Oh so that's what's wrong...

My RWA chapter had a workshop with Alicia Rasley yesterday. And it was GREAT!

She spoke about plotting. And at first I felt squeamish because well... I'm a pantser and I don't do a lot of preliminary plotting.

But by the end of the day, I had eleven pages of notes with tons of starred items referring to my wip. And I felt like I had been slapped by a category five hurricane (we're a coastal town).

Alicia talked about "acts" and three vs. four act plots and scenes and the basic components of scenes which are the basic components of acts which are the basic components of books.

At first, in my wee little brain I thought, "I don't do acts and all that. I just write." And what I learned is that I was WRONG. I write in three acts. At least up until now I have been and I never realized it. And I even use the blooming scene structures she gave, but didn't realize it. And the few scenes that are still bothering me in my wip, well they don't have any of the important components of a scene and that's why they're bothering me!

By the end of the six hour workshop (that included our lunch time), I was sitting, staring at Ms. Rasley with a gaping mouth, thinking... "Why couldn't you have come into my life sooner?"

Maybe I'm the only person for whom some of this is new. I'd heard some of the terms before, but I hadn't ever had it all drawn out for me. I promise to share some of what I learned, right after I get my head straightened out enough to be able to put it all into focus for myself and apply it to my wip.

Boy am I glad I didn't cop out going. I came soooooo close. Hubby was away Friday night and Buckley thought that meant he had to be a real guard dog. So every time he heard a noise in the night, he attacked! I got a total of three hours sleep, so when the alarm clock went off at 5:45, I considered going back to sleep. Gosh I'm glad I didn't!

So am I the only one for whom some of this is new?

April

The Green Monster...

Seems my current hero was none too happy to discover my thoughts were on "another" guy. Oops. He feels I should finish his story and get him out of the mess I'm about to throw him into before giving any thought to someone who won't even tell me his name.

Yeah, he has an ego a mile wide. But he can back it up too, so you gotta love that.

In an effort to reassure him that I am in fact thinking about him and working very hard on completing his story, (nearly 2000 words done last night!) I thought I'd share his pic too. (It's also a great excuse to post another picture:-))

Meet Riley:



Maybe he'll quit brooding now :-)

April

Chapter1Thirddraft...

That's the file name of my wip. I took special notice of it today as I opened it. It says a lot. It says I started off thinking it would be a temporary file because I named it Chapter1. And it says that I had to start it off a couple of times. Now there are two other Chapter1 drafts floating around on my hard drive.

And I thought, why haven't I renamed it? Easy, because then I would never find it, cause I would forget what I named it. Even though the wip does have a working title. But then I decided I like this name. It says... This is a Work In Progress. It is not done, it is not refined, it's a draft and it's the third after two failed attempts, so I'm not perfect and that's okay.

In other news: I'm having intrusion problems. Read: I have another story idea that is flicking me in the head. And the hero is already here and ready. Gosh, I still have to finish my Chapter1Thirddraft. So, I thought I'd introduce everyone to him while he waits. Oh yeah, he hasn't shared his name yet...



Doesn't he look woebegone? Can anyone keep him busy and out of my hair until I get to him? :-)

April

PS He's also the guy in the pic two posts ago! :-)

The Debacle...

My family is in real estate. And real estate can be a very dangerous job. For one, people have a false notion that realtors are wealthy. And second, we go to vacant homes with strangers. So, we are a safety conscious bunch. Lots of safety protocols in the real estate industry. One of those is telling someone when you expect to be back from an appointment. Then if you're not, that person tracks you down or calls out the National Guard to find you.

So, a family member of mine went to a listing appointment tonight at 6:30PM and told her hubby she'd be home by 8:30 for dinner. So, when she didn't show or call and didn't answer his calls by 9:30, he called me.

I did what any loved one would do... Broke into her email, found the address of the listing appointment, grabbed hubby and jumped in the car.

On the way, hubby asks, "What are we going to do when we get there?"

And I reply, "Sneak around. If the windows are open maybe we can see that everything is fine. If not, I'll go up to the door and tell them I'm lost." (the home was out a ways from town)

And he said, "No you won't!"

And I said, "Ok, you can go up to the door and tell them you're lost."

And he said, "No I won't! We're going to call the police!"

To which I replied, "yeah, she would love that! 'Uh, Mr. Seller, please forgive my family for calling the cops on you because I was late for dinner. Really, we're not nuts. Would you like to list your home with me?' "

Then, my husband who has NEVER picked up a gun said, "We should have brought a gun."

Shaking my head, I replied, "And gotten arrested when we get pulled over for speeding because my dash doesn't lock." (gotta have a license to carry it concealed if it's not locked away in the car.)

I could practically see the light bulb go off over his head. "We could have put it in the fire box we have for our documents and brought the fire box."

Ignoring that said firebox is really heavy, I focused on the important issue and with a shocked expression, said, "And who is going to do the shooting?"

"You!" he responded. "I don't know how to use those things."

"Great, so carrying a concealed weapon isn't enough. Now you want me up on murder charges?"

He reasoned, "Hey you're the one running around at 9:30 at night sneaking around people's houses to see if your sister's listing is going ok." And why that sounded like perfect reasoning to me, I'll never know.

A few minutes later, we got the call that she was fine, just didn't hear her phone ringing and had gotten so caught up in conversation she hadn't realized how late it was.

Remind you of a bad Cagney and Lacy episode or what?


April

Progress...

Progress is a relative term. For some it means their word count goes down, because they have edited out "not so good" stuff. For some, it is being able to write "The End". Congratulations, Cole!

For me, it meant finally getting my heroes pants off. Finally! Well, and adding to my word count. Of course later "progress" might reduce that word count. But for now, my progress includes it going up.

And since I've made progress, I'm giving a reward. Here it is:

(sorry for the black line. It's meant to be a center spread in a magazine)

So, what has "progress" been for you lately?

April

Going to Class...

Some of you may recall my mentioning a whiole back that I would be teaming up with another member of my RWA chapter to oversee the online classes our chapter puts on. Well, June is the first official month of our endeavor together. And LOOK at what class we have. Was this kismet or what?

June 2006 -- HOW TO PITCH YOUR BOOK TO EDITORS AND AGENTS
Instructor: Su Wright
Registration Deadline: May 25, 2005
Course description: 4 Week Workshop -- Tues - Thurs, June 7 - 30.
Instructor bio: Su Wright remembers when she first began "pitching" her novels and knows the face of rejection. From those early pitches, she's learned how to do it right - in the past year she's pitched to agents and editors - and all have asked to see either a partial or complete manuscript. She is in the process of sending partials to agents. Su is a freelance travel writer. She's been a newspaper reporter/photographer/editor, has researched numerous Fodor travel guidebooks, and written book reviews. She teaches writing classes through the University of Colorado-Boulder's continuing education department. She writes mysteries and romantic suspense novels as well as screenplays.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
Now that you've finished your manuscript, this course will teach you how to pitch your novel to editors and/or agents at writer's conferences. We'll cover how to write a pitch and tips for the face-to-face meeting. You will have a chance to try your hand at writing your pitch and get instructor feedback to polish it.

The course includes "lectures" with corresponding homework to help you develop your pitch material:
Introductions
Lesson 1 Purpose of pitch
Lesson 2 What’s your book about
Lesson 3 Characters
Lesson 4 Goal-Motivation-Conflict
Lesson 5 Logline
Lesson 6 Paragraph
Lesson 7 About You (the author); Appointment Etiquette
Lesson 8 Wrap Up

If any of you want more info, you can visit our website at www.lowcountryrwa.com. Or email us at LRWAonline at yahoo dot com. Or you can email me via this blog.

I have been so busy I hadn't really looked at what was going on for June. When I saw what the class was, I thought... Wow, I really need that right now. Obviously :-). I hope everyone else is getting loads of writing done. I'm headed to do that now. I've got to put my hero out of his misery!

April

Time Out...

Thank you, everyone who chimed in with advice. I plan to review your comments over and over during the next two months :-). With all of the excitement over getting my appointments and the thought of pitching, I completely allowed myself to get side tracked from my writing. As a result, "that" scene I started a few days ago, making my hero very happy... Well, I left him stuck in the middle. Oops.

So, I've decided to put aside my excitement for a few days and jump back into writing. Not to mention, I got an email from my cp and it said, "So when do I get the next few chapters?" And I thought... "Oh crap. I knew I was supposed to be doing something!" :-)

In the meantime, I have these guys to keep me company. You can only watch them from 7AM to 7PM. But they're so cute, you have to pop in on them sometime. I know they aren't my usual treat, but I'll work on one of those for when I finish this chapter. Unless writing it kills me first!

How's your writing going? Am I the only one getting no where?

April

Editors and Agents...

So, the national conference is in, oh... say... two months. TWO MONTHS! And yesterday appointments to meet with editors and agents were opened up to Pros. Which would include me.

(Side note: for those of you not in the know, mainly my friends, who are thinking... holy moly, did she get published and not tell me; No, Pro is an RWA designation for those of us who have completed a manuscript and are seeking to sell it. Not everyone in RWA has done that and so they have a designation if you do. So that in instances such as editor and agent appointments, they can offer people who have a completed work earlier dibs on the appointments. Because even though you're not supposed to sign up if you don't have something complete, people do. Published authors are part of the PAN or Published Authors Network)

So I nervously logged on yesterday morning, for my very first ever attempt at getting an appointment. I had heard that it can be a real ordeal. And I was pleasantly surprised. There were quite a few spots left. I got an appointment with both an agent and an editor. And now... I think I may be sick.

Because now I have to pitch. I don't know how to pitch. I studied advertising and I still don't know how to pitch. How sad is that? I called a friend and asked if I could practice on her and she said, "Sure, wanna come over tonight?" And I replied, "Uh... No. I have to think of what I'm gonna say first. What am I gonna say?"

So, in the middle of trying to finish this blooming book, a whole new ordeal arises. How in the world am I going to pitch? Any and all advice and input is welcome... ok, it's begged for! :-)

April

Happy...

Mother's Day and Anniversary.

First, I want to wish a happy mother's day to my wonderful mother. She's one of the most amazing people I've ever known. Things certainly haven't always been easy for her, but she's always given me all of the love and support I could ever want or need. Without her, I wouldn't have the courage to seek out my dreams. Without her, I wouldn't be secure enough to risk giving my heart to another person. Without her, I would be lost. I love her beyond all reason.

Second, I want to say happy anniversary to my hubby. On this day, last year, we were getting hitched. And we had a ball. This year has been full of lots of lessons and even more fun. To some, our wedding was long over due. We had dated for eleven and a half years, after all. In fact, when we selected Etta James' At Last as our first dance song, we hadn't taken the title and chorus into mind. We just like her and her music and the song is lovely. The music began and everyone was silent, then when the first two words came out and were "At Last..." the room broke out in laughter.

But we got married when we were ready and not a day before. And it's been one of the best things to ever happen to me. My hubby is my best friend. He's been there for me through the trauma of loosing my father and he's been there through all of the highs too. No matter what ideas my crazy mind conjures up, he supports me fully and even thinks I'm cute for my nuttiness.

So, today I celebrate two people I love dearly. How blessed I am!

April

PS Who would have guessed that year old wedding cake is REALLY good!

Ebb and Flow...

For two nights last week I got 1000 words a night written. Which is big for me! But then, for the past two nights, I haven't gotten any done. Blah...

I'm chocking it up to plain old being tired and lazy. But tonight, I hope to make up for at least some of that. We'll see.

There hasn't been too much to do this weekend. Some last minute mother's day arrangements and hubby worked in the yard. One big thing did happen... I have my first mosquito bite of the season. Got it less than 30 minutes ago. Bugger! Although I should be thankful because I've seen them buzzing around for a while now and have avoided a bite until today. You see, I am an official mosquito magnet.

Once when I was in kid, I was in gym class and a friend looked at my legs and asked, "You got chicken pox?" Nope, I had a yard full of mosquitoes much like the rest of our area.

I've been trying to convince hubby we need to screen in the area under our second story porch. That way I would have somewhere to go and stick my tongue out at the little pests!

Well, I'll have to make sure Buckley has a large supply of heartworm pills and we get some bug spray. We've thought of buying one of those expensive mosquito machines, like the propane thing. But I'm not convinced they work. Anyone know any or used any? Want to share an opinion?

April