Tuesday, June 8, 2010

As the Blog Turns...


I'm still working on this blogging schedule thing. It looks like Wednesdays are going to be the day for taking care of blog-related things, like updates on my writing, contest and blogfest news, and award bequeathing (I just read that term over at Myrna Foster's Night Writer blog and it stuck with me, hope you don't mind if I borrow it, Myrna!)

Writing Update:
I'm making slow progress with revising In the Seventeenth Year after its eighteen month hiatus. I'm continuously amazed at the sheer number of was's and were's in the manuscript, and that I didn't seem to notice this during the first several revisions.

Contest News:
Erica at The Book Cellar is giving away books, a tank top, and random swag.

Shannon Whitney Messenger is giving away a signed copy of The Body Finder + awesome swag.

Christi Goddard at A Torch in the Tempest is giving away gift cards of your choice in her 106 Followers Contest.

Michelle Hodkin is giving away four ARCs.

The Slushpile Slut is celebrating 104 followers and giving away a copy of Noah Lukeman's The First Five Pages or another writing book if you've already read that book (which I have, and it's fabulous!)

Blogfest News:
The Slushpile Slut is hosting the Next Top Title Blogfest on Saturday, June 12. I've already entered. Have you?

Awards:
I received the gorgeous Journey Support Award from Michelle Teacress and Crystal Cook at Write Because You Must (Thanks, Ladies!) I'd like to pass it on to:

Lydia Kang at The Word is My Oyster. Lydia is not only a wife, mother, writer, and blogger, but she's also a part-time doctor and hosts Medical Mondays at her blog, a feature where she answers medical questions emailed to her by us curious writers. She just answered a question for me on her post this Monday, and I can't thank her enough for her help.

Pam at The Chronicles of a Veteran Kindergarten Teacher. Pam visited my blog during a blogfest I entered and left one of the most encouraging comments I have ever received. I smiled for a long, long time after I read her comment. Thank you for your wonderful support, Pam!

Okay, that was a lot of linkage for me...I'm worn out. What's going on in your neck of the woods?

50 comments:

Anne Gallagher said...

I know, linkage kills. I've been procrstinating my own awards post just because of it.

Don't you just love 'first books'. I still can't believe how 'bad' mine was/is. That's why it's called revisions.

Tara said...

Yep, I am hoarding awards again, dreading the linkage, lol.

Was-ings were the death of my first WiP.

Susan Fields said...

Anne - I know, it's a good thing I love this story, or I might give up on it altogether. I even remembering searching on "was" and "were" when I first revised it, so how come I still have so many unnecessary ones in there?

Susan Fields said...

Tara - That's why I decided to do one award at a time, and only to a couple of recipients. All that linkage is draining, and the readers are much less likely to go check out five, ten, fifteen new links than they are just two (at least, that's my thinking on it). I can see the "was" problem is a common one - I'm in good company! :)

Unknown said...

LOL. I feel the same way after typing all that html for links! Your efforts are appreciated...looks like some really neat sites to check out!

It was so nice to see you stop by CCP today! I've truly missed everyone so much! Have a wonderful day, Susan! ♥

Christi Goddard said...

Thanks for the contest pimpage :-)

I'm making almost no progress on my writing the last several days. I'm also not a blog scheduler since I suck at sticking to plans.

JE said...

Linkage. I love linkage. Thanks! I procrastinate on posts that require linkage (hmm...awards) beause they take so long.

JD

Unknown said...

Nice round up of what's going on out there. I try to keep up with blogs, but it's hard to hit every one of them. :-)

Joanne said...

I always enjoy the revision process. To me it's a great way to really layer the story, once I see the basic structure there in front of me. Good luck!

Clara said...

That was great, congrats on the award! And oh so many cool contests! Must check them out! =D

Lydia Kang said...

Linkage is hard work! So I appreciate your post, and thank you so much for the award! You are too sweet, I understand why you got it in the first place!

I'm going to check out that Karen Weisner book. Thanks for the tip!

Bossy Betty said...

Love a girl with a schedule. Hope you got to take a nap after all the linking.

Old Kitty said...

OOooh well done for keeping to your schedule!

Thanks for the links!! Yay!

Good luck with your editing and revision! It's funny about you and were's and was's. Mine is with been's and be's. LOL!

Take care
x

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

So you are saying it's Wednesday? I was sure it was Friday...I almost went to the bank to get my weekend money!

I think you linkage idea is a good one. In all honesty I probably only check a max of 5 or 6 links on a post. I guess I'm awful...

I'm off to check your links, starting with the title blogfest. :)

Laura S. said...

Linkage is the worst! On some posts I think I spend more time linking than writing the actual post, lol.

Good luck with your revision and editing! :)

Aubrie said...

Links take soooo long. And you have soooo many of them up there! Kudos to you!

Creepy Query Girl said...

Thanks for linking all these great bloggeresses! Now go take a nap!

Talli Roland said...

Thanks for the links and all the wonderful contests! Glad you're making progress on your MS.

Susan Fields said...

Crystal - It's great to have you back, you've been missed! And I hope you have a great day, too!

Christi - I feel like I'm making no writing progress, too. I'm just not feeling the excitement I usually do, but I think it has something to do with the kids being off school for the summer. And you're very welcome for the contest mention - I really enjoyed my 100 followers contest, I hope yours is a huge success!

Justine - I always think those posts will be the easiest to write (because I don't really have to say much), but then they always end up taking the longest. I do appreciate links on other blogs, though, so I think it's worth it!

Mary - I know, it is really hard to keep up with all the blogs out there, even all the ones I follow. Thanks so much for stopping by mine today!

Susan Fields said...

Joanne - I actually love revision, too. I see plotting, rough drafting, and revising as three distinct types of writing, and I love them all! Now if only I could fall in love with research! :)

Clara - Thanks for stopping by my blog today! And I hope you enter some or all of those contests, they look like good ones!

Lydia - I do hope you enjoy that book, it's been a real help to me! I am an outliner through-and-through, and that book shows how to do some hard core outlining.

Betty - Luckily I wrote this post at bedtime, so I got to just fall into bed after all that hard work. :)

Susan Fields said...

Old Kitty - I mention the was's and were's because they're the most prominent, but I also have an overload of be, been, had, and have. This ms is just a mess! :)

Sharon - I hope you'll join me for the title blogfest, I've really enjoyed the blogfests I've participated in so far.

Laura - I always think the linkage posts will be so easy because I don't have to write much, but they always end up taking the most time. I used to check each link to make sure it went where it was supposed to go, but I admit, I just don't have time for that anymore. Hopefully someone will let me know if I got one wrong. :)

Susan Fields said...

Aubrie - Thank you - it's nice to know my hard linkage work is appreciated. :)

Creepy Query Girl - "bloggeresses" - I love that word! And a nap sounds divine...

Talli - Thank you, progress on the wip is slow but steady, I'm making some headway. :)

Unknown said...

Good luck on the WIP, fresh eyes and time away always make a world of difference. Thanks for the links!

Jean Michelle Miernik said...

Thanks again for all the great links and info! So much temptation here... :)

Lindsay said...

Thanks for the links. Good luck with the revsions. :)

Theresa Milstein said...

Susan, I read your blood question.

I love Pam at VKT. Last I checked, she was on hiatus. I miss her! She's such a nice person.

Thanks for all of these links. I'm going to check a few out!

And good luck banishing your was's and were's

Unknown said...

Congratulations Susan you are so worthy of this award!!! I've missed you around the blogosphere so I'm glad to have finally stopped by!

Crystal Cook said...

You deserve those awards so, so much :):)
You are doing awesome with your revisions!
And if you want to feel better about all those was's just offer to read my first chapter. Oy, it's bad, really, really bad. I promise yours can not be worse :)

Christine Danek said...

Congrats on the award and thanks for the links. Keep going :)

Susan Fields said...

Amanda - I totally agree, fresh eyes make all the difference. I guess that's why I'm finding so much wrong with this ms. :)

Genie - You're so welcome, it was my pleasure (despite my complaining about the linkage). :)

Lindsay - Thank you for the good luck wishes. I'm sure it will go well, once I get motivated!

Theresa - I saw that Pam is on hiatus, too. I guess the award will be waiting for her when she gets back, but I will miss her!

Susan Fields said...

Jen - It's great to see you here! And thanks for the congrats!

Crystal - Thank you so much! And I'm sure your first chapter isn't nearly as bad as you say!

Christine - Thanks! I'll try to keep going, if someone would just put my kids back in school. :) Just kidding - I'm enjoying their summer break so far, just not getting a lot of writing done.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on the awards! And thank you for the contest links.

Susan Fields said...

Sandy - thank you! I do love awards. :)

Velva said...

Wednesday is a busy blog day for you. The blogging schedule is something that us bloggers need to work out. If not, blogging can take over our lives.

Kimberly Franklin said...

Thanks for the contest info and congrats on the awards!!

Anonymous said...

Adding links to blog posts does take a considerable amount of time. I appreciate your effort! And congratulation on your awards. If I wasn't in the midst of Creative Boot Camp and Mommytography I'd join in on Slushpile blogfest. So many great things going on, but only so much time!

Susan Fields said...

Velva - I'm just starting to discover the benefits of a blogging schedule. I didn't think I'd like it, but if anything, I find myself wanting to get more structured, not less. And thank you for letting me know about your Netherlands picture - that was a great photo!

Kimberly - Thank you! And you're so welcome for the contest links. They take some time, but I think they're worth it. :)

Lynn - I know exactly what you mean about so many great things going on and not enough time. I love taking part in blogfests, but I definitely have to limit them.

Sierra Godfrey said...

Totes cool list of contests! Thanks for those :)

TerryLynnJohnson said...

wow, great linkage! Thanks for all your research and congrats on your awards!

Susan Fields said...

Sierra - You're so welcome! I really do need to do a better job of keeping up on contests and keeping my sidebar updated, so this was a start. :)

Terri - Thank you! I'm still waiting to hear your news... :)

Wendy Paine Miller said...

Heading to check out the links. Thanks!
~ Wendy

Anonymous said...

When I take a break from my work, I also notice many errors and redundancies.

Congrats on the award.

Hema Penmetsa said...

Congtatulations on the award, Susan! And what you said about missing the "was" and "were" was so familiar -- it's so eerie how we miss some of things we do when we read our own work the first hundred times, isn't it? Good luck with the revision!

Susan Fields said...

Wendy - You're very welcome - I hope you enjoy the links! :)

Medeia - Thank you. And yes, I'm always amazed when I take a break at how clearly I see things I hadn't noticed before.

Hema - Thank you for the revision luck! Yes, the first hundred times sounds about right - no wonder we stop seeing things after a while. :)

Laurel Garver said...

I've seen you commenting everywhere and thought I'd drop by to visit. Thanks for the lovely links!

I've been doing a series on overwriting that folks may find helpful (if they're as prone to the problem as I have been). http://laurelgarver.blogspot.com

Faith E. Hough said...

I have an award for you on my blog if you want it! :)

Anonymous said...

I'm visiting other blogs and leaving comments, meeting new people, learning a few things. That's about it for now.

Stephen Tremp

Jo Schaffer said...

Susan, you won a prize in the giveaway on my blog. Check it out. (=
http://jostorm.blogspot.com/

Susan Fields said...

Laurel - Thanks for stopping by! It's great to see you here.

Faith - Of course I want it! Thanks so much! :)

Stephen - Isn't it amazing how many new people there are out there to meet? So many great blogs, so little time...

Jo - Hooray - I can't wait to see my new jewelry! Thanks so much!

Jackee said...

Congrats on your awards and for the progress on 17th. So very exciting.

I'll definitely look for you on Weds. In the meantime I'll check out these contests. :o)

Have a lovely weekend!