Friday, December 10, 2010

Losing it

Big News: Did you see it? The follower button? I'm like SO CLOSE to a thousand followers! I know, I know!!! I'm so excited! Okay here is the deal... the thousandth follower wins a little treat (make sure to show yourself!) and unlocks the secret giveaway I've been planning!! So blog help is welcome... there are some great brownie points involved!

I’ve lost it.

I’m no longer a writer virgin.

Shocked?

I didn’t think so.

It’s been a long time coming I admit it.

At the beginning of this year I had no idea what I was doing.

I told myself possible things:
I wanted to write.
I wanted to write a blog.

I told myself impossible things (I didn’t realize them at the time):
I wouldn’t lose sleep.
It would be easy to finish a book.
I would not be a victim of writer’s block.
I would be published after my first draft (I didn’t even know about agents then)
I would not consume alcohol while writing (Talli has my back on this one… simply impossible… too much fun)

So to all you wanna be writers… you’ve been warned. Trust me, you think you know what you’re doing, but nothing prepares for the love you’ll feel for writing and the fight you’ll put up to get your wish granted.

So what possible and impossible things did you think about writing at the beginning?

50 comments:

Jessica Bell said...

Ha! I thought I was totally brilliant until I was told that my book sounded like gibberish from a drunk woman gossiping to another drunk woman over a bottle of wine. LOL. That put me in my place. :o)

Christina Lee said...

SO close (I know it- I'm so close to a certain number too) it's wierd how I notice it on my blog but not on Twitter--don't even give those #'s a second glance.

Yeah, I thought there was a chance to be published with my first book too (I'll blame it on Stephanie Meyers). There still IS that chance for others, but wow has my writing improved since then :-)

Karen Jones Gowen said...

Ha good question! I thought when my book came out EVERYONE would love it and flock to buy it and many awards would be bestowed upon it. So naive!

JournoMich said...

I thought I wouldn't care what other people said or whether people asked about my writing...But, damnit! I CARE!

Congrats on losing it, Jen.

Michele

Christine Danek said...

I still can't believe it. It truly means you rock. Impossible things I would be finished my first novel in a year. Ha. If I only knew.

Matthew MacNish said...

Only 4 to go! WOOT.

Oh boy, I could go on forever, but you probably already know about most of my blunders. I didn't know literary agents existed until about a year ago either!

DL Hammons said...

Since you lost your writing virginity, I guess there's really only one question that needs to be asked.

Was it good for you?

:)

Hannah said...

I didn't think it was something I could do on a regular basis but here I am! Woot! Woot!

I definitely never thought I would get to know so many awesome peeps without actually meeting them.

Stina said...

I knew when I started writing that becoming published would be almost next to impossible.

I didn't think I would become obsessed with writing. I didn't think I would write YA (my first book started off as MG but then I realized it wasn't MG). Then I thought I would only write YA, but I'm now considering expanding myself to a certain type of romance--though YA is still my first love. :D

Beth Fred said...

Like you, I thought I would get published after my first draft. I'm giving you a shout out in my blog today I'll send u a link after I post.
beth-project52.blogspot.com

Beth Fred said...

http://beth-project52.blogspot.com/2010/12/contest-reminder.html

Your shout out.

Elena Solodow said...

I was working on the next Harry Potter for four years. Except my book didn't have wizards...or wands...or even someone with glasses. Oh, and it was awful as well. Sigh.

Summer Frey said...

Nothing for the writing--just been doing it for far too long to have developed any idealist notions.

But the blogging--I didn't think I'd be able to do it. I didn't think people would follow me or that I'd make friends--you name it, I thought it.

So yeah, DL--it was good for ME!

Melissa Sarno said...

Great question! After I finished my edit, there was an agent pitch slam happening where I live. It was going to be held two months after I finished. I told myself I probably shouldn't waste my money on it because I'd probably have an agent by then. lolol

Bidisha said...

I thought writing a book was easy-peasy. No one told me about the screaming-at-the-walls sessions.

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Jen, my list burns from both ends. WAY too long. We need to get you another follower. I'm tweeting you. I just have to!!

Unknown said...

Sounds like you've been living my life and raiding my liquor cabinet for the past year. I don't know how I feel about this, but I generally don't turn anyone away from either. And now I can claim that it really wasn't me that drank all the goodies. So there to the liquor cabinet gestapo leader that happens to be my husband.

Su said...

I totally planned on writing a perfect first draft. Hee hee hee.

Lorna said...

Congratulations on the thousand followers, how exciting! I also thought writing would be easier than it is - I thought there wasn't really anything I could learn about writing that I didn't already know from having read lots of books. I was very wrong! Drinking alcohol whilst writing has never really worked for me - I wish it did, but I just end up falling asleep :-(

Carolyn V. said...

1000???? Woo hoo! That's a ton! Way to go Jen! =D

Lisa Galek said...

Almost 1,000 followers? You rock, girl!

When I first started writing I thought I could write whatever I wanted and that people would love it (little did I know that I would have to talk an agent or publisher into loving it first!). I didn't think I'd have to rewrite (I was beyond that kind of drudgery). Oh, and I didn't think I needed to outline :)

Michael Di Gesu said...

That's so impressive... a thousand followers Congrats. I'm not even at a hundred yet, but I working diligently on it!

I, too, thought I had the next HP. I used elementals and fairy's instead. Luckily it's not horrible, but I did about fifty or more drafts on it and I went from 125,000 plus words( I still can't believe it! Way too many adverbs!) to a comfortable 70,000 words. I just finished the final edit to I am still hopeful.

I did start a new msl in a different genre. So I can see a huge difference in my wringing style....

HP BLOGFEST tomorrow Jen! I can't wait to read your entry!

Michael

Meredith said...

You made it!!! Congratulations! And congrats on losing your writing virginity :) It's definitely a learning process.

Samantha Vérant said...

You did it! You did it! You did it! Squeedle-deedle-doo. Don't ask. I'm just excited for you.

Heather said...

Congrats on your accomplishments, and on, uh, losing it. ;) The writing community is what has surprised me the most. I'm blown away by how wonderful and supportive it is!

Laura S. said...

Umm, you're already at 1,003 followers. How did you do that??? Did you go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Accio, followers! ;)

Krispy said...

Hey, I see you are in fact over 1000 now! ;) CONGRATS!!!

I told myself plenty of those possible and impossible things. I'm still trying to figure out how I thought any of this might be "easy."

Laurel Garver said...

Congrats on 1K! You have been a powerhouse in the blogosphere.

I love your list of all the stuff beginners are sure they'll be the exception to. Even after years of working in magazine publishing, I had a lot of the same naive ideas as you mentioned.

Kristin Rae said...

Congrats on the big #!

Lisa Gail Green said...

All I can say is now that I'm doing it it's impossible to stop. But I'm loving every minute! WOW 1000 followers! How do you do it?? :D

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Girl, you are +3 on your goal now! Look at that - 1003 followers! Congratulations!! :-)

Kittie Howard said...

Hey, you've got over a thousand. Way to go, Jen. You're amazing!

Jennifer Hillier said...

I actually never thought I could finish a manuscript. I have so many unfinished stories lying around! It was a great day when I finally got to type 'The End', even though the manuscript needed another half a dozen revisions (at least).

LTM said...

woo!!! You made it--plus some! So proud... I knew you when you only had like 600 followers... ;p

hmm... things I believed... my first novel would go along the lines of Twilight. I'd write it in two mos, get an agent in six weeks, have a bazillion dollars in three years...

LOL!!! j/k. I didn't think THAT big, but at the same time, I wasn't expecting this. Just think--if it'd happened like that, I wouldn't have met my bleeps~ <3

Summer Ross said...

Possible to write with a pen and paper, (boy was I wrong) Impossible (actually getting published this year) I was wrong again. :)

Elana Johnson said...

I thought those writers who said they "took time off to read" were crazy. Now, here I am, reading to pass the time. No lie.

Colene Murphy said...

I see OVER 1000!!! WHOOO!!! Go Jen!! *throws you a party at my house with my cats! (they look more afraid than excited but...they can't read so...) Hurray!! Congratulations!

Theresa Milstein said...

1003 at this moment - congratulations!

What impossible things did I think? I didn't know my characters would take over my thoughts and dreams, waking me up and compelling me to write. I didn't know I'd pretend to listen to someone talking when I was really thinking about my WIP. And I thought editing meant looking through a manuscript a few times and querying.

i'm with you on the red wine.

Jai Joshi said...

I swear this is true but... I didn't think anything was impossible about writing. I never did. Everything seemed to me to be within my grasp (and it still is).

Jai

Guinevere said...

My impossible things all tend to relate to believing I can do things waaay faster than I really can. It's not just true for writing (although it definitely shows there!), I always think I can do 36 hours worth of stuff in about 8... :p So, I thought this past year I could write two novels in one year, and no. But I wrote one really good (I think) novel, so that's not too bad.

Shannon said...

Congratulations on the followers, Jen! Well deserved.

I've made too many mistakes to catalog, lol!

Jemi Fraser said...

Congrats on the followers!! Awesome :)

I knew zippo when I started writing - so I've had more misconceptions squashed than I realized I had!

KA said...

I thought rejections were for people who didn't know how to write.

Julie S said...

Congrats on over 1000 followers!!

Unknown said...

I thought I'd be able to write a perfect draft the first go-round.

Yeah. It's alright to laugh.

Donea Lee said...

You're there, Jen!!! 1000+ Whoo-hoo! So happy for you! And I know you've worked your buns off to get here ~ :) A lot to accomplish in one year and I think the lesson there is to just go for it! Know what you want and DO IT! I could take a note from your book... :)

Misha Gerrick said...

lol congrats on 1000 followers!

Unknown said...

Congrats on 1000! I definitely had no idea what I was getting into (knew very little about agents, had never heard of a query) when I started writing more seriously about a year ago. Thought I could write a first draft in a year with a job and young kids. Wasn't sure I'd have anything to say on a writing blog, lol. I had been writing a family one and that was easy. Amazing how much we learned this year! :)

Vicki Rocho said...

1005! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Holy moly! How on EARTH do you keep up? And now with two blogs?

Abby Minard said...

You made it!! Over 1000! Congrats Jen, and see? It's before New Years! That's gotta be a new world record- 1000 in a year. I'm so excited for the new year for you and what it will bring!