Who are you? And what have you done with my WIP?

I'm coming to the end of yet another round of revisions on my WIP, and it's interesting to look back and see how my attitude has changed towards this process.

Initially, it was a chore. 

With previous WIP's, the thrill of getting the idea out of my head into something tangible is always an enjoyable part.  The way that the details present themselves as you expand on an idea and the story starts to run away from you as it gains momentum, gives me a really good buzz.  But the revisions...?  These always seemed to be a long slog. 

This book, however, has changed everything.  It's probably because I've learnt so much while writing and editing it, but the revisions have been fun, and every change has made me feel like I'm getting closer to making this piece a viable candidate for publication.  It's also because I have some great Crit partners who have made the process so enjoyable.  Being able to discuss some of the changes to find the best way of wording something or the most impact has helped considerably.

This morning, it struck me that I'm going to reach a point where I feel the book is where I want it to be.  Obviously, that's when I'll be trying to get someone else to think the same.  So, for arguments sake, if I do manage to get a book deal and the editor starts to suggest changes, will they be taking my book to somewhere new that isn't where I left it?

The big question is..... do authors who get their work published still feel as connected with their work, or do they feel it's been hi-jacked to make it as commercially successful as possible?

New and frightening places

I find myself in a very strange place.  Not physically, but emotionally.  It's not somewhere I ever expected to visit, and not a place that I've even skirted around the edges of.

Where am I?  I'm extremely close to sending off  a batch of submissions to some agencies, and I'm having doubts about whether my MS is good enough.

I'm aware that a lot of people have been here before me, but it's a bit of a shock finding myself here.  About 18 months ago, before I learnt all of the stuff that would help make my book into a potentially publishable piece of work, I just thought that it was a numbers game.  That it would resonate with someone, and we'd move forwards from there.  At the time, I'd avoided the 'how to' books, as I was under the misapprehension that they were a 'painting by numbers' approach.  When I think back to then, I'm surprised at just how naive I was, and how embarrassing it is to think that I didn't need any help. 

Sorry, I seem to have wandered off track a bit.  Where was I?  Oh yes. Submissions. 

Like I said, over confidence in believing that I could write ran rife through my head back then, but now... now I can't help thinking that maybe I could give it one more going through.  Buff and polish it one more time, just in case.  And then I find myself wondering; When will I know that it's finished and ready to send?

Carry on regardless?

I was in the final stages of my revisions of my WIP, when I came across a book that used the same major plot point for it's central theme as I had.

I couldn't believe it!  All those months of work, and someone had beat me to it. 

So, what should I do?  Carry on and hope that no one notices?  Start the sequel, but write it as the first book?  Give the whole thing up as a bad job and write something new?

In the end, I decide to carry on with the WIP.  I was aiming at the YA market, and the existing book was for adults.  Having made the decision, I finished the revisions, but the knowledge that this book was out there kept niggling away at me.

Yesterday, I read an article in Writing Magazine that put the nagging doubts in their place.  Apparently, what happened to me is not uncommon. For example, how many stories are there about the Titanic?  We all know how the story is going to end, but it still doesn't stop new books being published about it.  That's because it's about the characters, and the different angles that the event is approached, that makes the books so different, and therefore unique.  Providing your work isn't a facsimile of the published work, then it will be of interest to third parties. 

Having read the published book, I can categorically state that other than the main event, it's nothing like my book.  (Cue big sighs of relief!)  Realising this has lifted a weight of my mind, and restored my misguided belief that I can get my work published.

Have any of you guys found yourself in this situation?


(Thank you Carrie for the awards.  I'll tackle them during the week)

Feeling a little bit smug

Last week, I had one of those days where I realised that I have developed as a writer. 

I’ve been struggling with my synopsis for Odd Squad for a few weeks now.  I’d managed to get the story down to one page, kept all of the key plot points in, but there was something else missing. 

That morning, I started again from scratch.  Ran the whole of the story through my head, listing out the key points, and then it struck me.  There was no mention of his emotional journey. 

One of the things that I'd finally managed to get my head around this year, was that it wasn’t just about the plot.  There had to be trials and tribulations for the protagonist.  (You can all stop rolling your eyes now, and screaming at the screen “Finally, he gets it!”)  What can I say?  I’m a bit slow at times.  I’ve now managed to weave the emotional arc into the synopsis, and I’m a lot happier with the result.  I’'ve put it aside for a few days, and I'll see what it looks like with fresh(ish) eyes.

Are there any parts of a synopsis that you find troublesome?

More drama in my life than I expected.

A couple of years ago, I wrote a radio play.  The plan was for our drama group to perform and record it in front of a live audience.

Unfortunately, this was the year when the volcano in Iceland threw up a shedload of volcanic ash, and grounded most of the planes over Europe.  This resulted in some of the key people being stranded abroad, and combining this with other bits of life that got in the way, the idea had to be shelved. 

To be honest, I wasn’t too upset that the project didn’t go ahead. it would have been great to see the reaction from the audience, but the experience of writing for a different media had been a big eye opener, and good fun.

A few years have passed since then, and the momentum to record the radio play has started to gather pace.  The initial plans are for us to do it in September/October.  The only problem is, that the play is quite short and only lasts for about twenty minutes.  Let’s face it, we can’t expect the audience to turn up, sit through the play and then go home again.  We need at least one more play to perform.

Luckily, I have a couple of ideas that I’ve been mulling around for a while.  It looks like I am now writing a couple more plays, with a deadline of September.

As they tend to say: Watch this space!

A little more thought required?

My writing group meets once a month.  At the end of each meeting we set homework to be written and sent to the group for review at the next meet.  We mail the completed pieces out to each other in advance so that we can give our critiques at the get together. 

This month, it fell upon me to set something. 

What should I suggest?  Obviously, it had to be something inspiring, not too restrictive, and hopefully challenging.  Here's what I came up with:

This won't be much fun, thought Jessica, as she opened the door.
This is the first line to your story. I've decided to set the word count at 1000 words.
So, tell me:  Who is Jessica?  Is she going in or out?  What isn't going to be fun?  

I have to admit, I was feeling quite pleased with myself.  That was until I realised that I had to write something as well.  It's taken three weeks to come up with an idea, let alone actually write it.  I just hope that once I've written it, it doesn't come over as a shoddy piece of work with a feel that it's been thrown together to meet the deadline.

I'll let you know the outcome.

Are distractions the answer?

I thought I'd finally discovered the art of being patient. Unfortunately, it seems that it's only in some areas, like making sure my WiP is as good as I can make it.  It most definitely doesn't go as far as waiting for my Betas to read it and offer their comments.

It is so hard not to keep asking them every five minutes what they are doing, and if it's not reading my book, then WHY aren't they reading it?

Fortunately, we've had the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations going on to distract me.

What do you guys do to prevent yourself from hassling your Betas?