Fortunes

I just ate enough Chinese food for a family of three. No, seriously. The Chinese food guy stuck multiple fortune cookies in my bag. Like he just ASSUMED ordering a large sesame chicken, 9 steamed dumplings, crab rangoon, and a pint of fried rice would be a FAMILY meal, not an INDIVIDUAL meal.

I'm hurt by his lack of faith in my gorging abilities.

Anyhoo, whilst I was eating all that gelatinous, fried, steamed goodness, it got me thinking. Of all the fortune cookies I opened (and believe me, there were quite a few), none of the fortunes were at all helpful. I think one of them said something about having integrity or shining like the stars or something that was surely inspiring, as you can see by my vivid memory of it. And that got me thinking about fortunes in general, and the future, and how we, as mere mortals, are constantly trying to figure stuff out.

That's why I love dystopian/post-apocalyptic. Reading it and writing it. I love seeing what other people think could happen, and how they get to those conclusions. Sometimes they're frighteningly oh-my-god-that-SO-COULD-HAPPEN, and sometimes they're more wow-I-hope-that-really-DOES-happen-cuz-even-though-it's-stupidly-dangerous-it'd-be-downright-SWEET. (okay, that last link was more alternate-history/steampunk than dyst/post-apoc, but you get my point.) And, in some weird way, I like being "prepared." I like reading these books and thinking "Okay, now I know how to survive if everyone gets turned into zombies and I get stuck in a psycho-religious fenced-in cult," or "Okay, now I know what to do to avoid really, really pissing off the powers-that-be if my society goes apeshit-crazy and starts restructuring everyone's bodies when they hit 16," or "Okay, now I know how to deal with a society that freaks out about sex-choice and other crazy things" (agency-sister love! Yay Julia!). Call me crazy, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

There really was no point to this post other than to give some love to the dyst/post-apoc genre. Just finished my first dyst (WHITE LIKE ASHES) and I have two more in the works. Me thinks this might be my new favorite genre of choice. Fortunes are FASCINATING, and I love that it's still possible. Fantasy is all well and good, but I love that one day the worlds we imagine in dyst/post-apoc could BE our world. That is beyond cool to me.

God, I love Chinese food.

Contest: Spread the Support!

*punches shoulder*

*but it was really just a love tap*

You GUYS! You're all so nice and stuff. Reading your comments from yesterday makes me feel all fuzzy and warm and special and stuff. It's all so magical. And stuff.

Speaking of stuff: there are SO MANY awesome book giveaways going on right now that I think my bookshelf may explode.

Click here

or here

oh and this one is pretty too

Did I miss one? Probably.

This is one trend I gotta hop on board. All these fantabulous book giveaways + my fantabulous blog readers = fantabulous inspiration to have my own fantabulous book giveaway.

And when I say fantabulous, I mean FANTABULOUS.

In honor of all ya'll being so uber supportive of me in my time of low rough draft esteem, my giveaway will be support-themed. Thus, I will be giving away these lovely books:

THE TENSION OF OPPOSITES by Kristina McBride (who, if you remember, stomps around my stomping ground)

and SISTERS RED by Jackson Pearce

Books written by fastly-becoming-insanely-popular authors. Yay for supporting amazing authors!

There will be two winners, one for each book. To win:

+1 New Follower
+2 Old Follower
+2 Tweet (put @seesarawrite in the Tweet to make it tweet-trackable)
+3 Blog post
+1 Putting a funny/inspirational quote in your comment

Tally your points in the comments section. Each point gives you an entry, and two lucky, randomly drawn people will win the fantabulous prizes! Deadline: July 3rd. Winner will be announced on the 4th, in true holiday-celebration style. There'll be fireworks. Promise.

PS: Don't forget to include an email where I can contact you should you be one of the lucky two.

PPS: Open to international applicants too! Hi, international readers! *waves*

OMG *hides*

I just finished WLA.

Okay, that's a lie. I FINISHED WLA a few days ago, let it sit, and finished EDITING it tonight. Like 10 minutes ago. And the first thing I did was drop everything and rush to tell all of you about it. Feel special? You should.

Actually, the first thing I did was send it to betas. So you're really the second people I've told. Please don't feel less special.

The only real point of this blog post is to rave about how TERRIFIED I am. I'm checking my email like crazy even though I just sent it to betas like 9 minutes ago.

I HAVEN'T SENT FOR BETA REACTIONS ON A COMPLETED MANUSCRIPT IN MORE THAN A YEAR.

AND I AM SCARED.

*gulp*

What if they don't like it? What if my characters SUCK? What if there's a HUGE plot hole that I missed and they laugh and I blush and have to change my name and hide under my desk for a few days until the blushing goes away and I can finally reemerge but by that time I will have lost my job which in hindsight wouldn't be a bad thing and I DISINTEGRATE??

*pants*

Yeah. I KNOW. Scary in my head, isn't it?

In all honesty, though, my beta ladies are the amazingest, bestest beta ladies on the planet and will be very nice in their mercilessness. Seriously. You should be jealous of the awesome array of passionate, supportive, SUPER SMART and oh so pretty beta ladies I have. I'm jealous of me.

But that doesn't stop me from biting my nails until there's nothing left and crying a little bit. I just bought three books today. Maybe I'll read them to distract myself. But reading them will remind me of how AWESOME authors like Jackson Pearce and Ally Carter are and how I WHITHER IN COMPARISON.

Nah. I just used the phrase "whither in comparison." So I gotta be something of a decent writer, right?

Dream

Ya'll are FUNNY.

Reading your answers to the Q&A made my week so much brighter. Me thinks I may have to do a Q&A on a regular basis...*ponders*

Anyway, though -- I really loved getting to know all ya'll better, old readers and new. There's a lot of burgeoning talent out there ($10 word FTW!), and I can't wait to see where everyone's careers take them.

A lot of life events lately have served to remind me of how important big words like ASPIRATIONS and GOALS are (okay, the last one wasn't really a big word, but you get my point). I think I kind of take them for granted some times. I tend to assume that having drive and dreams are common things, what with all the awesome people I know who are also driven and dream-oriented.

Reality sets me right real quick, though. There are a lot of people in this world who WANT things, but don't do anything to make those wants become real. I've found myself surrounded by a lot of them lately, and let me tell ya, it's so DRAINING. Hearing these people talk about things they'd like to do but then just assuming they'll never do it, watching them WANT things but then not even trying to attain them, is one of the most infuriating things in the world. I want to shake them and scream at them and force them to achieve SOMETHING (and I have on, occasion. At least the screaming part), but that never really works. Aspiring and achieving goals is something that must be taught/earned on one's own. Like walking. You gotta fall on your own butt a few times before you really grasp the whole "walking" concept.

No matter how draining/infuriating/SAD it is being around these people, I always come away with slightly more drive to BE something. If not for me, then for them. To kind of prove that AMAZING things are possible. And even if me achieving something great doesn't phase them in the least, at least I'll have risen above their negativity and nothingness. At least I'll be able to look on my life and reminisce about the present I've made, not the past I left behind.

Q&A 4 U

So, I have a lot more blog readers than before. And by before, I mean that-time-when-I-actually-blogged-on-a-regular-basis-instead-of-letting-my-"real"-life-have-more-say-in-my-writing-life-than-it-should-have. Yeah, that time.

Conclusion: I don't know who most of you are. And I want to.

Thus, I have a reverse Q&A round for all ya'll beautiful people. Even you lurkers out there -- I see you, hiding in the back. Don't think I don't know you're there, TOP SECRET GOVERNMENT AGENCY WHO FOUND MY BLOG TWO DAYS AGO, THE SAME DAY I HAPPENED TO FINISH WLA, WHICH JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE A NOVEL ABOUT A GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY.

(No, I'm totally not making that up. SiteMeter doesn't lie.)

(No, I'm totally not crazy. All the time.)

Anyhoo. My questionnaire for you folks, old and new:

1) Name/blog/website

2) Writing genre of choice

3) Reading genre of choice

4) Fictional Male and/or Female character you would totally marry

5) Candle scent of choice

6) Peanut butter or chocolate?

7) Accord or Civic? (No, I'm not currently car shopping because my car TRIED TO KILL ME. Why would you ask?) (That last one doesn't count as a questionnaire question.)

8) So there's a mutant army of radioactive mallards with their bills set on attacking your city. You are in a well-fortified grocery store (of your choice), armed with cannons from a nearby Civil War reenactment camp, a freshly delivered shipment of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, and an inordinate amount of neon-yellow nail polish. How do you hold off the impending attack and save humanity?

I am so looking forward to your answers to these. You have no idea.

For now, I shall leave you to mull over humanity's fate at the hands (er, wings) of mutant mallards while I complaincomplaincomplain about my severe lack of interview-appropriate clothes. Guess this means I just have to go shopping. You know how much I hate shopping.

This counts as interview-appropriate, right?

*drum roll* Universe Deal

Thanks for all the great (and frightening) UNIVERSE DEAL ideas! They really got my deal-making juices a-flowing. And, after much deliberation and nail-biting and mulling over, I have settled on a UNIVERSE DEAL.

Jade came up with the most shudder-inducing DEAL idea (no clue why I feel the need to capitalize UNIVERSE DEAL every time I type it. It's just THAT IMPORTANT, I guess. UNIVERSE, I MEAN BUSINESS):

"You could act for a pirate for the day, clothes, arghhhs and all. But. You'd have to leave the house and associate with people. And. You couldn't start every interaction with "I'm doing this because I got a book deal." You'd need to channel the pirate."

Right? That sounds like a DEAL that would guarantee the Universe to come through on its end. But I don't think I have the resolve/commitment/confidence/ability-to-ignore-quizzical-expressions that would be necessary to be a pirate for an entire day. That, and I work a lot, and piratic apparel/slang is not something the company would approve of. (I know -- why am I working for a company that doesn't approve of piratic apparel/slang? The sacrifices we make...)

So, I have a compromise.

My UNIVERSE DEAL, now and forevermore:

I, Sara Raasch, blogger, writer, and dreamer extraordinaire, do so solemnly swear that if the UNIVERSE comes through and gets me a book deal, I will get my ears re-pierced.

Now, I know what you're thinking.

LAME.

But let me explain a few things.

1) I got my ears pierced when I was...13? ish? And I never, ever, ever remembered to wear earrings, and they grew over, and I wasn't the least bit saddened by this. I'm not a huge jewelry person. It didn't break my heart.

2) I have a phobia of needles (says the girl with two tattoos...). No, seriously -- when my sister got her ears pierced, I had to leave the store. When I get IVs, I go into trance-coma-mode and can't speak/move/acknowledge-anyone's-existence until the damn TUBE is out of my VEIN. *shudder*

3) I really, really, REALLY dislike having to do things that aren't extremely necessary and/or things I want to do. I'm very low-maintenance. Thus, earrings and ear-piercing upkeep would be something quite annoying for me to deal with.

Thus, getting my ears re-pierced would be a huge sacrifice for me, both physically and time-consumingly.

Okay, well, not a HUGE sacrifice. But lets face it -- the Universe getting me a book deal wouldn't be a HUGE sacrifice either. Not like ending poverty or anything.

Does that sound like a DEAL, Universe? Let's shake on it.

*shakes*

All right. I feel good about this.

In other news: Hey, I finished another ms today. No big deal or anything.

*throws confetti*

In case you haven't been keeping track (lord knows my obsessive-compulsive inability to let things go has been keeping track enough for the both of us...), this is the first novel I've finished since Stream Pirate, back in 2009. 2009! And not even late 2009 -- I finished Stream Pirate last last winter-ish. It's been around a year since I had the warm, ethereal glow of completing a new and totally god-awful manuscript.

But you know what? I'm in love with it, suckiness and all. We'll see how long that love lasts when I sit down for a read-through later this week.

Excuse me while I rejoice in my productivity and let the Universe mull over this DEAL. You know you want to see the heart-wrenching agony I'll go through in getting my ears pierced, Universe. You know you want to.

3-0-k

Who reached the 30,000 word mark on her WIP?

*points to self*

Yuuup. This chick.

*dances*

Since my back hurts from sitting all day writing, writing, writing, I'm going to make this post quick and painless and full of LINKY LOVE.

Firstly, all those lurvely people who did the Visual Inspiration/WIP in Pics posts:

Natalie Whipple
Steph Bowe
Lila Swan
Kaity Hall

Pretty, isn't it? Sigh, so much ART. Love it!

Nextly, a thought-provoking post by my SUPER AGENT Kate aka Daphne Unfeasible! I always feared having Plot Armor in my novels, but I never had a word/phrase for it. Now there is one!

Thirdly and finally: WHY DO I LIKE THESE VIDEOS SO MUCH??



I swear I could spend the ENTIRE DAY doing nothing but watching Non/Disney Crossover YouTube Vids. They're like eye crack.

I Give: Deal with the Universe

*hands up* *white flag* *sounds retreat bugle*

I give, okay? You hear that, universe? I GIVE.

I've witnessed a lot of people make deals with the universe (I'd find the links to other bloggers' posts, but it's late and I'm tired and I worked ALL WEEKEND and it's hot here and I cut my arm today. Wahhhh. Hey, I said I surrendered, not grew up). And it seems to be a pretty effective way of acquiring impressive things. So, I'm going to do it. I'm going to make a UNIVERSE DEAL regarding a BOOK DEAL.

*drum roll*

Um. Yeah. About that deal...I was hoping, you know, since my blog readers are the PRETTIEST BLOG READERS EVER *strokes blog readers* they could, maybe, you know, come up with some snazzy UNIVERSE DEAL ideas for me? Nothing is off limits. I've already gotten tattoos, so even permanently inking myself is on the table. GO CRAZY, folks, and leave your ideas in the comments.

PS: Also, leave me some linkage on yesterday's blog post if you did a WIP in Pics or a Visual Inspiration post so I can compile them into one big, pretty linkable post.

PPS: Mozilla Firefox recognized "linkage" as a word. Question mark?

PPPS: I forgot how HAPPY writing on a regular basis makes me. Gosh.

High. And Math.

I have 20 minutes before I need to get ready for work. 25 minutes before I need to get ready for work in a mad-crazy-rushing-around-with-one-shoe-on extravaganza that usually ends with me tripping over Puppy and her looking at me like I'm some dumb, clumsy humanoid who should really just stick to getting her Beggin Strips. So this post will be typed in a mad-crazy-rushing-around-with-one-shoe-on extravaganza. Even though I don't have shoes on yet.

Ahem.

If you have the misfortune of following me on Twitter, you know my summer word count goal SUPER EXCITING NEWS:

5348/50000

Do the math with me now:

600 words a day x 7 days = 4200 words

5348 - 4200 = 1148 words OVER goal!

I went from being frighteningly behind to nearly two days OVER goal!

(And I'm having stabbing brain-pains from doing math on my most sacred blog. The Left Side of the Brain gods are angry.)

And let me tell ya, folks, I'm on a word-high. I haven't felt this good in MONTHS. Yes, most of those 5348 words are crap and will be tweaked within an inch of their tiny lives, but they're THERE, and they exist, and the story is coming together in really fun ways. I love me some dystopian YA. There is no greater joy than coming up with a really exciting way for the world to end.

I mean. Um. Oh, look, something shiny!

So whilst I take full advantage of this word-high by being annoyingly chipper all day today, I leave ya'll with a question. I feel bad for not asking this a few posts ago:

What's your summer writing goal?

Happy Saturday, everyone! Puppy is already giving me that look, so at least I'm ahead of schedule.

A's to the Q's

Thanks for the questions, guys! I always love these posts :)

Q from Kathryn: Ice cream flavor/animal/beverage of choice?

Ice cream flavor: Cheesecake. No, Sweet Cream. No, cheesecake. No, Sweet Cream. Agh. How can people have just ONE favorite??

Animal: Pembroke Welsh Corgis.

Need I say more?

Beverage: Vitamin Water.

My mouth waters just looking at it...

Q's from Natalie: When will I get to read another one of your books?

In 246 hours. Yeah, I'm that good.

No, not really. But it should definitely probably absolutely might be by the end of the summer.

Also, what's the craziest thing you think about doing and yet at the same time you'd never do?

Start exercising on a regular basis.


Q from Hayley: Okay out of all the story ideas you've used/thought of how many of them do you actually end up writing stuff for, and out of those how many would you consider completing to send to your agent?

Ooo I like this question. Hmm. Let me do the math:

Ideas: Too many to count.
Ideas with Meat (meaning I've actually started writing/thinking about them): 7
WIPs: 3
Finished Novels: 3
Sent to Agent: 1

Contest! And Q&A

Before I get into my blog post, click over to Jill Wheeler's Follower Appreciation Contest. She was recently agented by the amazing Sarah Davies of Greenhouse Lit, and believe me, guys, you WANT to be one of her 100+ followers. This girl is GOING PLACES. And her baby is ridiculously cute.

On to my less-exciting-than-a-contest post:

So, it's been awhile. A lot has happened. I've come and I've gone, I've had depression-freak-outs and revelation-highs. As a fresh start to the summer, I'm opening up a Q&A round that can be about anything. Writing, depression, relationships. Don't hold back. It could even be an Anonymous question if you'd like. But ask anything, and I'll answer as honestly and optimistically as I can.

Post your questions by tomorrow evening, 9PM EST, and I'll pop up the answers tomorrow night sometime.

Summer Goal Update

Summer Goal Word Count: 2106/50000

(Though, I realize now I'm doing it kind of strangely. I already had 20,000+ words written in my current WIP before I started, so I'll finish it before I reach the 50k overall-summer-goal mark. But never fear, as I plan on starting then on another WIP. Or maybe calling it even when I finish my current WIP and using the rest of summer for editing. Eh. Decisions.)

Magic

Let's face it: Life sucks. Usually.

One of the things that keeps me afloat during the bombardment of sucky times is quotes. There's something about the simplicity of so much power in so few words that reminds me of the strength that can be found in the small things. Small things such as us. So I've started a quote-book; a random hodgepodge of quotes, song lyrics, book snippets, etc that I find awe-inducing, to help me remember that the greatest strength can come from the smallest places.


Example quotes:

"Life is infinitely stranger than anything the mind could invent..." Arthur Conan Doyle

"Keep Moving Forward." Walt Disney

"Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle." Christian D. Larson

"Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in the magic will never find it." Roald Dahl

"To each his own magic." THE SWEET, FAR THING, Libba Bray

"A small, clean part of me waits to warm and burst through the surface. Some quiet Melindagirl I haven't seen in months. That is the seed I will care for." SPEAK, Laurie Halse Anderson


My request of ya'll: I need more. If you have a favorite quote, song lyric, or book snippet, leave it in the comments for me. My word addiction thanks you!

Road Trip

A Writer's Activities Whilst Road-Tripping, In Time-Released Form

DEPART: Hour 1: Hey, this is kind of nice. Getting away. Seeing new sights. Oh look, vegetation!

Hour 2: *jams to Rise Against on iPod*

Hour 3: *watches Dollhouse on iPod* Technology is SO COOL. *watches more*

Hour 4: *digs for snack in cooler* *realizes only snack is a stale bag of Bugles* *decides to wait for next restaurant*

Hour 5: *jams to Hollywood Undead on iPod*

Hour 6: *eyes Bugles*

Hour 7: *feels very sick after eating Bugles*

Hour 8: OHMIGAWD so. much. vegetation.

Hour 9: TREESTREESTREESTREES. *shudders*

Hour 10: West Virginia must have been established as a government ploy to infect the unsuspecting population with carsickness.

Hour 11: *eats more Bugles* *cranks iPod* *realizes she's jamming to Miley Cyrus* *continues jamming*

ARRIVE: Hour 12: Oh, hey. No, the drive was fine. Lots of pretty sights. And stuff. *sniffs* Is that ham? I smell ham. Want a Bugle?

Happy Things

Firstly, OMGLOOK. No seriously. Click it. You know you want to. CLICK IT. Okay. Aren't you glad you did?

I'd like to extend one big warmhearted WELCOME to Jill Wheeler as she enters the Realm of the Agented Authors. Welcome, Jill!! SO glad to have ya! Always room for one more :)

Secondly, I'm going to be AWOL 'til about next Saturday whilst I take some much needed time to recharge after these two hellish quarters. My to-do list:

1) Nothing
2) Nothing
3) REALLY nothing
4) Read

As for #4, my stack now looks like this:

I plan on adding THE TENSION OF OPPOSITES once I get my hands on a copy. My B&N's order got delayed. Blast the delivery service.

Any other books I should add to the stack this summer? This is just my next-week-doing-nothing-but-reading stack. Feel free to leave suggestions for the rest of the summer. I gotta get me caught up on stuff.

So til next Saturday, I bid thee all a happy week. Remember: next Saturday begins my summer-long, self-inflicted challenge. Don't let me forget, Evil Overlords Bloggers. I'm counting on you.

My Evil Overlords

I hath appeased him.

Within the week, many papers were paid unto him. A few tests, a few speeches, a few last minute assignments. At long last, I rid myself of the chains of his imprisonment and step forth into the daylight. With a very proper, well-educated tone, of course.

To celebrate my victory, I shall tell you of my plan. Here it is, laid out before all ya'll so I shall have some accountability.

So, summer. I have from next Saturday, the 12th, until September 7th all to my little self to do with as I please. And I please to use that time to write my little self's heart out.

June 12th to September 7th = Roughly 12 weeks.

12 weeks. Three-ish months. Sounds like I need a goal. Which means I need all ya'll to GET ON ME for keeping said goal. Yay? Yay. All righty. Here is my goal.

12 weeks = 50,000 words

approx. 4,200 words/week

approx. 600 words/day

(I will be working a lot and having some semblance of a life. So this is assuming I write around 1k every 2 days. Which is reasonable, no?)

Okay. So this is it. I hereby trade my Evil Overlord Homework for my Evil Overlords Bloggers. Keep that whip a-cracking on me, folks. Seriously. Yell at me if I don't have updates. Berate me harshly if I don't reach my goals. And by the time fall quarter starts and Evil Overlord Homework reappears, I should have a complete first draft of a novel.

If you're in, let me hear ya say WRITE!