| Friday, May 05, 2006 |
| Fat, Illustration Friday |
Fat, Illustration Friday.
This is my dog Keisha. The first thing people say when they see her is "oh my, she's fat." OK, so she is a little, but a lot of it has to do with her really short legs--it makes her look big. I'm being the good momma and defending her baby. |
posted by Kelly @ 5/05/2006 07:07:00 AM   |
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| Thursday, May 04, 2006 |
| Pass the bottle, baby |
A little peek into the novel writing process. These are the saved rewrites, many were tossed.
At every stage of the novel writing process, I have had to do battle with confidence. I'm lacking in that department. Seriously, if I could by it by the bottle I would--it would do so much more for me than my Diet Pepsi does. Some days, I look at what I wrote, and see it as an accomplishment, but on most days, I look at my work with a critical eye. This sucks. Why bother?
Well, I bother, because I have put two years into this thing, and in the confident moments when I am proud of what I've written I really think I can do something with this book. I like the story. I believe in the characters. I want them to come to life in a published book, so other people can meet them.
I believe in signs, and when this landed in my inbox, I took it as a sign:
"I've taught creative writing for years and I've discovered that talented writers are a dime a dozen. I know people whose writing makes me ache with envy. But these same people never get published because they lack perseverance.
It takes perseverance to finish the book; it takes even more to market it. Since many untalented writers meet with success, I'll take perseverance over talent any day."
Margaret Brownly
Persistence pays off has been somewhat of a mantra over the last two years (in the confident moments, anyway). If I keep pushing I just might get there. |
| posted by Kelly @ 5/04/2006 06:35:00 AM |
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| Monday, May 01, 2006 |
| It's all in the re-writes |
I haven't talked much about writing lately, or written much here (I am the world's worst blogger!), but I've been writing. Mostly re-writing, but we all know that re-writing is the biggest part of the game. I've sent an article out to a children's magazine with art samples. So, hopefully that leads to something--an art and writing gig would be just awesome, thank you very much. And, drum roll, please...
I have finally worked my way through edits on the entire book. What book you ask? Oh, that YA novel I've been working on for the last 2 years. I have a few minor adjustments to make, but for the most part, I think it's done.
Well, I thought it was done, until I combined all the chapters and realized I'm only at 22,000 words. Most young adult novels average 25,000 to 45,000 words. So, this is my dilemma. Do I continue to rewrite and edit, or do I try to find a home for it as it stands? I'm sure I can add words to it to beef it up, but I don't think I want to. The story is there--for the most part I'm happy with it--the added words might just be fluff.
Truthfully, I am ready for it to be done. While rewriting and editing are a necessary part of writing a book, there comes a time when you have to stop and just be done. I didn't write this book to let it die in rewrites. I wrote it to be published and read, and that's what I want for it right now.
This brings me to the next problem: getting it published. This part is completely out of my control. I know a little of where to begin, but not much. I know I need to either find and agent or a publisher to get this done. I'm not sure which is the better route to go. I've heard pros and cons for both. Right now, I'm leaning toward agent, but who knows.
It feels good to be nearing this step--it means I'm inching a little closer to dream. |
| posted by Kelly @ 5/01/2006 06:41:00 AM |
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Name: Kelly Gibbons
Home: Dallas, Pennsylvania, United States
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