Warning: Rambling story ahead…

I’ve been writing for almost 14 years (24 years if you count that one time in first grade when I decided I could write a better Care Bear book…but I digress). I wrote (bad) paranormal fiction in high school and a little into my early twenties, but it wasn’t until I met some amazing women at the LUNA forum in eharlequin that I considered picking up the pen and writing again.That was four years ago and I haven’t looked back since.

Cynnara Tregarth talked me into attending a class called Writing the Novella. The instructor was the amazing (and strict task-mistress) Morgan Hawke. I was thrust deep in the world of creative writing and marketing. I had a secret, though. Of all of the writers in the class, I seemed to be the only one without anything published. When I mentioned it to Ms. Hawke via email, she replied with something I’ll never forget…”If you weren’t ready to write, you wouldn’t be here.”

Hmm. Something to think about. In that brief but brilliant three months I was filled to the brink with amazing knowledge. Morgan promised hard lessons and difficult homework assignments. She pulled no punches and egos had no place in her classroom. I liked that. A lot. The environment taught me to write under pressure and keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Every one of us struggled with our own writing demons and in the end, we were amazed we’d survived.

Most of my classmates went on to start or continue very successful careers. I cheered from the sidelines but didn’t finish anything. I honed and honed. I’d write a bit of a story and submit it for critique in contests or reader’s forums. I was a member of a writing group where we’d challenge each other to write really fun stories based on a theme or picture.

The League of Amazing Writers asked me to become a member and I was thrilled!

A year rolled around and I finally finished a story. It was a wicked vampire story based on a nightmare I’d had as a teenager. The story was vivid and wonderful. Perfect in my mind…(I’m sure you can see where this is going…)

So I subbed it to Changeling Press, one of my favorite E-Publishers to buy from. At the time Samhain or Aspen Mountain Press hadn’t come on the market. Loose was another favorite.

It was rejected.

And I was devastated. All that hard work? For nothing? So I turned to other things in my life and reopened those lessons from Morgan. I learned and worked. Kept playing with stories in my head and celebrating with each of my friends’ successes. It was a rocky time in my personal life so I used the time to figure things out.

It took me six months to work up the nerve to read the polite rejection letter with any objectivity. And another six to straighten out my life enough (I was having a baby!) to try again.

In 2006, Nikita Gordyn asked me to write something for fun. Just a quick read to get me over the fear of writing again. I did, and Own Me came to be. With her encouragement I submitted it to Aspen Mountain Press and on Christmas Eve 2006, I received my first acceptance.

Since then I resubmitted to Changeling (almost two years to the DAY of the first submission) and was accepted. Oh the cheering session on that one! The support from my former classmates, my husband, and my critique partners have been the major reason for my return to writing. With new releases came the readers and let me tell you, there’s nothing in the world like receiving an email from someone who enjoyed your book.

I’m a slow mover in my writing career. I’ll get to know an editor/company/product before submitting and I’m enjoying every step of the way.

The original story still sucks and may never see the light of day. Be thankful…it’s REALLY bad.  I’ve been rejected a few times but accepted far more and I’ve learned a lot about my limits as a writer. This writing life isn’t easy, at least not for me, but I have to tell you…I’ve got the best readers in the world.

I’m looking forward to the next chapter in my career…whatever it may be.

So what about you? Name one thing in your life that started out bad but became a blessing in disguise.

Dawn Montgomery

Have you set new goals for the year? Are you going to? Tomorrow I’ll post about setting good, achievable goals.

My goals for the new year: 1200-1400 words a day. I’ve also set up quarterly goals instead of just the annual goal so I will pay more attention this year. What about you? What are your goals?

I hope 2008 was a wonderful year for you and wish for 2009 to be one of the best! Thank you for being the best fans a bunch of gals could hope for.

Happy New Year!

Dawn Montgomery

http://www.dawnmontgomery.com/blog

For others they have the beginning of the greatest novel ever written…if only it would get done, or several works in progress that need to be ended, polished and submitted…

Some thought NaNo was a failure, others a challenge that tore them apart or lifted them up. I walked with a few people across that finish line, cheering them on (or driving them with a timekeeper’s whip!), and celebrated with others who may not have won, but did something amazing…finally finished a chapter, tore down a writing block, dodged a potential plotting hazard, wrote more words than ever before…You catch my drift.

So here’s the big question…what now?

That’s easy. Keep writing, editing, polishing and submitting manuscripts. No, it’s okay. I hear you scoffing at me, asking me if I’ve lost my mind. How in the world could I ever expect you to keep up NaNo intensity year round?

I don’t.

I expect you to find a groove and stick with it. Let’s say you write 250-300 words a day (2-3 paragraphs). That’s FOUR novellas (25K) a year. Four potential releases! Or TWO category length (55K) novels a year…wow! Or ONE full-length (single title) novel (90K +) a year! That’s amazing, isn’t it? All those little words add up. Whether you’re writing two paragraphs a day or 1,667 a day, remember this…you can’t edit a blank page. Get out there and keep going!

Do you need help/motivation polishing up your manuscript from NaNo? Harlequin Romance has a forum dedicated to post NaNo editing. Romance Divas have areas and workshops in their forum to help. NaNoWriMo has a post NaNo care area for those who are struggling with the “what now?” question.

Either way, I’m proud to continue sweating with you guys if you’re feeling the groove…after a week off, of course. I’m TIRED!

XoXo,

Dawn Montgomery

http://www.dawnmontgomery.com/blog

12 Gingersnaps, 12 chances to win free ebooks for a year…

* Does not include those who wrote in their own unofficial NaNo programs or spinoffs, family members who lost their novel writing relatives for a month, or the poor pets who missed their humans.

I’m in the middle (*snort* I wish, more like the beginning) of a hand to hand combat course (workshop) that is *literally* kicking my butt, but in a good way…My bruises make my husband cringe and he mutters under his breath a lot about me being crazy or something. He’s so sweet about it, though. Gets me ice packs for my knee and shoulder, forces ibuprofen down my throat so I can walk throughout the day, and makes sure I’m well fed and rested by convincing me that watching this *one* show will be great (and RIGHT after dinner)…knowing full well I’ll pass right out within five minutes. I shoulda seen that one coming.

I’m on day three of a three week course. It starts at 4am and lasts two hours Monday through Friday. See? Crazy. I get home, shower and get dressed, heading to work less than an hour after I get home. Then it’s a 9 hour work day…see? Crazy.

Two weeks ago it was training on a 9mm Baretta (standard issue, I’m told, for a large number of law enforcement agencies. 56 out of 60 shots in my practical…not bad for a first time huh!).

In three weeks I perform a practical and written exam for the combat workshop…Three weeks? Wow.

The only writing I’m getting done right now involves writing down how I feel afterward so I can remember for later usage. ROFL.

So I’ll be out of here for a bit. I love you guys and wish me LUCK!

Dawn

http://www.dawnmontgomery.com/