Pleasantly Surprised

The British can have a tendency to be a bit cynical about large events, and have in the past made some half arsed attempts at things, with the end result being rather naff.

With the Olympics, I fully expected the same kind of half arsed performance and finding myself slightly embarrassed when we failed to step up to the mark.  However, for the past two weeks, I have been pleasantly surprised at the incredible show that we've put on.  From the typically British opening ceremony, to the fantastic venues, the organisation, the enthusiastic Games Makers (volunteers), to the closing ceremony, it has shown that when we make a bit of an effort, we can be up there with the best in the world.

I've also been blown away by the Herculean efforts of all of the athletes.  There are some awesome role models among them, that have achieved their status by hard graft.  It's so refreshing to have real hero's rather than the recent idiots we seem to get who are famous for being famous.

I'm very proud to be British :o)

A Self Help Book Tale

As you may already know, I'm getting close to finishing my revisions for Odd Squad, and teetering on the edge of making my first round of submissions.  The closer I get, the more nervous I'm becoming about sending it off. 
So, in an attempt to make sure I don't miss something critical, I've been reading a book that I picked up recently called: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King.

The book covers a wide range of areas to look at, and provides a good selections of examples to back up the lesson.  On a personal note, I was quite pleased and re-assured that I knew most of the things mentioned, but it also helped sharpen and remind me of things to check on my (hopefully) final round of revisions.  It's been a great help.

What about you guys?  Have you found something that has helped you edit your work?

An Imaginary Problem?

I'm hoping that this post doesn't come over as a whingeing entry.

You see, I'm struggling with the latest rounds of edits.  The first few rounds were quite straight forward.  The repeated words, the glaringly obvious telling rather than showing.  You know the drill.  The next phase was made simple by my fantastic Crit Partners who pointed out things I'd missed, or suggesting neater and cleverer ways of putting something across.

It's now, with what I'm hoping are the final rounds, that I'm having problems.  I'm trying to concentrate on one specific area at a time and weed out the last few remaining bits, that when fixed, should make my MS shine brighter than a shiny thing that really shines.  You know the thing, making sure that the showing is done in the best way, that the perspective is close to the protagonist when it needs to be close, and steps back a bit when required, etc...

I know what to do.  It's just that when I start reading, it starts off good, I notice a bit here, make a change there, and then...I've read five or six pages and haven;t even noticed that I'm turning the pages. 
I'm immersed in the story.
I keep trying to kid myself that I'm turning the pages because it's good, and carrying me along, but there's another voice just under the surface who keeps reminding me that I know the story so well that I'm reading what I want to read and not seeing any problems.

So... the big question of the day is...

How do you guys get past this?  Or, do you even have this problem?

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?