I have been discouraged for a while. I didn't think my query was good enough, and I'd received alot of rejection. Something got into me today, and I rewrote it on a whim. I made it shorter, more to the point. I submitted it this morning to two more agents via email, along with the first 5 pages, and one has already responded requesting additional materials!! I am so happy, I literally am crying. Just to know that finally I did something that got someone interested, it feels like a huge accomplishment, and I wanted to share it with you all. Even though it is just a small step, to me, it's leaps and bounds from failing english classes and spending hours upon hours being tutored after school because of my dyslexia. I pray and hope this is just the first of many steps to publication.
I haven't been on for a while. I've stepped away from the obsessing and writing for a while as I wait for my queries to come back. Thus far, all rejections. I sent out specific queries for each agency, and I made sure to change up my description on each one, and I guess I've yet to get the right formula. The latest rejection I received in the mail yesterday. It was from the agent, er, let me edit that, the assistant to the agent that I really wanted saying "uh, no." So I was disappointed. But, as the saying goes "try try again" and that I will. I'm going to the library today, and I'm going to pick up some books on screen plays. Everyone that has read my novel says it reads like a movie, and that I should pursue writing the screenplay for it, so why not? What do I have to lose, right? I found some scripts online today, and I'm reading those, I made sure to pick some movies that I've seen a few times each so that I can not only see how it's written, but have a visual in my head on how that was translated on to the screen. I've piddled with my first chapter, and made some changes already that would make it better for a movie. Such as, my main character is orphaned in the prologue, but in the book, this is just written, there isn't an actual scene of it happening, so in a movie, I would need to make it shown. And that was pretty doable. I write a lot of action and dialogue, and I tend to show, not tell (other than that little fact I just talked about) so I don't think this task will be to very difficult for me. It's just more learning the mechanics of it, the formatting and what not. Also, I'll have to look into how submissions go with screenplays rather than novels. I'm sure there are some differences there. Either way, that's what I've been up to since I've been off here, just waiting, and receiving rejection.
I know people mean well when they say "I didn't expect your novel to be like this," in regards to the length, but I still find it slightly offensive. Apparently, for the almost year I spent writing it, my family and friends thought I was writing a short story. When they learn it is 68,000 words long, thier jaws drop (and then I get all defensive saying a REAL novel is more along the lines of 80k, but romances can be shorter. They then look at me like I'm nuts...) Do they really think I'm going to spend all this time working on some sort of essay? My mother in law told me she was writing a novel too, saying hers was so great she could win competitions if she entered it, and insinuating that it was far superior to mine, even though she'd never read it nor been given the plot. Turns out, her 'novel' is about three pages long...literally. Also, since I'm griping today, do people really feel the need to read my story and say "Wow, I didn't expect it to be so good!" I mean really folks, that is the most back handed compliment ever. So you thought I was going to suck? Thanks. On the plus side, i should be happy that it's so enjoyable for people to read. They all want it to be longer, saying it was like being in the small town with the characters and they want it to keep going. Now, I've thought about writing a sequel, but that's not my gig. I told this set of characters story, and it's closed. I am considering doing something that would be set like 20 years or so in the future and it could follow the children who would then be grown. But I already had a couple of other sets of plans for my next project, so I may distance myself from this story and move on for a while. The biggest comparisions my novel is getting would be to movies like "Steel Magnolias" and "Sweet home Alabama", along with a Nicholas Sparks kind of vibe. Now looking on it, I see where they are coming from. It's a totally different plot, but it has that kind of feel. Maybe I should put that in my query. haha "You want to make some money ala Sparks and Steel Magnolias? Pick up my novel!" Just kidding. Anyway, I have made it a point in life lately not to complain and just see the bright side of things, but I was having a moment today, and I thought I'd ventblog a little. I'm sure there are others out there that recieve these same comments and find them just as annoying.
Sing to the tune from Star Wars: I am done done done done done, done done done, done done done done done, done done done!! (and I am also a nerd apparently.) I finished the novel!! Yeah me! It took 11 months, 68,000 words (yes, I know, not the standard 80k, but I went for quality over quantity) 337 pages, and a total of about 4 months worth of "writers procrastination". But I am done. Just needs a few reviews and an edit and I may try and send it out. So, I guess while folks read it, I'll work on my query letter. How do you condense a story that spans ten years into one sentence? That may be the most diffcult thing. But anyway, yeah me!! (is it normal to feel kinda sad? I don't know, the story is well rounded, theres nothing left to add, but I'm kinda sad that it's over. Hm, maybe I'm the only one who feels this when they complete a project.)
Well, I thought perhaps it was time for an update. I haven't written a word since my last blog, and I don't feel bad about it. (okay, maybe a word, but not many, and not in any particular order) It has given me time to reflect and ponder what needs to go in, what needs to be changed. As some of you may know, my novel is broken into two books, and I had someone read the entire first book, along with two chapters from the second book, and I received a wonderful review. The things I meant to be funny, shockingly, made them laugh out loud. The characters I wanted to be despised were taken that way, the ones I wanted to be loved, were loved. The best part was, when they finsihed reading, they got mad that I didnt let them finish the book. The book is essentially complete, it could be read as is, at 70,000 words. However, there are some things I think need to go in, and some scenes that need to be elaborated to make it even better. Now that the weather has turned cold, and things are slowing down for my family, I should be able to find more time to write and to complete it. I cant wait to let some more people read it, and see thier reaction. So far, everyone has enjoyed it. I mean, it's not the greatest work of all time, but it's an entertaining story that you can get attached too. And that's all I wanted to accomplish with my first try. So, Happy Holidays, I hope my next entry will be about how I finally wrote the last word. (on the first draft...)
I am still not finished with my novel. I had to print it off yesterday, because I was getting a headache looking at it on the computer. (you wanna know what'll piss ya off real quick? Forget to add in the page numbers after saving it in a new program, then getting it out of order on accident. Not my most brilliant moment) I'm editing and adding in the final details. I think there will be no problem of it being the length of a regular published novel. I am at 61k, and I have 4 things to add and the entire last 4 chapters to elaborate. I guess four is the number of the day, eh? I made the mistake of telling people on facebook I was writing a novel. Its what happens when your proud of yourself, but now they all want to read it, which is just freaking me out. I know the intention of writing a novel was for people to read, but now the thought of someone delving into my created world and potentially tearing it apart gives me goose pimples. I mean, I love it. I created it. It would be like not liking your kid. But no one else has too... Oh, and lastly, there will be no more deadlines. The last few deadlines I gave myself ended up with my kid getting sick and postponing the end, so I'll just say, it will be done, when it's done.
Tomorrow is my self imposed deadline for 'the novel'. I don't know if I'll make it or not. I was trucking along last week, filling in some gaps and adding some things in that I felt needed to go, when...BOOM, kid gets sick. That really puts a damper on your writing when your cemented into the recliner. Then, when I thought he was better and started up again, he gets another round. Thankfully, he's doing much better today, and I know exactly what needs to be written. I may pull an all nighter writing and sleep in tomorrow a little (I have a redbull in the fridge for backup), because I really want this completed. It'll be such and accomplishment to say I wrote a novel. (and a decent one for my first try) I'll let you guys know in the morning if I did it.
Writing a novel has proven diffcult during my first year as a mom. Alas, I've found enough ways to entertain the beast, and I am closing in on the finish just before his first birthday, which was my goal. Currently, I am floating around 40k words, and the whole novel is written in order with a begining and an end, however, I've made notes, and there are six points I need to get too this week (things I either left out to chew on, or that I have come to find need to be included to make the story better) and it should put me around 70,000 comfortably. I told my husband that if I couldnt make it long enough, I wasnt going to worry, because I'd rather have a good short novel that never gets published than submitting something that meets a word count and only gains me rejection. So I am pleased that I will have something with substance to submitt and atleast try. I have started researching query letters, and guidelines for submissions, and I'm going to get my format down later this week when I am complete. So, anyway, it's going well, and I thought I should update and let everyone know I am still working hard on it when I get the chance! My little one is fighting a fever today, so I may be pressed to only writing at naps today and maybe after he goes down this evening. I'm rambling, so I'll sign off.
I handed my father the pen I had brought for corrections to the first complete sixty pages of my novel. He popped the top off and armed himself, ready to start making scribbles on the first sentence. I stopped him, pointing out that this was the hardest sixty pages for me to write, and I was serious about this. I asked him to be constructive, and make needed corrections, but to be kind and not to mark out everything I had written just because he had the power. He relaxed, and actually read... The sentence that keeps bothering people happens in the first paragraph. "He prayed for her to wake, and he prayed for her to sleep", everyone stops at this and tells me it makes no sense, but when I tell them to read the following sentence, they say "Ah ha!" and like it. Therefore I am torn on if I should edit it or not. It's like a wall, but when you keep reading, you see why the wall was built... so I'm pondering it... Besides grammatical errors I made that I for some reason totally look over when I read it myself, he liked it. He said it was good because it starts out interesting, keeps your attention, and grows from there. He enjoyed the way each scene became more and more exciting, and he grew attached to the characters, and he said it was upsetting when I offed one of them. He picked up on a character that is mentioned early on, and wanted to know if he was coming back to the story... All in all, he said it was better than a lot of books he reads because there were no boring parts, no info dumps. There wasn’t a piece that was pointless. My father told me he cant wait to read the second part. I asked if it was the greatest book he'd ever read, and he replied "Well, I cant say that, you haven’t finished it." And then I knew he was being honest and not just being nice to his daughter. All in all, a very productive review. I need to go through and correct some things, but it went well. Now, onto the second chunk.
So I decided to change things up the other day to get my creative juices going. (okay, and also I needed to be more portable with a crazy crawling nine month old) So, I busted out my old laptop, which mind you was purchased in 2004 to get me through a year long tour of my husband being in Korea, followed immediatly by it's travel to Iraq in which he used it in what seems to be a sand storm, and some how I no longer have a CD Rom, but ya know. Anyway, ramble complete, I thought I'd get it out so I could lasso the child unit into a room and write while he found new ways to fall of things, and I push the power button, and I am greeted with the message: Imminent Failure predicted. Talk about a downer. I googled ways to save her life, and asked my computer genius brother in law what to do, I deleted needless applications, and so far, the message has not reappeared. So I used it anyway, typing short amounts at a time, saving them to thumb drive and bringing them to the, um, I dont know the term, Permanent computer. hahaha As far as the actual novel goes, changing to third person has proven to work very nicely. I have split it into to two books, they are all in one novel, but there is a 4 year time jump, and I cleverly came up with a poem to split the two halves. (a character dies, the poem is from him, it fit nicely, and sure beat me having to worry about copyright laws by using song lyrics) I am trying to get a draft of the first half finished before vacation next week, we are going home, and hopefully I can get someone to check it out for me. And thats about it, my update for the day. Happy writing. I must go save Captain Crazy pants from his playpen, he's trying to lick his way out... ps. ignore my typos, run on's, lack of puncuation, and bad spelling. Please forgive me. It's my blog, I can do what i want. haha
I drew a picture today of what I want my novel to look like, with my pen name and everything...because you know nothing gets a novel written like procrastination. I wrote a good bit this week. It was all out of order, but I got it organized, only to be inspired some more towards the end. So I wrote what I wanted, and still have to fill in some gaps. There is a whole middle section I NEED to write, and I just cant think of how I want it to go. I've got a great begining, and a great climax, and a great end, and the memories of my main character piece into all of this, but the actual love story part is what I'm finding hardest. At first, I wanted my main character to go the whole story and not fall for the main male till the very end. However, after writing so much, and expanding, it has become obvious it needs to happen earlier. So I'm working on getting from point A to point B with thier love without moving to fast, and without making it cheesy. But other than that things are going well with it. Still moving along when my teething monster child isnt screaming at me. I have found night time when the whole house is asleep my best chance to be creative. So tonight, I'm setting a goal, and not moving till it's met.
Some days, I just feel so creative, others, I feel like the snails in my profile picture, inching along, praying no one pours salt on me confusedr maybe thats slugs, but thats how uncreative I am today, I dont feel like verifying). Today started out promising, I woke up and had my coffee while the baby played, and the husband cleaned. (he likes it, he wasnt being made too) I sat at the computer and wrote in a couple of minutes what i thought to be a good poem. Then I piddled around, and enjoyed the husband being home (gotta love a four day weekend!) and I figured I'd be spending some time filling in the gaps of my novel. But there was nothing. Not so much nothing, I have the whole thing planned out, just no motivation to get to typing. Im in this phase where I want people to read something. I need validation that it is somewhat decent. That my characters are likeable, atleast the ones who should be. But that will come, when my thread gets unlocked, I should have some extra opinions besides just mine (which is that I'm doing okay) and the husbands (which is that I am a literary genius). I joke. I'm at a bridge now, where I have written so out of order, and half hazzardly, that I am trying to stick to the proper order. I am learning more about the characters, which is wierd, since I am thier creator. My lead male was supposed to be nothing more than basically eye candy for the reader, and something for my widowed lead to latch onto to pull out of her funk. Now, he has expanded. As we go, we will learn his father is dying, he served in Iraq (hey, gotta put this military knowledge I'm learning while the husband is enlisted to good use) and that he is mourning the death of the leads husband just as much as any other, only he did find out about it until years later. I've made him have substance and a little mystery, and I like that. I feel like the more I read, and write, the better I'm getting. And while I may never be the best at grammar, from critiquing others, I'm finding I have an eye for story line, and character development. I got some books from the library about writing a novel, and the first thing 'write a novel in a year' tells us is that to write, you must read, and thats what Im doing. I'm glad I found this site, it seems to promote those ideas as well. And so, after a long, rambling blog, I'm off to bed, gotta drag the husband off the couch, and not wake the baby. Tomorrow, I hope to tackle the gaps!!