I like to stay organized, but sometimes everything happens at once…and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.It’s my day to post at Inkspot and I hope you’ll pop by as I try to prioritize tasks when everything on the list seems important. :)
I emailed in my Memphis Barbeque III manuscript to my editor on Tuesday afternoon. :)
I had a great time writing the book—particularly the end when I got to tie together some subplots into the ending. For some reason, that’s always one of my favorite things to do. I just love giving the little inconsequential bits a more important role at the end.
And now—I’m moving on to the next book!
I used to take breaks from working on the next manuscript, but I’ve found that it’s a whole lot better in the long run to just keep on writing every day. Even during the holidays, I can manage a little time to move my story forward.
But the reason that I keep going is because it doesn’t take long for me to slip out of a writing habit or lose my writing momentum.
But I don’t have to write at the same pace I’ve been keeping. And I’m not editing anything right now (which is a nice break! Editing gets old after a while.)
Things I do when I’m writing at a slower pace:
Brainstorm ideas for the current WiP
Brainstorm ideas for other books in the series I’m writing
Brainstorm ideas for possible new series (I just like to keep thinking ahead)
Of course the promo obligations don’t ever really let up and I’m still doing non-creative writing—blogging, etc.—but with the brainstorming, I at least feel like I’m keeping it creative even while I’m working at a slower pace.
I know a lot of y’all are coming off the frantic pace of NaNo—congratulations to everybody who completed the challenge! My question for you is—are you giving yourself a break? Editing your NaNo manuscript? Or moving on to your next project? And…if you’re writing something new, are you moving at a slower pace?
Hi y’all. Today is my day on the Southern writers blog, A Good Blog is Hard to Find. Hope you’ll pop over for my post on all the ways that reading our favorite authors can inspire us. Thanks! :)
While I was looking for blog posts to tweet last week, I came across a site where a blogger was particularly dejected over a rejection.
The blogger had met an agent at a conference, established a solid connection, and sent a manuscript to the agent, as invited to do.
The blogger is active in the online writing community, writes well, and follows industry news.
He’d been doing everything right, and he was getting frustrated. He mentioned throwing in the towel.
That’s a very natural response. I sent off each of my carefully-written, carefully-targeted queries with a good deal of hope and optimism.
When I’d see my SASE back in my mailbox, I can remember the sinking feeling I’d get. Some days I’d rip the envelope open quickly to get the pain over with—sort of like tearing off a Band-Aid. Some days I’d open everything else in my mailbox first…even the bills.
Either way, it felt like a punch in the gut. Particularly when I felt like the agent and I were a good match for each other.
So I wasn’t having any luck. My agent search was now stretching over the space of years.
Finally, I decided to go to Plan B. I’d keep the agent queries in circulation, but I decided to go ahead and submit directly to some carefully-targeted publishers, too.
I approached this a couple of different ways. I did submit directly to editors at smaller and independent publishing houses that accepted queries from the unagented (I usually got the editors’ names from the thank yous in authors’ acknowledgment pages.)
I also, I’ll admit, submitted to larger publishers who were closed to queries from the unagented…and a couple that were closed to queries altogether.
Sometimes, I think a different approach is really the only way to keep moving ahead. Obviously, you’ve still got to really make sure that the publisher is the one that fits your manuscript. You need to have a great query. You need to address it to the right editor.
But you don’t have to have an agent first. I’d rather have done it that way…but at the time, it wasn’t going to happen. And it ended up working out well for me—I ended up with a book at mid-sized mystery publisher Midnight Ink and interest from Penguin books, resulting in a new series. And, soon after that, an agent.
Change it up, go to Plan B. But please, don’t throw in the towel.
I don’t know what it is about me lately, but I’ve been a difficult reader to please.
I think it’s the fact that I’ve been unusually busy since late-July. But it seems to me that I’ve been a more impatient reader than ever before—that when I reach a boring patch, it shouldn’t last very long or else I’m going to find something else to read.
This worries me—as a reader and a writer.
I was an English major and classical literature is known for its boring spots. :) I was always able to wade through it before…but I had a whole lot more time on my hands and was definitely a more patient reader.
As a writer, I’m working harder to make sure my story doesn’t drag. I’m reading my manuscripts as an impatient reader and looking for places where my book needs a little shaking up.
Here’s a list I’ve come up with on little ways (well, some of them are bigger ways) to keep things interesting for readers:
Change the setting (are the characters spending too much time sitting and eating?)
Add more dialogue.
Introduce a new character. Or, if you’re me, kill off an old one. :)
Shake up the sentence structure. Are all your sentences starting with the subject, followed by a verb (should you start some with participles or subordinate clauses)? Are there too many nouns preceded by adjectives (should you be choosing stronger verbs)?
Introduce a plot twist.
Add to the conflict.
I also get worn out with too much conflict (I warned you I’m becoming the impossible reader!) So maybe infuse some humor to break up the tension.
Move the characters around. Have them engage in an activity if they’re sitting a lot.
Use both long and short sentences.
Show more than tell.
Cut out the dead wood in the book. Do I have any scenes that seem dead? Do these scenes serve a purpose, or can they be cut out…or could the information in the scene be conveyed in a different way (through dialogue, etc.)?
How do you keep your readers interested?