Revising, reading, and eating.

The title basically summed up my week in the best possible way. I revised my MS, perhaps overthinking things, but I had fun all the same. I did a brainstorming session in my home office with stickies against the closet instead of my usual index cards strewn across the carpet. I kept thinking how aesthetically pretty they looked, so I still have yet to take them down.

Also, Blaire loves to revise. He couldn't help but put his two cents in (which is really him biting the keys and typing out cat-gibberish).

After I finished revising, I set my sights on my TBR pile. I've been neglecting it for awhile, so it was nice to dive into it and relax the rest of the week. I finished Wolf by Wolf and am almost done with A Darker Shade of Magic (book review posts on these to come). For now I'll just gush and say that I LOVE them and definitely suggest picking them up.

I've also been into food lately (well, more than normal). I got into the bad habit of making the same stuff over for dinner, so I tried making rolls at home (this is my second try) and they came out awesome! (My first attempt kind of fell apart -_-)

I'd also been craving ramen, so I talked Michael into going to Yoroshiku for our date night before watching Deadpool (which was so funny, that I think everyone needs to watch it--just don't bring your kids). Ahhhh, I love Japanese food. Look at that!

What's your favorite way to brainstorm?

What's your current read?

And what cuisine have you been craving?

I want to know, so comment below :D

Bar Cantinetta

It's been awhile since I did a food post! But with Valentine's this past weekend, Michael and I couldn't help but head into the city for a delicious meal.

I was really craving Italian so Michael and I made reservations at Bar Cantinetta in Madison Park. The place is small, but cozy, and the atmosphere intimate.

To start we had the wild boar polpette with endives and pomegranates, and baked cedar plank, pecorino, with truffle honey. This we paired with prosecco.

Both dishes were amazing, I'm still drooling over it.

For our mains I chose the raviolo di mare with scallops, prawns, saffron, and butter. It was so pillowy and sweet, I thought I'd happily drowned in a warm ocean. Michael stuck to the land animals, and had the roasted organic chicken breast with romesco, which was equally delicious. Both went well with our bottle of vermintino.

For dessert, we had nutella stuffed donuts sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. It was nice and hot, fluffy, chocolate, and sweet. Probably one of my top desserts in the city for sure!

Oh food, how I love thee. Let me count the ways... Kidding, but not kidding.

But that was basically our Valentine's. Always gives us an excuse to go out and splurge. The rest of the weekend I spent eating chocolate, drinking coffee, and reading (my other loves).

What do you normally do for Valentine's? Do you hang out with your friends? Watch rom coms? Or do you (like me) use it as an excuse to indulge? ;)

On taking a break & changing gears.

To start, let me just say that last week was so awesome. Getting my agent was just as amazing as I'd hoped and made me feel like all the ups and downs in this journey were worth it. The overwhelming support and well wishes I received really filled my heart with pure joy. It's something I'll keep in mind as I start on this new venture.

Since signing with my agent last Tuesday, I wondered if I should give myself a mental writing break before she got back to me with revision notes (and by mental break I mean reading for pleasure or binge watching shows). Since drafting, for me, is pretty time-consuming (since I like to get my first draft out fast), I decided to taper off slowly and paused at a good place--31K.

The snapshot below gives you an idea of how my drafting really slowed within the past three weeks.

It's safe to say I won't be able to finish this draft by the end of the month, so I'm pushing back my personal deadline to my Birthday next month.

Despite my slowed progress last week, I still felt it was productive since I beta read for a good friend of mine (Joan, who is AMAZING, I'm still in awe of her prose), and finished two seasons of THE ROYALS and got to fangirl my heart out with my friend Michella, who introduced me to the show (Jasper + Eleanor Forevvaaaaa). So, awesome week in my opinion.

But alas, it's time to switch gears and go from drafting to revising! It's been about two months since I read my Pitch Wars manuscript so it's been really fun getting back into the story. It's funny, when you work on a story non-stop for awhile, you start feeling like you know the ins and outs of every single scene, but to my surprise, my reading of the story greatly differed from the time I had written it. When I wrote it, I was very sympathetic to my MC instead of the love interest, but reading it this time around, my heart ached over the love interest instead of the MC. I wonder why that was. I mean, I've read this manuscript a million gazillion times, but this reading of it is so different compared to my previous reads. Am I just reading with a more critical eye? It'll be interesting to see what readers think if it gets on the shelves one day.

How about you? Have you reread a manuscript of yours and received a totally different impression of it from when you wrote it? I'm curious to know, comment below!

How I Got My Agent :)

As a hopeful writer, I scoured the internet for stories about how authors got their agents and they were always so inspiring. Deep down I always hoped that I could return the favor for those after me by writing one of my own. And alas, I can.

So short story? I wrote a book, sent out some queries, got some rejections, had a good cry, then got an offer! So I popped the champagne and signed with Penny Moore of Fine Print Literary.

Sounds so simple and easy, right? Wrong.

Here's the long story. I hope it's a bit more inspiring than the short one ;)

Growing up, I felt this immense pressure to succeed in the medical/science field. The only one born on US soil in an immigrant family, it was like an unspoken expectation to be a doctor or something else of 'high-esteem.' I took that on like a badge of honor because I wanted to make my mother (who had given up everything to bring us to the US) proud.

But once I hit college and started the groundwork on the path to medicine, my heart ached. I wasn't into it, I couldn't do it, and that filled me with shame.

Deep down, I knew I wanted to write. I loved stories with a passion. Growing up, books saved me. They were an inkling of solace in this great big world I didn't understand.

In the end, I made the switch and graduated with a BA in English Literature with an emphasis in Creative Writing--half of me thrilled, and half of me terribly afraid. It was one thing to want to write, another thing to make a career out of it.

Honestly, I had no plan. But I was pragmatic enough to know that I needed to support myself, so I got a full-time job and wrote stories in my spare time. In the Spring of 2014, a full year after I had graduated, I had a fully finished and revised manuscript.

That Summer, I entered Pitch Wars and didn't get in. I sent some queries, not really sure what I was setting myself up for and got a rude awakening when I had to face the rejections. I gave up after 20. Maybe I didn't give that manuscript enough of a chance, but deep down I knew it wasn't the one to land me an agent.

But it was the one to teach me how to finish a large volume of work, and it was the one that taught me how to revise.

So back to the drawing board and after a few failed first drafts, I started writing DIAMOND QUEEN on April 19, 2015, two months after an inspiring trip back to Vietnam (if you want a detailed post on my inspiration, click here).

I wrote the first draft in less than two months, quickly revised, and sent it to my CP. Once I got my CP's feedback I revised once more before entering Pitch Wars.

This time, I got into the contest and I cried (the ugly, but happy kind). Under the mentorship of Brianna Shrum, I revised for the fourth time to get it agent ready.

During the agent round of the contest, I did well in piquing interest and garnering requests, but never got an offer. What I did get was a solid writing community and the best mentor ever who continues to go above and beyond for me.

After I started collecting rejections for this MS, I knew I had to go back in the query trenches. The trenches are no joke. They are filled with small victories, hopes dashed, a lot of chocolate eating, a few tears, and if you're really lucky, the offer you've been waiting for.

On January 24th, I was on twitter looking at the #MSWL hashtag hoping to find more agents to query when I stumbled upon Penny's. Though this was dated a while back, I thought I'd give it a shot and sent off my query.

She requested a full two days later. I sent her the full, trying not to get my hopes up. But then, my friend asked if I had a full out with Penny the next day because Penny had tweeted this:

I told her I did, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. Sometimes agents can have a long reading queue, so I couldn't imagine the full I had sent the day before could be the one she was reading.

But then Penny tweeted this the day after:

And all of my PW writer friends were sending me all good vibes and happy thoughts that I started to get my hopes up. That Thursday I refreshed my inbox thinking maybe I'd get an e-mail. I didn't. The next morning when my alarm went off for work at 6:05 a.m., I checked my e-mail and started screaming. My fiancé, who isn't a morning person, turned to me and said, "Congrats! You got an offer."

It wasn't an offer.

It was an e-mail setting up 'The Call.'

So 'The Call' is kind of a funny thing, because a lot of writers hope that 'The Call' will lead to an offer. That's not always the case. Agents can call and offer a 'Revise & Resubmit' without an offer of representation, or they can call to kindly reject your manuscript (rare, but I have heard of this happening).

I e-mailed Penny back and we arranged a time for the following Monday. I was in panic mode all weekend as I hoped for an offer, but completely freaked myself out for all the worst case scenarios.

When Monday came, I sat in my car outside of Barnes and Noble during my lunch break. It was freezing, and I was so nervous I thought I'd puke. Right on time, my cell rang, and the screen brightened with a New York number. How I managed to even answer, is beyond me.

Penny told me what she loved about my manuscript, she asked about my inspiration for it, and then she said the magic words, "I'd like to offer you representation."

OH. MY. GAWD. Cue incessant internal dialogue in my head as I tried to sound calm, cool, and collected, but really I kind of stuttered as I scribbled down notes from our conversation.

I loved how Penny was completely honest with me, how her vision of the story matched my own, and how passionate she was about her job.

The call was just as I had hoped it would be.

A week later, I officially accepted the offer and am still in shock that I now have a literary agent!

I can't foresee if DIAMOND QUEEN will sell or if I'll be able to make a solid career out of writing, but I do know how much I love writing and how I'll continue to do so. And knowing that I have an agent in my corner championing me makes me all the more hopeful of the possibilities.

It's funny how a few years ago I'd felt shame for not succeeding in a field I thought I should have been in. But in the time since, I've procured a new badge of honor for myself: following my heart and never giving up. And because my mom is and continues to be my inspiration to write, I know she's proud of me regardless. After all, it was her story that ignited my urge to share my own.

If there's one thing I want people to take away from my agent story, it's this: Make your own definition of success. Whether it's following your heart, dreams, or taking each day at a time, do it bravely and courageously. Let yourself fall, and then pick yourself up. You might not get it right on the first try, but if you continue to try, you'll get there eventually.

Also, Penny, if you're reading this, I'm sorry for twitter stalking you ;)

Week 2 Drafting and The Lunar New Year

Surprise! I launched my new site last week and I hope you love it as much as I do. For those of you who have followed my blogspot for the past 4 years, I just wanted to thank you and I hope you've found my new blog home.

So with revamping the site my drafting took a hit in progress. Instead of the 15K I had hoped to crank out, I ended up with 10K. Progress is progress, however, so I'm okay with my WIP at 25K for end of week two. I'm still pretty confident that I will make my self-imposed deadline with this draft (3 more weeks to go!), and with a three-day weekend around the corner, I'll have extra time to draft.

Week 2 was a tad bit complicated as I entered the 'dreaded middle.' I ended up jumping around in chapters and had to do two brainstorming sessions to clear up the path I wanted to take. Upon starting, I did have a sparse outline, but they never do include the ins and outs of every scene. I like to outline to give me a sense of direction, but no more than that as I like to explore the different worlds and my characters on their own terms. I've found it quite intriguing when a character dictates their story to me instead of me planning it. It's one of those wonderful things about writing.

To end the week, Michael and I went to a wine club social (something new we're trying out) and it was a blast. We got to taste interesting wines that we would have never picked up for ourselves, and Carson, the first-level Somm who led the social, shared such a wealth of knowledge about the region the wine came from. If you're new to wine, or an old-time lover, I'd recommend checking out a wine social near you. It's always fun to try new things and discuss your connection with the wine via taste, smell, or overall experience.

And of course, because it was the weekend, you know I had to have some dessert!

Buckwheat crepe, anyone?

The next day I had a leisure Sunday. After writing I made my spinach mushroom lasagna, enjoyed it with a glass of Syrah, and finished season 2 of Orphan Black. I would love to read a YA sci-fi thriller like that! (And if you were wondering, I did not watch the Super Bowl -_-)

The past weekend, I also found myself seriously nostalgic. It's the Lunar New Year and I miss my family. I think even more so considering we spent the last Lunar New Year in Vietnam with my relatives. Now, living away from home I've realized how much the holiday means to me. Though I am not a practicing Buddhist like my mother, I've come to miss her traditions around this time, the extensive preparations leading up to this holiday.

The importance of the Lunar New Year is something I've been wondering about a lot. If I had children, wouldn't I want them to experience the festivity of this holiday, to give them a sense of identity in our culture, to give them memories similar to the one I hold?

The questions prompted me to celebrate it in my own little way this year. Michael and I decorated the living space with little red banners, I bought traditional treats typical for the holiday, and we greeted each other in Vietnamese when we woke up this morning. They're small steps and probably won't equate to my mother's long offering ceremony to the ancestors, or a trip to the temple to pray and get our fortunes, or long family meals with games to play after, but it's a start.

Are there any cultural holidays you celebrate? Comment below!

Drafting, glasses, & my latest obsessions, oh my!

I'm back at drafting my next WIP and it feels awesome but scary at the same time! I haven't drafted since April when I wrote

Diamond Queen

so it always feels new and different when I get back at it again. Drafting is a different kind of animal compared to revising and editing, but the best way I go about it is to flash draft (which averages about 4-6 weeks depending on the idea). To keep myself accountable I aim for a daily word count of 2K. I can't always make the 2K, but if by the end of the week I can get to 15K, I'm happy.

And it just so happens that I met my goal for week 1!

Now, I just need to keep at this pace and I'll be golden (as long as I can keep my internal editor in check).

This past week was also strange because I was getting used to my new prescription glasses. This is my first time ever wearing glasses so it came with a learning curve. At first it made me really nauseous, and now my eye won't stop twitching. Oh well, you lose some you win some, I guess.

I've also tried to keep my distractions at a minimum so that I can focus on drafting, but who am I kidding. My latest obsessions?

Orphan Black

,

Wolf by Wolf

, and trying new things.

Have you ever had a multi-grain latte? According to my barista, it's pretty common in Japan and Korea, but it was totally new to me. It has no coffee in it whatsoever, but was marketed as a protein-filled-afternoon-productivity-boost (her words, not mine!). I managed to get 1K words in after drinking it, so I guess it worked?

Also, these donut holes with coconut cream. There's no significance to them, except that they were delicious!

Also had a date with this stud who introduced me to

SOMM: Into the bottle

, a neat documentary about what goes into wine. Spoiler: it's not just grapes!

How was your week? What's your current read or latest obsession? Comment below!

Big Magic & A Shiny New Idea

Good morning Mondaayyyyy!

Ok, really. I'm not that chipper, but I am trying to be more positive. Post-Pitch Wars writing has been tough. I had started on this neat idea, but then life got a little busy around December and January with vacation and wedding planning, making it so difficult to return to said idea. That's why I truly believe in flash drafts. For me, I need to blast through that first draft before I lose the spark. Once I get it down though, I'm able to keep the spark burning by reworking and molding it into my vision.

So speaking of sparks and ideas, it's really difficult to get one of those suckers that makes your whole heart swoon. After vacation, I kind of felt like a lost lamb. I had no motivation to write, because everything that came out of my fingertips seemed no good. In truth, I was becoming really critical with myself instead of allowing myself some creative freedom in the first draft.

My awesome CP Krystal (who has been with me throughout my whole writing angst the past year--bless her kind soul) recommended that I read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.

 

And I'm so glad I did. I rate this a solid 4! Here's a quick blurb:

Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work,  embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.

At times it was a bit quirky, but Gilbert's idea of inspiration resonated within me and her words were comforting and encouraging. After reading, it changed my perspective on what it means to live a creative life. For instance, I had this deep desire to be validated for my writing (and that meant getting an agent), that I became so obsessed with wondering what an agent or the market would want to read instead of digging deep and figuring out what I wanted to write.

At the same time, I was really struggling with the possibility of failing. What if everything I wrote amounted to nothing. No matter how many manuscripts I wrote and revised, what if none of them were published? Would all of that time spent be a waste? Before reading the book, I would have answered yes. Now after, I would say no. Because I write for myself, and no amount of validation would bring me the same joy like getting a scene just right, or nailing down my last sentence and writing 'The End' after. And that's what creative living is all about, doing something you love and enjoy that enriches your days.

Another thing that hit home was Gilbert's advice to not expect financial reward for creativity, because nothing kills creativity more than depending on it to provide for your lifestyle. So yeah, I'd really love a career in writing, but I'm level-headed enough to know not to expect that, because if I do, I'll be taking all the joy out of something I love.

Once I finished the book on Friday, I felt more at peace with myself and free to create whatever I wanted. And a mere hour later, I was hit with this image in my mind that grew into a shiny new idea. So I went home and brainstormed and thought to myself, this is what I want to write.

Yesterday, I started the first draft and wrote 2300 words. It's kind of different from what I've written before and the main protagonist so adorkable and endearing that I'm excited to see her character arc and story blossom before me.