Versatile Blogger Award Nominations

As I mentioned in my last blog (7 Random Things you might not know about Me) I was thrilled to be nominated for a Versatile Blogger Award  http://versatilebloggeraward.wordpress.com  by Monique Liddle.

Monique writes a fabulous blog: Bends in the Road – One Woman’s Journey through Life’s Turning Points.

Check it out at:   http://bit.ly/L4ziSr

The rules for accepting the award include posting 7 Random things you don't know about yourself - Done!

AND....

Passing on the love by nominating 15 blogs you feel deserve the award. Below, are 15 blogs that I enjoy for a variety of different reasons. Check them out!

Phyllis Writes Words  http://phylliswriteswords.wordpress.com/   Beautiful stories about family, life and love. Phyllis has also published a novel, Isla's Chance, available on Amazon.com

Sarah Nego Writes  http://www.sarahnego.blogspot.ca/    On the trials and tribulations of writing a novel.

A Jar of Fireflies http://www.ajaroffireflies.blogspot.ca/  If you are interested in flash fiction

Milk of moonlight  http://milkofmoonlight.wordpress.com/  A very cool site about poetry

Joy’s Book Blog     http://www.joyweesemoll.com/  A librarian writes about books. Very informative!

Catch a Star as it Falls  http://celestialgldfsh.livejournal.com/  Outstanding recipes anyone? Not to mention great writing!

Out Here in the Fields  http://kirkcrady.wordpress.com/  I love this blog on gardening. Gorgeous writing.

Joe Orozco – Musings of a Work in Progress   http://www.joeorozco.com/blog  Support for writers. Prompts, book reviews, reading suggestions

Susan Craig – Thought on Life, science, writing and more http://bysusancraig.wordpress.com/  I think this is a really cool mix of neurobiology and writing information.

You Know You’re Borderline When…     http://authorjaenwirefly.wordpress.com/  Presenting new and thoughtful ideas on BPD. One of the best sites on the subject in my humble opinion.

Latinapen  http://latinapen.blogspot.ca/  Writes about strong women characters on both sides of the law

Writeful Blogging  http://kendramerritt.com Kendra Merrit has an informative sight about the writing life. 

Finding Home    http://blyth.wordpress.com/   Eclectic musings from an aspiring novelist

Right Livliehood, Just Ventures  http://justventurescoaching.com/  A wonderful blog about change

Jasmine K Evans  http://jasminekevans.com/  A freelance writer shares helpful information in a clear and useful fashion

There are a couple of rules to follow before accepting the award:

1) Let people know you've won the award and post the link to the Versatile Blogger Award site, if you want.

2) Pay it forward by nominating 15 other cool and interesting bloggers for the award. Let them know you've nominated them by posting on their sites. (Personally, I think 15 is a pretty huge number - as far as I'm concerned just do your best with this one)

3) This is the fun part - when you acknowledge acceptance of the award in a post, be sure to include a list of 7 random things we might no know about you.

7 Random Things you don't know about Me

Many thanks to Monique Liddle for nominating me for the Versatile Blogger award!

Monique writes a fabulous blog: Bends in the Road – One Woman’s Journey through Life’s Turning Points.

Check it out at:   http://bit.ly/L4ziSr

Monique’s nomination came at a particularly tricky moment. I was deciding whether to continue my writing full time or try for a ‘real job’ thus, moving the writing to the back burner. Her support, along with many of my other writing friends, convinced me that it is far wiser to follow your heart.

Since then, my novel revisions have been proceeding well. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and hope to have the revised copy to my agent within a month, or so.

Meanwhile, one of the rules for accepting the Versatile Blogger award is to create a list of Seven Random Things you might not know about me.

So here goes:

1   ONE: I was nine months old when I was adopted. I was in my thirties when I sought out my biological mother and experienced what proved to be a very interesting reunion. There is a very fascinating story here that I will share in more detail when I have time to do it justice.

 

     TWO:  I pretty much believe everything anyone tells me no matter how ridiculous. When I was a zoo keeper I took it as gospel when an older keeper warned me that if I grabbed a Wallaby’s tail too tightly it would twist off. As a result, I spent several fruitless hours allowing my Wallaby to slip through my fingers while everyone else laughed from the sidelines.

      THREE: Two glasses of wine and my face turns beet red… then I start talking and can’t shut up. 

      FOUR: I have always had a secret crush on Captain James T. Kirk. No man will ever compare to William Shatner in full Shakespearean mode, on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.  (Sorry, Steve)

    

   


 FIVE: When I was eighteen years old, I had a mystical experience that I have never forgotten.  

      

         SIX: If I were stranded on a desert island I would put on an exquisite blue sari flecked with gold and dance to Bollywood music under the hot summer sun.  

7

    
SEVEN:  I blush at the drop of a hat. I think blushing is very cute when it happens to other people but I am horrified when I can’t control my own face.  I sometimes pretend to root about in fridges to hide the fact that I’m blushing again. 

Real Job vs. Writing?

I guess all writers come to a fork in the road. Should I grow up and get a real job or should I continue to pour my heart and soul into what, in all likelihood, will prove futile in the long run?

I have reached this fork (again!) and I'm torn.

There are many reasons why it makes sense to return to the world of mental health social work.

• I enjoy working with clients
• I enjoy working with peers
• I like the daily routine (sort of)
• I'd be starting in a new place and that would bring exciting new challenges
• I love the ongoing learning
• I like improving my skills
• I like the money (of course)

Most of all, I checked out the 'Working in Mental Health' website and found SEVERAL jobs posted that, not only do I qualify for, I would actually enjoy. That doesn't happen very often! The only thing missing was a part time option - all the posted positions were full time, which is the problem. Taking a full time job would seriously cut into my writing time and creativity.

Last week I turned down an interview request for an agency in Belleville. It was interesting but not nearly as exciting as these new positions.

On the FLIP side - I LOVE the writing lifestyle.

• I love improving my writing skills
• I enjoy the characters I've created
• I was able to get an agent
• I had my novel edited by a real pro and her feedback was very positive. She believes there is a popular series in the making if I can get all the components right.
• Although the chances remain extremely slim, there is still a faint possibility that this novel might go somewhere
• My agent loves the synopsis of my second book and is looking forward to seeing the revisions on the first
• We are managing financially for the time being
• On the downside, sometimes that internal voice in your head that reminds you that you will never be good enough can be very irritating. And some days, like today, the thought of spending another day at the desk, chopping and editing and re-writing is daunting. 

What to do?  What to do? What to do?

What Can An Editor Do For You?

A few days ago I was thrilled to receive the final report on my novel, Blown Red, from my editor, Becky Toyne You can find her at beckytoyne.com

It took her about three or four weeks to review the entire manuscript, a total of almost 120,000 words.

Despite the positive reviews from all my wonderful readers and my agent, Anne McDermid, I still had major misgivings. There were several significant areas where I thought the novel fell far short of the mark.

My biggest hope was that Becky would not pull any punches, that she would point out the weak parts and offer suggestions as to how they might be fixed.

The result was better than I could ever have hoped. She picked up on every crack, crevice and  loose end. Her comments were direct and to the point. She certainly pulled no punches and when the situation called for it, used humour to highlight a particularly funny plot mistake. (Like the heroine taking a long, soapy shower after coming home to find the man who has betrayed her sitting at her kitchen table. Only in slasher movies, as Becky so adroitly pointed out!)

The report was about seven pages long. She says this is a typical length. She addressed areas such as plot, character, timeline, pacing and technical details. She also provided a one page synopsis of her results written in a very straight forward yet supportive fashion. She also sent back the original manuscript with even more specific editorial  comments scattered throughout.

She gave me excellent insight into how a crime/thriller novel must be structured. The problem must be revealed in the first chapter and the protagonist must drive the action, chasing after a solution to the problem with the reader following breathlessly behind.

She pointed out how I had missed this opportunity - the real problem showed up way too late in the narrative and the heroine ended up reacting to events rather than proactively moving forward. I spent far too much time developing characters and not enough showing the characters solving puzzles and rushing toward a hair raising ending.

DING!! DING!! A bell went off in my head and the blinkers fell from my eyes. I could see EXACTLY what she was saying and where I had gone wrong. That one simple comment addressed all the weak areas that had been bothering me since the beginning. 

And best of all she concluded that I had everything I needed to fix the problem - I just needed to rearrange the sequence of events and spend less time try trying to change the tough heroine into a moody anti-hero or for that matter, a man in a dress. I needed to get out of her way and allow her to be the strong, volatile, quick thinking woman that she is. In order to do this I simply need to remove some of the showy scenes where I attempted to illustrate her inner misgivings, lack of self-esteem, etc and just 'tell' the reader how she is feeling always ensuring that she stays strong and effective in her actions.

Add a few more twists and turns to keep the reader guessing and voila! A Thriller is born.

I feel like I have made a great leap forward in terms of my writing skills and I think the book is going to be one hundred percent better as a result.

A good editor is a MUST. If I have any advice for budding authors it is to seek out the services of a good editor BEFORE sending your baby off to an agent, a publisher or the e-publishing world. Not only is your book more likely to sell but you will end up a better writer in the end and what could be better than that?

The one down side to this whole process?

The THIRD DRAFT!!    Waaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!