20 Questions- The Final Round!

Here's the final installment of 20 Questions! (I know you were waiting all weekend for this.)


L.T. Host asked, "If you had a time machine and could only go one place in time for an hour, where, when, and why would you go?"

Since I've been barred from answering this with any Egypt-related, I'm going to say it would be a toss up between visiting Theodore Roosevelt, probably as he rode up San Juan Hill (the only guy on a horse in the midst of an uphill battle- that takes serious guts), or hanging out with Henry VIII in the midst of splitting from the Catholic Church. I've always wanted to know what Henry and Anne Boleyn were really like- if they were as grasping and ambitious as they seem.

Bane of Anubis wanted to know, "Best part of Alaska? Worst part?"

Best part: The summers. Anytime I can stay outside until midnight gardening is a good time.

Worst part: The darkness in the winter. I'm starting to notice the light creeping back and that's definitely a good thing!

Tricia O'Brien asked, "If you could ask the real Senenmut a question, what would it be?"

I want to know if he loved Hatshepsut. He never married and reached the pinnacle of Egypt's social ladder because of her. I think they definitely had a thing.

And finally...

Dominique is dying to know, "What exactly does an Egyptian Happy Dance look like?"

That's top secret, but I can tell you it's usually performed to this tune:



Check out that hair! I love 80's music! Do you have a favorite 80's song?

The Heavens Parted & Angels Sang

I thought I was done revising for a couple weeks.

Wrong!

There is a character in HATSHEPSUT that has been giving me grief. A LOT of grief. So much that today I decided the manuscript would never be queryable (take that, spellcheck!) and I may as well scrap it. I just couldn't get this woman's motivations straight in my head and therefore, she was mucking up the whole novel. I thought I was going to have to rewrite her entire character which in turn would cause a score of other rewrites.

Just thinking about it made me want to lock myself in a padded room.

And then, in the shower (where I do my best thinking), a revelation came to me that will solve everything without any major rewrites.

Why are the best solutions always the simplest ones?

20 Questions- Part III

Here comes another installment of 20 Questions!

1. Sara Tribble wants to know, "If you could go back in time to see Egypt in its glory--would you? And what would you wanna do first?"

Of course I would want to go! I'd head straight to 1475BC (ish) and make an appointment with Hatshepsut. I would want a tour of her tombs and her mortuary temple at Deir el Bahri, but I'd also want to check out how people lived. There's an awful lot of tomb evidence for Egypt, but not as much for every day life. The Egyptians were less concerned with this life and built their houses, and even palaces, with mud brick. Needless to say, not much of that has survived.

Oh, and I'd also want to meet Senenmut. *swoon*

2. Amalia asked, "Who are your next favorite historical people, after Egypt? and why?"

My next favorite historical person is Theodore Roosevelt. I would be his groupie if he were still around today.

Seriously.

The man started Progressivism and Imperialism in America, built the Panama Canal, started National Parks, and went after bad businesses with the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, Meat Inspection Act, and Pure Food and Drug Act. All that makes me proud of him, but if you ever read a bio or even watch one on TR, you'll be struck by his sheer audacity. When he was approached regarding the decimation of bird populations on Pelican Island, Florida (birds back then were being slaughtered for the milliner trade- we ladies liked crazy feathers on our hats) he looked to his lawyers and asked, "Is there anything to prevent me from making Pelican Island a bird sanctuary?"

No... (Except you know, the Constitution doesn't say the President can do that.)

"Then I so declare it!"

He kind of did the same thing with the Panama Canal, asking the Columbians if the U.S. could build the canal across Panama (then owned by Columbia). Columbia said no, so TR asked the Panamanians if they'd like their independence. Panama, of course, said yes, so Roosevelt conveniently staged U.S. gunboats off Panama's coast. The Panamanians revolted, the Columbians looked in the harbor, and gave Panama their independence. The U.S. recognized Panama an hour later and asked if we could built a canal across their country. Panama, of course, said yes.

And TR got his big ditch. :)

I could go on all day, but I won't. I love Theodore Roosevelt!


So, which time period would you travel back to if you could? And which cool dead person(s) would you like to meet?

One More Time!

Mwahahahaha!

Full Revision #5 (or 6 or 7- I've lost count) on HATSHEPSUT is DONE! I'm not sure whether to burn the darn thing or frame it. I love it and I hate it. If I have to go through the manuscript one more time...

Oh, wait. I do.

*groans*

One. More. Full. Revision.

I can do it. I have to do it. And once I get an agent, and then an editor, I know I'll have scads of revisions. But I want a break. I want to write. I'm taking a week or two off from Hat and then I'm back in the trenches.

Tomorrow I'll return to our regularly scheduled programming (read: Finishing 20 Questions posts), but I wanted to celebrate and vent a little bit.

As you were, soldier.

20 Questions- Part II

Today's questions deal with writing and blogging.


Jenna Wallace (AKA Dreamstate) is dying to know, "You follow a zillion blogs. How do you have the time to get through them all and still post, teach, write and have a family? And have you always lived in Alaska?

I've lived in Alaska since I was four. I've moved away twice, but only managed to stay away for six months at the longest. There's something about this place that I need- I've never found anywhere else I'd want to live.

As for the blogs- some days I'm better at following everyone than others. And I have no life. Nada.

Guinevere asked, "When did you start writing and why? Why did you start a blog?"

I remember filling notebooks with stories as far back as third grade. But then a family friend passed away and I wrote a story about a funeral. I read it to my dad and he told me I should only write happy stories. So I stopped writing. Funny how the most innocuous things can jostle you on the road of life, eh?

As for blogging, I started because I used to blog at another site called Panhistoria which is interactive writing, but I wanted to connect with more novel writers. I'm so glad I did- you guys rock!

And from V.S., "When you first wrote your novel did you outline the first draft or did you just write with no outline?

Since I write historical fiction, I outline the main events that need to happen throughout the novel. This kept me on track with HATSHEPSUT because there's actually a fair bit of stuff she accomplished and I wanted to make sure I got it all in there. Most of the historical events serve as backdrops for the plot. I might be willing to read 20 pages about raising obelisks, but I don't know anyone else who is.

For Book #2 I have a similar outline, but it's a little sparse. I've gone back to 2500 B.C. so there's just not as much in the historical record.


What about you? When did you start writing? Do you outline? Do you wish you had more time for blogging?

So many questions, so little time!

20 Questions- Part I

This week I'm answering questions from everyone. Yahoo!

Terresa asked, "If you could personally interview any author, alive or dead, who would it be and why?"

Okay, so first I was going to try to cheat and interview Hatshepsut or Theodore Roosevelt. Hatshepsut wrote hymns so she's kind of an author, right? I mean, it's not like more than 1% of the ancient Egyptian population was literate so I'm willing to fudge a little there. And Roosevelt? He wrote 35 books so he's kind of a non-fiction superstar.

But if you want my real author interview answer, I'm going with Geraldine Brooks. Her non-fiction book on Muslim women Nine Parts of Desire and her historical fiction novels are amazing. I could definitely see sitting down for tea and just chatting. The conversation would be fascinating!

Runners up would be Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters.


Gary Corby wants to know, "You have a once only opportunity to ask the real Hatshepsut 3 questions. What are they?"

1. Why did you take the throne? (No one really knows.)
2. Did you love Senenmut? (I like to think so.)
3. What do you feel your most important impact on history has been? (1st successful female ruler- ohdalolly!)

Matt Delman asked, "What is your favorite ancient Egyptian food?"

I'm glad the question wasn't limited to modern Egyptian food, because to be honest, Egypt's culinary arts leave much to be desired. (After 12 days I was getting pretty tired of hummus and babaganash.) I'm keeping in mind that most Egyptians subsisted off bread and beer with the occasional dried fish for variety. As for what the upper classes munched on, I'd go with honeyed nuts. I do have a couple scenes in HATSHEPSUT involving turnips though. Pickled turnips, even.

Blecch. Make that a double blecch.

All righty, folks- that's the first installment of the Q&A. Turn in tomorrow for more fun stuff!

20ish Questions

Yay! Yesterday I reached 100 followers!

*breaks out in an Egyptian happy dance*

I'm pretty darn thrilled there's 100 people interested in my ramblings on ancient Egypt and writing. I had a post planned for today, but I'm going to save it for later (code for I want to do more research before I post factual inaccuracies Zahi Hawass* will call me on after HATSHEPSUT is published and he reads my blog archives) and do a little round of 20 Questions. Or really however many questions you all want to post.

So here's your golden opportunity to ask me anything your heart desires. Then next week I'll do my best to answer them.

Have a super fantabulous weekend!

-------------------------


*Hawass is only the super coolest Egyptologist on the face of the planet. One day he's going to give me a private tour of Hatshepsut and Senenmut's tombs. He just doesn't know it yet.

Hatshepsut's Mortuary Temple

So I have a new blog boiler plate- one of the pictures from my trip to Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri back in 2005. The temple's name in ancient Egyptian was Djeser Djereru and translates to the Holiest of Holies. It's located just across from the Valley of the Kings, but it's even more impressive than the subterranean tombs. Of course, I'm a little biased.














Hat's temple is nestled within a rock amphitheater and blends into the mountain backdrop. It's quite the architectural marvel. Sadly, the building was destroyed in antiquity, probably by earthquakes in the 1st century, but a Polish archaeological team has been working to restore the temple and is just about done.

One thing you'll notice from the new blog picture is that Hatshepsut is portrayed as a man in the statue. These are Osiride statues, named for Osiris, the Egyptian god of the dead. Hatshepsut had this temple created so people could worship and pray to her after she died, hence the strange choice in gods. However, poor Hat was typically shown as a man, simply because a woman ruling Egypt was such an aberration. Unless you find an early depiction of her as Great Royal Wife (Egypt's term for queen), you'll see her dressed in a man's kilt with the Pharaoh's false beard. After her death, all her statues depicting her as Pharaoh were destroyed and dumped in a pit not far from her temple. Most historians believe this was an attempt to wipe history of a woman's rule. Out of sight, out of mind.

Within the temple are stories of her divine birth and her trade expedition to the mythical land of Punt, now thought to be modern-day Somalia. The former was likely an attempt to further legitimize her claim to the throne. It's a little hard to argue against someone who claims to be the daughter of Amun, the supreme god of all Egypt. The latter was one of her greatest accomplishments during her reign as Pharaoh, bringing back all sorts of fun stuff like baboons and priceless myrrh trees.

Standing outside the temple are trunks of some of those myrrh trees, preserved for all eternity. Can you imagine? Tree trunks from 3,500 years ago still preserved for gazillions of tourists to photograph each day?

It goes without saying that I was in heaven while visiting Deir el-Bahri, despite the 120 Farenheit temperatures. I need to go back- they even do hot air balloon rides over the valley at sunrise!

Student Analogies & Metaphors- The Final Round!

I know you've all been waiting for this- the final round of student analogies and metaphors!

And the crowd goes wild!


1. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

2. He was lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mind or something.

3. The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

4. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant and she was the East River.

And my all-time favorite...

5. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.


If you missed the others, there's some here, here, and here. I hope you enjoyed the goofiness!

S.O.S.! I Need a Book!

Books are yummy. So yummy, in fact, that I'm devouring them. So far this month I've beta-ed two books and have eaten, er... read the following:

1. March- Geraldine Brooks
2. Hush, Hush- Becca Fitzpatrick
3. The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins
4. Catching Fire- Suzanne Collins
5. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet- Jamie Ford

I just started Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. (Thanks Amalia & Debra for the recommendation!) So far it's good- I'm hoping it can take my mind off The Hunger Games. I can't get that series out of my head!

Today's post is basically me asking for book recommendations, in the guise of a question of the day. If you had to be stranded alone on a desert island for the rest of your life and could only bring one book, what would it be?

So This is Love

Tonight my three-year-old and I were cuddled on the couch, watching Cinderella. It came to part where Cinderella and the prince dance at the ball and my daughter hugged me and said, "Oh, Mommy, this is a lovely part."

She then proceeded to sing the entire love song, all the while wearing the most adorable smile.

There is something about romance that moves us, apparently even toddlers. I'm a sucker for a good love story and often find myself bored if there's not some sort of romance present in whatever novel I'm reading. Right now I'm reading Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, the sequel to The Hunger Games. I'm totally enthralled with the current love triangle. It's soooo good.

What about you? Do you crave a good love story? What are your favorites?

Betas!

I love being a beta.

I've beta-ed three full manuscripts over the past two months along with a couple smaller writing projects. I love it.

It's a little daunting to offer someone feedback on their novel or other work, but I love getting my own manuscript back from a beta, dripping in virtual red ink. Some pages get massacred and others get comments like, "Great word choice!"

I don't care either way. Pointers on what I can improve rip the blinders from my eyes so I can see what I'm doing wrong. It could be something major like a character conflict or something small like opening too many scenes with a knock on the door. I'm as blind as Homer. (Yes! Another comparison to a cool dead dude!)

Being a beta gives me the opportunity to practice, to find stilted dialogue or paragraphs that show instead of tell. It's easier to spot issues in someone else's work than my own, but then when I go back to my novel it's like a giant spotlight is lighting up all sorts of new errors I've made.

Thank you to everyone who has let me beta for them and another thank you to everyone who has looked at HATSHEPSUT. I can't wait to get a book deal so I can list all of your names in the acknowledgements!

What about you? What are your favorite/least favorite things about beta-ing?

I See the Light

It is January in Alaska.

Translation: It's dark and cold. I don't mind the cold- anything above room temperature and I turn into a fire-breathing harpy. But the dark?

I hate the dark.

I love summer because I can garden at midnight or play outside with my daughter and not realize it's two hours past her bedtime. I can get up at 7AM and not be tired because it's already been light out for over three hours. But to appreciate the light I have to get through the dark.

This seems apropo as I delve into my 5th set of revisions for Hatshepsut. This is actually my 6th or 7th set of revisions, but I didn't keep track of the first two as it was just organizing plot and cleaning up the story. I'm starting to see a tiny pinprick of light beckoning me to the end. Or at least the end when I can begin to query.

Terresa over at Chocolate Chip Waffle posted the other day that agent Jen Rofe said not to query until you've revised at least seven times. I'm going to be right in that ballpark.

What about you? How many times have you revised or how many times do you think you'll revise at this stage in your game?

Super Sweet Award!

In the past couple days, both Amalia and Deb@RGRamblings have awarded me this super-yummy Happy 101 award. I'm going to copy Deb (because she's a genius) and award this to bloggers who remind me of my favorite things. I'm also going to attempt to give this to people I haven't given awards to before- my favorite thing about awards is that it can bring attention to blogs you may never have found otherwise. This is a no pressure award- feel free to acknowledge, pass on, or not!

The rules are that you have list ten things that make you happy and give the award to 10 recipients. For once, I'm going to attempt to follow the rules.

1. Flowers. I love growing them and right now I have a month to wait before I can plant seeds indoors. I have an Amaryllis blooming and some Narcissi sprouted inside. I need more!

Jemi at Just Jemi has a lovely flower as her profile picture. Her posts are always good for a smile!

2. My daughter. No one could have prepared me for the love I'd feel for the little monkey. There's something special and indefinable about a mother's love.

Natalie Bahm did a series of posts a while back on what her kids had taught her about writing. They were some of my favorite blog posts ever.

3. History. I am a total history nerd. I remember watching a movie in 1st grade on the Titanic and being mesmerized by the underwater footage of a barnacle-encrusted chandelier. That kind of stuff just captures my imagination.

Gary Corby at A Dead Man Fell From the Sky has an awesome blog, mostly focusing on ancient Greece. He also recently pointed me in the direction of The History Blog which has super-cool articles about all sorts of history.

4. Art. Charcoal, watercolor, acrylic, photography, pottery... I love it all and wish I was better at it.

Ann Foxlee is a writer inspired by art. She has a cool contest going on that I shouldn't tell you about because I really want to win a print of the third picture she has listed. But you should check it out!

5. Travel. I love to travel. I've hit Egypt, France, Italy, Britain, Ireland, Jordan, Greece, Turkey, the Czech Republic, and a whole lot other countries. I want to go to Morocco, Peru, and Cambodia next. But not in the same trip.

Valerie Geary at Something to Write About is doing her month-long genre focus on travel literature. She's like the Travelocity gnome, only not weird.

6. Poetry. I'm not very good at it, but I love to read it. My favorite part of writing is metaphor and hyperbole. Good poetry is often one big metaphor.

Tricia O'Brien at Talespinning writes wonderful poetry. I always know when clicking on her blog that it's going to be a beautiful post.

7. Sunshine. So I live in the wrong state for this since Alaska is immersed in darkness a couple months a year and it makes me want to go banana bonkers from November to February. When the sun is out I soak it up.

Steph Damore is like liquid sunshine, only on my computer screen. Okay, that metaphor doesn't make sense, but you get what I mean.

8. Books. I've read four already this year and am poised to finish another tonight. I'm not officially participating in the 100 Books a Year challenge, but I hope I can reach that number.

Shannon O'Donnell at Bookdreaming is an awesome blogger with great taste in books.


Okey dokey. That's 8 things I love and 9 bloggers. I also love yoga and chocolate covered pretzels, but I don't know any bloggers who blog about those. I'm not good at math, but I'm going to round up and call that an even 10. Enjoy those cupcakes!

Hatshepsut's Love Life

In celebration of my 100th post, I'm writing about one of my favorite historical characters. I'm a hopeless romantic (anyone whose favorite movies include Gone With the Wind and The English Patient would have to be) so I love the story of Hatshepsut and Senenmut.

Senenmut was to Hatshepsut what Robert Dudley was to Queen Elizabeth. Except in my version I've nixed the whole messy treason bit.

Senenmut was born to a somewhat humble family and rose from the dirt of Iuny to become the most titled man in Egypt under Hatshepsut's rule. At the time, most sons took up the profession of their fathers (women remained relegated to the kitchens, barefoot and pregnant) and Senenmut was a literate administrator. Under Hatshepsut he acquired roughly 80 titles including Steward of the Estates of Amun, Overseer of Amun's Storehouses, and Superintendent of the Royal Bedroom.

Can you see where the speculation regarding Hatshepsut and Senenmut's romantic entanglements may have come from? Superintendent of the Royal Bedroom?

There is actually a tomb graffito from Hatshepsut's time period depicting a female Pharaoh in a rather compromising position with a male advisor- one usually interpreted to be Senenmut. He was also depicted in Hatshepsut's sacred temple at Deir el-Bahri, a privilege reserved only for the gods and royal family. This guy had some serious clout.

Now I don't subscribe to the idea that women need a strong man behind them to rule, but I can't help but get all giddy at the idea of Hatshepsut finding true love in addition to being the coolest woman in history. She married her brother around the age of 14- a man generally accepted by historians to have been a pretty lame ruler- so it's not like she had much of a choice regarding her love life until the brother dies a few years later.

Senenmut disappears from the historical record years before Hatshepsut dies, but no one is sure of the reason. Sadly, years after Hatshepsut's death both her and Senenmut's monuments were destroyed by her stepson and heir. Scholars used to think this was an act of revenge against the evil, usurping female Pharaoh, but now agree that it was an attempt to clear the way for future successions and wipe an aberration from the historical record- a woman ruling Egypt.

I think the gal deserved some happiness. And I like to think that she found some with Senenmut.

Paperback Writer

I'll be querying HATSHEPSUT: FEMALE PHARAOH in February and I've got a darn good pitch. Several of you made suggestions last time when I posted the query here and the letter is finally done. The only thing that would make it more sparkly would be glitter and I'm pretty sure Nathan, Kristin, and Janet wouldn't appreciate glitter.

For those of you querying, getting ready to query, or perfecting that all-important letter, I have found a fabulous query we could all seek to emulate.


Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?
It took me years to write, will you take a look?
It's based on a novel by a man named Lear
And I need a job, so I want to be a paperback writer.

It's the dirty story of a dirty man
And his clinging wife doesn't understand.
His son is working for the Daily Mail,
It's a steady job but he wants to be a paperback writer.

It's a thousand pages, give or take a few,
I'll be writing more in a week or two.
I can make it longer if you like the style,
I can change it round and I want to be a paperback writer.

If you really like it you can have the rights,
It could make a million for you overnight.
If you must return it, you can send it here
But I need a break and I want to be a paperback writer.

Sincerely,
John, Paul, George, & Ringo


Okay, so I've heard the song a gazillion times, but I've never paid attention to the lyrics. Who knew the Beatles could write such a lame (albeit funny) query letter? Here's for those of you who want to jam to the song.

And if you haven't already, go write your query. It can't be worse than what the Beatles wrote, right? :)

This is Like Nothing You've Ever Seen Before. I Promise.

Oh. My. Heavens.

I went trolling Google images tonight for a crowd of squirrels in honor of the Loyal Friend & Writer award that Matt Delman bestowed on me when I found...

SUGAR BUSH SQUIRREL.

I will wait. You must, must, must click on the link. Swallow that coffee and make sure there's something soft for your jaw to land on.

What? You're too lazy to click on the link? Well, here are some snippets of Sugar Bush Squirrel, who is apparently the most photographed squirrel in the world. You really have to click on the link to read the whole story and see the gazillion squirrel pictures posted there. Sugar Bush even does news broadcasts. On the Squirrel News Network.







Yes, that's Sugar Bush Squirrel as Nostradomus. There's one of Sarah Palin too, but I couldn't bring myself to post it on my blog. You'll just have to scroll for it.

Folks, I just can't top Sugar Bush Squirrel.

However, I want to thank Matt for the wonderful award and pass it on to my friends and followers. I'm getting close to 100 followers- yay! I love awards, but I hate always knowing that I've left someone out. This award is for loyal friends and writers so if you check out Sugar Bush Squirrel and leave a comment for this post, you've earned yourself the award.

You guys rock!

Blood, Sweat, & Tears

“There is much to be said for failure. It is much more interesting than success.”

So said Sir Max Beerbohm, English essayist, parodist and caricaturist. I read his bio on Wikipedia and it didn't sound to me like he hit too many bumps along the way to success. Of course, being knighted would be rough.

Right.

Anyway, most of us on our way to success will hit some roadblocks, detours, and maybe even experience head-on collisions. No matter what your goals in life- world travel, publishing deal, or world domination- the road isn't paved with gold.

The quest to get published is an arduous process. Beerbohm might have been right- perhaps the failures are more interesting than the final successes, but I don't care. I want to be a success.

People don't realize that every book sitting on the shelves at Barnes and Noble was the result of blood, sweat, and tears from a small army of people. They also don't recognize it takes years for a book to get published.

I don't tell many people that I've written a book and am attempting to get published. It's a long, convoluted story that most people don't want to hear. In fact, I haven't told anyone in my family outside my husband. It will be much easier to tell people about my book when I know it's going to get published than to have to explain the whole rigmarole right now.

What about you? Do you tell people about your quest to be published?

A Woman Is Like a Tea Bag

A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. -Eleanor Roosevelt

This was my quote of the day in my classroom today. It's definitely in my top three quotes of all time. If Hatshepsut had a quote it would be-

Well behaved women rarely make history. -Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

I love reading about strong heroines, especially those from history. And since Hatshepsut is the first successful female ruler in history that we know of I adore her.

There are plenty of other strong female protagonists in literature- two of my favorites are Scarlet O'Hara from Gone With the Wind and Sayuri from Memoirs of a Geisha. Scarlet is catty and selfish, but it doesn't matter because I just want her to be successful and end up with Rhett (not Ashley- he's about as exciting as watching paint dry). Sayuri is eloquent and graceful, strong and hopeful despite her often horrendous circumstances.

Do you have a favorite female protagonist? Have you written an amazing heroine? What makes her such a rock star?

Master Yoda Says

I like squirrels. So sue me.

These little guys seem to be doing a good job of something, be it slicing each other into squirrel ribbons or making people at the part stop and giggle. Either way, I don't care. They're cute.

All of us do something really well when we write. If we didn't we would have stopped a long time ago. If we wrote complete and total garbage not even our mothers would be able to ooh and ahh over our brilliance. Okay, well, maybe they would, but you get the point.

One of my stronger points is being able to integrate a lot of historical research into a novel without bogging the story down. (Never, ever read my first drafts unless you want a three page description of a tomb. Yawn.) I don't think I could ever write anything other than historical fiction- I just love it too much. I'd rather do all that research than try to create a whole new world.

Today I challenge you to get out there and write. Do what you can well and work your tail off to improve on the rest. I'll leave you with a Star Wars quote, just because I can.

Truth or Dare

I suppose this is in the spirit of New Years, but today we're going to talk about where we, as writers, have room to improve. And then tomorrow, after we've all bemoaned our writers' Achilles heels, we're going to strut our stuff and rave about what we do really, really well.

I'll go first. My biggest weakness is that I'm wordy. Words, words everywhere! And you know what's really sad? It took an agent and two beta readers to tell me that. Stephen King says to cut 10% of your first draft, but you know what? I've cut almost 20%!

Take that! (I'd do some sort of cool ninja move here, but I'm not that cool. The squirrel is waaaay cooler. I love squirrels!)

And you know what else? HATSHEPSUT is still too wordy. I like to get all poetic in some spots and then there are extra words that just clog up the pages. I'm working on it- finding glee in killing my darlings.

Now it's your turn, if you dare. What is your biggest weakness as a writer?