by Sarah | Aug 3, 2012 | Books, Changing Tracks, Critters, Masked Hearts, Writing, writing tips
Line edits are awesome…
When it’s someone else’s work.
If the paper, book, webpage, word doc, whatever it is that’s in front of me was not written by my own hand I can swoop in and find the errors in an instant.
No problem.
When it’s my piece?
The one that I’ve worked on for X amount of years?
What errors? I don’t see them?
No, there’s a comma there don’t you see it? Oh wait, it’s all in my head isn’t it? Damn.
I miss far too much.
I’ve tried the tricks.
I’ve changed font.
I’ve printed it out on paper.
I’ve put it on my nook.
I still miss those suckers because my brain inputs them where my fingers did not.
But – it’s time for me to line edit.
Thank goodness I’m writing another piece in between. One chapter at a time with the line edits because I get cross-eyed and confused way too easily.
You want to do my line edits? I’ll trade you evenly – I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.
by Sarah | Jul 30, 2012 | Changing Tracks, The Muse, Writing, writing tips
[flickr id=”7665973486″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]I have a new weakness. A new collection brewing. It’s small for now – just 3 items, but I adore them.
Last year I discovered a section at our local book resale shop (you know the one, I named it up there^^) called “Collectibles”.
Since discovering it I’ve been fortunate to find three items that manage to both bring me joy and inspire me all at once.
Three books with publication dates pre-1900 in pretty amazing condition.
Three books that one of my characters could have, and likely would have, in her lifetime.
[flickr id=”7665943684″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”right”]Jane Doe from Changing Tracks is an avid reader with an eidetic memory. She loves poetry, but reads just about anything she gets her hands on (she has even been known to read medical texts).
So even when I’m not working on Changing Tracks. I love having these books on hand. They make me think of her, and then in turn my other characters. They bring me inspiration, and a chance to focus on my characters and give them a little more depth.
None of them cost me very much (although I would have willingly spent more on each of them) – but they are books that will never leave my home. While I willingly resell books all the time to keep some space open in our cramped home, I have handfuls of books that never leave the shelves. These have and will maintain a prominent and permanent place in my home.
To me, they bring Jane to life even more than she already is in my head.
Let her out to breathe.
There’s no better inspiration than that.
by Sarah | Jul 11, 2012 | General, Writing, writing tips
You’ve edited your manuscript to a fine work of art.
You’ve researched where you’re sending it.
You put your ‘baby’ out in the world.
Now what?
Authors, especially first time authors, have these horrifyingly bad-for-your-ego lengths of time where you wait.
Every email you get is hope that it’s “the one” followed by crushing disappointment that it’s spam, or just a family member, or anything other than the agent or publisher you’ve submitted to.
When the agents, or publishers, ask to see more there’s an even worse period. Now it’s more than the query. They have it all.
Having recently gone through a period like this (will not state whether or not I’m still in one) – I joked about a survival kit, and then got serious. I asked my friends what they’d put in a survival kit for an author in this position.
Overwhelmingly the answer was…
ALCOHOL.
Huh…go figure.
But we did get a few more fun & creative responses…
- Anti-depressants
- Man-candy (then again, we can use this all the time, no?)
- Chocolate
- Barf Bags
- A dark corner to put yourself in
- A box of tissues for your uncontrollable sobbing
- A book called “How to stalk potential editors – the RIGHT way (i.e. don’t be a creep)”
- Bath salts
- A movie with a kick ass heroine
- Video games (b/c those are always awesome)
- Tea
- Art/Photography – any visual stimulation
- The website One Hundred Famous Rejections
I think the most important thing that is missing from this list isn’t something you can put in a basket.
It’s friends who’ve been there. Who understand when you go to them and rail and cry and whine and let out those frustrations. Who support you and remind you where you’ve come from and how far you’ve gotten. Who don’t give up on you, when you’ve given up on yourself.
I’m grateful to have a circle of friends, old and new, that are right there fighting the good fight with me. That have been where I am, and both support me and offer me words of wisdom and helpful critiques of my work.
So…Mary, Jennifer, Fi, Eden, Sabrina, Ellie and Tonya…thanks for being in my life. On the days I feel like quitting – so glad I have you around to remind me why I’m where I am…and what’s coming just around the corner.
And lastly, the most important thing I have in my basket. The world’s most supportive spouse. Erik…you rock. When I had to make that incredibly difficult decision regarding my novel recently – you helped add in both a voice of reason and of incredible support.
So make up your basket today. Don’t forget that support system. It means more than all the man-candy and chocolate in the world.
by Sarah | May 30, 2012 | Books, General, Masked Hearts, Writing, writing tips
[flickr id=”6065425471″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Real Life has has been insane lately. So many things popping up, so many events and activities to keep me and mine busy. It seems impossible that I have all of these stories just waiting for me to write.
Out of all of them, one has stood out. Masked Hearts, even though it is a brand new idea, forced its way to the top. I started writing it just over a week ago. At first the going was incredibly slow. Unlike most of my stories this one had not sat on the ‘drawing board’ as it were. In fact I started writing within a week of getting the idea.
This never happens.
The reason why is because I’m a free-writer. 95% of the time I just sit down and write. I worry about fine tuning and editing later. In order to sit down and write I have to know where the story is going.
For Masked Hearts I only had the most vague of ideas. I didn’t know the characters beyond their initial descriptions. I had an idea of a conflict, but it was far from clear.
The day I started writing I had my first “Aha!” The MMC’s backstory came into clear view as I finished reading the history of an event during the many years of Indian Wars in the US.
Yesterday, six chapters into the story came the biggest ‘Aha!’. The entire story’s plot line became clear. I knew all the moments of conflict, all the climactic moments, and the way the ending would come about.
So I dug in deep and wrote my ass off…
Only to learn in the middle of writing a chapter that two of my characters were gay.
Wait, what? When did that happen? What the hell? Not that I mind, but a heads up a little earlier would have nice.
Oh, and by the way, those three side characters you thought were footnotes? Totally instrumental in the ending of your novel.
Ah, crap.
Now I have all these extra characters with personalities. No, they aren’t becoming MC’s – but they have a bigger part than I ever expected in this thing.
Now to keep it within my word count goal of 50k.
I’m not good with the low word counts. Think I can make this one stick?
by Sarah | May 21, 2012 | The Muse, Writing, writing tips
[flickr id=”5079013878″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]I remember the days after I finished my first novel.
Not just the days – the months.
I thought that was it. I loved those characters so much, how could I possibly have another story in me? Their story was beautiful and deep and not even finished – how could I ever move on?
That novel suffered through years of my tears, queries and rejections. It now sits in the back of my files, neglected and left behind. There are days I remember it, days I contemplate its resurgence from the mothballs of my external drive. I still love those characters in the way you love an old familiar friend. I still truly believe their story deserves to be told. I also now fully believe that I didn’t tell it well that first time. It’s certainly not a horrendous collection of words – but it doesn’t shine. It requires far too much time and attention for me to ponder revisiting it right now.
About three years ago I had a whisper of a story idea. In rapid-fire free-writing I cranked out well over 500k words of a story (or 3 or 4) surrounding new characters. Yes, three years ago. This is the story that I am now querying out. The story that I just absolutely love my main characters with a shamefully blinding addiction some days (I wish I were as clever and quick-witted as my heroine).
Last year I started another series based around another couple of characters. Another two characters (no, make that four – or five – or…well, the series has a LOT of characters I love) that I can adore. A story that I can sink my teeth into, that requires multiple facets and stories to cross the depth of all of these people.
Once I reached the point a year ago where I had started on rewrites for both of these pieces I once again wondered where I would find more. How could I find more characters? I certainly don’t want to recycle characters.
Fast forward to today.
I’m in final edits and the query stage for Changing Tracks. Then I have The Tribe still in mid-draft.
And what else?
Well…I have a horror (horror? Me?) flash fiction that I’ve submitted to an e-zine.
I have an Urban Fantasy that’s got about three pages of world-building notes. Characters named. Story line being plotted.
Of course there’s a short story that I started, but have put on hold. I want to wait on it for personal reasons. It’s a fun little smexy romp that will hopefully get attention before the end of the year.
I just started another HWR short – make that short-for-me – story. I’m deep in the second chapter and the new characters are becoming really interesting. They have their damage, but their stories are so rich.
Oh, yes…can’t forget the new story idea that came to me this morning. Still in its infancy. So very young, but so very exciting. I haven’t met the characters yet – but I’m sure they will be tortured.
Maybe one day I’ll create a character that I don’t torture. That just…is. Maybe.
But as I look at my growing story folders and all of the possibilities I’m startled. I wonder – what happened to the days when I thought I’d never create another story?
What about you? Do you find yourself in plotting overload? In a wasteland of ideas with no clue what to start building next because every idea is so exciting? What do you do with all of your story ideas? How do you keep track of them?
Are you a spread sheet diva (or divo)? Or do you have notes scattered everywhere? Paper or electronic?
Do your ideas come in a flood like mine have this time? Or a slow trickle that lets you keep up?
by Sarah | May 15, 2012 | Books, Changing Tracks, Shorts, The Muse, Writing, writing tips
[flickr id=”6818404384″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Thanks to some incredible luck, one beautiful person, and my attempt at a sparkling personality…I have a real editor critiquing my baby right now.
That frees up a lot of time for my muse to alternately panic (OMG will she like it?), and decide to plot up 5,000,000 more books.
Or maybe just two. ~insert the ominous for now here~
On top of the one book I’m in mid-rewrites of, and the other that she dreamed up a few weeks back.
She is insane (but we covered that already).
The problem is, that I now have 3 title-less stories wandering around in the realm of my imagination.
One of those stories has its blurb ready, I have the page built for it even – but no title to gift it with.
Changing Tracks took a long time to come up with – and the train isn’t even a huge part of the story, but the entire series titles revolve around the train. Of course those weren’t the original titles either.
I suck at titles.
Which sucks because I don’t feel like I can get much of anywhere without a title to round out the story.
Now just don’t get me started on the dreaded query…
Line edits are awesome…