Welcome to my stop on the wonderful tour! Today I have a promo post for you plus an awesome signed book giveaway.
Tabula Rasa
by Kristen Lippert-Martin
Publication: September 23rd, 2013
Publisher: EgmontUSA
The Bourne Identity meets Divergent in this heart-pounding debut.
Sixteen-year-old Sarah has a rare chance at a new life. Or so the doctors tell her. She’s been undergoing a cutting-edge procedure that will render her a tabula rasa—a blank slate. Memory by memory her troubled past is being taken away.
But when her final surgery is interrupted and a team of elite soldiers invades the isolated hospital under cover of a massive blizzard, her fresh start could be her end.
Navigating familiar halls that have become a dangerous maze with the help of a teen computer hacker who's trying to bring the hospital down for his own reasons, Sarah starts to piece together who she is and why someone would want her erased. And she won’t be silenced again.
A high-stakes thriller featuring a non-stop race for survival and a smart heroine who will risk everything, Tabula Rasa is, in short, unforgettable.
Honey vs. Vinegar: How to Keep Up Your Writing Momentum
I can’t decide if I’m a disciplined writer or not.
The reason I say this is because I’m one of those complete freaks who actually likes writing. So I don’t know that it takes much discipline to do something you largely enjoy. It’s like saying you’re disciplined about eating ice cream every day.
I’ve known several writers over the years who say that they like “having written” if not the actual writing, and I’m like, yeesh, I don’t want to treat myself like a galley slave who must row until I reach the far shores of Firstdraftlandia.
Don’t get me wrong. I get frustrated at times and at those times, writing is straight up work because I just know I need to keep at it, BUT, generally speaking I don’t have to force myself to sit down and get down to business.
Of course the reason I like writing is because I take pains to make writing pleasant, which makes staying motivated infinitely easier.
Here are some of the things I do to keep my writing life pleasant and productive:
· I mix a little fun into every work session, but I “eat my vegetables first.” Let’s face it, there are things every writer likes to write and things they struggle with. Maybe you’re great at writing dialogue and it comes easily to you. Or you love writing kissing scenes. Whatever it is, use that as your motivation to get through the harder bits. “If I finish this nasty/painful/difficult section, I’m going to work on that smooching scene some more….”
· I work with my natural tendencies, not against them. I’ve tried, I’ve tried. Lordy, I know I’ve tried, but I cannot work in a linear, lock-step fashion. CANNOT. My brain wants to skip around a lot. Forcing yourself to write in a way that’s antithetical to the way you think, means you’re working against your natural creative impulses. Ain’t no law that says you have to write your story in chronological order, is there? NOPE. So if the images and words that are presenting themselves in your head are for three chapters ahead, go ahead and write that. I’m not going to flip you in to the Writing Police.
· I set realistic daily goals. These are not word count goals, more like, “Finish this scene,” “sketch out that chapter,” “revise these two chapters,” etc. This isn’t a widget factory you’re employed at. You don’t have a daily quota to meet or else your family will starve. Just work toward easily met goals and logical break points and you’ll chug along just fine.
· I write when I’m ready to write. For example, I don’t try to write when I’m at a plot impasse. There are times when you CANNOT write, which is much different from not wanting to write. When you try to write but you can’t, it’s basically your brain is sending you this signal:
Do not write. Respect that you’re not quite ready to get your story down just yet. THINK. Take a walk. Daydream. (Ah, ah, ah. Not so fast. Stay off that internet, you. That doesn’t count.) Wait until you can’t not write a moment longer, then get to work.
· Understand that understanding your story takes time. I’m telling you, someday you’re going to write a story and think you know what you’re writing about, and then you’re going to get to the end and realize that what you’ve done is not at all what you set out to do. That’s when you must be willing to throw words away in the interest of heading in a better, more productive direction. It might seem like verbiage wasted but it’s not. It was just the necessary step to get you moving in the right direction. Again, no one ever said writing was efficient. Accept that there’s tons of “waste” in your efforts. This might sound defeating but I find it liberating. It allows me a sense of looseness and freedom.
So these are my guiding principles when it comes to keeping my momentum going as a writer. I use honey rather than vinegar to catch those ideas and words. To the extent I possibly can, I make my day-to-day writing existence pleasant, and that’s what allows me to work along at a steady pace.
Pleasant activities require little discipline.
So, yeah, I guess that settles it. I’m pretty much a writing bum.
I’m a mom of four, a practicing geek, a holder of many opinions (which I’m more than happy to share with you—really, just ask). I earned my MFA from Columbia University. My debut YA thriller, Tabula Rasa (EgmontUSA), Fall 2014, is about a girl whose memory is forcibly stripped from her and so naturally she must kick everyone’s butt in retaliation. I live with my husband and merry band of misfits in Arlington, VA.
US & CAN Only
