1st day of snowed in writing project

Sunday's night a big snow storm hit the South. And I ended up snowed in at the house I'm house sitting. So I have no company around, it's the perfect day to get some writing in.


I also finish reading Alex Flinn's Beastly.

Yesterday I wrote 1,500 more words on my novel current title Keep Faith.
Today I'm snowed in again so I hope to get another 1,500 words done.

Nanowrimo day 1

So today started nation novel writing month 2010. I'm trying once
again to write 50,000 words in 30 days.
This year again it's a young adult novel.
Already the words are dragging out of me. I had planned on posting my
favorite line of the day. Nothing stand out for me right now.
Hmmmm word count 586 words so far in nanowrimo.
The words will flow better tomorrow and I'll have a favorite line to
post.
Later

~ Annie Laurie

Hunger Games

Just discovered Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins WOW!!!! All I can say
is WOW!!!!

~ Annie Laurie

Book Review: L.A. Cinderella by Amanda Berry

Career-driven accountant Natalie Collins wasn't the type to wish for a Hollywood hero to rescue her. She preferred life away from celebrity glitz. Too bad the man who drove her wild was an A-list actor.

With her understated beauty and brains, Natalie was the one person Chase Booker could trust. He could see the strong, sexy woman beneath her shy exterior, and she stirred a blinding passion in him that made it easy to forget that they were from different worlds. But when she was in his arms, their worlds were dangerously close to colliding....




I love how Amanda Berry took our American Royalty, Hollywood Movies Stars, and made a dreamy and also real hero.  She also created a beautiful (not in the Hollywood glamour way, but real world way) heroine.

Natalie is the everyday woman of America, hard working and well grounded.
Chase is every American woman dream guy when they watch the magical silver screen.
Berry does a magical job of colliding the real American world with the glamours Hollywood world.

BTW Love the ending of Chapter 3

Story: 5 stars
Cover: 3 stars.  (The model is not how I picture Natalie, to tall.)
Ending: 5 stars

The Child On The Page

As I say last week I went to Auburn for a writers conference called The Child On The Page.
I learned a great deal there.
Here a list of the writers
Julianna Baggott
Peter Huggins
Peter Campion
Irene Latham
Elizabeth O. Dulemba
Dan Latimer
Rachel Hawkins
Emma Bolden
Judy Troy


And the one agent
Holly Root
This is going to sound crazy but I went just because Holly was there, and I didn't take her workshop "Polish Your Pitch"  The idea intimidated me to much.  Being in her class to polish a pitch for a novel that not even out of the beginning chapters of the first draft, didn't sound like a good idea at the time I signed up for the conference.  But now I WISH I had taking the workshop anyway!  I mean I want to meet her but I only got to say something to her about the cookies at the coffee table set in in the middle of the foyer.  And I didn't realize at the time I was talking to her.  I looked at her name tag after as she deciding which cookies she wanted and then I'm speechless, lol.  Lucky I don't think she noticed lol.
Anyway....
At the panel the next day she and her client Rachel Hawkin had a great conversion with the amazon 11 years old girl who interview them.  Wonderful! Funny! Really wish I took her workshop! lol
ok a few things I learned from the workshops I did take.

From Judy Troy:
Stories are made up of background facts and plot. You become the character through the background facts.
Fiction is not life, its a illusion.  There nothing random about fiction.
Don't make your character a victim.  Don't set her or him up against to many bad things.
Surprise yourself.  End up writing what you didn't know you knew.  Go Deep.  Tell the Truth. 
No tears from the writer, no tears from the reader.  Writers must feel as they are writing.  Go Deep (into your own emotions and memories)

What I learned from Rachel Hawkin.
"Write the **** book."

On the next day, from the panel I learned:

From Julianna Baggott:
"When there's no wind, roll."  talking about inspiration, and the lack of.
From Peter Huggins
"Leave yourself behind."
Judy Troy also said something about this in her workshop the day before.  It's something I need to work on and just let my characters tell thier stories.

I really really had a great, wonderful, fun time and hope to make it to next year conference, The Haunting Muse.

~Annie

Back to old story

I have decide to put Daughters of Wisdom on hold and work instead of my first draft of Keep Faith.

Daughters of Wisdom has changed into something different, more small scale then the idea before and I believe a better story.  I need to let it brew in my head for a short time.
So...
I have decided to give Keep Faith another try.
The thing about Keep Faith is I realized when reading the first draft I had more of a trigry then a single title.
So I'm going to try to work on the "first book"
Now I have to go work on it.  Talk to y'all later.
~Annie

Auburn Writers Conference

Hi, I'm going to Auburn, Alabama for The Child On The Page Conference this weekend.  Its their first one!  I'm so excited! Rachel Hawkins will be there and Holly Root!