One of the best pieces of writing advice I ever read was from Mary Higgins Clark - if you don't know her you've got to have been living under a rock - when she was asked about where her ideas came from. Her response - what if! Okay, her response was longer than that, but the main idea was to look at a news story and go what if . . .
So, this is what I've done with my current project, which is Book II in my mystery series. I took a situation that occurred in the town I live in a few years ago and went, what if . . .
Woo-hoo!
I must say, this whole what if thing is kind of fun. I have a real life event that I'm putting my own spin on using just the basics of the actual event to provide motive for the murder that takes place on the first page of the manuscript.
Will I always use this technique? Probably not. The idea for Book III (which, once upon a time was Book II, but is now Book III - long story) came from a rumor of something that has been going on for a while and, well, provided the motive for murder. I just love it when that happens.
The fact is, life is full of situations that, for a writer, can provide the motive for murder . . .
. . . an argument witnessed on a street corner.
. . . an argument between co-workers.
. . . the sighting of a former, hateful, boss at a movie.
. . . the arrest of a public official.
. . . the . . .
Well, you should get the picture. Life is full of so many events that, with a bit of a warped imagination (mine's a bit more warped than most peoples) . . . anything can happen.
S
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Why . . .
. . . did you choose the agents you chose to query?
As every reader knows by know, I'm about to query. I've gotten the Query Ninja's (Elana) stamp of approval on my query and I've picked out three agents to query.
Yep, only three at this point.
The question I asked myself last night is why those three agents.
The second question I asked my self - Self, should you put 'why' you're querying said agents in your query letter? Okay, I didn't really ask myself that question. Okay, maybe I did.
I could just see this line in my query: I've admired you from afar (well, from the blogsphere). Then, I could see a restraining order in my immediate future. Scratch that line. Ha!
Then, how do I put what made me choose that agent - the why - in my query without, well, seeming to, well, suck up, kiss butt, whatever to said agent?
Yeah, that's a tricky one, isn't it?
So, one of the agents I'm planning on querying mentions on their site that they're looking for projects with a unique voice or look and something important to say. Woo-hoo! They just described my project. So, my line in the intro is going to be: I feel that TITLE OF BOOK is perfect for your agency because it has a unique voice (then again, doesn't every author think their project has a unique voice?) and something important to say. Yeah, I don't think that line's going to be added to my query any time in the near future either. Can you say AUTO-REJECT! Well, maybe not, but still . . . the line might be a bit too flip, a tad snarky . . . but so am I.
That little dilemma brought up the question: do I sterilize my query so much, that who I am as an individual - a bit flip at times, more than a tad snarky - doesn't show through?
I hate writing essays - formal, dull, boring. So, in college, I began to take chances with my essays - less formal, a bit snarky, and . . . I got great grades on the papers. I had one professor come up to me in the hallway and tell me she absolutely LOVED what I did with the essay, and that she howled with laughter (in a good way) when reading my paper. To me, that was the ultimate praise, because I put me in my essay.
I want to put me in my query.
Anyhow, I'm digressing more than Sophia Petrillo did in seven seasons of The Golden Girls.
I chose the first agent because of the concepts listed on their website, and because of the posts on the blog that, at least in my opinion, carried the same outrage, irreverence, and passion that I put into my posts when I'm, well, outraged. After reading those posts - I followed the blog first - I investigated the agency a bit more and realized I wanted to query said agent.
The second and third agents I found through blogs I follow. There was something about each agent that, well, spoke to me. There was something they said on their sites, in the interviews, that clicked with me. Yeah, they also represent my genre, but . . . that wasn't the primary reason I chose any of those agents.
So, with all this rambling on a Friday morning, my question to those who have agents, and those looking for agents: Why do you choose who you choose? Solely because they represent your genre? Or, is there some deeper reason? Please comment away.
Have a great Friday.
S
As every reader knows by know, I'm about to query. I've gotten the Query Ninja's (Elana) stamp of approval on my query and I've picked out three agents to query.
Yep, only three at this point.
The question I asked myself last night is why those three agents.
The second question I asked my self - Self, should you put 'why' you're querying said agents in your query letter? Okay, I didn't really ask myself that question. Okay, maybe I did.
I could just see this line in my query: I've admired you from afar (well, from the blogsphere). Then, I could see a restraining order in my immediate future. Scratch that line. Ha!
Then, how do I put what made me choose that agent - the why - in my query without, well, seeming to, well, suck up, kiss butt, whatever to said agent?
Yeah, that's a tricky one, isn't it?
So, one of the agents I'm planning on querying mentions on their site that they're looking for projects with a unique voice or look and something important to say. Woo-hoo! They just described my project. So, my line in the intro is going to be: I feel that TITLE OF BOOK is perfect for your agency because it has a unique voice (then again, doesn't every author think their project has a unique voice?) and something important to say. Yeah, I don't think that line's going to be added to my query any time in the near future either. Can you say AUTO-REJECT! Well, maybe not, but still . . . the line might be a bit too flip, a tad snarky . . . but so am I.
That little dilemma brought up the question: do I sterilize my query so much, that who I am as an individual - a bit flip at times, more than a tad snarky - doesn't show through?
I hate writing essays - formal, dull, boring. So, in college, I began to take chances with my essays - less formal, a bit snarky, and . . . I got great grades on the papers. I had one professor come up to me in the hallway and tell me she absolutely LOVED what I did with the essay, and that she howled with laughter (in a good way) when reading my paper. To me, that was the ultimate praise, because I put me in my essay.
I want to put me in my query.
Anyhow, I'm digressing more than Sophia Petrillo did in seven seasons of The Golden Girls.
I chose the first agent because of the concepts listed on their website, and because of the posts on the blog that, at least in my opinion, carried the same outrage, irreverence, and passion that I put into my posts when I'm, well, outraged. After reading those posts - I followed the blog first - I investigated the agency a bit more and realized I wanted to query said agent.
The second and third agents I found through blogs I follow. There was something about each agent that, well, spoke to me. There was something they said on their sites, in the interviews, that clicked with me. Yeah, they also represent my genre, but . . . that wasn't the primary reason I chose any of those agents.
So, with all this rambling on a Friday morning, my question to those who have agents, and those looking for agents: Why do you choose who you choose? Solely because they represent your genre? Or, is there some deeper reason? Please comment away.
Have a great Friday.
S
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
WiP Wednesday - February 16, 2011
And the progress continues, slowly but surely. Ha!
Query Letter - done and done. Why done and done? Well, I had to write two letters. The one agent I plan on querying has very specific instructions on what he wants. So, first letter is more narrow, more defined. The second letter is a bit broader. Then again, I might not need the second letter. One just never knows. Ha!
I'm almost finished with the read through. I should finish up tomorrow. Other than the one chapter mentioned in Monday's post, the changes really have been minimal. I'll probably go through doing a word search - that, very, just, and a few other words - over the course of the weekend. For the most part, I'm not worried about the word very because I purposely used it in some instances. In other instances, as I've done the read through, I've eliminated the word.
The tone of this project is a bit irreverent. It's not some formal piece of work that will bore my readers. At least I hope it's not a formal piece of work that will bore my readers. Okay, I know it's not a formal piece of work that will bore my readers. My betas loved the manuscript. Okay, they loved the main character, and the manuscript.
Still, I think part of the charm - yeah, narrow perspective here - of the manuscript is the irreverence of the writing. Hopefully, said irreverence will charm agents everywhere. One can hope.
S
Query Letter - done and done. Why done and done? Well, I had to write two letters. The one agent I plan on querying has very specific instructions on what he wants. So, first letter is more narrow, more defined. The second letter is a bit broader. Then again, I might not need the second letter. One just never knows. Ha!
I'm almost finished with the read through. I should finish up tomorrow. Other than the one chapter mentioned in Monday's post, the changes really have been minimal. I'll probably go through doing a word search - that, very, just, and a few other words - over the course of the weekend. For the most part, I'm not worried about the word very because I purposely used it in some instances. In other instances, as I've done the read through, I've eliminated the word.
The tone of this project is a bit irreverent. It's not some formal piece of work that will bore my readers. At least I hope it's not a formal piece of work that will bore my readers. Okay, I know it's not a formal piece of work that will bore my readers. My betas loved the manuscript. Okay, they loved the main character, and the manuscript.
Still, I think part of the charm - yeah, narrow perspective here - of the manuscript is the irreverence of the writing. Hopefully, said irreverence will charm agents everywhere. One can hope.
S
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
A Discovery of Witches
I just finished reading A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. LOVED! IT!!
This was a great book. I think it falls into the paranormal romance genre, but . . . it's just a great book. Yeah, there's some romance, but that's not the main premise of the book.
Here's what I loved . . .
This was a great book. I think it falls into the paranormal romance genre, but . . . it's just a great book. Yeah, there's some romance, but that's not the main premise of the book.
Here's what I loved . . .
- Bridget Bishop - first witch killed during the Salem Witch Trials, who also happens to be an ancestor of a good friend of mine - is mentioned in the book. In fact, the main character is a direct descendent of Bridget Bishop. So, first and foremost, I'm intrigued because I actually know someone descended from Bridget Bishop. That qualifies as a neat-o factor.
- Vampires - the author (Deborah Harkness) takes the been there, done that vampire and . . . puts her own unique spin on them that is incredibly believable and realistic. I love her spin on the vampires.
- Complexity - this story is complex and intriguing and . . . so many other things.
- Slow Read - no, this isn't a bad thing. I kept thinking the book was a slow read until I realized the reason why: I was absorbing everything, immersing myself in the present day world she created. I was lingering over the words. That is why it was taken me so long to read the book, and not because it was uninteresting.
- Page Turner - even though I was lingering, absorbing, immersing, I also couldn't wait to turn the page to find out what would happen next.
Okay, those are only some of the things I loved about this book. It is rare for me to find I book I can't put down, that I want to read and read and read and read and . . . This was one of those books. I was sad to reach the end. I wanted more.
Did I mention the main character is a historian? Did you know Isaac Newton was a . . . well, I'm not going to give that little tidbit away, but . . . the author cleverly plays with historical facts. Absolutely fantastic.
So, if you want a good book to read, go and get this one (which is also available for Kindle, and probably other e-formats as well).
Monday, February 14, 2011
A Slow Progression to the Finish Line
I'm about done with my read through. Yes, it's taking me forever. Patience is a virtue . . . or so I've been told. I'll get back to you on that one.
In doing my read through, as any reader of this blog already knows, I've been correcting minor things here, there, and everywhere throughout the manuscript.
Yesterday, a bit more than minor tweaking occurred in one particular chapter. You see, in writing this mystery, I had to make sure the clues pieced together to form a precise picture. This isn't always easy. Trust me on that one. In this one chapter, the specific connections I created between the suspects, and the detective, and another character didn't exist like they should have. Eeek!
You see, what happened during the rough draft process was . . . I created the connections toward the end of the rough draft writing process and not the beginning. That's how my mind works. So, in this read through, I get to this chapter and realize a lot of the chapter doesn't make sense because I'm not paying attention to all those connections.
Delete. Delete. Delete.
Revamp. Revamp. Revamp.
Voila!
Now, all the connections are neatly tied together, past relationships and all that jazz, so that the comment of one character makes sense. Woo-hoo!
This, dear readers, is why we, as writers, aspiring or otherwise, do not query the rough draft.
This, dear readers, is why we, as writers, aspiring or otherwise, do multiple read throughs of our manuscripts before we even give serious thought to querying.
Writing, as I've said over and over again, well, written over and over again, is a process. It is not a race to the finish line, but rather a slow progression to the finish line.
Patience - allegedly - is a virtue, and patience in the writing process should, hopefully, mean that by the time I query, I have the most polished manuscript I'm capable of, well, polishing.
In doing my read through, as any reader of this blog already knows, I've been correcting minor things here, there, and everywhere throughout the manuscript.
Yesterday, a bit more than minor tweaking occurred in one particular chapter. You see, in writing this mystery, I had to make sure the clues pieced together to form a precise picture. This isn't always easy. Trust me on that one. In this one chapter, the specific connections I created between the suspects, and the detective, and another character didn't exist like they should have. Eeek!
You see, what happened during the rough draft process was . . . I created the connections toward the end of the rough draft writing process and not the beginning. That's how my mind works. So, in this read through, I get to this chapter and realize a lot of the chapter doesn't make sense because I'm not paying attention to all those connections.
Delete. Delete. Delete.
Revamp. Revamp. Revamp.
Voila!
Now, all the connections are neatly tied together, past relationships and all that jazz, so that the comment of one character makes sense. Woo-hoo!
This, dear readers, is why we, as writers, aspiring or otherwise, do not query the rough draft.
This, dear readers, is why we, as writers, aspiring or otherwise, do multiple read throughs of our manuscripts before we even give serious thought to querying.
Writing, as I've said over and over again, well, written over and over again, is a process. It is not a race to the finish line, but rather a slow progression to the finish line.
Patience - allegedly - is a virtue, and patience in the writing process should, hopefully, mean that by the time I query, I have the most polished manuscript I'm capable of, well, polishing.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Clarity . . .
. . . comes at the oddest of moments. No direct thought, no pondering the problem, just - BAM - and the moment of clarity is upon me.
Yesterday, reading a book, my mind partway in the book and, obviously, somewhere else as well, a sentence formed.
Okay, it started a bit earlier than that. I was reading the book, a descriptive passage about the interior of a room, and my mind started to wander a bit - here, there, and everywhere. Suddenly, I'm opening up a Word document and typing a brief description of a room and, well, a scene that seemed to form at the same time.
Clarity!
Then, later in the day, immersed back in the book, a sentence formed in my mind. The sentence - at least as it stands here/now - is the opening sentence to a project I began working on a few months ago.
Clarity!
I've already written quite a few chapters on the project, but I set it aside as life intervened and my mystery project once again demanded all my attention. Still, the project rested in the nether reaches of my mind . . . waiting, waiting, waiting . . . until it could wait no more and leaped to the forefront.
Clarity!
The sentence leaped out, did a little dance, and away my fingers went, flying across the keyboard and typing out the new opening sentence.
Clarity!
Oh, this isn't just any opening sentence. This is THE sentence. THE ONE! Okay, maybe not . . . but, this sentence is twofold: it's the current opening sentence and it's the hook for the book. Woo-hoo, two birds with one stone.
Clarity!
And that, dear readers, is my post for today. Have a great day and weekend!
S
Yesterday, reading a book, my mind partway in the book and, obviously, somewhere else as well, a sentence formed.
Okay, it started a bit earlier than that. I was reading the book, a descriptive passage about the interior of a room, and my mind started to wander a bit - here, there, and everywhere. Suddenly, I'm opening up a Word document and typing a brief description of a room and, well, a scene that seemed to form at the same time.
Clarity!
Then, later in the day, immersed back in the book, a sentence formed in my mind. The sentence - at least as it stands here/now - is the opening sentence to a project I began working on a few months ago.
Clarity!
I've already written quite a few chapters on the project, but I set it aside as life intervened and my mystery project once again demanded all my attention. Still, the project rested in the nether reaches of my mind . . . waiting, waiting, waiting . . . until it could wait no more and leaped to the forefront.
Clarity!
The sentence leaped out, did a little dance, and away my fingers went, flying across the keyboard and typing out the new opening sentence.
Clarity!
Oh, this isn't just any opening sentence. This is THE sentence. THE ONE! Okay, maybe not . . . but, this sentence is twofold: it's the current opening sentence and it's the hook for the book. Woo-hoo, two birds with one stone.
Clarity!
And that, dear readers, is my post for today. Have a great day and weekend!
S
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Finding Time
Sometimes, in this writer's life, combined with, well, life, time to write is hard to find. Take last night - got home, started fixing dinner. Put casserole in oven. Set timer for 45 minutes.
45 minutes. That's all I had. So . . . fine tuned my query, sent it back off to the Query Ninja for review and . . . started this blog post.
It's all about finding the time, even if it's only 30 minutes here or there between doing other things.
Did I mention that I really didn't have 45 minutes? No, I didn't. Why? Well, casserole was in the oven, but there were other things to do before dinner was really ready. So, knock off about 10 minutes. Oh, did I mention a phone call while I was working on the query? Yes, a phone call. Yes, I had to answer it. Subtract some more time.
Okay, so time is of the essence and it's disappearing faster than the hair on my head. Dang genetics.
How do you do it? How do you fit time for writing in your hectic schedule? Comment away.
S
BTW - my query is done. I have about 100 pages left to read through. Soon I'll be standing on the precipice of the great Query Chasm.
45 minutes. That's all I had. So . . . fine tuned my query, sent it back off to the Query Ninja for review and . . . started this blog post.
It's all about finding the time, even if it's only 30 minutes here or there between doing other things.
Did I mention that I really didn't have 45 minutes? No, I didn't. Why? Well, casserole was in the oven, but there were other things to do before dinner was really ready. So, knock off about 10 minutes. Oh, did I mention a phone call while I was working on the query? Yes, a phone call. Yes, I had to answer it. Subtract some more time.
Okay, so time is of the essence and it's disappearing faster than the hair on my head. Dang genetics.
How do you do it? How do you fit time for writing in your hectic schedule? Comment away.
S
BTW - my query is done. I have about 100 pages left to read through. Soon I'll be standing on the precipice of the great Query Chasm.
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