La-Tessa Montgomery

I’m going National!  Well, not really… But I have been asked to be a guest blogger over at Petit Fours & Hot Tamales.  I must have made some sort of  impression on those lovely ladies while at M&M, because I have no clue why I was presented with this opportunity.  Hmm, I think it must have been  my Cha-Cha- Slide that wowed them. 

Now, in all seriousness, I consider this an honor.  I mean who am I really?  I’m a virtually unknown, unpublished writer.  So I’m really looking forward to this.  

I don’t know what I will “talk” about yet, but I’m leaning towards continuing the discussion about AA Romance  and it’s place in the industry I started the other week.  Come on over to the Petit Fours on December 4th to find out.

If any of you have any suggestions for blog topics, leave a comment below letting me know what they are.  All will be considered (except those involving anyone with the name of Cullen or Black–sorry Megan, I had to stop you before you got started- LOL)

I am more than late in posting my Qtr 2 progress report, but I’ve had a very good reason for this…. I’ve actually been writing!!!

My wonderful critique partner told me about a book she’d just purchased, Book in a Month by Victoria Lynn Schmidt.  My first thoughts were “I am NOT getting any more crafts books, I have plenty on my shelf to read now.”  But after a couple of days, her growing enthusiasm about both this book and her wip intrigued me enough to go to the book store and get it.  Since then, I’ve embarked on my own Book in a Month journey and I must stay, I’m quite pleased with the progress I’ve made in just 3 weeks.

After I recieved my contest feedback on my current work in progress, I decided to revamp the begining in order to pick up the pace more.  So basically I kept the prologue and scrapped about 7,000 words.  It was very painful to do this, being that it had taken me close to a year to produce those 8,000+ words in the first place.  But if you check my progress meter over in the side bar, you will see that I am now at over 27,000 words after only 3 weeks of concentrated effort on my story.  

WOOHOO!!!

Yes, I’m more than behind in schedule to actually produce a completed draft in 4 weeks, but I ‘m more than happy about my progress so far.  In just 3 weeks, I have more than tripled my previous word count and I’m well on my way to finishing my draft in about 2 weeks time.

I’ve also entered another contest, so I should have the results of that by the time I do my Qtr 3 recap.  All in all, I am quite pleased with my progress and growth as an author this year. 

Qtr 3 will be very busy for me.  I’ll be attending my first RWA conference in a DC in a few days.  I’m very excited about meeting several of my CP’s in person for the first time, catching up with a few old friends, and meeting all the industry professionals what will be on hand.

My writing goals for Qtr 3 are to:

1. Finish my intial draft of Worth Fighting For
2. Revise and polish my draft
3. Begin actively querying & submitting my manuscript
4. Pitch my completed mss in September to an editor that’s visiting my writing chapter

Needless to say, I will be quite busy the next few months, but I’m looking forward to it.

For more info on the Book In A Month book:

After a hard & very distracting weekend, I think I finally got a hold of my mojo again. 
(Excuse me while I do the happy dance.)

Mr. Mojo, not to be confusesd with The Muse, was been elusive the past few weeks, escaping me at every turn.  Taunting me with quotes, ala Capt. Jack Sparrow, like  ”You will always remember this day as the day you almost caught Mr. Mojo”. 

LOL– seriously, it’s been like a bad super hero comic book.

But anywho, I got a great start on my chapter 1 re-write,  although due to some unforeseen issues, I did not make all 3 of my writing goals for the weekend.  But with my CP’s blessing (I think) I did earn 1 chapter from LOVER AVENGED. 

 Woo-hoo!! 

But I’m going to hold off until I’ve earned at least 3 chapters before I crack it open.  Only being able to read 1 chapter would drive me up the wall.  JR Ward is always leaving those chapters with some sort of hook and I wouldn’t be able to take it.  Although, just reading the 1 chapter would probably inspire me to push through my goals for the week though.

So I have 2 goals for this week, with 3 LOVER AVENGED chapters up as grabs as the reward.  I will report in next week on my progress.

‘Til then, lata

Today when I got home, my autographed copy of LOVER AVENGED by JR. Ward was sitting on my desk. 

Can you say “Woo- hoo”, because I know I did.

I’ve been waiting on this book’s release for more months than I care to remember.  I sooo want to tear into this book right now, but I know me.  The Black Dagger Brotherhood series is like the Harry Potter series for me in that whenever a new release comes out, I just have to devour it.

The problem, I have a whole list of things I’ve got to do in order to stay on target for the year.  And putting my energy into this book is just not the most prudent use of my time.   (And believe me,  it hurts me to have to say this.)

Now, I really need to finish the first draft of  my manuscript by July.  This goal has been made a bit tough because I’ve had  to scrap my first 2 chapters, and  do a new outline for the first 3.   So, I’ve decided to try a new method on myself.  Inspired by Jerry Oltion’s article, I’ve begun to embrace the fluidness my muse needs in order to be productive.

So here’s the deal, for each writing goal I accomplish by Sunday midday-ish, I get read a chapter of LOVER AVENGED.  I have 3 specific goals for the next 2.5 days, so that’s 3 chapters up for grabs.

I will continue, (ok let me amend that, I will try my hardest), to reward myself with a chapter for each goal, specific to my current wip, I accomplish.  Now, these books usually suck me in, and I’m done with them in a day or so.  So only being able to read a chapter at a time should be proper motivation for me to get through my rough draft.

Now, if only I can stick to this when I am about 4+chapters in, and it really starts to get good- LOL.

OK, I’m off to get a jump on my writing goals.

I got the contest results back this morning from the RSJ Aspiring Authors contest, and…

I didn’t place, but I scored much better than thought I would.  In fact, the feedback was very encouraging.  I’ve recently been battling writer’s block with this story, and the judges’ feedback, along with my CP’s, have helped spark the muse.

So I’m off to increase the word count. 

Ok, it’s the 4th month of the year and a great time for me to post my Qtr 1 progress. 

So far I have 7,538 words for my current wip, which is about a 13% completion rate.  Not bad considering all the things I have to juggle in order to write, but a definite far cry from where I wanted to be at the end of March.  I was shooting for something closer to 50%.  So needless to say, I’m running a little behind on that one… 

On a postive note, I did enter 3 different contests during the first quarter, which means I can totally cross that goal off my list.  Not to say I will not enter anymore contests this year, but still… An accomplished goal is an accomplished goal I say.  One was a relativly no stress contest where I entered my first 1,000 words each week in hopes of being a weekly winner.  I didn’t place in that one, but no worries.  I found quite a few little issues with my opening and I have since made some edits which makes it stronger.  

The next two were a bit more stressful to say the least.  I entered the Duel on the Delta contest, sponsored by my local writing chapter, River City Romance Writers, and the Aspriting Authors contest, sponsored by Romance Slam Jam.  I haven’t gotten any feedback from either of them yet, but I should here something within the next couple of weeks,. 

I don’t expect to final in them, but I will say they experience of preparing for and entering a writing contest has really showed me a lot about myself.  So regardless of what the results are, I am proud of myself for reaching this milestone in my writing career: producing something worthy of being judged–which is harder that you would think, believe me.

Ok, the second quarter has already started, so I will continue to work on my wip.  Hopefully, I will be closer to being 100%  done with it by the end of June.  I’ve also started brainstorming my paranormal, and I’m VERY excited about it.  I am currently in the worldbuilding phase and so far, so good.  My world is a bit complicated, as I have to work out the social structures, culture, and magic  for several species, as well as put my own twists on a couple of well know lores out there.   

So I am pumped for Qtr 2 and look forward to all I will accomplish.

Oh, and a special shout out to one of my critique partners for finaling  in a contest, and to another for completing her manuscript- WAY TO GO!!!

‘Till next time