I stopped caring about what I was really writing about because I felt like I had written so much and it was good enough, so why didn't anyone want it?

Yes, exactly! It was such a PAINFUL lesson for me, but such an important one.

As for the old books, I've already started stripping them down for parts. ;)

Hooray for progress, jenni! It's funny how moving through the process of writing a book can really teach us an unbelievable amount of STUFF about storytelling. And thank you so much for the kind words. Drinking some tea in bed right now. Maybe I'll have some chocolate soon. <3

My ignorance went pretty deep, though. Though I knew in theory how to do a regular ol' braid (mostly from making friendship bracelets as a kid), I had no idea how to even put one in my own hair. Even now, after some practice they come out lumpy and bumpy.

Also, yay for waves! It definitely is very flexible--my looks curly if I just use the right product and give it a good scrunch.

Now to go watch some fishbraid tutorials . . .

Yay for flailing! <3 you too

Oh, that's the worse for me. I'm 28 and my mother loves giving me stuffed animals and things. I find it nearly impossible to throw them out.

Sounds like that's a good rule. :D

Evil house urchins!

Don't feed the kipple!

But, word. I'm sitting at my kitchen table, which contains a marker, a set of nail clippers, a pack of batteries, a water bottle, a book I have for review, a printed manuscript . . . and that's fairly organized! It's ridiculous how STUFF piles up.

You're welcome, Rida. :D When it comes down to it, you just have to do what's right.

And thanks! Sam Katz thinks you're adorable too. ;)

I agree--it's easy to stumble into really cliche tropes if you're not well read in a genre. And yeah to the reading widely thing being an inspiration for editing. The better your critical faculties, well, the better your prose, in my experience.

Oh yay, thanks for reading!

It's just so frustrating. I paid $700 for lodging for both me and a friend of mine (whose blog is smaller and newer and who didn't get the dreaded email!) a day before they canceled my pass. I don't like having expensive plans up in the air like this at all.