Pushing Back

So, this is what happened. An editor from Harper Collins told my agent that while she liked the premise of the book, etc, she had difficulty with the main character, Signy. She found it hard to connect to Signy. Didn't think she'd be likeable enough to sustain a series based on her.

 I panicked. This has been my fear all along. Signy was always a pain to write and my initial reaction was sure, I'll change everything. Signy has always been a tough character for me to know so why don't I relegate her to the basement and make Grace the star of the show.

What I forgot was that the very reason I wrote this book in the first place was to give a voice to people like Signy. Prickly, irritating, often unlikeable people who are never heard as a result. People who use extreme behaviour instead of words in an attempt to communicate. People who don't have the skills to negotiate complex relationships and who end up living on the margins as a result.

That is the person I tried to bring to life. The fact that I had difficulty connecting to her and some readers find her difficult, as well, speaks to the type of person she is. She is supposed to be hard to get to know, hard to like, hard to root for. But, in the end my task was to try and open a crack in her world, a tiny fissure from where she starts to see people and events in her life in shades of gray. Where she softens enough to start to risk something real.

Maybe that is where I fell short. Maybe I kept her hard and brittle for too long? I think with some editing I could address that.

As I write the second book, she and Grace have forged a much tighter partnership. Grace is still the mentor and Signy backslides occasionally into her black and white world, but they are a great team. Kim throws a monkey wrench into the works for both Grace and Signy - but not in the same dramatic way as the last time. Signy reacts but is able to bring herself back to equilibrium more quickly. She is evolving - slowly but surely.

The bad guy, Dr. Solomon Smiles and his wife, Lisa, are far more complex and interesting than the Russian mobster cliche. The way Grace and Signy both are bamboozled by this duo is fun to write.

Fingers crossed that a different editor from a different house will see the character for what she is...a nuanced, complex, pain in the butt AND someone who is trying to do better.

If not - then it's back to the editing table for me! 

Either way - it's a challenge and what could be better than that?

Reality Check

Got my first rejection from a publisher today. Good feedback but "not right at this time...yada...yada...yada..."  Actually, the woman gave some very good advice on how the manuscript might be improved.

Still, I indulged in 30 seconds of this....

But only 30 seconds.

Never in a million years did I expect to get this far. And my agent said that she has an editor in NYC who is very interested and two others reading it as well. Who knows? Meanwhile, Book Two moves forward and the thought of editing Blown Red is actually very exciting.

Besides, there is nothing a little cake can't fix.

A Balancing Act

The days just fly by.

 I am trying to stick to my Elizabeth George writing schedule and for the most part, succeeding. Some days the scene is done by noon. Like today. I'm enjoying the sparring that is going on between Grace and Dr. Solomon Smiles. Poor Grace, she's been played.

Some days, it takes a lot longer to struggle through my 1250 word goal. Signy scenes are a bitch. I wonder what that means?

But every day is the same. Tap, tap, tap. The keyboard hums.

Eat. Walk the dog. Tap, tap, tap. Eat. Walk the dog. Tap, tap, tap. Eat.

I wonder if Elizabeth George ever felt out of balance? 

              

    

Lots of Words

Today I surpassed my 1250 word goal. I did the same yesterday. I am a writing fiend. And all of it dialogue!

Yep! Lots of Words. The burning question is, are they any good?

I would like someone to invent a word-o-meter that I can stick into my scene to see if it is well and truly done or whether I am about to ingest a hefty dose of literary bacteria.

Any scientists out there willing to take on the challenge?

Ever had one of those days where the plot just seems to spin out of control???

Sometimes You Feel Like Dancing

Every once in awhile, things just seem to flow....

And even if you're dumpy and you can't dance, you just feel like kicking up your heels....

My son recorded his first professional demo! The Boy is Following his Dream....What could be better?

Check it out at http://soundcloud.com/swellife/i-need-a-dollar-andrew-p?facebook_banner=1&utm_campaign=share&utm_content=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fswellife%2Fi-need-a-dollar-andrew-p&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=soundcloud

Wallowing in Muddy Thoughts

Lesson to the Aspiring Novelist - NEVER read your work before you have completely finished your first draft. If you give in to temptation and take even the tiniest peek at what you thought was brilliant prose you risk the following side-effects:

1) Broken heart syndrome

2) The devastating realization that you are the worst writer EVER. That no writer in the history of mankind has ever strung together so many dreadful, boring, mind-numbing words. Ever.

3) Bleeding from the eyes

4) A desperate urge to eat cake until you fall down and can't get up.

5) Going broke after you shell out your last few dollars on box sets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and the X-Files (for starters)

6) Losing all reason for living when your only coherent thoughts revolve around whether Angel or Spike was the sexier vampire.

7)  Rectal seepage (not really, but who hasn't wanted to use the words rectal seepage in a side effects list?)

8) GIVING UP....


Lesson Learned? Don't be tempted. Just keep writing - no matter how horrible it seems. Bang away at the damn thing until you are finished. You can always go back later and apply a shiny literary patina on your pathetic story until people can read it without going blind. 

Maybe.

A Word about Plotting

I'm about 37,000 words into the book now. About half way through. I like the plot and I'm hopeful that the bad guys are a little more psychologically complex than in the first book. I'm trying to portray how easily a person can be manipulated when they have already made up their mind about the 'truth' of a situation. How closing one's mind to other perspectives, living in black and white can get a person into trouble.

Signy is trying to work on opening her mind to alternative viewpoints. However, when the going gets tough, she quickly reverts back to her comfort zone where everything exists in terms of good or bad, right or wrong, black or white. By doing this, she loses out on help that is readily available and the unforeseen consequence of this unmindful practice is that she puts the lives of others in danger.

This part, while not easy, is coming along. The action is progressing, the suspense is building. I have re-written the inciting incident scene and it works much more effectively.

However, what I realized was that the plot so far, lacks menace. Suspense building toward action is okay up to a point but for me, there needs to be an element of menace, as well. Otherwise, the plot takes on a Nancy Drew feel. The same difficulty occurred to me about 3/4 of the way through the last book. I'd started out setting up the Tracker as a pretty menacing guy then...nothing. He didn't live up to the frightening reputation I's bestowed on him early on. To remedy the situation, I went back and wrote in a murder mid way. I think that worked very well.

This time, I am going to go back and write in some very brief scenes (including a prologue) that will serve to illustrate just how frightening the primary bad guy really is. What I hope to accomplish is to leave the reader feeling puzzled. Not quite sure who this bad guy/girl is? And - as the reader watches the psychological manipulation being perpetrated by three of the main characters, hopefully, those questions will niggle until the big reveal.

The point I need to remember is that in addition to characters,  plot lines also evolve during the writing process. I had a good overview of where I wanted this plot to go. I had created a storyboard for most of the scenes ahead of time. I tried to keep in mind the rise and fall of the action and other ways to keep the reader's attention. In spite of all that, plot changes will be necessary as you start to see the thing as a whole. And that is okay - necessary even.

The plot as much as the characters must be allowed to give hints and suggestions and the writer must be willing to listen.

Reader Discretion Advised

I have been putting off writing the first violent scene of the book.

Fist fights, torture, car chases, brutality.  Difficult subject matter to delve into.

But, once I get started?

That's when things get really strange....

 

The Horror of Writing a Sex Scene

During the writing of my first novel there came a point where I became hopelessly mired. The plot seemed dull, the characters, lifeless.

"Write a sex scene" suggested one of my writing buddies and I thought, why not? Nothing spices up a boring spot in a book like some steamy sexual congress.

So, I set to it - devoting a full day to whipping my characters into a love-making frenzy. Have I mentioned that real writers spend years honing the art of erotic writing? Picking and choosing each word to ensure the perfect balance of shy piquancy and wild passion.

Not my characters! They had one day to show me what they had in the bedroom department. With my hand over my eyes I watched, alternatively horrified and titillated, a slightly appalled voyeur of my own imagination.

It was with beet red cheeks that I allowed my loyal readers to critique my efforts.I was gratified when several readers suggested that I include even more sex scenes in book two, a charge I have taken seriously.

And so, today - the first sex scene of book two began with some ragged breathing, a heated kiss and a bark of laughter. It ended with, "Two hours later...."

Hey!   Why don't you take your courage in hand and give your imagination a ride.  Then, we'll talk...