Wow, gothic! That's amazing! Congratulations. So, are you happy with it? It must have been a ton of fun to write.
It was a lot of fun to write.
I'm pretty happy with it, still needs work though, as all first drafts do.
Wow, gothic! That's amazing! Congratulations. So, are you happy with it? It must have been a ton of fun to write.
I've just finished the first draft of my Roman historical thriller tonight. In two months no less, that has to be a record for me.
Sending positive vibes out to MTS. You can do it.
on the R, tarak.
It is called Revenge Querying. It is Good.
I think I'm going to stop checking my email today. Or I'll be revenge querying until midnight...
A little of both. One was a form R, and that didn't bother me in the slightest, to be honest. One loved my query (she specifically mentioned how much she enjoyed it) and the writing that was in 3rd, but had a hard time adjusting to the switch in POV (only the first page is in 3rd person POV). The third, I really shouldn't take as an R. She mentioned there wasn't enough fantasy in my urban fantasy, that it was more of a straight-up thriller. And it really is for the first 50 pages. She liked the voice did ask me to resubmit if I revise. She's not the first agent to state this. The problem is I have no idea how to shift things around, and bring the fantasy aspects up sooner, other than just shifting scenes around.I'm sorry. Anything useful, or just forms?
Can you shift scenes around so that the fantasy is sooner? Do you have a good beta who can help you brainstorm?
This writing thing. It's not for sissies, is it?
I know this is going to sound stupid, but why not shift the scenes around? I've had to do a ton of scene shifting in my day. You can always save it in a new file in case you don't like it.
In any case, that's actually really awesome. You got an r&r, which is a good sign, and a compliment. You're definitely close.
No, it is not. Nor for quitters. Or the sensitive. Or the thin-skinned. Or... I feel like I might cry...
Seriously, it is hard, sometimes brutal-feeling, and trying to untangle the right thing can be darn near impossible.
Is it just that second-draft-holy-crap-did-I-write-a-pile-of-goo that we all go through?
I don't know your writing / editing methods but maybe if you set that chapter aside and just move on with the rest, let it stew or a while and like you say, get all your ideas and inspiration in.
HJ - yeah, sorry, just had a bad day t Hrrogte and was letting things g o me, then I felt bad about whinging.
Gothic - I don't know your writing / editing methods but maybe if you set that chapter aside and just move on with the rest, let it stew or a while and like you say, get all your ideas and inspiration in. In the meantime, loads of good vibes your way. You can do it. Seen your posts on your work and you've obviously got a real passion or your subjects.
I agree that the 'let-it-rest' method can work. But not for all people and not in all cases.
Other things I like to try:
-- Save a draft of your book in a safe place and then open your manuscript and delete the first chapter or first two. Up until you think the plot really starts. Sleep on it overnight. Look at it the next morning and see if it works better. The manuscript I'm finishing up now I had to do this several times to get to the real beginning (I figure I trimmed most of the first hundred pages by the time I was done. Ouch.). If you hate what you did, do back to your saved draft. No harm done.
-- Start the edit at the end. Make the ending as good as it can be. Then figure out your plan to get from the beginning to the end the very best way.
-- Write yourself a note at the top of each chapter -- what were you supposed to accomplish in this chapter? Give yourself guidelines for your edit, make sure you make happen what you think you need to happen. I found this very helpful, especially in the mushy middle of the second/third draft of my novel. Things tightened right up once I had a definite plan for where I was going.
Best of luck! You can, and will, figure it out.
Did they provide you with any specifics or were the comments as general as what you list here? What were some of the specifics? General comments serve little to no purpose without examples to back them up. You can go forward with examples. General comments are flotsam blowing in the wind.Got my comments back today on my competition entry - basically there was nothing positive at all, everything was substandard and badly done, plot, character, setting, everything.
Remember how subjective this industry is. Everything can be improved on, and those improvements can change opinions significantly.I just don't know what to do now. I mean, basically that's loads of the top names in the industry seen that I have no talent.
If you trunk it, it's not just another book you've tried, failed, and got rid of. It's another book you've labored over and developed your skills on so that you can continue to improve and write even better books. I can't say whether it's got fundamental flaws or anything else, but real failure is not trying. You are trying.I don't even know where to begin revising when the flaws are so fundamental. I just don't know what to do, whether to trunk the book, but then that's another book I've tried, failed and got rid of.
You want to improve, right? You are determined? Then you will practice. Practice means writing more, assessing how what you're reading works or doesn't work. Can you apply that same sort of critical eye to your own writing? That's the hardest thing to do, but if you know you avoid description, start making yourself write it. Exercises. No commitment. No 80k novel hinging on it. You practice, like homework, on the things you're not comfortable with, and you get better.And if I start a new project what's to stop it turning out as awful, if the flaws are actually basically just a lack of understanding and talent on my part?
You leave them out there. It's okay. It's painful, but it's okay. It has to be because you can't take them back, you know?And what do I do about the queries on the book that are out there?
Now we break down the comments you got and see what can be done with them. We get rid of the useless ones and make it all manageable and constructive so you can keep moving forward with your craft.Sorry, it's just I kind of expected it to be bad, just from the way the Harrogate thing went, but I didn't think that *everything* would be wrong with it, you know? I thought maybe some things I could work on. I just feel really stupid, especially with everyone saying 'oh agents will be hounding you' and such because of the award. They're not hounding me because my submission was mince. So what do I do now?
OK, this time I do really need advice. Got my comments back today on my competition entry - basically there was nothing positive at all, everything was substandard and badly done, plot, character, setting, everything. I just don't know what to do now. I mean, basically that's loads of the top names in the industry seen that I have no talent. I don't even know where to begin revising when the flaws are so fundamental. I just don't know what to do, whether to trunk the book, but then that's another book I've tried, failed and got rid of. And if I start a new project what's to stop it turning out as awful, if the flaws are actually basically just a lack of understanding and talent on my part? What if I just don't have that 'it' factor? And what do I do about the queries on the book that are out there (because I really didn't think it was *that* bad, I thought it needed work done on it and I wasn't happy with the draft that was sent to the agency that asked for it, but that was done really quickly because they were asking, you know?)
Sorry, it's just I kind of expected it to be bad, just from the way the Harrogate thing went, but I didn't think that *everything* would be wrong with it, you know? I thought maybe some things I could work on. I just feel really stupid, especially with everyone saying 'oh agents will be hounding you' and such because of the award. They're not hounding me because my submission was mince. So what do I do now? I don't know how to quit writing as it's the only thing that's been a big, steady part of my life all my life. I've just never felt so low about it before.