Considering Other Options

Today is the last day to vote in the Ink Haiku contest. Go here to learn how. Thank you!

Do you ever feel like your novel ideas are just too weird? Like you love the book, but when you really sit down to think, you're not sure if anyone else will understand it the same way you do. You worry that if you try to explain it to someone, they'll give you a funny look and try to scoot away discretely.

Recently, while I was on the phone with one of my friends, he asked me what my novels are about. I always hate this question, but I attempted to answer. I told him that THE TRUE PRINCESS is about a princess who gets cloned...He thought it was strange. And while I firmly believe in my story, his opinion did not exactly boost my confidence.

As I've been working on THINKING OF YOU, rearranging the plot and trying to better build the story, this has been a concern that has crossed my mind a few times. What if I spend all this time on my story and then no one else thinks it's as amazing and creative as I do? What if everyone just thinks it's bizarre?

I've read many posts on self-publishing where people have explained that they self-publish for this very reason; their book is a bit too unique for the current market. However, self-publishing in its entirety is not for me. I do not have the skills nor the desire to produce an entire book by myself.

But I have thought of something else.

Many people my age who write don't see physical publication as an option, at least not at this point in their lives. However, they still want people to read their stories. So they go to what teenagers go to for everything: the Internet. They post their stories, their poems on sites like Wattpad, Fictionpress, Figment. The latter I use myself-very, very rarely posting shorter works there.

Perhaps you can see where this is going, but, if not, I am considering posting THINKING OF YOU on an online writing site. Even though I already have a Figment account, I'm leaning more toward Wattpad. Of course, I would research as many options as possible if this is what I decide to do.

Why am I considering this?

Well, there are a few reasons. It would let me know how people feel about my writing beyond my short poems and short stories. If I work at it, it might help me build a reader base so there are people who would buy an actual book from me. Also, being able to show an agent "see? people like me" could never hurt. It would give people something to read while I work on something I believe to be better for the market and publication. And you never know what feedback I might get; someone could point out a major flaw I need to fix or point me in a direction to make my story even better.

Obviously, there are also drawbacks to publishing an entire manuscript on the Internet. For one, the site I used would most likely get non-exclusive rights to my story. That is always my biggest concern and consideration before I post anything on the Internet and that would be no different here. I would also have to spend a fair amount of time reading others stories on the same site. As us bloggers know, you do not get without giving.

I have to take all of this into account while making my decision. In the meantime, I will continue to make my story as good as I can, to make it as good as it can be. Because no matter what decisions I make in the future, I will always want that.

What are your thoughts about "publishing" work on online writing sites?

My Writing Week

Visit this post to see how you can help me win the Ink Haiku contest. Thank you!

I spoke with my critique partner, Tania, recently, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, about which of my projects I should focus on next. I explained to her how I haven't had the chance to work on anything major in months and I wanted to get back on the horse.

She asked me the following question: If you had more time, what would you work on?

I considered it. OBJECTION, THINKING OF YOU, and THE TRUE PRINCESS all came to mind. Each of them is at a different stage. One is being drafted, one revised, and one is somewhere in between. However, each one gets me excited to sit in a chair until my butt becomes flat.

After listening to my answer, she asked me the next obvious question. So, what story will you start with first?

She wanted me to pick? I stared at the computer screen while one part of my brain tried to find an answer and another just screamed. Then, suddenly, a third, reasonable voice said, "Shut up and calm down. You can work on all three." And then it told me how.

So, ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, I present to you my writing week!

Sunday: reading
Monday: OBJECTION
Tuesday: blogs/others writing
Wednesday: short works
Thursday: THINKING OF YOU
Friday: blogs/others writing
Saturday: THE TRUE PRINCESS

My first week is halfway through, and Mr. Reasonable is kicking back with a smug expression on his face, going "See? Nothing to worry about." I've already added a little over 1k to OBJECTION, something I haven't done in so long I was genuinely concerned that I had forgotten what my planning notes meant. Afterward, at three in the morning, I danced down my hallway. I haven't been that happy in ages. And I didn't fret over reading blogs every day. I knew I'd have all day Tuesday to do that and now they can wait for Friday.

It's also a flexible, non-strict schedule. If I get the itch to work on OBJECTION on, say, Wednesday, I'm going to do it. Or if my life eats me for a day, well there's always the next week. It acts as a guide and motivator. When my brain starts up with its "You could do this. Or this. Or, oooh, this!" I can say, "You know, I really don't need that. It's Saturday. And Zoie has waited patiently for her turn." When my mind starts whining that it's tired or itdoesn'twanna, I can say, "Come on now. It's Wednesday. You can at least edit half this story."

Everything will get done. One day at a time. :)

How do you divvy up your time between projects? Do you work on one or more WIPs at a time?

The Powerpuff Girls and I Currently Share a Color Scheme

Visit this post to see how you can help me win the Ink Haiku contest. Thank you!

When I was little, my favorite show was THE POWERPUFF GIRLS. I had nightgowns. I had dolls. I had a sleeping bag, a bedspread. I had the movie. I had it all.

I don't have those things anymore, but I still love the cartoon. Lizzie and I catch it on Boomerang as often as we can. (We also recently discovered it on Netflix!) We, along with our friend Jessica, even dressed up as them last Halloween (and sadly got no good photos -.-).

Only last Thursday night, however, did I notice a certain color-themed connection between myself and my three favorite superheros.

You see, I assign each of my WIPs a color. Then I buy notebooks, binders, folders, index cards, whatever supplies I need to write the project, to match. And guess which colors the three novels I'm focusing on at the moment have been delegated?

Isn't it awesome? I didn't even plan it! In fact, I don't know when or if I would have noticed it, if Tania (by the way, did you see her cover reveal?) and I hadn't been discussing what story I should work on next (which brought me to another revelation I will be sharing with you soon). My subconscious just knew those colors were right.

And in case you aren't convinced the Powerpuff Girls and I have a deep chromatic relationship, here's a picture of three shirts I recently bought:

Cover Reveal - CLOAKED IN FUR by T. F. Walsh

I have some very exciting news to share. My critique partner, Tania, has recently signed a book deal with Crimson Romance for her first novel, CLOAKED IN FUR! Today she's releasing her cover to the world and I get to be a part of it. Check it out!

---

CLOAKED IN FUR by T. F. Walsh

Genre: Paranormal Suspense w/ Romance

As a moonwulf, Daciana never expected to fall in love with a human. Hell, she never imagined that she’d abandon her pack, endanger everyone around her, and break the worst rule possible. But she did.

A rogue werewolf is killing Daciana’s friends, and she sets on capturing the creature. She’ll do whatever it takes to stop the beast. The police and her boyfriend, Inspector Connell Lonescu, are starting to question her involvement in the murders, which is endangering the pack’s secret existence. But when the pack alpha kidnaps Connell, revealing the awful truth about the creature and its connection to the pack, Daciana must choose between saving the man she loves and saving her pack family from certain death.

Available August 5, 2013 from Crimson Romance

(+Pre-order Here)

About the Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

T.F. Walsh emigrated from Romania to Australia at the age of eight and now lives in a regional city south of Sydney with her husband. Growing up hearing dark fairytales, she's always had a passion for reading and writing horror, paranormal romance, urban fantasy and young adult stories. She balances all the dark with light fluffy stuff like baking and traveling.

Calling All Haiku Lovers

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to be entering a haiku contest on Figment. Last night I posted my entry.

The first round of the contest is vote based. The twenty entries with the most votes, or "hearts," move on to the finals, where judges will choose ten winners. So... This is the part where I ask for a favor.

It's simple really. Just follow the four easy steps below.

1. Go to Figment.com.
2. Sign-up to the site if you don't already have an account. It's free. If you do, sign in.*
3. Go here and read my entry. The site estimates it will take about five seconds.
4. If you like the haiku, click on the "heart" button. And that's it!

Currently, I need 160 hearts to be in the top twenty. Every vote helps. Thank you for taking the time!

*If you have to sign up, remember to check your email to verify your account.

Can You Hear Me?

Testing. Testing. One, two, three. Does this thing still work? I hope so.

I know it's been over two months since I posted anything, but, to be honest, nothing much has happened. At least on the writing front. My life has still been hectic and time consuming, but I think it's settling down now. I may have to move soon (crossing my fingers for staying), but other than that, everything is steady and normal.

There are a couple of big things I should share with you. In April, I learned that I did not get accepted into the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute for 2013. That was a heavy blow. Luckily, my friends were there to support me through the crying. However, even though I was rejected, I still stand by the pieces I submitted. And! One of my good friends did get accepted into their percussion program. He just got back and he had a great time. Hopefully, we can return together next year.

I'm also working on revamping my goal plan (again...). But I won't go into that now because I will be writing an entire post to explain why and how. I'm not sure when exactly because I don't currently have Internet on my personal computer which makes it a bit hard to provide visual aids. Plus, I have to finish the remodel before I can reveal it. Duh. :P

Now, this post doesn't mean I've come completely out of hiatus, but I am working on that. I've been gone a while now and there's so much to catch up on. I'm reimmersing myself slowly. Already I'm keeping up on my emails and have responded to everyone who commented on my Figment profile (though I still have some stories to finish reading and critiquing). And though I haven't been posting, I've made sure to keep up with all of your comments.

While I'm once more getting comfortable with the swing of things, I want to reconnect with my joy for blogging. To do this, I decided it would be best for me to write posts that don't require much thought for a while. By that, I mean more organic posts, more natural me posts. The kind of things I used to write about when I first began my blog. Things like the slightest progress on any given project or ideas I get during the day or new office supplies (I'm just itching for the back-to-school season at Wal-Mart). Simple little updates to get me back in the habit of writing regularly about my writing.

And I thought I'd start now with two small things to go with my two big things. :)

First, Figment is currently hosting the Ink Haiku Contest. The prompt is loneliness. I have until July 15th to come up with a good idea and submit my entry. When I do, I'll let you know and post a link (along with a plea to check it out maybe...).

Second, speaking of office supplies, I recently acquired a small, 140-page notebook from Staples.

I'm using it to write down short story and poem ideas. Each new one gets its own page. I'm even including information about what inspired them. The notebook fits in my tiny teenage girl pockets (because apparently girls don't use their pockets) so it can go with me anywhere. And it's pretty. :D

And that's it (like I said, writing life pretty much non-existent). You'll be hearing from me soon. In the meantime, I'm off to read contest rules and watch videos on YouTube. Also, keep an eye out. I might be getting a new profile picture.

Have you posted anything recently that you think I should read right now? Leave a link in the comments and I'll stop by to check it out.