writing

A Moment of Gratitude. . .

/ Eve Messenger / 11 Comments
sunny forest

A sunny day in green forest with high trees

I love. . .

life.

reading.

my reading friends.

writing.

my writer friends.

my daughter and how she brings sparkle and laughter to my life.

my son and how ambitious, confident and reliable he is.

my husband and how loyal and smart he is.

the city I live in with its small town feel, friendly people, and quaint Old Town and British-style traffic circle, even though it’s actually a big city with all the conveniences.

that I have a short commute to work.

losing myself in music, both as a listener and as a player, and that jubilant moment when I hear, for the first time, a song I know I’ll love forever.

the music and foreign language students of all ages I work with, their enthusiasm, “aha” moments, hugs, and goofy things they say like, “You smell like a seashell.”

my piano students, AKA friends and fellow musicians, who tell me jokes and say Anna is way better than Elsa (I agree!), and get me to do my Stitch, dog, pigeon, and wicked witch imitations.

the excitement of knowing I will publish novels.

my two dogs and two cats, the friendliest, most intuitive furry friends ever, especially Teddie, our not-purebred-poodle-after-all with his really ugly butt.

my friends who make me feel like the nicest, funniest, smartest person in the world and who’ll talk to me about anything.

my parents and wish they lived closer.

my brothers and what good family men they are.

ice cream, being outside on sunny days, being indoors on cloudy days, libraries, meeting nice people, amazing talent, handsome cowboys (but, sorry, not cowboy music), epiphanies,  dumb blonde jokes, walking in the woods, and beauty in all its forms.

–Eve Messenger

 

 

Inspiration: Which Artist Do You Wish You Could Write Like?

/ Eve Messenger / 17 Comments

Janelle Monae

Musician and performance artist Janelle Monae makes music the way I want to write: totally out of the box and genuine.  If you have not watched her video for the song Tightrope, please do not pass “go;” head directly to YouTube. . . or watch it here. 🙂

 

Talk about truth and singing from the heart, watch what happens starting at 1:33 when Janelle Monae sings, “I was made to believe there’s something wrong with me.” She released this video as-is. Why? Because it’s deeply honest.

 

Which artist would you like to write fiction like?

What to Do If a Song Gets Stuck in Your Head

/ Eve Messenger / 22 Comments

twenty one pilots

An earworm is a snippet of a song WISH I COULD TURN BACK TIME. . . that gets stuck in your head and relentlessly refuses to leave. TO THE GOOD OLD DA-AYS It drifts off to sleep with you each night and greets you every morning even before you’re fully awake. WHEN OUR MOMMA SANG US TO SLEEP

Day after day, the earworm camps out in your mind, lays out a picnic, and loops endlessly. AND NOW WE’RE STRESSED OUT.

Sometimes the earworm may bounce to a different–also very catchy—part of the same song.
MY NAME IS BLURRY-FACE AND I CARE WHAT YOU THINK.
MY NAME IS BLURRY-FACE AND I CARE WHAT YOU THINK

How do you get rid of an earworm? WISH I COULD TURN BACK TIME. . .

Here’s some conventional wisdom:

  1. Ignore it. TO THE GOOLD OLD DAYS.. .
  2. Watch the music video.
  3. Sing it with people, friends, strangers, anyone who will join you.
  4. Replace it WHEN OUR MOMMA SANG US TO SLEEP with another song.
  5. Read a book. Or several.
  6. Do anagrams. AND NOW WE’RE STRESSED OUT
  7. Blog about it and ask others for help. WISH I COULD TURN BACK TIME. . .

HELP! If you’ve ever had a song stuck in your head, how did you finally get rid of it?

A brief word about writing success, featuring Eve 1 and Eve 2

/ Eve Messenger / 13 Comments

fear of success banner.jpg

EVE #1: How are you ever going to publish novels if you keep spending too much time online?

EVE #2: But going online is fun! I’m learning about all kinds of books I’d like to read, and I love talking with other book lovers and writers.

EVE #1: Seriously, though, as soon as you progress to a point where you might actually complete a really good novel–as in ready to send out to agents–you get distracted and start spending more time online. What’s up with that?

 EVE #2: Yeah, what IS up with that? I think I may have a fear of success.

EVE #1: Fear of succe–what even is that? . . . Okay, here. . . Susanne Babbel, Ph.D., M.F.T., could you please tell us what you wrote on Psychology Today about fear of success?

Susanne BabbelSusan Babbel, Ph.D., M.F.T.: “People who have experienced trauma may associate the excitement of success with the same physiological reactions as trauma. They avoid subjecting themselves to excitement-inducing circumstances, which causes them to be almost phobic about success.” 

 

 

EVE #2: Whoah, that’s deep. Is anyone else finding it difficult to ignore that “Babbel” is a hilarious surname for someone who probably engages in a lot of talk therapy?

EVE #1: Focus, Eve. You’ve been through trauma. It’s something to keep in mind. You don’t want it to hold you back from your dreams.

 EVE #2: Alright, I will definitely keep it in mind. Now. . . I have an admission to make.

EVE #1: Uh-oh.

 EVE#2: I think today might have been first.

EVE #1: A first? So you made good headway on the novel?

 EVE #2: A little. But, nope, this is about headway I made on someone else’s novel. . .

EVE #1: So you’re reading other books? That’s great. They say reading lots of novels makes you a better—

 EVE #2: Better writer, blah-blah. Listen. . . today I may have made my first book purchase based purely on the gorgeousness of the author.

EVE #1: You bought a book because the guy in the picture was cute?

 EVE#2: Sort of, well. . . definitely. He had great hair and looked really clean. He was wearing a sexy winter coat, and his face had this perfect expression between serious and smiling. And he was on the chubby side —you know how I love those teddy bear guys.

EVE #1: Care to tell us who it was?

EVE #2: No way!

EVE #1: So you bought this guy’s book? You just went and bought it based purely on his looks?

EVE #2: Well, I read the excerpt first.

EVE #1: And you’re probably HOPING his writing is as “cute” as his looks.

EVE #2: I cannot disagree with that statement.

 

–Eve Messenger

Why Do People Always Think I’m a Store Employee? and the Dragon’s Loyalty Blog Award

/ Eve Messenger / 25 Comments

Emma @ Book Crunch  was so nice to nominate me for the Dragon’s Loyalty Award (thanks for all the great YA book recommendations, Emma!), so I will do my best to come up with seven facts about myself.

First, the Rules. . . 
Display the award on your blog.
Announce your win with a post.
Link the blogger who awarded you.
Present 6 deserving blogs with the award.
Link your awardees in the post and let them know of their being awarded.
Write seven interesting things about you.

Seven Facts About Me

  1. More times than I can count, when I’m out shopping in department stores, strangers approach me for assistance because they think I’m a store employee.woman-and-clerk-comparing-items
  2. Singing and dancing to impromptu made-up songs with my children is one of my favorite things in life.
  3. I’ve always secretly wanted to be a radio DJ. Last year I got to fulfill this wish with a guest-DJ stint on a major Los Angeles radio station.
  4. Unless I really respect the person in charge, I’m a bit of a rebel against authority.
  5. I’m definitely an introvert, but if you met me you’d probably think I was an extrovert, albeit an occasionally awkward one.
  6. This probably comes as no surprise, but reading, writing, and blogging about YA novels brings me immense joy.
  7. I am beyond excited to feature on my blog in February interviews with authors of (what I consider to be) the five must-read YA debut novels of 2016.

The six deserving blogs I’d now like to nominate for a Dragon’s Loyalty Blog Award are. . .hmmm, wait… it’s too hard to limit the list to six because I adore all seven of these fun, smart, loyal bloggers so much!

Beth @ betwixt-these-pages 
Millie @ millieschmidt 
Hannah @ hsduerloo and questtype 
Joan @ fiddlerblue 
Stefanie @ yourdaughtersbookshelf 
Kelly Miles @ authorkellymiles 
Jon Stephens @ Start Your Fiction 

— Eve Messenger

What I Learned as a Writer in 2015 #writerslife #amwriting

/ Eve Messenger / 55 Comments

In pursuing my ambition to publish great YA novels, here are some things I learned over the past year:

  1. Beyond the thrill of being able to express my passion for writing and books, there are great benefits to blogging, the best of which is getting to know creative, supportive fellow writers and book lovers, many of whom I now consider friends. I see you, Tracy L. Jackson, Beth @ betwixt-these-pages, Kelly Deeny, Elena Johansen, FamilyRules, Wallace Cass,  Annika Perry,  Pat Sherard, The Glitter Afficianado, Stephanie @ Eclectic Scribblings,  Melanie Noell Bernard, Nate Philbrick,  Sabrina Marsi Books,  Jennifer F. Santucci, Mackenzie Bates,  Stephanie @ yourdaughtersbookshelf,  Karen @ MyTrain of Thoughts,  Amanda d Bat,  Carolyn @ A Hundred Thousand Stories,  Erica @ Books the Thing,   the bookwormgirls123.
  2. I am better at editing a first draft on the computer than on a hard copy, even though a lot of advice-givers recommend against it.
  3. A style sheet is helpful, especially for tracking important plot dates.
  4. Literary agents are regular folks and book lovers just like us.
  5. To write first drafts without censoring myself.
  6. To create headers for each scene in Word so I can easily find them later using the navigation screen.
  7. To  keep a “book blurb” Word file for when I feel especially excited about my novel and get ideas on how to pitch it in future query letters.
  8. Short stories are not my preferred medium; what I truly love is writing novels (and I’m sort of learning it’s okay to be better at some things than others.)
  9. Flash fiction is fun…and challenging.
  10. Collecting images for novel inspiration boards on Pinterest is a blast and really does stimulate ideas.
  11. It’s still great to be able to hold a book in my hands, but reading novels on electronic devices won’t kill me.
  12. I want to get more into #bookstagram and #booklr.
  13. Saving the previous draft of a story before making editing changes avoids a lot of lost good writing.
  14. All writers, even the most successful ones, find writing novels to be really hard work.
  15. When I stay away from my novel for too long, I forget I’m actually good at writing it.
  16. Even when I’m afraid to work on my novel, I do have the discipline and faith to always return to it.
  17. Daily writing goals and rewards make me a much more productive writer.
  18. My writing really does improve with practice.
  19. Beta critiquing other people’s novels makes me a better writer.
  20. Google Docs is a really handy tool that allows me to work on manuscripts on my phone, home computer, out-of-town relatives’ computers, and hotel lobby computers. . . but I still always keep multiple back-up copies of my work.
  21. A change purse is a great place to keep a flash drive.
  22. I really am dedicated to publishing YA novels and maybe, just maybe, I am worthy of success.

Writer Do Nots

/ Eve Messenger / 4 Comments

This advice is so spot on that more writers deserve to see it.

samurainovelist's avatarSamurai Novelist

Take this advice to heart:

  1. Never write a novel to prove something.
    If you are going to be a novelist, then just do your job. Publishing a novel is not a way to prove something. The objective of a work of fiction is to transport the reader to another world created in print. It is not meant to impress people who have no intention of being transported and probably only will be looking for faults in your work anyway.
  2. If you write for your own therapy, it’s not for publishing.
    Every writer has a book that is not meant to be published. We might call them private journals, notes, fiction for my own consumption, whatever. If you write something for yourself, keep it to yourself. There is nothing shameful about writing something that cannot be published. And things that are written for your mental well being rarely accomplishes the objective…

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