writing Archives • Life With Leila

Query Trenches: How I Prepared to Start Querying Literary Agents

November 13, 2020 No Comments

As of October 2020, I have officially entered the query trenches. Writing that sentence feels a little surreal. Totally dramatic, I know. But I’ve wanted to be a published author for so long. Of course this is the first step to potentially getting published and there are no guarantees this book will go anywhere. However, I am super proud of myself for entering this next phase of my writing and putting myself out there. For a long time, it felt like I was going to talk about wanting to be an author but wasn’t actually taking those next steps to be one.

Preparing to query is a lot of hard work and organization. It definitely isn’t something you can do on a whim. So, if you’re preparing to enter the query trenches and want to know what I did to get ready to do so, keep reading.

writeupmyalley, writing

#PitMad 2020: My Experience & Tips

October 9, 2020 No Comments

Long time, no see, huh? I have definitely let this blog fall by the wayside in the past few months. It’s been a hectic time for me. Fortunately, I haven’t let my writing fall off track too much. (Though I did talk about some of my struggles in this video). I’ve been writing a lot and really trying to push forward in the next steps toward obtaining representation for my adult contemporary novel, affectionately nicknamed Project Sunflower. Part of this included me participating in #PitMad. If you’re interested in my experience with this writing contests, keep reading.

writeupmyalley, writing

Hopes for My Writing Journey

August 28, 2020 2 Comments

Keep reading to hear about my hopes for my writing.

One of my goals for 2020 was to really dedicate more time to my writing journey. That means writing more, honing my craft, immersing myself into the writing community, finding critique partners and beta readers, learning more about the publishing industry and more. Overall, it’s been going quite well. However, my writing journey was heavily impacted by all the effects of COVID-19. From leaving the country to finding a new job and a place to live. The stress of it all impacted my creativity and mood overall greatly.

Of course, there are people going through a lot worse. But I did want to share something positive and hopeful regarding my writing journey. So if you are interested in my hopes and goals for my writing journey, keep reading.

writeupmyalley, writing

Camp Nanowrimo July 2020: Updates #WriteUpMyAlley

July 31, 2020 No Comments

Ever since I first discovered Nanowrimo two years ago, I’ve enjoyed learning more and more about it. Did you know that apart from the official event in November, there are two mini-events? That’s right. Camp Nanowrimo takes place in April and July. It’s different from the November event because you can set your own goal.

This year, I set my Camp Nanowrimo July goal to 30,000 words. At the same time as I was working on my Camp project, I was editing another manuscript and doing other writing related tasks. If you’re interested in knowing how I fared for Camp Nanowrimo July 2020, keep reading.

writeupmyalley, writing

Manuscript Update: Project Sunflower #WriteUpMyAlley

February 25, 2020 No Comments

If you’ve come across my past writing updates or followed along when I participated in Camp Nanowrimo, you may be aware of Project Sunflower. Of course that is just a filler name for my manuscript. I began it in July 2019 and finished it in August 2019. However, I didn’t get through my first read through and light edit until recently. Thus, for a while there wasn’t much to update you all on. But now that I’m finally making progress, I wanted to share what stage I’m currently at with Project Sunflower. So keep reading if you’re interested in my manuscript update.

reading, writeupmyalley, writing

2020 Writing and Reading Goals

January 28, 2020 No Comments

I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions. I’m starting to sound like a broken record. Truth be told, I find the whole “new year, new me” or “I have to wait until January 1st to start making changes in my life” uninspiring and cheesy. However, I do like to plan for the future and it’s easy to frame your goals as to where you’d like to be in the next 12 months. I have plenty of reading and writing goals I hope to achieve.

If you’ve read some of my previous posts, you’d know that I love writing and reading. I’ve down several reading wrap-ups as well as writing updates. This time I’m listing out the areas in my writing and reading I want to improve or change. So, if you’re interesting in knowing about my 2020 writing and reading goals, keep reading.

writeupmyalley, writing

First Nanowrimo Experience: What I Learned

November 26, 2019 No Comments

2018 was my first Nanowrimo experience. I never heard of Nanowrimo until that year when I started delving into the online writing community more. I was already outlining a novel and found out about Nanowrimo just days before it was set to start. And I needed a push to start writing. Well, I successfully finished Nanowrimo that year by completing over 50,000 words in November.

My first Nanowrimo was so successful that I decided to participate in Camp Nanowrimo in July 2019, which I also won. With all this in mind, I was fully prepared to participate in Nanowrimo again for 2019. Yet… I’m not. I took a lot away after my first Nanowrimo. If you’re interested in my main takeaways as well as why I’m not doing it this year, keep reading.