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    Brenna on #WriteMotivation Continues!

    Hey you! I haven't heard from you in a while, and this is old, so I was wondering how you...
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I’ve kind of failed this week. My writing’s been pitiful. I finally remembered to blog! I’ve been trying to keep up on Twitter with everyone else in the group, but I’ve been a bit busy in the evenings.

I did finally print out my manuscript for revision. Revising on a screen is a crappy experience. I know you love paper – I do too – but just print the darn thing.

And I signed up for Holly Lisle’s How to Revise Your Novel class. Dang, I love her classes.

And the cream of the crop: latest grad school semester started tonight. Woohoo.

Here’s to a better second week of #WriteMotivation!

Hello again! Sorry for bailing, but between work and school and having no idea what to post…

But as part of K.T. Hanna’s #WriteMotivation, I’m going to try to get back on track. So here are my goals:

1. Write at least 250 words a day. (Classes are starting soon, so I’m aiming low!)
2. Blog at least once a week. (Kind of fell off the blogging wagon.)
3. Keep up with GoogleReader.

And of course, I’m off to a poor start. I wrote nothing yesterday, and only 46 words today. I’m off to try to get more words on the page.

What are your goals for the year?

Okay, not really. But I’ve decided to take a leaf out of Holly Lisle’s book and make a Master Checklist. It includes my plan to get published, my plan to improve my craft, and there’s even a checkbox for when I finally get my Masters. Take a look:

First off, we have the Narrator task force. I’ve included all the main tasks I need to complete: rewriting, sending out to beta readers, revising, and querying (broken down into query, synopsis, perfecting the first 10 pages, and agent research).

Second, I have the Holly Lisle classes I need to finish / take: How to Think Sideways and How to Write a Series. I’m extremely pleased with HTTS, and I want to take another course. The series one sounds perfect, considering all the series ideas I get.

Third, I have space for writing a second novel. Notice I didn’t put the name – I’m going to go back through HTTS to plan my next project, whether it’s Shadows, Echoes, and Reflections, Gatekeepers, or Sight.

This checklist should help me keep an eye on the Big Picture. Hopefully when I dive into Narrator I won’t get downtrodden by Endless Revision Syndrome. The light – and tally mark – are just ahead!

So there you have it. My master plan to be awesome. What’s on your master checklist?

…there was Alanna of Trebond.

As part of Beth Revis’ Thankful for Books contest, I thought I’d give thanks for the book that first drew me into the world of YA fantasy: Alanna: The First Adventure, by Tamora Pierce.

As part of our Medieval Studies unit in fifth grade, our teacher split us up into four groups and gave us each a book from the Lioness Quartet. My group got the first one. Alanna is a fantastic character. She’s brave, strong, and doesn’t put up with any crap.

As soon as I’d devoured the first book, I moved on to the rest of the quartet, then on to the Immortals Quartet. I loved her characters, her plots, her humor, her worldbuilding. Tamora Pierce was now my favorite author.

From her books I launched into the rest of the genre, with classics like Dealing with Dragons, Ella Enchanted, and The Hobbit. I’ve never looked back.

Fourteen years later, Tamora Pierce is still my favorite author, but I’ve discovered other favorites along the way. She’s the main reason I decided to write YA fantasy myself.

And it all started with one book.

So, what was your Gateway Book?

As you can see by my progress bar, I’m still on track for NaNo. It’s tough going, even though I have an outline this year. I’m not sure if it’s lack of good conflict in my scenes or what, but it makes for frustrating writing!

A few minutes ago I decided to try a completely new and “non-canon” scene with my main character and the antagonist to see where they take it.

Back to writing!

I’m been sick the last few days. Still working on my outline, still doing homework. Hopefully I’ll see you guys on Twitter

Really, Congress? REALLY??

There’s a reason it’s called the “Let Women Die” Act. You must really hate your mothers/wives/sisters/daughters.

Read more about this disgusting bill here.

And of course, my Congressman voted for it. I’m not surprised. I didn’t vote for him for a reason. My DC co-worker reminds me that at least I have a Congressman.

What’s worse, having no vote on this issue, or having your hateful Congressman vote for it?

I clearly must love to be able to tell people “no, I can’t, I’m busy,” because I keep signing up for various writer things!

First, of course, is the Platform-Building Campaign. I love all the writers I’m meeting but good lord, there are so many of you! I read your posts, but I have to get better at commenting on them. Comments are near and dear to my heart, so I bet they are to yours too.

Earlier this week, I signed up for A Round of Words in 80 Days (or ROW80 for short). It’s like NaNoWriMo, but for more days and you get to set your own goals. I like how NaNo holds you accountable and provides you with a huge support group, but 50,000 words in November? I have only won that once, and it was because I didn’t have school or a job at the time. And this year I have both! So I’m going to set more manageable goals, like 750 words a day, which I chose because…

I joined 750 Words! It’s all about the rewards program. For writing 750 words a day for a certain number of days, you get a new badge. The penguin, for example, is what you get for 5 consecutive days, and I’ll have that Sunday if I keep it up! I am very reward motivated, but it doesn’t work when I give myself the reward. So I’m letting 750 Words do it for me!

Have you signed up for either of these? How do you keep yourself accountable to your writing?

Sorry everyone, especially all my new-comers, but I’ve got two papers due within the week and I need to devote any free time I have to them.

Will see you soon!

As started by Jessica, this is a game for everyone in the Campaign group to get to know each other. Enjoy, and don’t forget to post links to your own list in the comments!

1. I won first place at the science fair my freshman year of high school. My project looked at the genetics of horse color.
2. In 7th grade I started a Mary Shelly-inspired contest with my friends, where we would have one year to finish a novel. I wrote that novel – my first – and promptly threw it out.
3. I used to cry when school was cancelled. No joke.
4. I went to Fiji and Australia for a band trip in my second year of college. This summer I went to Hawai’i. Must go back to all of these places, and a few others.
5. I’m slowly but steadily learning Japanese with the help of Rosetta Stone and one of my friends. Tanoshii desu! (It’s fun!)
6. I like chocolate ice cream. There are no other flavors.
7. I was reading chapter books before kindergarten (American Girl!). I read James Michener’s Chesapeake in 4th grade. Now I read way below my reading level: YA.
8. Before Harry Potter, there was Animorphs.
9. My favorite Harry Potter character is Remus J. Lupin. He is the main reason Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite book of the series.
10. To this day, my favorite computer game is Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego.

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• Welcome

  

  Hi, I'm Jenn, new grad student and old YA fantasy writer. I've long dreamed of being a novelist, and I bet you have too. I hope you find my blog helpful, inspiring, and maybe just a little bit fun. (But not too much fun. Writing is serious business, you know.)

  You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook, or email me at:
  jennifer.a.johnson7 at gmail dot com

• Official Progress

  
  

  4/21 segments

  
  A narrator hijacks a cliche fantasy story, much to the chagrin of its characters.

  Status: Second revision

  
  
  

  1,639/70,000 words

  A young noblewoman with strange powers must choose: her king or her soul.

  Status: First draft

  
  
  

  1,087/70,000 words

  When a girl's heart is stolen, she's plunged into a world of magic and shadows - but can she get her heart back before she loses it completely?

  Status: First draft

  
  
  
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  All writing, unless otherwise specified, is the property of
  Jennifer Johnson © 2010
  
  
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