I finished shopping today! Now I can leave the crazy traffic and hordes of people to their stores and just enjoy the rest of the season.
Next comes the planning and shopping for our Christmas feasts. For Christmas Eve, we make homemade corn dogs. It's a leftover tradition from my husband's family. At first, I thought it was weird, but our boys love it. Christmas morning is a breakfast quiche with sausage. Christmas dinner is ham, rolls, funeral potatoes (horrible name, but it's yummy), broccoli salad, and cheesecake.
Then all I have to do is wrap the presents and visit our families. And get over yet another cold. What is the deal this winter?
The agony of writing.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
For those of you that don't know the story, I was offered a publishing contract by a small house. I struggled over whether to "settle," because I felt like my work might never see book form if I didn't. I had conceded that I had to start somewhere, and was in the process of renegotiating the contract when I hit a brick wall. I did a lot of research into publishing contracts, and their's was AWFUL. Basically, I was giving them the copyright for the term of the copyright (some 150 years). Plus they'd wormed in some wording that assured I didn't get paid much of anything (we're talking 5% of the sale price).
Still, I would have signed the thing, had an agent not offered to represent me. I did as much research as I could--checked him out on Agent Verification, Predators and Editors, Writer's Beware, etc. He checked out as legit in every case.
So I signed.
And I waited. And waited. He sent it out in Sept., and I'm wondering how long it takes for publishers to get with it. I don't want to be that "pushy author." So I've tried to let it lie, but oh it's so hard! Especially when I'm such a worrier by nature.
I should have been a stripper. Much more straightforward.
Still, I would have signed the thing, had an agent not offered to represent me. I did as much research as I could--checked him out on Agent Verification, Predators and Editors, Writer's Beware, etc. He checked out as legit in every case.
So I signed.
And I waited. And waited. He sent it out in Sept., and I'm wondering how long it takes for publishers to get with it. I don't want to be that "pushy author." So I've tried to let it lie, but oh it's so hard! Especially when I'm such a worrier by nature.
I should have been a stripper. Much more straightforward.
That's it! I'm done!
Friday, December 5, 2008
This is one of those days that you want to throw you computer across the driveway, and then run it over again and again, swearing the entire time that you will never write again.
But it won't happen.
I will write again.
Just let me scream a few times first.
But it won't happen.
I will write again.
Just let me scream a few times first.
New story, Tentative title: Blood Oath
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
This story has been drumming around my head for well over a year. In fact, I wrote 100 pages of it before deciding it wasn't strong enough.
Well, now I've changed much of what I didn't like while keeping the elements I love. Here's the first 14 lines!
Hot, sticky peach juice dribbled down Arel’s chin, soaking the front of her shirt and making it stick to her breasts. Her gaze darted around the orchard in frantic sweeps. Plopping the pit in her mouth, she sucked at the remnants while rising from her crouch to reach for another fruit.
“Hey, you! What are you doing there?”
No! Not now! She was too close to the border. Abandoning her half hidden position, she snatched three of the fuzzy orbs and hugged them to her as she ran, heedless of the rocks and sticks that bruised and cut her already mangled feet.
“Thief! Stop!"
She risked a glance back to see a man drop from one of the trees, a short apron that bulged with peaches at his waist. She increased her speed, her fear adding lengths to her stride. The last time a man had chased her, he had caught her.
And taken everything.
Everything.
Well, now I've changed much of what I didn't like while keeping the elements I love. Here's the first 14 lines!
Hot, sticky peach juice dribbled down Arel’s chin, soaking the front of her shirt and making it stick to her breasts. Her gaze darted around the orchard in frantic sweeps. Plopping the pit in her mouth, she sucked at the remnants while rising from her crouch to reach for another fruit.
“Hey, you! What are you doing there?”
No! Not now! She was too close to the border. Abandoning her half hidden position, she snatched three of the fuzzy orbs and hugged them to her as she ran, heedless of the rocks and sticks that bruised and cut her already mangled feet.
“Thief! Stop!"
She risked a glance back to see a man drop from one of the trees, a short apron that bulged with peaches at his waist. She increased her speed, her fear adding lengths to her stride. The last time a man had chased her, he had caught her.
And taken everything.
Everything.
Chapter length
Monday, December 1, 2008
How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was great. My husband makes a mean turkey. I was in charge of the celery and cheese whiz . . . Do you think they're trying to tell me something?
I did end up going to the Black Friday sales at 4:30 am. Holy early! We saved a ton of money. Over $250 at Staples alone, plus I won a $100 gift cert at Shoe Carnival! Waa*freakin'*hoo! (Like all women everywhere, I love shoes. You can never have enough.)
Fate threw a case of stomach flu in the midst, but I shook it off.
And, back to business. Let's talk about chapter length. I've seen lots of different styles. From 20 + pages, to one word.
Your chapter length varies slightly by genre. Literary fiction can go lots longer than YA. I write YA, and I feel that around 10 pages, plus or minus 2-3, is about perfect. I like my chapters to vary a bit--keeps the book interesting. Just imagine a teenager picking up a wheel block book, flipping through tightly packed words, enormous paragraphs, and 4 chapters in the entire book.
Some people will say that teenagers aren't patient enough to read that much. I'm going to digress and say that teenagers aren't patient enough to put up with the drivel. THEY WANT THE STORY, DANGIT! I'm the same way. I hate stories that go on and on and on and on and on and . . . do you get the point?
Orson Scott Card has said that he starts off with smaller chapters and gradually increases the length as the reader becomes inebriated with the story (I'm paraphrasing here. I couldn't help it. Inebriated was just such a great word!).
So how do you know when to make a chapter break? This is one of the artsy parts of writing. You start developing a feel for it as you continue. The more you write, the more your writing fits into chapters. Plotting has a lot to do with this. Each chapter should contain a mini plot, one piece of the larger picture. A writing buddy of mine, Jeff Savage, gave me an awesome tip a few years ago: Enter that chapter late and leave it early.
That one statement stuck with me. Think how powerful that is! And how versatile! How do you know where to start your book?
Start late!
The example Jeff gave was a chapter that ended with his character hitting someone with a car on a dark night. He started the next chapter with the character looking down at the lifeless body. Can you see how powerful that is? He could have written about the man wrenching the car door open, his thudding footfalls as he ran up the embankment. But he skipped all of that. He began and ended his chapter with the most powerful parts.
I could go on and on. I love getting my hands dirt with writing. But this post is getting plenty long. If you have any tips that work for you, post them on comments. If they strike a light bulb for me, I'll include them in the main post.
~Amber
I did end up going to the Black Friday sales at 4:30 am. Holy early! We saved a ton of money. Over $250 at Staples alone, plus I won a $100 gift cert at Shoe Carnival! Waa*freakin'*hoo! (Like all women everywhere, I love shoes. You can never have enough.)
Fate threw a case of stomach flu in the midst, but I shook it off.
And, back to business. Let's talk about chapter length. I've seen lots of different styles. From 20 + pages, to one word.
Your chapter length varies slightly by genre. Literary fiction can go lots longer than YA. I write YA, and I feel that around 10 pages, plus or minus 2-3, is about perfect. I like my chapters to vary a bit--keeps the book interesting. Just imagine a teenager picking up a wheel block book, flipping through tightly packed words, enormous paragraphs, and 4 chapters in the entire book.
Some people will say that teenagers aren't patient enough to read that much. I'm going to digress and say that teenagers aren't patient enough to put up with the drivel. THEY WANT THE STORY, DANGIT! I'm the same way. I hate stories that go on and on and on and on and on and . . . do you get the point?
Orson Scott Card has said that he starts off with smaller chapters and gradually increases the length as the reader becomes inebriated with the story (I'm paraphrasing here. I couldn't help it. Inebriated was just such a great word!).
So how do you know when to make a chapter break? This is one of the artsy parts of writing. You start developing a feel for it as you continue. The more you write, the more your writing fits into chapters. Plotting has a lot to do with this. Each chapter should contain a mini plot, one piece of the larger picture. A writing buddy of mine, Jeff Savage, gave me an awesome tip a few years ago: Enter that chapter late and leave it early.
That one statement stuck with me. Think how powerful that is! And how versatile! How do you know where to start your book?
Start late!
The example Jeff gave was a chapter that ended with his character hitting someone with a car on a dark night. He started the next chapter with the character looking down at the lifeless body. Can you see how powerful that is? He could have written about the man wrenching the car door open, his thudding footfalls as he ran up the embankment. But he skipped all of that. He began and ended his chapter with the most powerful parts.
I could go on and on. I love getting my hands dirt with writing. But this post is getting plenty long. If you have any tips that work for you, post them on comments. If they strike a light bulb for me, I'll include them in the main post.
~Amber
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