Tis the season for my writing goals

Tis the aseason for my annual writing goals, my aspiration to become a published writer began summer of 2009 and since then I feel I have made strides, not agented nor published but my strides come in the way of finishing five books editing one with my lovely editor Lynnette Labelle and still appreciating the love of writing. Also a biggie for me this year was to truly understand how to format my manuscript its imperitive for writers to know this standard for the business, I was very appreciative when my editor returned my chapter and told me to figure out the formatting when I finally got it I was rejoiced but then had an internal battle with myself because I should have known how to format almost like an sixth sense. So my writing goals have and will remain the same writing until I improve and hope for the best that one day my novel will be snatched out of the slush pile and make an agent swoon over my novel happy writing.

Keisha Martin

Keeping up with the Kard...joking just simple me.

Blogging is hard I feel like I am writing for myself because as I scroll through various blogs which most are from writers I realize writers write similar blogs, many talk about the experience of getting stuck with plot(s), the journey of getting agented, the journey of getting published and some offer great writing resources. I read a post today by the awesome Janet Reid regarding agents appreciate writers/authors who have online presence however Janet Reid took this topic a step further and talked about when she is interested in authors she checks out their online presence and checks if the writing skills match the sample she looks at via query or requested pages. That really resonated with me because my first manuscript is still getting polished by my awesome editor but the writing I do on this blog is all me blood sweat and tears.I m pretty good going back and fixing spelling errors but the technical stuff of writing I always stress someone will point out my punctuation is not correct or I have a run on sentence etc which is issues I continue to work on and other known suspects. Janet Reid made perfect sense there has to be consistency in the writing aside from the voice in my opinion for example some days depending on my mood my blog post reflect that and I am an emotional writer in general when I write I really like to show the sorrow, the joy via my words sometimes when my characters are sad I try to write it in a way as if the words are bleeding. So again my ultimate goal is to continue to hone my craft and hope for the best so check out Janet Reid blog although she is not the right agent for me in regards to what manuscripts themes she is looking for she always writes engaging post and has fabulous resources for writers to utilize and I have participated in a few of her contest that are so fun and helps me continue to learn how to craft great intros or scenes. Happy writing Keisha Martin

Back in the groove of writing/reading

Normally toward the ending of July is when I get my writing/reading momentum back in full swing so to speak and also its the time as well in which new ideas tap my muse on the shoulders, and is firmly told to get back in line, it has been a rocky year dealing with plenty of self actualization which normally tended to be beating up on myself, I find I return back on track when I seek the advice of good friends and get their perspective on certain experiences I endured and the theme that I continue to struggle with which is not caring what people think of ME. Wow that is huge and relates so much to writing and the journey towards publishing because a major part of the journey is what people think of writers projects and it's never personal but for a beginner writer pursuing to acquire an agent/published at times it can seem so. The goal then is for me to achieve the goal of thickening my skin a bit more so that when I resume querying I won't let the expected rejections to bring me down and also within my personal life it's darn tooting okay that some people won't appreciate me because they are missing out and also sometimes people not liking me has nothing to do with me and likely more about themselves. Change can only occur when mistakes are not repeated. Keisha Martin

Update and random thoughts.

Its hot in Toronto, but I am not complaining (okay I did) because few months prior I was looking out my window to heavy snow fall, wind, ice, and praying for heat, I use this theme in my books often there is never any middle ground humans in general are never really happy, and even if one attains to equalizing that middle ground I don't think its ever achievable because things always come up. I have been struggling with that theme trying to find equilibrium in my life being a mom, having a great career (off for summer woo hoo) and striving toward firstly acquiring a literary agent and then published. But until that happens I am still revising ECLIPSE almost done I cannot wait for the whole manuscript to be finished and then tackle synopsis (gah) and then the query and hopefully have another novel to query with the first its all easier said than done and will take time so until then my middle ground will be to take my time and enjoy the solace of writing. Keisha Martin

Update

Not really much to update aside from the fact I am a horrible blog writer, been so busy I haven't had the time to get in a consistent routine with my blog writing, also its almost summer break for my kids and me too because I work in the Toronto District School Board and also I have been revising like crazy the last four chapters of my first book a YA paranormal romance yes it has vamps, Greek Gods and Goddess and a snarky, wicked antagonist, endings are super hard, and I am so fortunate my editor Lynnette Labelle is so tough and won't let me settle for a crap ending indeed it was and she caught me I wanted the easy way out and came up with a plot idea that didn't work and really if I was honest with myself I put my self in a corner and to get myself out I came up with a silly plot premise. So that's it a brief update what I have been up to well another big news I will start university in Fall so that will be another thing I have to juggle with writing, although I have a ton of book ideas but the six I have written I will focus on editing them throughout the years and hold onto the challenging but possible dream I will be signed to an agent and published one day. Happy writing.



 

When bleep happens

The easy part of being a writer is having fun making my characters go through various bleep situations and eventually achieve their obstacles but real life doesn't go like that because I have come to realize I cannot control people in reality the same way sometimes I cannot control my characters when they demand the arc of the story to progress a different route. I have decided that I want to be published and in order to get there I have to train myself to focus which coincides with my previous post gaining discipline. So I hope to have established a better regime and get on track with writing and also not letting stress of other people affect my productivity. Keisha Martin

Discipline when writing

Discipline, the theme word for me for this new week, I have been losing my writing routine due to various stress, and have made a decision to get my bleep back in gear and discipline myself back into a suitable writing routine and also editing. I would like to have the first revision done on my adult erotic romance novel and then read through it one more time make revisions and then pass it to my editor (I have to ask if she does edit steamy adult romance) my first novel a paranormal romance is going well I have been keeping on top of my edits but I want to do better a better means a faster turn-around when my editor sends me back comments/edits. So that is my mini update Keisha Martin