It's happened! I took my OB board and passed! Woohoo! But that's not all folks. As of a couple of hours ago I finished my latest manuscript. I don't mean finished finished, but I completed the first draft and I'm uber excited. I'm insanely in love with this manuscript, the characters, the plot, all of it. I can't wait for it to be ready to query.
So I've noticed in the process of writing this MS that I've grown a whole lot as a writer. I have hard evidence of this, too. During one of my off task moments (one of the many I had in the avoidance of studying) I printed out the first few chapters of my first manuscript. I've edited this manuscript about six times. I thought at the time that I was getting close to having it ready for agents. I took a red pen to the chapters. I marked the heck out of them far worse than any English teacher's nightmare.
So. Not. Ready.
Don't get me wrong, I love that story too! I love the characters, I've written 4 books about them. I want those to be published, too. Sadly, that's not going to happen until I work some more on them. While this depresses me, at least I'm willing to accept it. Writing is a learning process, is it not?
This has led me to the conclusion that I must query my current MS first. I feel this is a good move for several reasons. One, it is a stand alone book. I've heard repeatedly that stand alones query better than series. Two, it's written better. The plot is more succinct. I found my niche. The characters are very true to themselves and believable--but this is just what I think. I've yet to beta the MS. After my first swipe at editing I'll be looking for a beta if anyone wants to volunteer :) And if I query this MS first I'll have my foot in the door for querying my series at a later date when it's all ironed out.
Here comes the red light on all of this.
I. Hate. Editing.
With a passion. I hate filling plot holes, I hate grammatical editing, I hate rewriting scenes. All of this only in my own work, of course. I can edit the crap out of someone else's document, but only because I know I don't have to make the corrections. Motivation is key here people.
Another thing that comes along with the editing process is other people's opinions. I posted my current query letter for this MS and got a lot of negative feedback on it. Nit picky stuff that has nothing to do with my letter. My book is about a Ginger, some people freaked out about my usage of this word. I mean, really? Are we five? If you can't read a book with things like that in it I suggest you don't turn on the television or walk outside because something might offend you. I also got nit picked for my usage of the word dimension and given some mathematical equation. Does anyone know if there is a law against using the word dimension in a mathematically incorrect way? Please! Point me in the direction.
In all seriousness, if I'm using the word dimension in a mathematically incorrect way, is this going to make a difference with agents? I write YA, I'm not trying to get a show on Sci-Fi (or is it Syfy now?) It's not such a big deal to change dimension to "world" or "reality" if necessary.
Well I'm off to bask in the satisfaction of crossing things off my to-do list.
All the best,
Kacey
Showing posts with label editing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label editing. Show all posts
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Plans
At best my life could be described as chaos. At worst, a disaster. Between my commute, my obsession with writing, studying, and the plethora of bad stuff that keeps happening, it's amazing I have any time at all. For my own sanity, I need to have a plan. Said plan will probably have many deviations as most plans do. The plan might fail or it might not. Maybe for once in my life it'll stick and something great will happen. Maybe.
Item #1 of Plan:
Take OB boards. Most of you know by now that I do ultrasounds. This board is extremely important to my career and future. Plus I've already signed up for it. D-Day is September 30 and the countdown has begun though panicked studying probably won't begin until the 15th. Man, I'm so looking forward to those days. Gah!
Item # 2 of Plan:
Finish writing my current WIP. It has no title yet, so I can't call it by name, but it's the one with the one armed Ginger. It's fantastic. I love it. I can't wait to finish. After I finish, I will query. So says Item # 5 of the plan.
Item #3 of Plan:
Satisfactorily edit Stepping Stones. I've been making excuses. I've been avoiding it like my son avoids my sister's cat. Why? I'm afraid to lose the story in the editing. When I first started writing Stepping Stones I had a very clear picture of the story. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm getting too much advice and it's clouding my judgment. So yes, one more edit and we're through and moving on. I will also be confident about this decision, the plan says so.
Item #4 of Plan:
Query Stepping Stones. Relish rejection and anticipate an agent. Feel complete in my success regardless.
Item #5 of Plan:
Edit, write query letter, and query one-armed Ginger book. (Also give it a title.) Repeat good feelings from Item #4 of Plan.
Item #6 of Plan:
Begin editing Broken Stones until satisfied. Repeat with Rising Stones and Sand Stones. Wash, rinse, repeat. Print all four books and put them on my bookshelf. Pretend they've been published. Do happy dance.
Item #7 of Plan:
Start new WIP. Possibilities are endless. Maybe I'll take a look at something I've already started. Maybe it'll be a completely new idea. Maybe I'll write another book in my series. Regardless, I will write. (Maybe I'll blog more, too!)
Conditions to the Plan:
This plan is a sequential list, with Item #7 being flexible. Items 1-5 must be complete before 2012. That gives me 4 months. Plenty of time once I get all that crazy studying out of the way. Items 6-7 have a longer deadline with 6 being finished by the end of 2012. Item #7 varies wildly as to a time frame. Writing kind of takes it's own path and can't be rushed. That's what all the procrastinators say after all.
Sigh. So here it is, folks. I'll probably need some help sticking to it, but it feels good to get it down on, uh, paper? I feel better.
All the best,
Kacey
Item #1 of Plan:
Take OB boards. Most of you know by now that I do ultrasounds. This board is extremely important to my career and future. Plus I've already signed up for it. D-Day is September 30 and the countdown has begun though panicked studying probably won't begin until the 15th. Man, I'm so looking forward to those days. Gah!
Item # 2 of Plan:
Finish writing my current WIP. It has no title yet, so I can't call it by name, but it's the one with the one armed Ginger. It's fantastic. I love it. I can't wait to finish. After I finish, I will query. So says Item # 5 of the plan.
Item #3 of Plan:
Satisfactorily edit Stepping Stones. I've been making excuses. I've been avoiding it like my son avoids my sister's cat. Why? I'm afraid to lose the story in the editing. When I first started writing Stepping Stones I had a very clear picture of the story. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm getting too much advice and it's clouding my judgment. So yes, one more edit and we're through and moving on. I will also be confident about this decision, the plan says so.
Item #4 of Plan:
Query Stepping Stones. Relish rejection and anticipate an agent. Feel complete in my success regardless.
Item #5 of Plan:
Edit, write query letter, and query one-armed Ginger book. (Also give it a title.) Repeat good feelings from Item #4 of Plan.
Item #6 of Plan:
Begin editing Broken Stones until satisfied. Repeat with Rising Stones and Sand Stones. Wash, rinse, repeat. Print all four books and put them on my bookshelf. Pretend they've been published. Do happy dance.
Item #7 of Plan:
Start new WIP. Possibilities are endless. Maybe I'll take a look at something I've already started. Maybe it'll be a completely new idea. Maybe I'll write another book in my series. Regardless, I will write. (Maybe I'll blog more, too!)
Conditions to the Plan:
This plan is a sequential list, with Item #7 being flexible. Items 1-5 must be complete before 2012. That gives me 4 months. Plenty of time once I get all that crazy studying out of the way. Items 6-7 have a longer deadline with 6 being finished by the end of 2012. Item #7 varies wildly as to a time frame. Writing kind of takes it's own path and can't be rushed. That's what all the procrastinators say after all.
Sigh. So here it is, folks. I'll probably need some help sticking to it, but it feels good to get it down on, uh, paper? I feel better.
All the best,
Kacey
Friday, August 26, 2011
End of Manuscript Anxiety
Here it is the end of August and I've only written one blog this month. One. Seriously. I'll make some excuses: I'm busy, I've been studying for my boards, I've been writing my WIP, it's summer, I work a lot.
Ah, there, I feel minutely better.
For three weeks I've been debating writing this really awesome blog about killing off characters. However at this point it still remains an illusive idea. I have been writing. I'm 60,000 words into my WIP. That's a fair amount in, I'd say. In fact, I'm nearly finished. I've reached the What the heck is wrong with me stage. It's a really crappy stage that goes something like this.
"Awesome! I've gotten to the fun, interesting, dramatic, action-filled part of story! And I'm stalled..."
What the heck.
I'm on Chapter 26. I know how the story will end. I know how to get from Point A to Point B and sum it all up with Point C.
So...what the heck is wrong with me? Why can't I just sit down and write it all out? My critique readers are bugging me for the rest. I'm still interested, still in love with the characters, the plot, all of it. I'm even more excited about having a finished product and starting to work on a query letter.
Soo...why am I not finishing it?
The truth: I have NO idea. This happens every time I get close to the end of my manuscripts. I write like a beast for 3/4 of the book and then I hit this lull where I can't even bang out a chapter in a week. It's ultimately very frustrating. In six days I've written a page and a half. But it's not writers block (or is it??) because I know where the story is going. I know how it'll all end. I could even brainstorm out about a million conversations and scenes.
The explanation I like the best (because it doesn't involve scary words like writers block or lazy) is that I'm afraid to finish it. I love the story so much that I don't want it to end. I am especially in love with this story line and I'll be sad to leave my one-armed Ginger behind. But there are other stories in my head that want to be written, too. Plus I have another MS that's nearly ready for querying that needs some final editing and polishing (and three more than haven't been edited at all, yet). I have a future, maybe I just don't have the ambition. Maybe I'm just scared.
What about you? Do you suffer from end of manuscript anxiety? Maybe I need to start a support group. ;)
All the best,
Kacey
Ah, there, I feel minutely better.
For three weeks I've been debating writing this really awesome blog about killing off characters. However at this point it still remains an illusive idea. I have been writing. I'm 60,000 words into my WIP. That's a fair amount in, I'd say. In fact, I'm nearly finished. I've reached the What the heck is wrong with me stage. It's a really crappy stage that goes something like this.
"Awesome! I've gotten to the fun, interesting, dramatic, action-filled part of story! And I'm stalled..."
What the heck.
I'm on Chapter 26. I know how the story will end. I know how to get from Point A to Point B and sum it all up with Point C.
So...what the heck is wrong with me? Why can't I just sit down and write it all out? My critique readers are bugging me for the rest. I'm still interested, still in love with the characters, the plot, all of it. I'm even more excited about having a finished product and starting to work on a query letter.
Soo...why am I not finishing it?
The truth: I have NO idea. This happens every time I get close to the end of my manuscripts. I write like a beast for 3/4 of the book and then I hit this lull where I can't even bang out a chapter in a week. It's ultimately very frustrating. In six days I've written a page and a half. But it's not writers block (or is it??) because I know where the story is going. I know how it'll all end. I could even brainstorm out about a million conversations and scenes.
The explanation I like the best (because it doesn't involve scary words like writers block or lazy) is that I'm afraid to finish it. I love the story so much that I don't want it to end. I am especially in love with this story line and I'll be sad to leave my one-armed Ginger behind. But there are other stories in my head that want to be written, too. Plus I have another MS that's nearly ready for querying that needs some final editing and polishing (and three more than haven't been edited at all, yet). I have a future, maybe I just don't have the ambition. Maybe I'm just scared.
What about you? Do you suffer from end of manuscript anxiety? Maybe I need to start a support group. ;)
All the best,
Kacey
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