The Big Bumper Friday Check-In Thread

Melanii

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I'm having an early birthday "party" tomorrow. Tis my usual group but with cake and me taking charge.

Monday I go to the dentist. I've gotten teeth pulled within the past year, but this is my first general appointment since I was a child!
 

Supergirlofnc

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Happy early birthday @Melanii. May your dentist appointment be quick and painless!

I heard the school bell @heza and hurried to the thread! It sounds like the dropbox fiasco has been fixed and the writing is going well.

As for me, I'm revising. I only have about 2 weeks so I have to start making real progress. I sent off my new ideas to my agent. He strikes me as thoughtful about projects he represents so I'll think he'll tell me fairly quickly and honestly if they're for him or not. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Next week, my second book comes out, which is great but strange. I hope it finds its audience.

In non-writing news, I've been trying to eat healthier but my motivation is low. And I want to celebrate things with cake. Also, I need to get to the gym. But I haven't done that lately either.

Happy Friday Check-in!

The weather is sunny and beautiful in NC.
:Sun::Sun::Sun:
 
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SuperKate

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Hello!

Heza, I didn't understand anything in that paragraph about work other than that you had a ton of unexpected work to do. I'm so sorry! Are you a technical writer?

It's day seven home with the kids here. I'm starting to feel like those Oregon ranchers. It has severely cut into my work and writing time, but I have been sledding, baking, and reading up a storm. I'm contemplating entering this contest: http://susannahill.com/2016/01/18/oh-boy-were-going-to-have-some-fun-now/. Doesn't it sound fun?
 

JoyMC

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Happy Friday, fellow kid-liters!

I'm waaaaaaiting on my new agent's revision notes. He said they'd be light, but I don't know what that means and just want the process to move forward but also want to be patient and mature and not freak out that he read it again and decided he'd made a HORRIBLE mistake in offering rep and can't figure out how to tell me so. :tongue

I am in the not-snowy part of the country, hoping everyone stays safe and warm!
 

heza

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I'm having an early birthday "party" tomorrow. Tis my usual group but with cake and me taking charge.

Happy Birthday, Melanii. May your party be grand fun and your dentist appointment go smoothly.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Fingers and toes! Is the second book the next in the series? I'm sure it will find its audience.

In non-writing news, I've been trying to eat healthier but my motivation is low. And I want to celebrate things with cake. Also, I need to get to the gym. But I haven't done that lately either.

I'm also trying to be healthier. Hubs and I have joined Weight Watchers. This is the end of my second week. We're really bad about using food to pretty much ring in any occasion, so we're trying to find other things to celebrate with. I'm celebrating things, now, with shoes, jewelry, and cutesy office supplies!

Heza, I didn't understand anything in that paragraph about work other than that you had a ton of unexpected work to do. I'm so sorry! Are you a technical writer?

I am a tech writer, Kate! I write the user guides for my company's software product.

I'm contemplating entering this contest: http://susannahill.com/2016/01/18/oh-boy-were-going-to-have-some-fun-now/. Doesn't it sound fun?

That does sound like fun. You should totally enter!

JoyMC said:
I'm waaaaaaiting on my new agent's revision notes.
Awh, Joy. *hugs* Your agent is just stupefied by how stupendous your MS is and that's what's slowing him down. Good luck with the waiting. The revisions will be here before you know it.
 

SuperKate

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Happy Friday! It's snowing again in DC, though very light and picturesque and not at all sticking. Yay!

My 7yo son just started writing his first book. It's called FOXCARDINAL. He wakes up with the head of a fox and the body of a cardinal. A hunter chases him and he's saved by a pack of wolves. He keeps asking me how to spell words like "devouring." I couldn't be more proud.

How's everyone else?
 

Supergirlofnc

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I would so read that book @SuperKate. Tell your son Foxcardinal sounds awesome.

It's pretty nice here - sunny and a little bit cold. I caught the plague from my niece and nephew but I'm on the mend. Apparently, eye-goop is on the backside of whatever is going around so I was happy to wake up gooped up :alienpuzzled:

I'm revising! And this weekend I'm going to revise the heck out of my book. That's the great thing about being stuck inside with eye-goop. Nothing can stop me now!!!!
 

heza

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Foxcardinal sounds super cute, Kate. I'm sure he'll do a great job! Such fun. I remember my niece, almost 13, had started writing a book on Wattpad. She stalled, though, because she was having a problem with how it displayed.... I'll have to ask her about it.

Good luck on revisions, Laurie!

I'm wiped. Work was brutal all week, but I finally got a major project out the door. Now, I have 30 days to get the next major project out the door. *sigh* I want a new job.

Anyway, I didn't do any writing this week... I didn't really have time because I was taking work home with me. During brief moments at work, while files were compiling, I did randomly work on a query for the book that doesn't actually exist, yet. Lol. It's exciting and possibly useful down the road, but it still feels a bit more like dreaming about writing the book than actually writing it. I'll buckle down over the weekend.
 

paddismac

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:Wha: Is it Friday?? I think it's Friday...

Still plugging away with my grown-up short story. Wrote one draft that turned out to be flash, and have spent the last week or so trying to plump it up. (most everybody else participating in the project seems to be producing NOVELS <sigh>) I've got all my fingers and toes crossed that I'll be able to call this thing finished in the next few days.

I've been away from my novel manuscript for so long that I'm afraid I'll start to read and discover the whole thing is garbage... goats have a way of trashing things when you're not looking... More than anything, I'm afraid I've gone so far into bizarro territory with this stupid short story that I'm going to have trouble refocusing. I hate my short story, but I've kind of enjoyed the freedom that writing balls to the wall weird allowed me. Hmmm... I wonder if there's a place for bizarro or surreal in MG??

Hope everybody has a relaxing and/or productive weekend! It's a long weekend here in the states... oh, and it's Valentine's Day on Sunday! So :heart::e2flowers:heart: to all the hard working kid-litters!
 

SuperKate

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Hi all! I am off to NY for the long weekend. Not going to the SCBWI conference, which feels weird, but I'm a little afraid of that one. Seems so overwhelming. On the writing front, I'm getting in beta feedback for the soccer book. Lots of helpful stuff so far. Just have to find the time to implement. Good luck with that short story, Paddismac! You can do it! And happy Valentine's, everyone!
 

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I'm also trying to finish my Sekret Solstice short story. BUT I'm going to a writing retreat the first Week of March and I'm going to take one of MG book outlines (only half done) and TRY really hard to start the book!! I haven't started a book in over a year, mostly been trying to finish a novella or two in that time.

I'm also pondering submitting my utter fail of a book "The Bird Fairies" to a couple of small presses. It already has 98 rejections (I have the spread sheet to prove it), but I keep thinking, what if that one or two last indie press was the one to take it? I haven't sent it out in a loooong time, and consider it trunked but I just keep wanting to try one more place...
 

DanielaTorre

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Hi everyone. Glad to see everyone doing well. I missed last Friday, but I didn't have much too say.

I got back my second feedback on my finished MG ms and I'm going to tackle edits based on said feedback sometime next week. There's really not much to do on the ms (surprisingly) except beef up the sacrifice at the end. Also, both betas suggested MC is too snarky which I will attempt to tone down, and some outdated pop culture references should be omitted as well. But I'll be damn if I get rid of the Star Wars references, dammit. Those will stay. Other stuff is basic cleaning up and tightening. I'm so overwhelmingly surprised and elated that this ms turned out as well as it did. Very easy to write too.

I've been turned off of MG for a couple of weeks now. Between the silence on my ms on sub and the waiting for beta feedback on the current one, I sort of feel blah. In fact, I set aside the CB I was working on and started a Thriller with very mild supernatural elements. Been reading a lot of contemp adult too.

I took up a new hobby of making kawaii polymer clay charms. So cute and so fun!!! I'll see if I post some soon.

Have a great long weekend!
 

Supergirlofnc

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Happy Friday everyone! I'm still revising - I asked for a few extra days. There isn't too much else to share except I plan to go to bed early tonight because I am tired!!!
 

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Hi guys! I got my agent's revision notes earlier this week and they were AMAZING. Worth the wait, easily the most useful notes I've ever gotten. So I'm working on that, plus my daughter's birthday was this week and her party is tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to having that over with and really buckling down on the revision.

My kids spotted a crocus today and were quite discouraged at the idea that spring is nearly upon us, because they were still holding out hope we'd get a good snow (we're in the PNW), but no such luck. I know some of you are inundated! Stay safe and warm!

Hope everyone's hanging in there!
 

Supergirlofnc

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Happy Friday Check-in 02-19

Happy kidlit Friday Check-in! I started a new thread because I thought it would be easier to manage. (Although I might be wrong about that..)

What's everyone up to this week? I'm fighting with my insurance company. Well, I guess 'fighting' would imply I've actually been able to get in touch with them. I'm trying to contact them anyway.

In good news, I finally turned in my revisions!!! I'm pretty happy about that.
 

heza

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*slinks in to make an appearance and slinks back out*
 

SuperKate

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Friday again? How did that happen so fast? Congrats on the revisions, Supergirl! Hope you're celebrating. And Samsonet, go get 'em. You got this.

I got to read to my daughter's class this morning for Black History Month. It was a selection of poems - Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni. Super fun. Now I'm trying to do some more edits to the soccer book. Great feedback from my CPs; I love those ladies. Also cramming Midnight for Jimmy Bone, which is the selection for Mother/Daughter Book Club next weekend. Lots of fun stuff. Happy writing, all!
 

CheG

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Arg!! Still brainstorming better plots for my magic school based book... What do? How plot? Blerg And the writing retreat is only a couple weeks away! I can't go to a writing retreat and NOT write!!!!

Nothing is really shaking loose. I want to do something centered around the ever dreaded group project, but can't seem to come up with any sort of good spin. At least nothing that screams 'write me'. I always come up with stupid 'cozy' plots and I hate myself. OK, that might be an exaggeration... but still...
 

Glyax

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Hmm, well Fire Emblem Fates comes out today...gotta go pick up a physical copy of the Birthright version...since my bundle (which comes with the physical copy of conquest and a digital download code for birthright) won't be here till the 25th -_-.

Also, going to be editing/revising my story for the SS-SFF-SS since that deadline is coming up
 

under the moon

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I've been engaged this week with a lady who said she was from the Census a month ago and keeps calling saying she has to do "follow-up" calls to make sure "nothing has changed," and when I looked it up online, it says the Census won't be happening until 2020, and what this lady is doing is called a "census test" that's aiming to streamline and make the 2020 Census more effective. Census probably isn't capitalized. Anyway, I asked her to stop calling us. And in the meantime, I've gotten no writing done. Not blaming her. But I have to blame someone.
 

paddismac

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Okay, I know it's Tuesday (it is Tuesday, right??), but I'm checking in anyway. My SF/F swap story is finally finished and turned in and I'm free!! FRREEEEEE!!! Oh, lord that was a trial.

Now I can get back to my proper writing. The date on the manuscript file says it hasn't been opened since Dec. 24th, and I'm terrified of what I'll find. I remember it being all cute and funny and full of shiny golden words. But much like mystery containers that sit too long in the back of the fridge... well, I won't say any more about that.

Fingers crossed that the trash can won't be involved in any significant way. Wish me luck!
 

Toothpaste

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Okay jumping on the Tuesday bandwagon . . . I've been avoiding this thread the last couple weeks because it was reminding me that my edits STILL weren't done, but they are now!!!! yay!! No idea if I solved the issues, have to wait and see what my editor thinks but I am so so so so so happy they are over with! It really feels like a physical weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Now to catch up on boring chores and paperwork and taxes and I actually don't mind because it's like a vacation in comparison, lol :)

Also hi everyone! Sorry that there seems to be some frustration with brainstorming and writing going on, hopefully you guys get over the hurdle. It can feel impossible in the moment (I know, I was there on Saturday), but this too will pass! Look how wise and calm I am right now because I FINISHED MY EDITS!!!!!!



Ehem.