What I was hoping YOU could help me with is this: what small piece of advice (let’s call it a breadcrumb) do you wish you’d had when you first started writing? I would love to have a few of these to flash up on the powerpoint (alongside the usual subliminal pictures of chocolate and hot guys) that didn’t all fall out of my own rotting brain.

So, what do you say? Do you have any breadcrumbs for our new writers, to help keep them on the path?

Or any warnings about witches?

Who are the witches in your writing life? My guess is, if you’ve been writing for a while, you won’t name editors and agents… but you might come  up with some ideas I could steal and use this weekend.

Thanks, friends! I love stealing from you all.

Note: The winner of my ARC giveaway on Cynsations was Jaclyn Dolamore! YES, this Jaclyn Dolamore!!! I’m so excited – I love her writing, and now she’s going to read mine. *faints* Thanks to everyone else for commenting.  I’ll *probably* have a Goodreads giveaway next month…

1. If you tried to contact me regarding the use of one of my flash fiction pieces in your English class, the answer was YES! But your return email address keeps bouncing the YES back to me. So, Dear English Teacher, I hope you taught it with a clear conscience, and know that I was very flattered to be asked. <3

2. Don’t forget to leave a comment on Cynthia Leitich Smith’s blog, Cynsations, to win an ARC of my novel, THE SINISTER SWEETNESS OF SPLENDID ACADEMY… and chocolate, too! You have until April 9. Not long.

3. It’s hard to fathom. My book has its very own Blog Tour, organized by the amazing Jen Bigheart. I’m flabbergasted at her generosity and overall awesomeness — and I’ve been terribly pleased with the reviews so far! Most of them haven’t been posted yet, but you can read THIS ONE at Still Waiting For Books To Come True. (Thanks, Lexie!) I can’t wait to see what the rest of the bloggers think. I so appreciate the time they are taking to read and write such thoughtful reviews. (If you would like to join the tour, contact me, and I’ll set you up if there’s still space.)

4. The Houston Writer’s Guild conference is just around the corner! I am one of the keynote speakers, and I’m presenting a talk on queries as well, so please come, keep me company, and learn from some truly outstanding agents, writers, and editors. Um, and me.

5. I have been reading up a storm. I fell in love with two middle grade books this week. The first was Claire LeGrand’s THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. I cannot express how delightfully wicked and perfectly terrifying I found this book. I have embarrassed myself on Twitter and elsewhere gushing about it, so I’ll stop now. But I WILL start up again closer to its expected arrival in August!

The other book I just finished tonight. I picked up an ARC of The Bad Apple at ALA Midwinters. I wish I hadn’t waited to read it! It was AMAZING. Full of humor and mystery, mischief and heart. Speaking of hearts, I found my own heart actually racing at one point, I was so caught up in the story. Seriously, folks: palpitations.

6. A shiny new idea knocked on the door today. It was completely unexpected, and strange. And frightening — I’m not sure about this one. It’s quite visceral and dark… and funny, but sad? I have a few pages. I don’t know what’s in the plot yet, but this poor character, in his dire situation…? I can’t wait to see if he survives it.

I think he might.

Happy April, Friends! Write well.

Next, I want to say a HUGE (and belated) congratulations to my dear friend and critique bud, Lindsey Scheibe, who had this Publisher’s Marketplace tidbit to share two weeks ago:

Debut author Lindsey Scheibe’s RIPTIDE, pitched as Jennifer Echols/Simone Elkeles meets the movie BLUE CRUSH, in which a seventeen-year-old is training for a big surf competition — her ticket out of an abusive household — and trying desperately to keep from falling in love with her best friend, to Brian Farrey at Flux, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2013, by Mandy Hubbard at D4EO Literary Agency (World English).

I had the delight of reading and critiquing some of the earliest drafts of this book – and I’m so thankful I did! The world is going to love this book. Wait… did I say book? I meant BOOKS, Ms. Two-Book Deal!  Squee for Lindsey!

And last but NOT least, you have two days to RACE over to the Authors for Henryville website, hosted by the lovely YA author and all-around wonderful human, Julia Karr, to donate to help rebuild the public libraries in Henryville, Indiana devastated by the recent storms… with the chance of winning one of my ARCs!

One last note: The launch party for a new middle grade novel that I heartily recommend is coming up this weekend, on Saturday, at Bookpeople in Austin, 2 p.m. The book is The Chronal Engine by Greg Leitich Smith, and it’s amazing. Dinosaurs plus time travel plus a great family dynamic plus bad guys? Total fun. I’d love to see you at the launch, but you should buy the book even if you can’t get to Austin.

When I lay hands on it again, I’ll post the giveaway details here… until then, I must share this very awesome video with you. I’ve been getting some reviews of Sinister Sweetness, and so far they’ve been good. But if I ever get a real stinker? I’m totally going to put together a band and do something like this. Totally.

Black Metal Book Review

These days? It is ALL about the other writers. Just think of it- spending DAYS with other people who care passionately about the same things you do, who can talk about them, who speak the language of writing and publishing, who write sweet picture books but swear worse than any sailor… you get the idea.

And that’s what I got to do last weekend!I know, lucky me. Wait until you hear the rest.

The Austin SCBWI Annual Conference was by all accounts a resounding success, thanks to our capable and dedicated leadership, including Austin’s Debbie Gonzales.

Debbie is the BEST!

But we also had all SORTS of awesome SCBWI folks, from all over, in town! Like fellow Apocalypsie Lynne Kelly, the author of the Middle Grade soon-to-be-a-classic Chained. This book is so gorgeous, a love story about a deeply compassionate little boy and his… elephant. Touching, hopeful, and painfully real. It’s going to be one of those books that lasts.

Her shirt says "Peace, Love, and Elephants."

Also from Houston, the amazing Vonna Carter, writer and blogger extraordinaire.

Vonna looks great! I look like I have on All The Makeup in Texas. Thanks, makeup counter lady at Nordstrom's.

And, of course, we had the Extremely Famous and Talented People, including keynote speaker Lisa Yee, who was hilarious and heart-breaking and amazing in every way a keynote speaker can be.

Author Lisa Yee and Peepy in a UT cheerleader uniform. Perfect!

Some of us were lucky enough to go to a full-day intensive on Sunday with Lisa Yee, where we learned to write Better Bad Guys. This much fun, and a tax-deduction? I love this job.

Writer Lindsey Schiebe makes villainous magic on her laptop!

And then there was the raffle. I won!! For the, like, the first time ever, I actually won things! Like, gift certificates to Bookpeople, and books, and wine! It was my lucky day.

We're ALL Winners! But only I won wine. *fist pump*

Lucky me, for sure. I hope you strike it rich this year, too — and I hope your riches are the kind that last… and the kind that listen to you blab on about writing stuff without complaint!

Of course, to find those “riches” you might have to register for a conference or two.

By “all,” I think they mean writing, book publicity/marketing, day job, housework, kids, family concerns, volunteering, and social life.

The short answer is this: we don’t. Or at least I don’t. If you plan to add something substantially time-consuming like writing a freaking BOOK into your life, you’re going to have to pick something to let go. (I chose housework, television, some of my volunteering, and most of my personal hygiene regimen. The kids are still being taken care of, marginally, but that may change when edits come back for the next novel. Then I may just hand them bows and arrows, sleeping bags, shove them out the door, and tell them it’s time for them to become men. Is nine years old too young for that?)

What they don’t remember to put into that equation is one of the things a writer cannot give up. (And no, I’m not talking about showers: those are optional, and the resulting smell keeps people away, freeing up even more writing time.)

I mean reading. I don’t think a writer can sustain a career unless s/he is reading, constantly, in and out of the genre s/he’s writing.

Me, I’ve been reading a lot recently. I’ve read some amazing middle grade books – truly amazing, as in “I’m going to dedicate some blog posts soon to these books” amazing. (Which books? Okay, I’ll give titles here: Remarkable  by Lizzie Foley, The Chronal Engine by Greg Leitich Smith, and We’ve Got a Job, by Cynthia Levinson. These three books blew me away, all for different reasons, but all in the same week. LOVE them. More later.)

I could go on and on about balance for writers, and I will… this Thursday night, with the Writer’s League of Texas at Bookpeople in Austin.

Please join me and the other panelists (here are the bios), at 7 p.m. for a funny and honest look at how an author balances his/her life. I’ll be on the panel, but folks? I’ll probably be taking notes, too!

Here are the details! See you there!

Check this out, my favorite thing on the Internet last week – and an Academy Award-nominated short animated film!

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

Lovely, isn’t it?

Oh, and in Nikki News, I placed two pieces so far this month! I will have the great pleasure of seeing another one of my short stories in Pockets magazine this June, and (how’s this for a long lead time?) another short essay in the Bylines 2013 Calendar!

Now, back to the Revising Cave. Thank goodness I’ve put by enough chocolate to last the winter.

Click here to read more about the Power of Pajamas, and how refusing to get dressed changed my writing life.

Now, I’m off to Dallas for the ALA Midwinter conference to hang out with the literati and act like I Know Stuff. So excited. But I have to pack — I’ve heard a rumor that (unlike Austin) jeans and a nice t-shirt do NOT constitute appropriate conference attire in Dallas. Weird, right?

Some of my very favorite memories of childhood, though, were of my mom playing piano music with us kids, all of us singing along. We had dozens of songs memorized, harmonies and descants included. Whenever a day had really gotten to one of us, the sound of those songs trickling in from the living room would pull us out of our funk and onto the piano bench, right next to Mom, and the day improved in an instant.

I wanted to give that to my kids. I wanted to play those songs, and more. But I was a Very Difficult Child, and broke my mom like a dry twig when she tried to force me to keep up the practicing as a child. And the time, patience, and will to learn to play as an adult eluded me.

So I settled for the Most Important Songs: Christmas Carols. Even if I couldn’t sit down and play some gorgeous classical piece, by gum I was going to nail Joy to the World and Jingle Bells. You know what? I did it. I mostly have those, even if they are pretty easy versions. Even though I have to struggle and sweat through every new song I want to add to my repertoire (Silver and Gold? O Come, O Come Emanuel? You are mine!), I am adamant I will succeed.

I think all of our Big Dreams are like that. There are things we want, and things we’re willing to work for, and things we’re willing to accept. Too often, we’re willing to accept less than we are capable of, and far less than we’d dreamed.  I accepted far less in my dream of playing the piano with my kids — but I’ve made my peace with what I can do and have done.

Whether it’s in writing or music, there comes a point when you must draw a line in the sand and say: this is what I want, and am willing to work for. Fight for. Even if it means sitting down to the keyboard and coming face-to-face with your current state of mediocrity, even if it’s embarrassing and your kids/critique partners don’t seem all that enthused.

Even if it means the dogs howl and the neighbors post anonymous complaints about the noise, even if the agents and editors send form rejections and nothing else, keep working toward your goal. At the end of your journey, you will have earned the right to be proud of yourself. So what if your work only ever appears in a local magazine, or a church newsletter? So what if all you can play is Silent Night?

Personally, I’ve always loved Silent Night. And the most meaningful thing I’ve had published was in a church magazine.

So, Writer Friends… what are you willing to work for? What are you willing to accept?

It’s cold outside, just a little, so I’m not tempted to venture out. My favorite pajamas are clean, and I keep them on until at least noon.

I have my special tea – the cinnamon/orange/clove stuff, along with my insulated infuser tea pot, and one of my fancy schmancy, Jane Austen-y, bone china tea cups.

My dogs sit quietly at my feet. My big dog only smells faintly of skunk.

The phone doesn’t ring.The Internet is boring and holds no magic for me.

I know what I’m planning to write about. Not every word, but the next chapter or two.

When I get to a place in the manuscript that needs a little research, I can find the information I need in seconds. I get to research old fairy tales and witchcraft and call it working.

The writing goes fast. I produce thousands of words without it feeling forced or tiresome. I re-read what I’ve written, and it sounds… if not good, at least like something I can work with.

I think about my story all through lunch, which happens to be the very best of leftovers from a home-cooked meal.

I have enough chocolate (Lindt Intense Orange Dark bars, to be precise) to help me get over that afternoon slump.

The perfect writing day. That’s what it’s been like today, Writer Friends. Go ahead, be jealous.

But you don’t have to feel too jealous. I’ve never actually had two of these in a row.

Yet.

So, what’s the perfect writing day for you?