Monday, March 19, 2007
Oops. Missed.
The deadline for the Gather.com writing contest has come and gone, and I did not submit The Vedia Gamble as an entry. I just couldn't get the synopsis done to suit me in time, and then by the time I did, there wasn't enough time to get everything all formatted the way they wanted them. So ... it's a missed opportunity, but I'd rather miss it than give it a half-hearted attempt.
Meanwhile, I'm working up a list of publishers for submission.
Meanwhile, I'm working up a list of publishers for submission.
Labels: NaNoAngst
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Synopsis, Take 2
I never thought writing a synopsis would be harder than writing the book, but now I know better ...
Anyway, for the curious, I'm posting the latest attempt at a synopsis for my NaNoNovel. The first attempt got less than stellar reviews, so I'm hoping that this one fares better.
Synopsis of THE VEDIA GAMBLE
by Sheila McClune
Synopsis Length: Approximately 750 words.
Manuscript Length: Approximately 120,000 words.
Small-town librarian Phoebe Caldicott is miserable. Single and in her thirties, she feels trapped in a boring, dead-end job. Now she’s on her way home from her sister’s funeral on an overcrowded airplane in heavy turbulence, and there aren’t even any peanuts. Surely things can’t get any worse … can they?
That’s when Phoebe’s airplane collides with … something. Chaos ensues; when Phoebe finally gets her bearings, she discovers that not only is she somehow still alive, she’s aboard the spaceship The Damned Strumpet. “Independent traders,” third-in-command Ardan Quintus hastens to assure her, but Phoebe knows pirates when she sees them. She soon learns that the pirates, desperately low on air and days away from the nearest spaceport, had resorted to an illegal dip into Earth’s atmosphere to replenish their air supplies, scooping up part of Phoebe’s airplane in the process.
Unfortunately, there’s a dead man on the launch bay floor, and Phoebe is at least partially responsible. Worse, the corpse is that of the pirates' captain—so according to the pirates' code, Phoebe is now captain of The Damned Strumpet. Phoebe doesn't know the first thing about captaining a spaceship or being a pirate; she would just as soon go home to Nebraska. But when the crew informs her that Galactic Law forbids her from ever returning to Earth, she decides to give her new career a shot. It doesn't hurt that several members of Phoebe's new crew seem to be, well, attracted to her—including hunky Chief Engineer Vittore Vere, whose mere presence renders her speechless, and Ardan Quintus.
The Strumpet needs emergency repairs, and as captain, Phoebe's choices are pretty limited: either the port fees are too high, or the repair stations are too far away to reach given the ship's limited supply of air. The only spaceport that seems to fit the bill is Vedia Station, a shady pirates' den run by a man with a reputation rivaling that of pond scum.
Phoebe further doubts the wisdom of her decision when the Strumpet arrives at Vedia Station to find it under attack by rogue pirate Kadigan and his fleet. However, Phoebe and her crew fly to the rescue and rout the invaders, earning the thanks of the station's commander—and free repairs to the Strumpet.
In the process of overseeing the repairs, Phoebe discovers that a saboteur has been at work on board The Damned Strumpet, damaging weapons and stealing vital equipment. She is able to narrow down her list of suspects to just a handful, including both Vittore Vere and Ardan Quintus, but she is unable to solve the puzzle. It doesn't help any that both men appear to be more interested in her than ever, or that she feels as though she may be losing her heart to one of them.
Then Phoebe learns that the crooked commander of Vedia Station has lived up to—or rather, down to—his reputation. He agreed to repair the Strumpet to "original specifications." Phoebe thought that meant that she'd end up with a well-armed pirate ship in good repair. Instead, she's now captain of a roving brothel … painted hot pink! The crew will never let her live that down…
In the midst of Phoebe's negotiations with the station commander to return her ship to working condition, Kadigan returns with additional ships to make a renewed assault on Vedia Station. Having no other choice, Phoebe, her crew, and some friends cobble together a makeshift fleet of ships and once again fly to the station's defense.
The defenders are successful and return to the station in triumph. As a bonus, Phoebe, having uncovered more sabotage during the battle, thinks she now knows who is behind it all. Before she is able to do anything about it, however, the saboteurs attack her and attempt to kill her. She barely manages to break free and call for help, but in the end they are thwarted.
That's when Phoebe learns the awful truth—that the Strumpet's officers only insisted that she become captain in order to draw the saboteurs' attention to her, rather than to them. They selected her because they expected her to be incompetent … and expendable. After some soul-searching, Phoebe comes to understand that through her unexpected success as a pirate captain, she has earned their trust and respect, and that she trusts and respects them as well. And in the case of one particular officer, she has also found the beginnings of love.
If you have any feedback for me, please leave a comment.
(Writing is easy. You just stare at a blank screen until the blood drops form on your forehead...)
Anyway, for the curious, I'm posting the latest attempt at a synopsis for my NaNoNovel. The first attempt got less than stellar reviews, so I'm hoping that this one fares better.
Synopsis of THE VEDIA GAMBLE
by Sheila McClune
Synopsis Length: Approximately 750 words.
Manuscript Length: Approximately 120,000 words.
Small-town librarian Phoebe Caldicott is miserable. Single and in her thirties, she feels trapped in a boring, dead-end job. Now she’s on her way home from her sister’s funeral on an overcrowded airplane in heavy turbulence, and there aren’t even any peanuts. Surely things can’t get any worse … can they?
That’s when Phoebe’s airplane collides with … something. Chaos ensues; when Phoebe finally gets her bearings, she discovers that not only is she somehow still alive, she’s aboard the spaceship The Damned Strumpet. “Independent traders,” third-in-command Ardan Quintus hastens to assure her, but Phoebe knows pirates when she sees them. She soon learns that the pirates, desperately low on air and days away from the nearest spaceport, had resorted to an illegal dip into Earth’s atmosphere to replenish their air supplies, scooping up part of Phoebe’s airplane in the process.
Unfortunately, there’s a dead man on the launch bay floor, and Phoebe is at least partially responsible. Worse, the corpse is that of the pirates' captain—so according to the pirates' code, Phoebe is now captain of The Damned Strumpet. Phoebe doesn't know the first thing about captaining a spaceship or being a pirate; she would just as soon go home to Nebraska. But when the crew informs her that Galactic Law forbids her from ever returning to Earth, she decides to give her new career a shot. It doesn't hurt that several members of Phoebe's new crew seem to be, well, attracted to her—including hunky Chief Engineer Vittore Vere, whose mere presence renders her speechless, and Ardan Quintus.
The Strumpet needs emergency repairs, and as captain, Phoebe's choices are pretty limited: either the port fees are too high, or the repair stations are too far away to reach given the ship's limited supply of air. The only spaceport that seems to fit the bill is Vedia Station, a shady pirates' den run by a man with a reputation rivaling that of pond scum.
Phoebe further doubts the wisdom of her decision when the Strumpet arrives at Vedia Station to find it under attack by rogue pirate Kadigan and his fleet. However, Phoebe and her crew fly to the rescue and rout the invaders, earning the thanks of the station's commander—and free repairs to the Strumpet.
In the process of overseeing the repairs, Phoebe discovers that a saboteur has been at work on board The Damned Strumpet, damaging weapons and stealing vital equipment. She is able to narrow down her list of suspects to just a handful, including both Vittore Vere and Ardan Quintus, but she is unable to solve the puzzle. It doesn't help any that both men appear to be more interested in her than ever, or that she feels as though she may be losing her heart to one of them.
Then Phoebe learns that the crooked commander of Vedia Station has lived up to—or rather, down to—his reputation. He agreed to repair the Strumpet to "original specifications." Phoebe thought that meant that she'd end up with a well-armed pirate ship in good repair. Instead, she's now captain of a roving brothel … painted hot pink! The crew will never let her live that down…
In the midst of Phoebe's negotiations with the station commander to return her ship to working condition, Kadigan returns with additional ships to make a renewed assault on Vedia Station. Having no other choice, Phoebe, her crew, and some friends cobble together a makeshift fleet of ships and once again fly to the station's defense.
The defenders are successful and return to the station in triumph. As a bonus, Phoebe, having uncovered more sabotage during the battle, thinks she now knows who is behind it all. Before she is able to do anything about it, however, the saboteurs attack her and attempt to kill her. She barely manages to break free and call for help, but in the end they are thwarted.
That's when Phoebe learns the awful truth—that the Strumpet's officers only insisted that she become captain in order to draw the saboteurs' attention to her, rather than to them. They selected her because they expected her to be incompetent … and expendable. After some soul-searching, Phoebe comes to understand that through her unexpected success as a pirate captain, she has earned their trust and respect, and that she trusts and respects them as well. And in the case of one particular officer, she has also found the beginnings of love.
If you have any feedback for me, please leave a comment.
(Writing is easy. You just stare at a blank screen until the blood drops form on your forehead...)
Labels: NaNoAngst
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Something In The Air
Obviously, my feelings of writerly despair yesterday were due to something in the air, or some phase of the moon or alignment in the stars, because elanurel was having the same problem. So she and I have resolved that we do not write crap, and we are in fact feeling better about life today.
Running away now. Really.
Running away now. Really.
Labels: NaNoAngst
Friday, February 09, 2007
Bummed
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.
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
Friday, December 15, 2006
Maybe I'm Just Weird
Just saw a posting over on the wrimobuddies group on LJ, from someone who hasn't touched their story since the end of November, and was wondering if she was the only one. Apparently, she's not -- several other people have posted to say the same thing.
So maybe I'm the weird one. Maybe I'm the only one who was so obsessed with her story that she just keeps on writing and writing it ...
I only have five more days until my self-imposed deadline of Dec. 20. After that, I'm gonna be way too busy to do much writing.
Can I possibly finish?
I think this Sunday's free, except for holiday shopping ....
BTW, my word count topped 92,000 this morning. Maybe I could be a novelist after all? Who knew? Everything else I've ever written has taken me years to get this far!
So maybe I'm the weird one. Maybe I'm the only one who was so obsessed with her story that she just keeps on writing and writing it ...
I only have five more days until my self-imposed deadline of Dec. 20. After that, I'm gonna be way too busy to do much writing.
Can I possibly finish?
I think this Sunday's free, except for holiday shopping ....
BTW, my word count topped 92,000 this morning. Maybe I could be a novelist after all? Who knew? Everything else I've ever written has taken me years to get this far!
Labels: NaNoAngst, NaNoObsessing
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Progress, progress...
700 words before work this morning. 2000 last night. Hopefully, I can get something done at lunchtime today (yesterday I ended up going out to lunch with one of my co-workers, so no writing then).
I THINK I can I THINK I can!!!!
I THINK I can I THINK I can!!!!
Labels: NaNoAngst
Friday, November 17, 2006
This doesn't make sense...
So how come I can spew out 720 words in 35 minutes during my lunch break at work (and good, sharp, witty, well-honed words, too), but when I go home, it takes me three hours to do that many (and they're slow, plodding, and uninspired to boot)? Augh!
If I could just arrange to have a two hour lunch every day, I'd be done by now!
Current word count: 27,476
Looking to hit 30,000 by tomorrow.
Go me!
If I could just arrange to have a two hour lunch every day, I'd be done by now!
Current word count: 27,476
Looking to hit 30,000 by tomorrow.
Go me!
Labels: NaNoAngst
