I think what I need is an advisor

Hi there.

I'm just over 38,000 words into my WIP and two things are going on:

1. I'm mired in those challenging middle pages - my mind keeps drifting to the exciting ending I've got planned, so getting there is slow going.

2. I'm starting to worry that the story isn't good enough at all, and that I may be wasting my time with it.

I posted the first few scenes on SYW, and got some excellent feedback. I know what my weaknesses are (pacing, too much information at times, not enough sensory description) and I'm working on these issues, but don't know if I'm making much progress trying to smooth things out.

I would love to find one or more people from this forum to take a look at what I've got. So here's what it's all about:




Does being one half of a couple makes you a hot commodity in the eyes of would-be suitors? 29-year-old fashion designer/boutique owner/workaholic, Chloe Lane, and her childhood pal, Ethan Webster, are going to find out. Ethan convinces Chloe to become his 'fake girlfriend' in order to conduct a sort of social experiment, one that could just pique the interest of other potential loves. Although she's far too busy to worry about attracting someone else, Chloe goes along with Ethan's experiment and settles comfortably into the drama-free companionship.

Chloe's already crazy life is thrown into an uproar when the executive producer of a new reality show asks her to be a judge. Not to mention the fact that she falls hard for one one of the other judges... William Shannon, the billionaire who looks like Superman, has reawakened feelings in Chloe that she's forgot existed.




Okay, that's all I'm going to say because I don't want to give it all away. Basically, it's your standard contemporary women's novel - there's humor, humiliation, hopefully some heartfelt stuff (and a bit of alliteration here and there). There's a crazy mom, dramatic girl friends, the gay friend - who embraces his role, referring to himself as 'the token gay guy'. There's also disaster, scandal, betrayal and revenge.

It's written in the first person, first tense (something I may have to completely re-think, now that I need to fast-forward in time.) Also, there's quite a bit of swearing.

Please PM me if you think you might be able to help me make some sense of this, and I would absolutely love to reciprocate with any critiquing you might need done.

Thanks a million.

Chiquita



(Not to worry. I'm not nearly so liberal with parentheses in my novel.)

Thanks for the advice Hildreth. I think I will try writing the ending soon, as well as other scenes that are very clear in my mind. Don't know why I've felt the need to be so disciplined about writing it in order - sort of like I'm forcing myself to eat all of my vegetables (writing the middle) before I can have dessert (write the ending). Probably wise to mix things up a bit like the French, who cap off their meals with a cheese course. If that makes any sense! I'm a little fried - did another 8,000 words in the last six days.