Pub(lishing) Crawl Launch!!

It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for, folks! After a month of hiatus (during which we all missed you readers like crazy), us here at Let The Words Flow are officially Pub(lishing) Crawl! But it’s not just us–we’ve got SIX super exciting new members to introduce to you guys, one each day. Then we’ll be re-introducing us old members in groups of three/four. And every week day of January, we’ll be giving away prizes–ARCs, finished books, manuscript critiques… 😀 😀

What are you waiting for??

Here’s the link–see you on the other side!! 

www.publishingcrawl.com

BIG NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT!

By

All The Ladies At LTWF

~~~

So, for a while now, the ladies of LTWF have wanted to find a way to take this site to the next level. Since LTWF started in fall 2009, we’ve grown and grown and grown, both in terms of our wonderful community and in terms of our own personal development. It has been exciting and exhilarating and one of the greatest experiences of our lives.

But a few months ago, we asked each other: what if we changed things up a bit? What would we have to do to take LTWF as it stands and make it into something bigger—something even more awesome?

So we talked. And talked. And talked. Many skype chats, google documents, and email chains later, we all agreed:

In order to grow, we had to undergo a major transformation. We’d have to take the best parts of LTWF and shape them into something new.

And to do that, we’d have to leave LTWF behind.

Not the community, not our contributors, not the openness of the site, but two things:

Our name, and our “Fictionpress authors only” background. Both of those things are closely tied—our LTWF name CAME from the FP website. And now that we’re no longer keeping our ranks closed to the FP community, it made little sense to hold onto the name.

So, today is the last day of Let The Words Flow.

Or, LTWF as LTWF. After today, we’ll be closing down the site until January 9^th, so we can have time to organize, to recharge, and to make sure our new site is in order.

And on January 9^th, we’ll be launching…

We’ll have our own domain name, a brand new look, and some new, amazing members. We’ll have a new structure, new content, and a new focus. All of us in LTWF will be there—and even though our wordpress site will no longer be active, we promise that none of the closeness and intimacy will be lost in the transition.

We are so, so phenomenally excited for the change to Pub Crawl. We’ll be spending our launch week introducing our new members, who are all fabulous, warm, and talented people. And we’ll be doing a MONTH of giveaways (from ARCs to critiques to agent pitches) when we launch in January.

So, this is our last post on this site. And, in honor of that, we thought we’d do one final Question of the Week—one that we hope you guys will participate in as well.

But before we get to that…

Thank you all so much for your support, for your enthusiasm, for embracing us—for making this into a community that we’re proud to be a part of. For making LTWF into a home for aspiring and published writers. For celebrating with us, commiserating with us, for laughing and crying with us. Thank you for two years of memories—two years that have changed all of us in every possible way.

Thank you—thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It has truly been an honor.

And to quickly announce Wednesday’s GIVEAWAY winner:

Kulsuma!

Email us at letthewordsflowblog (at) gmail (dot) com!

~~

What has Let The Words Flow meant to you?

~~

 I don’t think there are enough words to describe exactly what LTWF has meant to me. I’ve tried to write this at least six or seven times, but I couldn’t seem to fit in everything I wanted to say. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that, try as I might, there is just no way to properly express how I feel about this place, these ladies, and all of you.

LTWF scooped me up a year and a half ago, just as I was beginning my internship. It was my first real publishing job, and they’ve since guided me to where I am now. I’ve learned so much about this industry and writing because of them, and I could not be more grateful for their help and insight. Not only did they keep me focused on my career, they’ve helped me hone my writing skills, and I can safely say I’m a better writer because of these ladies.

But more than that, LTWF has meant unconditional friendship from some really incredible people. They’ve been there to support me in all of my crazy schemes, from numerous writing projects to graduating to moving to New York. LTWF has meant late-night skype dates, far too many inside jokes, and weird emails that never fail to make my day. These ladies have become some of my closest friends, and I’m so excited to move forward with them. As amazing as LTWF has been, Pub Crawl is going to be even better!

LTWF, I raise my glass to you.

–Sammy Bina

~~

 What has LTWF meant to me…wow… That’s such a hard answer to condense into words. All I can say is that joining LTWF was without a doubt the best thing that happened to me in the last year. Better than getting an agent and better than getting a book deal. Like Kat said, it’s so much more than just a writing blog… These girls and you readers are my best and dearest friends, and I wouldn’t know any of you if it weren’t for LTWF. How can that not mean the world to me?

I don’t want to get too sentimental because then I might start crying, and no one wants that (I am quite literally the world ugliest crier). So I’ll do this instead:

Once upon a time, there was a girl who had no idea what she was doing. When she saw her favorite blog was taking applications, she said, “What the hey? Worst thing that happens is that I don’t get in.” But she did get in…and she found something she had never expected–never even believed possible from “just a blog”.

She found community, support, and fun. She met new people through comments and chats. She learned lots and lots and lots from the other LTWF-ladies and she learned even more from the LTWF-readers.

And the days passed and the blog posts piled up and she thought, “Surely I should be sick of this by now? Surely after a year, this whole blogging thing would feel stale…?” But it didn’t…and then she realized why: LTWF is a community of writers and readers. Pub Crawl will be a community of writers and readers. These are people who live their lives around STORIES. And there are always new stories to experience and always new stories to share. How can that ever get “stale”?

And so, the girl set out to write the next post, to make the next friend, and to tell the next story…

See you on the flip side!!

–Susan Dennard

~~

 The last time we talked about what LTWF meant to us, my answer was pretty long. And all I can think of is, how do I top what I said last time? How do I not repeat myself?

And so I’ll keep things short and sweet (hopefully). LTWF has meant meeting amazing people, geeking out over books, and being part of an amazing community. To all the girls at LTWF: You’ve become some of my closest friends, and I’m forever grateful to be able to spam you with emails at ungodly hours, talk via Skype, and make delicious cookies (here’s looking at you for that last one, Biljana).

To all our readers: You have all been awesome, whether you’ve been the constant commenters, the silent creepers, or the ones who sent emails with suggestions / cool links. You’ve made LTWF worth it; worth all the late-night scrambling, hours and hours of blog post writing, and endless tweets. Without all of you, LTWF would’ve been nothing – and I hope you all move with us over to Pub Crawl in January. We’ll be bigger and better, but we’ll still be nothing without you. Cause in all honesty, LTWF has been a community of amazing people – and without people to talk to, us girls would just be talking to ourselves. So thank you!

–Vanessa Di Gregorio

~~

 What has Let the Words Flow meant to me? Others have used analogies to answer this (almost impossible to answer!) question, so I hope no one minds if I use one more.

When I was in college, there was a specific place on campus where I knew I could always find a friend or two. To my friends and me, this was “our spot,” and whether a half dozen of us were there or just two, it was always the place I felt welcome and understood. When I moved on from college, having a place like that was one of the things I missed the most. It had been so wonderful to know that – whether I had five minutes or five hours to hang out – I had a little sanctuary where I knew I would find people who really “got” me.

For me, Let the Words Flow has become a virtual version of that cozy spot on campus. I always know I will find friends at Let the Words Flow, whether those friends are the other bloggers or our fantastic readers. I know I will find wonderful conversation in the comments! I know that whenever I come to LTWF, I will find like-minded people who know what NaNoWriMo means, who don’t think I’m crazy because I have a two foot high stack of unread books beside my bed, and who will always encourage me to keep going toward my writing goals. Let the Words Flow has been a cozy sanctuary to me, and I feel so fortunate to have found it.

I look forward to Pub Crawl, in part because I know that this sanctuary will still be there, but also because I know it will be fresher and broader, and that I will meet even more wonderful writers and readers. Can’t wait!

–Julie Eshbaugh

~~

 The mentality of being a part of LTWF is incredibly hard to describe. It’s a group of friends, but it’s also a responsibility. We talk constantly, but we also work, and so I suppose it’s sort of like being in school 🙂 The ladies of LTWF are not only my friends, but my classmates, and they’ve given me an education I could never find in any college or university. I like to think I bring a little something to the table, but the truth is they have mostly been MY teachers. Being in LTWF changed my life in a big way. I had an agent but was still a hopeless noob. I didn’t know anything behind the scenes of the big, scary publishing world, and didn’t have the resources to learn. LTWF changed all that. It made my writing career an intimate and REAL part of my life, where before it had been a secret hope and dream.

LTWF was the only safe place I could retreat to during some of the most difficult times in my life. I am so eternally grateful to my friends here for their warmth and wisdom. We are SO excited to be adding our awesome new members and expanding our audience with a new website and brand. It is our hope that we can reach and assist more writers than ever before, and yet… and yet… I will definitely miss saying LTWF and how easily the acronym flows from under my fingers. This was the best time, you guys. Thank you so much for letting me be here.

–Savannah Foley

~~

 It really is hard to put into words. I can’t imagine life without these people. They listen to me rant, they laugh at my (stupid) jokes, they commiserate with me when frustrating things happen, and they support me to no end through griefs. In return I try to do the same. We share in our joys and sorrows. People throw around the word “family” but that’s truly what this feels like. Losing them would be like losing family.

And that’s not even touching on the sheer amount of information I’ve soaked up in the past few years, on writing, on editing, cutting, querying, the industry, not even close to covering the people I’ve met, the friends I’ve made over random online interactions…

It’s really gotten to a point where I can’t imagine my life without it. I don’t know where I’d be right now. Probably still angsting over whether it’s financially prudent to be a writer :P.

Thank god for these people and this community :). I’m really excited to continue this trend in PubCrawl! 😀

–Biljana Likic

~~

 It is insanely hard for me to describe what Let The Words Flow has meant to me in just a few paragraphs. It’d be hard to explain in a few PAGES.

When I started my road to publication, I had very, very few friends in publishing. In fact, I’m pretty sure that for a while, Mandy was my only friend I had that was agented and (soon to be) published. I used to read author blogs and twitter feeds and wish—with all my heart—that I had wonderful writer-friends, too. Sometimes, it felt like I was on the outside, watching this wonderful world through a window. Though it might not have seemed that way at the time, there were moments when I felt really, truly lonely.

LTWF changed all that. Ever since LTWF started, not one day has passed where I have ever felt alone. Since LTWF started, I have never felt like I was on the outside, looking in. Since LTWF started, I have always felt like I belonged.

I have had many, many friends in my life, but I can say—without a doubt—that the friends I have made in LTWF are the friends of my heart. The ones that I’m fairly certain I couldn’t live without. They make my world a far, far better place. They make me a better person.

So, more than learning about the industry, more than learning about writing, I’d say that LTWF has meant unbreakable and irrevocable friendship. And no matter what happens on the road ahead, I will be forever grateful for it.

—Sarah J. Maas

~~

 Vahini Naidoo: A year ago, when we did a similar post, I said something to the effect that LTWF meant home to me. It meant community. It was, to stretch a thin analogy comparing books to babies yet further, the community required to raise my book babies. At the time, I meant that very, very sincerely, and I still think it’s true. LTWF is a home, a haven on the internet, but over the past few months I’ve come to realize that LTWF also means something else to me. This blog doesn’t just represent home, comfort and safety. This blog represents growth. This blog is about all of us, writers and readers, aspirers and dreamers, at different stages of progress coming together and learning and growing. This blog is an adventure, fun and exciting and awesome, and I have to say that you guys (both my fellow bloggers and readers) are the best companions a girl could hope for.

So that’s what LTWF is to me — a journey. One that I hope you’ll share with me, and the other LTWF ladies, as we transition into Pub Crawl.

–Vahini Naidoo

~~

 I cannot *believe* it’s been a year and a half since I first joined LTWF. On one hand, how did time pass that quickly?? On the other, what do you mean I haven’t known these girls half my life??

When I joined back in Spring of ’10, I didn’t even have my first draft of WHAT’S LEFT OF ME finished. My entire writing/publishing since then–finishing that first draft, revising, querying, agent offers, more revision, submissions, selling–is utterly tied to the girls here at LTWF. They were my first critique partners, the first people I told about anything exciting that happened. They taught me so much about writing and about publishing and made me believe harder than ever that getting publishing *now* was doable.

I also now count them among my closet friends, and that’s even more important to me.

Being a part of LTWF opened my eyes to the vast network of writers and readers on the internet. I’ve met so many awesome, amazing people through LTWF–and from all over the world! You guys have all been so fantastic, and I’m so glad to have met you.

So, what has LTWF meant to me? Friendship. Support. Links to crazy things on the internet. Skype chats after midnight–I could go on 🙂

Here’s to continuing all that as Pub Crawl!

–Kat Zhang

~~

To All Our Friends, Old And New:

Thanks For Everything.

Love Always,

The LTWF Girls

Interview with Shelli Johannes, author of UNTRACEABLE + GIVEAWAY!

by Susan Dennard

You might have seen my book review for Untraceable on Sunday. If not, read it. This book is impressive–and its author, Shelli Johannes, is quite possibly even more impressive.

Why do I have such glowing praise for Shelli? Because she’s done something a lot of us are too scared to do: she has indie-published her debut novel.

But more importantly than that, Shelli has indie-published it right. She has approached it as a professional author who knows the industry, knows what readers want, and knows how to tell a damn good story.

If you want to hear more about her amazing and empowering journey, I suggest reading her blog series on it (which begins here). I was lucky enough to get an interview with Shelli about her publication process, and all I can say is: WOW. She is an inspiration to us all.

When you started writing Untraceable, what was the inspiration behind it?  A dream? A musical clip? Plain, old-fashioned brainstorming?

My husband came home one day from being in the remote woods for the weekend and said, “I was so far out–a terrorist camp could set up there and no one would ever know.”

The story started out called Grace Under Fire. And it was about terrorist cells in the wilderness (hides face from embarrassment). Years later, I got rid of the terrorist camp but kept Grace and the wilderness.

It actually came in the quarterfinals in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award of 2009. 1 of only 7 thrillers to make the list.

Wow–I did not know that about the Breakthrough Award! (Can’t say I’m surprised either ;)) And what a COOL way for a story to start…mine are always lame dreams, so I’m totally jealous.

What was the biggest challenge for you while writing UNTRACEABLE? 

Editing it. Back in 09, I remember agents HATING the terrorist angle but loving Grace and the overall setting (go figure :)) so I had to go back to the drawing board and rewrite the entire plot from scratch. I did that more than once. But that time was the hardest.

You’re taking a different, unique path for getting your book out there, and you’re really showing other writers how self-publish in a professional, and reader-focused manner. It’s obvious you care about your readers more than making some quick cash. When and why did you decide to indie-publish?

For a few reasons:

1. I was tired of people telling me a contemporary thriller would not sell well to teens.
2. I wanted to see if I could do it on my own and learn more about publishing process in general.
3. I thought it would be fun to create my own thing my own way.

Because I was scared everyone would think I suck, I decided to blog about the process openly – the ups and the downs to see if I could help others decide if indie pubbing was right for them.

I also hear so much about the stigma of indie/self pubbing. I wanted to break through that barrier and create a high quality product I was proud of and show people that you can do it the right way.

Yeah, I think that stigma is starting to fade as more and more writers with high-quality stories take that route. All I can say is: GOOD FOR YOU! For having the courage and the determination to do this the “right way”.

Is there anything that, in hindsight, you wish you had done differently with UNTRACEABLE–either in the writing or publication process?

I’m having so much fun I wish I had done this a long time ago. I wish I had skipped all the unnecessary anxiety. But I believe everything happens for a reason and I am where I am supposed to be.

Too true–I’m a firm believer of that as well. What’s your next writing project? And do you think you’ll continue on the self-publication path with it?

I have a special edition of Untraceable coming out in Jan/Feb with a different ending. And I am putting out Grace 2 – called Uncontrollable early next summer.

Beyond that – I’m not sure. I have manuscripts that have almost been bought on my shelf. Who knows maybe I’ll pull another one out.

But I am writing a WIP that I would like to get an agent for down the road. I love the traditional pubbing process so I hope to do both someday when I am ready to jump back in the pit.

I think it’s so awesome that you’re interested in both approaches and that you want to try to tackle both. I would love to as well…one day…when I’m not so lazy.;) Honestly, though, writing all these books and self-promoting–it must take a lot of perseverance and hard work. What’s a typical writing day for you? 

I drop off my daughter at school around 8 and then hang with my son until I drop him off at preschool at 9. I spend about an hour on the Internet with emails, twitter, Facebook, catching up on blogs etc. I usually write from about 10-12ish. Then I catch up on emails again before I get my son at 1.

But this is not how it is all the time. Especially not right now.

Right now, I imagine your life is wrapped up in UNTRACEABLE promotion. In your spare time, though, what are you reading?

Just finished The Pledge by Kimberly Derting and Fracture by Megan Miranda.

And any final words of advice or inspiration? 

Don’t give up. Let go of you ego. And follow your heart.

Leave a comment below for a chance to win not only an ebook of Untraceable, but also a copy of Escape Velocity and an ARC of Promise the Night.

It’s open internationally, and we’ll announce our giveaway winner on FRIDAY! ALONG WITH OUR BIG NEWS!

And Monday’s giveaway winner (for a copy of PRETTY BONES) is

Nicole Steinhaus!

Email us at letthewordsflowblog (at) gmail (d0t) com with your mailing address!

Book Recommendation: Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares + GIVEAWAY!

DASH AND LILY’S BOOK OF DARES by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
Published October 26th, 2010 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
272 Pages

With Christmas just around the corner, this seemed like an appropriate choice for a book recommendation. I read it about two weeks ago, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. In fact, I’ve already convinced three of my friends to read it, and lent it to a fourth.

There’s something magical about Christmas, and I think this book hits it right on the head. Christmas is full of endless possibilities. People are nicer, the world is brighter, and smiles are out in droves. Everything is over-the-top, from decorations to the amount of food we eat and the music we listen to. But nobody cares because it’s the holidays. Personally, Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year. How can you not be in a good mood?!

That warm, fuzzy feeling you get around the holidays is something you get while reading this book. And I don’t think it matters what time of year you read it — the feeling will still be there.

But! More about the book and less about my love for Christmas.

First of all, I think the plot is one of the most creative plots I’ve seen in a while. Sticking a red moleskine on a shelf in the Strand with clues that could maybe lead to romance is an amazing idea. The fact that Lily’s brother did it to keep her out of his hair is even better. (Also, I will freely admit to having gone to the Strand since reading this and checking to see if someone had dared to replicate the moleskine idea.) Everything was woven together so well, and those clues! Part of me wonders if I would’ve been able to decipher them, had it been me. The creativity that went into this is mind-blowing.

Also, collaborations can be tricky. I’ve seen plenty of submissions where the two authors’ styles just didn’t mesh. It was obvious who was writing for which character, and the flow was awkward because of it. David Levithan and Rachel Cohn’s voices blend seamlessly together. Even with each of them writing a different character, you’re never once pulled from the story because things don’t work well together. The pair also wrote NICK AND NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST and NAOMI AND ELY’S NO LIST KISS, neither of which I’ve read, but both of which I intend to pick up.

Dash and Lily were fantastic characters. Dash is a little pretentious, but is still one of the most likable guys I’ve come across in fiction. Boomer is hilarious, and I can’t imagine the book without him. Lily’s cooky family made me wish they were a part of my own, and as a main character, I thought Lily was great. She’s so naive, and it’s fun to watch her get out and test the waters when her parents are gone. I don’t know if I’d be brave enough to go to some skeezy underground club on Christmas eve (By myself. In New York.), so she gets major props for that.

Now that I live in New York, the book had an extra ounce of charm because I knew where things were located. The Strand was one of the very first places I visited when I moved here, and I still pay homage at least once a month. Even if I don’t buy anything, it’s nice to be surrounded by that many books. (Supposedly there are 18 miles of books in that store. I want to know what kind of math they used to figure that out…) I’ve also made an effort to locate the rest of the places mentioned in the book. When a book motivates you that much, I feel like it has to be good.

So, if you’re in need of some extra holiday cheer (or just enjoy overdosing on Christmas), you need to get a copy of this book. I promise you’ll be smiling like an idiot by the time you’re done, and it’ll take a while before it wears off.

~~~

Continuing the tradition of building up suspense for our Super Awesome Super Exciting News, we’ve also got another giveaway! You can leave a comment below for a chance to win a copy of Aya Tsintziras’s debut novel, PRETTY BONES.

Raine has a family, good grades, best friends, and a boyfriend who loves her. But then anorexia takes over, and her life spirals out of control. Her efforts to hide her condition are finished when she collapses at a school dance. Although she’s whisked away to treatment, Raine isn’t ready to accept who she really is and get the help she desperately needs. For Raine, coming-of-age means coming closer to death.

Sooz will be announcing the winner on Wednesday. Stay tuned for the rest of our giveaways!

QOTW: What are you thankful for?

What are you thankful for?

~~~

A healthy family, an amazing mechanic brother who spent ALL DAY yesterday trying to fix my truck, a warm house (because I walked to the train this morning and got SOAKED), and a towering bookcase filled with awesome things to read! And the ladies of LTWF for being made of AWESOME.

–Mandy Hubbard

~~~

I’m thankful for my husband. And my dog. And my agents and my family and my cats and the food I eat and the roof over my head.

I’m thankful for my writing career because despite being the hardest job I’ve ever had, it’s also the most rewarding.

I’m thankful for my friends and Let the Words Flow and my critique partners and all the amazing connections I’ve made through writing.

I’m thankful for my health and my happiness and the fact that I woke up today to see the sun shining.

I’m thankful I have such a blessed life and that I have the opportunity even consider what things I’m thankful for–and that I have a list so long.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

-Susan Dennard

~~~

I’m feeling particularly thankful this year. Thankful that I have a job I love and a roof over my head, thankful for this new life, in a new city, with new friends and new obstacles to overcome.I’m ridiculously thankful for my family and all the support they’ve given me the last six months. I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without them. I’m thankful for all of my friends back home, and for the ones I’ve made. And I’m, of course, unbelievably grateful for the girls at LTWF. I honestly don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for them.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

-Samantha Bina

~~~

As always, I’m thankful for my healthy, wonderful family, thankful for my supportive and loving husband, and thankful for the fact that I’m now living my lifelong dream. But this year, I think I’m also especially thankful for the amazing friends in my life–friends that I can rely on through thick and thin, friends that I can trust with anything, friends that have my back no matter what. Even though I’ve only met most of them in the past year or two, I feel as if they’re the people I’ve been waiting my whole life to meet. So, this Thanksgiving, I think I’ll raise my glass to the friends worth waiting for. 🙂

-Sarah J. Maas

~~~

I am thankful for so many things that I don’t really know where to begin.

For family, who stick with me always. For friends who make me laugh until I can’t remember times when I wasn’t laughing. For my agent and editor and everyone else who has worked so hard with me on this book I love so much. For the fact that I am writing and will be able to continue to write. For dreams and the feeling of working to bring them closer. For all you readers! For fantastic books and even more fantastic writers.

-Kat Zhang

DARKER STILL Giveaway Winner!

Happy (American) Thanksgiving!

If you haven’t heard yet, we have BIG NEWS coming on the very near horizon. To build up the excitement for you guys, we’ll be wrapping up November with a bunch of giveaways!! ARCS galore!!

So keep your eyes peeled for the next one!

Now, to announce the winner of an ARC of Leanna Renee Hieber’s deliciously dark and romantic novel, Darker Still!

Kairee-Anne!!

Email us  letthewordsflowblog (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and we’ll ship this ARC to you ASAP!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

♥

the ladies at Let the Words Flow

The Big Pause

by Savannah J. Foley

~~~

(cross-posted from my personal blog)

Recently I read this article by Jaye Wells, and it cleared something up for me about writer’s block and how I write.

Usually when I’m working on a novel I encounter a point I call The Big Pause. It occurs 75% of the way through the story, when all the meat is out of the way and all that’s left is to write the big finale.

I stop.

I tell myself it’s because I don’t exactly know what’s going to happen next, and how can I write it if I don’t know what to write, but that’s not really the reason. I know how it all ends up. I don’t have a firm grasp on the details, but I never do for any scene. Somewhere in all the work it just magically comes together.

But the above-mentioned article pointed out what was really going on: The Big Pause is my moment of fear. It’s the point where the book is about to turn into a reality. Soon it’s going to be a finished product, not something I’m just working on for fun. I’m going to have to show it off. Be responsible for its perfection. And that’s scary.

But not the only thing that scares me. The biggest reason I have a Big Pause is that I’m afraid what I’m going to write is total crap.

I don’t have this problem in the first three quarters of the book. As a friend once put it, I write really clean first drafts. I’m not saying everything comes out sparkling, and there have definitely been some scenes I’ve had to cut or seriously modify. But to put it in perspective, for the sleeping beauty story there was only one scene I really struggled with. One that got completely rewritten out of a whole book.

So when I have to face the prospect of writing just to get it done, I freeze up. I love the idea of writing messy and cleaning it up, or maybe I love the idea of getting into that mental space where you know, as the creator, exactly what needs to go, what can stay, and what just needs to be fixed. But when the moment comes I really struggle with writing a sentence I’m not happy with the first time around.

(This is starting to sound like I’m not capable of editing, and let me say that’s definitely not true. After everything I’ve gone through with NAMELESS I feel confident in stating I absolutely know how to edit and mix things up 😉 )

I also read recently that procrastination is sometimes defined by fear and guilt. The fear that once the story is complete it will have to actually BE a functioning, sellable story. The guilt that it’s not moving fast enough, that it’s maybe not as amazing as I’d hoped.

My Pause usually lasts a few weeks, and by that time I’ve gestated the issues in my mind well enough to know how to sprint towards the finish. But I don’t want that to turn into a habit. I want to learn to let go, and give myself permission to write the story clearly not perfect, because it can always be fixed later.

It can always be fixed later.

That’s what editing is for, after all.

I now declare The Big Pause officially over!

Big News Giveaway #2: DARKER STILL by Leanna Hieber

Hi everyone! It’s time for our second blog giveaway in preparation for our BIG NEWS.

Today, we’re giving away an ARC of Leanna  Renee Hieber’s DARKER STILL, the first book in the MAGIC MOST FOUL series.

Here’s the story:

The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

New York City, 1882. Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart’s latest obsession is a painting of the handsome British Lord Denbury. Something in his striking blue eyes calls to her. As his incredibly life-like gaze seems to follow her, Natalie gets the uneasy feeling that details of the painting keep changing…

Jonathan Denbury’s soul is trapped in the gilded painting by dark magic while his possessed body commits unspeakable crimes in the city slums. He must lure Natalie into the painting, for only together can they reverse the curse and free his damaged soul.

Sounds pretty freaking good, no? ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is

leave a comment for a chance to win!

🙂

It’s open internationally, and we’ll announce the winner on Thursday. Also, stay tuned for our next giveaway!

TEMPEST Winner!

Happy Friday!

If you didn’t read the post Wednesday, we have BIG NEWS coming on the very near horizon. To build up the excitement for you guys (‘cos WE’RE already excited!!), we’ll be doing a bunch of giveaways for the rest of this month!! ARCS galore!!

So keep your eyes peeled for the next one–it starts TODAY on Twitter. All you have to do is retweet about the giveaway to be entered! NOT HARD, huh?

Just head here and RETWEET!

Now, to announce the winner of an ARC of Julie Cross’s highly anticipated novel, Tempest!

Danielle!

Email us  letthewordsflowblog (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and we’ll ship this ARC to you ASAP!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

♥

the ladies at Let the Words Flow

Big News Giveaway: TEMPEST by Julie Cross!

Hi, everyone!

LTWF has some big news coming up at the end of the month–REALLY BIG NEWS–and to prep for the coming excitement, we thought we’d do a giveaway! This is just the first of several before November comes to a close, so stay tuned!

Today we’re giving away one ARC of TEMPEST by Julie Cross, one of the most anticipated debuts of 2012 (out January 17th)!

Here’s a summary of the book:

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

~~~

Sounds really awesome, right? ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is leave a comment for a chance to win! 🙂

Good luck!!!