GUTGAA Meet and Greet

Welcome to Gearing Up to Get an Agent (known as GUTGAA, and not to be confused with Gut Guy).

GUTGAA is being run by the lovely Deana Barnhardt and you can sign up at that link, or through the Linky at the end of this post, if you're geared up to get an agent. If you have a manuscript all ready to show the world, you will want to participate. This isn't just a blog hop, but also a fantastic Agent Pitch Contest! Wheeee!

For this first day of the blog hop portion of the programming, Deana posted the following questions for every participant to answer, so we could all get to know each other a little better. Let me say it now, these are fun questions!


 -Where do you write?

I have several places where I prefer do do my writing. The first, and most frequent location is my Comfy Chair. It is an ancient overstuffed chair that's so battered and worn that it's become MY chair. Nobody else sits there. Or dares to.


My other favorite writing spot is seasonal. I have a screened in porch behind my house, and when the weather is nice enough, I'll sit out there for hours and write. By nice enough, I mean anything between "I'd consider going in for a sweater if it got any cooler" to "I'm bundled from head to toe, but I think my toes might be going numb, so maybe I should go in." Any hotter or colder, and I'll be in the Comfy Chair.


-Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?

In this order: Cell phone, coffee mug, coaster which is not under the coffee mug :/, pen, glass penguin, photo of me with Alex Trebek, hair clip, earrings, pet rock, red crayon, two receipts from the post office, my spare pair of glasses with the broken nosepiece, and three Christmas ornaments that I forgot to put away last December and decided to leave on the credenza until Thanksgiving rather than climb up to the shelves in the garage where the holiday decor is stored.

***Edit for everyone asking about Alex Trebek: Yes, I was on Jeopardy! (so was my husband)


-Favorite time to write?

I usually write from lunch time until my daughter gets home from school at 3:30, and then again after dinner until my eyes cross or I pass out from exhaustion.


-Drink of choice while writing?


Usually caffeine. Coffee, tea, and the dreaded soda.


-When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?


I used to need silence, but after a while I trained myself to ignore distractions. I don't listen to music on purpose, but if some is playing elsewhere in the house it doesn't bother me. In fact, my comfy chair is in the living room, and the television is on in the evenings while I write. I don't even see it or hear it anymore.


-What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?


The latest MS I've been querying was born from the fact that the first two novels I ever wrote were dreadful, and I didn't think they had enough commercial appeal even if I rewrote the dreadfulness out of them. I was terrified that I would never be able to come up with a new world, characters, and story. I have no idea where the idea for Running Down the Dragon came from, but I sure am glad it came from somewhere! Hopefully the story and writing hold more appeal! I wrote a second novel with the new characters, and I'm half way through a third.


-What's your most valuable writing tip?

Don't spend all your time reading writing advice. You'll end up befuddled and disillusioned. All you need to do is start writing. I mean, clearly you need a grasp of the language, an idea of what's expected in a manuscript, and a solid group of critique partners and beta readers. Other than that, though, it's your story. You have to find your own way to tell it.


And so that's all for now. I was going to snap some pictures of my Comfy Chair and the items to my left, but then I realized I'd have to stand up to do that. Not to mention the things to my left are in a messy pile. I don't want you to think I live like that. O.O

***Edit, for Feaky Snucker:

Ooh la la! The CREDENZA.

The crap to my left. Note the banana stickers decorating my fancy furniture, and my caffeine delivery system.

Interested in GUTGAA yet? I hope so! Here's the SIGN-UP LIST Linky: