The first really great day of the season. And not just short-sleeves-no-coat warm, but flip-flops-and-shorts warm. By 6pm, the sun is mostly obscured by a thin veil of white, but the majority of the sky is still bright blue.
It still seems strange to have so many more hours of daylight, and I'm not quite sure what to do with myself after work. It seems a shame to waste the light by sitting in front of the television screen or computer monitor.
The park is buzzing today. Voices of a cheerleading group in the amphitheater. The clack-skritch-clack of roller hockey. Since NHL playoffs have just begun, I imagine the boys are imitating their heroes - perhaps Ovechkin in pursuit of Lord Stanley's Cup. There's the distant smack of softballs into gloves as a group of kids learn to wind up and pitch underhand. I can't hear them from where I am, but a school group is holding a tennis match across the way, and a group of younger kids is learning the basics of flag football.
Even the gnats and other tiny-winged things - plentiful around my bench in front of the freshly mulched bushes - are not so bad. They're a nice change from the nearly insectless winter which, to tell the truth, wasn't horrible either. We never did get a big snow, and at this point I've given up hope. Even after some of the crazy winters recently passed, I have no doubts that mid-April is beyond the likely window of blizzard opportunity. Now I'm left waiting patiently for the true warmth of summer, when I can retire my coat to the closet for a few months.
Not yet, though. Tomorrow's supposed to be cold.
15 April 2008
08 April 2008
Battling the Demons
So I've been workshopping chapters from my manuscript with a critique group on the Agent Query site. I've gotten tons of feedback, some positive, some negative. A big negative being the "immaturity" of the MC and the overall voice. Not to mention some plausibility snags related to that. Ouch, right?
Right. But I'm afraid I've let it all go to my head a little too much. I keep dwelling on the negative critiques, despite the positive ones. I'm beating myself up. Trying to change too much. Over analyzing every word. I've almost convinced myself that the whole manuscript - all 76,000 words of it - should be tossed in the garbage can. Not that I'd ever do that, though, because I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to my writing, haha.
So instead, I'm going to take a short break from the AQ site and just get back to the story, really get in the mindset I need to be in to make it shine. I need to find my confidence again, my critical eye, my love of Charlotte (the MC in the book) and her story. I just need to get that back and stop telling myself I'm not good enough.
A little tangent (that is definitely helping with my confidence some): I've networked with another writer on AQ and he wants me to be his editor! He's got a great manuscript, from what he's already posted on the site, and I was flattered and thrilled when he asked me, of all people, to be his editor. Even though I've never edited anything (professionally, that is) in my life. But he saw something in my critiques that made him think we'd be a good author-editor fit. And I think he's right. This is probably the most exciting thing to happen to me in quite a while. Getting paid to read? How much better does it get?
And I think I'll end this depressing blog on that happy note. Yay for me!
Right. But I'm afraid I've let it all go to my head a little too much. I keep dwelling on the negative critiques, despite the positive ones. I'm beating myself up. Trying to change too much. Over analyzing every word. I've almost convinced myself that the whole manuscript - all 76,000 words of it - should be tossed in the garbage can. Not that I'd ever do that, though, because I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to my writing, haha.
So instead, I'm going to take a short break from the AQ site and just get back to the story, really get in the mindset I need to be in to make it shine. I need to find my confidence again, my critical eye, my love of Charlotte (the MC in the book) and her story. I just need to get that back and stop telling myself I'm not good enough.
A little tangent (that is definitely helping with my confidence some): I've networked with another writer on AQ and he wants me to be his editor! He's got a great manuscript, from what he's already posted on the site, and I was flattered and thrilled when he asked me, of all people, to be his editor. Even though I've never edited anything (professionally, that is) in my life. But he saw something in my critiques that made him think we'd be a good author-editor fit. And I think he's right. This is probably the most exciting thing to happen to me in quite a while. Getting paid to read? How much better does it get?
And I think I'll end this depressing blog on that happy note. Yay for me!
23 March 2008
Snazzy Dialogue I: Catch-22
I was recently complimented on the dialogue in the opening chapter of my novel. I was stunned! Dialogue is a big deal for me. I fret over it all the time. But I'm apparently doing something right! So I thought I'd compile some of the things I keep in mind when writing dialogue.
"Hey bro. What's up?"
"Nothing really. You?"
"You know. More of the same."
"Yeah dude. I know."
Not terribly exciting, is it? But I bet you've had - or overheard - this very conversation, dozens of times. That doesn't mean you need to write it in your story.
Dialogue needs to be meaningful. It needs to be real. But it can't be real. Get my drift? I don't care how many times you scream "But I've heard dozens of people talk like that!" Just because people have long conversations about their bowel movements or their cousin's husband's predilection for online porn, doesn't mean your characters should.
Dialogue should tell us something about the character speaking it. It should illuminate the situation. It should create tension or assuage it, clarify a problem or confuse it, whatever the goal of the scene-at-large, the dialogue should work in tandem with the rest.
Throw in something unexpected. Have a character lie. Have them be painfully honest. Have them misunderstand what another character says and respond accordingly. Don't be boring!
Let's think about that and revisit the above conversation:
"Hey bro. What's up?"
"Cut the shit. How much you need to borrow this time?"
"Dude, a grand should cover me. Blackjack table got me this time."
"Yeah, more of the same."
See? At least now we know a little bit about what's going on. We can see distinct personalities int he speakers. There's connotation to the remark "more of the same."
Now get out there and write some great dialogue!
Read Part II here.
"Hey bro. What's up?"
"Nothing really. You?"
"You know. More of the same."
"Yeah dude. I know."
Not terribly exciting, is it? But I bet you've had - or overheard - this very conversation, dozens of times. That doesn't mean you need to write it in your story.
Dialogue needs to be meaningful. It needs to be real. But it can't be real. Get my drift? I don't care how many times you scream "But I've heard dozens of people talk like that!" Just because people have long conversations about their bowel movements or their cousin's husband's predilection for online porn, doesn't mean your characters should.
Dialogue should tell us something about the character speaking it. It should illuminate the situation. It should create tension or assuage it, clarify a problem or confuse it, whatever the goal of the scene-at-large, the dialogue should work in tandem with the rest.
Throw in something unexpected. Have a character lie. Have them be painfully honest. Have them misunderstand what another character says and respond accordingly. Don't be boring!
Let's think about that and revisit the above conversation:
"Hey bro. What's up?"
"Cut the shit. How much you need to borrow this time?"
"Dude, a grand should cover me. Blackjack table got me this time."
"Yeah, more of the same."
See? At least now we know a little bit about what's going on. We can see distinct personalities int he speakers. There's connotation to the remark "more of the same."
Now get out there and write some great dialogue!
Read Part II here.
27 February 2008
Query Pains
So I finally took a stab at writing a query letter for my novel. Didn't work out so well. I posted the letter in forum over on Agent Query Connect (my new favorite website) and got some good feedback.
Good in the sense that it helped me see what was all wrong with it.
Writing a decent query is harder than I expected! At least for this particular manuscript. This one was written mostly by the seat of my pants, with very little planning or outlining. I just started a new book, but this idea was much more thought out in advance, with several pages of notes on what I wanted to happen, etc. And I pretty much wrote a basic hook and summary (the important parts of the query!) before I even started writing the book itself. So maybe the query letter for that one will be easier.
But back to my first manuscript. I've finally let it be for a bit since I've started working on something new. Maybe another couple weeks and I'll go back with fresh eyes to revise and edit. Then I'll set my sights on the query letter once again. After that....
Well, who knows. I may be sending letters to agents by April. :-)
Good in the sense that it helped me see what was all wrong with it.
Writing a decent query is harder than I expected! At least for this particular manuscript. This one was written mostly by the seat of my pants, with very little planning or outlining. I just started a new book, but this idea was much more thought out in advance, with several pages of notes on what I wanted to happen, etc. And I pretty much wrote a basic hook and summary (the important parts of the query!) before I even started writing the book itself. So maybe the query letter for that one will be easier.
But back to my first manuscript. I've finally let it be for a bit since I've started working on something new. Maybe another couple weeks and I'll go back with fresh eyes to revise and edit. Then I'll set my sights on the query letter once again. After that....
Well, who knows. I may be sending letters to agents by April. :-)
02 February 2008
Can't....Stay....Away!
I'm trying, I really am! But I keep finding myself re-reading and doing some small editing on my novel manuscript. I said I was going to leave it alone for a little bit, to gain some new perspective before I go and do the major editing/revisions. I found this great website called Agent Query with an awesome searchable database of literary agents. I found about seven I want to look into further. I know my manuscript is in no condition to go out just yet, so before I start querying I think I'm going to look into a few of the books each agent has sold to get a feel for the kind of writer they represent. Then I'll have a better idea of where I want to send queries when the novel's ready!
I do actually have some ideas that are finally taking shape in my head. I think I might be ready to start writing something else, or at least mapping a few things out, so that should keep me busy (and away from my novel draft for now!) for a little bit.
So anyway, all you writers out there need to visit Agent Query's website. And while you're there, join AQ Connect!
I do actually have some ideas that are finally taking shape in my head. I think I might be ready to start writing something else, or at least mapping a few things out, so that should keep me busy (and away from my novel draft for now!) for a little bit.
So anyway, all you writers out there need to visit Agent Query's website. And while you're there, join AQ Connect!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)