Anonymous asked:

I’m curious….what it’s like on the other end of the agent hunt? What has changed since you signed with your agent and what has stayed the same?

Wow. OK. Heavy question.

Here you go:

no change

• I still write every day
• I still feel horribly insecure about everything I write
• I still have to write summaries (which is essentially what a query body is) and synopses 
• I still have to wait
• I still don’t know what I’m doing most of the time

some change

• I don’t check my email as often as I used to, because I’m not waiting to hear back on anything
• There’s less pressure on summaries and synopses, because if something doesn’t work, it becomes a dialogue instead of a rejection
• I’m more focused on long-term goals, as in, looking at what comes next and preparing for that so I’m not running around all crazy between books
• There’s less writing-by-committee. I still go to my friends for ideas and support, but a lot of the “should i do this or should i do that?” happens with my agent

lots of change

• My core group of friends stayed the same (because they are awesome) but there was definitely a dynamic shift, especially with writing acquaintances. Some saw me as suddenly legitimate, others as undeserving.
• Finding an agent had become a habit, part of my routine. When I signed with Jessica, for the first month or so, I found myself sticking to that routine. Reading agent interviews. Checking Query Tracker. Refreshing email every two seconds. I would catch myself constantly going through the motions of pursuing something I already had, and I’ve had to make a conscious effort to reallocate that time to other, more productive pursuits. (Like writing.)
• Way more editing
• Pressure and deadlines. Before, when I’d give myself deadlines, I would try hard to meet them, but ultimately, they held no real threat, because I was the one who had set them. Now, it’s about respecting other people’s time, and that adds a finiteness that wasn’t there before.

That’s all I can think of at 2AM.

Anonymous asked:

how does a writer know when/if he/she is any good?

The truth is: you don’t. 

Because good isn’t up to you. It’s something you chase, but not really something you can catch. It’s the thing that’s always just to the left of your peripheral vision. The thing that’s always one step ahead of you, no matter how fast you’re going.

The only thing you can do is shoot for your best and put yourself out there, and trust that one day your best will be good enough.

Anonymous asked:

Was there ever a time when you seriously thought about giving up on writing because it was never going to happen?

I feel that way a lot, actually. 

Anonymous asked:

I don’t understand why everyone is so upset about Game of Thrones. I looked it up and it wasn’t as bad as twitter made it out to be. it’s GOT FFS.

Smarter people than I have tackled this topic. Google. Read. But here’s my admittedly butchered take on it.

Years ago, I read a Stephanie Plum novel in which Stephanie is tied to a chair while the Bad Guy cuts off her clothes. The Bad Guy is too much of a geek to get a girlfriend, and has decided, what the hell, he’ll just start raping women. Starting with Stephanie.

It was supposed to be funny.

It wasn’t. 

The Game of Thrones Sansa-is-raped thing is a lot like that, for me. Because no one ever thinks, “Gee, wouldn’t it be funny if Batman were horribly raped?” No one ever thinks, “Gee, wouldn’t it be shocking if Iron Man were horribly raped?” No one ever thinks, “Gee, wouldn’t it be a cool plot twist if Jon Snow were horribly raped?”

And yet they think that about women all the time. 

Because for whatever reason, that’s the go-to for women. That’s our major vulnerability. We are rape-able.

I, personally, hate the way rape is treated like a growth arc for women. It’s used to prove how strong female characters are, how resilient. 

And that’s a best case scenario. Because we all know that the majority of the time, the rape of a female character in media has nothing to do with the female character and everything to do with forcing a male character into action.

And once then, once the angst has died away and sweeps are over, and the female character has “dealt with it” and “healed” and “moved on,” it’s never spoken of again.

There are a few exceptions to this rule. A few.

A few.

Like I said before, there are people who are much more eloquent on this subject than I’ll ever be. But what I know of sexual assault is this – it isn’t a growth experience. It’s not a comedy. It’s not an inciting incident. 

I asked my friend Thom, a fanatical conservative who does not watch Game of Thrones and who has never heard the phrase “rape culture,” how he would feel if Captain America were raped in the next Avengers movie.

Thom’s mouth fell open. “Why would that happen? Like, how…but…but why would that happen?”

“Well, it would provide him with a growth arc. He’s too happy. Too well-adjusted. Say he’s in this big battle with this bad guy, and he loses, and then the bad guy rapes him.”

“But…why? Why would that happen? Why would the bad guy do that? Why would that happen?”

“To show how strong he is. How resilient. To take away his innocence, and give him a personal conflict with the bad guy. A reason to prevail.”

“You’re fucking sick,” Thom said.

Which I think sums it up perfectly.

Jerry asked:

Q&A: Favorite novels in any genre? Favorite TV shows? Why?

I started to answer this and then realized I have so many favorite things that I basically have no favorite things.

Anonymous asked:

What is your revision process like?

You would think by now I would have a handle on my “revision process” but the truth is, it’s different with every book. Same goes for writing/drafting, too. No two books come out the same way. Since I just crawled out of revisions for a book, I want to do a post on what that revision for that book was like while it’s still fresh, but basically the only constant is to keep working. Keep opening that file. Keep looking at it. Do a little bit every day. Some days you will do more and some days you will do less, but do something, because as long as you’re doing something every day, you’re making progress. 

wattpad:

You were just minding your own business and BAM! It’s the feels. 

melissacutler:

cl-hilbert:

The Bechdel:

two or more women talking to each other about something other than a man

The Mako Mori:

at least one female character with her own narrative arc that is not about supporting a man’s story

The Sexy Lamp:

a female character that cannot be removed from the plot and replaced with a sexy lamp without destroying the story.

Chef’s Specials:

The Anti-Freeze:

no woman assaulted, injured or killed to further the story of another character.

The “Strength is Relative”:

complex women defined by solid characterization rather than a handful of underdeveloped masculine-coded stereotypes.

YES