January 2nd of any year fills me with as much excitement as the kick off of the holiday season. As much as I love all the hoopla, I also love the the un-hoopla. In fact, by New Year’s Day, my hoopla meter has begun to spin into a red-hot, critical alert zone and it’s only with the careful removal of decorations, making writing a priority, the return to exercise and healthy eating that I can survive. Today, two out of three of my boys are back in school and it it will be that way until Tuesday, so I’m thinking of these last half-hoopla days as kind of a blitz to get ready to get down to the business of revision.  Decorations will get stowed, healthy food shopped for and the laundry needs to get done! (Ha! you knew that was coming.) All in preparation for me digging in and finishing my revisions ASAP! It is time. The story I’m writing is pushing me to go out into the world.

So, here is my list of “resolutions” or what I’m thinking of as my IT’S TIME TO list for 2013.

It’s time to…

*Return to healthy eating and exercise-PRONTO! I feel toxic and I can’t stand it.

*Try very hard to get to bed at an earlier hour and get more sleep. I do everything better with more sleep.

*Finish revising THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY with a hard focus.

*Sell THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY!

*Continue to market the heck out of TOUCHING THE SURFACE and sell more copies.

*Sell the foreign rights of TOUCHING THE SURFACE. (Come on–how cool would that be?)

*Do more school visits because I love them.

*Be a speaker at more writing and book events. (Putting my blabber mouth to use.)

*Continue to read in and outside my box, because every book I ingest informs my future writing endeavors. Be a sponge.

*Continue to know who I am as a writer. This is my journey and only I can own it.

What about you? What’s on the agenda for 2013? How do you feel about the hoopla? Are you ready for a clean slate or are you curled up under a crunchy tree, eating the last of the cookies and singing carols? What’s the plan Stan?

Tags: It's Time To List, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, New Year's Resolutions, The Opposite of Gravity, Touching the Surface

Comments

For years I’ve been hearing people talk about NaNoWriMo –National Novel Writing Month. From November 1st until November 30th, participants set a goal of writing a 50,000 word novel. I’ll admit it, part of this has always intrigued me, but it has also scared the crap out of me and because of that, I’ve never seriously toyed with the idea of participating. I’ve had a list as long as my arm of reasons I could not participate and this year the excuses have grown with TOUCHING THE SURFACE coming out on October 30th. Just so you know where I’m coming from, I’ll share the highlights from that list with you…

*I HAVE THE BOOK LAUNCH OF MY DEBUT NOVEL!!!!!

*I’m working on revisions for book #2

*My local dance recital (I teach and dance) takes place in November.

*Thanksgiving

*I am a painfully slow writer who struggles through first drafts.

*I never get enough sleep.

*I’m still recovering from all the work we’ve done on the house.

*I have three boys ages 7,9 and 11 who participate in lots of activities and need help with their homework regularly.

*I like to run several times a week for a sanity break.

*I blog.

*I’m a procrastinator.

So, it’s obvious that I’m not going to be able to do NaNoWriMo this year…WHICH IS EXACTLY WHY I REGISTERED ON SATURDAY AND I’M SIGNING UP TODAY!!!!!

Ha! Bet you didn’t see that one coming. *grin* Yes, I know that I’m insane. Now let me tell you why I’m going to be giving this a shot…

*First of all–I’m going to be doing this because the SCBWI–particularly my Hudson Valley Shop Talk Members ROCK! Lisa Koosis, one of my local writer buds gave a guest presentation at my local Shop Talk and she got me sooooo excited to break out of my box and give this a try. She told me a million things to make me want to give it a go, but the three that stuck out the most were…

1. It’s just supposed to be fun.

2. Even if you don’t finish, you’ve probably done more than you would have without participating.

3. You can discover unexpected things about yourself.

As Lisa talked and I got a bunch of fluttery tingles in my belly–usually a sign that I’ve eaten something bad or I’m excited–I started to think about why I might want to participate in this event.

*I HAVE THE BOOK LAUNCH OF MY DEBUT NOVEL!!!!! And as exciting as this is–I’m scared. There I’ve said it. It’s exciting AND scary. (There will be a spin off blog post on this later) But I suddenly realized that it might be a really good thing for me to have a reason to step away from the madness. It’s a full circle thing–when a book is born, perhaps the best way to celebrate is to write something new. So…I think that it might be very healthy to have a reason to unglue my eyes from reviews and Amazon’s Author Central.

*I’m working on revisions for book #2. I love revision–it’s easily one of my favorite parts of the writing process. The story is there, it just has to be manipulated. I don’t know how long that process will take me, but I know that when it’s over, there will be the typical wave of fear and insecurity about having to write another first draft again. What if I can sneak in a part or all of a first draft while I’m revising? This idea intrigues me. I’ve been marinating ideas for book 3 for quite a while, but I don’t feel “ready” to tackle it yet. But what if I trick myself into thinking that NaNoWriMo is nothing more than hard-core stretching and training for the writer in me. What if I give myself permission to take a crack at this rough draft under the guise that it isn’t “real writing”–its an activity, an event, a journey.

*My local dance recital (I teach and dance) takes place in November. Yeah–and how many hours is that out of my life? Not enough to use it as an excuse. The truth is that I have days when I’m drafting, where I have six hours to sit and write and there are days when I squeeze in 45 minutes while the boys are at jujitsu. Not always, but often, I’ve managed to write the same amount of words on both of those days. Perhaps this is about FOCUS.

*Thanksgiving. I do not host Thanksgiving at my home. I spend the day eating and socializing. I watch the parade and I do kicks in my living room along with the Rockettes on TV. I can squeeze this in or I can double up on another day. Using this excuse makes me a turkey.

*I am a painfully slow writer who struggles through first drafts. At least this is how I think of myself. I have a system for writing and I like it–it works for me. The only time I really have trouble with it is when the other members of the Wolf Pack whip off manuscripts in sick amounts of time. It makes me queasy and insecure even though intellectually I know better. But what if I can do things a little differently. When I’m investing myself in a book I revert to wanting to attack it in a familiar method–one I’ve had success with. But this is a little like tricking myself into doing something different. What if shouldn’t be the gateway to potential failure–it should be a question that makes us want to try.

*I never get enough sleep. But I watch TV. I mean–not crazy amounts–but I make choices. It’s only for a month, right?

*I’m still recovering from all the work we’ve done on the house. But I still have a month to put things to rights and realistically, everything I clean is always going to get dirty again…dishes, laundry, kids. By the time I start, I’ll be much more organized than I have been in awhile. So I just have to make that effort to stay on top of daily chores so that I don’t go under physically or emotionally.

*I have three boys ages 7,9 and 11 who participate in lots of activities and need help with their homework regularly. I’m going to have three busy boys from now until forever. I started writing SURFACE when they were 2, 4 and 6 years old. I have no recollection of when I actually did that–but I must have. LOL! Besides, soccer ends mid-month, there is break after the recital and we do have a Thanksgiving break. Plus–they support me. And my lovely hubby has been traveling a lot which means I have no excuses.

*I like to run several times a week for a sanity break. No reason to stop. I write in my head when I run anyway. I let my subconscious take the lead when my feet are in a rhythm. No need to change that–it might help me get my words out faster when I sit down.

*I blog. Ha! I’m sure it’s going to give me lots to blog about.

*I’m a procrastinator. Sometimes, but not always…

Have you ever done NaNoWriMo? Completed it? Liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Have you been avoiding it like me? Secretly long to try? Have a great excuse for not playing? Tell how you NaNoWriMo or NaNoNoGo.

Tags: Chasing Adaptation, drafting, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, NaNoWriMo, revision, The Opposite of Gravity, Touching the Surface, Wolf Pack

Comments

Due to a wicked bout of the flu PLAGUE that hit the whole family, I went running on Monday for the first time in weeks. I knew my first run back would be a little on the slow side, but I was just anxious to get out there. Why? Because running releases more than just sweat. I love this picture because it’s actually how I visualize what’s happening to me when I run. Except, there is another component that I see in my mind’s eye. It isn’t always just what I leave out on the road that’s important–it’s also about what I find along the way.

On Monday I also finished the first draft of my second novel, THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY. *happy dance*  For me, drafting is a long and painful process. I can not adequately express the joy I feel right now to have a very functional draft to work off of. I LOVE revision and now I’m finally there–sort of. Because for me, writing has it’s own kind of heartbeat. It’s own rhythm. When one thing ends–another begins. The closer I draw to the end of one book, the more the next book starts to move, stretch and grow inside my head. So, as I run, I do this thing that I sort of think of as “unhinging my mind.” When I’m running, I turn off the logic setting and I let my mind travel at random. I allow it to move from one thought to another in the hopes that my subconscious will be the compass–leading me to my own truth.

BINGO!!!!

The plot thread, that was missing from book #3 CHASING ADAPTATION, just appeared in my head along a number of other cool and interesting possibilities. And as my feet pounded the pavement, I had this insane feeling that as I was actually running through the collective conscious, with my mind open like a butterfly net, collecting ideas at the same rate as I was dropping “garbage” behind me. And it felt amazing.

Where do you look to find clarity and inspiration for your writing or your life? What sends your internal compass in the right direction?

Tags: Chasing Adaptation, Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, running, The Opposite of Gravity, writing, writing style

Comments

There are days when I’m completely convinced that this whole book thing is a fluke. Although I hear I’m not alone. It appears that if you’re a writer, then you’re very familiar with this thing called a self-sabatoging lack of belief. It’s what we do–it’s inescapable–just part of how we operate. The majority of the time I’m just mucking around in my manuscript, trying to see if the thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone and if they get together will it be an interesting interaction.

This is particularly stressful at the end of a first draft, when the pressure is on and I can’t see how all these bones are going to form into something that can hold it’s own weight. Some days it feels like the parts are never going to end up in the right places, let alone be engineered for movement. But…

There is this magical moment when something happens and my brain starts acting like it’s had this amazing plan all along and–lucky me–now it’s finally letting me in on it. And that’s when I realize that my subconscious is a heck of a lot smarter than I usually give her credit for. Smart enough to help me write a great book, but also smart enough to realize that the book is a journey–a personal puzzle. Things mean more when you have to fight for them–when you run the risk of failure. But when the light comes one, those illuminated moments give me chills. And that feeling is worth working for and waiting for.

I know that the rug will be pulled out from beneath my feet again soon. Crit partner, agent, editor–they will take my “finished” masterpiece and search for holes and point out dead ends. It won’t be long before I’ll be talking non-stop about my incompetence and my utter lack of writing talent. That’s why I wanted to write myself this blog–as a reminder that those magic moments will come again. Think of this post as a ribbon wrapped around my finger, reminding me that I am the sum of my parts and some of my parts aren’t so bad. I’ve got good bones in me and I know what to do with them if I give myself the chance.

What’s your worst fear about your writing? What’s your magic moment–the one when you know that you are doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing?

Tags: Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, Pondering, writing style

Comments

Last Thursday I went for a run–a seven mile run to be exact. If you’re not a runner you’re probably wondering why the heck I would do such a thing. (I used to look at runners and roll my eyes too) But that changed. Now I like to pound the pavement for a lot of reasons–it allows me to eat lots of chocolate and still fit into my pants. I like the feeling of being physically spent after a workout. I enjoy the head space and the way my mind just wanders and explores things.  It’s also a big stress relief. Now, I’ll be the first to tell you that I mostly have fake stress. No one is dying in my family right now, my debut novel is being published in October, my kids are healthy and happy. I’m good. Real stress is the fear of losing your home, the inability to put food on the table, illness or death knocking on your door. I do not have that in my life right now–so I am not complaining.

But there is a certain reality that we all live in. We view the world through our own daily filters. So, while I try very hard to keep my life in perspective, there are days when the laundry piling up or a car needing to be serviced can just turn me into a hump head. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t growl when they purchase something new, only to get home and find it broken in the box. It is the reality of the life we live in–some days go better than others. Some moments have more stress. Lately I’ve had two things that tend to upset my apple cart. The one I’m going to talk about now is my work in progress. Writing the second book is hard. So I run.

In general, I run and “write.” I’m not a note taker or an outliner by nature. I’m a runner–a mental plotter. As move my feet–I manipulate the story in my head. I twist it and bend it. I ask it questions. I wonder what my characters are saying to me. I listen to music and marvel at the deep thoughts that other artists have presented to the world through their lyrics. I take all the individual ingredients that I use to make up a story and I simmer them and try to make good soup.

I also run because I’m afraid of how slow I grow. I try to outrun my nerves.

I write books in a way that is very organic to me. I actually like my process, now that I’ve grown to understand it and appreciate it. But my way of doing things takes time. I don’t just “write” a book for readers. I create what I need to grow my own soul–to navigate the landscape of my life. Some days it feels less like building something new and more like unraveling a giant, knotted ball of string. It’s me trying to make sense of something that might choke me if it’s left in that chaotic condition. To me, writing a book is a beautiful journey. But the catch is that I’m not just an observer to this process, I’m pulling all the same threads that my characters are tugging at too. I’m growing and changing right along with them. It has saved my life, but some days it is a slower process than I would like. It’s hard to admit that I grow slow.

Thursday I was running because my agent was reading part of my manuscript and I didn’t know if she would find me between the words. I wasn’t sure if their were more questions than answers entangled in the lines.  I believe in my stories. I know the OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY is what I need to be writing and it will be beautiful when it’s finished–but I worry that I grow too slow. Some days I think that the world might be willing to wait for what I have to say–if I take the time to get it right. Other days I think that’s hubris. Until I know for sure–I’ll have to keep running.

Tags: Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, running, The Opposite of Gravity, writing, writing style

Comments

I’m a little lost in the ending of THE OPPOSITE OF GRAVITY right now–unable to even listen to audiobooks because I’m drowning in the songs that I associate with this WIP. I play them over and over and try to let my mind dance with the words and go to the place it needs to go in order to write it right. There are the songs that now remind me of the early chapters and there are the recent songs that have just helped the story take shape and now there are the songs that I’m running to get close  to–so they can whisper in my ear. Here’s one of them…

http://youtu.be/C0Y2-9QUJnk

My wish? That I never stop being this vested in what I write. What are you chasing right now?

Tags: Kim Sabatini, Kimberly Sabatini, My Wish, Rascal Flatts, The Opposite of Gravity, YA Author, YA Book, YA Novel, YA Writer

Comments