crazywithkeyboard

I suppose it's normal, but ...

I'm going through some mood swings right now in regards to The Vedia Gamble. It probably happens to every writer (except maybe Stephen King, because he knows anything he writes is gonna get published AND sell millions of copies). But for the rest of us ...

Monday, I was happy and enthusiastic about my story. I'd just finished my latest editing pass and was really excited about some of the changes I'd made, and how some parts had really come together. No question about it, this book is GONNA get published.

Yesterday, I sent out fresh copies to all my beta readers. Still feeling good. Then sent some chapters to a writer who expressed an interest in seeing more of my book after hearing a three page reading.

... And the roller coaster plunges to the bottom of the hill. Gawd, did I really send that, and to a professional? What was I thinking? It's not that good. It's never gonna sell.

Then I sit down to write a synopsis (I need one for the Gather.com competition). I'd heard about how hard it was, so I'd been dreading it. I was pleased when it came together relatively quickly. Back up a little. Maybe things aren't as bad as I thought.

THEN I send the synopsis out to several people ... and post it on the wrimobuddies group over on LJ. Not only do I plunge back to the bottom of the hill, but my car derails. The feedback isn't precisely negative, just points out some weaknesses in the synopsis. It's good feedback, and important, but ... now I'm quite sure this story isn't good enough to be published, and never will be....

Oh well. First I'm gonna take a stab at re-writing the synopsis. Then I'll see what my loyal group of beta readers has to say. And I'm reminding myself that this is how I felt just before I did my reading at COSine -- which was a very positive experience overall...

Labels: NaNoBlues, NaNoObsessing

Just a quick heads-up to all of the wonderful and loyal beta readers of The Vedia Gamble (my NaNoWriMo novel).

I have FINALLY completed this round of editing and polishing, and would love it if you could all take a couple of hours to give the story another read-through. My next goal is to send it off to a publisher sometime in March, so you've got a week or two.I currently have elanurel, gilraen2, msts_eirene, phoenix14159, and rivkarivkina on my list. (I also have a couple of non-LJ folks, too.) But If anyone else on my f-list would like to volunteer, I'd be very grateful (and if not, I understand completely).

And if you're on the list above ... expect to see a file in your mailbox later today!

Crossposted to my LJ...

Labels: NaNo Editing, NaNoDONE

Got in the elevator at work the other day, and a sign posted in the announcements area got my instant attention.

"Do You Nano?" it asked.

Of course I do.

But it turned out they were talking about some kind of vitamin supplement.

How boring!

Labels: NaNoMeanderings

(Cross-posted to my LJ)

For the last few weeks, I've been diligently editing my NaNoNovel, trimming out excess wordiness, getting rid of passive voice phrases (which also usually results in shorter text), that sort of thing.

So can anyone tell me why the story is now 2,000 words LONGER than it was before?!?

Labels: NaNo Editing, NaNoObsessing

Just finished up my latest round of editing this morning. One of the things I noticed, going through it this time, is that I used "seem" a lot. As in, "His skin seemed to have a bluish tinge to it." Why not just say, "His skin had a bluish tinge to it" -- unless there's some reason it's going to turn out to be something else later?

So I weeded out about 200 of those (or at least that's what it felt like). And I got rid of four more commas (though I put another one back in, for a net of 3), and fixed one typo. I'm trying to do a reading at speed now, to make sure the rough spots have been properly sanded down.

Then it goes back out to beta readers again, and I get to start on the synopses (a long one and a short one). Whee!

I'm also thinking of submitting the story to the Gather.com First Chapters contest. Though they say they are more interested in "general fiction," and therefore might not want a piece of sci-fi-space-pirate-fluff.

Labels: Gather contest, NaNo Editing

This is a problem ...

I'm now so fully entrenched in edit mode that this morning, when I picked up a book for a little light reading, I said to myself, "Hmmm, she didn't need that comma there, and that bit is passive voice. And that's wordy; I'd revise it and shorten it a little..."

elanurel, if you have stuff you want beta'd, this might be a good time after all!

[EDIT: And you know it's becoming really compulsive when you post an entry, then read it and say, "Hmm, passive voice, better revise that..."]

Labels: NaNo Editing

I almost forgot to mention -- I got my printed copy back (thank you, gilraen2).

So since I had it with me when BH and I met my folks for dinner, I showed it to them. Mom was surprised. "You wrote a book?"

Good grief, what did she think I was doing scribbling into all those spiral notebooks back in high school and college? Though I have to admit, I was pretty darned low key about it back then ... which is why I wrote in spiral notebooks, because they'd look like my school books ... and I didn't go around saying things like, "Hum, think I'll go write for an hour or two before bed."

I guess one of the reasons that I don't talk about writing much is because I'm a little superstitious about it. I'm afraid that if I say it out loud, it won't happen. Silly, huh?

Labels: NaNoBook, writing philosophy

Yes, I'm still editing. I think I'll be editing forever.

In this round:

1) Trying to get rid of at least most of the passive voice bits (not being utterly compulsive about it, just trying to get rid of the glaring, obvious ones)
2) Along with the passive voice goes the check for excessive wordiness. (Me? Excessively wordy? Say it isn't so!)
3) Adding in the last few items suggested by phoenix14159 (explaining why the pirates are all so human-like, adding some hints that Phoebe's dad was a cop, thereby giving a bit of a basis for her apparently natural leadership skills).
4) Blending in a few info tidbits that got missed the first time around (did you know Phoebe has green eyes and sandy brown hair? Probably not, since I never got around to mentioning it...)
5) I actually put one of the "and thens" I got rid of last round back in. It needed to be there.
6) Still getting rid of excess commas. I, think, I've, only, found, eight, or, ten, this, round...
7) Oh, and I found yet another typo -- a missing beginning quote. Most of the typos have been either missing end quotes, or missing periods. Though I did have a couple of odd words -- an "a" or "the" left over from when revisions got made. Think I'm up to about 14 typos found since the version that got sent off to Lulu.

One bit I still need to put in: Phoebe needs to at least offer the music files to Prostus to help pay for her phasers -- and he needs to reject them out of hand.

My goal is to finish this run through, then read through one last time (looking for any remaining rough spots) and get it back out to the beta readers (if any of them are up to another reading).

Labels: NaNo Editing, NaNoObsessing

Took my copy of The Vedia Gamble down to a friend's house over the weekend to show it off, and accidentally left it there. Now she's holding it for ransom. There will probably have to be chocolate involved. {sigh}

Meanwhile, editing goes on apace. I've added a few paragraphs in response to comments, and I'm now going through and trying to eliminate sentences in passive voice. At least there aren't too many of those. Not as many as there were commas, anyway.

Labels: NaNo Editing, NaNoAngst