Christy Shuler

Let's face it: we grew up in a different era than our parents. While they were paving the way for the release of the first computer we were learning how to use the cell phone (and it had actually gotten smaller than the size of a brick). So it's not surprising that when entering the work place a few common practices left us scratching our heads. 1. Not knowing how to use a fax machine. Wait, wait wait. So you're telling me I have to use a phone number and this giant machine to send a receipt to the customer? While I'm fumbling with this thing that's beeping at me I could've scanned it five times or better yet sent the digital copy to the customer via a little thing we "Millennials" call the good ol' email. 2. Preferring email or text over actual voice-to-voice phone conversation.  You mean I have to actually call him to ask him to email me the invoice? We are so terrified of voice-to-voice interaction though I'm not sure we even f...

During the last couple months of 2014, I decided to take a bit of a breather. Sometimes when you're trying so hard to finish a project or to make something happen (like get an agent, for example) it begins to feel as if you're banging your head against the wall. It's nice to take a step back and allow myself the time to reflect on what I'm trying to achieve. I don't just want to land any agent and I don't just want to write any kind of book. I want my writing to mean something to someone and I want to find an agent who believes in me. During my hiatus I also had the time to do a lot of reading, which seems to appear on my list of resolutions year after year. I just finished reading the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth and can't say that my mind has truly let go of that heart-wrenching ending yet: the sign of a really great book. So for this year, I decided to make a list of Writing Resolutions. I am going to avoid being overly ambitious and focus ...

"Why you gotta be so rude?" Just for fun, and because we all need a little pick-me-up every now and then, I've decided to compile a list of amazing authors who've seen more rejection than a lot of us who are just starting out in the querying process.  In the beginning, each and every rejection (or lack of response) can feel so personally brutal. I find that it helps to defer to the greatness of writers who have already blazed these trails. I find their stories so inspirational because they were able to continue submitting their work time and again, even after people told them that their ideas sucked.  Doing this research made me more convinced than ever that persistence and self-confidence are probably two of the most important traits that a writer can have. So without further ado, my picks for rejected rockstars: 1. Carrie , by Stephen King - Rejected 30 times. 2. Twilight , by Stephenie Meyer - Rejected 14 times.  3. And to Think I Saw It On...

You know the saying, her bark was worse than her bite? Well let me tell you something. When I started writing for my student newspaper's Arts & Entertainment section, I was eager to jump in head first. The only problem was that the ideas I was pitching either weren't accepted by my editor or once I'd finished writing them, they got rejected for the print version. I was like a little yapping dog who wanted to play, but no one would take me seriously. Don't get me wrong, a few of them did finally make it to print, and I did understand that the A&E section had a huge space issue. Most of it usually went to the "hardcore" news, not so much what movies people were watching that weekend. But when I started to analyze the pieces that were making it into the paper, I realized that most of them were written by a select handful of writers who had more...bite... than I did. What I mean by that is they had this sort of sharp wit and sarcasm that I felt that...

I've seen a lot of writers participating in this monthly goal challenge and thought I'd weigh in. Not only is it fun to share, but declaring your goals publicly keeps you somewhat accountable as well. This month I'd like to get 1/3 of the way through the first draft of my novel. Is it a lofty goal? I'm not sure...I've known other writers who seem to be able to write an entire draft in a weekend flat and sometimes I feel a bit on a slow side. However, since writing is not my full time job I feel that 3 months is a decent goal for me. Since some writing days are much more productive than others, this allows me those occasions when writing day are disturbed or completed thrown out the window. Hey, life happens.  What's your September goal? I'm also very curious to know how quickly everyone else writes. Is 3 months for a first draft reasonable?

We all need a little crazy sometimes, right? Well fear not. I've compiled a list of easy to follow instructions that will get you well on your way to that mini meltdown. Let's get started! 1. Set an unrealistic deadline - Why give yourself enough time to finish that project? Take that deadline and cut it in half right now! Five chapters this week? Make it ten! After all, how do you think those "overnight" success stories happened anyway? With a big cup of coffee and an all night writing session, that's how! 2. Put pressure on yourself - The more, the better! Focus on that unrealistic deadline and squeeze your creative juices dry trying to accommodate it. Let the stress flow through you, my friend. 3. Compare yourself to others - Why are there so many writers out there making great money while you're still stuck on revising your first novel? Wonder to yourself why other writers tweets are so much wittier than yours. Why not just change yourself, so y...

When I wrote my first novel, I still had quite a bit of learning to do. I consider the entire process one big educational experience. When I wrote my first draft, I didn't feel like I knew my characters very well. As a result, some scenes were difficult to get right. Reactions and dialogue didn't seem genuine. For the second draft, I decided to go through the process of fleshing out the characters and as one would imagine, had a much easier time writing after that. The experience taught me that writing without fleshing out one's characters is like marrying a stranger. You just don't know what you're getting yourself into. For my current writing project, I decided to start on the right foot. Not only did I want to get to know my characters, but I knew that I needed to keep this information organized. Main Characters: I did some research online and found several character worksheets. They usually vary a little bit, but I took from them what I needed. Mos...