Playing the Game

This past weekend was Father's Day. So, like any good daughter would I suffered through an entire weekend of the US Open and the Seattle Mariners vs  the Philadelphia Phillies. (Though it really wasn't all that bad) We mainly watched the US Open--so I at least had some cute boys to watch. (Really.)

like this one: Rory McIlroy

I questioned my dad about terms and players (it makes them feel like you're really interested) and my dad repeated a phrase that I've heard him say a bajillion times. "In golf--even when you're playing against other people--you're really playing against yourself."

And it struck me. Golf and writing are totally siblings from different parents. We all compete against each other for book deals and contracts with agents. No matter how much we love our fellow writerly friends, we still wish to get those before they do. But the most challenging thing about writing isn't getting the contracts, the agents or the deals (though they certainly are a challenge). No. The difficult part is working against yourself to get the idea that's taken over your mind out and into words.

We've got to work against being tired, distractions, writers block, procrastination, our need to be perfect, MC's that don't do as they're told... the list could go on forever.

Of course, some of the obstacles in writing are easy for people to conquer. Others just make us want to cry and bang our laptops against a wall and then cry some more 'cause we just lost all of our work. (Hopefully no one has actually done this!) Either way, we're all working against our own personal challenges to complete the same goal. Writing a novel.

So whether you're the McIlroy of the literary world or the Frederick Jacobson (a fairly attractive swede) or the John Daly (not so attractive middle-aged man), we've all got to play the game and eventually we'll have our time to shine.

Where are you in the ranks?

Humoring my Edit-Self

Have you ever gone through your MS, editing away like we always should and then suddenly! It hits you. "THE SIDE-KICK WHO'S REALLY NOT SUPPOSED TO BE LIKABLE IS MORE LIKABLE THAN MY MC!!"?

I hope not. It's a rather upsetting thing! (Trying some humor on for size, folks.) I recently (very recently. As in today, recently.) discovered that this travesty had occurred in my NEARLY PERFECT MANUSCRIPT (according to my dog maybe? and probably not even him... ). It's a shock, it is. Like finding out that your dog actually DOES know what you're saying and pretends to be dumb to trick you or that your stuffed animals can more themselves around at night! (oh no! Censorship~)

The mind just reels! 

"How could this happen?" 

"I'm just so awesome and amazing and everyone wants to be me!"

"I got an agent just by staring at their twitter account!"

"I have a love triangle, twice! Between a brainiac werewolf who's like a genius with everything and knows a lot of fancy stuff and a goofy vampire with the most awesome, sparkly smile that you've ever had the chance of being bedazzled by!"

And so forth.

So of course, like any natural amazing person like I seriously am, I had a talk with this little inner voice that sounds an awful lot like Jessie and I came up with EVEN MORE AWESOME. Yes. It is possible, my friends. I. Have become awesomer.

Just wait until I breeze through submission in a minute and get ONE KAZILLION-BAJILLION copies printed in every language the world has EVER KNOWN.

So, how do you guys like the new layout? :D I think it's wicked. School is officially out so I am now back in business in the blogging world! I can't wait to read all of you~!

I hope you enjoyed my attempt at humor. :P