Writing rough drafts stinks. Part two.

Don’t be misled. The advent of MOD HOL has pretty much changed the world and almost destroyed all need for a part two of “Writing rough drafts stinks”.

Almost – but not quite.

Following the rules of Mind On Draft, Hands OffLine fixes all the problems BIC HOK lets slip through its holes: like sitting on your butt, in your chair, with your hands on the keyboard, while doing unproductive things like tweet, blog, Facebook, or generally do nothing on the internet.

But MOD HOL doesn’t solve the problem of this gripping thing called the inner editor. The inner editor, also known as self-doubt, wants to red-pen every single word you slap onto your WIP. See, my inner editor says that red-pen isn’t a verb, but I’m ignoring it. While writing rough drafts, you must do the same. Ignore the inner editor. Shut it down. Box it up. It might know a lot, but what it knows doesn’t matter until you start to edit.

For now, the inner editor has nothing to offer. It’ll not only destroy your self-esteem, but also try to convince you that every sentence you craft is crap. Which might be true, at least at this rough draft stage, but whatever. First get the words down.

In the end they’ll look like this — scribbled on, crossed out, added to — anyway, so don’t bother with perfection on the first draft.

Just write.

Writing rough drafts stinks.

There’s no other way to say it. Minus those times when words just fly (which can be sadly few), writing rough drafts stinks. The general stinkiness often makes me avoid my rough draft’s eyes for days at a time like it’s a person I don’t want to see. I block the sight of it, chilling all alone on the back of my computer screen, with other windows: papers, assignments, blog, Twitter, Facebook, email, iTunes. I hide in my friends’ rooms and go out when I shouldn’t so I don’t have to see the evidence of my silly, misbehaving work-in-progress scattered all over my desk.

But this is bad. If I want to finish the rough draft in a reasonable amount of time, or at least in the next decade, I must put an end to it. I must! The question is how.

I’ve discovered that the old adage BIC HOK (butt in chair, hands on keyboard) fails me every time. Every single time. So after searching for a more relevant and useful acronym, I’ve come up with:

MOD HOL

See, I have no problem with the butt in chair or hands on keyboard thing. That’s easy. But even when I’m sitting down and typing away, I’m not necessarily being productive. Oh no. Like right now: I’m writing this blog post, BIC HOK, and all the while having guilty second thoughts about ignoring the WIP, which I actually should be working on instead.

But MOD HOL, Mind On Draft, Hands OffLine, leaves no room for excuses. Focus on the rough draft, not the internet. Think about the story, not the next tweet or blog post or NYT article (and oh boy, those NYT articles can be insanely distracting and entertaining…). But no. When you’re under the power of MOD HOL, you can do nothing but write. Excuse me while I go be productive.

AW Exposed: Rebecca

This week, Rebecca Latimer – college-student, AW member, and writer – shares about her WIP, her crazy-fast writing skills, and the importance of balance in query letters.

AW Identity:
Screen Name: Witch_turtle (I chose the name because there is a stuffed turtle wearing a witch’s hat and cape that sits on my writing desk)
Post Count: 50-ish
Favorite Forum: Novels and SYW
What’s the best lesson AW has taught you? That writing is not the lonely business it can seem to be. There is a huge network of individuals in all parts of the industry – writers, agents, editors, etc – who share a passion. We all want success, for ourselves and for others. It’s not a competition, it’s a team. You don’t have to stand alone and keep everything to yourself, because there is always someone to help, and improvement comes faster with that support.

About:
In real life, you are… A 19-year old college student, avid reader, and drinker of tea. I am also an artist. I am Canadian (and therefore use Canadian/British spelling, woohoo!), and I live in the far north where it is almost always dark and ridiculously cold. I forgot how to ride a bike, but I can run. I am someone who thoroughly enjoys making throwback costumes for Halloween (my best was Felix the Cat). I love animals, nature, sunlight, vegetables, having strange dreams, and looking at the stars. But first and foremost, I’m a writer.
Book title: Umm…for the time being I’m considering “Afterton,” but a title for this book is something I’ve sadly been struggling with.
Genre: Low-fantasy with a literary edge

The woods near my house, which resemble the eerie woods I describe in my novel

Summarize your current WIP in 50 words or less.
Skelon is kidnapped from his dystopian city by a dying sorceress queen, who makes him heir to her nightmare kingdom. But Skelon has been ripped away from his beloved twin sister. He must make the heartbreaking choice between two hellish worlds and two powerful obsessions, and then fight for that choice.

When did you start writing seriously — and what sparked your love of writing?
Elementary school. Short story assignments. I was the only kid in class who got excited about them. When I got into junior high and realized those days were over, I started writing on my own. I was between the ages of 11 and 12 when I wrote my first “novel,” a 60K-word cliche monster I was sure would get published. Instead it went into a drawer and was forgotten. For the next 4ish years I worked on other novels here and there, never getting very far with anything. I was 16 when I was hit with the very serious need to become a writer. I completed 2 novels in the space of a year, but the editing process was VERY long and sadly disastrous for both of them. That’s when I was struck with the inspiration for my current WIP, which has so far been far more successful than all previous attempts.

You say that you prefer to write stories in which the fates of smaller groups of characters are at stake, rather than more epic tales where the fate of the whole world is at stake. Talk about how you build readers’ interests in your characters and ramp up the tension without hanging the fate of the world in the balance.
My writing tends to be emotionally charged. When the main character loves something with every fibre of his being, it is my main goal to write it in such a way that the reader feels that love too. The same goes for pain or fear. I believe people relate to these personal-struggle type stories because that’s what people face in their everyday lives. My characters exist in bizarre worlds and circumstances, but their feelings are very real and honest. They get into trouble, make mistakes, and their situation gets worse. I also have a tendency to give my characters a lot of internal struggles, which I think makes everything far more interesting. The trouble builds up. Something really bad happens. Basically, the progression from bad to worse to worst, and the coinciding emotions of the characters who are living that progression, are the most important factors in my writing.

You wrote your first draft (100K words) in 2 months. Share the secret! How do you write so quickly?
This is going to sound so cheesy, but it’s true . . . It began with powerful inspiration. I felt something I had never felt before — a desperate, unstoppable need to get this story out. I was working as a file clerk at an industrial site at the time (which, coincidentally, was very inspiring for the gloomy society in the novel), and often I would find myself scrawling ideas and scenes on scrap pieces of paper. When I actually started writing the first draft, everything just poured out of me. There were times when I would write 10K words a day for several days in a row, which is insane and I have no idea how I managed it, though it probably had something to do with me becoming a hermit on my days off. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without feeling as much passion about this project as I do.

Another factor in my speedy writing is plain old impatience. I get so excited for something to be “done,” just for it to exist, that I do it as quickly as possible. Of course, that leads to much longer revision periods than might otherwise be needed!

You’re also diving into the query process for your novel. What have you been learning about the art of snagging agents’ attention?
I think the most helpful knowledge I’ve gained about query letters on AW is how important it is to balance everything in them. Balance straightforwardness with intrigue, balance professionalism with passion, and balance the most important details with the very basics of what your book is about. It’s so easy to over-simplify and make things unclear, or to focus on the wrong details for the sake of drama. That’s why the SYW forum is so awesome — there is always somebody to point those flaws out, always somebody to learn from. I’ve been practising writing queries since I finished my first draft, and thanks to AW I’m confident that by the time I’m ready to start knocking on doors, I’ll have something that I’ll be proud to show to an agent (and hopefully that will grab them!)

Two parts to this question: what’s the best YA book you’ve read recently and what did it teach you about writing?
I don’t read a lot of YA, but one of the most recent that I enjoyed was “Wildwood Dancing” by Juliet Marillier. It’s a twist on the old fairytale “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” It has that old fairytale charm I adore, but it’s also very unique and fresh. That book is a prime example of how brilliant a story can be when everything has a purpose, when all the subtle foreshadowing (which, by the way, is one of my absolute favourite techniques in writing), various subplots, and past events come together at the end, and the reader is struck with that glorious realization that everything is tied together.

I also want to mention “The Neverending Story” by Michael Ende. I’m not sure if it’s technically YA or childrens literature, but it taught me a similar lesson about how awesome it is when everything in the story has meaning behind it, although in this case it’s more of a philosophical meaning than interwoven purpose. What I took away from both stories is that the imagination of an author can be an incredible thing if put to use properly.

Finally, if you could have any actor or actress star in a movie-version of your book, who would it be and why?
This is such a tough question! It’s hard to think of someone who would perfectly encompass one of my characters. I think I would choose Rachel Weisz to be the mother of my main characters. It’s a very small role (she only appears in one chapter), but an interesting role. Outwardly cold, inwardly tender, just not quite knowing how to be a mother and so focuses on everything and anything else. There is one particular scene in which her tenderness does show through, albeit awkwardly, and it’s one of my favourite snippets of the book. I think Rachel Weisz is beautiful and could pull off that almost-double persona quite nicely.

Teaser Tuesday

After griping for a couple weeks, I’ve settled on a new work-in-progress. I wrote up an outline last week and a pitch paragraph this weekend, so it’s live and official.

Genre: YA urban fantasy
Word count: almost non-existent at 1,500 words

Why I can’t wait to write this story: it’s set in my lovely Seattle
Which makes me all kinds of excited; I’ve never written a story that’s set in a place that I know, truly know like Seattle. That old adage, “write what you know”? Eh, not so true. Except now.

Why I am terrified: It’s about fire. We Californians know too well the power of fire — I know it more intimately than I ever wanted to. In the aftermath of the wildfires I’ve been through, I’ve avoided writing, thinking, or dwelling on the topic of fire as much as possible. But it’s been months now since the last fire and I want to tease out my thoughts through fiction. The idea makes my palms sweaty — but I’m going to go through with it. See, fire has two parts: the horrifying red and orange part that destroys and damages — and the period afterward, which brings green and gold and new growth and regeneration.

Without further ado, here’s FELL.

After the apartment fire, Birch sees and smells smoke everywhere — until Harley starts riding her city bus route. He’s more country hick than she is city girl, a mystery boy with nowhere to stay whose presence somehow banishes her recurring fire dreams. As his self-appointed tour-guide, Birch lets him into her city — and into her ashy memories. But Harley’s running from his own fiery past. He’s more country than boy, more wild than human. And the inhuman creatures stalking him through the city threaten to consume Birch, too. If she lets Harley go, the fire dreams come back. But if she lets herself fall for this boy with a thousand secrets, her future might go up in flames with his.

Wanting

I was getting all confused the other day about my new work-in-progress (WIP). I didn’t know where I wanted it to go; I didn’t even know what the basic premise was. It was a maze with no way out. Until I realized –

Want.

Want drives stories. You can pull any number of premises out of the air and call them plots, but none of them will work unless they’re driven by desire. What do your characters want?

Say your MC wants BOY, but BOY wants OTHER GIRL. And OTHER GIRL wants OTHER BOY. And OTHER BOY wants MC. That is plot (enough plot to give anyone a headache, but whatever. still qualifies).

Want, when constructed well, twists up your story into one tension-packed I-can’t-put-this-down bestseller, especially when, say…

• Character A’s desires conflict with Character B’s
• Or Character A’s desires are the same as Character B’s (but only one of them can succeed)
• Or Character A’s desires conflict internally with his/her own other desires

Want is the spiderweb-like framework that connects characters in terrifying and heart-wrenching and ultimately satisfying ways. So when your story gets confusing and off-track, hike back to the basics. Your characters’ desires will show you where the story needs to go. As soon as I realized this, my new WIP became a lot clearer. Main Character wants this. Character A wants that. And abracadabra! there’s plot.

AW Exposed: Sandy Shin

This week, AW member Sandy Shin shares about her writing, her art, and social networking. She’s also a college student like me — college students, unite!

And Sandy has turned this into a doubly-exciting post, because she’s hosting a contest! It’s a two-blog contest: check out her blog for guidelines, then come back here to enter (just comment) to win a character sketch by Sandy herself. Deadline: Feb 1st.

AW Identity:
Screen Name: Sandy Shin
Post Count: 90 (I should stop lurking and start posting more…)
Favorite Forum: Novels and Young Adult
What’s the best lesson AW has taught you? I’ve learned so much through the AW forums, from the craft of writing to the nitty gritty of the publishing process. The most important lesson I got, however, is this: “A writer is someone who writes.” I was one of those writers who sit and wait for inspirations to strike, and who are afraid of writing the terrible first drafts. AW taught me (through millions of post all say the same thing) that the only way to get better as a writer is to write everyday, even when all that come out are rubbish. It’s an invaluable lesson.

About:
In real life, you are… a third year university student majoring in Biology and English who hopes to go to medical/pharmacy school after college.
Book title: NOT FATED
Genre: YA contemporary fantasy
Blog: www.sandyshin.com

Sandy's self-portrait

Summarize your current WIP, NOT FATED, in 50 words or less.

Yuki uses her ability to see the red thread of destiny that connects two soulmates to match-make, through fair means and foul. When her soulmate appears and the threads begin to disintegrate, she must fight to save everybody’s loves, even if it means losing the one boy she cares for.

You’re not just any YA writer: you’re a YA writer who is a young adult. One, how do you balance all that comes with being a young adult, like college and social life, with your writing?

As a world-class procrastinator, I struggle with this. A lot of time, I fail. Miserably. However, there’s one advice I’ve tried to internalized: free times to write don’t present themselves in neat, long blocks — you have to make them, carve them out of time you’d rather spent watching movies, blogging, chatting. It means I don’t socialize much, don’t hang out with friends every night (good thing I’m an introvert!). It’s difficult. I am still a toddler at juggling things — a baby, really. But I hope, one day, to be able to run.

Two: what distinct perspective do you feel that you bring, as a young adult, to the YA genre?

Each teenager is different. My own experience is different from everybody else’s. However, the feelings I felt growing up are shared by many, and it is those feelings that I hope to convey in my writing.

As writers, we have to be social networkers. Rachelle Gardner tweeted this just last week: “It’s crucial to apply your own personal cost/benefit formula to the amount of time you spend online networking.” Speak to the advantages of social networking that you’ve seen as a blogger and twitterer. Any disadvantages?

There are so many advantages to being a blogger and twitterer (and Facebooker, etc.)! As a beginner, blogging and tweeting introduced me to so many wonderful writers that I’d never have met otherwise. Writing can be a lonely and solitary process, and connecting with other writers and learning that I’m not alone give me the energy to keep writing, keep learning. For me, that’s the most important part of social networking. If/when I get published, I do hope to use social networking to promote my books, garner readers, etc. However, that’s a long way off. Right now, blogging and tweeting are just fun to do.

The huge disadvantage: social networking eats away at your time until you have little time left for anything else. As an Internet-addict, it’s difficult for me to disconnect myself from the web–and blogger and twitter just make it that much more difficult. :<

You’re an artist as well. Are your writing and drawing separate endeavors, or do they mix together? If so, how?

When I was younger, my writing and drawing used to be complementary. The majority of my old sketches are scenes and characters from my stories and novels. However, as I grew older, writing became more important and drawing less. Nowadays, I only doodle whatever strikes my fancy during sleep-inducing lectures.

I don’t sketch character profiles for my WiPs because I can’t commit my characters’ physical attributes to lines. They never look quite right. Personalities are so much easier to create. I do hope that’ll change in the future, though!

Finally, you win a lunch-date with any YA author you want. Who’ll it be?

Oh, that’s difficult. I have so many. If forced, I’d say Megan Whalen Turner, because I love the Attolia series to death and there is so little information about her online.

Prose Test Kitchen: Fragments

Prose Test Kitchen: a giant metaphorical kitchen in which we experiment with all sorts of ingredients that can help make our prose taste better, like alliteration and exciting verbs. Um… okay, you get the extended metaphor; anyway today’s ingredient-of-consideration is…

The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition, defines a fragment as:

1. A small part broken off or detatched
2. An incomplete or isolated portion; a bit

A literary fragment is basically the same thing, only…literary:

1. A dependent phrase or clause broken off or detached from the main clause
2. An incomplete or isolated sentence

When used correctly, literary fragments can add style and flair to your prose. I mean, who wants to read complete sentence after complete sentence after complete sentence? Gets kind of boring. But too many fragments can make your reader’s eyes go buggy. So how to make these things shine? Here are a few guidelines.

Fragments can:

• Vary the rhythm of your prose. This goes back to the complete sentence after complete sentence thing. A paragraph constructed of sentences that are 30 words long sounds dull. Repetitive. But a paragraph with a one-word sentence, then a 50-word sentence, then a fragment? That’s interesting. But the real point of varying rhythm with fragments is to…
  
• Add emphasis. If you’re reading along, lulled by strings of lyrical, complete sentences, and then your eyes land on a fragment, you’re going to sit up. Take notice. Use fragments to call your readers’ attention to important plot points, character revelations, etc.
  
• Speed up your action-packed scenes. If your character is running from the bad guys, out of breath and frightened, she’s not going to rely on complete sentences. She’s going to see things in fragments. And when she describes her predicament with short, spiky sentences, your reader’s going to feel frightened and tense and out of breath, too.

These rocks are fragments, too.

So we’ve established that fragments can be useful and stylish. However, the college student in me wants to add a caveat. The OWL at Purdue explains:

You may have noticed that newspaper and magazine journalists often use a dependent clause as a separate sentence when it follows clearly from the preceding main clause [...]. This is a conventional journalistic practice, often used for emphasis. For academic writing and other more formal writing situations, however, you should avoid such journalistic fragment sentences.

Take this warning seriously. When I ignore it every now and then, the effects can be rollercoaster-y. Some professors don’t mind at all, but others put big red circles around these sentences and helpfully mark them: FRAGMENT. And I think, I know, you silly, that was the point. It was literary.

So here’s the thing. Fragments can add lots of flavor to your writing, but don’t overdo them. And don’t use them in your papers.

Wait, but that was my idea…!

Do you ever find yourself saying this? You read a jacket flap in the bookstore and think, wait a second, that sounds suspiciously like my book… Or you see the name of something in your book in the real world, used for something else, and feel kind of cheated on.

My answer is yes. One time, I had this random idea for a novel with MCs named Aislynn and Seth. And then, like six months later, I read about this brand new book called Wicked Lovely, by Melissa Marr, whose MCs were also named Aislynn and Seth.

Then, just recently, I saw a blurb in the paper about this new band called The Inbetweens. What? Really?

Basically this is bound to happen to everyone at some point. It’s frustrating but — it happens. Most ideas really aren’t that new.

Main question is this (two parts): (a) Has this happened to you? and (b) What do you do when it happens — switch things up or ignore it?

TIB Newsflash

You know those mornings when you wake up kind of confused, mostly sleepy, and really sad about going to class, work, or anywhere else that isn’t bed?

That was Thursday morning. Until…

I opened up my email and bam the whole day changed. My awesome agent had delightful news: THE INBETWEEN was officially. out. on. submission. with a stunning list of editors that made my stomach flip-flop.

Happy dance!

AW Exposed: Phaeal

This week, Absolute Write’s Phaeal (also known as Anne Pillsworth) takes the AW: Exposed spotlight. She’s an urban fantasy writer, Share-Your-Work (SYW) forums critiquer, and self-proclaimed Trekkie. Here she is, exposed!

AW Identity:

Screen Name: Phaeal (Yes, I’m a geek. This is the name of my character in an online Star Trek roleplaying game. She’s a proud Romulan and a proud Star Fleet officer, and if you don’t like it, prepare for a long philosophical discussion of how those contradictory states can be reconciled. Or else a butt-whupping. Depends on her mood.)
Post Count: 2849. Wow, really?
Favorite Forum: I’m rather fond of the squirrels in Query Letter Demolition, er, Share Your Work.

What’s the best lesson AW has taught you? Persevere, persevere, persevere. Also, there’s no such thing as the last draft, only the latest one. The latest one may be good enough. Open the window to see if it can fly yet.

About:
In real life, you are: A long-time resident of the Providence, Rhode Island area. New England informs much of my fiction, from its gritty post-industrial towns to those mystic rose-gray sunsets between the church spires and over the bay. I live in an old house with a witch’s garden full of urbane cats, raccoons, skunks and the occasional coyote.
Book title: SUMMONED
Genre: Urban fantasy

Summarize your current WIP, RIVER RISING, in 50 words or less.

Feriel should have been lord of Gyrden Fief. Treachery kills his father, drives his family to suicide, and leaves him first a fugitive, then a slave. His best friend may turn out to be the right hand man of his worst enemy, if Feriel can learn to trust him.

We all have a time we look back on as the moment we knew we were writers. Or knew we wanted to write. Or knew we just had something to say. What was yours?

I think it was in fifth grade, when I wrote a very short story about Robert E. Lee at Appomattox. I had always been in love with fiction, rereading my favorite novels to shreds. This was the first fic I worked hard on, and something about it convinced me I could do this stuff.

I always need a notepad on a long walk — that’s when I get most of my ideas for my WIP. Where do you go (or what to you do) to seek inspiration and ideas?

Walking is good — if I stroll along vaguely mulling over a plot issue, the repetitive motion often jars answers loose.

My patented idea-generation system is the plot bunny hutch. Ideas as short as one sentence or as long as several paragraphs go into my bunny notebook. Whenever I get further notions about a particular idea, I go to the notebook and append these to the original bunny. Being bunnies, the hutched ideas interbreed and produce hybrid ideas. The hybrids usually do display hybrid vigor — again and again, it takes the mating of two or more isolated bunnies to produce a finished short story. Novels may take the mating of a dozen bunnies.

I listen to National Public Radio all day and capture many plot bunnies from it. The mix of commentary on politics, sociology, art, music, literature, science, and the quirky human condition seems just right for my idea receptors. Who couldn’t love the recent complaint to the Car Guys about Madagascar hissing roaches infesting a BMW?

Barnes and Noble’s writing section is full of how-to writing books. Help us out: What book (on writing) has most influenced your prose, your plots, or the way you write?

Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird is far and away my favorite inspirational book. I laugh, I cry, I get excited, I laugh some more.

I’ve read tons of writing instruction books and gotten good tips out of most of them. One of my favorites is Christopher Derrick’s The Writing of Novels (Reader’s Report in England.) I suspect this gem is out of print, but it’s worth looking for. Another favorite (and in print) is by Thomas McCormack: The Fiction Editor, the Novel and the Novelist. I’m always pushing this book. It’s dense, idiosyncratic, incisive, illuminating and brilliant.

For beginners, nothing better than Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. You can learn most of the basics and terminology from this book. Plus it has cartoons by George Booth. Nuff said.

Your AW signature pictures a couple smiley faces waving white flags — you’ve labelled them agents. So… how’s the query process going? Any advice for others fighting the same battle?

The battle rages on! I’ve gotten some excellent advice from agents who’ve looked at the MS and am currently revising it yet again — remember that AW-gleaned advice from above? No last draft, only a latest draft. I’m excited by the results and will soon be hitting the campaign trail again. Where’d I put those nunchucks?

As for advice to my fellow submission ninjas: Get ye to Query Letter Hell and check your ego at the door. The smell of ego will inflame the squirrels to a yet bloodier frenzy. Be open to all responses. Be ready to go back to the revision board if necessary. Never give up until you’ve done all you can for your current MS. And be writing your next while you sub! It’s the best balm for the inevitable rejections.

You call yourself a “former perfectionist still struggling to stay clean”. Looking back on those days, what were the pros and cons of being a perfectionist? How has becoming a non-perfectionist improved your writing?

Perfectionism is a trap. It posits that there is a single ideal, and that this ideal is obtainable. Wrong and wrong. We can’t make our work perfect. However, we can make it the best work of which we are capable at any given moment. Hey, look, a theme! We’re back once more to: No last draft, only the latest draft.

Perfectionism can also be a mechanism for avoiding failure or even effort. “Oh, I can’t do this book yet because I’m not up to making it perfect. I’ll put it off. Oh, this story isn’t perfect yet, so I won’t send it out to the magazines. Oh, I’m perfect, as long as no one tells me I’m not.” All very dangerous attitudes.

I used to think my first draft had to be my last, so I rarely finished a story or novel. I’ve learned that first drafts (and seconds and even thirds) can be crap, and that’s cool, because crap is the best fertilizer. I now tend to bang out outlines that get more and more detailed, that include more and more fleshed out scenes and more and more stretches of dialogue until they become super-rough first drafts. This allows my “official” first draft to look relatively smooth, and that’s a big encouragement to me.

I’ve also learned how to free write whenever I hit a snag or feel blocked. I free write in all caps, with little punctuation — this seems to tell my brain that it’s okay if I’m not making sense or looking pretty, because IM JUST HAVING FUN AND MESSING AROUND OKAY COOL NOW ABOUT WHAT JESSICA SHOULD DO ABOUT THE MADAGASCAR HISSING COCKROACHES IN HER MOMS BMW…

Last off: Your wildest publishing dream is going to come true! What is it?

With the revenue from my novels, I’ve bought a big house in Cape Cod, which I’ve converted into a writing retreat. I’ll write here. So will my writing friends. So will yet-unpublished writers who’ve applied for a free stay at the house. The only criterion for admission: I like their writing. I want them to write lots more, so I can read it.

I’d also love to go to WorldCon and see tons of people dressed up like my characters, including the ones with tentacles. Okay, especially the ones with tentacles.

But ultimately, I’d love to have readers cry over my books, as I’ve cried over the best books, not because the story is sad but because it’s so RIGHT. Yeah. Back to the latest draft!