Tomorrow I begin revisions on The Brown Shoe Diaries.
Armed with comments from 3 beta readers and my lovely CP
idaho_laurie plus the normal route I walk.

Tomorrow and the day after, I will read through each reader's comments,
making notes, and adding notes to the revision sheets I am already starting
out with, ie.

BSD Revisions (surfing) Things to watch in descriptions: flow/fluid/grace/style
These aren't WORDS to use or that I might have overused (that comes way later in
the process) these are keywords to remind me of the comments I need to incorporate
into the surf scenes.

I'll read through for Voice, seamlessness, pacing (Ari's incline etc.)
Ask, is there conflict on every page? Are the 5/6 senses present on each page?
Can any visual details be added or expanded?

And remind myself that except in summary:NO TELLING! SHOW!

And I'll make the necessary changes.

As I was starting my day this morning, (kids off to school and caffeine round 1 imbibed) I sat down at the piano and played masterfully attempted to play. It has been many, many years. Cellular memory (along with normal memory) is deserting me as I age. Ugh!

My best friend growing up, Nancy, played both the piano and the cello. Enviably well. But she was dedicated. Me, I was a dallier who got the ruler across my knuckles from the nuns more often than not.

It got me thinking more, though, about beginnings, and about the recurrent themes in our lives and in our art.

The themes I find cropping up most often in my novels are characters who are artists of various types: painters/photographers/musicians/songwriters/writers/designers/sculpters/architects etc.

and the overarching theme of voices unheard and/or unheeded. Most of my mc's are fighting to be heard, understood, respected, for who they are and who they wish to become.

What are your themes and variations?

How do you begin your stories?

Almost without exception, I begin with a title. It may come years before the actually characters and storyline reveal themselves, but it comes first. I keep a notebook with all my titles in it, and when the time is right, and the story and characters have gelled in the back of my mind, the two become one. (Note: I am a MAJOR pre-writer, composing entire novels in the back of my mind before ever committing a word to paper)

New project one's title came to me about 2-3 years ago, and I thought at the time it would be a mg novel set in middle school with a female mc. When the main character spoke to me for the first time a couple of weeks ago, I was shocked but thrilled to discover my mc was a senior in high school, and a gay male. Go figure!

Tomorrow... the big question, names, personalities, and agendas. The next step in the process.

I'm fond of architecture. The look. The feel. I love to touch things (buildings, paintings, sculpture, etc.) Within architecture I especially love the details, those small touches that help support the whole, even those that are merely decorative. I use a great deal of architectural designs in my art (when I'm actually making art-which isn't now) Studio has officially been declared a disaster area, lol. (Not-so lol, really, more sad)

Point being (yes, yes, there is one) I like structure, even in my writing. I don't shy away from the examination of things such as acts, scenes, plot points etc. even though I am rather much the organic composer.

Only to a point.

My fave book on structure is Ray's The Weekend Novelist I prefer the original edition.

One of the things this book best illustrates is the importance of pacing (which is my #1 struggle issue). Ray uses Aristotle's incline as a visual tool. I refer to my index cards often as I work.

So, what are your views on structure? Do you think about it? Or are you organic to the core? What do you struggle with most in terms of structure? What tools have you found to be successful in battling those issues?

Just as our mc's have both internal and external conflicts, so we as writers, experience both types of struggles when writing.

I've found that oftentimes when I set a writing goal, especially if I happen to verbalize it, external conflicts pop up. Like magic! Evil magic!

Case in point: Get my completed, fairly pretty, wip to my agent by Feb 8. This isn't a random goal, btw, my birthday is the 12, my kids have that entire week off, and I had hoped to have the mss finished and to Steve by the beginning of the year. So...

Because external conflicts also present in the lives of Da Peeps, my lovely crit partners, instead of sending the mss entirely and expecting them to turn it around with their amazing insight included almost overnight, I sent them the first 3rd, and will send the remaining thirds as I finish. The 2nd third should be going out on Friday. Will it?

Since last Friday I have been beset by external conflicts. Bank errors, BPTeen issues, kids home for holidays, kids home sick, kids with friends over. What was a clean house is now a... yucky, messy house.

And if I let my mind dwell on it, I get cranky. I feel put upon. Why can't they be sick during that week in Feb when they're OFF school? Why is there nowhere else in the house my office can be, other than the eating area/kitchen/walk in the front door and there you are?
Why don't I own a laptop so I can ESCAPE and write, even if it's just to sit in my car? Why are we this old and still too poor to afford one? Why does my normally calm and even possibly lazy Lab suddenly have to be on my lap or in my face every 5 minutes?!

All external conflicts. All either out of my control or in need of my attention. So do I throw up my hands and say, okay, another goal I won't achieve, another self-imposed deadline I won't meet?

Not really. See, although this isn't an editorially imposed deadline, I know that these same external conflicts will arise when I have one. Sure, by that time I'll at least have a laptop and be able to move away from the more... slobbery, persistent ones, but I'll still have to dig deep and find the zone, the inner peace, and that wellspring of creativity and ambition to drive me forward to meet that goal. For myself. Because like our mc's, fighting those obstacles grows us. And because it is okay to succeed. Even if you do it with a messy kitchen, and dirty windows.

Good luck fighting your own external conflicts this week!

Bring it on! (But bring some caffeine and chocolate and an offer with it, eh?)

A bit of research for So Fresh and The Brown Shoe Diaries DONE!

Finish incorporating last draft of BDL with current and remove all lingering scenes that will not be in the final version of the novel. DONE! Finish scene summary. Nope.

Write 1400 words on Brown Shoe Diaries. Some words, maybe 200, so nope.

Continue reading Tips on Having a Gay (Ex)Boyfriend, which I am LOVING!!! DONE!

Read Da Peeps pages. Started but not finished, but love it, love it, love it!

Finish paying bills. Done, but it is neverending, isn't it? And this is a particularly tough month with medical bill up the wazoo, an unexpected puppy adoption and the associated vet bills (Teen brought her home from the farmer's market) and the new-ish lack of my income. Boy wouldn't a sale be a boost to my confidence in that decision right now!! But really, it was all about ethics anyway.

Stretching and short walk. Yes, and back seems to be on the mend!! Thank Heaven!

Start reading Madeleine L'Engle's A RING OF ENDLESS LIGHT to the kids. They were all about the stall yesterday: homework, etc. so our reading time was taken up with trying to get them to finish homework. Meh!

Comment on LJ's, keep on top of emails etc. Stayed on top of email and will move that lj goal down to today.

God time. Again, not as much as I would like, but yes. We have small group tonight, so that will be good although Teen will have to go with us and sit in the car so he doesn't terrorize his siblings.

Take some photos. Nope. Thought about it, but nope.

Unify that fusion piece, or at least start trying to unify it. No, but again, I thought about it! lol

Spend 30 minutes doing something completely frivolous and relaxing. Yes!

Don't allow myself to be baited by Teen. Better. Held it in and cried when no one else was around.

Bring it on!

I'm finding weekly goals not well-suited to my process, so I'm gonna do daily goals and check-ins instead, as possible.

I decided to try a variation of Walter Dean Myers schedule, because I enjoy multi-tasking and do it fairly well.

September 17, 2007

A bit of research for So Fresh and The Brown Shoe Diaries

Incorporate last draft of BDL with current and remove all lingering scenes that will not be in the final version of the novel.

Write 1400 words on Brown Shoe Diaries.

Continue reading Tips on Having a Gay (Ex)Boyfriend, which I am LOVING!!!

Read Da Peeps pages, request remainder.

Bills etc.

Stretching and short walk. Look ahead to when back is healed and I can actually get on work out schedule.

Start reading one of Madeleine L'Engle's books to the kids... which one? which one?

Comment on LJ's, keep on top of emails etc.

Laundry. Other chores. God time. (not in that order)

Do something in the studio that makes me feel good. One small thing. I'm feeling like an art loser right now.

Spend 30 minutes doing something completely frivolous and relaxing.

Writing is hard.

Not always, but mostly. Those who think it is easy are delusional.

Worth it? He** yeah!

But I can spend hours working a single sentence to get it just right. I'm doing it now.

Seriously.

A week ago, I was an unagented pre(novel)published writer.

Now I am an awesomely-repped, contract-signed, mss going on subs soon (maybe this week?!) writer.

Wow. Just wow.

Sending out huge congrats and kudos to all of this year's Smartwriters W.I.N.ers!!

Especially LJ bud:

Mindy Alyse!!! GO, girl!!!

Networking/Business/Friendship:

Get out more with friends.
Comment more on the LJ's I read.

Reading:

Blog about what I'm reading.

Writing:

Revise The Brown Shoe Diaries.
Re-write/revise J.
Come up with new title for J. I HATE this one.
Sign with one of my top-tier agents.

Art:

Make some art daily.
Actually post to my art journal daily.
Take and share more photos.

Life:

M-F am bike ride with M.
Hold fast to the margins. (Getting tough)
No second-guessing decisions.
Deal with K and M's medical situations. Bleh. (try for gracefully)
Start reading the James Herriot books with the kids at night.
Take time to RELAX!

From Da Peeps trip to Oceanside. Inspiring or what?

This week has been a whirlwind; of activity, of information, of thought. Now it's Saturday, and we're all putzing around, cleaning, organizing, hanging.

I still have tons of catching up to do from my week off, both at home and at my *other* job. But it was a productive week in all areas, including family-medical-wise, though the news wasn't necessarily positive. Bleh.

Teens:

My oldest daughter isn't *exactly* a teen, being only nearly 12, but she's going into 7th grade, so I consider her in that age group. And as mood-swingy as it can be, she is just the coolest, most fun, sweet nearly 12 year old on the planet.



Ain't she a cutie!


Ten:

Got a tenth request for a full yesterday, from another agent in my top tier. Color me shocked; I had settled in for the long wait until early September and the end of summer. May still have to wait that long to hear back, but truly, the sweet words he wrote about my partial will stay with me forever. If this is what it feels like to hear your words hit the mark with an industry professional, know that someone "got it", I can't imagine what it will feel like to see the book in print. Well, I can imagine it. Sweet. Sweet. And seeing a reader laugh, and perhaps cry with the characters? Priceless.


Tiering:

So I feel like I should explain my agent-search process, since it is currently playing such a large role in this blog :)

(Background) I've been writing off and on since high school. I wrote my first novel (for adults) at 19 and followed it shortly afterward with a teleplay. I first did the agent thing for that grown up novel and had some positive responses, BUT I didn't have the experience, insight or the writing chops to revise as requested.

I learned a great deal about working with editors from Michelle Ashford when she was with 21 Jump Street (Stephen J. Cannell Productions) and I will always be grateful, though eventually nothing worked out with the teleplay. I wrote another novel, this one a YA (now probably an upper MG), joined SCBW (yes this was in the pre-I days, lol) and fell in love with the genre. I finished some degrees, had some kids, and started writing health, parenting, and techie articles for national and online magazines. Between that and my Master's thesis, I grew in the craft, in taking editorial direction (I hope) and honed my skills.

I gave up magazine work to focus on kidlit. Did some pbs and magazine stories, but found my style and voice most-suited to novels. Had some family things to deal with and took about 2 years off altogether. Subbed 3 previously-written/started novels to Smartwriter's WIN and well, won. lol. 1st, 2nd, and an honorable mention. I was contacted by an agent and we worked together for about 1 1/2 on a different novel without any representation agreement. That particular novel needed a ton of rewrite, and though I plan to do it, I wanted to finish something else I had started. So I did, and this terrific agent had an exclusive for about 4 months.

I nudged. He asked for a few more weeks. I gave them. No word. Another nudge. Nothing. So I let him know I was subbing it elsewhere, and started doing that in Feb. In March I still had no word, and based on lack of communication and other things I was hearing from friends who had friends who were clients of this agent, I decided to withdraw the manuscript, leaving the window open for him to contact me if he were interested in the future.

In the meantime, I had two referrals to agents I had been sitting on for about 6 months. I from another agent at a conference and one from a friend. (Anyone still reading? Dang this is long!! Guess it's good at least for posterity, or some such thing.) We'll call these agents Agent A and Agent B. Agent A had been referred to me by an agent at her firm after a conference. She read the partial, asked for the full, and declined, but asked to see other work as it became available.

Agent B wanted to see the partial of a different mss. and he passed on the partial.

So, now we get to the tiering. YAY! lol Okay, so I tier agents based on: (what they represent only children's or other as well) (time and experience in the industry, not just agenting but in publishing as well) (sales and clients) (agency rep and have they worked at other agencies and in what capacity) (length of career, and by this I mean several things: are they nearing retirement? are they prime to pop out a child or three in the next 10 years? are they burnt out, green, looking at other horizons?) (submission methods) (communication methods) etc.

You get the picture. BUT when I started querying I didn't just query my top ten agents, I queried a selection from all three tiers, leaving some of the top agents to be queried in the last batch.

First batch went out in March. Second in April. Third in May.

There was a high attrition rate for the March batch; all of those were email queries and I still have a number outstanding with no response. I've chosen not to resend or nudge because most of those were third-tier agents.

From the first batch I received several requests for fulls; from those I had three who read and commented and are now looking at a revised full, one who is looking at a revised large partial. All four of those agents are in my top tier.

Surprisingly, the second batch (which was all snail) had a much much lower attrition rate, and I'm still waiting on 4 queries. Out of that batch, I had one request for a full and a number of requests for partials, and just received a request for a full from one partial from a top tier agent.

The third batch was mixed email and snail mail. One was an agent who takes only on referral or from conference attendees. I received a request for a snail 1st chapter and then a request for a full and additional partial of another mss. She is a top tier agent as well.

Also from the last batch came 2 more requests for fulls and one request for a partial. None of those were top tier agents, however, an agent who requested a partial, then a full moved from second to first tier, by virtue of her quick and sweet response to the partial.

And that's where we are: Top Tier Agents (22) Top Tier with fulls (7) TT w/Partials (3) The remaining TT agents were either non responses or rejections, and of the R's only three saw pages. I don't consider a rejection on a query a rejection per se... I count them in there but they don't carry weight the way an R on pages does.

Ramble officially ended. Hope if it wasn't inspiring or interesting, it at least helped someone procrastinate!

I might be losing count, lol! I'm mathematically challenged...

I need to update each night before bed rather than the next day, that would help.

So! Received crits from da peeps and implemented necessary changes.
Started adding scenes to ch 3.
Went through my agent log just to make sure everything was updated and current and organized in a way that was easy to read.
Contacted several agents who had indicated either an overt or implied interest in LTS if it was revised. Already got one request for the full from those emails. YAY! So that's five due to go out, plus another very likely as she specifically said she wanted to see it again. (But I don't want to count my eggs, yet.)

Saw an absolutely AWFUL movie last night. Bleh. Bleh. Bleh.

Yay!

Got ch 2 revisions to da peeps. (This part always makes me nervous, 'cuz these girls are the bomb! So if I've blown it, I'll know it, even though they'll say it with love :)

Ran through chs 2-5 with a fine-toothed comb, made notes of what's moving where and what needs to be added.

Made a list of continuity issues to keep in mind since changes have been made.

Named the additional chapters. Each one is the title of a Madonna song :)

No art again, but I'll get some momentum going soon, I do believe!

June Goals:


Networking/Business/Friendship:

Get out more with friends.
Comment more on the LJ's I read.
Post more often to the Blue Board.

Reading:

Read daily. (Yeah, like that's a tough one!)
Blog about my reading.

Writing:

Finish revisions on LTS and get it out to those
waiting on 6/4/07.

Email those who expressed an interest in seeing it
after revision and send if they still want it.

Last sprint-through on BSD, finish to point of same
revision process by 6/10/07.

Schedule through the next novels.

Take BSD through the revision process. 6/18/07-6/22/07.

Sign with one of my top-tier agents.

Write 1k words per day on next novel in line 6/25-6/29.

Art:

Make some art daily.
Actually post to my art journal daily.
Take and share more photos.

Life:

Exercise daily.

Stick with the margins I've established.
Review areas that might need more margin.
(http://www.amazon.com/Take-Limit-DVD-Most-Life/dp/1590525515/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/102-0913677-3502535?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1180723598&sr=1-3)

Enjoy the summer with the kids.

Started slowly.
Finished well.

Teen coyote ends up back in jr high on independent study (for which I had to come up with lessons because the admins couldn't); he'll do summer school and go to regular high school; is this a blessing or not? No idea at this juncture. But there's no room for him at the continuation or the bad boys school and really they "just don't know what to do with him".

Oh-kay. Whatever. Just gotta have patient endurance and keep praying.

No art, but I'll make up for that this weekend.

Through pg 28 on LTS, added several new scenes, and know exactly where ch2 is going, what's going into the newly created chapter between 2 and 3. Can't wait to get back to it!

Goals for Day Five: finish ch 2 and get it to the girls. Compile the new ch 3 and get it to the girls. Revise ch 3 (now ch 4) and get it to the girls. Finish organizing the studio area
and post to that blog. Start work on 3 test backgrounds for Coyotes at Midnight. Do a post on process and read/respond to LJ.

Day Three:

Regular mom and wife stuff.

Made it to page 25 on the LTS revision. Decent progress. I should probably explain that I undertook the revision after really excellent feedback from a few agents. It basically consists of slowing down the pacing a bit, early in the book, and narrowing the narrative distance with the characters a bit.

Point being, I think most of the heaviest revision will occur in the first 4 chapters. I actually need to add a chapter between two and three. At any rate, once I get past those, it should go much much more quickly.

Most of my weekend will be spent revising. And that's cool. Also a bit of art, and a bit of family/play time.

My goal is to finish by Monday night and get it all to the crit girls by Tuesday am at the latest, but I'll probably post it to them in stages.

Worked about 5 hours at the day job. (bookkeeper).

And then!

ADVANCED SNEAK OF PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN 3! WOOT! IT SO SO SO SO SO ROCKED!

My crazy daughters stood in line for 4 HOURS to make sure we got decent seats!!! And they didn't complain even once! They thought it was cool!!!

Promise to update art journal this weekend!! I don't have a working scanner right now, so that makes things a bit more difficult.

HAVE A MOST FANTABULOUS HOLIDAY WEEKEND EVERYONE!! (including those of you for whom it's not a holiday)

Hugs!