The Origins Blogfest

Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m such a party girl, but I couldn’t resist this particular blogfest.  Co-hosted by DL Hammons, Creepy Query Girl KatieMills, Alex J. Cavanaugh and Matthew MacNish, the Origins Blogfest is the perfect place to share how my writing dreams began.

Unlike so many of the talented writers I’ve met here in the blogosphere, my writing dream is a fairly new concept.  I’ve always loved to write, but I never once thought about making it a career or pursuing publication.  For me, it was more about helping my son in school and not appearing the idiot when I emailed friends and family. 

I’ve always loved to read, but I’ve never read something and thought, gee, I could do that.  Well, maybe after reading Twilight, but that’s another post altogether.  Anyway, my journey began rather abruptly. 

In March of 2010, I downloaded a new CD onto my iPod.  It was 30 Seconds to Mars’ This Is War CD.  On it was a song called Hurricane.  It was a breathtakingly clear and warm day here in Seattle—in other words, a minor miracle—and I decided to take my little convertible out for a spin around Lake Sammamish, ‘cause, you know, when the sun comes out, the top goes down. 

(Mine is dark blue!)

So there I am, driving with the sun in my face and my tunes blaring when this new song starts playing.  The tune really struck me, but it was the lyrics that hit me hardest.  They said:

Tell me would you kill to save a life

Tell me would you kill to prove you’re right…

Do you really want me dead or alive

To torture for my sins

It made me wonder:  What could make a man do something really bad, something completely against his nature, and could he ever find redemption, find his way back to the man he once was?  That was a pretty powerful concept for me, and, after having yet another recurring nightmare of something terrible that had once happened to me, I decided I would try to make sense of it all and answer my own question.  Hence, THE MISTAKEN was born.  Or the idea of it anyway. 

The strangest part of writing this novel is that it came to me whole, like all in one moment.  I just had to write it all down in an outline first, then type it all up.  And as I was doing all this, it was like there was someone or something possessing me, or at the very least, standing over my shoulder, whispering into my ear, telling me exactly what to write. 

I simply cannot explain it in any other way.  I mean, surely it wasn’t me.  I’ve never written much of anything.  I have no training, no idea what components go into writing a novel or creating a cohesive plot.  Yet there was, a real story, and a compelling one at that.  And it was a fast read, too, lots of action, lots of emotion, everything I like in a book. 

Now, it was so far from perfect as to be laughable, but, over time, and with the help of many, many talented critique partners, most notably Lisa L. Regan, Tara Rendall, and Jeff O’Handley, The Mistaken took on a polished gleam worthy of querying, and, I hope, even publication.  Someday.  Fingers crossed. 

So now I’ve found a new passion in writing, in creating characters and plot.  I’ve learned a great deal in the last 22 months, and I plan on putting that all to good use.  Yep, that’s right, I just started writing my second novel, tentatively title Parasite. 

Writing has changed my life in so many fantastic and unexpected ways.  It’s given me a new purpose, a dream of my very own.  And it’s brought people into my life, wonderful, talented, loving people whom I now call my friends.  That alone is worth more that gold.

So what’s your story?  How did your writing dreams begin? 

Oh, and by the way, I just won a SECOND round entry in Cupid's Literary Connection Blind Speed Dating Contest.  My entry here went up today and judging will go through Wednesday.  Feel free to comment!  I'd love to hear what you think.  Fingers crossed I make it to round 3!

I'll Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest

Today, blogging buddies Mary Pax, Nicki Elson, and Suze from Analog Breakfast are hosting the Who Was Your 80’s Crush: I’ll Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest!  Since I love me a good blogfest, I wanted to participate, so I signed right up.  Thing is, I couldn’t really recall anyone I was seriously crushin’ on in the 80’s.

Having just graduated high school in 1982, I was a young woman, and very much in love with one young(er) man.  This man eventually became my husband.  Since he was, and still is, exceptionally hot, I really didn’t care too much about any others.

My husband, Eric, as a young man - YUM!

But there was one young actor who was exactly my age and, dare I say, super cute: former teen idol, Johnny Depp.  Even better than cute, he was a rebel, a rocker with his own band, and the owner of a nightclub where all the hot, young LA movie stars hung out.  Oddly enough, his first major film role was as the boyfriend to Nancy Thompson in A Nightmare on Elm Street.  And, stranger still, he was a close friend of gonzo journalist/writer, Hunter S. Thompson, and eventually portrayed him in not one, but two films.  How funny is that?!     

Early in his career, and, apparently, much to his chagrin, Johnny starred in the Fox police drama, 21 Jump Street.  Now, I never even watched that show, but he did manage to turn my head whenever his name appeared in the news, which, back then, was quite often, as he was linked to some highly visible young hotties, namely Twin Peaks actress Sherilyn Fenn, supermodel Kate Moss, and Gen-X rising star Winona Ryder.  And Johnny had a wild streak that often got him into trouble with the purveyors of many a five-star hotel where he allegedly wreaked havoc and destruction. 

Yes, I love bad boys, and, back then, Johnny Depp was King of the Bad Boys.  He calmed way down after the death of his close friend and rising star, River Phoenix, just outside the front door of his West Hollywood nightclub, The Viper Room.  Johnny turned quite introspective shortly thereafter.  It wasn’t much later when Johnny moved to France to escape the ever-present camera lens of the US paparazzi.  There he met Vanessa Paradis, a beautiful French film actress with whom he has two children.  Unfortunately, this relationship has recently come to an end.

During his career, Johnny Depp made a habit of taking on strange roles, most notably, with his friend and collaborator, oddball director Tim Burton, but Johnny’s career made a mainstream comeback when he took on the role of Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise.  Now, all generations of filmgoers know Johnny Depp’s name.  He’s even hotter now than he was as a teen idol in the 80’s 

Interestingly, a new film is ready to be released based on Fox’s original show, 21 Jump Street, though the movie is more of a tongue-in-cheek homage rather than an adaptation of the former weekly series.  But what I found intriguing is this old interview where Johnny Depp was asked if he would ever consider reviving his role 20 to 30 years in the future should anyone ever decide to remake 21 Jump Street into a feature film.

The interviewer says, “Wouldn’t it be cool—remember that old guy Johnny Depp?  He’s still around somewhere.  Let’s see if we can find him and get him to drop a few pounds and he could play the father of the guy he used to play.  Would you do that?” he asks Johnny.  And Johnny replies, “Yeah, I would do it.  I’d come out of the old folks home to do that.  Sure”

Funny, huh?  Johnny is still gorgeous and he’s as hot as ever, even more so.  And I bet it’s that interviewer who is currently fat and living in some retirement complex in Florida. 

‘Cause it sure ain’t Johnny Depp!  Wowza! 

So, who was YOUR 80's crush?  Or, if you were too young or *gasp* not even alive yet, who would you have crushed on back then?  Or who are you crushin' on right now?  If I was a young girl, I would be crushin' on this young man, Thomas McDonell.

Doesn't he look a lot like Johnny Depp?

Oh yeah, one more thing: I won a first round entry in Cupid's Literary Connection Blind Speed Dating Contest.  My entry will go up live starting Monday, February 13th.  Please, please, go comment!  I'd love to hear what you think.  And I'm dying to make to the next round!

        

Party Time!

A few quick reminders:  On Friday, I’ll be taking part in the Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest hosted by Mary Pax and Suze at Analog Breakfast which should be loads of crushin’ fun!

On Monday, February 13^th , DL Hammons, Creepy Query Girl, KatieMills, Alex J. Cavanaugh and Matthew MacNish will be sponsoring the Origins Blogfest in which participants will post their own origin story, sharing where their writing dreams began.  

And, because I do love all good blogfests, I will try to participate in Hope Roberson’s Valentine’s Day “Is It Getting Hot In Here?” Bloghop.  In this one we will share one of our favorite kissing scenes from a book we've read, our own WIP, make one up, or write about one of our own memorable kisses.  Considering how long I’ve been married, this will likely be as hot as it gets for me on Valentine’s Day! 

Also, I’ve signed up for the A to Z Challenge sponsored by several of my favorite blogger friends.  I must be crazy for taking up this challenge because anyone who knows me knows I only post once a week at most.  But I’ve already made good progress and should hopefully have all 26 posts ready way before April 1^st.  If you’re insane and want to make a lot of new friends, go sign up!

Lastly, I received two awards in the last week:

From my very bestest friend in the whole wide world, Lisa Regan, I received the Thumbs Up From Skunk Award since "we all feel like stinky, stinky skunks some days" and there are people who "make us feel (and smell) a lot better."

To pass the award on, I’m supposed to name one thing that I love about myself, then pass on the award to whomever I want.  Hmm…okay, here goes:  I am fiercely loyal.  If I’m on your side, I cannot be shaken off.  I will sing your praises, compliment everything about you, offer you love and encouragement, and defend you ‘til death.

So now to pass this thing on…  I’d like to share it with:  Gary and Penny at Klahanie and Jennifer Hillier at The Serial Killer Files.

And speaking of Gary and Penny at Klahanie, Penny the Jack Russell has bestowed me with the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award.  I have received this one before, but here are 7 brief facts about me:

-         I’m half Irish, half Italian and so cursed with a wicked temper.

-         I have dark red hair and bright green eyes.

-         I love to watch TV almost as much as I love to read.

-         I’m a sucker for a big dog, of which I have 2.

-         I miss my “home” state of California more than I can bear.

-         I drive a really cool car!

-         I just started writing my second novel, another thriller, tentatively titled Parasite.

Many thanks to Lisa, Gary, and Penny for the accolades!  I’ll see you all again on Friday for the Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest!  Have a great week!

IWSG: Jealousy Among Writers

I’m posting a day early for Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group held on the first Wednesday of every month.  I don’t personally have anything to complain about, but I have noticed something in the blogosphere lately and I was wondering what you all thought about it.

Last week, agent Rachelle Gardner wrote a post called Watch Out for the Green Eyed Monster where she discusses jealousy among writers.  She even expressed how she was envious when an agent friend of hers recently completed a great deal.  She was happy for her, of course, but she was also the tiniest bit jealous. 

I’ve met a great many writers here on Blogger, Wordpress, and other sources.  Most of them are like me.  They’ve written or are writing a novel and all that that encompasses, and they’re hoping and dreaming and even struggling to find and land that perfect agent, someone who believes in their writing, their project, and their beloved characters.  But there are quite a few who have recently bagged that elusive agent.  Even some who have secured a publishing contract or might be on their second or third book. 

Often, these writers make their incredible announcements via their blogs or Twitter, sharing their excitement at achieving their dream.  Most of their followers comment, expressing their joy and pride.  But as time wears on, some writers notice a lag in their comments.  Some writers have blogged about how they receive nasty emails from people, often other writers who are consumed with envy. 

NatalieWhipple at Between Fact and Fiction has struggled for many, many years, writing something like 9 or 10 novels.  A few years ago, Natalie managed to snag former agent-superstar Nathan Bransford only to lose him when he retired from agenting and the publishing business.  She landed on her feet though and acquired another agent.  After enduring something like 15 months on submission, Natalie and her agent finally gave up that particular book, but Natalie had another which was eventually scooped up by a publisher, and she was even given an option for a second book.  She is currently awaiting publication sometime in 2013.  Oh happy day, right?  Yeah, not so much.

Natalie has posted several times about how people were not always so happy for her success.  Apparently, there were quite a few who sent vicious emails, something I cannot understand myself because Natalie is just about the sweetest, kindest, most generous blogger out there, and she has shared every up and down along the way, of which there have been many.  I read a comment once that said writers who reach their dream no longer post about their struggles and therefore all the tension is removed from their blog.  I guess I can see his point, but this is not the case with Natalie.  She still posts about her struggles.  So what’s with all the jealousy?

It’s not like the other writers are taking a spot that we could have had for ourselves.  Each of our novels are so different, so unique.  I understand it’s hard not to want what they have, to achieve the same dream, but to be angry or jealous?  That I don’t get.  When I read about another writer landing an agent, sure, I say, “Boy, I wish that could be me,” but I also say, “See, there is hope.”  Because that is exactly what it gives me:  hope, that I might achieve the same thing someday. 

Of course, it all does depend on the attitude of the writer.  There is one particular writer whom many of us know.  We’ve seen her query up on QueryShark, her first page up on Suzie Townsend’s  First Page Shooter.  She had several offers and had her pick of agents, even got a book deal a few weeks later.  That’s every writer’s dream.  But this gal also has an abundance of self-worth, perhaps caused by all the attention.  But she hasn’t missed the opportunity to belittle other writers and their work on a certain popular blog, offering her opinion at their expense.  She still blogs from time to time, but she gets almost no comments any more.  She’s lost her following just when she needs it most.  I guess I can understand that a little, but still, writing is a relatively small community, and we are all greatly connected, so tearing someone down because of their success is like burning a bridge directly into the community in which you dream to be a part of.

So what do you think?  Is it difficult to see your friends and colleagues reach milestones before you do?  Or do you think of it as proof that all the hard work is worth it, that you can get there, too?  Does it give you hope or dash your dreams?                   

And Now a Word From Our Sponsors

Just a brief (for me) post today.  I’ll try to post something more profound later this week.  I know, I know, I’m not keeping to my newly published blog schedule, but my life is a bit frantic right now.  I have one more medical test today then I have to start applying for a multitude of financial aid and scholarships for my son and that takes priority.  But I do have a few things I wanted to mention:

First, and most exciting for me…I booked BoucherCon 2012!  Yes, I finally scraped the cash together and booked my first writer’s conference for October.  Now I have to get the airfare. 

Second, I need to spread the love and thanks around to three lovely fellow bloggers:

Ø      To Jamie Ayres for sponsoring a wonderful contest to celebrate her 100^th follower.  She invited twenty-one followers to submit their queries to be judged by literary agent, Nicole Resciniti, who would then, hopefully, request a partial or full from one lucky entrant.  But by some miracle, Ms. Resciniti requested fulls from two talented writers and partials and synopses from the rest of us!

Ø      To both Nick Wilford and C. Lee McKenzie for nominating me for the Versatile Blogger Award.  Both have wonderfully written blogs, so if you haven’t gone over for a visit and followed them yet, hop to it!  (Since I've done this award twice, I won't repeat myself.)

Lastly, I wanted to let you all know about two blogfests being held in February, because I think these bloghops are the best and easiest way to meet new writer/bloggers and acquire new followers, and heck, bloghops are fun!  So here they are:

Ø      Nicki Elson has teamed up with Mary Pax and Suze at Analog Breakfast for the Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest being held on Friday, February 10^th to ask one simple question:  Who was/is your 80’s celebrity crush?  If you're interested, go check out these wonderful bloggers and sign up.  

Ø      DL Hammons has joined forces with Creepy Query Girl, KatieMills and my two online writer crushes, Alex J. Cavanaugh and Matthew MacNish to sponsor the Origins Blogfest.  “On Monday, February 13th, you should post your own origin story.  Tell us all where your writing dreams began.  It could be anything from how you started making up stories as a child, or writing for the school newspaper, or even what prompted you to start a blog.  How about stories about the first time somebody took an interest in your writing, or the teacher/mentor that helped nudge you along and mold your passion, or maybe the singular moment when you first started calling yourself a writer.  It all started somewhere and we want you to tell us your own, unique, beginnings.”  I think this one will be a blast so head on over to any of these blogs and sign up using the Linky Tool. 

Well, that’s it!  I hope you all go visit my wonderful blogger friends and participate in the blogfests.  After spending the last week battling two snowstorms, one ice storm, and yet another wind storm, I’m off to conquer the world…or my corner of it, anyway.  Have a great week!  

When a Character Does the Unforgivable

Thank you to all those who sent prayers and good wishes my way last week.  They must have worked; my first biopsy came back benign.  I feel very blessed.  One more to go then I’ll be free and clear.  Right now, I’d like to get onto more serious writerly endeavors.  With all the upset and turmoil in my life lately, I fear I’ve let my blogging duties fall by the wayside.  This is my lame attempt at making up for that.

I recently received a critique from a fellow writer, someone I admire and respect for his mad writing skillz.  He gave me a great deal of feedback, and I’ve been busy making revisions based on his recommendations.  I am actually shocked what he was able to pull out of me.

About one third of the way through my manuscript, after my male protagonist does a very, very bad thing, my critique partner commented that it would be very difficult for him to feel sympathy for that character any longer, that although he sees how circumstances pushed him towards his actions, it just might be too much and he might not ever like him again.  But was willing to read on and see.

I’m glad he was willing, and I assured him I did my best to change the reader’s mind.  In the end, he said that I managed to pull it off after all, that he did come to care for the main character, that he wanted to see him atone for his sins, and he did.  Congratulations, he said. 

Whew!  What a relief!  But even after all the praise he gave me throughout, I’m still worried, because what if an agent reads through that part then gives up?  What if he or she is not willing, does not believe I can make the character atone and redeem himself?  I mean, that’s the whole trick of the book, the reason I wrote in the first place. 

Now, my writing is in no way eloquent like my last CP.  I don’t lay claim to that particular skill.  But what I do think I did, and reasonably well, is take the reader on a crazy wild ride through turmoil and bedlam.  I made my champion suffer then turned him into an anti-hero and raked him over the coals for it.  Then I forced him to atone for the most unforgivable of sins.  The theme of my novel is forgiveness, after all.  But the reader will never know that unless he or she has the patience to see it through.

I did all those things you’re supposed to do to your MC:  I made him human, imperfect with a huge chip on his shoulder.  I gave him loads of room to change, balancing his strength and humility, turned his affliction into integrity, made him strive for the impossible, brought his compelling struggle to satisfaction though not completely resolved.  He is dark.  He is troubled. And he is seriously flawed.  But is he too self-destructive to garner sympathy?  Does he step over a line for which there is no absolution? 

I wrote this novel from a particularly personal point of view:  Mine.  I can’t say that others would ever be able to forgive the unforgivable, but I wanted to show it’s possible.  I hope I have that chance. 

Have you ever read a novel where the main character steps way over the line?  Were you patient enough to see it through to the end or were you too disgusted to continue?  

            

The Book and the Sword

I deeply apologize for not making the blogging rounds this week.  After working with a gifted new critique partner (thanks JeffO,) I’m deep in revisions and want to get them done so I can send my manuscript out to my last two beta readers before I start querying again, hopefully in February. 

Aside from that, I’ve been having a few minor medical issues that have been consuming my attention.  It struck me that when you get news that has the potential of affecting your entire life, you focus on those things that are most important to you.  I was shocked at what became my highest priorities.

Of course, not shocking at all is my child as number one.  With college looming on the horizon, and the financial and living arrangements not yet worked out, I am obsessing over how I will get those finalized.  I’ve taken all the necessary steps, but we are still four months out from making a final decision, even as more acceptances arrive.  My son may be mere months away from adulthood and total freedom, but he still needs me and will for a long time.  This is not surprising.  I’m a mother.  It’s my job.

What is surprising is how important publishing my novel has become—all encompassing, in fact.  I’ve never had a dream that was specifically for me, to the exclusion of everyone else.  Again, I’m a mother, and a wife, and as such, I tend to focus on everyone else before myself.  That’s just part of the job.  But with my son so close to flying the nest, I’ve had to find things to keep me busy since the economy, and therefore my business, is so slow.  Like many others, I turned to writing.  Now that my book is ready to go, or nearly so, my drive to find and land an agent is consuming.  I believe strongly in my novel, that it has merit and can succeed commercially.  I simply won’t rest until I’ve exhausted every avenue available.  It’s a dream I cannot give up on.

My last dream is two-fold.  I’ve wanted to attend a writer’s conference for a while now, but with my business so slow, my funds are limited and, as many of you know, these conferences can be very expensive.  I wanted to attend ThrillerFest in July in New York City, but I don’t have a few extra grand in my pocket.  But BoucherCon, a crime writer’s conference, is remarkably more affordable and I’ve just about saved enough pennies for registration and maybe even the airfare.  So I’m pretty much golden on this dream.  But there is one other that is attached to this like a remora to a shark.

I want to meet my very best friend, writer Lisa Regan, in person, and will finally get to at BoucherCon.  Lisa has saved me in so many ways.  She knows me better than anyone else on earth, save my husband, but then again, she knows things even he does not.  I love this woman like a sister and cannot call my life complete without having met her.  I can’t talk much more about her without crying my eyes out, so I’ll stop here. 

I know I’ll be fine, so no worries, please.  But having my first real glimpse of mortality, at least in a way I cannot control, has focused me, pinpointing on those few things I want to do above all others.  There’s nothing like the Sword of Damocles hanging over your head to get you focused on what’s real and what’s not. 

So I ask you, if you had a sword over your head, what would you want to accomplish?         

IWSG: Confidence Regained!

It’s the first Wednesday of the month, time for Alex Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writers Support Group.  Anyone is allowed to participate.  Just click on this link and join the group.  And, if you haven’t already, join Alex’s army of followers.  Now, on with the show...

_______

There’s a lot to be insecure about when you’re a writer:  Does the story work?  Is the writing beautiful?  Are the characters sympathetic?  Is it full of tension and emotion?  Will readers enjoy it?  On and on it goes, ad nauseum.  I agonize over these issues and many others on a daily basis, but over the last twenty-one months, I’ve learned a great deal about the craft.  I feel much more confident now than when I first started, that’s for damn sure.

Then came a huge test—in the form of the college essay.  First, let me say, no, I’m not applying to college.  I’ve already done my time and then some.  It’s my seventeen-year-old son who has applied to a buttload of colleges and universities up and down the West Coast, seventeen in all, I believe.  The two major California university systems, UC and Cal State, have their own online common applications.  The other public schools he’s applied to in Arizona and Washington State, where we currently live, each have their own unique applications, and five of the six remaining private schools he’s applied to all use the Common Application which allows an applicant to submit his information on one website, though each school has its own supplemental requirements.

Each application requires a general essay that should demonstrate—beyond standardized test scores, grades, and GPA—exactly what makes the applicant unique on a personal, not academic, level, what sets him apart from every other applicant, why he would be an asset to that particular school.  Well, for the over-achieving brainiac or all-star athlete, this might be an easier task, but for the average kid, yeah, not so much.

Now, my kid does very well in school.  As a Running Start student, he’s been taking a full load of college level courses at a local four-year college since the beginning of his junior year in high school, but while his GPA is well above the three and a half mark and he’s been getting straight As for the last three quarters, he’s not a perfect 4.0.  Nor does he have the athletic prowess to participate in school sponsored sports, varsity or otherwise.  But does this mean there’s nothing special about him, nothing that would make any college accept him into their hallowed halls?  Hell, no!  But how, exactly, do you make an average kid look anything but?

Well, I read a few books on successful college admission essays (the one above is great, by the way), learned the key to honing in on those qualities that make an individual standout, and, most importantly, how to draw a correlation between those unique qualities and how they exemplify good character, profound skills, influential motivation, and valuable accomplishments.  No easy task, let me tell you, but I was able to instruct my overwhelmed son on how to write an essay that showed him in the best light imaginable. 

Aside from the one general essay which was sent with each application, most schools required supplemental essays that asked specific questions like:  How have your disappointments led to personal growth and success?  What are your thoughts and experiences, good or bad, regarding diversity and inclusion?  How will you help this university carry out its core mission to promote learning so that its students acquire the knowledge, skills, values, and sensitivities needed for success as persons, professionals, and architects of a more humane and just world?

Yeah, those are some tough questions, baby, and my son had some remarkably expansive, candid, profound, and poignant responses.  In fact, one private college remarked that his essay was the deciding factor when they accepted him for admittance.  But even still, his essays, however thoughtful, needed a great deal of both inspiration and editing.  And I can honestly say that I would never have been able to help him as well as I have had I not spent the last twenty-one months writing a novel, blog posts, and being critiqued while critiquing the works of others.  The skills I’ve acquired have taught me the vital importance of being able to communicate effectively through the written word.  

I’m incredibly proud of my child.  He’s five for five, so far, in acceptances, including two of his top three choices.  As for the others, we likely won’t be hearing from them until March.  Then April is the big decision month.  At this point, I can honestly say that even if my attempt at writing a novel comes to nothing, I still feel like it’s all been worth it, because I’ve helped my kid get accepted to some pretty distinguished schools.  It’s my last ditch attempt at sending him on his way, on teaching him to be an independent adult, which is the greatest challenge for any parent.  So, even though I know for sure things will change, as of this minute, I’m anything but an insecure writer. 

 

Great Comments Award

Happy New Year once again, my friends!  Since January 4^th is the first Wednesday of the month and therefore saved for Alex Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group, I thought I’d use the beginning of the week to pass along an award Alex gave me his blog last December 5th. 

It’s the Great Comments Award, given to those who drop by and comment most frequently.  Now it’s my duty to pass along this award to some of my most dedicated follower-commenters.

This was a very difficult list to whittle down as I have a great many loyal commenters, but these are the folks whose names always pop up in my comments.  Of course, Alex is included on this list, but I didn’t want to bug him since he’s already received it.    So here goes:

1.                    Lisa Regan

2.                    Al Penwasser at PenwasserPlace

3.                    Jeff O’Handley – The Doubting Writer

4.                    Joylene Nowell Butler – The Cluculz Writer

5.                    Julie Kemp Pick – The Empty Nest Insider

6.                    Carrie Butler at So You’re a Writer

7.                    Jennifer Hillier of the Serial Killer Files

8.                    LailaKnight from the Untroubled Kingdom of Laila Knight

9.                    Donna K.Weaver at Weaving a Tale or Two

10.                Peggy Eddleman – Will Write for Cookies

11.                Lynda R Young at W.I.P. It

12.                Eva Gallant at Wrestling with Retirement

I could go on and on and on…

Please check these folks out and join their armies, if you haven’t already, because they make great followers and write awesome posts. 

And come on back by on Wednesday for my Insecure Writer’s Support Group post.  For once, I won’t bitching!  Imagine that!  

Happy New Year!

I'm not one who normally makes resolutions, but I do set goals, and the new year is always a good time to refocus back on those goals.  So here is what I hope to accomplish in 2012:

1. Finish my first novel already!  While I thought I was finished, since I haven't yet landed an agent, I figure I need to get a few more CPs and work out the last kinks before I start querying again in January.  Which brings me to my second goal…

2. Land an agent!  This is the most important goal for me in 2012, but it’s also the one least under my control.  There’s nothing more I can do except write a kickass query (check) and start emailing.  Which brings me to my third goal…

3. Complete the first draft of my second novel.  I’m so ready to get right on this one.  I have so much of the story worked out in my brain.  I’ll need to drum up an outline first then dive right in.  This time, I have several awesome CPs lined up from the word go, so hopefully, knowing what I know now, it’ll be a much smoother process the second time around.  If all goes well, or even if it doesn’t, I have one more goal…

4. Attend my first ever writer’s conference.  BoucherCon 2012, a convention for crime and thriller writers, is being held in Cleveland, Ohio October 4^th through the 7^th.  I can’t tell you how excited I am to attend this, for obvious reasons, of course, but also because I will finally get the chance to meet my BFF, Lisa Regan, in person.  And I’ll also get to reunite with another wonderful friend, Jennifer Hillier, author of Creep and the forthcoming Freak, who just days ago, moved away from the Seattle area, where I live, back to her native Toronto, Canada.  If I haven’t bagged an agent yet, I hope I get the opportunity to make a few pitches. 

So that’s it for me.  What about you?  Have you made any resolutions or goals for 2012?  

Whatever they are, I hope you reach them.

Have a happy and blessed New Year, my friends, and thank you for hanging out with  me in 2011!

Season's Greetings

This is just a short post to wish

all my Blogger friends a merry Christmas

and a blessed holiday!

The Déjà Vu Blogfest

Today, I am participating in DL Hammon’s Déjà Vu Blogfest cohosted by Creepy Query Girl’s, Katie Mills, The World is my Oyster’s, Lydia Kang, and Nicole Ducleroir of One Significant Moment at aTime.  This blogfest gives participants the chance to resubmit their best posts for the benefit of all those who might have missed it the first time around.  I look forward to reading as many of the participants’entries as physically possible, and maybe make a few new friends in the process. 

The posts I’m most proud of are those I wrote on craft:  One on setting and another tension.  But the one I’ve chosen to enter for this bloghop has received the most hits and continues to do so every week.  I first posted this on July 13, 2011, and while my perspective has changed slightly, I still believe in the message.

Stories Don’t Happen in a Vacuum

I knew I would have to come up with something to post about today, but when I woke up, I still hadn’t thought of anything new, that is until I read today’s post at BookEnds Lit Agency.  Today is Workshop Wednesday at BookEnds, the day agent Jessica Faust posts one of the queries she’s received for critiquing, kind of like Janet Reid does at Query Shark.

I love query critiques.  I think it is the single most effective way to know what does and doesn’t work in a query.  Now, I don’t always agree with Ms. Faust’s opinion.  Case in point, a few weeks ago, she critiqued this query and loved it.  I thought the query was vague, at best, and had many of the qualities that agents advise writers not to include.  But she loved the “southern rhythm” of the voice.  Yeah, I didn’t get that at all, and I lived in the south for awhile, but whatever, just like books, it’s subjective and if she liked it then kudos to the author.  Well done!

But this week’s critique struck a nerve with me because Ms. Faust alluded to something I hear over and over again when agents are critiquing queries.  After reading the first two paragraphs of the query, she more or less said, this is all backstory; the real story starts here.  In other words, cut all this crap out and get to the meat of the story.  While I agree the query needs a lot of work, I find issue with the fact that the agent automatically thinks the first two-thirds of the query, and therefore the book, is all backstory.

In my opinion, this is the story, at least part of it.  It is how the author wrote it to give it structure and body, a reference point from which to contrast the conflict.  It bothers me that the agent thinks that everything that came before what she considers the core of the story is somehow irrelevant or that the story goes off track.  Yes, the author should have written the query differently to show the progression of the story and the importance of that progression. 

She implied subtly that the story might be about something else, or perhaps that was just the agent inferring that idea.  But even still, that doesn’t mean all those points the writer thought important enough to include in her query are not crucial to the story.  Some of the commenters, in fact, seemed very interested in the writer’s story, calling out the fact that those first two paragraphs were simply acts one and two.

My point is that agents toss aside stories based on assumptions that the reader doesn’t want to know all that happened before, that they simply want to get to the meat of the story.  Well, okay, I don’t need to know everything that happened to the nineteen-year-old protagonist during her first seventeen or eighteen years unless it’s relevant to the story, but from age nineteen on, all the things that happen to her forge her into the woman she becomes and adds dimension to her reasoning, to how she handles the conflict.  Stories don’t happen in a vacuum.  We need to care about the protagonist and her journey and we do this through knowing and understanding their history. 

I often wonder why everyone is always in such a hurry to get to the end.  It’s all about instant gratification so we can move on to the next thing.  Why not savor the time spent with a story and let yourself get immersed in the simmering heat of the layers as they buildup?  I’m not saying that everything the query writer put in her query is essential.  Personally, it comes off more like historical romance, not historical fiction, and so definitely not my thing, but I get that those details are important to understanding why there even is a conflict. 

Could you imagine if Winston Groom had to query Forrest Gump in today’s market?  Some agents would likely say to cut all that backstory about Forrest as a small child or in high school, but it is those details in the early chapters that show how Forrest changes later in life, how he manages to deal with all the drama that’s thrown his way.  How can we know if we weren’t privy to the backstory?

All this relates to me personally because last week I rewrote my query, for what must be the fifteenth time, based on advice from Stephanie DeVita in her post last week titled Slow Summer, where she says, “In most of the queries that I read, the writer isn’t giving me the most thrilling aspect of their book, the crucial element that should make me desperate to ask for more pages. In other cases, it’s unclear if that pivotal element is even there.” 

So I cut all the “backstory” out of my query and just alluded to it, then got right into the major point of the conflict.  But now I worry that any agent who requests pages will think the first third of my novel is all backstory when, in fact, it is the story, or part of it anyway.  Since the story is all about a man who changes, who becomes a different man due to some pretty terrible things that happen to him, that first third of the book is the setup.  It determines what he was like at first and how those events twisted him into a different man, made him act a certain way and do that one awful thing that drives the story.  The rest of the book is how he deals with the repercussions of those decisions.  Why would any reader care about how he changed and what he did if they didn’t know his “backstory?”

And by the way, I hate that word, backstory.  It makes it feel like all those early words are somehow illegitimate, a bastard to be cast aside.  Yes, it matters how that information is presented, that we feel it is part of the actual story and not simply dumped there in a lazy attempt to give context, but I like to think of it as the ice cream in my sundae.  It’s all those yummy bits on top that make it special, but you can’t just eat the yummy bits.  You have to savor it properly with the ice cream set below.  Otherwise, it’s not a sundae.

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As an aside to this original post, I’d like to say that backstory in a query, while important, should only amount to a few words in a single line, and only if the content is of the utmost importance to the heart of the story.