robacosta
Fifth Draft
Landing Tumblr of Robert Acosta. Author. Educator.
Pokémon
Trainer. Landing Website: fifthdraft.com
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On the Hush of Dark Wings
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STATUS - 4.13.2024 -
NEW BLOG:
It’s Saturday. April. And I’ve already been interrupted twice while trying to do this thing.
Just going to move into the basics.
PROJECT UPDATE:
#AMQUERYING – Still nothing back from the agents who have full requested Project NESS, not even the one I followed up with. This is the weird line querying authors face, between being respectful and being annoying. You don’t want to pester them too…
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STATUS - 3.30.2024 -
What do you mean April is in two days?!
The first quarter of the year is almost up, and it’s hard not to take stock of everything we’ve done up til now. A lot of sadness, a lot of sickness, and, frustratingly, not a lot of time for reflection. It doesn’t come as naturally anymore. It’s sort of something you need to carve out. I usually use my Morning Pages practice to get by, but the first two…
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The Toriyama Instinct
*Note: Let us never forget that “Fifth Draft” is in reference to how many drafts I spend with a book before I deem it okay enough to start querying agents. The entire point of the ‘Fifth Draft’ category at the top of the website is to identify all the skills I’ve learned to help me become a published author now that that’s out of the way ON TO WRITING STUFFS*
I wished I wrote enough on here to…
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STATUS - 3.18.2024 -
No. Not dead yet. Despite COVID’s best efforts, I’m still here.
Still not in possession of the energy I’d like. After every major outing we’ve done for the month of March (the busy season for the Acosta household), including trips to the Rennaissance Festival and a St. Patrick’s Day music bonanza, I returned home and collapsed into an exhausted heap.
Not just “Dad Tired.” But like, “Wow, Death…
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The Silly 90s Analogy That Inspires Me To Write
NEW BLOG:
In the mid-90’s (this is for all my Gen Zers out there) there was a little film called NIGHT AT THE ROXBURY. It would take way too long to try and explain to you the cultural significance of this movie, from its humble beginnings as a wildly popular skit on SNL to helping secure the rise of Will Ferrel as a major player in the comedy film scene. Instead, I’ll leave you with this GIF and move on…
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COVID 2024
NEW BLOG:
It has certainly been a year.
*checks notes* *sees it’s only February*
Aw phooey.
This past Wednesday, after two days of incredibly productive and life-affirming choices, involving a resolve to make mini-charcuterie plates for my wife in the middle of the workday because if I’m home I should be doing nice things for my hard-working wife, I started to feel sick. My nose started to run.…
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My Nana - A Small Memory -
NEW BLOG:
I don’t share a lot of personal thoughts over on Bluesky and Threads. Mostly, it’s a lot of workflow and reposting whatever Jason Pargin has shared. (Mostly. I do slip up a bit.) I always start off my work days with a picture of T.O.M. from early-00s TOONAMI, as if the day of adventures and action and excitement is starting.
And, when I remember to close out the work thread, I use the picture of…
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STATUS - 2.14.2024 -
NEW BLOG:
Part of the joy of marrying my now-wife was when we first started dating she told me she didn’t care about Valentine’s Day. That we could make each other happy the other 364-ish days of the year so what did one “special” day matter?
Well, it also turns out people can change their mind.
We’re going out tonight to her favorite restaurant.
Cracker Barrel.
PROJECT UPDATE:
#AMQUERYING – Some…
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BARBIE and Stakes
NEW BLOG:
Six months later, we finally watched BARBIE.
There’s a lot of nonsense I could throw out there, about how being a parent means you don’t get a lot of time to sit and watch what’s new and what’s hot, but instead I’ll pretend you know all that and just get into talking about the film.
To start: I can see why Ryan Gosling was nominated (at time of writing) for the Academy Award. I can also see why…
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STATUS - 1.21.2024 -
NEW BLOG POST:
The last time I did a STATUS post I said it rained out here in Phoenix.
Guess what it did again today?
Back in full-on #AmQuerying mode, and part of pitching is sometimes the agent wants to know if you have a website or not. This isn’t something I can do full-time, or every day, even though I’d like to because *motions to all of social media on fire and screaming* but I’d like to. I always…
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Hey, Querying Writers, has THIS ever happened to you?
You’ve got your manuscript (let’s say it’s a MG book about a Hispanic girl transported to a magical land where she comes to grips with her family’s dark history and there just so happens to be a talking dog as her partner. Not the focal point of the story, but a part of the story nonetheless.)
You’ve written it. Edited it. Sent it out to beta readers. Taken notes. Edited it again.
And now…
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STATUS - 1.7.2024 -
NEW BLOG POST:
It rained out here in Phoenix. Not often this happens, so you have to (figuratively) soak it up. The boys are going outside with April to jump in the muddy puddles. They’ve been asking for it all morning.
Me? I’ve got the day off. So let’s write a whole bunch of stuff.
PROJECT UPDATE:
BIANCA – Still in its 3rd draft, though progress is being made. I’m just past the 100 page mark, with about 80…
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STATUS - 1.6.2024 -
NEW POST:
Been looking at this empty white board I hung up in my office. I cleared it out before the new year began, a fresh start for my brain, you know? I wanted to start looking at all the writing projects I had lined up in front of me with a critical eye, think about what I can try to finish for this year, and, above all, set reasonable goals for myself that are helpful and attainable in the year of…
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STATUS - 1.4.2023 -
NEW BLOG:
Holy God the boys are at preschool and I don’t know what to think.
On one hand, I have the day (mostly) to myself. We still have Baby C at home, so when he wakes up from his nap there will be some Papa and Baby time. On the other hand, I have time in the middle of the day to write this without worrying about looking down at the screen too long and oops oh no the kitchen is on fire and both of my…
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2024 and 2023 Wrap-Up
NEW BLOG:
*wakes up in a startled sweat* AH!
What year is it?!
That’s what I’d normally be feeling right about this time (the sweat thing still applies) but I actually came into this year a little slower. Sure, it snuck up on me as it does all of us, but it was a sneaking I was aware of. Like when you play hide-and-seek with a toddler. You know they’re coming, but you make believe like it was a big…
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My Christmas Albums
NEW BLOG:
I’m 21 years old, fresh off the first real break up of my life, I’ve just been fired from my longest held job at the time at a car dealership, I’m living with my grandparents, and borrowing gas money from my parents to get around.
That’s the scene.
I needed a job and, on a whim, decided to apply to Borders Bookstore, one of my favorite spots to go and hang out. Yes, I was one of those people…
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- 2023 Books #28-33 -
NEW BLOG:
A lotta comics.
The end of the year isn’t being good to me, either physically or mentally. Emotionally? Well, we’ll have to see who is still around when 2024 decides to roll in, whether I want it to or not. Did you know it’s now December? I’m like one of those dorky Twitter accounts who posts, “Huwhat? It’s December? I thought it was July?” and gets 24,000 Likes on it. Except for real. I can’t…
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