Ah, looks like it's blogging time again, friends. I know, I take lengthy and unpredictable breaks here and there. I thought I'd write a "catch up" post, to let y'all know what's been going on, and then in the comments, I'd like to hear what's new with you.

What's New:

- As you can tell, I'm not doing the A to Z Challenge this year. Boo. I had a blast with it last year, between the challenge of coming up with posts and the excitement of meeting all new friends and reading their letter posts. I've been around to a few A to Z participants this month, and I like what I'm reading.

- I've finished the fourth draft of my latest MS, after incorporating suggestions from 4 critique partners. Now I'm getting ready to send it to 2 more readers (I really want to make sure the plot is working) and then around June/July... it's GO time!

- This is a topic for a longer blog post, but I've decided to submit exclusively to small presses. It's not a last resort; I'm skipping querying agents entirely. I've taken the past several months to reconsider what I want as a writer, not what's expected of me or what's drilled into my head via the blogging hive mind, and publishing with a small press seems to be a great fit for me. But more on that in another post, friends.

What's Not New:

- I'm still chronically ill, but you could have guessed that by the "chronically" part. I've been doing my best to balance productivity and rest -- making sure I don't over-do it, but still managing to cross off a few things on my To-Do list each day.

- I suck at blogging. (Yup, that's definitely not new.) But I'm doing my best to keep up with you guys, especially those who link blog posts on Twitter. I'll try to be around this week to visit and return comments. I appreciate when you guys stop by - it makes my day.

What's new -- or not new -- with you?

Happy spring! I think... (I'm still wearing more layers than I should be right now, so I'm not sure this is spring OR happy.)

What I do know is, it's the season for lots of writing and revising. Well, it is for me, though from what I've read of my followers' tweets and blog posts, it sounds like many of you are spending much time in The Cave, too.

The thing about dwelling in The Cave is that sometimes I feel like I'm never going to see the light of day again. I'm finding myself stuck on one petty thing after another. Sometimes it's an enormous plot issue (like that entire chapter I need to rewrite) or just a matter of, "I need to get from THIS scene to THAT one, but I don't know how to transition."

Whatever the problem is, I can't let it keep me in the dark for so long. I'm trying to keep in mind that some of the issues that have stumped me the longest have ended up being resolved by the simplest fixes.

Examples:

A few WIPs ago, I had a scene where my MC was having a conversation with his mom, and they weren't getting along. She asked him something... but I couldn't figure out how he'd respond.

The solution? After spending too much time coming up with answers that didn't fit, I decided he shouldn't answer at all. I had him say nothing. And it worked!

More recently, I was working on the outline for my current WIP, and once I was about eight chapters in, I couldn't figure out what came next. I knew what the ending was going to be, but I didn't know how to get there.

Instead of trying to squeeze and force a weak storyline to get from point A to point B, I tapped my backspace key a bunch of times (this might be why that key is now broken), and I deleted the previous two chapters. So, those chapters weren't working? Simple: get rid of them. I wrote a new, more natural path to the climax of the book, and it's much better.

This may not be the case for every obstacle that has me puzzled, but it's encouraging to keep in mind that the solution might be simpler than we think.

Writers, how have you fixed plot holes, adjusted your storyline, taken care of scenes that don't work, etc? Has it been long and complicated, or have you found ways to see the simple solution?

So, I'll definitely do more in-depth research about this subject, but first, I'd like to hear what you guys have to say.

Today, we're talking about using copyrighted characters/products in our manuscripts.

My current WIP has a lot of references to a certain series. (I'm paranoid and don't want to draw any unwanted attention by naming what it is. But I'll use an example to help you guys better understand my point.) I'm not using the characters as my own, and it's not set in the same universe or anything, but there are just a lot of references. One of the characters is a HUGE fan of this series.

Let's pretend we're talking about Star Wars, even though that's not what it is. (But I love Star Wars anyway.)

If my character is obsessed with Star Wars, I don't want to skimp on the details and stick to telling, like, "He loved Star Wars." Boring. I want to show that when his phone rings, the Imperial March plays. His bed sheets have Yoda on them. He dresses up as Luke Skywalker and goes to a convention where he meets somebody dressed as Darth Vader, and they jokingly act like rivals.

How much of that is "too much"? This is the level of detail I'm talking about for my current WIP. I'm name-dropping and detail-dropping, but I'm making it clear that I don't own those characters; my character is just an avid fan.

Do I need some kind of permission first? Even if it's something majorly famous like Star Wars?

Do I describe things instead of using proper nouns? (e.g. "The young man with the glowing stick" instead of "Luke Skywalker with the lightsaber"? That just seems silly.)

Just hoping you guys might have some advice, insight or ideas. Have you ever used references to copyrighted material in your work? How did you go about it?

Surprise, surprise: I landed myself in the ER two weeks ago (right before a major trip out of town) and kicked everything writing-related to the side while I recovered.

Those of you who have been following along for a while know that I'm chronically ill. I have debilitating migraines that tend to come in waves. I can go several days feeling well, but then I have a string of can't-even-move days. It's unpredictable.

I know I talk about my health a lot, both on here and on Twitter, but the truth is that right now, the rest of my life is on pause while my body gets its act together. I quit my job a year ago. I write and edit and outline and beta read - but only on those good days. I visit with friends and family, but almost 50% the time, I end up canceling those plans due to illness.

So, I'm insane when I say that I want to do more with my time.

I can't even say with certainty that I'll get out of bed before ten tomorrow (migraine meds make me fatigued), or that what I'm having for lunch will stay down (I'm no stranger to frequent vomiting), but I want to add more items to my To-Do list? Really?

Blogging more frequently is one of those items. Every time I visit your blogs and catch up with you all, I realize how much I've missed participating in the blogging community. But besides blogging, I want to write more.

I've just started my latest MS, but I have many more ideas floating around. Not just Shiny New Ideas for fiction (but yes, those too), but ideas for different kinds of projects: nonfiction books and a new (non-writing) blog, for instance.

I'm crazy. How in the world would I ever be able to accomplish any of this?

I guess I just felt the need to update you all, to be honest with you and share what's really going on. I wish I had a truly creative, thought-provoking question to ask, but the closest I can come up with is: How do you do it? How do you manage so many things at once?

I'll be around to visit you guys today. Looking forward to catching up with you.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on my last post, friends. All of your comments are valuable to me, and I enjoyed reading your opinions on spam from industry professionals. (I'm also so thankful that nobody took the post the wrong way. I'd never mean to bash anybody. Just meant to share a recent experience.)

I'm out of town this week. I'm also registered for the fabulous IndieReCon. So, this means I'll juggle family time with online conference time, just checking in here and there to read relevant discussions. I wish I could be able to participate more, but life is busy.

Still, I'm super excited! My first conference!

Anyone here also attending IndieReCon? What about other conferences, whether in person or online? Any recommendations?

(Sorry for the abbreviated post, folks. Also, a note for those who email me: I'm behind on responding to emails right now, but have read all of them as of Saturday night and will respond as soon as I have the time.)

So, I'd like to share my latest stats from my submission inbox. I use a separate email address exclusively for querying agents and submitting to publishers. This is what that inbox/sent mail box looks like lately:

Queries sent in 2013 so far: 0

Responses received in 2013 so far: 0

Other email received in 2013 so far: 2. One in February, one in January, as well as one each month for the second half of 2012.

The "other email" I'm receiving is a newsletter aimed at children's book writers. Hmm... what do you know, I do write children's books. It's relevant.

But I didn't choose to subscribe to this newsletter. Somebody else signed me up. And when I tried to unsubscribe... nope! Still get 'em, every month or so. My phone beeps every time I get one, usually early in the morning, too. Of course.

Since this is an email address that nobody else knows (not even friends or family), and there isn't the word "writer" or "author" in the username that would indicate I'm a writer, I can only assume that my email address was added to the list by an agent or publisher I submitted to. It's impossible for me to know whom or which.

Here's the thing:

I'm not hating on any agents or publishers. Seriously. I love them. I have the utmost respect for all industry professionals, have received amazing feedback from them in the past year, and am so thankful that they're here for us writers. Truly.

If my hypothesis is correct, I'm sure they meant well. They probably fed the email addresses of anybody they rejected to this newsletter, hoping the advice would help those writers improve their craft. It's cute and all. I'm not angry.

Just... exhausted.

People spam my other email inboxes with "Buy My Book!" (Nope, not if you go about it that way.) They spam my Twitter DMs with "Check out this picture of you!" (Don't click on it.) Heck, they come to my door and try to sell me stuff when my neighborhood has a clear sign that says No Soliciting.

Which begs me to ask: Et tu, agents and publishers? I fully respect you and will continue to submit to you, but please don't add more spam to my life. It's kinda not my favorite thing ever.

I'll continue to try to unsubscribe to the newsletter, but in the meantime, I prefer more personalized communication. Emails just from you or your agency, even auto-reply or form letters are fine. Even better, little handwritten notes snail mailed to me, maybe with some candy attached. (I can't eat chocolate, so maybe caramel?) Valentine's Day is this week, after all. Wink, wink.

(Have you guys experienced any spam in your submission inbox? What about spam from other writers?)

I am months and months behind on updating this blog.

I am so far behind, the whole posting interface looks foreign to me.

I am missing you guys, though.

I am, admittedly, not sure how much I'll be able to follow through with my desire to resume blogging.

I am still chronically ill.

I am receiving intense treatment for my chronic migraines, and though this past month I finally got some relief, I'm still not 100% yet.

I am stressed.

I am worried about a blog post I read a few days ago, one that talked about the decline of blogging, on which several people commented negatively about those of us who have dropped out of blogging, whether temporarily or permanently.

I am not trying to appear as a slacker.

I am still writing. I will be seeking beta readers for my ninth manuscript (Contemporary Middle Grade) and am currently writing a short story.

I am still here, still the same old me.

I am hoping, hoping to get back into blogging, but I can't promise anything.

(I am also wondering how you're doing. Feel free to leave a comment, tweet me at @ ShellSly, or email me at reddshell at gmail dot com.)