DON'T play nice

After a lot of thumping my head against the desk and moaning about writer's block, I've figured out why the revisions came to a crashing halt! I looked back over my editor's comments and something struck a chord. She said to go ahead and pile on more conflict -- let the kids really get into it at school! Don't hold back... But that's what I've been doing. I really LIKE my MC and I guess I didn't want anyone to pick on him! He's already got problems but she's right -- he's a tough kid, he can handle even more problems. As soon as I realized that, ideas started popping into my head. Sorry, kid, but you are in for a rough time in the next few chapters. It's easier to do this in a picture book because once you introduce the conflict, the MC starts working on resolving it -- and does fairly quickly. But in a longer book, the problems and conflicts keep piling up! Which is exactly what should happen -- it's that tension that keeps you reading. So, the gloves are coming off and I'm not stepping in to protect my kid anymore. He can do that on his own. Eventually.

I'm really hoping with this new insight that I can finish the revision and have it sent back to my editor by the middle of February. I took a break from it over the holidays to write 2 new picture book manuscripts. One, I'm happy with, the other is undergoing some major revising but I still like the overall story. Don't know what happened, I almost never write complete new drafts so close together! But I hope it keeps happening...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

The days between Thanksgiving and the New Year have a tendency to blur together... I lose track of which day of the week it is. Christmas was lovely -- quiet and wonderful. I used to get a bit melancholy on New Year's Eve but the last few years it hasn't bothered me as much. Instead of looking back at what I didn't do, I look forward to what I want to do the coming year. I don't make resolutions but I do think of goals -- usually writing goals. This year? It's very simple -- more time at the computer WRITING! Not thinking about writing, or reading about writing or talking about writing, but actually moving my fingers on the keyboard! And the first step toward making that a reality is to clean/organize this office! Hmmm, it seems I have that same goal at least every few months. This room is like a black hole -- everything gets sucked into it!

Good news about IPP! It comes out in paperback in April! Woo-Hoo!

I'm halfway through the mg novel revisions and have a new idea for a pb. It's hard to get the new idea from your brain to paper -- it never has the same "wowie-zowie" factor when it hits the light of day! BUT, my goal is to get a rough draft done, emphasis on the ROUGH, in the next week.

As much as I love the holidays, I'm always anxious to get back to a somewhat normal routine. That should happen next week...

Random Thoughts on a Tuesday

I LOVE Thanksgiving! No stress, no presents to buy, just sitting around the table eating waaaay too much. What could be better?

At the big family get-together the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I even recognized most of my relatives! There's always a "significant other" or two that I think might be a long-lost cousin...

I have the sketches for my next pb and they are adorable! The facial expressions really capture Emma's personality and emotions -- should get the color artwork very soon!

I took some time off from the novel revisions but plan to dive back in this week. But I did revise a pb and send it to my editor.

Painted the kitchen and dining room! A lovely color called "Prairie Dust." Yeah, that's a fancy-schmancy word for "tan." College son came home for the break and I handed him a paintbrush. He painted all the really high parts -- it's a vaulted ceiling. Can't wait to do more rooms!

SNOW. Enough said about that.

Big plans for today -- library run and grocery shopping. Woo-Hoo!

another one bites the dust!

I've been in several writing groups and they have all fallen apart at some point. Just like my most recent one. They all start out with a burst of enthusiasm, goal setting and camaraderie. Then the critiques get less helpful (or nonexistent) and those fun, lively discussions get rude and nasty. Why? It seems that the participants start to fall into 2 categories. Those that are seriously committed to improving their writing and what solid, honest feedback. And those that are writing for fun and want to hear that their story is "wonderful." There's nothing wrong with writing just for the sheer joy of creating but if you are writing to get published, you need to learn, study and follow some basic rules of fiction writing. Like POV, conflict, voice, playing fair with the reader, etc. It seems that some writers want to focus on STORY -- and that's the writer's group I want/need to be in. When the STORY doesn't matter as much as being "right" or making comments about the other people rather than the manuscript, it's time to leave. So, I left. Will I give up on writer's groups? Have I learned that they aren't really helpful? Will I work on my own now? Have I learned my lesson? Um, I guess not. Because I'm joining a new group that means during the day that will focus on improving our writing and getting published. Am I just an eternal optimist or a glutton for punishment? Only time will tell!

Amazing Retreat!

I spent last weekend at a Novel Revision Retreat and it was incredible! My head is still buzzing with ideas -- for both the novel I'm revising and my wip. D'Anne Love, Deborah Noyes Wayshak and Jamie Weiss Chilton (need I say more?) all had such concrete and valuable advice and were friendly and helpful all weekend long. Saturday night we had First Pages and they were the BEST ones I'd ever seen at a conference! And Deborah and Jamie were able to offer suggestions and comments reading them cold. That was impressive. The whole atmosphere was cozy, supportive and enthusiastic. I feel good about the revisions I need to do, and positive about the direction the wip is going. Remind me I said that when I am banging my head on my desk at some point in the future! The retreat was just the boost I needed to dive back into my writing. Let's hope I can keep that momentum going!

Pondering POV

Good news -- got a detailed revision letter from my editor for my mg novel! All her comments were reasonable and will make the story stronger -- IF I can make the changes. (that's the scary part!) She did suggest I try writing this story in third person instead of first person, and that's really got me thinking about POV. It's weird, my pbs are written in third person but when I write for older readers I switch to first person. I guess I like to make personal, funny (to me, at least!) remarks in first person. But, it would probably be easier to show the MC's emotions and how he changes if I wrote in third person. Oh, the decisions! I did rewrite the first chapter in third person and well, it seemed flat to me. Part of the problem is I've rewritten the first 3 chapters at least a zillion times and it's hard to get excited about them anymore. But, I was surprised that I started thinking about this story from different angles and directions. I came up with a new beginning. I always worry about being funny but this time I want to concentrate on the STORY and then see where the humorous bits fit. In my mind, the story could be deeper and richer -- I'm just not sure I can pull it off. We'll see. But I'm kind of excited about the story again and I'll need that to get me through the revisions. Instead of going over the manuscript line by line, I'm setting it aside and just opening a new file and writing the story in third person. I have no idea if it will work -- could be successful or could be a train wreck. Is there such a thing as a successful train wreck? Off I go, diving into the unknown!

Just for fun? What a concept!

My husband and I play in a pool league with another couple. He also plays on a different night in a serious league with serious players -- getting ready for the State Pool Tournament. Last time the two guys decided that OUR pool night was just for fun. We all sang to the jukebox (even though only one of us should be allowed to sing in public!) and we laughed and ate and oh, played some pool. Thursday pool nights are "just for fun pool." It got me thinking about how stressed I've been about my writing lately. I lost sight of the fact that it should be FUN! I need to lighten up and forget about editors and publishers and focus on story telling. Focus on how my characters do interesting and surprising things. How they say things that make me laugh out loud. If I focus on the story itself, I think writing will be fun again. And that would be a wonderful thing!