Why, oh WHY is this so Brilliant?

I can't stop watching this scene, guys. I seriously can't. It's the final scene in the season finale of the AMAZING show, Sherlock.

What do I love about it?

1. BRILLIANT writing

2. BRILLIANT acting

3. And . . . okay, I admit it, I'm strangely attracted to Moriarty.

Anyway, watch it. Seriously. It's genius. If you saw this episode, watch this scene one more time. (You know you want to) And if you haven't seen this episode, and you don't mind spoilers, watch it.

Just . . . bask in the general awesomeness.

The Big Lie

I've had something of a revolution going on inside the past couple of weeks. I'm cleaning out the old regime that has been ruling my writing mind with a cruel hand. Basically, I've come to an important realization. One I want to share, on the chance that someone else might be going through the same thing.

Ever since I started querying, I took great pride in my "realistic" approach to it all. I wasn't over emotional. I wasn't blinded by my love for my own stories.

Me: Sure rejections sting a bit, but they don't rule me. I make all of my choices based on a calm, rational approach. If I stop querying a book after 20 queries, that's because I have gauged the market, and can see it simply isn't right. No problem. On to the next. I'm barely even sad about it.

Man, was I full of it.

What I've realized in the past few months is that I stopped querying books because rejections, in fact, HURT LIKE HELL. They did rule me. Especially the rejections on requested materials. They hurt, but I wouldn't even admit how much. Deep, DEEP down, I told myself that these requests must mean my story stinks so why don't stop making an idiot of myself and TRUNK it. But at the surface level, I applauded myself on how "realistic" and "rational" I was being.

And that was the big lie, guys.

Well, no longer. Things are going to change. I'm putting a halt on my WiP for a while. Instead, I've got some apologizing to do. I'm turning to the three novels I poured my heart, sweat, and tears into . . . only to trunk after a very half-hearted querying round. I'm turning to them because they are NOT crap. They are actually really good! And they deserve a real chance. I need to give them a chance.

And so I will. I'm going to be honest with myself from now on. Both on how much the rejections hurt me, but also, most importantly, on how GOOD my writing can be.

So to end on a high note, watch this, and repeat after me:

A fangirl moment

Suddenly, I can't wait for the actual movie. :)

eta: I didn't make this video. I only wish I had film editing skills like this.

It's a YA Halloween

I had a hard time trying to decide what to be for Halloween this year. If you follow me on Twitter, you might have caught the Drama of the Red and Black Wig. In the end, I realized the answer was there all along.

What better costume for a YA writer than an angsty, emo teen?!

(Come on. You know you dig my Edward shirt.)


And as for hubby? He makes a ROCKIN' Spock.


Hope you all have a great Halloween!

Sexy it up

Last night I watched the new PBS show Sherlock. *fans self, while trying to breath.* So. Much. Awesomeness. Having. Trouble. Expressing.

Basically, it's the classic characters of Sherlock and Watson, modernized, and set in contemporary London. Was it awesome to see Sherlock texting Watson to hurry up and get to Baker Street? Uh-YEAH. It was.

I've noticed this trend a lot lately, and I have to say, I'm a big fan. Basically, you take a classic or well known story and modernize it. Make the main characters younger. SEXY it up a little! (Yeah, baby.) Some other examples:

The new Star Trek. (*chants* Team Spock! Team Spock!)


Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet

I'm sure there's a specific word for these kind of stories. If anyone knows, give a shout. At any rate, it's actually a dream of mine to write one. It'd be so fun! How about you? Any ideas of a modern twist classic? Share in the comments section! I'll give kudos to the best idea. :)

Here are some prompts:

A sexy, younger _____________________ (classic character)


Modern day version of ___________________________ (classic story location)



________________ (character), only hotter.

Weird Science

For the past few months now, I've been toying with three different ideas. Notebooks have been filled. Outlines have been formed. I've even started writing two of them. But something kept tripping me up. I couldn't put my finger on it.

And then, a few days ago, it hit me. The answer to my problem. It was staring me in the face all along. I simply broke off the major pieces of each story that I liked and smashed them into one. And like that, I had my story. The moment went something like this.



(*sigh* Gene Wilder. Gotta love him.)

So anyway, from now on, you'll know what I'm talking about when I refer to my FrankenWiP. But I can't talk more about it now. I have work to do. Much work.

*sinister lightning flashes*

Yes . . . much work. . .

*runs off to secret lab*

Scary/Exciting/Big things

I've been doing a great deal of pondering lately. This should come as no surprise, of course. Every six months or so I go on a Quest of Pondering, Angst, and Re-Evaluation. (I'm telling you, if there was a contest for introspection I. WOULD. WIN.)

If I could have, I would have spent many an hour walking on picturesque lookouts, thinking deeply, my hair blowing in the wind. Like that scene on Pride and Prejudice, when Elizabeth is staring out over the cliff edge. Pondering.


Yeah . . .


I probably looked more like this, though.

At any rate, as I said, I've been through this before. What can I say, I'm a little slow. This time, however, I've come to some fairly scary and big thoughts. Thoughts about who I am as a writer. What I want. What I am and am not willing to do.

Probably the biggest thought is about what I will write. It's also the scariest. In a nutshell, I think I've found my voice.

And I think it will be a tough sell.

But I'm going to write the book anyway.

The thing is, I've had this feeling in my gut for a long time. I avoided it, because, to be totally honest, I want to be published. I really, really want to be published. So, I've pushed this inkling away to pursue ideas that seemed more marketable. (Don't get me wrong, I loved these ideas, but I can be honest as to why I picked them over others.)

But it's time to take a risk, folks. For me, anyway. So I plan to. There are going to be some changes around here. Because like I said, my pondering involved all aspects of my writing career, not just what idea to pick. So be ready, gentle blog readers. Be ready. More details coming soon.