• Blog,  Music

    Revision updates

    I have been missing in action and it’s a good thing. It means I’ve been busy revising my manuscript… on who-knows-what draft number I’m on. But this round of revision with my young adult manuscript feels good. I don’t know how to explain it??

    It’s a story about first love, and a young girl’s journey into making choices. I haven’t drifted away so much with the themes from my previous revisions, but there are significant changes in the trajectory of her journey.

    Reading my manuscript now feels like my voice is there. Before it felt robotic and forced. I have to thank the rejection I received from a very, well known literary agent. Well known agent has an impressive client list, so even though they requested my full manuscript to read and then later reject, it gave me hope.

    Whoever said that revising a manuscript was similar to putting together a puzzle? Well, they were right. I’ve been piecing together my puzzle, slowly, methodically, sometimes pushing in the pieces when they do not fit…forcing them together. Now it feels like my puzzle authentically fits and it’s coming together nicely.

    Revising isn’t the only thing I’ve been doing. I’ve been listening to my writing playlist as a reward after revising. Two of my favorite songs right now: Sara Evan’s Crazy Love and If I can’t Have You. These two songs fit the mood of my protagonist perfectly. In the end of each writing session, I drift right back into the story I’m writing. The lyrics are perfect, and I don’t want to leave the fantasy world I’ve created for my character…but the dirty dishes in my sink need to be washed, and I don’t have anyone else to do them for me.

    *sigh.

    If you’re curious and want to listen, I included her audio here. Enjoy!

    XO, K.

  • 2020 Reading List,  Blog,  Classics Literature Book Club

    June Classic Literature

    Hello there! Just added this month’s classic literature read. If you’re following along with me, you’ll discover that this month’s book is my first science fiction choice. It seems I’ve steered on the path of romantic literature, so for this month I thought we should go sci-fi.

    Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is my favorite science fiction book of all time. In my opinion, Bradbury is a genius in storytelling, with this book being his only science fiction work . His imagination of a futuristic society is what inspires today’s tech moguls into designing and manufacturing cool futuristic gadgets (think Apple earbuds, iPhones, and iPads). He also described characters watching excessive amounts of wall-size flat screens (hello?? flat screen tv?). This book was first published in 1953, so that in itself is brilliant in regards to predicting the future.

    The story follows Guy Montag, who is the protagonist in this story. A fireman in a futuristic dystopian society. Instead of putting out fires, they start them. In this world, people do not read books. Books are burned.

    In an interview with the National Endowment for the Arts, Bradbury explained the inspiration for his book was from Hitler. Bradbury was 15 when Hitler burned books.

    I hope you’ll read this book and take away something positive from his message. I’d love to hear what you think and what you consider his message to be. Happy reading!

    K.

  • Blog,  Weekend Reading

    Hello Weekend! 5/22/20

    A little update: this week was another productive one. I am STILL actively searching for a literary agent, while working on another manuscript and script. I have to admit that I prefer writing young adult stories, rather than writing a movie script, but scripts go much faster and are easier to write. Selling your writing work on the other hand can be a challenge.

    As for the agent search, it’s finding the right one who will support me and not spend all their time on Twitter ranting about politics. This is a red flag for me. I’m looking for someone who is focused on business.

    Speaking of focus. If it’s one thing I know I’m capable of, it’s completing my goals and tasks. While I write I use a few tools to help me stay organized. Here are some cool links I wanted to share.

    Taskade // Such a great organizational tool to help keep track of my to do list. I’m still a paper planner girl, but I love how I can create tasks for group or teams, as well as keep track of my goals on desktop. Play around with this tool and see how it can work for your needs. I’ve been using the free one which is great!

    Forest // I wanted a visual and fun timer to help me accomplish my writing goals. This is a fun app that you plant virtual trees with. The app allows you to set a timer, during which your virtual tree grows. As long as you keep the app open, your tree grows. Your tree will die if you exit the app. Yes, I’m the type of person who needs this kind of app to stay focused 🙂

    GoodNotes // I have an iPad Pro and love using this app to keep my digital notes/notebooks organized. I looked into the other apps, but prefer Goodnotes because of the notebook covers and the choice of papers. Here’s a great Youtube video, skip to 6:00 if you just want to see the GoodNotes app in action.

    New York Public Library Spotify list // We’ve all been in lock down during the pandemic of 2020, and it’s been quiet. Missing are the sights and sounds of the world. Since I was in New York City towards the end of December, this playlist allowed me to relive a part of my trip. It’s great for background white noise for editing too. I don’t know why but I need to have background noise when I’m writing or editing???

    I hope to share more digital finds with you in future posts. Let me know if you end up trying these!