First or Third

I recently finished a manuscript unlike anything I've ever written. It's contemporary Urban fantasy - which isn't that odd for me. What's odd is that it's written in first person. I've never written first person before, but for some reason, this story just wanted to come out that way.

But I've been struggling with the rewrites. There are areas where it just seemed right to write third person, but I kept to the style I'd started with. I finished the story, and, according to my crit partners, it's one of the best I've ever written.

But the story is slow. First person is too much telling. The character tends to "talk" too much - she's telling the story, but it slows the action down.

At the same time, I'm taking an advanced writing class and my instructor believes it would move faster if I rewrote it all in third person.

An intriguing idea, but completely rewriting a 300 page book from first to third? Ouch. I'm not sure I'm ready to do that.

And yet...

Ah, the challenges of being a writer.

An Interview

I've been challenged. :) My d-i-l challenged me to an interview. She chose the questions, I have to answer them and post them in my blog. So, here goes:

1. If you could relive one day of your life over (making no changes) which would it be and why?My wedding day. It was a perfect day - I made a promise to spend the rest of my life with the man I loved - and so did he. And so far, so good. :)
2. Which of the characters that you've created in your fiction is most like you and which is least like you (and why)?Most like me? There's a little bit of me in all my heroines. They're all stubborn and a little naive. If I *had* to pick one, though, I'd probably pick Riordan from my unpublished "Blood Harp" or Rowan from "Akashan'te". I'm least like my villains. ;) Or Ali from Danger on Xy-One - she's a lot stronger than me.
   
3. If you had one day to do whatever you wanted, and money and responsibility were no option, what would you do?Probably what I already do. I really do like my life. But... if I was a better traveler, I'd travel. Go see some place I've never seen. Or just spend the day at a spa with my friends and family, relaxing and enjoying life.
   
4. Who do you admire the most and why?My kids - they grew up to be good people. In the world, I admire anyone who has the strength to face their problems with serenity and conviction, the courage to stick to their beliefs, the open-mindedness to accept others as they are. It is not so much a specific person I admire as much as it is the way one lives their life.
   
5. Who, from your past, would you most want your grandchildren to have met?My father. I am saddened every day that they never met.
   

Now if anyone is into this and wants to be interviewed, let me know:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will pick FIVE questions to send to you by email for you to answer.
3. You will update your blog (or FB note) with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation & offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you choose five questions for them to answer.

I'm getting there....

I've been working on a new web presence - over at Wordpress. I'd appreciate it if you're around here, if you'd go take a look. The link is to the left of this or here:

My Wordpress Space

Thanks!

I'll probably continue to blog here and keep that space for pages, contests, notes and more. But time will tell. :)

Vicky

Rewriting again...and again....and....

I have a manuscript I've been working on for the better part of a year. I love the story, even though it's a complete change for me. But it's too short. It's only about 55,000 words and, if I want to sell it, I need to make it longer.

I ran the first couple of chapters past my critique partners and got some ideas on how to make it better. So I started rewriting - and made some major changes which, I believe, made it better.

Then I started taking an advanced writing class and I'm starting to cringe just a little. We're talking about goals, motivation, conflict, scenes, sequels... all the lovely stuff that makes a good story better. And I can definitely see where I need to rewrite entire sections - again.

Then I started talking to my family about some issues I was having with a section... and they told me some things that I should do to make the section better - which means, yet again, major changes.

So the outcome of this all is that I should either stop talking to people about my work - or get to work because, although this is a good story - it can be better. And I intend to make it the best it can be.

Back to work.

The Gift of Books

I was sitting here thinking about my father this morning. Last Saturday (the 7th) would have been his 83 birthday. Though I miss him, he is still with me. Or, at least, his gifts are. You see, although my father gave me a lot of things in my life, the most enduring, and most loved, was his love of books. It was a love that he passed on to me.

My father was an intelligent man, but not highly educated. Somehow, he knew how to get things done. When I was in the early years of school, I had problems. I was labeled as "slow". Reading was not high on my list of activities. This lasted through third grade. What changed? Two things. A teacher who cared. And a father who figured out what would work for me. The two of them opened up a whole new world - or, rather, worlds - for me. I don't remember much about what the teacher did - other than not belittling me - but I do remember what my dad did. He made learning the written word fun. We turned spelling into games - any time we had to wait in the car, he'd pick out a word on a sign somewhere and challenge me to find other words within that word. My spelling and vocabulary prowess improved immensely.

He also loved crossword puzzles and when he was home in the evenings, would take me up on his lap to help him solve the puzzles. To this day, crossword puzzles are one thing I can't be without.

He also played Scrabble (insert all the requisite copyright stuff here) with me. Right up until I left for college and he declared I had outgrown him. I miss those games.

The other thing he did for me was to buy me books. Books on things I was interested in - horses, mysteries, other animals, etc. By getting me books on things I already had a love for, he fostered the love further through the written word. And I prospered in my reading. When I finally understood, I started reading everything I could. I went from "slow" to "advanced reader" in just a few short years. And I never stopped reading. Each fall, when we received our English lit books in school, I would spend the first week reading the entire tome from cover to cover. I couldn't get enough.

As I sit here in my personal library, surrounded by hundreds of books, I can think of no better legacy my father left me than his love of the written word. And I am more grateful to him for that inheritance than he can ever know. And the love endures as I see my children and grandchildren enjoying their own books. May they continue to do so.

Thanks, Dad.

The Good, the bad, and the not so pretty

On one of my lists, one of the writers is lamenting about a bad review she got for her latest book. This is one bad one among several dozen good ones. And yet, it is the bad one that haunts her.

Another writer friend is down because her latest manuscript needs a lot of work. So much that she thinks it - and therefore she - is worthless.

Another is fretting because she spent a month on revisions to a single chapter - ones her agent wanted - but they have been difficult for her.

Another is morose because the books she wants to write aren't selling. The ones that are, are not what she wants to write. They aren't the books of her heart.

I could go on about the troubles I and my writer friends are having, but what would be the point? They all say basically the same thing. Our sense of self-value is wrapped up in our writing. Yes, all the advice mongers out there tell you that what others think about your writing shouldn't reflect on how you feel, but it does. When you spend months - even years - on a single manuscript. You work on it. You pour your heart into it. And then people tell you it's not good enough... it does affect your psyche. There's no way around that.

And yet, we keep writing. We keep submitting. We keep trying. There is no lower low than receiving multiple rejections or bad reviews. But there is no higher high than receiving that acceptance call or getting a good review, or seeing your sales numbers climb.

This is not a business where you will reach an even keel. This is a roller coaster ride and you'd better hang on because it's a wild one.

And since I can't ride the real ones, I think I'll stay on this one for another trip. And another. And another. Because the thing that makes one a writer is the act of writing. As Ray Bradbury once said: "If you write a hundred stories and they're all bad, it doesn't mean you're a failure. You only fail when you stop writing."

And I refuse to join that group. I am a writer.

Life Goes On

I just looked at the date of my last entry. Oops. Okay, that was an auspicious day, but that's no excuse for not blogging since then. Yes, there have been extenuating circumstances. Illnesses, family emergencies, work... I can give you lots of them. But they are just excuses. I could have done this - well, not every day - but most of those missing days.

In the meantime, I am happy to announce that I finished my latest WIP - an urban fantasy. I finished it last weekend and then took the week off from writing to work on paring down some of my to be read pile. I have to say, I'm not impressed so far. I've picked up - and put down - five books this week. They're not bad books. And one of them, I will probably go back and actually finish. But the others just didn't grab me. Not like the Jim Butcher "Dresden File" book I just finished did.

I think part of the problem is the language. These books are supposed to be paranormal romances - a genre I absolutely love. But less than a dozen pages into the one book and I was hit with graphic language and sex that was actually quite a turn-off for me. The book was not promoted as "Erotic" or even "Hot", and yet there it was, in my face. And before you think me close-minded about this type of writing, I myself, have written this type of story. And it was published by Ellora's Cave, one of the premier erotic publishers in the industry.

So why was I put off? Because I wasn't expecting it. I picked up the book, read the blurb, and thought I was getting a regular paranormal romance story. I was looking for action, adventure, romance, and a little paranormal activity. Not in the bedroom specifics. And yet, there it was, in great detail. I put the book down. It may be a great story. And maybe some day I will pick it up again. But not right now. Right now, I want a story that will entertain me. Sexual tension is fine, but for the moment, please close the bedroom door.

And I know I'm not the only one feeling this way. I see a lot of emails from people who are disgruntled by the explicit language and activities in many of today's romance stories. There has to be a happy medium somewhere.

Publishers - are you listening? There is a huge market out there for stories that aren't so explicit. And not just in historical or inspirationals. Those of us - and we are many - who enjoy science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, and things that go bump in the night, are looking for books we can really enjoy outside the bedroom. You supply it and we will buy it.