First Love

Look to the right :) Under the hand with the pen. Down a little further, the one in red.

I can't keep the smile off my face, because over the past couple of days I've revisited my First Love--Takwitara. It's the urban fantasy I started writing two years ago, the idea that came to me three years before that and the inspiration for this blog.

I took a long break from it when I burned out at the end of last year during the third draft. Now, after managing to finish Somewhere in the Middle so quickly, the inspiration's back--along with a shiny new plot and a whole lot of mojo!

I'm excited to get back to it, because it's the story I love the most. Even though the market is saturated with urban fantasy right now, I'm going to finish it anyhow. If this one lesson I've learned in life, it's that anything can happen. I'll polish it to the best of my ability, get another edit and go from there.

I think the fourth time's the charm :)

Another One Down

I've just finished my latest project, Somewhere in the Middle (first draft), and am on a high! It's the first thing I've completed since Takwitara (which technically isn't done anymore since I've decided to change it up so much) and it was a whole new writing experience for me.

First of all, I started it on March 25 and completed it just shy of two months later. That's a record for me! I know it's just the first draft, but Takwitara took me...years. I owe it to the fantastic crit group I've been a part of since November 2010. I've found writing easier and a lot more fun since I became a YAFFER. It pays to be critiqued!

Second, it's completely not the kind of thing I would normally right. But to my pleasant surprise the characters were like second nature. I tapped into some childhood experiences with this one, so maybe that helped.

So now, I guess I'll go through it chapter by chapter and finish posting for crits. I'm excited about the suggestions on how to improve and will let you know when I reach the submission stage!

For now I think I'll pull something else out of my hat.

Sharpening My Editing Scissors

It hurts so much to cut out beloved--but useless--scenes. But I've done it! And it's done wonders for my word count problem. If you can believe it, I've cut the first four chapters of my novel and it's added so much more than its taken away!

Stay tuned :)

News and Word Count Update!

I have 75 pages left to edit of my now 319 page novel. It started out at 518 pages and roughly 132,000 words.

To date, I've managed to get it down to 77, 588 words (whew!) that still make sense..lol.

And in other editing news :)

What's even better than a professional editor (okay, well maybe not better, but just as intense!)? A critique group! Just joined an awesome one :)
Things are about to get interesting!

I'll keep you posted.

Word Count Update :)

Remember my vast word count oversight? Well, first of all, it turns out I've jumped the gun..again. I cut a lot out that I didn't need to right away. When it comes to editing for the sake of reducing your word count remember this:

Remove unnecessary adverbs.
There is a rule that you shouldn't use them at all (which I think is a little extreme). A well-trusted birdie told me that you can use them as long as you're breaking the adverb rule effectively. Besides, we can't just let them sit aside and go to waste can we? Just make sure you don't use them in every sentence and every dialogue tag. Allow the dialogue and scene descriptions to speak for themselves

i.e. I sighed frustratingly.

Depending on how you've set up the scene, if your MC sighs, we already know she's frustrated.

Re-word your sentences.
No matter what you say, there's always an easier (and less wordy) way to say. And if you do it properly, it will still carry the same meaning.

Reconsider your narrative.
Now that I've changed my novel back to first-person, I'm using much less words per scene.

And...if all else fails,

If it doesn't drive the plot...
We've all heard this one and it might be the easiest way to turn 100,000 words into 70,000 . Just take out anything that really doesn't have to be there. No matter how cool a character is, if the story doesn't suffer without them, remove them.

I was told by the same trusted adverbs-aren't-the-devil source that word count really does vary depending on your story. So if you're down to 90, 000 from 130, 000 and you've exhausted all other options, don't worry. That's what an editor is for!

I've cut out a lot, changed the narrative and still have a few scenes to enhance so I'm not sure where I'll end up, but in case you're wondering, these are my stats:

End of second draft: 132, 000 (+)

Current: 72, 911

Goal:70,000-90,000

Re-drafting the Re-draft (plus! A Helpful Link)

I've just started to redraft my novel (actually its been about a week now). I think this is what? the third, maybe fourth draft.
Can you believe I've flipped back to first person! lol. It sounded like crap a few months ago but now it just works.

My professional edit was WONDERFUL . The editor gave me so many insights into what can make a good novel so much better! I've completely reworked the first five chapters and I LOVE the outcome.

Also, I don't think I've posted this but YALITCHAT is THE place to be for aspiring YA writers. The community is like a facebook for writers and its amazing. Not only are there so many nice (and extremely helpful!) people, but (unlike facebook) you don't feel guilty spending so much time there because lets face it, when it comes to certain industries, there is nothing as good as networking!

Make sure you check it out and pass it on.

Second Draft Completed :)

I've recently completed my second draft and now I'm in the process of the very painful self edit.

I self edited the first fifty pages and have sent them to be critiqued by a professional editor.

A side note on that:

I've decided that paying to have my work edited by someone who does it for a living is my best bet if I want to take this seriously. Friends are great-- smart even :) but there are two problems that can arise from having friends or family edit your work...well three actually.

• A friend or family member may end up being too nice in an effort not to hurt your feelings. This, of course, completely defeats the purpose of the critique. Nothing is ever perfect.

• A friend or family member might take their sweet time. LOL...this may be the most painful thing about choosing the fam/friend option. They're not getting paid. They're doing you a favor. Therefore all you can do....is wait.

• And of course the last thing is that friends and family usually aren't professionals. They may bring up issues that might seem irrelevant in the grand scheme of things (like 'cars don't have fans' and 'I'm confused, one minute they were in the car and the next they were in the hotel lobby'--long story). If your editor is not an avid reader (if they watch a lot of TV instead) you might be in for a very painful edit, and not in a good way.
  Not to say that these so called 'irrelevant' issues are ones you shouldn't pay attention to (every critic deserves to be heard) its just that when you are looking for a hard edit, one that is crucial to the success of your work, a professional will break down the 'real' problems with your novel, like voice, tense, tone, plot, character depth...etc.

So, yes, I've decided to pay for editorial services. I figure it will pay off in the long run and ensure I'm on the right track. When it comes to sending my work to the 'agent of my dreams' I can feel confident that I won't look like a fool and foil my chances of obtaining solid representation after the first try.

But here's the kicker. When I first started writing this novel a little voice kept telling me that it wasn't long enough, not descriptive enough and maybe didn't have enough characters. So I compensated.

Now, I want to KICK myself! My final word count at the end of the second draft was 132, 000 (+). For some reason I had in my mind that YA novels should be between 70-120,00 words.

Well....I was wrong. I did my research (after the fact, which was a big mistake!) and realized that the actual appropriate word count for YA fantasy is roughly (and I say roughly because it can vary) between 40, 000 and 70, 000 words.

So, needless to say, this self-edit is going to be very, very painful!

Right now, after removing many beloved scenes and even a few characters, I am at 105, 000 (only 35, 000 more to go!).

I'll keep you updated :)

First Plunge Taken!

I sent the first ten pages of my novel to a friend of mine--a very competent friend (meaning, avid reader and fellow english grad)--for a very critical review. It was quite refreshing to have a new pair of eyes look at my writing--to see the things I couldn't see.

Apparently I have a tense problem, which stems from changing the novel from first person to third-person omniscient...eek! That makes things a lot more complicated :o(

But I'm most definitely not complaining since I asked him to be VERY critical. I also have a thing (like a lot of writers do) with telling instead of showing.

I'm working on it! I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm off now to send him the remainder of the first chapter and the second chapter.

PS
remember what I said about leaving it alone for a month?

Ah well!

THE WAITING GAME

Should I be worried that I haven't gotten any responses yet (see previous post)?

Paranoid much? Yes.

EXPOSING MYSELF

In her recent Writer's Digest Interview, Kirby Larson stated "You do need an agent and you do need to promote your work, but don't even thing about sending your manuscript anywhere until it's been read by someone who secretly hates your guts." This advice she placed as number eight on her top ten list of Things Every Aspiring Writer Should Know.

I did the inevitable a few moments ago. I sent unfinished creative work to ten different readers asking for their honest opinion. I've never let anyone read my creative writing before; unless it was created for academic purposes. What I just sent out, to the people I few as the best critics I currently know personally, was not.

The ten people I chose represent the many different sides to my Gemini personality.

My brothers and sister; who know me very well.

The fathers of my two children who know me (almost) equally as well but different sides of me and at different periods in my life.

Two of my very good friends who know the unequivocal feminine side of me.

My long time internet buddy, who really only knows what I'm willing to reveal to him at any point in time.

And a former classmate who knows the more serious, academic side of me.

I don't know if any of these people secretly hate me, but I suppose it doesn't really matter because they're all going to have their unbiased opinions about my work. They're going to be completely honest with me (whether I want them to or not)

And I'm about to find out whether or not I've really got something.