This made my day (Not writing related.)

Hearing about the bounty from the New Orleans Saints made me sick. Knowing that players on my team were targeted made me angry, and now hearing the punishment laid out by the league, I'm finally relieved.

I feel that the Saints got what they deserved. I hope this is a lesson to any other team out there that might do the same thing.

Below is a link to the story for those of you that don't about it.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d827c0dd9/article/nfl-suspends-williams-indefinitely-saints-payton-one-year-?module=HP11_breaking_news

What can I do for you?

So I've been writing in this blog for almost two years now and am trying to figure out if it is keeping your interest. Do you like the subjects that I write about?
Do you have any subjects that you think I should write about?
What are some of your favorite posts?
What are some of your least favorite posts?

Let me know in the comments as I am really interested if this is worth keeping up at this point.

What makes this so difficult?

I have started to query, and so far I have gotten a request, a few rejections and some plain out no responses yet. Now I've been through this road before and I don't mind the difficulty, but I do get a little frustrated by the new policy that "no response means no." I know agents are busy and they have a ton of queries to sift through each day, but I honestly think that even a quick, no thanks would be better than just nothing.

I know some agents do have a simple form rejection which doesn't bother me because at least I get a response.

So my question is to my fellow writers, what makes this part of the process so difficult? Is it the waiting, the lack of responses, or even the idea that your beloved story might not be worth the time of an agent?

If this sounds like I'm complaining I don't mean it to sound that way. I really enjoy the whole process, I'm just curious about this new policy. I've been doing this for a while now, so the rejection has sort of become part of the game and I don't let it hang on me.

One thing I have noticed, and do like is the amount of different ways to get your work in front of agents now. Before it was just the query letter and the occasional contest, but now there are so many blogs, and websites that you can get your project in front of different people that it makes it for an exciting time to be a writer. If you cant write a query letter worth a damn, then you have Miss Snarks blog where you can post the first 250 words and agents can come by and take a look. You have other agents, like Janet Reid who has a special blog where she provides insight into queries for those brave enough to enter the shark's den.

NFL Offseason

Tomorrow is the official start of the NFL off season with free agency. 

Lots of big names could potentially get new homes. Now my team, the Carolina Panthers, aren't expected to make a splash, however, I wanted to mention a few players that are on the top of the list of big names:

Peyton Manning: The Manning saga, a lot like the Bret Favre one from a few years ago, but in a different way. He's a Hall of Fame QB, who is very coveted, despite the uncertainty of his injury. Now I would think he would be a great pick up by many teams, but some of the ones I think he will sign with are the Broncos, (poor Tebow), or the Dolphins. This is just what I read from NFL.com, however, the point remains both teams are playoff caliber and the missing piece is the QB, so Manning would be a good fit for either team.

Mario Williams: He's a guy I would like the Panther's to pick up, but they probably won't because he's going to demand and receive a big paycheck. I think the Texans are still in the running for him, but other teams are in the mix, like the Cowboys, who like to spend big in free agency.

Vincent Jackson: A tall, explosive, WR from San Diego, lots of teams could use the play making ability but I think only teams that are in a good cap situation like the Buccaneers, or the Bears would get a chance at him. Both need help at WR too.

So those are some of the big name free agents. I think later in the week, I will post my thoughts on the Panther's free agents and whether or not we should keep them or let them test the market.

Voice of a novel

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the voice of my novel. My character is a teenager, but she's uncertain in her life and goals. She lives in fear, and looks at things in ways differently because of her power.

Now, I don't want to write it with all the gusto of a teenager with the um's, but's, whatever's, so how do I convey a teenager voice realistically? I just write it my way, with my own perspective on when I was a teenager. I saw things as overwhelming at times, and felt like I could conquer the world without a second glance other times.

What I did with my novel, and I think I need to work on it is spunk it up more. She's a spitfire when threatened and because of her power she is scared of losing control, so she remains reserved and observant instead of just gungho.

Now maybe it's just me, but that is the way I see the character and feel I convey that well in my writing, but if I don't, how do you edit for voice? How do you bring that out and make sure your readers understand it? Any tips, or suggestions, because my internet searches aren't pulling up much in the way of suggestions on how to do that.

Give me some feedback

Hello, right now I'm over at Miss Snark's first victim contest and have entered, post 15.

http://misssnarksfirstvictim.blogspot.com/2012/03/march-secret-agent-15.html

Please stop by and read and comment on my first page. Let me know what you think, as well as the other's 49 entrants. I look forward to hearing what everyone says when I get home from work tonight.

Another two contests to share with you guys

Here is a few other contests that I'm entering and think that you should to if you have time:

A pitch contest that opens today:
http://monibw.blogspot.com/2012/02/contest-announcement-and-spreading.html

The Mystery Agent contest at Miss Snarks:
http://misssnarksfirstvictim.blogspot.com/2012/02/march-secret-agent-early-info.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MissSnarksFirstVictim+%28Miss+Snark%27s+First+Victim%29

Enjoy your Monday.

Want to spread the word

A fellow blogger of mine just signed her publishing contract. I just wanted to congratulate her on her success and share the news with my followers because it's always good to share good news in this tough business.

So go check her out at:http://lbdiamond.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/flake-out-friday-my-novels-gonna-be-published-yo/

And celebrate her great news that I hope to share someday.