writing

Happiness, Like Opening Your Eyes to See Other Bright, Kind Fishes Swimming Alongside You. #amwriting

/ Eve Messenger / 17 Comments

You know how sometimes you’re moseying through your life, teaching classes, reading great books, tending to the family, house, groceries, and pets, writing each morning before work (like you promised yourself you would, yay), and then someone says something nice to you out of the blue like, “You’re pretty,” or “You told me something wise in high school that stuck with me,” or whatever it is, and suddenly life feels more sparkly? There’s a shift. The current changes, and you feel as if you’re not swimming upstream anymore, or maybe your eyes are open wider to see the other bright, kind fishes swimming alongside you.

Three things happened this week that made me feel that kind of happiness, and they all have to do with writing since that is my life’s ambition and mostly what I blog about here. 🙂

  1. Melanie Noell Bernard invited me to post a guest blog in a special series she’s running in January. I really love Melanie’s blog, and it’s an honor to be asked. (I hope I don’t let her down.)
  2. My first reblog–thank you, Elizabeth Huff of the Well-Rounded Writer.
  3. A writer I crossed paths with during NaNoWriMo 2015 messaged me through the NaNo site (it’s crazy that I decided to check my message box there six days after the event ended) saying he “liked my style” in the WIP excerpts I posted in the forums and asked to be a beta reader for my novel. Wow, someone WANTS to read my book.

It’s been a good week.

–Eve Messenger

 

 

Magical Writing Day #amwriting #nanowrimo

/ Eve Messenger / 10 Comments

During NaNoWriMo 2015, there’ve been moments after writing a scene when I pump my fist and go, “Damn, girl, that was goooood.” (Yes, I say things like that to myself sometimes.) But for the most part I’ve felt a sort of resistance to working on this novel. I don’t know why, and I’ve decided to stop trying to figure it out because it doesn’t matter.

All the writing I do takes me where I need to be. Even if I’m working on a story that doesn’t feel like it’s going to the exciting places I thought it would, I am still writing. I’m improving my ability to craft words, to tap into my imagination, to make realizations about myself as a writer—weaknesses, strengths–and it’s all okay. I recently learned, for example, that a one-week slump won’t end me. I keep writing because I love it and because there is nothing else I’d rather do.

During the month of November 2015, I will write at least 50,000 words on this novel, making me a “winner” according to NaNoWriMo. Novels are like people; they surprise you. This book I thought was going to be a fabulous new friend is turning out to be a bit aloof. If this novel in progress decides to take off and become a project I’m passionate about working on and eventually completing, great. If not, fine.

In the meantime…

Today was a magical writing day.

“Idea bank” is a Google docs file in which I jot down random story ideas. Snippets–like lines from a character’s unusual point of view, a scene, a title, a concept–might sit dumbly in my idea bank for years or, as happened today, suddenly thrum to life and demand to be brainstormed and written about until they become big, fat novels.

It’s hard to say exactly what morphs an idea into a story. I think it has something to do with the combination of ideas. The idea that popped into my head this morning started pretty much with just a word, how the word “snap” can mean when a person snaps from sanity into insanity, and also how a hypnotist snaps his fingers as a signal to induce suggestions planted in a hypnotee’s (?) subconscious. Combine that with a title I jotted down a while back, plus a recent interest in writing an alternate reality story, and the witch’s brew was complete.

Now I’m super excited to work on this new story and see where it leads. It’s the kind of novel I’d love to read.

Be Outlandish. Write Books with Wings #amwriting #nanowrimo

/ Eve Messenger / 4 Comments
fox2bsmelling2bflower

Photo credit: front-porch anarchist 2012

 

As a writer, here are some things I try to remind myself.

Reach out for, and welcome, scary, crazy ideas because those can be the most brilliant. (Ask Vincent, Sylvia, F. Scott, and the gajillion artists who’ve come before us.)

Don’t be afraid to be outlandish. Think outside the box. Believe there is no box. When writing, allow yourself the freedom to freewheel unfettered through a galaxy of creativity. God, I love that part.

Revise with confidence. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t immediately get things right. Big, scary, daunting, multi-faceted, novel revision is a marathon, not a sprint–a marathon during which you get to stop and smell flowers, daydream, listen to music, and read other books (how cool is that?), with the ultimate goal of crossing the finish line with a novel you can be proud of.

Polish your novel until it has wings to fly: to overworked literary agents who perk up because you’ve written exactly what they’re looking for; to readers who are moved by your words, excitedly turn each page, and feel a sense of loss when they reach the last word.

Then write more novels to make those readers happy again.

–Eve Messenger

YA Books – Recent, Current, and Upcoming Reads

/ Eve Messenger / 11 Comments

Today I’m feeling especially aware of the BIG CRUSH I have on novels, and November is turning out to be a particularly good month–every read is like striking gold. For this, I am grateful to book bloggers and their excellent recommendations.

RECENTLY READ: Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver
This book. The first few chapters of Vanishing Girls did not at all prepare me for what was to come. Oh, me of little faith. This is Lauren Oliver, remember, Eve? Your possibly-new-favorite author.

 CURRENTLY READING: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
When researching literary agents and the kinds of YA manuscripts they’re looking for (in preparation for the day when one of my novels is FINALLY ready to query), I often read that agents are looking for “voice-y” novels. “Voice-y,” I get it, but then along comes Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, and now I really get it. Simon has SUCH a voice. He is REAL. With his wry wit and honesty about himself, Simon is so relatable.

I’m only 55 pages in, but so far this story has a compelling premise. Simon is gay and has yet to come out of the closet, but he shares his secrets in email communications with a boy who goes by the alias Blue. Blue attends Simon’s same high school, but they’ve never revealed their true identities to one another, so with every male high school student that’s introduced, you (and Simon) wonder if he might be Blue. I also can’t help but wonder if maybe Blue isn’t really who he claims to be, and I love Simon so much already that I’m afraid he’s going to be disappointed.

ABOUT TO READ: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
At last, my first Patrick Ness novel!

Vanishing Girls and Good Advice

/ Eve Messenger / 1 Comment

Embedded image permalink

Thank you, Lauren Oliver, for posting this on Twitter today. With twelve excellent published novels under her belt, Lauren knows what she’s talking about. I will write and not let doubt stand in my way!

Another thing: I just finished reading Lauren Oliver’s Vanishing Girls, a novel that blew my mind. It’s difficult to properly review Vanishing Girls without giving away spoilers, so I’ll just say it’s not what you expect, and you will feel compelled to re-read the story. Trust me.

— Eve Messenger

That Which You Fear Most, Face First

/ Eve Messenger / 10 Comments

I feel this overwhelming resistance to working on my current novel. Once I start writing (which I still do, every day), the words flow, but for the past couple of days sitting down to write feels like forcing myself through quicksand. I want to understand why so I can overcome it.

Could it be because choosing to write–or not to write–is something within my control, while other things feel pretty out of control right now?

Or maybe I’m feeling unworthy of writing this particular story.  I want to write a story that’s as good as the fantasy novels I’ve loved, and I’m stunted by that thought perhaps.

When creating a first draft, I usually let the story flow the way it wants to, and I don’t read back through it until the second draft stage. However, today I wanted to post a line from my work in progress on Twitter for #1lineWed (one-line Wednesday), when writers from all over tweet a line or two from their manuscripts in response to a weekly theme, this week’s theme being “action.”

As I skimmed through my YA fantasy novel for an action line, I found myself really liking much of what I’d written so far. Did this encourage me? Maybe a little, but like a cranky toddler I’m still resistant to returning to write more.

As I struggle through these feelings, I have to remind myself of a kind of epiphany I had after many years of young adult procrastination–like forgetting to pay my car registration then getting pulled over for expired tags, and other self-sabotaging attempts to control things by NOT doing them. Here’s the saying I try to live by: That which you fear most, face first.

When I started doing this, my life became less chaotic and much more livable. I still stumble. For instance, I have a major project to complete at work, which I’ve been putting off for, um, weeks now, so today have to go in to work–on Veterans Day holiday–to complete (okay, START)  the project.  The stakes are high, the work must get done, so I just need to face it.

About writing, the irony is that when I give myself permission to NOT write, I still do it because there’s nothing else I’d rather do. And whatever the writing crisis might be, the advice I always get from established writers is: WRITE THROUGH IT.

So now I’m off to complete that project at work. And I’ll also put in more work on my new novel. Yes, I’ll probably have to force myself to sit at my desk and get started, but eventually the writing resistance will pass– as it always has before.

–Eve Messenger

A Funny Thing Happened on My Way Into NaNoWriMo 2015 #amwriting #nanowrimo

/ Eve Messenger / 4 Comments

I discovered that my writing habits during NaNoWriMo are pretty much the same as they are during the other eleven months of the year; every day I squeeze out writing whenever I can. However, NaNo does push me to work toward higher word counts, and the write-ins and online word sprints make the journey a bit less lonely.

Though I was tired after a long week, I was proud of myself tonight for getting out of the house and driving to a write-in. Laptop in hand, I settled into the coffee shop with some friendly local writers I remembered from last year. Problem: throughout the entire write-in these writers gabbed with each other like a gaggle of geese. None of them wrote! It got to the point where I went online and did word sprints with people on Twitter and the NaNoWriMo website. The woman who runs this particular write(not TALK)-in is actually a nice, smart lady, but I think she was just off her game tonight. Anyway, at one point, one of the gabbling writers said, in reference to me, “I’m impressed with how well she can concentrate on her writing while we’re all talking.” Ask me if I responded. Yes, I did.

Okay, so tonight’s write-in was a bust, but at least it gave me something to talk about on my blog. And there are other, better-organized write-ins (including a write-in on a train, which I LOVE), so I’ll hit up some of those later this month. In the meantime, my new YA fantasy novel is up to 16,000 words, and one of the characters busted out with a cool surprise tonight.

Have a great November!

What is Your “Moment?”

/ Eve Messenger / 7 Comments

Many successful people actively visualize their life’s ambitions. Over and over, they imagine a specific moment that captures the essence of what they’d like to accomplish.

Before he made it big as an actor/comedian, Jim Carey used to drive to the top of Mulholland Drive, look out on the sparkling lights of Hollywood, and visualize himself receiving  a million-dollar check for his acting work. Professional quarterback Drew Brees, before winning his first Superbowl, saw himself walking out onto the playing field.

What is your “moment?” Here’s mine.

Invigorated by a long walk and at peace with how well my family is doing, I sit in my lovely office with forest light cascading through the window.

Copies of my published novels rest on a shelf.

My literary agent emails to say my latest book has gone to auction and that another has been optioned for a movie.

My imagination swirls with scenes, dialogue, and characters’ intentions for the new novel I’m writing.

Then I write, and the words flow beautifully.

Writing and Waiting and Plane Flights, Oh My #amwriting

/ Eve Messenger / 7 Comments

Can it be? For the first time in recent memory, I’m between writing projects, mainly because NaNoWriMo doesn’t start for another week. So today I got to have fun with a writing prompt (not that I’m supposed to be getting ready to board a plane in a couple of hours or anything). I’ve been writing prose non-stop, so it was fun to play with language in poetry form today.

Nina’s writing prompt photo that sparked my imagination:

The writing prompt details:

#‎MY WritersWritingPrompt‬ – Week 43/2015

Write a piece of micro-fiction/non-fiction/poetry in English or Malay inspired by this image – word count: between 50 to 200 words

What I wrote:

Heart invisible, all face and hands, an imprint on the fabric of the ethos.

Degrees of gray. A brow but no eyes, existing beyond dimension.

On which side of the cloth do I stand?

Arms folded, timid, watching

Or a soul pressed, and expressing, against impossible vastness.

Step closer, lean in to hear.

Her mouth is open with the promise of truth, of a scream, of emptiness.

Beauty in the exertion

And a thrilling threat of rupture.

— Eve Messenger

Juggling it All—Taking a Moment to Assess #amwriting, #the writing life

/ Eve Messenger / 8 Comments

Life is busy–I wouldn’t have it any other way, but sometimes it’s important to take a moment to assess and shift priorities as needed. Here goes . . .

Family. Is my priority, but finding balance between being there for them and letting them fend for themselves is challenging.

Career. Almost pays the bills.

Second job. Helps almost pay the bills.

Writing. My passion and the focus of my life–when I can fit it in between family and work, which I’ve been managing to do daily, even if only for a few minutes.

Spirituality. Except for a prayer now and again, pretty much nonexistent. I’d like to meditate more at all.

Exercise. I love being fit and healthy, but I’m finding it impossible to find time to shop for, and to prepare, healthy foods and to exercise.

Blogging and Social Networking. Mostly consistent.  Has helped me learn and grow so much as a member of the professional writing community, but I’m wondering if this is where I can cut back to make time to exercise.

Travel. Has become a bigger part of my life, and I’m glad.

Friendship. Sporadic phone calls between everything else.

Reading. At least two novels a week. Brings me joy and helps me improve my writing craft.

Television and movies. Barely.

Housework. Barely.

Cooking. Anyone for takeout? Thank God husband likes to cook.

Pets. Keeping them healthy and happy, but I wish I had more time to take my little furry buddies for walks.