My First Critique

I am energized and encouraged.  Last Saturday, I submitted the first chapter of my manuscript to my RWI goup critique.  I had worked and reworked and reworked that chapter, but I have more work to do on it. 


Many of my sentences are too long (although stuctured correctly)
I use to many ellipses (But isn't that how people really speak?)
I use to many italics. I need to turn some of my internal thought into desciption, I guess... (there I go)


One of the issues that I'm a little bit uncertain about is my use of a kind of limited POV for my hero.  Is using a kind of limited POV for my hero cheating? Just telling what he's thinking at the moment and leaving out his backstory?  I've seen some of that done in romance.  I think you almost have to do that to build suspense. Knowing exactly WHY the dude is doing, or even thinking, certain things will lessen the suspense. 


But I am encouraged, and I can't wait to get through this chapter one more time before I submit it to my first contest.  Yea me!

What Does the Editor Mean When She Says That?

 

This is one of the things I post so I'll know where to go back and find it later when I get my manuscript finished and start submitting it to editors (OK. I will try that route, I'm sure.)


This great article over at Writer's Relief is extremely informative.  What does it mean when an editor tells you, "Your MS is voicey and organic but switches POV indiscriminately"?


Find out here


Now I know that I want my manuscript to have legs, be organic, and to be tight. I don't want it to contain dead metaphors or to be quiet or stale. 


Besides these literary vocabulary gems, here's a link to more basic vocabulary and terms for the publishing industry, also on Writer's Relief:


http://www.writersrelief.com/blog/2010/03/basic-vocabulary-and-terms-for-the-publishing-industry/


Now I can find these articles when I need them.  Whew!  Wouldn't want to misplace them.

Thinking like an editor

(Trying to get my mind off my son wrecking my car last night, and think about my writing career instead) 

I'm not even positive that I want to work with an agent.  The idea of producing my own book and marketing it doesn't scare me. It excites me.  All those tasks that many writers dread are my cup of tea.  Complex formatting in Word?  I've taught that stuff for years.  HTML5?  I've played around with it, and learning it's on my to do list.  Creating a webpage?  Blogging? Twitter? Facebook?  Creating a YouTube trailer?  Bring 'em on!  

But...for this exercise, I am going to examine why an editor would be interested in me.  I would like to see my book(s) in print, on paper, the way I like to read them, and, of course, I think the one I'm working on right now would make an awesome movie.... 

Chapter Three of  Christina Katz'   book, Get Known Before The Book Deal is 'Swap Shoes.'  It asks you to look at yourself like an editor or an agent.  Are you causing enough of a stir to make them want to take a chance on you? Partially, that's where previous expertise comes in.  Can you use what you already know to get better known in any community? 

Well, hummm.  I did recently get asked to present at a conference of Tech Teachers here in Oklahoma. I spoke about using Internet resources in the classroom.  I actually think that when I've finished writing my book, I'll have so much fun promoting it that editors and agents will see that I'm a keeper, but what can I do before I finish my book?  I should probably go ahead and create my author website.  I haven't done that yet.  Maybe I should blog more about wooden boats, one of the subjects in my book.  Maybe I'll blog about each of the boats in the book. They are characters, in a very real sense. That's a start, at least. 


Christina says, " It order for agents to recognize your talent, you have to make some waves."  I'm not making many waves right now.  I'm kind of letting down my guard in the technical writing/training world to concentrate on my writing.  Maybe I'm doing the wrong thing. Maybe I should create some online classes for the techniques I'm learning.  And post them on my website.  Now that's worth giving some thought to.  Hmmm.


Christina also says that agents think of us writers as 'talent.'  They want to work with someone who will produce a string of books.


So, according to this book, here's what I need to do:

• Get followers for this blog. (Please follow me.)

• I follow quite a few blogs, but I usually don't comment in them.  I think I need to, and use that excuse to point to my own blog.  I'll try to do more of that, for a start.  But really, Please follow me!

• Get something, anything published somewhere. Then get something else published.

• I think I need to look around at local publications.  Maybe I should try to write something about Oklahoma history and culture (backstory of my book) for the local publication, "My Land."  I Love that paper and would be honored to be published there.  It's a start.

• Get to know the media.  Figure out how to get them to know you
• .

• This one's going to be tough.  I need to work on local media first.  Actually, I've been on the front page of local papers before. I've been interviewed (because I used Angie's list?!?) If I accidentally landed in the news all those times, how can I do it deliberately?  Need to think on this one some more, and come up with a plan.

• Get interviewed for something (something good)

• I believe this one goes with the one above.

• Become a quoted expert in some field. 

• Maybe this one harks back to my idea of putting tutorials online.

OK.  That's the list.  Every one of these steps will take time and effort, and none will get done before the party I'm giving on the 14th.  That's a biggy.  But I will ponder the list and try to flesh it out more, then be ready to blast off after the 14th.

Is Being a Geek Goddess a Platform?

Tis the day before Christmas Eve, and I'm reading chapter Two of Christine Katz' book, 'Get Known Before the Book Deal, which asks you to examine what skills you already have that you can use to market yourself and cultivate a readership.  She asks if you have a following, network, or fan base for, essentially anything.


So, I am going to try to answer than question about myself.  Who am I?

I have a combination of technical and creative skills that set me apart from the crowd. When I was working toward my Ph.D. in technical writing, the department sent me out on many intern jobs because so many of them required more technical skills than any other student had.  I am an early adopter of technology and push the limits of what software can do.  I have strong skills in web design, Microsoft Office products, online documentation and the software used to create online courses for education and business.  I do these things very well.


Example of my online class skills

I am also known as a very good photographer, and I am skilled in Photoshop.  Actually, my first love, before writing, was art, and I still love creating all kinds of art today, from drawing and painting to creating attractive and functional Visio diagrams and PowerPoint slides.  I also really enjoy working with video.  My stepsons call me the YouTube Queen.


Example of my photography
Example of my video expertise 


I am a proven teacher...of technical and business writing.  I was recently asked to give a presentation of using the Internet in the classroom to a group of Oklahoma technical teachers.  I have created online coursework for several companies.


Some other areas of knowledge for me are, Tulsa and Oklahoma history, wooden boats, and what it was like to grow up a farm and work on a ranch. As far as book knowledge, I often read three books at a time, and now I always have a book in my pocket, on my iphone, as well as one by my bed and often one in my purse. I love history and fantasy, and ancient Celtic culture, where these two areas merge.  


So, where do these strengths and areas of expertise lead me as a writer?


I really don't know.  Hopefully, Christina's book will help me discover that.


Gotta go shop now!!!

Platform Time!

When I attended my first writers' meeting, I first heard the term, "platform."  At the last writers' meeting I attended (a different group, but more published), I heard a rant about writing (important) vs. platform (not so much).  But...I think that, with my particular skill set, platform building will be one of my strengths, and that I'll really enjoy it!  To start out, I bought, and just received, 'Get Known before the Book Deal' by Christina Katz.  





I was hoping I'd really read the book, but actually, I'm having a hard time putting it down. That says something, as I'm in the middle of 'A Dance of Dragons.'  The first chapter (and maybe all of it) is kind of in the form of a workbook.  I'm taking it seriously.  It's a little outdated. Christina mentions that the Kindle is getting ready to come out and wonders how that will change the industry.  I think, however, that the basics of platform building will be the same, and that, in today's writing/publishing world, it's probably even more important that it was when the book was written.


Her basic thesis is that the writer must figure out who they are, and what they can offer their readers and their editors to make themselves a long-term success.  This book is about the business of writing, not the creative process.  I love the writing, but am also obsessed with the business side, so . . .  here goes!

A Week Until Christmas: Ramblings of a Writer

Rush. Rush Rush. So much to do. You know the feeling, don't you?  

Move the wrapping paper upstairs where people can shut the door and wrap in privacy.  My stepsons expect flocking and glitter, so wrapping makes quite a mess.  My hubby says, "I've never noticed that," but I did. The first time I made really fancy packages for them and they ohhed and ahhed. and now they expect it. 


Opps!  The new Persian Rug (my & hubby's mutual Christmas present) comes today.  What haven't we bought yet, and when, except Christmas Eve, will we buy anything that isn't bought by the end of today?  


And then there's the graduation party in January. Electricians coming Monday to restore lights in front that last winter's ice storm took out (finally getting that done) and we want to try to get a new runner on the stairs by the 14th of January. HELP! 


Son's home from college.  He says that he never even really saw any Christmas lights until he got back to Tulsa,  Out in Connecticut, he's only on campus and the surrounding urban area...not around any homes.  And the only kind-of-Christmas tree he saw on campus was nick-named "The Hanukkah Bush."  We got a good giggle out of that, but he's been raised around Christmas lights, and I think he's glad to be home during this season.


Just infused money into his account so he can buy a few Christmas presents, and gas for my car, etc.


And all the time, my book and my characters are living their own lives in some compartment of my brain.  Does Kain have enough personality?  I want to get back in and fix chapter two. I transplanted a scene from later in the book back into Cap. 2 so there'll be more conflict.  And just where is his mother from? I was thinking Viet Nam...She's somewhat exotic.  His dad met her in the war, on the rebound from Hadley's mom dumping him for the rich dude. And she comes from somewhere where people are very entrepreneurial, which they are around Asia, because she helps Kain's dad invest the money they get for their land and become quite wealthy.  Just haven't figured out quite where....  Gotta run!!

And the Party Goes On and On and On

We battled this week and won!  My stepson, Ben, knows EVERYONE, and wanted to invite them all to the graduation party we're giving him.  Finally we convinced him to give another party (that we're NOT paying for) for his Lake Rat friends and let ours be for people he knows from school and business.  His dad had to paint him a picture of some of the uncouth characters he calls friends drinking with potential employers.  For a very smart kid, it took picture drawing to really make him see sense, but now I think we have the invitation list down to a group that might fit into our house.

The invitations are printed and now is the time for stamping and addressing (do I still know how to do mail merge for the labels?) and envelope stuffing. 


And keeping on refining the Pandora playlist.  I'm wondering if I need to start a second one in case this one gets totally off track, which it sometimes does. 


And I am so upset because I can't find a Audrey Hepburn cardboard cutout (from Breakfast at Tiffany's) to order. I guess Sinatra will have to do.

Think I'll survive?