One Month Challenge

No, I’m not going to make you eat bran for a specified period of time. (Hey, did you know William Shatner is 80! Hard to believe. He’s so youthful. Come to think of it, maybe we should be eating bran…)

Ruth Cardello (Hi, Ruth!) is doing a little one month promotional challenge over on AgentQuery Connect this month. She’s the author of Maid for the Billionaire and For Love or Legacy which she self-published in ebook format. Her books are doing so well that when the publishers come calling, she ends up turning them away because they CAN’T DO BETTER THAN SHE IS when it comes to showing her the money. Wow, eh?

Anyway, Ruth is a hard-working gal who spends an hour a day doing some publicity work for her books. And because her success is no longer a huge secret, she has writers begging her to share her secrets. It’s no secret, she wrote a great book followed by another one and then has been working hard to her titles on everyone’s lips and into their ereaders. But because Ruth doesn’t have a ton of time, she is ‘hosting’ the challenge as a way for writers/authors to step up, be motivated, keep themselves accountable, and to collaborate.

And because I’ve been rejected once again by a publisher for my platform not being big enough, I am joining her in the challenge. That’s right. I’m going to make some lemonade with these lemons and I’m going to give it a shot of vodka while I’m at it.

Honestly, why have this lovely platform building plan in my marketing plan for a book that is never going to sell because I haven’t built a platform? Hello? This is Tokyo. Yes, Jean? You aren’t big here either.

So what do you say? Are you with me? (Us?) And if you have any great platform building, promotional tips shoot them at me! I’ve got my catcher’s mitt on.

Update: Goals and Challenges

Okay, who stole last week? No, I’m serious. It vanished without even the typical whooshing sound it makes when a week goes flying by me!

I think it is about time for a little update from me. As you know, I have issued a few challenges to myself in the last year. Here are the goods:

Good news first? You betcha!

My romance group critique partners and I issued each other a challenge–get a literary agent by Christmas. Well, guess what? 2 of the 3 of us have! I would be in that statistic–due to a humongous leg-up from Calista Taylor–she put a well-timed word in for me. The third partner is doing edits requested by an agent that could very well lead to representation. Wow! Can all three of us meet that goal? I think so!

PASS!

(So, yes. I am now ‘agented’ and have been working on my proposal for my nonfiction Kid’s Play project. We hope to have that out on submission soon. Cross your fingers for me!)

Other good news:

My WEbook Page to Fame submission (Humorous women’s fiction) got elevated to round 3! I haven’t submitted it yet, but will soon. (More on that as time goes by.)

PASS

And then I’ve been letting other things slide…

Remember my challenge to myself to read 5 banned/challenged books in one year? Well, I didn’t quite make it. I blame all those other good books in my life and how they’ve weasled their way ahead in the To Be Read lineup. I do still plan to read those banned/challenged books. And I will.

FAIL

As for my Read Around the World Challenge which is an ongoing project… well, I haven’t posted anything in months, but I have been keeping tabs on what I read. I’ve gotten to the point where it is typically the same three or four countries being read over and over again. But, I do have a little something from France that I will post (one of these days).

Er… FAIL? Er…PASS? You decide.

And lastly, there is my tidy up and organize my life New Year’s plan. Yes, I am still working on that one. Decluttering, etc. I have shredded and recycled a whole pile of old manuscripts–don’t worry, I still have copies! But I still haven’t cured the problem of the tumbling items on the top shelf of the back door closet yet. Working on it though. Well, mentally. (I might mention that in the New Year’s Plan post I also mentioned getting an agent and also relaxing a bit–I’ve done both.)

Er… PASS? Mostly.

That’s all from me at the moment, any news updates from you?

Writing a First Draft in Two Weeks: Part 3

How am I doing in my online class and its imposed challenge of writing a first draft in two weeks? (280 double-spaced pages.) Well, it’s going.

Sorta.

Speaking of Crazy Goals…

I’ve done an awful lot in the past two weeks, except make the 280 page mark. I am pleased to announce that I am over the 200 page threshold, but with the midnight Sunday deadline approaching faster than Easter, let’s just say, hitting 280 ain’t gonna happen. I mean, sure, I’m open to miracles. But the fact of the matter is, I’m not going to drop absolutely everything in order to accomplish this goal. In fact, writing 77 pages in the next 30.5 hours would pretty much ensure I would break a whole lot of other goals. Such as my goal of being a reasonable person, my goal of keeping my family happy and fed–heck, even hanging out with my family, my goal of getting through laundry before the work week commences once again, my goal of being a non-negligent mother, etc, etc. Plus, I’m pretty sure the cat I’m sitting would get a bit pissy if I just ran into the house, flung food at her, and hurried off again. (Same goes for my family, actually.)

There is something to be said for making unreasonable attempts, such as writing 280 pages in two weeks while trying to retain a semblance of real life (and not get fired or divorced or visited by family services). There is also something to be said for making goals and doing your best to get close to them. For example, if I hadn’t tried to reach this goal, I would still only have notes as to where I wanted to go with this story idea.

So what have I learned? I can squeeze in a little writing time every day if I make it a priority. And heck, it’s still a pile of fun! (Plus, if I write up to 9:13 in the morning, I can eek into work just in the nick of time. Whew!)

The next crazy goal? To revise this puppy in two weeks–that’s the second half of the class. I wonder if it matters that it is only 207 pages long and incomplete. Hmm…

Writing a First Draft in Two Weeks: Part #2

I’m cranking out the pages today, but had to stop to do a little research to help me push the story forward in the right direction. The problem is, my research has popped a question right up into the forefront of thee ol’ brain.

First, some backstory. The main character in my WIP believes she was conceived as a result of artificial insemination through a sperm donor clinic.

Doing my research on clinics, etc, I began to wonder… do I use a real clinic? What are the pluses, what are the drawbacks?

My story is set in a fictional small town in rural Alberta and there are three clinics in Alberta listed on the DonorSiblingRegistry.com website and so I was thinking, do I use a real clinic? Using a real clinic might add more details to the story that a fictional clinic may not. The problem is that if I use a real place, then I have to do even more research to ensure that I represent this place accurately as there is correspondence back and forth regarding policy, etc. And to do that, I may not be able to manipulate my character and storyline in the way I imagine. I suppose I could do the research and then figure out what works best for my story. The best of both worlds?

Here’s the other problem… when calling someone up out of the blue to ask questions, when I imagine the script, I always get stuck. For example, here’s my big ‘what if’ that leaves me stumped:

“Hi, my name is Jean Oram and I am writing a novel about a girl who is searching for her Bio-Dad who was a sperm donor in the 1980s. I’m hoping you can help me out by answering a few questions I have.”

“Cool! When will the book be published?”

“Uhhhh… well, see… here’s the thing–”

Have you delved deep into research where you interviewed people? What did you do? How did you handle the ‘when does the book come out’ topic?

____________________________________________________

P.S. Here is my progress so far:

Monday: 0

Tuesday: 14

Wednesday: 13

Thursday: 20

Friday: 24 and still going

LATER NOTE: I wrote 44 pages today (double spaced, 6625 words). Whew!

Writing a First Draft in Two Weeks: Part 1

I am taking a writing class online through Orange County RWA called “Fast Draft and Revision Hell” with Candace Havens. Despite all those things that make life so busy, a bunch of us crazies writers are going to put down a first draft in two weeks. It’s day two. I have a story arc and uh…. I’d better get going!

I need to write 20 pages (double spaced) every day for the next two weeks. That’s right, push everything aside and just fly!

I’ll try and keep you all posted! I’ve got to run off to work, but I hope to write my twenty pages in that hour I have between work and supper tonight. (I’d better hit the grocery store for a pre-cooked BBQ chicken!) Can she write 20 pages in 1 hour? Only time will tell…

Banned Book Challenge: The Giver

During October’s Banned Book Week, I issued a challenge to myself. I would try to read five challenged/banned books over the course of the year and report back.

First up was The Giver by Lois Lowry, which I have recently finished reading. This is a soft science fiction young adult novel that has been challenged and/or banned in schools due to some of its content. Jonas, a 12-year-old living in a utopian society, is chosen to become a receiver of memories. In the past, Jonas’ community decided to go to ‘sameness’ and to remove emotion and emotional memories from their lives in order to live pain-free. Naturally, that comes at a cost. As Jonas learns more about his new job (he accepts the memories of the past that include war, hunger, and much, much more in order to serve as an adviser to the community) the more the illusion of innocence slips from his world.

The Giver has been challenged for many reasons. One is that in some ways, Jonas’ community resembles a communist society, two is that suicide is used as an ‘out’ by one character, three is infanticide, and fourth is the role of death in the story. Personally, I would have thought his ‘stirrings’ would have got a few parents squawking. I guess because he took a pill to resolve the pleasurable feelings, it’s okay. (Although, he did go against the rules and stop taking it. I would think that would really bother some parents.)

Personally, I enjoyed The Giver. It is a book that deals with a lot of heady topics and can serve as a forewarning to the next generation in a ‘what if’ sort of way. For example, what would happen if we didn’t remember war? What would happen if we had no choice or individuality?

I believe it to be an important book. What do you think?

P.S. Here is a cool little blurb about a student who is keeping a banned book lending library in a school locker. I love her gumption. She’s creating readers and should be given The Pristine Award (don’t know what it is? Stay tuned, more on that in December). She’s got some great ones on her lists.

Freedom To Read Challenge For 2009

So, I have read 35 books (or at least recall reading 35) that have been challenged or banned. So what? The over-achiever in me wants to raise that number. Plus, reading those lists, it reminded me of some books I want to read. Therefore, I have issued a challenge to myself. I will read 5 banned or challenged books over the next year. (Why a year?–because my ‘to be read’ stack is already toppling at 30+ books and silly me, now belong to 3 book clubs. (I do encourage them to choose books that I have in my ‘to be read’ stack, but you can only do that so much before you become the annoying, pushy gal in the group. Or at least, become the annoying, pushy gal for other reasons….)

Without further ado, here are the 5 banned/challenged books I will read over the next year, with a check-in during Freedom to Read Week (Canadian version of Banned Book Week) in February:

The Giver (Lois Lowry) Reason for choosing: Was a ratty, popular book in the library I used to work in. I’m curious.

The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck) Reason for choosing: I already have a head start with all the background research I did on the film for a film studies project years ago. I like knowing the social and political history of a book’s time period. And I also like Steinbeck.

Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov) Reason for choosing: I have actually been waiting to read a book called Reading Lolita in Tehran because I haven’t read Lolita yet.

Lord of the Flies (William Golding) Reason for choosing: It is surprising nobody made me read it in school, and since I don’t want to be the only person on the planet who hasn’t read this classic, I’d better get moving.

A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L’Engle) Reason for choosing: I’ve heard lots about it, and have even had it recommended, but have never picked it up. Yet.

Want to read a few challenged/banned books too? Join me! Your mind will never be the same. Mwa-ha-ha.