Weekly Goals 3-4-21

 I gave myself the weekend off from doing any writing-related stuff and instead just read books.  Luxury!  I read an entire adult novel over the two days.  I didn't love it, but there is something amazing about being able to just immerse yourself in a book for two days, then emerge on the other side.

I'm not going to set any writing goals this week because I think taking some time away from anything writing-related might be what I need right now.  The book will still be there to be edited in a week or two.

Instead I will focus on doing things like reading and watching movies and going out with friends.  Exercising.  You know, the stuff that makes up your day-to-day life.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 30-4-21

 

It's the end of the week, so it's time to Celebrate the Small things...

What am I celebrating this week?

I've been terribly unproductive this week, so I don't feel like I have a whole lot to celebrate.  I haven't even touched Juliet and Juliet and while I feel guilty about it, it hasn't spurred me into doing any work on it.

What I'm going to say here is probably not going to be popular, but frankly, I think it needs to be said because I'm pretty sure I'm not the only writer out there who feels this way.

I'm discouraged.

I'm tired of spending time and energy writing and promoting books that generate fantastic reviews, but don't earn me enough money to even cover the cost of the promotions I pay for.  Or even to take a friend out for coffee.  I'm tired of querying agents and editors who either send form rejections or don't reply at all. I'm tired of spending as much time chasing reviewers and book bloggers to talk about my books than I do actually writing them.

I guess basically I'm tired...  I've written 17 novels and more short fiction than I can keep track of.  A lot of this writing doesn't deserve to see the light of day and I'm okay with that.  Some books and stories are just for me.  They were practice runs for the real thing.  But what do you do when you have the real thing?  The book you know is the best thing you've ever written, but no one wants to know about it?  

I think that's what's keeping me from working on Juliet and Juliet.  The certainty that I'll throw my heart and soul into another story for another year or more and still end up with nothing to show for it.  

I was always told that if you work hard, you'll get ahead.  Well, I've been working my ass off at this writing thing for over 15 years now, and I don't feel like I'm a whole lot further ahead than I was when I started.  I have more publishing credits behind me, but I'm starting to feel like those might be more of a millstone around my neck than an advantage.

I'm no closer to being able to give up my day job than I was.  I'm not even closer to being able to work part time instead of full time so I can write without having to get up before dawn to squeeze in a few thousand words.

I'm sure this discouragement will pass.  This is not the first time I've felt this way.  But right now, I'm really not feeling inspired to write or edit or query or submit.  

If you're feeling the same way, know you are not alone.

Sorry...  I know this is supposed to be a post celebrating the good things, small as they may be, but right now I just don't feel like celebrating.  Even the small things.

Books I've Read: Cool for the Summer

 

I'm a huge fan of Dahlia's, so when NetGalley gave me the chance to read this early, I jumped at it (thanks, NetGalley!)

Lara has had a crush on Chase ever since they started high school.  She's had eyes for no one else.  So when, on the first day of senior year, he talks to her and seems interested, she should be on Cloud 9.  All her dreams are finally coming true.

But that same day Jasmine shows up at her high school and basically ignores her.  Lara is confused.  She and Jasmine spent the summer together and what started as a tentative friendship quickly became something much, much more.

This book unfolds in two time periods, one following Lara and Jasmine's budding summer romance, and one in the present where Lara struggles to reconcile her feelings about Jasmine while also trying to enjoy having the boy she always wanted basically falling at her feet.

I really enjoyed this one.  It's light and fluffy and fun to read while having some real substance beneath the surface.  Lara's struggle to figure out her sexuality felt very real and is something many readers out there will have experienced and recognize.

I wish a little more time had been spent on building the Chase-Lara relationship though.  It seemed like he saw her in the hall and was instantly smitten.  Given they've been at school together for years already, and Lara's crush is no big secret, it felt a little too quick.  I get that she changed over the summer, had a haircut and became more confident, but it still seemed too quick.  I wished he'd taken a little time to figure out the changes were more than a superficial change of hair and a tan.

The other thing that bugged me, as it does in a lot of more recent books I've read, is the focus on having as many different types of people represented in the cast of characters as possible.  I totally agree that diversity is important, but unless a character's ethnicity or sexual preference is relevant to the story, I'm not sure that we really need to know these things about side characters who show up once or twice.  It starts feeling like box-ticking for diversity and that's really not the point.

Overall, I'd recommend this one.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

Lara's had eyes for exactly one person throughout her three years of high school: Chase Harding. He's tall, strong, sweet, a football star, and frankly, stupid hot. Oh, and he's talking to her now. On purpose and everything. Maybe...flirting, even? No, wait, he's definitely flirting, which is pretty much the sum of everything Lara's wanted out of life.

Except she’s haunted by a memory. A memory of a confusing, romantic, strangely perfect summer spent with a girl named Jasmine. A memory that becomes a confusing, disorienting present when Jasmine herself walks through the front doors of the school to see Lara and Chase chatting it up in front of the lockers.

Lara has everything she ever wanted: a tight-knit group of friends, a job that borders on cool, and Chase, the boy of her literal dreams. But if she's finally got the guy, why can't she stop thinking about the girl?

Cool for the Summer is a story of self-discovery and new love. It’s about the things we want and the things we need. And it’s about the people who will let us be who we are.

Weekly Goals 26-4-21

 My goals this week are pretty much the same as last week: get to work on Juliet & Juliet revisions.  I have not got far at all and this needs to be addressed.  I'm keeping it low key right now, but I'd like to get through another three or four chapters this week.

I haven't been good about it this weekend at all.  I spent Saturday pulling a small jungle of weeds up behind my house, and yesterday I was up the coast visiting a friend and then having dinner with my folks so didn't get a chance to even look at it.

We shall see how we go...

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 23-4-21

It's the end of the week, so it's time to Celebrate the Small things...

What am I celebrating this week? 

A few things actually.  The first is I got probably the best review of my life for Chasing the Taillights.  It kind of made my week, really.  

The second is that it's a long weekend this weekend.  Sunday is Anzac Day and they have finally agreed to Monday-ize this holiday if it falls on a weekend, so Monday is a holiday.  Which is great news because this weekend looks like it's going to be really busy and having Monday off will give me some time to breathe and to do some work on Juliet & Juliet.

I have done a little more.  Just going through and adding to each character's inner monologue a little to try and clarify the way each of them see the world and themselves.  I changed direction with a plot element early on while writing, so trying to fill in the places where I removed that is proving a little challenging.

And that's about it from me.  

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've Loved: Yolk

This is the third book I've read by Mary Choi, and she has a firm fan in me.  She writes complex, realistic characters whose problems and conflicts are the same as ones you and I might face on a day-to-day basis.

In Yolk, the main character is Jayne, a nineteen-year-old college student who is basically just stumbling through life.  She's studying fashion, but isn't really sure if that's what she wants.  She lives in an illegal hovel with a guy she was once involved with but now seems to only want her for a place to crash.  She's not really in contact with her family back in Texas, or with her older sister who lives a successful, glamorous life in New York.

And she has an eating disorder, but she doesn't really like to think about that too much.  She has it under control, right?

Then her sister shows up unexpectedly, wanting to talk.  June is everything Jayne isn't.  She's successful, put together, lives in a large and well-appointed apartment and has a high-powered job in finance.  Now she also has cancer and she needs Jayne's support.

Suddenly, after having barely spoken since high school, Jayne and June are living together.  With death staring them in the face, they are forced to rediscover their bond as sisters and both of them find it difficult to keep their secrets from each other while in such close proximity.

I really enjoyed this book.  The relationships were all complex and messy, even where there was love involved.  Jayne's perspective on life and herself is just skewed enough to keep you constantly on edge, never quite sure what she might do next.  She's unpredictable and impulsive and really not at all in control even though she wants those around her to believe she is.  

It's called YA, but the characters are older than they usually are in YA and the issues they are dealing with feel more mature.  If NA wasn't so tightly bound to romance, I'd call this NA, but although there are romantic moments in here, it isn't really about the romance.  That relationship is peripheral to June and Jayne's relationships and the sacrifices the two of them make for each other.

I'd definitely recommend this to people who enjoy books with complex, messy characters who live complex, messy lives.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

From New York Times bestselling author Mary H.K. Choi comes a funny and emotional story about two estranged sisters switching places and committing insurance fraud to save one of their lives.

Jayne Baek is barely getting by. She shuffles through fashion school, saddled with a deadbeat boyfriend, clout-chasing friends, and a wretched eating disorder that she’s not fully ready to confront. But that’s New York City, right? At least she isn’t in Texas anymore, and is finally living in a city that feels right for her.

On the other hand, her sister June is dazzlingly rich with a high-flying finance job and a massive apartment. Unlike Jayne, June has never struggled a day in her life. Until she’s diagnosed with uterine cancer.

Suddenly, these estranged sisters who have nothing in common are living together. Because sisterly obligations are kind of important when one of you is dying.

Weekly Goals 19-4-21

 I managed to edit the first three chapters of Juliet & Juliet over the weekend, so I feel good about that.  I even started a fourth, but then my son wanted to use my computer and I had to stop working.

Kids!

So this week's goal is to keep going, to try and get through another three or four chapters.  It's a long weekend, so I may even be able to get a few more done.  You never know...

What are your goals this week?