Thursday, April 26, 2012

Apriwrimo - The Home Stretch

Time to check in for the month. Only four days left. Are you on track? Is the goal in sight?

Also, it's time to pull out the streamers and pour the bubbly. Scape had written THE END on her first full MS!!! This is a major accomplishment. She'll forever be able to say, "I wrote a book". This calls for a party.

To Scape, may revisions be sweet and the story pour out like the smoothest splash of rum. (I'm expecting Q to come up with a better toast.)

Raise your glass. Let's give a group HUZZAH!!!

32 comments:

Marnee Bailey said...

Woot woot! Way to go Scape! Writing that first "The End" is probably one of my sweetest moments on this journey. Enjoy it. And enjoy those revisions. (heh heh.) :)

Can't wait to hear more about it!

Terri Osburn said...

I remember when I typed my first THE END. I think I stared at the monitor for a full minute, then started to giggle. LOL!

WTG, SCAPE!!!

Sin said...

WTG Scapey!! So proud of you!

Jill Shalvis said...

Nicely done, congrats! My two favorite words are The End.

Closely followed by MORE COOKIES.

I am on track. Have written 2,000 for each day in April, though I have to admit, there were days where it nearly killed me...

Sin said...

But you persevered and got past the tough times, Jill! Just like I knew you would.

Terri Osburn said...

I can't even remember what my final goal was. I wanted to get the full out to the agent who requested last fall. Did that. I wanted to query other agents. Did that and still sending more.

Finally, I wanted something on the page for the start of the new WIP. Not there yet. But there will be something written before Monday if it kills me. I don't care if it's three paragraphs. I just need to get the momentum going.

Terri Osburn said...

BTW, Jill, did you figure out if that's a mouse or a ghost yet? ;)

Jill Shalvis said...

Terri, what agents are you querying? If you ever want to discuss, feel free to email me. Agents are really more important than picking a husband, so be very careful.

And I think it's a ghost ...

p.s. Sin, you know exactly why I persevered, because you promised me a ff!!!!!

Jill Shalvis said...

And why don't i have a cool avatar thingieamabob??

Sabrina Shields (Scapegoat) said...

Thanks everyone! It's been a wild week - Writing the end, interviewing for a new job, big boss is town... Lots going on and I can feel the energy.

Although I think I should be kicked off the ship for forgetting the Thursdays in April posts! Seriously, I cannot believe I did it again.

Jill - congrats on those 2k words each day! Totally amazing.

Terri Osburn said...

That's a Sin question. She's the avatar-mistress.

I would SO appreciate any and all input. Especially since my one choice of husband turned out to be very, very bad. A major reason I never tried again.

I started with the six agents I knew something about via friends, blogs, and Twitter. Now I'm moving to the ones I know nothing about.

I'll be sending an email!

Terri Osburn said...

That is a big week, Scape. How did the interview go??

Sabrina Shields (Scapegoat) said...

The interview actually went very well. I could tell there was one part she was disappointed I didn't have more experience with, but I think I rocked it on the other stuff.

She asked me to come back in about 2 weeks to "meet" her staff - I'm thinking group interview-ish. So that has to be a good sign! I hope. :)

Terri Osburn said...

That is an excellent sign. Fingers crossed!

Maureen said...

Whoohoo to Scape! Not only a completed MS, but good vibes on a job interview! Way to go!

My April goals at the present have crashed and burned. Unless I can twist enough to light that rocket on my ass, I will not have a 'the end' on the current WIP by Monday...

But I can celebrate everyone elses!

Terri Osburn said...

Oh, and do you want to mention the other thing? The fast track thing? I wasn't sure so I figured I'd let you share that one if you wanted. :)

Sabrina Shields (Scapegoat) said...

Thanks Terri!

It was actually the Fast Track that kicked my arse into gear.

Harlequin was running a Fast Track, meaning you can submit to the editors of a certain line and get a response by a certain date - no slush pile, and I made it part of my April goal to submit.

I had to rework the story slightly since this wasn't the original line I was targeting, but I thought what the hell.

So I decided to write the synopsis first - so I could see how the story needed to change and because that was part of the submission.

Holy Cow did writing that synopsis clear up my story! I suddenly knew the ending and it just flowed.

Anyway - long story short - I've actually submitted to Harlequin for the first time with a done MS. By no means a READY MS, but it just feels different to submit when the story structure is all done.

Maureen said...

Submission is a huge step! Here's crossing my fingers for you!

Terri Osburn said...

I'm so excited for you, Scape! What is the time frame to hear back? (I think you've told me but my memory is non-existent this morning.)

Terri Osburn said...

Chance - Don't give up! You have four more days and you might not get to the end, but you can get 5-8K before Tuesday.

Jill Shalvis said...

Scape, congrats on sending in a submission!! Which editor? Which line?

Sin said...

This is so awesome to hear Scapey! I've got my fingers crossed for you too!

Chanceroo, you can do it! I know your fingers can fly when you need them to be fast.

Hellie Sinclair said...

Hip-Hip-Hooray! SCAPEY WROTE A BOOK! Ha! Now she can go to any conference she wants. Neener-neener-neener!

Now to go back and read the comments!

Sorry to be late to the party. I was sorta sleeping in...

Hellie Sinclair said...

I haven't picked a husband simply because I fear picking the wrong one...and now I hear agents are even more important in this category! I'm never going to be published! *LOL* What the hell....

Hellie Sinclair said...

Huzzah on the Harlequin submission! What a great goal and I love that writing the synopsis cleared up a lot of the story and you were able to write more freely. You'll have to share that more in detail in a blog post! :)

P. Kirby said...

Well...even though April is the month I went crazy, I hit my very modest goal of 10K (actually around 12K). I'm sure when I read what I wrote, some of it will sound like a chimp at a typewriter writing anything but Shakespeare. But, I did it.

Congrats on reaching The End, Scape. Such a great feeling!

Pat Kirby said...

Jill. I think the avatar thingy happens if you sign into your Google account, or use another account. If you just use a URL...no avatar.

P. Kirby

Maureen said...

That was clever! She had no avatar...and then she did!

I'm not sure my body will let me slam out that many words. I'm seriously considering getting that voice-to-text software and trying it when my back and bicep tenonitis decides I can't sit at my keyboard for any length of time... It might get me to the rough draft stage at times like this...

Sabrina Shields (Scapegoat) said...

Sorry to disappear for a bit...

Hi Jill! I submitted to Harlequin Romance - the Fast Track for this one is to all of their editors who will split submissions to read. I originally wrote it targeted Harlequin Intrigue, but discovered that I could keep the same basic story and play down the suspense and amp up the small town and romance to better fit the Romance line.

They say that you will hear back no latter than May 18th. It's a real long shot but I felt like I shouldn't pass the opportunity up.

Terri Osburn said...

When they say fast, they mean it. Keep us posted!

Maureen said...

That is lightning fast! Cool... Hopefully you'll hear some good news about the job interview at the same time and it will be a triple slamming celebration!

Janga said...

Sorry to be late posting again. I was away from the computer most of the day yesterday.

Yay, Scape, on all counts: finishing the book, submitting, and rocking the job interview. WTG!

I'm ashamed to admit I fell far short of my goal. I was aiming for 100 pages; I have written 40. But that's 40 I probably wouldn't have without ApriWriMo, and I can plead the hospital stay as excuse for part of the failure. The sad thing is since I have another big freelance project due in early July, I'm unlikely to get much done on the WIP over the next two months.