Tearing something down to make it stronger

I am slowly, and I mean slowly learning that its a lot of work to get a book to the stages where someone else will want to look at it.  I've written x 2 manuscripts and in both cases I thought that I was ready to start searching for an agent. And I was. But...not because my manuscripts were ready. But that I needed to learn more about the craft of writing. I need to tear down something and hope it is better in the end.

It took me over 14 months to write my first manuscript. If you didn't know me back then, you'll be surprised to learn that I wrote over 240,000 words. It worked out a funny way that I was sending myself emails and didn't put all the pieces together until the end. I spent the next 12 months editing it down to 148,000.  I thought that I had done a good job. I started querying it. Of course I got rejected like crazy. I kept being told to cut it more.  Ouch.

While I was waiting for those rejections, I started writing my second manuscript. A medical mystery.  This time it took 5 months for around 85,000 words. I worked it, edited, and re-edited it. I am currently querying this masterpiece and am finding out that it isn't such a masterpiece after all. But, the feed back I am receiving is positive. I just need to get a good group of beta readers to trim some pieces.

I've restarted my first manuscript and really went to work on cutting and improving some of the less important things. In the end, I felt most was important, there was just a better way in telling the story. I ended up cutting another 20,000 words and am down to 125,000.  The crazy part is that I changed everything. The title of the book, the names of the character. I tried to get things moving quicker and moved some of the important finds to much sooner in the book. Some parts remained the same. I am completely excited about the changes in the book.

I am about to head off to a couple conference and really get hammered on some of my techniques and especially the first few pages. That is where I really need to get better. I need to get the audience involved much quicker and more efficient.

Writing is far from easy. Well writing well is far from easy. I am just hoping that I am on the right tract.

A must is a must!

I would feel horrible if I didn't talk about the ongoing writeoncon. It is all taking place on line. Some of the topics for today have been really exciting. If you haven't yet taken the time - here is the link - http://writeoncon.com/

There are certainly a few more things tonight and then a full day's schedule tomorrow. The great things are that some of the ideas or concepts dig deep into personal preferences of many of the agents and writers putting on their portion. Some of the classes are live - you can ask your question and get a fast response.
Tonight there is an exciting panel of professionals - this is a live event and worth checking out.

And don't worry - if you can't make it live - just check out some of the things written on the website or forum. It looks fantastic

Writing Two Stories at Once.

I read a myth that you should stay writing in the same genre during your career. This is probably to stop anyone from writing on a topic that they don't understand or aren't familiar with. I understand it to some degree. But, since I haven't found a genre that I am proficient at, I guess that the myth doesn't yet apply to me. I finished writing my first manuscript a year ago or so. I spent several months on edits and rewrites. I am currently querying that manuscript.

Once I started the process of querying, I began writing again. And it has been fantastic. The problem is that I have two stories vying for a spot in my head. The first one is the second book of my first manuscript.  It's genre is fantasy - like the first.  Can I say that I love fantasy.  The other story in my head is more of an amateur sleuth medical story. I also have a huge passion in medical and I currently work in the medical field. Mysteries are always fun to read....so why not try to write one.

The real difficulty is that some days, I feel like writing fantasy and other days, I can't wait to write about my medical mystery. And so rather than fighting the urge, I am embracing it.  The funny thing is that I am not bored with either story.  I am just excited about writing two stories at once.  I plan to continue this practice as long as possible. I do look forward to an agent calling and forcing me back on tract, but until then....write on!

Please comment if you've ever tried this.  Tell me if it worked for you or was too hard to keep the stories and POV separate.

Here's a great look at writing two stories at once by Katie Ganshert - http://katieganshert.blogspot.com/2009/03/two-stories-at-once.html

Needing some Chocolate

I really loved my last visit to Boston. I had a blast. One of the best places that we went was the Lindt chocolate store. I really need some chocolate today.  My wife seems to need chocolate daily.  Who can blame her when it is Lindt chocolate. Chocolate always seems to make writing go a little bit better and a little smoother. Oh well...I will have to find a substitute chocolate bar today.   Too bad I can't make it back to Boston!  SO I will leave you a picture of the store.

Oh writing how I missed thee.

After finishing my first manuscript I felt a sense of accomplishment. I knew I had an arduous task of editing. I never expected it would be so time consuming and all encompassing.  It took eight months to really get through the editing process. My manuscript isn't perfect but I needed to move to the next step of querying. This process has been so strange almost foreign in comparison to everything else that I have done. I sent out a dozen or more queries and I am unpatiently awaiting the responses.

I have considered sending out another round of queries but I am concerned about my overall effectiveness of my query letter. I am continuously reading and tweaking my query letter. It seems that because this is my first query letter, I am probably thinking that it is better than it really is. That could be a huge problem.

The only thing that I knew, was that I couldn't sit and do nothing. I considered my options and decided to begin book 2 of my series. I am querying the first book and now it is time to start working on the next book. I really struggled in finding the correct spot to restart my story. It took a surprisingly long time to come up with it. I am pretty satisfied with where I am starting. I began writing last week and really forgot how much I love the pure aspect of writing.  It's really blissful.

The area I love most is attempting to put this story that is in my head onto a blank piece of paper. That blank paper was empty and now...just days later, the first chapter of my second book is done. I am 4,000 words finished for the first chapter. I am wondering if I should do things quite differently than the first book.  I decided to edit the first chapter instead of writing and writing and writing. I initially thought that quality would arrive in the editing stage.  During my first draft, that might have hurt me more than I realized.

But I am back to writing and hoping that the first book snags me an agent, but regardless, I love writing!!  So far, book 2 is called SHATTERED.

Page Numbers or Word Count - Which is more important?

Through my many discussions into the progression of my book writing process, a question continues to resurface. How many pages is your book? Initially this concern or idea was something that was important to me. I guess I wanted to feel like I was accomplishing something. I tried hard to remember exactly how many pages I'd written. In the end - the first draft - with double spacing was over a thousand pages.

But as a reader and a writer - what does that really mean.  As I have started editing - I've realized that page count means relatively little.  Changing the font size, the font type - single vs double can all change the actual page count drastically.  I started reading author, agent, and publisher blogs and word count is by far more important.

I learned about the importance of daily writing, keeping a constant schedule and trying to write every day. I set myself a word count daily goal of 2,000. This seemed like a good number. Though as I continued to write I only reached this goal half the time of the days that I found time to write. Some days I surpassed this number.  In future writing - I may do a weekly word count.  As my life sits, I am unable to write daily - at least on any book project I may have.  But I do write...in other ways.

Word count is often dependent on the type of book you are writing. You surely wouldn't want a childrens' book to be in the 100,000 word range and you wouldn't want a fantasy book in the 20,000 word range.

I was always unable to answer the word count question because I hadn't taken the time to combine the 25+ different and individual chapters, each being divide into their own document. That changed today. I finally was able to combine everything, with some power and finesse into a complete first draft, word count.

Drum roll please........I finished my first draft of my first novel at 245,000 words. 

I immediately was shocked because I didn't know the actual count until I combined everything at the end.  This really scared me because word count is so important.  I knew immediately that my manuscript was substantially too long. 

I began editing with a vengeance and the number changed dramatically.  I cut out over 100,000 words - which is another person's manuscript. I have now gone through 9 rounds of editing.  From a massive cut and slash - to improving conversation and scene cutting.  I've cut 100,000 words but other senctences have been rearranged and scenes improved in order to tighten up the writing.  It is a process that unfortunately has taken almost 8 months.  

Now, I need to move to the next step - which is the query letter.  I am just beginning this process.  I still have page count in the back of my mind - because I am still asked about it on a daily basis.  But the real key - is word count.  My genre is Epic Fantasy instead of just fantasy for this same reason - Epic Fantasy allows a larger word count. This suites me just fine...I hope. 

A really neat online contest.

I happened to be reviewing some posts when I came across a Shelly Watters post about an online contest. It is an agent judged contest of the first 250 words. Also included is the Title and Genre. One of the best aspects of this contest is that for 3 days, we can have other critique our work, then revise and submit for the final entry. It seems like a fantastic way to get your work read and get feedback from others in your same spot.

Today is day 1 of the contest - rather the first day you can critique others and in turn have yours critiqued. In a few days - the real contest begins.

If you feel so inclined to give some feedback yourself - follow this link! The Devil's Gate.

10 Things I've Learned on my Path to Become a Writer

My name is Logan and I would love to be an author!!! ["Good luck," comes a shout from the audience]

I have learned that positive self advice can never hurt as I am often bombarded by self-doubt and even fear. It has been a long time since I have felt fear in something that I've wanted to do.

One thing that I'm really afraid of, is heights. I didn't know that I was until I was high above a canyon. The same for writing a book. My fear is not the actual writing, but that moment, when I let myself think about it, allowing someone else to look at something that has become so personal. I can imagine that this is a common feeling among beginners.

Writing a book has been much more difficult than I would have ever expected. I've been working on it for almost 18 months now. I've learned so much, not only on writing, but editing, grammar, literary agents, and publishing. I hope to learn much more on a more personal and intimate level of each of these things.


The Drum roll please:
10 Things I have learned since I started writing my manuscript

1.) I suk at spelling and grammar

2.) When you think you're done - you are usually not - give it time - then attack it one more time.

3.) Twitter has been somewhat helpful - [Yes, even I was surprised]

4.) Editing is where the battle is won....or lost.

5.) Writing Critiques/groups or friends are worth their weight....in gold.

6.) Conferences can push you like nothing else. You also get a chance to step out of your comfort.

7.) My favorite thing about writing is the unexpected turns that writing allows and even necessitates.

8.) Characters become a part of you

9.) Plot and storyline seem to be what separates a good story from an average one.

10.) I am surprised how much I doubt myself. If I can't have confidence in me, who else will!

The First Page Battle

Here's my most recent blog post from Earth's Divide Wordpress Blog:

Who knew that the real estate on the first page was so important. I learned this, dramatically, at the Pikes Peak Writing Conference. I was hammered during one of the critique sessions and I am glad I was.

Imagine standing in front of 30 or so other writers and having an editor give your first page the once over as you read it aloud. I had worked hard on the first page before and thought that I had a good point of view (POV), no spelling mistakes, an identifiable character and I introduced a pending doom.

My mistakes ended up being large and plentiful. I don't think the writing itself was horrible, but maybe it was. My real problem was where to begin the story. A previous conference suggested crescendo during the first chapter and ending with a bang. I think that this still can be done, but my issue was that I didn't have a good hook for the reader.

I started with a scene eluding to a disaster - not bad - but then I went into a description of my protagonist - very bad - . It didn't end up going well.

Therefore - this begs the question: Would you ever put down a book after reading just the first page, first paragraph, and maybe even the first sentence?

If so, then you would agree that the real estate on that first page is so important.

As I am constantly editing my manuscript - I've noticed a tendency to come back to that first page or first chapter - in order to ensure that everything is exactly how I want it. It's the make it or break it foot in the door. What pressure!