Stuck Energy: Late & Lackluster ROW80

"Clutter is stuck energy.
The word "clutter" derives from the Middle English word "clotter,"
which means to coagulate -
and that's about as stuck as you can get." Karen Kingston

Sorry I was MIA this week. I came back from vacation all gung-ho to kick it back into gear. Unfortunately, all that energy was sucked up by my house. I tried to ignore it. Truly I did. But I simply can't function, much less be creative, in this...

When I sit down to my computer, I feel the weight of the clutter. Even though I've set up my office and have a few other places in the house that don't feel as confining, the Muse refuses to visit. She showed up a few times, made a screeching noise of pure fear, and disappeared immediately.

So this is a late and lackluster A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) update.

I will take up writing full force starting Tuesday, 8/27--the day my kids go back to school. Until then, I'm keeping up with my Chasing Memories promotions, book reviews (I've read some great ones lately!), and hopefully blog posts (missed Wednesday this week, boo!).

Also, I'm going to enjoy the last week of summer with my kids and finish organizing my house. My muse will be so happy... she'll have to come and stay for awhile.

Can you be creative in chaos?

Oh, and don't forget... Chasing Memories is available for 99 cents on Kindle through Sunday, 8/18. Pick it up before it goes back to $3.99. (Kindle Link)

Plus, there are many other books on sale here as part of the Indie-Licious Back to School Sale.

Back to School Sale for eBook Lovers & Other Updates

Lots of exciting things to share today.

First... the Chasing Memories eBook is part of the Indie-Licious Back to School Sale. There are a lot of  other great titles to choose from as well, so pick up as many or as few as you'd like. But hurry, the sale ends 8/18.

Check out the other amazing choices here (there are even a couple of free ones).

Second... the Chasing Memories blog tour started today. I'm equally excited and nervous about all the upcoming reviews. Most of all, I believe reviews are an excellent opportunity. I will be taking notes about the reviewers' input--if there's a character that isn't working, if there's a plot point that they loved/hated, or any other comments I can use to make Books 2 and 3 better.

And it's Monday. Time for my A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) update.

Write. Write. Write.

My goal on vacation was to write. But every time I sat down to write Book 2, I realized I had plot points to figure out. First up, nailing down my prophecy. I keep changing my mind. ARGH! Lots of note taking. And I know I'll be affected by what the reviewers say throughout this blog tour.

How much do you consider readers' comments when writing your next book?

Market Chasing Memories

Staying on top of that, and it's very time consuming.

Blog

Need to catch up on my #IWSG reading and commenting.

And a huge thank you to all the lovely commenters on my ROW80 inspirational post: Plan It, Ink It, Believe It. I was out of the country when it posted, and I finally read the feedback this morning.

Hope everyone has a great week!!

Rerun: My Top 10 Writing Pet Peeves

Today's post is a rerun from mid-2012, but something I still very strongly about. Thought I'd share it today since I'm still out of the country. Back tonight, though, and looking forward to catching up with everyone. Enjoy!

*****

No writer is perfect, and perfection would be boring anyway.

I'm a big believer in keeping a reader engaged. Some mistakes, at least for me, bring me out of the story and back into my own head.

My Top 10 Writing Pet Peeves

Lose/Loose
This one annoys me, because I don't get it. The words are just so different. Chose/choose bugs me, but I can understand why people confuse them. Although I guess you can lose something that gets too loose. Hmmmm.

Similar Sounding Words
Examples: there/they're/their, its/it's, you're/your, two/to/too

The spell check function fails this test. I get it. When you are typing fast, you might accidentally use the wrong one. If you know you make these mistakes often, do a Search and Find as part of your editing process and make sure these words are used correctly.

Mark Twain (from Wikipedia)

Overuse of Very
Using very gets old very quickly. I love the Mark Twain quote, "Substitue damn every time you're inclined to write very; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be."  Rarely is "very" needed (with the exception of dialogue).

Irregardless
I. Hate. This. Word. Why? It is not a word. It's a double negative, and actually means not having no regard. So irregardless would technically mean having regard. Are you confused? Me, too. To me, it would be like saying irrelevantless.

Too Many Ellipses in Dialogue
I like an ellipsis for dramatic effect within story (or a blog post). However, I don't like line after line of dialogue with ellipses. Yes, it is a good indicator of someone being interrupted, but if someone is interrupted line by line, I think the conversation should be over. I know I would clam up by then.

Also, some writers use it to show pauses when a simple comma will do.

Unnatural Dialogue
Speaking of dialogue, I want it to sound like two people talking. Good dialogue should read fast and true. It shouldn't read like prose. And rules that apply to good writing, do not apply to good dialogue. People speak with words writers are told to avoid: just, that, very. Even irregardless. Furthermore, if you craft a teenager, don't have them speaking like an adult.

Read dialogue out loud to catch awkwardness.

Using the Word Believe Too Often
If a writer is using first person point of view, "I believe" is obvious. If the narrator is telling you about other characters and using believe, the reader doesn't know for sure what the narrator really knows. Do we just take the narrator's word for it?

Example: "I believe ghosts haunt the house up the street. My friend believes they don't."

If I is the narrator, we know he/she believes it simply by stating it. And we can't know for sure that the friend doesn't believe in ghosts, unless the friend character says it or the narrator shows why they don't think the friend believes it.

Am I making any sense?

Using Spell Checker as Editor
The spell check feature is awesome, and it will save you from typos and misspelled words. It will not save you from #1 or #2 above. Or some typos, like typing form for from. Use it, but don't let it be your editor.

Too Many Characters with Similar Initials
Maybe it's because I read at night, or maybe it's because I have three kids, but I can't keep it straight when Molly loves Max who was once wed to Mindy who fights constantly with her sister, Melissa. Oh, and Mike is falling fast for Molly, but Mindy is jealous.

Inconsistency
This is the worst. I'd rather an author own a mistake throughout, or own a style that I might consider wrong, than to switch back and forth. Confused as to whether to use the oxford comma or not. No problem, pick a way and run with it.

Example: I recently read a book where a main character was Molly for half the novel and Mollie for the other half.

What is your biggest writing pet peeve? Or, what mistakes make you cringe when you are reading?

Note: I edited and edited this piece, terrified I'd make a mistake. There's nothing like writing a post about mistakes that contains mistakes. I hope it's as error free as possible.

Fear of Boring: #IWSG

It's the first Wednesday of the month and time for my Insecure Writer's Support Group post. A huge thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for putting together this group. I appreciate the opportunity to share my insecurities on the #IWSG therapy couch and to read how others are doing. 

Next week, I will take part in my first blog tour. I can't wait to get the word out about Chasing Memories, but I'm also afraid. No, not about a poor review. Not that I want one. But I know that not everyone will love my book. One of my favorite quotes, from Bill Cosby: I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.  

But what does have me shaking in my boots... whether people will find me interesting. In addition to reviews, the blog tour will include guest posts and interviews. Will people want to buy a book from someone whose best answer to...

What do you do in your spare time?

is...

Read and hang out with my family.

???

EEK!

I wanted to put skydiving or mountain climbing. But I don't do those things. I'd love to describe all my tattoos, but I don't have any. Oh wait, I could discuss how I refinish old furniture and ride a motorcycle. Except those exist only in my imagination.

In the end, we have to be who we are. But, I sure wish I had an ace up my sleeve.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who worries about this.

I'm out of the country this week, but I look forward to catching up with all my #IWSG friends when I get back on Friday. Thanks for visiting!

Oh, and my blog tour begins Monday, August 12 with Tribute Books.

Please visit some stops on the tour and lie to me tell me I'm entertaining at least.

Rerun: My Butt Hurts When I Write

Last Thursday, I wrote a post about truths. One of them was that humor is a salve. So it seemed appropriate to rerun the following post (I'm on vacation out of the country).

Enjoy!

 Daughter #3 finally has me to herself for a fifteen minute car ride. 

"Mom," she says with a nice long pause for effect, "my butt hurts when I write."

My favorite DD#3 pic

My kids often come to me for writing-related questions. Me or I is a favorite topic of conversation as is any verb paired with have. But, this one had me for a second.

I start with a simple question. "Did it happen today?"

"Yes. At school."

It was starting to come together. We had been really working on her writing all year. I even started a second grade writing club that met at my house every Tuesday after school. My baby was finally loving writing so much that she actually was sitting still too long enjoying it. 

"I'm so sorry your butt hurts when you write, honey. You should take a break every now and again and move around and then go back to writing." Such a proud Mama moment.

Until...

"Mom!" You can imagine it, right? A long and drawn-out Mom--a one syllable word made into three or four. "I said, "My butt hurts when I wipe!"

Sharing reviews of Chasing Memories

Since I'm on my way out of the country, I thought I'd share some reviews of my YA novel, Chasing Memories, today.

From author, Shauna Kelley (Max and Menna, Listening In and Other Stories, and Don't Wake Up):

Chasing Memories had me from the first word. Tia Bach has woven a mystery and given her readers a perfect, snarky, and oh-so accurate teenage voice to help us navigate through. Reagan doesn't so much come to life as she vaults off the page in your face. Nonetheless, where other "typical teen" narrators might annoy (hello, Bella Swan), the muted desperation to understand what is happening that lies beneath her teenage 'tude makes Reagan unquestionably sympathetic. I felt for her, I wanted to hug her, and I wanted to know what in the heck was happening to her.

Read her full review here.

From a teen reader:

From Elise Fallson, amazing writer and blogger:

The characters in this book were well written and I connected largely with Reagan and her grandmother, Nana. At times Reagan’s mother got me so mad but that just shows how invested I became in this book. The twist ending left me wishing for more and I’m looking forward to the next book in this series. So for anyone looking for a fun YA summer read with a paranormal twist, I’d recommend this book!
 
Read her full review on GoodReads.

And, from the lovely Jo Michaels (who in the interest of full disclosure was the editor for Chasing Memories), author of several titles including Yassa and The Bird.

I loved how the supporting cast of characters came to life on the page, how well I could see Colorado in my mind's eye (I've never been there, but now I feel like I have), and how accurate the descriptions of Georgia were. When I got to the last page, the surprise ending left me wanting more. It's a good thing there's a sequel in the works!

Read her full review here. Find out more about her books on her website and her editing services at Indie Books Gone Wild.

Keep visiting the blog for more updates. Plus, I have some exciting news about an eBook sale and some giveaways in August. Stay tuned!!

Simple Truths -- Celebrating Canary by Rachele Alpine

My friend and fellow writer, Rachele Alpine is celebrating her book, Canary, and it’s release by blogging as her main character in real-time at www.allmytruths.com. You can read more about Rachele here and about Canary here.
 
Rachele also put out the call for other friends/authors/bloggers to join her in blogging about their truths. So today I share with you my truths.

I am a Writer
First, it feels amazing to say that. I write therefore I am, if you will. I've been told it's simply a hobby, but it's so much more than that. It's a business, yes, but it's also part of what makes me who I am. Even if I never find myself on a New York Times bestseller list or my bank account never sees Stephen King-like royalties.

Kindness Trumps Selfishness In the End
This is where my "truth" may be different from others, but I truly believe this statement. In the end, selfishness and nastiness may get some people what they want. But the price can be steep. I want to leave this world and have people say I was kind and generous.

Life is Short
It's a sad truth, but a truth nonetheless. Once you embrace it, and we all have trouble with this at times, you can live each day to its fullest. I strive to do that.

Love Conquers
It may not conquer all, but it conquers many things. Love is hard work, another sad truth--it's not a constant fairy tale, but it's what makes the world go round. If we would all just love, simply appreciate what's good about others, this world would be a better place. And I'll take love (and kindness, see above) over judgment and loneliness any day. 

Humor is a Salve
This year has been insane for me and my family. When we were at our most stressed, we'd find something to laugh about. Laughter is medicine. It's not always easy to find the humor in everyday life, but it's imperative.

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered;
the point is to discover them." Galileo Galilei

Congratulations to Rachele on the release of Canary.

What is one of your truths?

Some information...

Staying quiet will destroy her, but speaking up will destroy everyone.

Kate Franklin’s life changes for the better when her dad lands a job at Beacon Prep, an elite private school with one of the best basketball teams in the state. She begins to date a player on the team and quickly gets caught up in a world of idolatry and entitlement, learning that there are perks to being an athlete.

But those perks also come with a price. Another player takes his power too far and Kate is assaulted at a party. Although she knows she should speak out, her dad’s vehemently against it and so, like a canary sent into a mine to test toxicity levels and protect miners, Kate alone breathes the poisonous secrets to protect her dad and the team. The world that Kate was once welcomed into is now her worst enemy, and she must decide whether to stay silent or expose the corruption, destroying her father’s career and bringing down a town’s heroes.

"A searing and tender portrait of the complexities of high school friendships, dating and privilege. CANARY is a testament to the power of hard-won truths."
~Daisy Whitney, author of THE MOCKINGBIRDS and WHEN YOU WERE HERE

"The subtle way Rachele Alpine addresses love, loss, popularity, and friendship makes this book a realistic and arresting read. For anyone who ever struggled with frenemies and fitting in, CANARY is an important addition to contemporary YA discussions."
~Jennifer Brown, author of THE HATE LIST