Archive for the ‘writing’ Tag
Finishing A First Draft
This is the part where I take all of those scenes that I’ve spent the last six or eight weeks writing as pieces-parts and I link them all up. And, I’m discovering again (I have to figure this out on every manuscript), it’s harder than it looks.
What have I discovered this time?
Well, there’s a pivotal section, either one or two scenes, where the heroine does a lot of her character development. I still have no idea what physically happens in those scenes, which is kind of a problem.
I’ve written the climactic scene where hero meets villain and gets the McGuffin* from the villain. Then he shoots him for killing the heroine (or at least trying to kill her). Um, there were supposed to be bombs going off, weren’t there? A quick check of the original synopsis and…yup, bombs. Building crashing down around their heads. Desperate scramble for the McGuffin.* You know, Hollywood stuff. And…it’s not there yet.
And, last but not least, the first draft of this 90-95,000 word novel is going to end up at 70,000 words. Maybe. Didn’t see that one coming. I’m hoping I don’t need to add a point of view.
My darling husband wandered in, allowed me to read this entry to him, and said, “You need more words. Get to wording.” Then smiled and wandered off down the hall (don’t bother trying to parse his idiosyncratic grammar and usage; it could make your head explode). And yet, I’m not planning to kill him, because I do need more words. So I’m off to get to wording.
With some luck and quite a bit of sweat, my next post will be the triumphant announcement that the first draft is officially done and ready for editing/polishing. Fingers crossed.
*In case you don’t know what a McGuffin is, here’s the dictionary.com definition: “a plot device that has no specific meaning or purpose other than to advance the story; any situation that motivates the action of a film either artificially or substantively. ”
It was coined/popularized by Alfred Hitchcock. Think of the bird statue in “The Maltese Falcon.” The ruby slippers in “Wizard of Oz.” The petrol in “Road Warrior.” The briefcase in “Ronin.” The baby in “Willow.” Or even the bridesmaid dresses in “28 Dresses.” Yup, McGuffins all. I do love a good McGuffin.
About the Novella (in case anyone was wondering)
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: rejections, Samhain, writing
Leave a comment Finding the Briar Rose wasn’t chosen for the anthology; it was, however, forwarded to the lovely and talented Lindsey Faber (my regular editor at Samhain) for consideration as part of the regular list.
Only I could screw up a rejection, LOL.
So here’s my dilemma…should I tell the lovely and talented Lindsey that I have ideas for two more futuristic fairy tales so that the three could be packaged as a novel-length work? After all, the second and third are not written; they’re still…percolating, so to speak. Decisions, decisions. Perhaps I will e-mail her and ask if she wants to know.
Back to the work in progress…I cross the halfway mark of The Valois Contingency’s first draft tonight (that’s getting through the first 45,000 words). And, oddly enough, I cross the halfway mark of my radiation treatment tomorrow. Boo-Yah on both counts.
The Difference Between Love Scenes and Sex Scenes
Right now I’m fighting with the first love scene of The Valois Contingency, because it’s not doing what it needs to be doing—and I’ve rewritten it twice (so it’s actually been written three times). Yes, this post is procrastination. It’s also venting a little steam, and not the good kind.
Sex, for anyone who has been married for a while, is pretty simple. A little foreplay, insert tab A into slot B and repeat, fireworks, then peace with a bit of a warm glow. If you’re not one of the people doing it, well, it’s not that interesting; granted, it’s still interesting to a certain extent, or the pornography industry wouldn’t thrive in any economy.
A love scene, however, has to do more than describe two people having sex, and the first love scene has even more responsibility; it has to describe the change in relationship between the two people, focusing on how it increases conflict (we’re talking about a romance novel, so the relationship is central to the conflict one way or another, otherwise it would be some other kind of novel “with romantic elements”).
Unfortunately, the first love scene in VC doesn’t do that. If anything, it decreases conflict between the two main characters. It’s the scene after the first love scene that really ratchets up external conflict—space zombies make their first appearance on stage (Yes, space zombies!), and information from analyzing their remains ratchets up the internal conflict.
Maybe that’s just how these characters roll. Sigh. It’s supposed to be a sign of a well-developed character when he or she refuses to do something just because you (the writer) wants it done, so I must have well-developed characters. I don’t mind admitting they can be a pain in the…neck sometimes.
Something Finished, Something Started
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cancer, submissions, writing
Leave a comment Last week I started radiation treatment. Every day at 1:15, I clock out from work, drive to the nearest hospital, strip from the waist up and don a hospital gown that I’m not allowed to close, then get my left breast bathed in x-rays for 30 seconds or so from each side (right, then left). Then I dress, drive back to work and finish the day. It seems like something as serious as “cancer treatment” should take longer and be more trouble.
In the waiting room, I see people who are much, much sicker than I am. A lady who miraculously survived stage 4 (the next stage is terminal) lung-to-brain cancer nearly four years ago, who now has a new tumor in her other lung–this one is small and was caught early, but still, she has to do it again. A retired naval veteran with a brain tumor right behind the middle of his forehead. A man from my mother’s very small home town who received his very first colon cancer treatment today; he’s about the right age to have gone to school with mom. Warm, wonderful people who have only this one thing in common, really–we’re all being treated with radiation, for cancer.
I feel like I’m a poser, even though this was my second cancer diagnosis of 2009 (the first was a funny wart on the end of my nose last spring that turned out to be squamous cell carcinoma; it was removed under local anesthesia in June). All I can say is, get checked–early and often. The key to kicking cancer is finding it before it gets more than a toehold. Then you can be a cancer poser, because it beats being one of the miracle people.
Okay, I’m done being maudlin. Moving on.
I finished a futuristic retelling of Sleeping Beauty and submitted it for the Samhain Hot Fairy Tale anthology. This is the first fiction I’ve finished in over a year. But it’s just the first one–the two novels I’ve been fighting with–I’ve rewritten the first hundred pages of both of them at least once–are next. And then…well, why stop with retelling one fairy tale as a space opera? I’m getting my non-fiction obligations out of the way early (two new newsletter articles and a new workshop), so I can focus on the problem children.
Bwah-hah-hah-hah-hah.
Public Service Announcement
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: classes, contests, writing
Leave a comment Just popping in for a moment to say: My class Practical Chemistry for Writers starts up tomorrow so I’ll most likely be a bit sparse for the next week or so.
On the other hand, I finished judging my entries for the On the Far Side contest organized by the RWA Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal chapter–a week before the deadline. Ahhh, the feeling of accomplishment.
And now, back to my work in progress….
Release Date and a Title
Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Angela James, my editor, that listed my debut novel, “Blade’s Edge,” with its release date, September 8, 2009, at My Bookstore And More, the online storefront for Samhain Publishing.
My husband said this year will be our “publication” anniversary–we were married on September 12, 1992. We’ve had a puppy anniversary, a terrorism anniversary (guess which one that was), a finally-a-honeymoon anniversary and now a publication anniversary.
I hope he gets me a copy of my book. 🙂
