AMANDA SEARCY GUEST POST and THE TRUTH BENEATH THE LIES GIVEAWAY and IWSG POST

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I've got a lot to share with you today.

HELPFUL AGENT INFORMATION FOR TRIDENT MEDIA GROUP

I posted about this on Monday, November 27th but wanted to post it again in case you missed it. Here's some helpful information that Mark Gottlieb from Trident Media Group e-mailed me about. #1 Literary Agency Trident Media Group's Leading Literary Agents Take Book Publishing Q&As in #TMGTalks on Twitter Mon. Dec. 11, 12-2 PM EDT. This is a great opportunity for you to get your questions answered!

It's time for another IWSG Post!

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of the month is officially Insecure Writer's Support Group Day.
The co-hosts this month are Co-Hosts:  Julie Flanders, Shannon Lawrence, Fundy Blue, and Heather Gardner!

Optional Question: As you look back on 2017, with all its successes/failures, if you could backtrack, what would you do differently?

In terms of my writing, there are two things that I would have done differently. First, I would have picked up my manuscript earlier in the year if I had realized that I was ready to try writing fiction again. I'm enjoying it and seeing more growth as a writer than I imagined.

Secondly, I would have tried to schedule more regular time to devote to writing for myself. It is a constant struggle between the need to pick up more writing jobs as a contract writer to make a living and leaving enough time for my own writing. I keep trying and figure that one of these days I will get the right balance. Hopefully this winter with no yard work will help.

I'm also going to read the IWSG book on how to be a weekend writer and try to use its advice. And on a positive note, last weekend when I was super busy with producing my boyfriend's play and had just got us three of the five actors we need, I managed to squeeze in a few hours of writing so that I can submit to my critique group tonight. So I'm seeing hope.

What about you? What would have you done differently?

Now onto my guest post for the day. I'm really excited to have debut author Amanda Searcy here to share about her YA psychological thriller THE TRUTH BENEATH THE LIES. It sounds like a real page turner that you won't want to put down.

Here's a blurb from Goodreads:

All Kayla Asher wants to do is run. Run from the government housing complex she calls home. Run from her unstable mother. Run from a desperate job at No Limit Foods. Run to a better, cleaner, safer life. Every day is one day closer to leaving.

All Betsy Hopewell wants to do is survive. Survive the burner phone hidden under her bed. Survive her new rules. Survive a new school with new classmates. Survive being watched. Every minute grants her another moment of life.

But when fate brings Kayla and Betsy together, only one girl will live.

Now here's Amanda!

Going With Your Gut (Even When You Don’t Want To)

You have a premise that excites you. You have characters and a setting. You sit down to write. Maybe it goes well for a while. Then the inevitable happens: you either get stuck, go blank, or want to toss the whole computer because everything you write is complete @#$%.

I often think that writer’s block happens when you try to turn a story/character/setting into something that it doesn’t want to be. We have a picture in our heads from the beginning of what we want the story to be. Rarely does it ever turn out like that (ironically). You have to start somewhere, true, but then the piece has to take on a life of its own. The more you force it to conform to your original picture, the more it will fight back and the process of writing will be like pulling teeth (if you are able to continue at all).

In his book From Where You Dream: the Process of Writing Fiction (Grove Press, 2005), Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler describes it as a “thrum”. You are strumming away on your guitar; when everything sounds good, it thrums. Then you hit a wrong note or a wrong chord and hear/feel the “thwack”. It’s not always so dramatic. Maybe you just get a little twinge in your stomach that something isn’t right. Dramatic or not, that’s a place you need to pay attention to.

If you are hitting a lot of those “thwacks” it doesn’t mean that your writing is bad or that your story is poorly conceived (or that you should toss it out the window). It’s your gut—your intuition—telling you that’s not what the story wants to be.

While I was writing The Truth Beneath the Lies, I had a character who fought me in every scene he was in. He would not be what I had envisioned him to be. He was obstinate and stubborn and every scene he was in was falling flat. I kept hearing his voice in the back of my head saying, “that’s not me.” I didn’t listen for a long time. And it was hard. Hard to keep writing and telling the story. Then I let go. I let him be who he wanted to be—even though it didn’t match the picture in my head. It made all the difference.

Listen to your characters; listen to that voice in your head that says “this isn’t right.” But first, step

away for a while. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the voice from your gut from all those negative voices in your head. Put the work aside for a few days, go for a walk, wait until those negative voices have calmed down, then go back and take a look at what you’ve written from the most objective view you can muster.

What isn’t “thrumming”? What feels like a wrong note inside the chord? “Feels” is the key word. Worry less about three act structure or that the scene is in the wrong place for your outline. If you read a lot, your subconscious knows how to tell a story—if you will let it. Trust it to help you. Listen to it.

Thanks for sharing all your great advice, Amanda. You can find Amanda at:

Website: http://www.amandasearcybooks.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aesearcy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aesearcy
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28533271-the-truth-beneath-the-lies

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1524700894/
Indiebound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781524700898

Amanda has generously offered THE TRUTH BENEATH THE LIES for a giveaway.To enter, all you need to do is be a follower (just click the follow button if you’re not a follower) and leave a comment through December 23rd. If your e-mail is not on your Google Profile, you must leave it in the comments to enter either contest.

If you mention this contest on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog, mention this in the comments and I'll give you an extra entry. You must be 13 years old or older to enter. This giveaway is U.S., Canada, U.K., and Ireland.

Here's what's coming up:

Monday, December 11th I  have an interview with Natalie Rompella and a giveaway of her MG Cookie Cutters and Sled Runners

Tuesday, December 12th I'm participating in the Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway Hop

Thursday, December 21st I'm participating in the Midwinter's Eve Giveaway Hop--my last post for the year!

Wednesday, January 3rd I'll be back with an interview with debut author Sara Holland and a giveaway of her YA fantasy EVERLESS and my IWSG post

Monday, January 8th I have an interview with debut author Rachel Lynn Solomon and a giveaway of her contemporary YA YOU'LL MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE

Wednesday, January 10th I have an agent spotlight interview with Elizabeth Bewley and a query critique giveaway

Hope to see you on Monday!