #990000;">Katy Upperman</span></a><span style="color: #990000;">. We check in every Monday and conclude on August 31.</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span><span style="color: #990000;"><strong><u>1. How I did on last week’s goals</u></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><br />Add 5,000 words to Beauty Bound - um... close. But I did revise my synopsis and first chapter again to get it ready for #PitchWars<br /><br />Review my notes from Midwest Writers Workshop and tab the areas for further review - yes, my binder is now a beautifully color-coded masterpiece<br /><br />Blogpost on MWW - total failure<br /><br />Get ready for back to school - done x 2<br /><br />Exercise three days this week - I cleaned, I think that counts<br /><br /><strong><u>2. My goal(s) for this week</u></strong><br /><br />Add 5,000 words to Beauty Bound<br /><br />Perfect #PitchWars entry<br /><br />Blogpost on MWW<br /><br />Exercise three days this week</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Finish piece for critique partner</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Read a book off of my ever-growing "to-read" list</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">Scope out places and setting for author photos</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span><span style="color: #990000;"><strong><u>3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote</u></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><br />Staring down at her, he wanted to hold her, love her, but he stopped short. He couldn't let her in, who knew what damage she could do? <br /><br /><strong><u>4. The biggest challenge I faced this week (ex. finding time to write, the siren song of SNIs)</u></strong><br /><br />My husband got the idea in his head that we needed to clean house. And I am very, very ready for the kids to go back to school!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><strong><u>5. Something I love about my WIP</u></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000;">I love that I found out what it was really about. The true heart of the story. And it wasn't what I had been pitching. ;)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;">Write your heart!</span>Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-13216273779913028502015-07-27T20:19:00.003-07:002015-07-27T20:21:43.280-07:00Ready, Set, Write! Update #7<div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;">Or as I like to call it, better late than never.</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/2015/05/get-ready-for-ready-set-write.html"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Ready. Set. WRITE!</span></a><span style="color: #4c1130;"> is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at with our writing projects—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are </span><a href="http://alisonmiller20.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Alison Miller</span></a><span style="color: #4c1130;">, </span><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Jaime Morrow</span></a><span style="color: #4c1130;">, </span><a href="http://erinlfunk.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Erin Funk</span></a><span style="color: #4c1130;">, </span><a href="http://elodienowodazkij.com/"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Elodie Nowodazkij</span></a><span style="color: #4c1130;">, and </span><a href="http://katyupperman.com/"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Katy Upperman</span></a><span style="color: #4c1130;">. We check in every Monday and conclude on August 31.<br /><br /><strong><u>1. How I did on last week’s goals</u></strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: #4c1130;"></span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Follow up with agents and on #Pit2Pub requests. <i>Check</i><br /><br />Add 2,000 words to Arrow Nocked or Survivors. <i>Yeah, no. But I got a lot written on Beauty Bound</i><br /><br />Get back into normal routine for 3 whole days...<i> I don't think I would recognize normal anymore</i><br /><br />Then Midwest Writers Workshop this week!!! <i>That is going to take a blogpost or five to explain the awesomeness</i></span></span></div>
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</em><u> </u></strong></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="color: #4c1130;"><strong><u>2. My goal(s) for this week</u></strong><br /><br />Add 5,000 words to Beauty Bound</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #4c1130;">Review my notes from Midwest Writers Workshop and tab the areas for further review</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #4c1130;"></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #4c1130;">Blogpost on MWW</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #4c1130;">Get ready for back to school</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #4c1130;"></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #4c1130;">Exercise three days this week</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /><strong><span style="color: #4c1130;"><u>3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote</u></span></strong></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #4c1130;">Revision/editing/elaborating</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #4c1130;">The Oversharers</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /><span style="color: #4c1130;"><strong><u>4. The biggest challenge I faced this week (ex. finding time to write, the siren song of SNIs)</u></strong><br /><br />After hours in workshop, I wanted to attack my manuscripts with a bloody red pen and have hours and days to write. But of course, I went drinking with my new writing buddies and then went on a trip to Holiday World with the family.</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #4c1130;"><b><u>5. Something I love about my WIP</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #4c1130;">It's 15,000 words away from being marketable. (13,000 if I get to count the words added today)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">Write beautifully!</span></div>
Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-45865150110053555752015-07-20T05:37:00.001-07:002015-07-20T05:37:11.249-07:00Ready, Set, Write! Update #6<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxzcFQDGn7HjrIcXblhol_pVk9jVC7z8pmz6tcY9C0-Fu42GA_KwaY8Iv5U7S-HJ_qWAyFQdF3Zn7BLssZ6hlnfj7z3Y6ER2ftEdfywV2IF2TIZ9lFIQL0qrE57gvsMEe5RqQml0FhWoK/s1600/RSW11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6DEm8O8xU8n_AzGr01ZuxFQmSNpIb68h8BO3grCs9URk-cknUwE8VpulMZ0Q33GXOssIrmwo4usHGN7Jgor2R2YWnWvEBfvABvPCHIrJWQfGkzc69yn9xDDpHHClXpqnSDfNBYIF4EJd/s1600/RSW7.png" style="height: 283px; width: 306px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/2015/05/get-ready-for-ready-set-write.html"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Ready. Set. WRITE!</span></a><span style="color: #134f5c;"> is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at with our writing projects—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are </span><a href="http://alisonmiller20.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Alison Miller</span></a><span style="color: #134f5c;">, </span><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Jaime Morrow</span></a><span style="color: #134f5c;">, </span><a href="http://erinlfunk.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Erin Funk</span></a><span style="color: #134f5c;">, </span><a href="http://elodienowodazkij.com/"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Elodie Nowodazkij</span></a><span style="color: #134f5c;">, and </span><a href="http://katyupperman.com/"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Katy Upperman</span></a><span style="color: #134f5c;">. We check in every Monday and conclude on August 31.<br /><br /><strong><u>1. How I did on last week’s goals</u></strong><br /><br />17 pages edited<br /><br />1200 words added to Arrow Nocked<br /><br />Relaxing...<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqjYaC0YIr1aVo5GU-ugGkycbHqXWVKjW4bmmjBaCpysT8eRbPlFcBeIpG1ZZVbZUMrlTKBk3MH3_B3UY2yGAdGsj4Anfjexl8TaeTdggRPTz3kPV1N6yNUrpsBHsjR12DOl4GWhJNwh4/s1600/IMG_0008.JPG"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqjYaC0YIr1aVo5GU-ugGkycbHqXWVKjW4bmmjBaCpysT8eRbPlFcBeIpG1ZZVbZUMrlTKBk3MH3_B3UY2yGAdGsj4Anfjexl8TaeTdggRPTz3kPV1N6yNUrpsBHsjR12DOl4GWhJNwh4/s320/IMG_0008.JPG" /></span></a><br /><br /><span style="color: #134f5c;">Oh yeah<br /><br />And I finished 2, count them, 2 books this week.<br /><br /><strong><u>2. My goal(s) for this week</u></strong><br /><br />Follow up with agents and on #Pit2Pub requests.<br /><br />Add 2,000 words to Arrow Nocked or Survivors.<br /><br />Get back into normal routine for 3 whole days...<br /><br />Then Midwest Writers Workshop this week!!! Anyone else going??<br /><br /><strong><u>3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised</u></strong><br /><br />The king trusted him. The king was wrong.<br /><br /><strong><u>4. The biggest challenge I faced this week (ex. finding time to write, the siren song of SNIs)</u></strong><br /><br />There was a lot of swimming and alcohol and fun that kept dragging me away. Not really complaining though.<br /><br />And writing on an iPad 24/7 is kind of a pain. I missed my laptop.<br /><br /><strong><u>5. Something I love about my WiP</u></strong><br /><br />That BB is still surprising me after 2 years. And still improving!<br /><br /><br /><br />Write your heart!</span> Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-59694413859047349182015-07-13T05:22:00.001-07:002015-07-13T05:22:32.496-07:00Ready, Set, Write! Update #5<div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/2015/05/get-ready-for-ready-set-write.html" target="_blank">Ready. Set. WRITE!</a> is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we're at with our writing projects—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are <a href="http://alisonmiller20.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Alison Miller</a>, <a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/" target="_blank">Jaime Morrow</a>, <a href="http://erinlfunk.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Erin Funk</a>, <a href="http://elodienowodazkij.com/" target="_blank">Elodie Nowodazkij</a>, and <a href="http://katyupperman.com/" target="_blank">Katy Upperman</a>. We check in every Monday and conclude on August 31.<br /><br /><u><strong>1. How I did on last week’s goals</strong></u></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><u><strong><br /></strong></u>
I did get a lot of the BB edits finished. I think I got maybe 500 words added to Survivors, but after critique group, I think it's going to need some more research before moving forward. I may have to switch over to Arrow.</span><br />
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The house is back into some reasonable sense of normality again. Still not quite finished, but I ran around with loads of laundry in three days. Most of it got folded.</span><br />
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I do have a new book, Crimson Bound. I hope it is as good as Cruel Beauty. And I am most definitely relaxing... 😎</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><br /><strong><u>2. My goal(s) for this week</u></strong><br /><br />Figure out how to explain to the agents who have partials and the full that I have made edits without looking like a diva author who wasn't ready when I started querying. (Situation: I won a critique from a published author in the midst of querying and she made one overarching comment that I have been adding in from where it was missing.)<br /><br />Add 2,000 words to Arrow Nocked or Survivors.<br /><br />READ! Because for once, I have time.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;">RELAX!<br /><br /><strong><u>3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised</u></strong><br />Smoothing the folds of her dress she raised her chin to full measure. He looked down at her, his head cocked slightly to the side, an amused smile on his face. He was amused. And she hated him. “I am not afraid.”<br /><br /><strong><u>4. The biggest challenge I faced this week (ex. finding time to write, the siren song of SNIs)</u></strong></span><br />
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Too much stress in my brain, I couldn't see my characters, my story, anything. It was exhausting and sad. Much better now that the stress is over. I picked up right where I left off as soon as my butt hit the plane.<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /><br /><strong><u>5. Something I love about my WiP</u></strong><br /><br />That I've been working on it this long and I'm still not tired of it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #351c75;">Sorry for the weird formatting. Trying to do this on the iPad is not so fun!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #351c75;">Write with your heart!</span></div>
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Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-43351683291427819072015-07-06T04:15:00.000-07:002015-07-06T04:15:35.909-07:00Ready, Set, Write! Update 4<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxzcFQDGn7HjrIcXblhol_pVk9jVC7z8pmz6tcY9C0-Fu42GA_KwaY8Iv5U7S-HJ_qWAyFQdF3Zn7BLssZ6hlnfj7z3Y6ER2ftEdfywV2IF2TIZ9lFIQL0qrE57gvsMEe5RqQml0FhWoK/s1600/RSW11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxzcFQDGn7HjrIcXblhol_pVk9jVC7z8pmz6tcY9C0-Fu42GA_KwaY8Iv5U7S-HJ_qWAyFQdF3Zn7BLssZ6hlnfj7z3Y6ER2ftEdfywV2IF2TIZ9lFIQL0qrE57gvsMEe5RqQml0FhWoK/s320/RSW11.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/2015/05/get-ready-for-ready-set-write.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Ready. Set. WRITE!</span></span></a><span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"> is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at with our writing projects—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are </span></span><a href="http://alisonmiller20.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Alison Miller</span></span></a><span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">, </span></span><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Jaime Morrow</span></span></a><span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">, </span></span><a href="http://erinlfunk.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Erin Funk</span></span></a><span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">, </span></span><a href="http://elodienowodazkij.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Elodie Nowodazkij</span></span></a><span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">, and </span></span><a href="http://katyupperman.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Katy Upperman</span></span></a><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: #e06666;">. <span style="color: #0b5394;">We check in every Monday and conclude on August 31.<br /><br /><u><strong>1. How I did on last week’s goals</strong></u></span></span></span><span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Whoops! Last week was an odd week. I got very distracted with #PitchtoPublication and #pg70pit. So my edits were minimal and I only got about 1,000 new words. Bummer.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">One strange and unanticipated achievement: I now have a new tile floor in my laundry room. Of course, that came at the expense of my dryer breaking down and I've been without my washer and dryer for the week. Yikes!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">And I blame the other part of my failure on the fact that I got swept into </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3236307-graceling?ac=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Graceling</span></a><span style="color: #0b5394;"> so much that I was sneaking in reads during the holiday traveling. So worth it!</span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666;"><br /><span style="color: #0b5394;"><strong><u>2. My goal(s) for this week</u></strong><br /><br />Finish the BB edits. No, seriously.<br /><br />Add 2,000 words to Arrow Nocked or Survivors.<br /><br />Finish getting my house ready and do all the laundry<br /><br />Find a new book or three to put on my reading list.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">RELAX!</span><span style="color: #e06666;"><br /><br /><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;"><u>3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised</u></span></strong></span><span style="color: #e06666;"><br /><br /><span style="color: #0b5394;">“You speak the truth, but my curiosity has been piqued. I will torture it out of you if necessary.” He smiled a little. It caught Mirea off her guard. His friendly banter and dark side tangled together.<br /><br /><strong><u>4. The biggest challenge I faced this week (ex. finding time to write, the siren song of SNIs)</u></strong></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Finding time and motivation. It was hard to get motivated when I would finally sit down.<br /><br /><strong><u>5. Something I love about my WiP</u></strong><br /><br />That BB is finished to the point where I can enter contests. They're fun, but can suck you in something awful.<br /><br /><br /><br />Write amazing!</span></span> Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-44026322681035884072015-06-29T14:36:00.003-07:002015-06-29T17:16:17.430-07:00Ready, Set, Write! Week 3<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjF-4A1PxfVh0sQA5YTZFT-CE8vSclWWW3L_wEv9U3BU7N8r0gKIENGgMxryML-cR4Qpf8PLcVogBt_c8HfRxEDG3yejF5xIQjDjjNc0NICi1zvNXK6G4bPNkjtEIA8P2XPQs0nmjOdTxN/s1600/RSW2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjF-4A1PxfVh0sQA5YTZFT-CE8vSclWWW3L_wEv9U3BU7N8r0gKIENGgMxryML-cR4Qpf8PLcVogBt_c8HfRxEDG3yejF5xIQjDjjNc0NICi1zvNXK6G4bPNkjtEIA8P2XPQs0nmjOdTxN/s320/RSW2.png" width="256" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/2015/05/get-ready-for-ready-set-write.html"><span style="color: #e06666;">Ready. Set. WRITE!</span></a><span style="color: #e06666;"> is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at with our writing projects—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are </span><a href="http://alisonmiller20.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #e06666;">Alison Miller</span></a><span style="color: #e06666;">, </span><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/"><span style="color: #e06666;">Jaime Morrow</span></a><span style="color: #e06666;">, </span><a href="http://erinlfunk.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #e06666;">Erin Funk</span></a><span style="color: #e06666;">, </span><a href="http://elodienowodazkij.com/"><span style="color: #e06666;">Elodie Nowodazkij</span></a><span style="color: #e06666;">, and </span><a href="http://katyupperman.com/"><span style="color: #e06666;">Katy Upperman</span></a><span style="color: #e06666;">. We check in every Monday and conclude on August 31.<br /><br /><u><strong>1. How I did on last week’s goals</strong></u><br /><br />Apply the edits from ACP to the rest of Beauty Bound so I can continue querying: I have spent the majority of my time on this piece and am happy that I am very closed to finished!<br /><br />Add 2,000 words to Arrow Nocked or Survivors: 538 to AN, 470 to Survivors, so only about half<br /><br />Reach 190 active minutes: 281, nailed it!<br /><br />Finish vacation planning: yeah, no<br /><br /><strong><u>2. My goal(s) for this week</u></strong><br /><br />Finish the BB edits.<br /><br />Add 2,000 words to Arrow Nocked or Survivors.<br /><br />Reach 210 active minutes.<br /><br />Finish vacation planning!<br /><br />Finish reading <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3236307-graceling?ac=1" target="_blank">Graceling</a>.<br /><br /><strong><u>3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised</u></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #e06666;"><strong><u><br /></u></strong>I’m forced to be with this stranger in my room. A stranger who talked about how he saved me. My black white knight.<br /><br /><strong><u>4. The biggest challenge I faced this week (ex. finding time to write, the siren song of SNIs)</u></strong><br /><br />I really wanted to get to the writing, but exciting news made me hit the BB edits harder than I had anticipated.<br /><br /><strong><u>5. Something I love about my WiP</u></strong><br /><br />I love my comical scenes. They're so much fun to read and write.<br /><br /><br /><br />Write lots!</span>Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-6340230968763030022015-06-22T06:44:00.002-07:002015-06-22T06:44:27.502-07:00Ready, Set, Write! Week 2<img class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStdik-fm2c09YZI0zKkpMdFYGLOSB-B2X4XOwUG6FoBhk4QAKOixfmNVb_PCNxUuPYeJZgp29WWYx37TsVg7e3Pj1ksVHjT7oTewBicsnf_Wj-lbf8ZIrUQtKLBWVqxHXJN9le_xikpvb/s1600/RSW4.png" style="height: 254px; width: 534px;" /><br />
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<a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/2015/05/get-ready-for-ready-set-write.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763;">Ready. Set. WRITE!</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at with our writing projects—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are </span><a href="http://alisonmiller20.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #073763;">Alison Miller</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">, </span><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/"><span style="color: #073763;">Jaime Morrow</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">, </span><a href="http://erinlfunk.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #073763;">Erin Funk</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">, </span><a href="http://elodienowodazkij.com/"><span style="color: #073763;">Elodie Nowodazkij</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">, and </span><a href="http://katyupperman.com/"><span style="color: #073763;">Katy Upperman</span></a><span style="color: #3d85c6;">. We check in every Monday and conclude on August 31.</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.19px; line-height: 18.47px;"><br /></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="line-height: 19.4px; text-indent: 0.5in;"><strong><u>1. How I did on last week’s goals</u></strong></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Eek... I didn't really set goals for last week since I was late to set my summer goals, but I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Some additional edits to Beauty Bound (which I am unfortunately already shopping out), due to the wonderful critique from <a href="http://www.amychristineparker.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #073763;">Amy Christine Parker</span>.</a> I have had so many people look over the MS, but her comments really hit home and made it so much better.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">A new 538 words to Arrow Nocked since Thursday.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">I completed my entry for the Manny Contest at the Midwest Writer's Workshop. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">131 active minutes according to my Fitbit.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br style="line-height: 19.4px;" /><span style="line-height: 19.4px; text-indent: 0.5in;"><strong><u>2. My goal(s) for this week</u></strong></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="line-height: 19.4px; text-indent: 0.5in;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="line-height: 19.4px; text-indent: 0.5in;">Apply the edits from ACP to the rest of Beauty Bound so I can continue querying.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="line-height: 19.4px; text-indent: 0.5in;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="line-height: 19.4px; text-indent: 0.5in;">Add 2,000 words to Arrow Nocked or Survivors.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="line-height: 19.4px; text-indent: 0.5in;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="line-height: 19.4px; text-indent: 0.5in;">Reach 190 active minutes.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="line-height: 19.4px; text-indent: 0.5in;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="line-height: 19.4px; text-indent: 0.5in;">Finish vacation planning!</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br style="line-height: 19.4px;" /><span style="line-height: 19.4px;"><u><strong><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">3. A favorite line from my story OR </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised</span></strong></u></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Bianca writhed in his arms. “I can walk on my own.”<br /><br />“As evidenced by you nearly tumbling to the ground.”<br /><br />“I slipped.” Bianca giggled.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br style="line-height: 19.4px;" /><span style="line-height: 19.4px; text-indent: 0.5in;"><strong><u>4. The biggest challenge I faced this week (ex. finding time to write, the siren song of SNIs)</u></strong></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="line-height: 19.4px; text-indent: 0.5in;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 19.4px; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Charleston hit me hard. Survivors deals with a lot of racial issues and I felt compelled to read everything I could. Down the rabbit hole is a scary place to be. Even reading about the hate is too much to dwell on for long. So I've had to pull myself out of it, and focus on making the positive changes I can.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #aeacac; line-height: 20.79px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="line-height: 19.4px; text-indent: 0.5in;"></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #aeacac; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 19.4px; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><strong><u>5. Something I love about my WiP</u></strong></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #aeacac; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">That it can so clearly take me out of reality. Sometimes, that's where I need to be.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #aeacac; font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Write lots!</span></span></div>
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Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-75276327800387987502015-06-17T18:54:00.003-07:002015-06-17T18:54:51.292-07:00Ready, Set, Write! Goals 2015<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6DEm8O8xU8n_AzGr01ZuxFQmSNpIb68h8BO3grCs9URk-cknUwE8VpulMZ0Q33GXOssIrmwo4usHGN7Jgor2R2YWnWvEBfvABvPCHIrJWQfGkzc69yn9xDDpHHClXpqnSDfNBYIF4EJd/s1600/RSW7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz6DEm8O8xU8n_AzGr01ZuxFQmSNpIb68h8BO3grCs9URk-cknUwE8VpulMZ0Q33GXOssIrmwo4usHGN7Jgor2R2YWnWvEBfvABvPCHIrJWQfGkzc69yn9xDDpHHClXpqnSDfNBYIF4EJd/s1600/RSW7.png" /></a><br />
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Yea! It's that time of year again. Ready, Set, Write! hosted by <a href="http://alisonmiller20.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Alison Miller</span></a><span style="color: blue;">, </span><a href="http://katyupperman.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Katy Upperman</span></a><span style="color: blue;">, </span><a href="http://erinlfunk.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Erin Funk</span></a><span style="color: blue;">,</span><span style="color: black;"> and </span><a href="http://jaime-morrow.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Jamie Morrow</span></a>. I, of course, missed goal setting and the first week check-in, but I'm catching up now!<br />
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1. Write at least 30,000 words in either WIP.<br />
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2. Finish my agent search for <em>Beauty Bound</em>.<br />
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3. Complete the list of fairy tales, fables, and legends for each country in my <em>Twisted</em> series. (If anyone knows a good, obscure tale, let me know!)<br />
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4. Read a book a week.<br />
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5. Write at least one blog post per week.<br />
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6. Make some great contacts at <a href="http://www.midwestwriters.org/" target="_blank">Midwest Writer's Workshop</a>.<br />
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7. Finish the Magic School Bus science experiments with the kids.<br />
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8. Fit into my bathing suit before vacation without looking pregnant. (Seriously, I get the question a lot. My body is holding onto the baby weight in my abdomen, and only my abdomen, like it's an umbilical cord.)<br />
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So I'll be on next Monday with my update. Hopefully I won't forget this time!Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-59444652369077647722015-05-23T20:23:00.000-07:002015-05-23T20:24:00.230-07:00What's in a Series?So as I look through the #PitchWars twitter feed, one of the @LH_Writes said about 65 of the 75 queries have series potential and the rest are PB. That being said, what the heck is up with all these series?<br />
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Of course, what am I writing? A series... of a sort...<br />
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I love and hate series all at the same time. Most series are kind enough to provide us an update every year, except for that one guy who no one is allowed to mention because then he might kill off Tyrion. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/dink.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="dink" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20784" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/dink.gif" height="226" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, I love you Peter Dinklage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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But when I start a new series I almost want to wait until I know the last book is almost ready to come out because I'm not a patient person. I started reading Harry Potter three months before the seventh book came out. I read them in two months and thought I was going to die waiting for the Deathly Hallows.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/good-job.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Good Job" class="alignnone wp-image-14553" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/good-job.gif" height="181" width="448" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was me when it finally hit my mailbox</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Because I invest in the characters, I want to know everything about them. I fall in love with them and I want to be with them, they are a part of my soul. Over the past week I fell in love with a new cast of characters. Tamlin and Feyre from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16096824-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses?from_search=true&search_version=service" target="_blank">A Court of Roses and Thorns</a>. And this was only the first book. So now I wait and wait to see what comes next for them.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/16096824-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses" itemprop="image" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1)" height="200" id="coverImage" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1417961340l/16096824.jpg" title="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16096824-a-court-of-thorns-and-roses?from_search=true&search_version=service" width="130" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No seriously, go pick it up NOW</td></tr>
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And yet, I have set out to write a series. To torture other readers.<br />
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It didn't start out this way, really. I wrote what I wrote. One single fairy tale. Of all the things I'd ever written, I never thought fantasy would be one of them. As a child I read mysteries, poured through every Nancy Drew book I could find. The first book I wrote (in third grade) was a mystery. Then, I grew up. I fell in love with historical fiction. The second book I started writing (seventh grade) was set in the civil war because I loved Gone with the Wind so much. Of every book idea I've ever had, fantasy was never one of them.<br />
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Until I sat down to write my first, real, grown-up book.<br />
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And at the end there is closure, not 100%, but closure. And yet, I saw one character, a small minor character and thought, what if I give her a story? Then another character spoke to me, a story that I'd had brewing in my mind for some time as a historical. What if I tweaked it just a bit. Yes, he deserves his own story too.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img class="mainImage" data-bm="61" src="http://www.mainlesson.com/books/marshall/robin/zpage078.gif" height="200" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="159" /><img class="mainImage" data-bm="13" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ncy2pgI0LkTheB0_pRYUPwHZgSW2_VqKmJfbI3iKSIc8AY2hBMdJB1aegm_NcMcgOL5mnNGUiFnR9yU435lX7FzZAduMB8oE12e7Upl4SJcenP5Py3aIk_VopbhHmac6R1s03fTTyE0/s200/native_american_indian_six09.jpg" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In case you're wondering where I'm headed next...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Thus my series is born. I even sat down to draw a map. Just a crude version to see what my land would look like. I ended up with a continent of thirteen kingdoms. And my intention is to give each a story. A story as different and varied as the spanning of our continents. Does that make it the same as a real series? I have no idea. But I'll keep writing my fairy tales as long as the ideas keep popping out of my brain.Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-64668190108371470372015-05-09T19:38:00.001-07:002015-05-09T19:38:09.046-07:00Will the real homo sapiens please stand up?alternatively: How to stop hate<br />
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So when I was in high school I was in the marching band...<br />
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<a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/xCukw7m.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Fake Laughing" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12521" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/xCukw7m.gif" height="195" width="294" /></a></div>
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Ok, you can stop laughing now.<br />
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Anyway, when I meet someone now, if I find out they were in marching band, we play a little game. What instrument did you play?<br />
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Not to brag, but I'm pretty good at this game. Because if you look at most of the groups within the band, you notice certain trends, certain groups get a reputation.<br />
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<a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/buggs.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Bugs Bunny" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-19962" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/buggs.gif" height="141" width="200" /></a>If you played trumpet, you were a hot shot and a little full of yourself.<br />
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If you played percussion, you were a squirrely spaz, or I dated you.<br />
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<a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mem4f4eyRc1qgjeodo1_250.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/tumblr_mem4f4eyRc1qgjeodo1_250.gif" height="200" width="140" /></a> If you were a flute player, you were a stuck-up girl, or a girl in general.<br />
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If you were a clarinet player, you remind me of Amy Farrah-Fowler.<br />
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If you were a tuba player, you were a party animal, and generally an all-around awesome person to be around.<br />
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Of course, these are exaggerations, but you see what I'm saying. We had our cliques, and it said something about you without even realizing it. And it's always a funny joke for me because people usually guess I played the flute. Which I did, until I became awesome.<br />
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What does this have to do with real-life people hate? In case you've been living under a rock, get on your google and search Indiana and gay. It will tell you everything you need to know and more. Then there's the feminist issues popping up all over the internet and rape shaming, which is beyond my comprehension. And I would be remiss if I didn't include the Baltimore riots and before that the Ferguson riots. Can't exclude pretty much everything going on in the Middle East.<br />
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<a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/grinch1.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="hate" class="alignnone wp-image-17598" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/grinch1.gif" height="204" width="320" /></a>But what do all the issues have in common? Hate.<br />
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And it makes me sick. Because everyone is so busy trying to decide who is right and who is wrong that we're really missing the big picture. We're all humans. And somewhere, a long time ago, we stopped seeing that. We started segregating into white or black, gay or straight, woman or man. Not just people.<br />
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So yes, the marching band is a ridiculously small model of a human ecosystem, but if I'm judging one person based on what I think about a group of people that I knew *cough* fifteen years ago, then how is it really any different. <br />
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Will I stop playing my guessing game in the future? Probably not. Because it's a fun way to get to know people. But I will stop judging all percussionists because of that one jerk that broke up with me in high school.<br />
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Moral of the story, next time one of these hot button issues comes up, stop. Take the situation and put it in the context of a human being. Things look a lot different from that perspective.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Thank you to </span><a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/"><span style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.reactiongifs.com/</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> for the gifs.</span>Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-32484811822142879582015-04-06T19:04:00.001-07:002015-04-06T19:04:24.145-07:00Yikes, has it been 7 months...I'm a little surprised they haven't shut down my account yet. But I'm back now! And eventually I will post all those half finished blog posts that I started over the past *cough* seven months.<br />
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So what was I doing over my little blogging hiatus?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In case you're wondering if I love my dog more than my kids, not exactly. But I don't have to worry about her picture being on the internet!</td></tr>
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So maybe this will cover me until I get a new post up. Because I'm going to be back, I swear!</div>
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Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-50314501758919360762014-09-02T19:10:00.003-07:002014-09-02T19:10:48.408-07:00My very first risotto<span style="color: #4c1130;">So one thing I do besides write is cook. I'm not sure which I've been doing longer, writing or cooking, but both started when I was about 7. Mostly I loved making desserts, especially cake. Which is funny because no one in my family besides my mother liked cake. My mother used to say the oven timer would ring and no one would know what was coming out.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">So fast forward a few years and a dietetics degree later, I'm still cooking and making crazy things. This weekend I made a cornbread salad and lemon chiffon cupcakes with lemon zest on top for a draft party. Then for my dad's birthday my sisters and I made five kinds of kebabs and ten tons of food topped off by my famous cherry pie. It is made with real cherries that I picked and pitted myself. It's one of my very favorite dishes.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">And today I made something that I've been wanting to make for some time now: risotto. I looked for some recipes, but couldn't find one I liked. And I wanted to use my rice maker as I so infrequently get to use it. So I made one up. And luckily it worked, and I was so proud of it.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">My first risotto, I'm so proud!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">It doesn't look as pretty as it tasted, but my picky six year-old ate it, so you know it had to be good! Now, if you would like to steal my recipe, here it is:</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">1 cup onions, diced </span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">1 clove garlic, minced</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">2 tbsp. butter</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">2 tbsp. olive oil</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">1 cup Arborio rice</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">2 cup chicken broth</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">3 cup milk</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">1/2 cup parmesan cheese</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">3 tbsp. sun dried tomatoes, diced</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">2 tbsp. fresh basil, cut into ribbons</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">1 cup corn (I used frozen)</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">5 pieces bacon, cooked and crumbled</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130;">Sauté the onions in the butter and olive oil for 3 minutes. Then add garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add in the rice and stir until coated. Add in the chicken broth and milk and stir. I had my rice maker do the work, but you cook until the liquid is absorbed and it makes a creamy texture. Then I added in the cheese, tomatoes, basil, and corn. I let them melt in with the risotto and seasoned with salt and pepper. Garnish with bacon and some extra basil if you have it.</span><br />
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Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-46161921540864790202014-08-31T20:14:00.004-07:002014-08-31T20:23:09.312-07:00September Reading List<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17331289-deception" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Deception (Defiance, #2)" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375366539l/17331289.jpg" width="131" /></a>August is almost over and I feel like a big failure. It's been a hectic month, so my reading and writing have been suffering a bit. It didn't hit me until I saw that the next book in C.J. Redwine's Defiance series came out. So now I'm attacking <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17331289-deception" target="_blank">Deception</a> with a vengeance. Now I thought I'd give you a look into the next couple of books on my reading list. And you get to love on the beautiful covers. Love them!<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19099494-deliverance" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Deliverance (Defiance, #3)" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392138977l/19099494.jpg" width="129" /></a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19099494-deliverance" target="_blank">Deliverance</a> by C.J. Redwine<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3236307-graceling" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331548394l/3236307.jpg" width="132" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3236307-graceling" target="_blank">Graceling</a> by Kristin Cashore<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15839984-cruel-beauty" target="_blank">Cruel Beauty</a> by Rosamund Hodge<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/508919.May_Day" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="May Day (Murder-by-Month Mystery, #1)" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327897450l/508919.jpg" width="129" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15803059-ordinary-grace" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ordinary Grace" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358264094l/15803059.jpg" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" width="132" /></a><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/508919.May_Day" target="_blank">May Day</a> by Jess Lourey (A super awesome lady that I met at MWW)<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15803059-ordinary-grace" target="_blank">Ordinary Grace</a> by William Kent Krueger (Another super awesome instructor from MWW)<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22732865-fiona-street" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Fiona Street" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405617732l/22732865.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22732865-fiona-street" target="_blank">Fiona Street</a> by Stephen Michael Loy (A fantastic writer in my critique group)<br />
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I'm still looking for some good YA dystopian based on weather related issues or racial issues. So if anyone knows a good one, please let me know!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Thank you to </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Goodreads</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> for the covers.</span><br />
<img height="96" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358264094l/15803059.jpg" style="left: 122px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 485px;" width="63" />Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-72314006658993004522014-08-11T05:59:00.005-07:002014-08-11T05:59:54.099-07:00Ready, Set, WRITE! Week 10<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJpBVc47Qy4rMQOPsd9RlFSWOXXVjsbiqAMda6xmOzU6rhLoF38HizbTucAQwpfVe9ulSZQknmWMeMc2vJae46eHaQ-YlUDf8nyEbpKXuIQTskaFzfIirmJof42YPzllcTgXv8qgAov4/s1600/PLANEBORDER2+b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><span id="goog_1701803145"></span><img class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiniC0pxQw1H59HIF-0CrLHMZTLUE744_OOlf-83mRNCSj-SzS9FykmZWu62VJhN0WEh2SryKfTCc-bwaU4LY77e5U-PvRqu3w_g6Ggkbjy28uz3WFOi2hdBs0mH5Fgk3-Hdx4M5BjEfZr5/s320/RSWcloud.png" height="221" width="320" /><span id="goog_1701803146"></span></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"></span></span> </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">RSW is a summer writing intensive hosted by </span><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Jaime Morrow</span></a><span style="color: #0b5394;">, </span><a href="http://alisonmiller20.blogspot.ca/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Alison Miller</span></a><span style="color: #0b5394;">, </span><a href="http://katyupperman.com/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Katy Upperman</span></a><span style="color: #0b5394;">, and </span><a href="http://erinlfunk.blogspot.ca/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Erin Funk</span></a><span style="color: #0b5394;">. You can sign up on the linky at any of the host blogs every Monday. Remember to encourage other participants too! For more info on RSW and a link to the lovely buttons, go </span><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/p/rsw.html"><span style="color: #0b5394;">here</span></a><span style="color: #0b5394;">.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><span style="color: #073763;">1. How I did on last week’s goals</span></b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Well, I didn't make last week's goals, so I'll just update from the week before</span><span style="color: #0b5394;">.</span></span></span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; line-height: 18.01px;">Revise two chapters in HB- I got about one and a half done then got blocked by major problems.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Work on SI- This I actually did. I got about 1,000 words written.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; line-height: 18.01px;">Revise synopsis- Still procrastinating</span></span></li>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #666666;"></span></span></span><div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><span style="color: #073763;">2. My goal(s) for this week</span></b></span></span></span></span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #666666;"><ul>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Revise two chapters in HB</span> </li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Write a new chapter in SI</span> </li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Read every day</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #073763; line-height: 18.01px;"><b>3</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #073763;"><b>. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised</b>.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">His only ambition in life was to own his own farm. And marry me. The man has no sense.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><span style="color: #073763;">4. The biggest challenge I faced this week.</span></b><br />Life getting in the way. Two weeks ago was garage sale cleaning week. And last week was first week of school for the kiddos. I'm really hoping things will start cooling down!<br /><br /><span style="color: #073763;"><b>5. Something I love about my WiP</b>.</span><br />I love having two WIPs. When I get annoyed or discouraged with one, I move to the other. It keeps me from getting so stuck.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /><strong><span style="color: #073763;">How did you do this week</span><span style="color: #073763;">?</span></strong></span><span style="color: #073763;"><strong> I'd love to hear from you!</strong></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; line-height: 18.01px;"> </span> </span><br /> </span>Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-54963719631232099262014-08-09T19:40:00.002-07:002014-08-09T19:43:18.442-07:005 Adjectives: Passion, more than just the fruit<a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/flirting-awkwardly.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="flirting awkwardly" class="alignnone wp-image-5884" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/flirting-awkwardly.gif" height="180" width="320" /></a>One of my favorite questions to ask on interviews is: Give me 5 adjectives to describe yourself. To me, it is always the most telling of the questions. If you're worth anything then you come to the interview prepared for most questions, but this one always seems to get people. Everyone usually has no trouble with the first three, you pick the easy, generic stuff- hardworking, dedicated, loyal. Adjectives that tell us really nothing, it's those last two that you sit there and struggle with, but it means that those are the ones that are real. Those are two that you just had to examine yourself right there on the spot and say, I am: blank.<br />
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Over my fantastic time away at Midwest Writers Conference I got an opportunity to do a pitch, with a super real agent, which actually seemed silly to me. I got three minutes to go in to an agent who has been at it all day and try to get her to fall in love with my book. So you work really hard to put together this beautiful, quick blurb about your book and why it is so awesome. But what if it were a job interview? What if I had to answer that question and give that agent 5 adjectives to describe me as an author? And on that not-really-that-long drive home I thought about me and what makes me special.<br />
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So here's my first adjective: PASSION<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/excited-anna.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/excited-anna.gif" height="320" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Disney named a princess after me and made her<br />
act just like me. </td></tr>
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And yes, Disney making a princess named after me that reminds me so much of myself. This is what I looked like talking to people about my book and my planned books and their books and learning about how to write books and books in general and, well, let's just leave it at I was excited. I am passionate about writing. I buried it for a while, trying to get out from under the "artist" stigma and worked towards a real profession so that I could do the fluffy stuff on the side. But it burst out of me, when I least expected it.<br />
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Once I embraced my passion, things started to fall into place for me. I feel like myself when I'm writing or thinking about my stories. I remember the first time I was explaining a new story to my sister and I could barely sit still. People sometimes think I'm a little off my rocker, but to be fair, they thought that before I started writing.<br />
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So whatever you do, writing, knitting, or making spreadsheets, make sure that you feel that passion. It's what motivates you to get up in the morning and gets you through the day. So find your passion, embrace it, love it, live it, and share it with others. And then maybe have some of that fruit. I hear it's really good.<br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><strong>I'll be posting the other 4 adjectives next. What adjectives best describe you?</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Thank you </span><a href="http://www.reactiongifs.com/"><span style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.reactiongifs.com/</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> for the wonderful gifs. Especially of Anna, she's my favorite.</span><br />
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Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-68283182669838876732014-07-28T07:47:00.003-07:002014-07-30T10:41:05.024-07:00Ready, Set, WRITE! Week 8<span style="color: #073763;"><strong><span style="color: #073763;"></span></strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu2sckLOD_UnxsHHwo5OwisN4thjE8MbaECs6sWZcnMmiHNOJyoienhJat7Eb87PhuJTq6668e8zodtX3VDU3WpHUgPOAARHk9rVZtnF-uoJ96T9_iGxFFTvZtpIW2fN5VeKUQejJXNIFK/s1600/RSWCoffeePolaroid2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06sVmCyPNkFpfptxHmu2Dm6Bwe1zYs2RiU6oykTbQ6DkTDORaHSBE-SgMP9qN9RIoQzqRs-RgBwQGLAIcm7hr-oFEjeoARf7FVVpstTVSpc9bvaAlHDbI1lZQJ9SIw2RIpq-OejMbcXfY/s1600/RSWteal.png" style="height: 300px; width: 327px;" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #134f5c;">RSW is a summer writing intensive hosted by </span><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Jaime Morrow</span></a><span style="color: #134f5c;">, </span><a href="http://alisonmiller20.blogspot.ca/"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Alison Miller</span></a><span style="color: #134f5c;">, </span><a href="http://katyupperman.com/"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Katy Upperman</span></a><span style="color: #134f5c;">, and </span><a href="http://erinlfunk.blogspot.ca/"><span style="color: #134f5c;">Erin Funk</span></a><span style="color: #134f5c;">. You can sign up on the linky at any of the host blogs every Monday. Remember to encourage other participants too! For more info on RSW and a link to the lovely buttons, go </span><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/p/rsw.html"><span style="color: #134f5c;">here</span></a><span style="color: #134f5c;">.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #0c343d;">1. How I did on last week’s goals</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;">Laughable, but amazing. I did not revise my synopsis, I printed all the copies and left them on my computer desk. I felt like a total failure.</span></div>
<span style="color: #134f5c;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;">But what happened at Midwest Writer's was so much better than any of that. I learned so much in those few couple of days. I met so many other amazing authors and we got to share our passion.</span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #134f5c;">And I did write, just not what I had intended. I worked on a new WIP, a YA apocalyptic I'm calling SI, that really began flowing during classes. I used the exercises to write my opening and I mapped out the world building.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #0c343d;">2. My goal(s) for this week</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c;">Revise 2 chapters on HB. <br /><br />Finish synopsis for HB.</span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><br />Continue world building and character development for SI.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c;">Read at least 30 minutes each day. My booklist has gotten way too long!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><b>3</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><b>. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised</b>.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c;">Of all the animals that survived that winter, Daisy had to be one of them. She laid there, lifeless, as I tiptoed down the hall. Worst guard-dog ever.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><b></b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0c343d; line-height: 18.01px;"><b>4. The biggest challenge I faced this week.</b></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><strong><span style="color: #073763;"></span></strong></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /><span style="color: #134f5c;">The conference was so busy, that I didn't have a whole lot of time for free writing. Now I just have so many great ideas I hardly know where to start!</span></span><span style="color: #0c343d;"><b>5. Something I love about my WiP</b>.</span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><br /><span style="color: #134f5c;"></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;">I love the way people looked at me when I told them my quick pitch and said, wow that's different.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><br /><span style="color: #0c343d;"><strong>How did you do this week?</strong><strong> I'd love to hear from you!</strong></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; line-height: 18.01px;"> </span> </span><br /> </span></span>Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-31884543063849691902014-07-21T03:36:00.002-07:002014-07-21T03:36:09.059-07:00Ready, Set, WRITE! Week 7<span style="color: #073763;"><strong><span style="color: #073763;"></span></strong><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu2sckLOD_UnxsHHwo5OwisN4thjE8MbaECs6sWZcnMmiHNOJyoienhJat7Eb87PhuJTq6668e8zodtX3VDU3WpHUgPOAARHk9rVZtnF-uoJ96T9_iGxFFTvZtpIW2fN5VeKUQejJXNIFK/s1600/RSWCoffeePolaroid2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu2sckLOD_UnxsHHwo5OwisN4thjE8MbaECs6sWZcnMmiHNOJyoienhJat7Eb87PhuJTq6668e8zodtX3VDU3WpHUgPOAARHk9rVZtnF-uoJ96T9_iGxFFTvZtpIW2fN5VeKUQejJXNIFK/s400/RSWCoffeePolaroid2.png" width="332" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">RSW is a summer writing intensive hosted by </span><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Jaime Morrow</span></a><span style="color: #0b5394;">, </span><a href="http://alisonmiller20.blogspot.ca/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Alison Miller</span></a><span style="color: #0b5394;">, </span><a href="http://katyupperman.com/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Katy Upperman</span></a><span style="color: #0b5394;">, and </span><a href="http://erinlfunk.blogspot.ca/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Erin Funk</span></a><span style="color: #0b5394;">. You can sign up on the linky at any of the host blogs every Monday. Remember to encourage other participants too! For more info on RSW and a link to the lovely buttons, go </span><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/p/rsw.html"><span style="color: #0b5394;">here</span></a><span style="color: #0b5394;">.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #073763;"><strong>1. How I did on last week’s goals</strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Really well, two goals completed and the last, well... My super helpful link for the week is from Janice Hardy's website: <a href="http://blog.janicehardy.com/2012/06/living-in-my-head-crafting-natural.html?spref=tw" target="_blank">Living in My Head: Crafting Natural-Sounding Internal Thoughts</a></span></div>
<br /><span style="color: #0b5394;">Revise two chapters in WIP - Actual success! I revised two chapters and started on a third. I <br />was really on a roll for a while.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />Final revision of query letter - Finished the final revisions, I think it's good enough to take to MWW14. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />Revise synopsis - I took a look at it Sunday night, but I don't think it really counts.</span><br />
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<div>
<span style="color: #073763;"><strong>2. My goal(s) for this week</strong></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> It's Midwest Writer's Week, I'm so excited!!! So my goals are different for this week.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<ul><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"></span>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Revise synopsis by Wednesday</span>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Print copies of materials to share at MWW14</span>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Learn!</span></li>
</li>
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</span></span></span></span></ul>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #666666;"></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><b></b></span></span></span><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #073763; line-height: 18.01px;"><b>3</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #073763;"><b>. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised</b>.</span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #0b5394;">“Would it not have been easier to put a pea under my pillow?” she mumbled.<br /><br />“Easier, but less enjoyable for me,” he said with a smirk.</span><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><span style="color: #073763;">4. The biggest challenge I faced this week.</span></b></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><strong><span style="color: #073763;"></span></strong></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />Sadness. Being stuck in my chair did have it's benefits and I started the week out great. But when two big traumas hit me on Friday, I pretty much went down the rabbit hole. I think I finally dug my way out, but it was a bummer two days for writing.<br /><br /><span style="color: #073763;"><b>5. Something I love about my WiP</b>.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />Since it's a fairy tale it's all about getting to your happily ever after. And it's a nice goal to work toward. I mean, you have to get dragged through tar and muck to get there, but who shouldn't have to work towards a happy ending?</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /><strong><span style="color: #073763;">How did you do this week</span><span style="color: #073763;">?</span></strong></span><span style="color: #073763;"><strong> I'd love to hear from you!</strong></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; line-height: 18.01px;"> </span> </span><br /> </span></span>Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-690250519299085752.post-73065977352506575012014-07-16T05:08:00.000-07:002014-07-16T05:08:44.608-07:00What's up Wednesday 7/15/14<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGKP6i2xZCtDFxeVXzNbEi6AYLMGk3Vf77trKd3TQdbeUQPcQYpViN4rcYuPAva55Vmy-aVDkqnW9a2qB-97S6gzagMptyCQJ9XEeGFSYWKboUAP8s1Q3Q9n7hb_zaPPWL4PqzcgKLZ29/s1600/KITE2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGKP6i2xZCtDFxeVXzNbEi6AYLMGk3Vf77trKd3TQdbeUQPcQYpViN4rcYuPAva55Vmy-aVDkqnW9a2qB-97S6gzagMptyCQJ9XEeGFSYWKboUAP8s1Q3Q9n7hb_zaPPWL4PqzcgKLZ29/s200/KITE2.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #666666;">Yea! It's time for the What's Up Wednesday weekly blog hop created </span><a href="http://www.jaime-morrow.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Jaime Morrow</span></a><span style="color: #666666;"> and <u><a href="http://erinlfunk.blogspot.ca/" style="color: #5b83f4; text-decoration: none;">Erin Funk</a></u>. Thank you both for connecting writers together, this is great!</span></span><br style="line-height: 18.01px;" /><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><br style="color: #929090;" /><br style="color: #929090;" /><span style="color: #e06666;">WHAT I'M READING</span></span></span></span><br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11410430-defiance" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Defiance (Defiance #1)" height="200" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1341967711l/11410430.jpg" width="131" /></a><br />
<span style="color: #666666;">Still reading <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11410430-defiance" target="_blank"><em>Defiance</em></a> by C. J. Redwine. I have to stop myself from reading because I had so much going on this weekend. I can't wait to finish though so I can hop on the next book in the series.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><span style="color: #e06666;">WHAT I'M WRITING</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;">I did some final edits on my query and submitted to <a href="http://querydrill.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">QueryDrill</a>. If you haven't heard of this, it was started by an intern slush pile reader and they will read your query for you and give you feedback before you query to actual agencies. A wonderful opportunity for newbie writers like myself.</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;">I sat down today and actually revised an entire chapter. I'm hitting the midpoint where things have turned in a totally different direction and both my MCs are going through massive changes. So I'm hoping to feel a little more excited with the newness of it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #e06666; line-height: 18.01px; text-align: justify;">WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;">I'm getting really excited for Midwest Writer's Conference and a little nervous. I hate going places and not knowing anyone there, but I'm hoping to meet some wonderful new people.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;">Outstanding series have been inspiring me lately. There was a Harry Potter marathon this weekend on ABC Family and I fall in love with J.K. Rowling's ability every time. The minute details in the first book that had an impact right in the very end, just amazing. I love to analyze a story and figure out each layer within the story. Wandlore, race relations, dark magic, light magic, love, family (both biological and other), culture differences, I could go on and on. Is there anything Harry Potter doesn't touch? It sets a standard for writing that I will hold, probably forever.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;"><a class="iol_imc" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" idx="11" style="height: 407px; left: 179px; top: 0px; visibility: visible; width: 651px;"><img class="mainImage" src="http://i.imgur.com/5GzAR.jpg" height="200" style="background-color: white;" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; line-height: 19.4px; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 18.01px;"><br style="color: #929090;" /><span style="color: #e06666;">WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666;">Monday I was pretty much in a daze after having a not-so-fun procedure. Everything went well, but I slept most of Monday. The big upside is that I get to be on bed rest for a couple of days and I'm supposed to take it slow for a few more after that. So I got to be attached to my laptop yesterday and I plan on doing more work on WIP while under the restriction. Always looking for the silver linings!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666;">How is everyone else doing?</span>Anna Langfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05121274390516512484noreply@blogger.com7