http://cherstinieveen.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/first-line-contest/
Friday, March 18, 2011
Epic First Line Contest
Just wanted to let you all know that I'm hosting an Epic First Line Contest over on my blog, and the prizes include a query critique from Agent Mary Kole, a critique of the first 5 pages by author Martine Leavitt, and tons of books! Go check it out:
http://cherstinieveen.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/first-line-contest/
http://cherstinieveen.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/first-line-contest/
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Book Jewelry!
Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. Life's been insane - and I'm sure all of you can relate. I figured I'd share this project though, as it is book related. This April 5th, Stephanie Burgis's book, Kat Incorrigible, comes out in the United States, and I'm doing tie in jewelry! That picture is of the rough draft of the Magick Book pendant that will come out the same day as the book. We're doing one more version that will be much cleaner and more ornate.
Steph and I were both classmates at Clarion West back in 2001, and she's one of those people whom I'd hate if I didn't love her so much. While I struggled to thrash my ideas into the short story format, she'd receive the assignment for that week and show up a couple of days later with a gorgeous story that executed it. For her last week, her story had the climax in flashback, at the beginning, and the whole piece felt beautifully balanced and held my attention in a white knuckled grip from beginning to end - and this was after six weeks of me reading sixteen stories a week (though it seemed that Stephanie also consumed several novels and short story collections on top of reading the workshop material.)
So it was no surprise to me that I LOVED Kat Incorrigible. I read the UK edition, titled A Most Improper Magick. I can't recommend this novel highly enough.
Since I run my own little shop on Etsy, stocked with my handmade jewelry, and since I was taking a course in wax carving and investment casting, I thought I should start approaching authors to ask if I could obtain a derivative works license to do jewelry from their books. I started with Stephanie (figured I'd aim high) and she's been wonderfully supportive and enthusiastic. Run, do not walk, to get a copy of her book when it comes out!
Steph and I were both classmates at Clarion West back in 2001, and she's one of those people whom I'd hate if I didn't love her so much. While I struggled to thrash my ideas into the short story format, she'd receive the assignment for that week and show up a couple of days later with a gorgeous story that executed it. For her last week, her story had the climax in flashback, at the beginning, and the whole piece felt beautifully balanced and held my attention in a white knuckled grip from beginning to end - and this was after six weeks of me reading sixteen stories a week (though it seemed that Stephanie also consumed several novels and short story collections on top of reading the workshop material.)
So it was no surprise to me that I LOVED Kat Incorrigible. I read the UK edition, titled A Most Improper Magick. I can't recommend this novel highly enough.
Since I run my own little shop on Etsy, stocked with my handmade jewelry, and since I was taking a course in wax carving and investment casting, I thought I should start approaching authors to ask if I could obtain a derivative works license to do jewelry from their books. I started with Stephanie (figured I'd aim high) and she's been wonderfully supportive and enthusiastic. Run, do not walk, to get a copy of her book when it comes out!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Falling in Love Again
At the end of each major draft, I leave time to quickly read through my entire MS, all at once, or as close to it as I can manage.
I skim quickly, reading as fast as I possibly can. My internal editor has been told that the draft is complete, and she's already out on the Lanai deck sipping Blue Hawaiians. I'm reading for voice, throwing in a few for-fun phrases along the way. I'm reading for plot inconsistencies, chapter after chapter blurring quickly together. I'm reading for typos and literary speed bumps that knock you out of the rhythm of the read.
But mostly I read to fall in love with my story again.
See, by the time I've wrenched through an entire draft, I'm ready to strangle my story, or possibly poison it to death with a slow-release toxin. I'm convinced that it's wretched garbage that should be thrown out, not foisted upon my lovely beta readers.
So I read it through quickly so I can fall in love with the story once more. I let myself be absorbed in that heady rush of emotion that entranced me in the first place.
What do you do at the end of a draft?
I skim quickly, reading as fast as I possibly can. My internal editor has been told that the draft is complete, and she's already out on the Lanai deck sipping Blue Hawaiians. I'm reading for voice, throwing in a few for-fun phrases along the way. I'm reading for plot inconsistencies, chapter after chapter blurring quickly together. I'm reading for typos and literary speed bumps that knock you out of the rhythm of the read.
But mostly I read to fall in love with my story again.
See, by the time I've wrenched through an entire draft, I'm ready to strangle my story, or possibly poison it to death with a slow-release toxin. I'm convinced that it's wretched garbage that should be thrown out, not foisted upon my lovely beta readers.
So I read it through quickly so I can fall in love with the story once more. I let myself be absorbed in that heady rush of emotion that entranced me in the first place.
What do you do at the end of a draft?
Something to Hide
I've been struggling lately, to my chagrin, with writing. Yes, I've actually considered giving up because it hasn't brought me the pleasure of thrills I used to experience. Even the thought of attending my most favorite writers conference where I feel like queen, made me feel numb.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The Story Diet
By Jonene Ficklin
I've never had this problem before and I'm a little blown away.
My current WIP has two story lines that come together at the end. I asked three writing friends to read it and give honest feedback, sparing no feelings.
What an awesome experience! (Thanks a million, gals!) I learned which parts don't work. They let me know the parts they wished were different, or needed serious changes. It was interesting, because all of them liked one of the story lines, but felt the other needed work.
So, off to work I went.
I cut.
I changed.
I added.
I rewrote the entire ending. Again.
And when I was done, my novel was 108,000 words.
Yikes! It used to be 97,000. (It's a serious no-no to submit anything over 100,000 words, even in adult fiction.)
I'm not a horror fan, but I have read Stephen King's book, ON WRITING. He recommends cutting at least 10 percent after your first draft. That's just about where I am now, except this manuscript is several drafts down the line. It's been cleaned, chopped, and tightened many times before.
Still, that's not good enough.
So I'm putting my story on a serious diet. I'm cutting out all unnecessary words. I'm hacking out every single part that doesn't speed the plot along. I'm being ruthless, and boy, am I learning a lot. Rebecca is right on with her weeding analogy!
You know, a story diet is just as hard as the real thing. Each evening, my brain feels like butter in a hot frying pan. But . . . right now, I'm down 3,000 words and I'm not even a quarter of the way in.
Writer's high!
Is that how you feel when you put your story on a diet? Any advice?
I've never had this problem before and I'm a little blown away.
My current WIP has two story lines that come together at the end. I asked three writing friends to read it and give honest feedback, sparing no feelings.
What an awesome experience! (Thanks a million, gals!) I learned which parts don't work. They let me know the parts they wished were different, or needed serious changes. It was interesting, because all of them liked one of the story lines, but felt the other needed work.
So, off to work I went.
I cut.
I changed.
I added.
I rewrote the entire ending. Again.
And when I was done, my novel was 108,000 words.
Yikes! It used to be 97,000. (It's a serious no-no to submit anything over 100,000 words, even in adult fiction.)
I'm not a horror fan, but I have read Stephen King's book, ON WRITING. He recommends cutting at least 10 percent after your first draft. That's just about where I am now, except this manuscript is several drafts down the line. It's been cleaned, chopped, and tightened many times before.
Still, that's not good enough.
So I'm putting my story on a serious diet. I'm cutting out all unnecessary words. I'm hacking out every single part that doesn't speed the plot along. I'm being ruthless, and boy, am I learning a lot. Rebecca is right on with her weeding analogy!
You know, a story diet is just as hard as the real thing. Each evening, my brain feels like butter in a hot frying pan. But . . . right now, I'm down 3,000 words and I'm not even a quarter of the way in.
Writer's high!
Is that how you feel when you put your story on a diet? Any advice?
Monday, March 7, 2011
Weeding the Plot
So I'm reading through my first draft this morning, and my characters start having this long, random conversation about world-building details that have nothing to do with the story.
That's okay in the first draft. Maybe even important. Those were things I needed to set down for my own information. But now that I'm on the second draft?
Hand me the weed whacker.
For my first draft, I like to throw a bunch of seeds out there, rake the dirt around, water it, and then come back later and see what came up.
Lots of weeds, that's what.
The flowers I planted came up too, but it's hard to see them for all the weeds. So now I've got to go back through my plot and pluck out anything that doesn't add to the grand design. Some of those weeds are pretty, yes, but they're going to have to go.
Great storytelling isn't just about what to say, it's about what not to say. I'll always admire Walt Disney for cutting a couple of really cute scenes from his original "Snow White" film. They were charming, but they weren't needed for the plot.
I bet it was hard to cut those scenes. Pulling out those weeds can hurt. Sometimes their roots are tangled with parts of the story I want to keep. Sometimes I find beautiful wildflowers that I want to dig up and transplant to another book. It's hard work, but when I'm done my plot is going to look great.
That's okay in the first draft. Maybe even important. Those were things I needed to set down for my own information. But now that I'm on the second draft?
Hand me the weed whacker.
For my first draft, I like to throw a bunch of seeds out there, rake the dirt around, water it, and then come back later and see what came up.
Lots of weeds, that's what.
The flowers I planted came up too, but it's hard to see them for all the weeds. So now I've got to go back through my plot and pluck out anything that doesn't add to the grand design. Some of those weeds are pretty, yes, but they're going to have to go.
Great storytelling isn't just about what to say, it's about what not to say. I'll always admire Walt Disney for cutting a couple of really cute scenes from his original "Snow White" film. They were charming, but they weren't needed for the plot.
I bet it was hard to cut those scenes. Pulling out those weeds can hurt. Sometimes their roots are tangled with parts of the story I want to keep. Sometimes I find beautiful wildflowers that I want to dig up and transplant to another book. It's hard work, but when I'm done my plot is going to look great.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Story Food
Stories, like all living things, start out small. One tiny seed of an idea can grow and branch and lead to more ideas, until you've got enough story for a ten book series.
But this won't happen all by itself. Stories, like all living things, need food.
How do you feed stories? What gives you that feeling that there's something growing inside you, something that has to be told.
For me, experiencing great stories always helps my own stories to grow. When I go too long without reading, my stories tend to get stunted. I'm trying to keep up a healthy diet of books, with the occasional movie or play for dessert.
I also like to participate in other creative activities. Music, woodworking, and the odd sewing project give me a change of pace and help pass the time while I wait for new ideas to sprout.
Travel is great story food for me. Seeing new places and meeting new people always sparks new growth in my forest of story ideas.
And now my favorite kind of story food, NON-fiction. I love to watch documentary films, listen to NPR, read books about nature, science, art, history, medicine, ANYTHING! My latest find is DK's Eyewitness Books series that my eight-year-old brings home from the school library. Full of pictures and interesting little facts, they're a story feast! Oh, uh, was I writing a blog post? Sorry, I started looking through the Eyewitness book instead.
So how do you feed your stories?
But this won't happen all by itself. Stories, like all living things, need food.
How do you feed stories? What gives you that feeling that there's something growing inside you, something that has to be told.
For me, experiencing great stories always helps my own stories to grow. When I go too long without reading, my stories tend to get stunted. I'm trying to keep up a healthy diet of books, with the occasional movie or play for dessert.
I also like to participate in other creative activities. Music, woodworking, and the odd sewing project give me a change of pace and help pass the time while I wait for new ideas to sprout.
Travel is great story food for me. Seeing new places and meeting new people always sparks new growth in my forest of story ideas.
And now my favorite kind of story food, NON-fiction. I love to watch documentary films, listen to NPR, read books about nature, science, art, history, medicine, ANYTHING! My latest find is DK's Eyewitness Books series that my eight-year-old brings home from the school library. Full of pictures and interesting little facts, they're a story feast! Oh, uh, was I writing a blog post? Sorry, I started looking through the Eyewitness book instead.
So how do you feed your stories?
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