So, now that the contest is over, I figured you were all dying to know the real answers. In most cases, I loved your answers better than the truth, but life is crazy like that so I’m stuck with the hand I’m dealt!

1. What color is my hair? Fluorescent Orange! Hehe, just kidding. Auburn or red

2. What movie(s) have I seen over 50 times? Aliens, Pride and Prejudice, Starship Troopers, Princess Bride. Goonies is probably at about 20 times along with The Covenant. This list could go on forever since I own so many movies!

3. What is my favorite writing place? If anyone has ever read the other blog I participate on (Samurai Scribes) Common Grounds coffee shop is my writing place of choice.

4. What is my biggest pet peeve at my writing place? Noisy people drive me nuts when I’m writing.

5. What is my middle name? Ann

6. What is my cat’s name? Trix

7. What is my birthday? December 27th

8. What animal would my Patronus be? A Unicorn

9. What is my favorite Disney Princess? Ariel or Merida. It is a hard toss-up between the two.

10. What is my favorite candy? Gummies. Bonus points would have been Dots. Double bonus points Tropical Dots.

11. How many siblings do I have? 1 sister

12. Name a show I watch (hint: I’ve probably tweeted about it!) Arrow, Supernatural, The Walking Dead, The Voice, Castle, Lost Girl

13. What Kickstarter did I recently give to? Most recent was Veronica Mars (did you see the GIF?) or Inspiration Dice. The only two I’ve given to!

Thank you all for participating! I will definitely have something like this again.

Ok, so my whole purpose of the give away wasn’t just to give stuff away! It was for people to make stuff up. Since using my info seems to scare people away, I’m going a slightly simpler route. I will give you a sentence and you will make up 250 words or less to add to it. Again, the prizes are: A copy of Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, a unicorn, and a movie of the winner(s) choice: The Goonies, Skyfall, The Princess Bride, Wreck-It Ralph, Brave, or The Guardians. I might also add extra goodies. So now, here’s your sentence:

The little red haired girl looked furtively into the dark forest.

Contest ends Monday March 25th 8pm CST.

So I’ve seen quite a few give aways on other blogs and Twitter and wanted to do one myself. I have no special reason other than I love giving gifts so you get to reap the benefits. I will ask a series of questions. Please answer in the comments section or if you’re secretive of your answers, you may DM on Twitter–seeredwrite. Closest to correct or most creative answers will win prizes! Up for grabs are: A copy of Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat, a cute Unicorno, and a movie. Movie choices will be: The Goonies, Skyfall, Princess Bride, Rise of the Guardians, Wreck-It Ralph, or Brave. I might throw in a few extra goodies in there 😀 So get those creative caps on and give me some fun answers! Give me really fun answers and hey there.

Ok, on to the questions!

1. What color is my hair?

2. What movie(s) have I seen over 50 times?

3. What is my favorite writing place?

4. What is my biggest pet peeve at my writing place?

5. What is my middle name?

6. What is my cat’s name?

7. What is my birthday?

8. What animal would my Patronus be?

9. What is my favorite Disney Princess?

10. What is my favorite candy?

11. How many siblings do I have?

12. Name a show I watch (hint: I’ve probably tweeted about it!)

13. What Kickstarter did I recently give to?

You have until Monday 3/25/13 8pm CST. Remember, creativity counts! Now go forth and have fun! 😀

As this whole writing, editing, publishing (eventually) stuff is all new to me, so are aspects that relate to these that I never even thought about. Take CPs and betas, for instance. Much is discussed on this topic, but no hard and set rules seem to agree on finding these mythological creatures. Critique partners (CPs) are people who read your early drafts and help fix problems and mistakes you may have. They are people you can turn to when you’re unsure of what to do in a story. At least, that’s my early definition of them.

Talking about them is so much easier than finding them. I really just want to tweet, “So, I’ve finished a new draft of YA creepy circus story. Any takers?” but the problem with that is—too many cooks in the kitchen. Letting people read your work can help, but those who truly understand your goals and writing style are the best help of all. I can have 20 people read my story and get 20 different thoughts on every aspect of it. The thought of that gives me hives (and I’ve never had hives).

So many different people who each think you should change something. I’m only mildly nervous about changing things. I know that it’s inevitable so I am prepared that there will be changes, but what happens when no one can agree on anything? I hate the main characters. I love the main characters. Why did you make the monkey so mean? I love that creepy mean monkey. You get the drift.

So far, I haven’t let that many people read my story because I have no clue how to approach people on reading my story. I’ve already had some no shows who said they would do it and then…crickets. Nothing. I get that people have lives so I understand this and it’s not a big deal, but it has made me less likely to try it out with more people. I hate imposing on people. The other thing I’m finding is the difference of opinions–what I write and what people who read it for me may write or their tastes in stories varies enough that it’s not necessarily a good fit. It’s hard to get notes of what to change when you think it is more a difference of opinion rather than a spot that really needs work. How do you know the difference?

Slowly, as I keep fixing this monster, I understand more and more about my writing, about who to turn to in helping me with my writing, and how to get better at all of it. I am still light in the whole CP department and as for beta readers, I think I will save those for when I think I am done or darn close to it. All I can do is keep trying to make the best book possible and ask for help along the way. If there are people willing to give it a look see, I will thank my lucky stars for them. As I get notes and opinions, I will have to decide for myself what I feel is helpful and what isn’t. I always did like the guess and check method!

How about you? How have you found CPs and/or betas? I love hearing how other people do things.

Helpful sites about CPs and finding them:

http://www.cpseek.com/

http://www.ladieswhocritique.com/

http://www.publishingcrawl.com/2012/12/05/finding-a-critique-partner/

http://writetodone.com/tag/critique-partners/