Revisiting the Past…Outlining

I was going through my old posts and found some from two years ago!  I can’t believe it’s been that long. I remember how helpful these were for me when I first started writing. After revising a hundred times (okay, I’m exaggerating), they’re a lifesaver.

Also, if you want to copy and use them, feel free to do so.  Click for the original posts for the character grid and character sheets and a blankcharacter grid.

MORE OUTLINING

Tonight I actually had time to sit down and work on my book, but instead of actual writing, I outlined chapter four.  I wasn’t quite sure how I wanted it to go, so after writing it out, I finally got it figured out.  I’m doing something a bit different than before.  When I first started writing, I pretty much outlined the entire book, which was really great.  It gave me an idea of what direction I wanted to go in.  Along the way, my outline changed a bit here and there.  I also outlined by scene rather than chapter.

Now, I’m outlining by chapter.  Since I have the original, rough, rough draft written, it’s easier to break it up into chapters. Also, I’m now outlining by chapter as I write rather than planning out the entire book ahead of time. I guess I’m doing it this way since I’ve already outlined the entire book and have the rough draft sitting in front of me.  It just seems kind of redundant to do that again.

Since I am changing a lot of things, though, I find that I still need some sort of an outline–something I can go by to get my thoughts in order.  So, I basically write out an entire page (by hand)  of what I want to see happen, and then I turn that into an actual 15-20 page (or more!) typed chapter in my draft.  This method is working out well for me–write a chapter then plan a chapter.

I also made up character sheets.  Since I don’t write an entire chapter all in one sitting, I’d find that I would have to go back to check on things–what the character was wearing, what scent of perfume, what color was her hair this time???  Earrings???  Rather than go back through the draft and search for the information, it’s now righ at my fingertips.   I have the Character Description Sheet where Iwrite down all the information about my character. That sheet goes on top.

Once I have that filled out, I then have the Add-On sheet that I paperclip behind my Character Description Sheet.  I just add info as needed to this sheet. I can put four different descriptions (of the same character) on this sheet.  It makes organizing my characters much easier.

Lastly, I borrowed Kim Harrison’s idea of a character grid and made my own. You’ll see that the story line is definitely not mine.  I just used that to show you how the grid is used.  It’s an Excel grid and is very good for placing characters. You can look right at the grid and know what’s happening in a book without having to search for it. You can tell right away if a character is in the book too much or not enough.  And, you can add clues in for future books and know right where the clue is for future reference when needed, again without having to read the entire book to find it.

And finally, here is a copy of a blank grid. Happy writing!

An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse

As you know, I’ve been working from home for the past few years plus working part-time at the hospital.  I’ve loved working from home, but now that the girls are getting older they don’t need me at home all the time. Also, there’s the whole benefits issue.

The lady who replaced me when I went down to prn quit last week.  When I was at work yesterday, I made mention that I’ve thought about coming back full-time, but I really like the flexibility of working from home, I don’t want to work a 40-hour week (I’m currently doing 60 hour weeks and am tired, dammit), blah blah.  My supervisor asked me what I want. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: What’s considered full-time? 35 hours?

S: Actually, 32 hours and you get full benefits. Even though the job is for 40 hours, for you we’ll do 32 if you want.

Me: Really? 32 hours? Hmm…what about my schedule?

S: Make one up.

Me: So, like, I could work Monday through Thursday and have Fridays off?

S: Sure.

Me: What if I need to change it later on?

S: That’s fine.

Me: Well, hell. You’re making it so I can’t refuse.

S: Yep.  When do you want to start?

So…starting April 29th I will be back at my job full-time with a schedule I came up with on my own, and if I need to change it later, I can. In fact–I will be changing it once the girls are out of school. Am I lucky or what?

Then, I started blogging. It was the accumulation of all of my dreams come true.

Reblogged from Bucket List Publications:

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For the last two months, I've been posting about The Biggest, Baddest Bucket List contest; after all, no contest exists that is more fitting for Bucket List Publications. Following my dreams of traveling and experiencing life to the fullest has taught me that the world is full of endless possibilities and Bucket List Publications is the accumulation of all of my wildest dreams come true. 

Read more… 1,246 more words

I only wish I could travel as much as Lesley does. I love her comment, "The more unrealistic I am with my dreams and goals, the more I’m able to achieve." Isn't that what we all want? To achieve our dreams and goals? Vote for Lesley, and hopefully she'll win her bucket list!

First The Pitch, Now The Synopsis…A Recap

A couple days ago I reposted info about pitching your story and Brenda Drake’s Twitter pitch party!

Now that you have your 140-character pitch ready, you might want to get a synopsis ready in case you’re one of the lucky few who gets asked for it.

So….I’m reposting  some suggestions I’d learned from the Chicago Writer’s Conference last year. If you’re wanting to participate in the Twitter pitch, Brenda also has a thread for critiquing your pitches. More info is on her site at the link above.

Good luck!

All right, if you get to the point of the synopsis, that means someone is interested in your work. The synopsis is the selling tool for an agent or an editor, so it has to SHINE.  Before you starting writing the synopsis, the first step is to DO YOUR HOMEWORK. There’s that statement again–do your homework.  Check the specific agents and/or editors websites to see how many pages the synopsis should be. Some of them specify one page or no more than five pages. Some of them want it double-spaced, others single-spaced. Don’t shoot your chances right from the start because you have the synopsis wrong.

What if there are no guidelines and they just ask for a brief synopsis? In that case, make it 2-3 pages.

When typing the synopsis, use Times New Roman 12-point font, 1-inch margins.  If it’s one page, then single space with double spaces between paragraphs. If it’s more, double space.  This site  is good for showing how to format the synopsis, query, and masterpiece.  Rather than retype it all here, you can check it out there.

As far as what to put in the synopsis, at the Chicago Conference Laurie Brown listed these  things:  Keep in mind this is for a romance novel–you can adjust it for your genre of novel.

1. Goal, motivation, conflict (protagonist); internal conflict; what she wants, why she can’t get it.

2. GMC of hero; internal conflict.

3. The meet. How do they meet. How is it exemplified?

4. Stuff happens in middle. Relate back to the relationship.

5. Things change. Feelings start to change because______.

6. The dark moment. What happens that convinces them they can never be together.

7. What they’ve learned and how they change so they can have a relationship.

Since I’m writing a fantasy novel, I wouldn’t follow this format completely since mine is more about her growth as a character and her relationships with others around her.

Rather, mine would be:

1. GMC of protagonist.

2. GMC of hero.

3. GMC of villian.

4. How does protagonist and hero meet?

5.  Stuff happens in the middle.

6.  The dark moments.

7. How protagonist has changed.

Blast From The Past…On Pitching!

Last year at about this time I went to the Chicago Writer’s Conference and learned a ton. I also met an awesome writer, Victoria Smith. I decided to repost what I’d learned for y’all.

Also, on March 29th Brenda Drake is having a twitter pitch party! So get your 140-character pitches ready for numerous agents!

And, to get you guys psyched for the pitch party, here’s some advice on pitching. Granted, this is more for a face-to-face pitch, but there is a line or two about the “elevator pitch” which is essentially what the twitter pitch is.

Pitching your story is, in a word, scary. It’s also nerve-wracking. If you’re lucky, you have an actual appointment to pitch. If not, you only have a minute or maybe less. So….if you get in the position to pitch your story to an agent or editor, here are some tips from Carrie Lofty, the Pitch Witch.  These tips are more if you have a very short amount of time.

1. First off, be natural. Try not to be nervous. (Yeah, right. That’s about impossible.) Make eye contact.

2. Have a good attitude. Be confident. Don’t beg for them to please,please, please accept your story. Don’t act like a whipped puppy.

3. Don’t read from a script. If you need notecards or an outline so you don’t forget what you want to say, that’s fine. But don’t read word-for-word from a script. Keep it natural. If you know your story inside and out, this shouldn’t be a problem.

4. Lead with the basics: Title, genre, word count, and basic premise.

5. Use two adjectives to describe the story, i.e. sexy and sinful; snarky and humorous, dark and edgy.

6. Your pitch, not including the information above, should be 50-70 words long. Yes, it’s hard to describe your 400 page masterpiece in 70 words.  Describe the heroine (or hero), progression, conflict (goal, motivation, conflict). Reflect tone of the work.  Keep it third-person present and don’t use character names.  Don’t use any cliches or blurb-speak (what you see on the back of the book).  Your first line has to be catchy so they’ll want to listen.  Tell them something about your book that makes it different from others.  Lead with the word “when” or have it in the first line of your pitch.

7. Some editors and agents don’t want you coming in with a rehearsed pitch. They want you to be able to walk in and sell your story. They may also have questions such as, “What are you bringing to this story that is different from what’s already out there?”  Another question might be, “How does this story fit our line?” Be prepared to answer questions. If you have an actual, sit down pitch appointment chances are good your actual pitch might only be a couple of minutes. The rest of the time might be spent talking about other things, like movies, favorite authors, actors, and whatnot.

8.  Elevator pitches are even harder because you only have seconds to do your pitch. In this case, keep it about 30 words long. Don’t worry about titles, genre, or word count. Just go straight into the pitch. One tip–make business cards and print your 30-word pitch on the back of the card.

All right, now get your pitches ready!

The Opening Line and First 250 Words

What is the first line of your book?

Does it draw the reader in? Give an idea on your character’s character? If someone had to choose a book based solely on the first line, would that someone choose yours?

I spent some time this week working on my opening line, making sure if drew the reader in and gave insight into my character’s attitude.

How many times have you stood at the bookstore or library and read the first page to decide if that particular book would be worth your while? I’ve done it many times. However, I seemed to forget that. So…today I worked on the first 250 words, which equals out to about the first  page of the book. I realized my first 250 ended without leaving much desire to find out what happened next, so I changed it up.  I had to rearrange a few things, but I think I’ve got it now.

How about you?  What does your first line describe? Does the first page make you hungry for more?

Change For The Better

A few nights ago I finally, finally had time to work on my WIP. Sometime in November was the last time I was actually able to work on it.  It’s a good thing I don’t have a deadline.

I completely redid chapter 1. And I like it, a lot. In the first paragraph you get a sense of what Tora is like. I then took part of chapter 3 and integrated it into chapter 1, so you meet another key character right away rather than a couple of chapters later. It makes for a much faster beginning, I’ll say.

Chapters 2 and 3 will have some tweaks and then the rest of the WIP will essentially stay the same.

Why is it I keep changing chapters 1, 2, and 3? What is it about those chapters that are the hardest to write?

I hope this is the last rewrite. I feel like I’ve written 10 books with as many times I’ve rewritten this one.

And once I’m finally done?

I get to start on book 2! Yay!

I hope to God book 2 won’t take me two and a half years to write.