What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers connect and encourage each other. Want to join in? YOU TOTALLY SHOULD! Head over to Jaime and Erin's blogs to find out more :)

WHAT I'M READING: I'm reading YES, PLEASE by Amy Poehler. I've been reading mostly fiction lately so it's a nice change and I'm enjoying it. I've never seen Parks and Recreation so I'm going to have to check that out as well.

WHAT I'M WRITING: Still revising the MG mystery. At the moment it feels like they will put this in my obituary (She is survived by her two children, her pack of naughty dogs, and her nearly completed middle grade manuscript...) but I WILL FINISH it soon!

WHAT WORKS FOR ME: Caffeine. When I get up early to write I set out everything I will need for tea or coffee in the morning so that all I have to do when I get up is stumble to the kitchen and press the button on the kettle. My goal is to someday build a Pee-wee style Rube Goldberg Breakfast machine that will deliver coffee straight to my desk.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW: Serial is my new obsession. I took a road trip for work last week and listened to the first eight episodes and I. Am. HOOKED. Fascinating on so many levels. If you haven't listened, you really should give it a try. (And then leave a comment saying what you think because I would love to hear it!) 

What's up with you this week?

What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers connect and encourage each other. Last week was my first time, and I want to thank everyone for the warm welcome. The writing community is an amazing place :)

WHAT I'M READING: I just finished THIS SHATTERED WORLD by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner and holy wow. I loved it - if you liked THESE BROKEN STARS (and I'll just bet you did) then I highly recommend picking this one up when it comes out next month! 

WHAT I'M WRITING: Still working on revisions for my MG mystery. Interesting side note: it has been pointed out to me (nicely) that I may have too many references to plastic surgery, porn, and India in this manuscript. Why, brain, why? I don't spend a lot of time thinking about any of these three things, so what are they doing in my story?

WHAT WORKS FOR ME: Getting up early in the morning to write. With two nap-averse toddlers, two energetic dogs, and two persnickety cats (not to mention the job and the husband) I never have guaranteed writing time during the day, so getting my butt in the chair before the sun comes up is my best bet.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW: I have been eating spinach and kale! I am the world's lamest vegetarian (I hate pretty much all vegetables, except pickles*), so this is huge for me. I've been making Lola Berry smoothies and I've devoured whole CUPS OF SPINACH for breakfast. Positively Popeye-esque.

Thanks so much to Jaime and Erin and I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else has been up to this week!

*Pickles are totally a vegetable because they are green and I read it somewhere once so there.

My Social Media Strategy (Spoiler: I don't have one. Shhh.)

My social media stream of consciousness:

What a lark! What a plunge! Wait - should I post that tweet about smelly feet? I could offend someone who smells and I really don't want to do that because they must have enough problems and oh, why is Darth Vader following me? Is my profile picture evil?

BREATHE.

Do I have enough followers? Does it look bad if I follow more people than follow me? I am so unpopular, this is going to be just like that time at the pool with the pooping...NO...that memory stays in the preschool vault. They should never have brought us to the pool anyway - no good ever came of water wings.

BREATHE.

I have no comments. I am shouting into the void and the void is laughing at me and wearing water wings and this was all a terrible mistake because my dog can't comment and he's the only one who really gets me. DOOM DOOM DOOM...

Ahem.

You get the idea. Guys, social media is scary, especially when you've been away for awhile, and it's easy to put pressure on yourself. It can drive you bonkers. I usually like to go into new situations with a strategy (preferably with CHARTS and LISTS), but I'm not doing that this time. 

I'm still wearing my social media water wings and I'm just gonna float here for awhile without worrying about page views or followers or comments or subtweets (because I DON'T KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE). I do not have a plan for social media world domination* because this should be fun, right?

Do you ever feel like the void is laughing at you? Any tips on how to relax and enjoy social media?

*I may or may not have a secret social media lair and a social media laser ray. It's really none of your concern. Look away.

What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers connect and encourage each other. I'm a long-time reader, first time What's Upper :)

WHAT I'M READING:

I have been gulping down Sarah Rees Brennan's Lynburn Legacy books this week. Imagine if Veronica Mars moved to Midsomer and discovered a Hellmouth. (I'll just give you a moment to absorb how awesome that sounds...OK...now RUN AND GET ALL THE BOOKS!) Highly recommended. If you get the first one you may as well just pick them all up because you won't be able to stop.

WHAT I'M WRITING:

I got a second round of notes from my agent two weeks ago so I'm working on revising my upper MG mystery. It's contemporary but with an historical twist. I'm also sneaking in some research on my shiny new idea which means lots of reading about the London Zoo during the Blitz and golden age comics. SHAZAM.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME:

Scrivener. I started using it during my first round of big picture edits for my agent, and it is amazing. I don't know how I wrote without it. It's perfect for mysteries because it's so easy to make notes about clues and you can use the split screen to look at two scenes at once and remember what the holy Halifax you are supposed to be doing. I am just using the most basic features at the moment but looking forward to learning more.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW:

Both of my toddlers have been sick, so I've been to the doctor five days in a row. Then my husband and I bought ourselves a nice dinner to celebrate surviving two sick toddlers - and we got food poisoning. So really, what's been up at my house is just about everything :)

For my less disgusting answer...

Invisible tea is a HUGE hit with the toddler set this week. The dog is less impressed.

Thanks again to Jaime and Erin for the blog hop and I look forward to seeing what everyone else is up to!