Results

Months

Of scheduling, waiting, fearing, praying

Hours

Of prepping, nausea, pain, cramping

Minutes

Of waiting, signing, consenting

Seconds

Of relief, clear results, the promise of a future

 

©KaylaAnnAuthor2020

© KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

“New” Summer Project (80,000 Words in 10 Weeks Challenge!)

Hey Everyone! Man, I have an exciting announcement today!

I really want to share with you my latest project! It’s both new and old at the same time. I began writing a fantasy fiction series back in Middle/High School (over a decade ago). I spent years on it, finishing it, revising it, changing it; in college, I even submitted several chapters for review during my Creative Writing classes. I officially finished the 394 page book four years ago.

I haven’t touched it since. Not until last week that is.

For four years, this finished novel has sat and waited for my attention to return. I am grateful for the distance, we both needed it, but I am ready to dive back in! Having read through the entire thing last week, I can see the potential in my writing, but I can also see the weak, “youthful” (let’s admit it, cheesy) areas of my writing as well. Therefore, I have decided that my latest summer project will be to return to this fantasy fiction series with a twist and a challenge!

My Plan for the Summer (80,000 Words In 10 Weeks Challenge):

• Strip down the old version to the studs and create an outline of main events & characters (Currently in this stage)

• Streamline the story; remove the unnecessary components (“cheese”)

• REWRITE the entire thing. That’s right, not edit, REWRITE. Word Count Goal = 80,000 Words in 10 weeks!

• Reach my word count goal by the end of summer (August 7th) and begin the editing process while querying publishing houses.

It is entirely possible that I am biting off more than I can chew, but I know that by being open about my intentions here on WordPress, I will be more motivated to actually reach my goals. Just as I did with Agency in the Hunger Games, I will be setting bi-weekly goals to project on my social media author sites to keep me accountable.

So here it is; my 80,000 Word Challenge Progress Chart!

I begin today May 29th starting at a “0” Word Count!

That means that I am attempting to write approximately 16,000 every two weeks! The goal is to have written 80,000 Words by August 7th!

In the comments below, let me know what you think! Can I hit the 80,000 Word Count in just 10 weeks or have I, maybe, lost my mind from the COVID-Quarantine?

Project Updates

June 12th: Goal = 16,000 Words

June 26th: Goal = 32,000 Words

July 10th: Goal = 48,000 Words

July 24th: Goal = 64,000 Words

August 7th: Goal = 80,000 Words

 

It’s Been Awhile; Let’s Catch Up!

Hey Everyone,

It has been a long time since I have accessed WordPress and I really miss this interaction. You all know that I had been slowing down my online presence since January as I began to get overwhelmed by trying to release my first book, finish my first year of teaching, and be a present wife during my first year of marriage (lots of firsts).

Then came COVID . . . Teaching went online which meant that I went from working 10 hour days to 14 hour days as I strove to create online content for my students that mirrored the exact education they would have been receiving without COVID.

All that to say, something had to give and unfortunately that something was my blogging, which really sucked, if I’m being honest.

Now, with school ending in just nine days, I can see the glimmer of hope that summer brings teachers. I plan on diving back into blogging and reconnecting with old friends. So if you’re still there and reading my blogs, please send me your most recent blog post link in the comments! I’m craving some awesome blogging content!

I’m Back!

Agency in The Hunger Games – Available for Pre-Order!

I was scrolling through my Facebook yesterday when I came upon this . . .

Yup! It’s “Facebook Official!” My book, Agency in The Hunger Games, three years in the making is finally going to be released to the public this Spring 2020! You can even pre-order your copy now!

It’s been a long road and I know there is still one last stretch before I hit that finish line, but I can already see it in the distance.

Thank you to all of you who have encouraged and supported me the past three years!

“A” for Academics

Apples aging on desks,

Achievement and Ambition sought as

Adolescents adjust, apathetically accepting the

Approach of another academic year

Credit: Amador Loureiro https://unsplash.com/@amadorloureiroblanco

Today’s Alphabet Challenge features the letter “A.” In the comments below, let me know what you think of today’s poem and drop a link to your own post that fulfills the “A” challenge! At the end of each month, I will be choosing my favorite Alphabet Challenge Entry and sharing it on my blog.

I can’t wait to see what you’ve come up with. Happy Writing!

©KaylaAnnAuthor

© KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com, 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Writing Tip: Accepting Failure

Let me be honest. Failure is going to be a part of your writing career. It just is. And let me honest again. Failure is going to be a part of life.

We are humans, we cannot succeed at everything, all the time.

So, before you begin your career as an author, an artist, a composer, a teacher, whatever you choose, accept that at some point you will fail.

Failure today does not mean that you cannot succeed tomorrow. – KaylaAnn

Failure is only a moment in time, a response to a singular incident. Failure does not define you or your career. The best option, and really the only option you have to success, is to accept failure and then move on from it.

Sometimes our failures will be small. For example, I failed a lot of my daily word count goals between the months of November – January. However, I did not let that stop me. I did not throw my hands in the air and say, “Well, I failed, it’s over!” Nope, I moved forward and planned to begin writing in earnest again.

Sometimes our failures will be big. For example, I’ve just recently received my review from my third reader and let’s just say, it wasn’t great. Now, I’m stuck where I have two decisions and either decision will require drastic change to my manuscript. However, that does not mean that I give up, I pick myself back up (after I cried my eyes out) and I get ready to face the problem head on.

So accept failure, but do not let it define you. Do not let it stop you. Do not let it hinder your progress. Acknowledge it, learn from it, be strengthened by it.

I’ll keep you updated on my book, The Agency Games, once I have some more information. Please wish me luck and keep me in your prayers as I work toward this goal and attempt to decide what is best for my manuscript.

Accept Failure but Never Stop Moving Forward.

We are only Visitors

I watched you

As you squatted down

On bended knees

Viciously you chopped away

At the grass and weeds

Then, in a sharp

Turn

Your hands become

Undeniably gentle

As you unwrap the orange

Plastic, festive wrapping

And cut down the stems

Of the bouquet

Made up of

Warm, yellow sunflowers

Bright, purple blooms

Soft, coral tulips

Wrapped in a cocoon

Of vibrant greenery

You fill the metal canister

With water and food

For the flowers

Carefully you slide in the stems

And play and rearrange

Until you are

Satisfied

With the display

Of love and affection

And remembrance.

Rising

Wounded

I am wounded.

Pierced by words

That impale, sharp as glass.

Fractured

My confidence is factured.

Struck by phrases

That strike, hard as a hammer

Rise.

I will rise.

A Phoenix

Still smoldering and covered

In my own ashes of defeat

I will

Rise.

©KaylaAnnAuthor

© KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Writing Tip: Responding to Criticism

Have you ever experienced that soul-crushing moment when you pour your heart out into prose and some one, usually an ambiguous someone, turns around and criticizes everything you’ve done? Often with more insult than advice?

Well then, congratulations, you’re a writer!

And if you hope to continue along in your journey as a writer, you are bound to have this experience again and again.

And again.

I know, that is not exactly reassuring, but don’t worry, there is good news coming! We have to first ask, why is criticism so common? Are we really that bad at writing? (Well, a writing group might not hurt . . .) But really, the reason behind most criticism is the fact that writing is subjective. 

Yes, there are general rules that all writers must observe. And yes, writers should present their best version of themselves in their writing. However, on a whole, writing is subjective. That is the only way to explain why some people absolutely HATE Harry Potter while the rest of the world loves it. It also helps explain why one of my readers loved my book while the other did not care for it at all.

Writing is Subjective.

Everyone has different tastes. For instance, I will never like horror novels, never, they are not my thing. So while I might hate that type of book, it does not make it a bad book to everyone.

Before you decide to submit your work, you need to prepare yourself for feedback both positive and negative. THERE WILL BE BOTH.

Here are a few ways that you can and should respond to criticism:

• First, you need to anticipate a mixed review. Maybe the book is perfect in your eyes, but your readers will be seeing it differently, so allow yourself to acknowledge mixed reviews.
• Next, you need to read through a shield. What does that mean? If someone is being overly-critical, read through their comments, ignore the rude insults, and cherry-pick out whatever can actually be constructive. Usually there is at least one suggestive that you can work on.
• Finally, after picking out what you can work on, forget the rest! Don’t spend days wallowing over the negative feedback and don’t allow it to corrode your writing!

 

Have you faced rejection or negative feedback?

How did you respond to it?

Happy Writing Everyone!

©KaylaAnnAuthor

© KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com, 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to KaylaAnn and KaylaAnnAuthor.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

One Year Blogging Anniversary

I received my official notice from WordPress yesterday that I have been blogging on WordPress for over a year now!

I can’t believe that it has been a year already! I feel like it was only months ago that I started to consider blogging and then when I first posted by blog post, I thought, this would never work. That first month was so rough and so uncertain, but now, a year out, it was so worth it!

I have posted over 250 blog posts! I have gained 1,800 followers! And more importantly, I have found an incredible writing/blogging community here on WordPress that is irreplaceable! The friendships I have formed here have encouraged my growth as a writer and I am so glad for that decision I made a year ago to embark on this journey.