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I have found a critique group I can go to in person. Previously all my critiques have been online. The feedback is different when it is face to face. There is less BS and I can ask questions about things that I don’t understand. I love it.
I had a meeting today and brought the first two chapters of my baby to be reviewed. When eight people all say the same thing about a part you know they are right. One person saying it you can write off by thinking they just don’t get it.
But when more than one person doesn’t get it- that means you as a writer have failed. Which means it is time to rewrite.
There was one person in our group who was upset after her review. She said she had received a lot of criticism. She didn’t really. Several people were gushing about how poetic her work was but she only heard the negatives. I wonder if she will ever come back.
I guess I have a thicker skin. I want to hear all the bad. Throw it at me! Why? Because it means I can fix it and make my novel even stronger. I want the best of the best when I submit to agents.
I am in this for the long haul. I have a goal in mind- to get my book published and to have readers love it. So even if it means chopping a funny scene that I love because it doesn’t work in the flow- I am doing it. I have no problems hacking down the rosebush if it means I will end up with a beautiful rose at the end.
So my suggestion to you is find a local writing group and join. Not only did I get good feedback, I was itching to write when I got home. Heck I was hoping for a red stoplight on the drive home so I could write down ideas that popped into my head.
Critique groups are good! Go find one today.
I finished editing the first 30 pages or so of the book last night. whew. Let me tell you, editing isn’t as much fun as writing. However it is satisfying to know these 30 pages of the novel are so much better than they were before.
I tired a new editing trick I learned about on Twitter from another writer. I recorded myself reading the first two chapters then played them back. Anything I stumbled on or didn’t sound right I changed. It really helped catch awkward phrases.
There are free programs you can get online that will read back to you. I downloaded Natural Reader and will use that to read chapters as well, however you lose the natural inflection you get when you read it yourself.
So what editing tricks do you have?
I planned on getting out of the house today. I was going to go to a coffee shop and work. I need to get out of the house because I am turning into a hermit.
Instead I ended up not sleeping very well last night. I was dreaming I sent off query letters for the novel and before I got the responses back my son woke me up. GAH!
So I ended up coming home after dropping him off for school and sneaking back into bed for a nap and hopefully a continuation of my dream. Alas, much like the dream I had with LL Cool J, I couldn’t get it back. darn it. I wanted this one much more than the LL dream too. but shhhhh, don’t tell him I said so.
It’s okay. I think it means I am getting so much closer to sending them out. I read the query letter again last night and liked it. So I am letting it stew for a few more weeks, then whipping it out to see if I still like it.
Don’t worry. I won’t send it out until the book is complete. But it will be nice to know that part is finished- then I can work on the dreaded synopsis. gulp.
I was reading a third book of a series yesterday. It had been a while since I had read the first two books. Yes, the book explained a little about what happened in the first two, but there were some parts I was totally lost. The book had way too much conflict to follow along. There was the main conflict which was needed for the story, then there was also other problems that needed solving and worries leftover from the other two books.
It made it really hard to follow. Yes the book mentioned that the character had faced the twinkie demon in the first book and defeated it by joining the ho-ho alliance and becoming the leaders mate. (yeah, I totally made that up). But then it went into the complications from that because it upset the pretzel cartel who was lead by a sister to the character. It spiraled down from there to where it distracted me from the main conflict of fighting the Krispy Kreme cult. It was way too much conflict to digest. (get it? digest. I kill me.)
On the other hand, not having enough conflict isn’t much of a story. It’s like watching a reality show with one average person going about their daily lives. Boring. Why would you want to read about it if you can look around in your daily life and see the same thing?
How does this relate to me and editing my novel for publication?
I am working on my query letter to hopefully snag an agent as I edit the book. This has me struggling with putting enough conflict in the query but not too much that it is too hard to follow. Yes, I am putting in the main problem… Karie needs to get her body back or she will die. (If you haven’t read my teaser about the book, please check it out here. ) But while resolving that conflict she uncovers an even bigger problem. Along the way her allies have conflicts they need to deal with also.
Which ones do I mention? Which do I leave out? Also, I can’t mention all the characters. But boy I feel like I am picking favorites when I decide who goes into the query letter. But pick I must.
I am constantly learning- constantly trying to improve my craft. I hope this never changes. After reading this book-which is a successful urban fantasy series- I learned not to make conflicts too complicated and abundant that they overshadow the plot of the book.
I also learned not to write blog posts when I am hungry or I make a lot of junk food references. The digest thing still cracks me up though.
Man, yard sales aren’t anywhere near as much fun on the other side of the fence. Woke up at 6 AM and sold until 2:30 PM. We did really well though with only a handful of items that didn’t sell. I am confident I can sell them on CraigsList.net though.
No writing or editing done today though. I have big plans on showering (hot out there today in AZ) then napping. There is a little fair going on at one of the schools here so we are taking the kid later. After all that I plan on writing and editing. Yeah, I know. Isn’t looking good.
But sometimes, you need to forget the book and enjoy time with the family. Happy Saturday all!
I have been reading every agent blog I can find for months now. I have read and reread winning query letters. I am trying to be spongelike. In both ways- absorbing as much information as possible and SpongeBob like when he shouts, “I’m ready!”
My head is starting to spin from all the information out there. Do this, don’t do that, always do this, never do that– much of the information conflicts with other advice.
Waxman literary agency must have sensed my pain. This blog post made me want to shout, Hooray!
So, I am taking a little break from research. I need to finish round two edits. When I am ready to submit, I will read and triple check submission guidelines for each agent I am going to send queries to along with brushing up on what each one wants. Courier Sans or Times New Roman – word count and genre at the start of the query or at the end- I shall be like Burger King. I shall make it their way.
Hopefully one or two will enjoy it enough to ask for more.
Ha! I did it. I started writing the other idea, the new shiny idea and it made my other story jealous. Last night before bed, during the time I am trying to turn off my thoughts, the original story reared it’s ugly head and started talking to me again.
I can see my main character who I am sorry to admit has not told me her name yet. She is a take no crap kind of girl. Badgering me to cut the crap and stop leaving her hanging there. What, do I think she has all day to wait for me to write about her? No, she doesn’t. She has a cheating boyfriend- soon to be ex to deal with along with some idiotic werewolves, a younger sister and some other surprises. She does not have time to wait for me to write another story. She needs my attention now!
See what I mean? Feisty chick, huh? So i am ready to give it. And maybe when I am struggling with plot issues with her, the other story will finally get jealous. That main character is totally different. A nice guy who tries to be polite until pushed too far. Oh yeah, I plan on pushing him way to far to see what happens.
This is so exciting. Sometimes I love having a ringside seat to inside my head. By the time I am done I will have two more novels complete.
I love being a writer- I can say I hear voices in my head and it is perfectly normal.
Let me ask you, do your characters talk to you in your head? Also, I would love to get some character names from you. I was thinking maybe Diana but it might be a bit overused. Suggestions?
Okay I have been trying to work out a plot for the next book. I have an idea and a few characters in mind. I even have some very funny scenes. What I don’t have is a plot. I have sub plots but not the major thing- the main reason the book exists. I have been hoping for an inspiration to hit.
And well she did- just not in the way I thought she would.
I have been hit with another idea for a story. What the heck? I tried to push it aside, but it won’t go away. So my poor other story is being pushed aside now for a new one.
It’s okay though. I will work on the new story and maybe, just maybe I will make the other story jealous enough that it will finally inspire me with a plot.
You are probably thinking, my child got to my keyboard or maybe I misspelled NaNoWriMo. Nope. I am skipping NaNo this year. (National Novel Writing Month for those not in the know) but my friend and one of my lovely Beta readers challenged me here to NaBloPoMo, which is a challenge to write a blog post every day in November.
As you can see, I missed the November 1st post, d’oh! but I am back ready to go.
I got back critiques from one Beta reader-the one who issued the challenge in fact (hi Teri) and it was good. Showed me that I really need to develop one character more and give more information up front about her. She was amazing in catching inconsistencies. I am excited to do the second round of revisions. I think with Beta feedback the book is going to be so much stronger than it was before, which takes it one more step towards getting published.
I am curious though, how many of you are doing NaNo this year and how are you doing with your word counts?
I realize I haven’t been updating the blog as much as before. Boy when I was able to update word counts I felt compelled to blog. Now saying I edited 10 pages doesn’t sound quite as exciting.
I am excited to say first round edits are finished. I sent it off to the Betas- including some new folks that will have to be fully thanked in a later post (unless they hate the book then phoey on them). 
Thanks to Emily, Teri and Laurie who have been added to my Beta readers ranks. A writer friend I met on Twitter also has critiqued the first 10 pages for me. Ruthanne Reid is an amazing writer. Don’t believe me? Go to her website and read her first chapters here. You will be blown away.
So what does it mean to have first edits done? It means I see where the book needs more work. I am eagerly awaiting critiques from my Betas so I can make changes and start the second round of edits. I am saving a few people who offered to beta read for those edits.
I also wrote a query letter yesterday. No, I promise I will not send it out. Why? Several agent on twitter today bemoaned receiving queries letters where writers are not able to send the partial or full out right away. You have to be completely finished with edits before querying. I know this. I do. But man, that is a hard rule to follow.
Another rule I am struggling with is not writing book 2 if book 1 isn’t sold. I have the next book started in my head. I want to write it but I won’t. Why? If you can’t sell book 1 you are stuck with a book 2 that will also not sell.
Nope. Won’t do it. I am working on another idea that popped up in the middle of writing book one. I am struggling with some plot issues though so it isn’t flowing like the first. Of course I have just met some of the characters so they may take time to show themselves to me. Not every main character can be as pushy as Karie is from the first book.
So, that is what I have been busy doing. edits. plotting and trying not to give in to desires to query and write book 2.
