Happy New Year, friends! I'm so excited for 2019!
In early 2018, I queried, and later shelved, a YA sci-fi novel (after entering it into Author Mentor Match Round 4, and not getting in--but this has a happy ending, I promise). I subsequently wrote two novels beginning that summer--a YA fantasy, and a YA mystery/thriller. I entered the YA mystery/thriller into Author Mentor Match Round 5. And I got in. *insert flailing here* (Details about this can be found in my previous post from November 2018, if you're so inclined.) Regardless of where my writing goes, I wish anyone who reads this a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2019. It's always nice to recalibrate and confirm my goals and wishes each new year. One of which is to blog more often. I used to blog quite frequently on a much older/retired blog, and I really enjoyed it, so I hope to circle back to that consistency this year and beyond. Hopefully, I'll have a bit more to talk about with regards to my writing and such. Again, Happy New Year! Let's do this, 2019!
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So, it's been quite a while between posts. Simply put, that can be attributed to no writing news...until now!
At the end of October, I was thrilled to have been selected to work with the wonderful Jodie Lynn Zdrok (YA author of the upcoming historical thriller SPECTACLE; check out Jodie's website here!) on a YA mystery/thriller novel I started several months ago. To anyone unfamiliar, Author Mentor Match is a program that pairs aspiring young adult and middle grade writers with established mentors, who then help their chosen mentee with revisions and edits on their novel, and perhaps even with submission to agents and such. Check out the website here, which goes into much more detail. To anyone who may have been following my website/writing, I was working on a young adult science fiction novel prior to Author Mentor Match. However, that novel, much as I adore it, has since been shelved; I later wrote the YA mystery/thriller that I will work with Jodie on. I can't express how happy I am to have been selected by Jodie, and am so excited to get to work on edits and see where we can take my story! Onward! So, this may or may not turn out to be a worthwhile endeavor, but yeah, I made a YouTube channel, affectionately titled "Miles of Books." (Puns are funny, right? I couldn't help myself.)
For those who may not know, there's a wonderful corner of YouTube called "BookTube," which is, as the name indicates, a collection of book videos. Reviews, tags, book hauls...you get the idea. I've been watching various BookTubers for years, and I finally got the courage to make my own channel and start uploading videos. The community has always been awesome, and if I can make someone smile, or at least make some cool videos I can look back on in the future (probably with some form of regret) then it'll have been worth it, I think. Check out my first (probably awkward) video here. And, because I feel like providing two links, check out my main channel page here. We'll see where this goes! So, it's been a while since my last (first) post. I'm just popping in to make a little note that I'm still working hard on my WIP (the young adult science fiction novel mentioned before in various places), and can sorta kinda seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, that means little in the grand scheme of things (and by that I mean querying agents, then, if one gets an agent, going on submission, etc.), but still. You must celebrate the small victories when they arrive!
Of course, I've already written the first draft--that was long ago. But the fact that this story finally is looking like something gives me real hope. I mean, who knows. But I'm really proud of it so far. I'm not the biggest fan of editing and revision, but there are bits that, when cleaned up or deleted entirely or fixed or yada yada, they read so much better. Still, I've read that writers either enjoy drafting or revision more. I'll draft all day! So, that is the update. Onward! Hello world! In case it isn't already obvious, my name is Miles McGuinness, and I am an aspiring author, currently at work on a young adult science fiction novel that I hope to be querying soon. I'm not sure how often I'll update this blog, but figured I would add this feature anyway, even if nobody really reads it. It'll be interesting to look back on these old posts and see where I was with my writing, and how things were looking.
I'm excited to continue the journey! Thank you for stopping by! |
Miles McGuinnessYA writer traversing the path to publication. Archives
May 2021
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Photo used under Creative Commons from CarlH_