The Underdog Moments

Hey all!

It's been a while since I blogged. Life's been...a little crazy. BUT HI I MISSED YOU!



So today I've been thinking. There are a couple big, huge, remember-it-forever moments in an author's life. You get an agent, you get a book deal, you publish your first book. Those are the days all of Twitter explodes and gives you huge congrats and life is wonderful and all unicorns and rainbows and YAYYYYY! And whenever we get those moments, we should totes celebrate them. Cause they are HUGE and IMPORTANT and you should revel in your day.

But, ya know, I have always been a fan of the underdog. Who (apart from Barney Stinson) didn't root for Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid? I'm Team Damon in TVD because (apart from being Ian Somerhalder) he's the underdog. (Somehow, Ian Somerhalder is the underdog. I know. What?) And seriously if this moment from Rudy:



doesn't make you cry, you have no soul.

So tonight, I wanna talk about those moments. The Underdog Moments. The moments that mean everything but go unnoticed by most everyone, that don't come with cake and confetti and parties. But they are the moments that mean the world.

For me, as a writer, here are mine. (In chronological order, not order of importance)

1) When I first decided I wanted to write a book.

I remember vividly walking out of The Hunger Games movie, and going O_O OMIGOSH I HAVE THE BEST IDEA EVAR. And...you know what? I'm gonna freaking write it. Cause maybe it'll suck. But I CAN write a book and I am going to.

2) Finishing that book.

Yeah. Typing "The End" on that first book ever (or any book really) is huge. And so important. And it feels awesome. That, my friends, is a moment.

3) The first contest I ever made it into.

Sometimes, I miss entering contests. I mean, it's agonizing, but in a "Hurts So Good" kinda way. I've been rejected from contests, and that was lame. Really, just mustering up the courage to ENTER a contest is a moment. But this one is one I won't forget.

My first book was a YA cyberpunk called "Corrupted," and I entered into a couple contests, the first being Pitch Madness, held by the fabulous Brenda Drake. And Erica Chapman picked it out of the slush. And I will NEVER forget the feeling when I found I made it in. That someone liked my book. Erica, dude, thank you so much for making me believe in myself and giving me one of my best moments as a writer ever.

4) Giving my book to my first beta (now CP) ever...and she actually liked it

Ok peeps. I cannot stress the importance of CP's enough. For my first book, I didn't have any. So...gonna rewrite that sucker. But by my second, I had discovered them. And the lovely Nazarea Andrews offered to read my book. Never had anyone who wasn't A) related to me, or B)an agent I queried with Book #1 read anything I'd read. So that was freaking terrifying because she was awesome and OH NO WHAT IF I SUCK WHAT IF MY BOOK SUCKS WHAT IF SHE SAYS I SHOULD QUIT WRITING FOREVER




But, she said none of those things. Cause that's mean. In fact, she liked it. She had critiques, of course, but she really liked it. That. Meant. Something. Nazarea, I LURVE you.
 PSA: Get a CP. Get a beta, It's terrifying but worth every bit of the risk.

5) When I Tweavesdropped on someone who said I'd given them a book hangover

This was a huge one. Someone I hugely respect on Twitter beta'd my book, and talked about it to someone and used that phrase. And I died.

Summer, I can't even. Giant flying tackle hug cause you'll never know what that meant to me.

And last,

6) When someone wrote fanfic for my book

This one made me cry. Like real tears. Cause man. One of the best moments of my writing career. EVER.
Darci, -insert giant heart cause blogger won't let me write one-
Here's the thing.

It's easy sometimes to get caught up in someone else's published book, or deal, or agent news, or TV deal, or whatever. Or to read a bad review and wanna go drown in chocolate and wine. But sometimes, it's those little moments, those small things that meant EVERYTHING to you, that really matter. And sometimes, all you need is to remember that little tweet someone wrote about your book, or the fanfic or character sketch or...whatever those moments are for you, when you get into a funk, I hope you can remember them. Cause they mean something.

And keep giving, cause you never know when you might be giving someone one of their Underdog Moments.



I'd love to know what some of YOUR Underdog Moments are. Comment 'em below!