The truth about writing

I was reading Jason Alexander's blog today (you can find a link to Writer's Life in the links on the side), which is a guilty pleasure I enjoy every once in awhile. Jason's sense of humor is irreplaceable. But amidst the wisecracks, he paused for a moment to give his theory on writing, which I love. This gives me motivation and drive to continue in what I do, even though the industry is cutthroat and oftentimes just plain evil -- in terms of crushing hopes one's had since early childhood (at least in my case). I started writing when I was like 8 years old. In grade school, I won my first writing contest, earning myself a whole bag of Starburst, and I knew from that moment that I wanted to be a writer. Ever since, everything I've done has been with the goal of one day being published. Sure, it's been a hard road. It's not easy turning your thoughts into a comprehensible 400-page novel. But it's worth ever ounce of sweat I put into it. I would never give up my writing for anything. And I know that no matter how long it takes, I will be published one day. I have no dillusions about my work. I'm far from being one of those American Idol contestants who can't hold a note and yet think they are the next Madonna. But when you have a passion for something, if you devote a lot of hard work and energy to it, you have no where to go but up. Here's what Jason says about it:

My theory goes like this: no matter who you are and where you are from and
what your parents do for a living, if you can write and you know you can and you
work at it every day and you know deep below the surface in that place where
only the truth exists that you're not just being daft and irrational, you will
get discovered. This may take weeks or it may take years or it may take decades,
but my feeling is that good, solid writing rises to the top. Editors can
spot it. Agents can spot it. Other writers can spot it. And this is the
beauty of the writing world. You always have to fall back on your own
talent.

FRAGGLE ROCK!

I was so excited when I opened up my web browser just now and saw that Fraggle Rock is going to be made into a movie soon. I don't remember being allowed to watch much TV as a kid, but Fraggle Rock was one that the entire family gathered anxiously to watch on HBO on Sunday night. It was my absolute favorite show. And now, more than 20 years later, they are bringing it back! I can not be more excited. First NKOTB, now Fraggles. What more could a person ask for?

http://buzzsugar.com/1625856

Query Letter Land

It's too bad that magic isn't real, because I could use some about now. Writing a query letter is one of the most daunting tasks I've taken on since sewing an entire crib set for my sister's first baby. My main problem is not that I can't boil down 80,000 words into one paragraph. It's more that I can't decide which of the 90 one paragraph descriptions is the best representation of my novel.

Here are some of the most useful links I found while putting off the real work:

Tricks of the Trade, Writing the Dreaded Synopsis by Lisa Gardner (one of my favs!)
How to Write a Synopsis by Andrew Jameson (this one requires a password from absolutewrite.com