Monday, November 30, 2009

These Shoes Don't Match

But they are both cute, aren't they? It's kind of like the information we find on the Internet; it doesn't always match up, but it makes sense. The blogging community is a great resource for the aspiring author. It's also a jungle of information that must be navigated through to get to the other side. So, I thought I'd spend the next couple of weeks discussing various contradictions I've come across in hopes that you will weigh in with your opinions. I'd really love to know what you think. Also, if there is something you would like to see discussed, please let me know either in a comment or through email. There is so much information to wade through out there that I think we can all benefit from each other's knowledge. That being said, I'd like to tell you how good it is to be back among my fellow bloggers. I came back to a couple of awards, and thank you, ladies. They were a nice surprise. My break was great, but I missed all of you and can't wait to get back into the swing of things. I did, however, accept the fact that the holiday season will be busier than other times of the year, and, if I want to get any writing done, I have to cut back on blogging for the month of December. So, I'll only be posting on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and don't be surprised if you see recurring shoe pictures. Is it just me, or do any of you feel added pressure this time of year? And remember, if you have any contradiction you've come across that you'd like discussed here, please let me know. I can't wait to reconnect with all of you. I'll be by soon.

58 comments:

Anonymous said...

Welcome back! We missed you!

Good luck with the writing. I'll be taking the rest of this week off (after tonight, I have to write 2,500 words tonight) from writing.

My new plan going forward will be to write at least 500 words of fiction a day. Call it NaNoWriYe :)

Unknown said...

I see plenty of contradiction with the Query. Some want the personal touch... some want it very business like. I've even come across one that wants no query at ALL! Just the first five pages or so in the body of the email. It frustrates me. :)

Tamika: said...

Missed you Susan! I hope you were able to accomplish a lot while away. The holidays are indeed upon us- yay!

Renee Pinner said...

I've seen plenty of contradictions ranging from advice on the appropriate font type/size to use to the right time to query. I'm looking forward to reading your discussion of the some of these contradictions and I'm glad to know I'm not the only one seeing them.

Pseudo said...

I'm struggling with balancing writing, blogging, and teaching. It's hard because the feedback with blogging is so immediate, whereas with writing it is just sitting there waiting for revision.

Contradictions I've seen in blogging? Ideas in commenting/not commenting. I know some bloggers do not like visitors who do not comment. I like the idea that anyone wants to read what I write, whether they comment or not.

Cammie said...

Hi Susan! I'm excited about this new contradictions series of yours and will be following it closely, I'm sure. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, though ... you're right - this season can get NUTS!!!

Robyn Campbell said...

I missed ya! Glad you're back and I do feel added pressure. But my writing will get done. I have to do that. I do wish there was like another 24 in my day though. Shoot.

Contradictions? In what agents want to see more of. UGH! And query. Why does it have to be so different for each one?

Welcome back! :)

Deb said...

Welcome back LW, missed you! It is a crazy time of year and I've pretty much accepted the fact that I may not make a lot of progress with my writing until the new year. Glad to hear that you're giving yourself a bit more personal time, you deserve it :)

Jennifer Shirk said...

Oh, I know. The holidays can get nutty and even though I'm really ahead of where I was last year, there still is so much to do.

Kristen Torres-Toro said...

Welcome back, Susan! I missed everyone too... for the most part I stayed silent during the break. It was a great time to rest and focus on other things, but I definitely missed y'all!

Stephanie Thornton said...

I'm feeling pressure because I set a late-February deadline for myself to start querying. It's keeping me motivated, but I know I'm going to have to unplug the last week of December to get a revision done.

And I'm looking forward to your contradiction posts. There are a ton out there!

Valerie Geary said...

Glad you're back. Can't wait for the upcoming posts!

Janna Leadbetter said...

Glad you had such a great holiday!

Love both those shoes. I'd wear them in pairs! And I can't wait to see what you'll bring up for discussion.

I'm feeling (self-asserted) pressure for finishing my first draft, and then as if the holidays themselves weren't enough, my husband has kicked up renewed plans to finish certain HUGE remodeling projects before Christmas. Gah!

Patti said...

I don't know if there's contradiction in queries. I think it's more about personal prefrence. I'm finding that I need to research and adjust my query letter with each agent. That could be the same with everything. It's all about personal preference. I remember you telling me that you'd read that you shouldn't use exclamation marks, where an author friend told me to use them instead of saying yelled, or screamed.

Midlife Roadtripper said...

Yes, too much going on and being pulled in too many directions. Finding time to accomplish all I'd like often makes get less done. sigh.

Natalie said...

What a fun series! One of the contradictions I love is "write until you're done" vs. MG should be between 30,000 and 50,000 words, YA between 50,000 and 90,000 (or a completely different range). Word count suggestions are all over the place :)

I get stressed around the holidays too and I add other stresses just to make it interesting :) (I'm planning to finish my first draft by the end of the month).

Melanie's Randomness said...

I've actually worn two different shoes, accidentally. It would be dark & I'd put on the 2 shoes next to each other. hehe. It didn't go over well.

There are so many contradictions online that I can't wait to see what you bring up!!

Omg there is so much added pressure with the holiday. My favorite holiday is feb. 15th. hehe.

Good luck with your new posts and Welcome back!! =)

Carolyn V. said...

Yay! You're back.

Contradictions? Well, I must admit there are a ton. I have even emailed professionals to get their opinions on some. They don’t agree either. It’s so frustrating!

Danyelle L. said...

Welcome back! Missed you. :) I look forward to your blog posts. :D

Clementine said...

Glay you're back! I missed ya, gal.

Angie Muresan said...

Missed you Susan. It seems you were gone for an eternity! Glad you are back, even if just Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The only pressure is the one I place upon myself to get everything done perfectly. I should remember the reason for the season, and relax.

Eileen Astels Watson said...

Welcome back to cyber land! And, yes, December is always a very busy month for me. Baking, visiting, shopping, sharing, and trying to keep up with my writing. Tiring!!

Paul Greci said...

Welcome back Susan. I'll look forward to your posts on contradictions.

One thing I thought of is to try to look at the source of information and also to be objective, if possible, because if you are looking for your own idea or opinion to be validated you'll probably find it no matter how potentially misguided one's own thoughts might be.

thanks susan

Rae said...

Welcome back! It is nice seeing your posts again.

Wendy Paine Miller said...

It's good to be back reading and writing blogs again. Pressure, yes. Contradictions...thinking. Can't wait to read your posts.
~ Wendy

Bernie said...

I shall be looking forward to your posts. I am anxious to hear your contradictions. Blogging is certainly time consuming but I think it is great.

Bernie said...

And I love those shoes you show in your title.

Lillian Robinson said...

I'm a simple-is-better person when it comes to Christmas, so I don't feel the pinch on time... at least, no more than usual!

I think a lot of the contradictory information has to be weighed with the perspective of the person giving the information. You know the old saying... consider the source.

Dawn Simon said...

Welcome back, Susan! I'm looking forward to your posts on contradictions.

It is a crazy (though super fun) time of year. In addition to the holidays, we have a few family birthdays. Plus, I always give myself writing deadlines for how much I want to accomplish before the New Year.

Swapna Raghu Sanand said...

Welcome back and hey, its good to see your post after the short break. Can't wait to read all your posts soon.

Roni Loren said...

Welcome back! Glad you had a good holiday. :) Hmm, contradictions...Some say you shouldn't worry about a pen name until you sell a book, but others say you should be getting your name out there blogging so should use the name you're going to write under. (Yes, I'm still obsessing about pen names, lol.)

Kathy said...

Yes, the holidays are stressful and time-consuming.

Welcome back!

Karen M. Peterson said...

Welcome back! I hope you had a great holiday!

I can't believe how busy this December seems to be. MUCH busier than usual. What gives? I don't think I get to spend an evening at home until, like, Friday the 11th?? What's up with THAT?

J.B. Chicoine said...

Missed you!

Do walking contradictions count?

Diane said...

Glad you're back! Those are the perfect Christmas shoes. You did it again, great post and absolutely lovely shoes. :O)

Hope to see you over at my new blog home www.dianeestrella.com

Melissa Hurst said...

Welcome back! I had a discussion with my crit group yesterday about using adverbs in writing. You always hear not to use them, but when you read a lot of books out there, some are full of adverbs.

Stacey J. Warner said...

It feels great to be back...I missed you as well and do feel the added pressure with the holidays but hope to stay calm in the storm.

much love

Beth Mann said...

Welcome back, Susan. I've been away myself, and am glad to be back in blog land. Looking forward to these next posts. I can't think of any contradictions I'd like to see discussed at the moment. Truth be told, I can't think of ANYTHING right now except getting into my bed and waking up again in oh, I don't know...a week. Tired doesn't even begin to cover it! :)

Anonymous said...

Hey Susan!!! Glad that you are back. Yes, this time of year can be a bit of a time crunch, but it only comes once a year so may as well have fun with it!!! :o)

Ellie Kings said...

Hi Susan, I missed you mamacita! I took a couple days off myself, following your lead. :) Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family. I think we all agree that this time of year is filled with much chaos and stress. Busy Bees buzzing everywhere. Though I'm not one of those bees. Being raised as a Jewish Messianic, I really don't celebrate Christmas. But I must say, I still enjoy the lights, the decorations, the happy tunes, the Christmas movies, but most of all the spirit of giving and joy that lingers in the air. Have fun in your endeavors this season!

Angela Ackerman said...

Oh these should be interesting posts cming up! There are so many contraditions out there for us writers!

And I love it when people miss-match on purpose. It always makes me smile.

Cassandra Frear said...

I was thinking of this very thing today. I love the learning opportunities on blogs, but it can get a bit confusing with the contradictions.

Nicolette said...

The winter holiday season is always the worst for me. So much pressure and stress. I get the winter blues badly. I know how you feel. But it only lasts a month, thankfully, and we can all get back to our regular schedules. :)

Tess said...

Gee, I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but what a great idea for a post series. I'll look forward to it.

Terri Tiffany said...

Glad you are back-- I missed so many of you who were gone for the holidays:)) I figure during the holidays our contact with each other will be cut short but hey--there is always january and the new year!

Abby Annis said...

The holidays are crazy for me too. I'm looking forward to your upcoming posts. I'll let you know if I think of anything. :)

Name: Holly Bowne said...

There is definitely added pressure at this time of year. Not only Christmas shopping, baking and decorating, but it's my "baby" girl's birthday on December 25th as well. (She'll be 18, sniff, sniff.)

Also, I'm supposed to be creating our Christmas cards right now, but what am I doing? Checking out blogs. If my hubby walks in right now I am SO busted! Ha, ha!

Krista Phillips said...

THis is the busiest time of year for me at work... and I'm taking on the large task of editing the novel I finished a few weeks ago, AND I have 3 kids and a hubby who like to see me in the month of December.

Yes, I have a lot of pressure... a ton to do... which is why I do blog 3 times a week as well, I don't give myself super crazy writing goals this month, and I try to be organized (ha!)

erica m. chapman said...

Welcome back :o) The holidays are always crazy. I totally understand the need to cut back. I mean I have a bunch of Christmas cards to get out! I haven't even put up my tree yet either... LOL

Looking forward to the contradictions. I'm sure there are a lot out there!

Heather Sunseri said...

I am looking forward to your contradiction posts.

I know what you mean by pressure this time of year. I've been quite overwhelmed trying to fit everything in and making sure I give the "right" things the priority they deserve.

Glad you're back to blogging.

J.B. Chicoine said...

Okay, here's sort of a contradiction: You know how they say we should economize on our words--state things as simly and clearly as possible; and then we're supposed to show not tell, which generally takes a gazzillion more words.
I know these have to be balanced, but perhaps you'd like to blog about that.

Sherrie Petersen said...

Good topic - the internet is FULL of contradicting information on every topic out there! Looking forward to your posts :)

Lisa said...

Great post. This indeed is a crazy time of year.

Jody Hedlund said...

It's a great time of year to cut back to three times a week blogging. I can't believe you've able to keep up with every day! It's so hard for me, even with 3 times.

Nancy said...

I love both the pink and green shoes and the conbination of colors. Too bad they don't match. I think three times of week blogging is a lot, especially with the holidays coming. Hope you had a good vacation.

Kelly H-Y said...

Agreed ... despite my best efforts, it does seem like the added pressure just sort of comes with the month! :-) It's a good month though! :-)

Suzette Saxton said...

Definitely added stress this time of year. Wanted to write all week, but alas, volunteering at the school library, orthodontist appt, grocery shopping, a party at my place, an hour to the airport, lunch with an old friend, and visiting an older friend all loom on my calendar this week. Oh well. Next week I shall try to simplify!

Laura Martone said...

I'm with everyone else here, Susan! I missed your blogalicious presence and hope you had a wonderful holiday week.

And, yes, I have definitely felt some added stress lately - but that could just be as a result of juggling too many things at once.

BTW, I appreciate your plan for the next few weeks - to discuss publishing contradictions. Seems there are plenty out there - number one being the dastardly query letter. Ugh.