Camp NaNo Redux July 30, 2012

The amazing people over at NaNoWriMo are running another summer camp starting August 1st.

I did not do so well in the June camp, but I have confidence August will be different. For one, the writing is coming easier now. And two, I am going to set myself an entirely reasonable goal.

(Don’t worry, I’m all in for 50,000 words in November.)

Apparently 30,000 words was too much in June–I managed just under 22,000–I am averaging around 500 words a night this month–but that was free-writing with very little thought toward plot and character arcs. Now that I’m working on another novel with an eye to publication, I need to allow myself to progress more slowly. So I’m thinking 20,000 will be a decent challenge.

I wish everyone who is shooting for 50,000 the best of luck. I am looking forward to playing for real in November!

C.

 

Plotting, Plotting, Plotting! July 12, 2011

Rather than spend my summer lazing about poolside, I am using my copious amounts of free time (ha, ha, ha – did I mention I have small children?) to start work on another project.

The textbook people are planning on getting in touch with me shortly, so my freedom is about to be cut perilously short. I must use the hours that remain to their maximum capacity because I don’t know how many (or how few) are left.

So,

Now I’m plotting.

You know what’s really cool? Having an agent to bounce ideas off, that’s what’s cool.

I wrote out these character sketches and a short pitch outlining a book I’d like to write and then I sent it to Brianne. I had some specific questions, but was mostly concerned with, “Should I write this, or is the idea so atrocious no one will ever want to pick it up?” And you know what was really awesome? She wrote back! (I was not surprised by this, as she is very good at communicating with me, but the whole novelty of having someone in the publishing field who will answer my newbie/weird questions still floors me sometimes.)

I would ask you to guess what her answer was, but I kind of spoiled it for you at the top of the post, so we’ll just move on as though we’re all squeeing together at the discovery that my agent likes my new idea. Ready? *SQUEE!*

Being me, I couldn’t just jump into writing (I am SOOOOO not a pantser) – no, I had to whip out a spreadsheet and map the whole thing out. And, ZOMG, I had so much fun! I would post a pic of my spreadsheet, but I don’t want to give away the surprise…

Aw, who am I kidding? Look what I made!

Plotting, Plotting, Plotting!

Don’t be too upset if you can’t decipher what’s written. For one, it’s all set-up and nothing exciting happens. Two, I just wanted to show off my pretty little columns and rows. This isn’t a full chapter-by-chapter outline, more like an event-to-event one. There are key elements that must happen in the story for it to play out the way I want, and I need to get them in order before I start writing.

I did something very similar with Nikko, but I used index cards (and then stupidly recycled them so I had nothing to refer to when I wanted to create this spreadsheet). Seeing as Nikko landed me an agent, I figure the system must not be too horribly flawed.

I still have a few boxes to fill in, but I should be able to do that this afternoon, which means… Da-da-daaaaa! Tonight I will be writing!

A new book!

Writing!

A brand new, shiny book!

*happy dance* (Well, happy dance until such time as the textbook people come calling…)

C.

Synopses Hell July 8, 2011

The hammock creaks as she uncrosses her legs and stretches. A week of lounging in the dappled shade of the cherry tree has rendered her immune to the raucous cries of the crows overhead and the children tussling on the emerald grass. She closes the book with a satisfying thump and sighs.

Her doting husband approaches with yet another thick tome and a tray bearing an assortment of iced drinks. She wriggles her perfectly manicured fingers as she ponders which delectable beverage to savour. Deciding upon the frosted glass with what appears to be green and blue smoke swirling around elephant-shaped ice cubes, she tilts the brim of her sun hat over her eyes and sighs in contentment.

Okay.

If you think the first week of my summer vacation resembles the above fantasy in any way (beyond no longer hearing the damn crows), you’re not from this planet. For one, the weather has been decidedly un-summery. The furnace is still coming on in the mornings, dammit! Another reason is I don’t own a hammock. Plus, my children don’t tussle, they shriek. My back yard is not an idyllic retreat, and honestly, no one would let me enjoy it even if it were.

To be fair though, my husband does pour a mean ice water.

In case you totally ignored the title of this post, I’ll mention that I have NOT been relaxing next to the pool (although I did sit on a plastic chair nearby when the kidlets took turns sticking their arms in the frigid water). No, I have been wrestling with one of the few things guaranteed to give most writers nightmares: the synopsis.

And not one synopsis, but two.

I spent two full nights writing garbage just so I could get my rambling thoughts on the page. I spent another two nights attempting to detrashify the previous evenings’ worth of slop.

If I could throw my synopses off a cliff, I would.

Some writers get to a point in their careers where they can sell a book by writing a few sample chapters and attaching a synopsis. I’m not there, and frankly, after this past week, I’m pretty sure I’d rather write the whole darned book than try to write an effective synopsis.

Because, man oh man, can I write crappy ones!

If you need senseless swill that may or may not capture the key elements of your story, and may or may not be laden with useless backstory that no one wants to know, let alone get excited about, well, I’m your go-to girl.

Seriously.

It doesn’t matter that I’m one of those writers who enjoys planning. Planning a novel is nothing at all like writing a synopsis. When I plan a novel, I picture the assorted scenes – I can hear the dialogue and see the action. I don’t get to write dialogue in my synopses. I’m not supposed to describe how the subtle lift of the MC’s chin marks his decision to cross a line of no return - that he’s so numb with rage he no longer cares who, or how many, he takes with him.

I can see that.

What I struggle to see is how to condense 70,000-words (living, breathing, character-driven moments of agony and ecstasy) into roughly 750 words that highlight the plot AND give away the ending in such a way that even though the reader knows exactly what is going to happen, they still want me to write the darned thing.

At times like this I remind myself that I chose to write. Not only did I willingly choose to step foot upon this journey, but I vowed to enjoy each step along the way. (Boy, do I wish I could go back in time and slap myself for that one.)

Synopses are just one step.

One teensy tiny footfall.

A fruit fly on the salad bar of writing.

(I refuse to take that metaphor further as I do not wish to contemplate the fly laying eggs and then dying somewhere among the arugula.)

I know I’ll get past these synopses and I’ll no longer have to fight the urge to bash my head against the keyboard until one of us surrenders, but until then I am doing the next best thing. I am taking the night off.

I think I might write a short story. No one asks for synopses for short stories.

Right now, an angsty vignette sounds like the perfect summer fling. Writing with no strings attached. I’ll go back to my novels and their baggage (damn synopses) tomorrow, but for tonight, I’m stepping out with a fic I may not want to call again in the morning.

C.

April Update April 22, 2011

I realised I haven’t been very forthcoming with my writing progress over the past several months. I’d love to say it was because I was working on some top secret project that I could only now reveal. Alas, it was simply because I was so focused on the writing I never considered telling you about it.

That, my dear readers, is about to change. Brace yourselves for a no-holds-barred update on where my writing career is at.

At the end of March the textbook people told me to hold off writing the teacher’s guide until they could get me the revisions for the student workbook. I was a little frustrated by this (I’d wondered about the wisdom of writing the teacher’s guide before the student book was set, but the contact only gave me two weeks between the two deadlines and I didn’t want to miss it). I’d hoped this contract would be fulfilled by late March so I could go back to writing fiction.

Given my forced waiting with the math stuff, I decided to finish my NaNoWriMo novel. I promised my cheerleader a sequel to The Firestorm Conspiracy, and I got 55,000 words into it during November, but December led to agents requesting Nikko and eventually the excitement around signing with Brianne Mulligan at Movable Type, so I never finished it.

Oooh, I also had to do several edits and proofs for Firestorm in order to get it ready for publication, and those took a tonne of time. Thankfully, I wasn’t also textbooking.

Life is funny sometimes. I was all excited about my ‘free’ time – I was going to finish my sequel and make my cheerleader ecstatic (or insane, depending on her reaction to the grand finale planned for the book), and then my agent sent me an email. She wanted to let me know she felt the sooner we got Nikko out the better – before all the publishers filled their YA dystopian quotas for the year.

I broke the news to my long-suffering cheerleader and set to work on revising Nikko with my eleven pages of editorial notes as a guideline. My goal was to increase the book’s length by about 20,000 words and change the ending, leaving the story more open to a romantic sequel (I’d left it open for further book[s], but I hadn’t planned on carrying a love triangle through, so that had to change).

I’ve been working steadily on Nikko for three weeks now, and I’ve added close to 13,000 words and four entirely new chapters. I’ve fleshed out one minor character into something of an antagonist, and I’ve gone far deeper into both my main characters’ pasts as well as the world building.

I’ll be honest, it’s hard. My brain does mental gymnastics every time I sit down and tackle a new element. I’m always saying, “Let’s see, how can I…” and then I’m gone – lost in a universe of my own creating. I love it. I love, love, love it. I wanted to get the revisions done by the end of the month, but as I’m only half way through the original version I think I’ll need more than the week remaining.

During a moment of procrastination I decided to submit a short story to a couple of magazines. I’m not expecting a reply for at least four more weeks, but I will let you know as soon as I hear anything.

I am expecting the revision request from the textbook people to arrive sometime next week. As this is something I am under contract for (and they’ve paid me a third of the agreed upon amount), I will have to set Nikko aside to work on them. Hopefully they won’t be too time-consuming and I’ll be able to get back to Nikko shortly thereafter.

On top of all this, I am also planning a launch party for The Firestorm Conspiracy. I can’t believe it will be available to the general public in just over three weeks. My first novel. Published. People other than my husband and mother buying something I made.

*SQUEE*

Phew, I told you this would be quite the update. You may relax now, it’s pretty much over. At the risk of becoming boring or tedious, I will endeavour to update you more often.

C.

Bad Austen Contest Results April 18, 2011

Woo hoo!

After waiting and wondering, and emailing and tweeting, the winners of the Bad Austen contest were notified earlier today. I did not win the $250, but my short story, John & Rebeccah: Love ‘Midst the Stars, has been chosen for publication in the anthology coming out in November.

I am thrilled to be adding another publication credit to my name.

I’m even more thrilled by the fact that a story involving the characters from The Firestorm Conspiracy has found its way into a print anthology. The more people who read about, and fall in love with, John and Rebeccah, the happier I will be.

C.

PS – A special shout out to my fellow #badausten tweeters: Thanks for your support throughout the wait! Glad to hear you’re getting responses too.

#AskYAed(itors) December 18, 2010

Two children’s editors from Egmont (USA) hosted a tweetchat session tonight where people could ask questions about the publishing industry. They’re very helpful and willing to answer pretty much anything. In fact, if you have an Amish YA novel with oodles of swearing in it, you’re golden right now (just kidding, but it was a funny topic on the chat tonight).

I asked a couple of questions. One related to the time frame for nudging an editor who’s doing a favour for you, and I’ve decided I may send an email in the new year. But there’s really no rush, and I don’t want to pester anyone over the holiday season.

The other question related to the notion of posting original fiction (short stories and whatnot) on my blog. Both editors thought it was a good thing; but for two almost different reasons. One editor loves seeing original content on author websites, and the other thinks the content should be used as a marketing tool to increase buzz and interest in the author’s books. The first option means putting it up whenever, the second means putting it up once a book exists in the real world.

Now I have even more food for thought!

C.

Interesting Idea December 16, 2010

You know how I mentioned I was in a short story mood? Well, now I’ve had an idea and I wonder if it would work.

I’ve been thinking about my characters, and I’ve been thinking about little scenes and vignettes. Then I started thinking about my characters in these little scenes and vignettes.

Here’s what I’m wondering… would it possibly help (or hinder) my brand or platform as a writer if I posted short stories involving my own characters on my blog? Is that weird? Egotistical? Way too geeky? Lame?

I’m wondering this partly because of the number of people who seem to be viewing the few short stories I’ve already posted here. While there’s nothing wrong with them, I think my writing has progressed and it’s probably time to showcase some different work. The problem with that is – my current work is devoted to a select group of characters dear to my heart. I don’t want to start posting chapters of my WIP because, well, it’s a WIP and not ready for public consumption. Plus, if I find myself with an agent and we send the MS on submission to editors I’ll have to remove it anyway.

So, what do you think? Is writing short stories involving characters of your own creation a good or bad thing?

C.

Shiny Plot Threads December 11, 2010

WOOT!

1707 words of fabulous plotness last night! I wrestled my plot knot into submission: turning it, pulling it, poking it, and hurling it against the wall until it finally revealed its secret. By untangling the the mess, I revealed the block in my mind and like dominoes, everything fell into place.

It wasn’t easy though. Not by a long shot. And not just for me either.

I whined at my cheerleader for over an hour. I tried to explain what I was wrestling with, but in such a way as to not give away upcoming elements in the story – and that made tackling the plot issues even harder. She was a dear and put up with my ravings, and I thank her for her patience. After that, I moved onto my poor innocent friend. She thought we were going to have a friendly chat as usual, but I ended up rambling and rambling about my plot knots while she sat there with her eyes glazing over. I may have imposed on our friendship, but the conversation helped and I owe her a big thanks too. Then I attacked my poor husband with the same problem – and while he initially suggested I simply blow something up, he listened to my tales of woe and prodded me in a couple of places, causing the last of the knots to slip away.

So, after more than four hours of ranting and rambling and smashing my head against a brick wall, I sat down to write.

I wrote.

And I wrote.

And I got into the zone and it was marvelous!

Thank goodness for friends – they are the best cure for untangling plot knots and revealing writer’s blocks!

C.

Interesting Discovery December 9, 2010

I discovered something about myself last night.

While it was fun to zip ahead and write a scene that I’d been dying to write, I can’t keep doing it. I am too linear. Last night I sat down to write more of an out-of-order scene and couldn’t do it.

I think it also has to do with how I view my characters. I really like to get into their heads and use events to inform how they will react in future scenes. If I’m jumping ahead I have no ‘real’ idea how they will react because I don’t know how previous events shaped them.

So tonight I will go back to where I left off and slog through the plot. I probably shouldn’t say, “slog” because I’m looking forward to getting back into the meat of the story. I thought I could wander off and play with the characters in isolation, but it turns out I’m good for a scene or so, and that’s about it.

I’ll be curious to see how well (or awkwardly) the out-of-order scenes fit once I get to the point in the novel where they belong. I enjoyed writing them so it won’t be a hardship to have to tweak (or re-write) them, but it will be interesting to see how much editing they will need in order to seemlessly fit into the story.

C.

Abandoned December 8, 2010

My cheerleader has abandoned me. She tossed away her pom poms and left me bereft on the curb like last week’s Happy Meal. My soul has been crushed. I may have to drown my sorrows in iced tea and peanut M&Ms.

Relax, we didn’t have a falling out.

It just seems as though she has switched roles for this novel. She is no longer my faithful cheerleader, but rather a rabid, pushy fangirl (her words, not mine). I’d suggest that she’s slightly too invested in the fictional characters of John and Rebeccah, except I don’t want to find a dead horse’s head in my bed…

So, I must continue to write. I suppose I could try to wean her off J&R with other fic, but what would I do with this partially complete novel? I need to finish it even if it feeds my poor cheerleader’s addiction. I’m going to work on the scene I started last night, but after that I am afraid it’s back to actual plot development. Hopefully that will cool her ardour and I will get my cheerleader back.

C.