I’m not going to lie, I always feel a tiny twinge of jealousy when I read the wonderful people in the El-Jay writing world realizing their dreams of landing an agent, getting a publishing contract, etc. (Don’t worry, the predominant emotion here is PURE EXCITEMENT so don’t worry, almarrone!!) But, it’s not a negative jealousy. It’s a VERY motivating kind–pushing me to hurry up and write something amazing so it can be out there as well.

I mean, ultimately, I want to be able to sit at a table with almarrone, laurenbarnholdt, and mandywriter promoting our books at a FAN CON. I wonder if they have YA Writer conventions? How neat would that be? OH MY GOD. What if Sarah Dessen (writergrl) were to be there? **hyperventilates on her daydream**

(Don’t worry, swankivy, I did not forget you. But since we write in totally different genres, I don’t know if we’d be at a FanCon together!)

I am so full of… I don’t even know how to describe it. Excitement? Fear? A bit of impatience? Worrying? Praying that it will be my time, and soon?

In the meantime, I am being as patient as I can regarding the OMG entry a few posts back (believe me, no one is more anxious than I am to see how it all pans out!), and also some other things. It’s exciting to see people I know getting what they want, what they’ve worked so hard for, what they’ve dreamed of, and reading/critiquing the work of others–so unbelievably amazing. And it simply inspires me to do more, to keep trying.

Once upon a time, someone very wise quoted her favorite movie Flashdance: When you give up your dream, you die.

There are days when I feel down and scared. I start to doubt, and I wonder if I should give up. Once upon a time, a post that I just read would have sent me into an envious depression. But now? It totally gets me ramped up for my own writing, my own possiblities.

Then I actually think about the possibilities, and I get SCARED. So much can happen, or not. So much can change. And I ask myself am I really ready?

Well you know what? I am. I love writing and books too much to let fear hold me back. That feeling in my gut will never go away and I know that I must keep striving and pushing myself. When I think of what has transpired over the past few months for me, I am gobsmacked. The people I’ve met, the things I’ve learned, the inspiration I’ve gotten. I can’t wait until the day I can share it all. But right now, I will wait. And I will write.

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

SUSPENSE! – High-speed adventure is where youre at!
Girls! Guns! Intrigue! Conspiracy! You want to
write it gritty with sharp heroes and
devastating babes. Rich and powerful villains
rule your world and your hero is out to save
it! Ian Flemming and the Die Hard movies are
your inspirations!

What Kind of Novel Should I Write?
brought to you by Quizilla

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

You’ve finally snapped. Stress has gotten the better of you, and you can no longer think in long descriptive sentences. Write about the day you lost your mind, using sentences comprised of six words or fewer.

Moronic drivers. Who gave them licenses anyway? Holy crap, this is ridiculous. Just DRIVE, you idiots! The accident is OVER THERE. Quit looking and GO. Get off your phones and DRIVE. AUGH. This is driving me crazy. I hate this freeway. People act like morons. Ugh. That’s it. I’m done. You want an accident? I’ll give you an accident!! No, I need to stay calm. No need to rear-end the BMW. No need to raise the insurance. It will be okay. ACK. CRAP. GO!!!!!!!