A Small, Very Appreciative ‘Thank You’

Twice in the past week, I’ve been given a blog award from two extremely kind and talented writers – Angie Cothran and Laura Barnes. Both ladies are wonderful, and I highly recommend you visit their blogs when you have a free moment.

The ‘Libster Blog’ award is meant to highlight new bloggers and connect the online writing community even more through kindred spirits. You can see my tag displayed proudly along the right column.

While I’m not quite ready to bestow the award myself to five new and worthy candidates (since these ladies already have thoroughly earned Libster Awards of their own!), I just wanted to stop the presses long enough to say a very heartfelt and sincere THANK YOU to these ladies – and to all of you who leave comments and, in general, have made my last few weeks so much fun.

<3 <3 <3 Love, Amber

My humps, my lovely lady humps. Check it out.

OK, so that headline is a BIT of a stretch. But as long as you're tapping along the beat I've had stuck in my head for an hour, we're starting off in the same place.

I've hit a writing hump, and I'm not sure what to do about it: When is it really time to let go of a chapter and move on?

I'm working on a new book, which is totally exciting seeing as how I've finished three and still find myself with more stories to tell. (Isn't that always a big fear – thinking that you might not have any more stories left in you? ... Well, it is for me.) Anyway, I spent weeks outlining the first few chapters, detailing the characters and the multiple plots, and drawing out my clues, romances and philosophies.

And, I'm happy to say that it's paid off. It's about an awesome female anthropologist, Alana Wendall, who can see ghosts, told from the 3rd perspectives of the her, the ghosts and the ghosts when they were human. It's roughly based on a story I was told when I was a child about how my great-great-grandmother came over to the US from Austria when she was a young woman. And, it's SO FUN in the creepy, mysterious way! This particular story, my fourth full-length and third adult-ish novel (because I can see my 114/15-year-old self reading them happily) is two chapters in and shaping up REALLY nicely.

...Except that I'm becoming my own worst enemy. Now that I know what's coming (based on all my studious pre-work work), I've found myself content for the past 2 WEEKS going over ... and over ... and over that second chapter until I pretty much can't tell what I love about it and what I hate about it anymore.

The struggles of being an editor trying to be a writer hasn't always been this difficult. In fact, I ROCK at my revisions. Normally, I write a long passage in a short burst, spend a few days fixing it, then move on and repeat the process. I have gotten stuck like this before – a damaged DVD stuck in pause while I relive the same set of scenes until my eyes blur up and I shut the document in frustration – but this time I'm really struggling to move on.

The beginning is so often the hardest part of the story to write. So many choices are open to us in those first few chapters. Should I introduce this character now, or later? Maybe a hint will do? Should I reveal the romantic inclinations or let it burst on the scene in a few chapters? How much it too much with teasing dialogue before the reader slams the book shut with an exasperated 'OK, sheesh! I get the point!'

There's so much story to tell at the beginning that we often dump it all out there as quickly as we can, figuring we'll sort it all out later on. No, the reader has to know the background. They need to know how much thought I've put into this. Right?

The only solace I'm taking is that every pass through makes this chapter stronger and more defined. But, is this foundation more important that moving forward? Perhaps the strength of the base will lead to stronger chapters later on?

The last issue: I'm not even done writing the chapter yet. GRRR.

I think it's time to forego Fergie and her toe-tapping beats, and set aside some quiet time for myself. Does anyone have any tips on how to move past my humps?

Does anyone have any tips for me?

PS-- Searching for 'my humps' on Bing for a good image = a bad idea.

Writing Affirmations to Keep Me Focused

While I continue to field rejections for my books that I legitimately don't remember sending out (they all blur together after a while into a cacophony of bad decisions by those agents), I wanted to share with you all something a dear friend of mine sent over to keep my mind focused!

The following affirmations are happy reminders of why I began to write in the first place. I don't read them daily or anything, but it's nice to skim when I'm trying to tune the mental dial into my muse for my afternoon writing sessions!

From: LIVING THE WRITER’S LIFE, by Eric Maisel

Writing Affirmations
Negative self-talk is a weakness. Positive self-talk is a strength. Cultivate your strength! -Replace your doubts with affirmations like the following ones.

-I will write forever. There is no mandatory retirement age.
-Anxiety comes with the territory. I can manage and even embrace my anxiety.
-To write is to allow fortunate accidents to happen. I am open to the next fortunate accident.
-I will astonish myself. Then I’m bound to astonish others.
-A knowledge of beauty is already within me.
-I am interested in my own ideas. That interest is another name for love.
-I can say it well.
-I mean to write with integrity.
-I am taking up my writing tools.
-If I grow quiet, the writing will happen.
-I will grow savage and create whole new worlds.
-I mean to listen to myself.
-I write by myself but with people in mind.
-Will they laugh at me? Let them laugh. I’ll write anyway.
-I can learn my craft by practicing it.
-I am mine to make and make over again.
-I will stay close to my work. Writing requires intimacy.
-I expect gifts. They only come if I keep writing, but then they miraculously appear.
-I will create my own culture.
-There are infinite ways to fail. So why worry? I’ll just write.
-I will ask great questions and provide amazing answers.
-I will go deeper. Writing means cracking the surface and diving in.
-I will be the cream and rise to the occasion.
-To write is to improvise. I will become jazz.
-Writing is a way to be fully human.
-I will write big and let out the immensity inside of me.

I hope these made you day and strengthened your conviction in yourself. Things happen for a reason, people. It's your job to make sure that reason isn't wasted on someone who doesn't appreciate it.

I've found that you never can understand the true meaning of things until they are in hindsight, and I know as surely as I know the morning breeze will freeze my still-wet hair into tendrils of icicles tomorrow morning that this next year holds the key to my writing bliss.

Repeat after me: I AM good enough. Someone WILL read my story. I WILL be published. NOTHING can stop fate and talent from finding each other in the e-mail ether.

Happy Holidays from 'Suspending Disbelief,' and here's to Happy New Year full of possibilities and, of course, stories :)