Tag Archives: Fiction

Lesson Twenty-Two from a Manuscript Red Line: Does your Protagonist “Grow Enough?”

Posted on January 2, 2012 | 10 comments

 

In the closing comments of the Gold Mine Manuscript, the Publisher who red-lined it noted that the MC didn’t “Grow enough”.

For an intro into where these tips are coming from, please see my post: A Full Manuscript Rejection, or a Gold Mine?  You can also click “Rant Worthy Topics” in my right navigation bar.  Choose “Gold Mine Manuscript” to see all the lessons to date.

They said the main character does not have a struggle in the story that pulls him from one state of being to another.  They thought he was pretty much the same at the end of the novel as he was in the beginning.

I’m not really sure I completely agree about this comment.  I saw little changes in the character throughout the novel.  I suppose the problem was the presentation of the final scene.  The author wound down from a big action scene very well, and in the end, the MC is relaxing and thinking.

I am just guessing here, but maybe the Main Character’s thoughts should have reflected HOW he is changed.  Maybe he should be thinking:  “Wow, I was such a stuck up prude, and the world used to revolve around me, and now I just put my life on the line and fought an army and stood up for myself to protect a whole kingdom!”

Okay, that was really bad, but do you get my meaning?  Again, this is totally a guess, but this publisher is looking for “the change”… What happens to the MC along the journey that makes him or her a better person?  This, again, brings me back to my own novel (and you should be thinking about yours)

Does Magellan change?  Well, yes.

  • He starts out confident,
  • Gets ripped away from his family, get unconfident.
  • He gets the approval of the King, gets confident,
  • He leaves the King’s house, gets picked on all the time, and gets unconfident again
  • Finally, in the end, he steps up to the plate, and proves his worth in the climax.

However—does he think about this in the closing scene?  Well, no, he doesn’t.  But… in the last few lines there is another change that slaps the reader in the face with an “Oh my Gosh!”

My overall change, like in the Gold Mine Manuscript, happens during the climax.  Then there is this little hook after the wind-down in the last paragraph, which could be considered an epiphany.  It includes another change, and then a “no way!”  Is this going to fly in the publisher’s opinion?  Dunno.

I changed my ending a lot in the last year to make sure Magellan changes.  I had him fall in love, I had him not be in love, I had him flat, I dealt with amnesia, I had him accept who he was, I had him outright refuse to be the factotum… yikes what I put this kid though!

Admittedly in the first draft, he really didn’t change at all… at least on the inside.  I didn’t know this was a pre-requisite for story-writing.  Now, I think the change is there.  At least, I THINK THAT’S WHAT I WROTE (Go back and read that post if you don’t remember it)

I hope my stab at an exciting last page didn’t “blow it” but I guess that’s for the publishers to decide.

What about yours?

Jennifer Eaton

10 Comments

Posted in General Writing Tips, Gold Mine Manuscript

Tagged , , , ,

Lesson Twenty from a Manuscript Red Line: Don’t make things so easy

Posted on December 12, 2011 | 9 comments

For an intro into where these tips are coming from, please see my post: A Full Manuscript Rejection, or a Gold Mine?  You can also click “Rant Worthy Topics” in my right navigation bar.  Choose “Gold Mine Manuscript” to see all the lessons to date.

In the Gold Mine Manuscript, there is a point where the MC is thrust into the magical world.  He has been there for a few days, and suddenly he is faced with an animal that can speak to him through their minds.

In concept, this is fine.  However, the publisher red-lined that the MC was “too accepting” of this.  The MC just jumped in and said “okay, no problem” – well, he didn’t say it that way, but he jumped right on board.

The publisher said that it would be okay for the characters who were born into this world to be fine with this, but the MC should not accept so easily.  A few paragraphs later, the MC also tells his friend  that there’s nothing to be afraid of, and that he’s harmless… they red-lined that too.

Think of it this way… if you ran into a guy in the street, and just started talking to him for a few minutes, would you be willing to risk your life, and your best friend’s life in trusting this person, or would you be a little wary?  Now make this person a really large mythical animal.  Getting nervous yet?

Be careful that you don’t put your own knowledge into your character’s heads before that knowledge is learned.  You as the author know there is nothing to fear, but to make it realistic, your character’s “trust” needs to be earned to a degree.  Let relationships develop so they seem more natural and believable.  Don’t take the easy way out to move your story ahead more quickly.

Think over your novel.  Have you done anything like this?

Jennifer Eaton

9 Comments

Posted in General Writing Tips, Gold Mine Manuscript

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Versatile Blogger Award

Posted on December 3, 2011 | 23 comments

I’ve been given a Versatile Blogger Award

Wow, my first award.  How cool.

The Versatile Blogger Award is a means for bloggers to support each other, and recognize great, versatile, and helpful blogs.

Last week, I was added to the list by Derek Berry of Word Salad.  Derek Blogs about different kinds of lettuce, and the best dressings to go with them.  Well, not really… but just give him time.  He’ll get to it.  Please check out his site.  And thanks, Derek for choosing me!

I don’t know how versatile I am.  I’m mainly writing to help others… it’s just in my nature.  I’m all warm and fuzzy that this blog has caught on so quickly, and I have so many followers.  It’s kind of humbling… Thanks, guys.

So, the details:  In accepting this Grand Honor, I need to do a few things.

#1:  I need to nominate 15 other blogs for this dubious honor.  (And let them know they were chosen)

#2:  I need to expose share 7 facts that most people don’t know about me.  Yikes.

I really want to think over those 15 Blog sites.  A few of them are no-brainers… the ones I enjoy and hop to frequently.  I’m trying to figure out if I have 15 great ones, though.  I don’t want to pick just anyone.  I want to think over the really good ones. (Sorry, I’m anal that way)

Hmmmmm.  I guess let’s start with me…

1.        I own a show dog that’s worth more than most people’s first cars.  Pretty weird for me since up until 8 months or so ago I was a sworn “Pound Dog” person.

2.        I love to play with my kids.  Especially in public.  Only a parent can get away with running through a field pretending to be an air-plane, or can go to one of those Blow-Up Jump Zone places, and scale up the walls and go down those giant slides, or jump around in a bounce-house.  I feel sorry for all those parents that just sit there and watch.  PLAY WITH YOUR KIDS.  What, are you afraid of what you look like?  Who cares!  Have fun!  Before you know it, they’ll be seventeen and not want anything to do with you!

3.        I graduated in the top 5 of my High School class (I think, it was a long time ago) and I graduated with Honors from College (English, Communications, and Mass Media)  Yeah, I’m a word geek.

4.        My hobbies are Swimming, Hiking, and Writing.  Nothing’s more relaxing than a hike through the woods.  The other day, my kids and I found a dinosaur nest!  You’ll never know where your imagination can bring you in the wilderness.

5.        I used to paint Animation Cells (Like in the Disney Store) but I haven’t picked up a paintbrush in 11 years, since my first son was born.

6.        I hate unnecessary cursing, in real life… and in novels.  The F-bomb is not an adjective, people!  I also hate it when people mess with the English Language.  Whoever put “ain’t” in the dictionary should be shot.

7.        I’m shy.  Yeah, really I am.  Well, maybe not totally shy.  I’m not afraid of people, I’m just the worst conversationalist in the world.  Problem is, there is no one in a 10 mile radius that has the same interests as me, so I’m helplessly lost when people start talking about football (or any other sport) or when they go on about how many different medications they are taking for this many ailments.  Ugh!  Now, Adjectives and Adverbs…THERE’s a fun conversation!  Heck, I’ll even talk about music if you like what I like (unlikely) or hiking.   Anything FUN.  Absolutely no-one wants to talk about writing.  Thanks goodness for my writer’s group! (Which I have to drive a half-hour to get to—Ugh)

Well, there you go.  I expounded a little, so you learned more than you probably wanted to know.  I should have made it short and sweet, but hey, I’m a rebel.  I used to have pink hair.  OOPS!  Now you know eight things!

Okay, now the 15 Versatile Blogger Nominees.  Some of these people may have been nominated before.  I didn’t research.  These are just my favorites.  A few of them are professionals, so maybe they shouldn’t be included… but their blogs are so cotton-picking good that I couldn’t help but mention them.

My Versatile Blogger Choices

1.        Nathan Bransford-This is the first site I found, and what a GREAT resource for writers.  If you have not been there, stop now and shoot over.  I found all my current beta-partners there.  It’s a great, friendly group of writers.  I unfortunately have not been there in a few months.  Time constraints and all, but I can always find something interesting in the forums. Although I have not navigated there, I read his blog (it’s emailed to me) all the time.

2.        Brenda Drake-I love her site.  She always has great contests, and she fashions them to make you branch out and read other blogs.  Nicely done, Brenda.

3.        Natalie Hartford:  I came across Natalie through Row80.  I really enjoy her end of the week reviews of great stuff that’s happened in other people’s blogs.  With my schedule, it’s easy to miss the “good stuff”.  I can trust Natalie to let me know where it is. (and I’m always tickled when I’m included in her line-up)

4.        Liza Kane-Nice, down to earth writing.  She is very sincere, and always a nice read.  If you’re having a bad day, click on over and read Liza.  She’s better than aspirin.

5.        Jenny Keller Ford-[[DISCLAIMER-She is one of my Beta Partners]]- but reading her blog pushed me to start my own.  She also has great links to many writers’ Web Sites in her navigation bars.  She is about to hit 10,000 reads, which blows my mind.

6.        Gina Carey-Gina is an aspiring author who blogs about whatever comes to mind.  She is very open, and I like her unassuming, “real” writing style.  She is a new blogger… She’s only been around for about four months but she digs in like a pro.

7.        Kristina Stanley– Here’s a lady who can keep a focus.  She’s out on a sailboat in the middle of the ocean for months, and manages to stop at a port once in a while to blog.  She has a dog on board with her, which I find amazing.  I wish I could take off for months at a time.  Can you imagine writing your novel out in the middle of the ocean?  If you like writing and boats, check out “Writing and Cruising Lifestyle”

8.        Kait Nolan-I love Kait’s header.  It’s what we all want when we can afford professional artwork.  Kait mixes personal life with some anecdotes we can all relate to as writers.  She also has a novel out there right now, and I love it when she gets excited when she gets a great review.

9.        Row80-This is actually also Kait Nolan.  Kait created Row80… and what a great idea!  I for one, am not an avid fan of NANO.  Row 80 lets you make your own goals, and then you are accountable to other “Rowers”.  Just making me write down my goals weekly has pushed me to “get it done”.   And I also have found some other great writers out there, and doubled the number of blogs I follow.  Kudos, Kait!

10.     Robin Weeks-I met Robin (in the cyber-world) a week after I started Blogging.  She was the only one who commented on my first contest entry.  She’s very nice, and likes to help other writers.  Also, like me, she’s never met a contest she didn’t like.  She’s also brave enough to post pictures of herself when she has the flu.  Yikes!

11.     Kristen Lamb – I love her sense of humor.  She has a lot of great stuff in her blog, and she presents it in a way that anyone can relate to… and she’s published, so she has credentials behind her.  Kudos to her for not turning the other cheek and moving on.  She is still blogging for us all to enjoy.

12.     Marji Laine:  I like Marji’s outlook, and openness about things people are afraid to talk about.  Her blog is nice, especially the pictures she digs up for each post.  It really brings her words alive.  Kudos, Marji!

13.     Rachelle Gardner-This blog is especially great because she’s an agent.  Who better to take advice from than your target audience?  I love her post on what not to do when you’re querying.—a subject dear to my heart right now as I’m trudging through my own.  This is a blog I read all the time.

14.     Gloria Richard-Gloria is a hoot.  If you read the comments on my blog, you’ll see Gloria here all the time.  She’s lively and fun, and she has great posts on her blog to help people struggling through the evasive worlds of Twitter and Facebook and stuff like that.  I’m all about words, but marketing?  Thanks, Gloria… I’ll take all the help I can get.

15.     Jane Friedman – Advice on just about anything.  She’s a professor and speaker (so says her blog) and it shows.  A lot of great info to dig your teeth into.

Well, there you have it… my fifteen nominees.  Please take some time and visit the ones that you haven’t been to before.  These are all great writers, and worth the “click”

And thanks for following along with me here!

Jennifer Eaton

23 Comments

Posted in General Writing Tips, Senseless Ranting

Tagged , , , , ,

Lesson Eighteen from a Manuscript Red Line:What makes your story Unique?

Posted on November 29, 2011 | 9 comments

For an intro into where these tips are coming from, please see my post: A Full Manuscript Rejection, or a Gold Mine?  You can also click “Rant Worthy Topics” in my right navigation bar.  Choose “Gold Mine Manuscript” to see all the lessons to date.

This one might be tough, and was the subject of a one-hour conversation between the author and I as we tried to figure out how to do it.

The Publisher said that the story reminded them of Percy Jackson, and the world seemed too much like the Lord of the Rings.  Their comment was that they understood that not all plots are unique, but they want their authors to take what is not unique, and make it unique. They wanted to know what the author could offer in this world that has not already been done, and “why were people on horses and not in cars” (since the story does not take place in the past)

Wow.  Tough one.

One of the things that initially drew me to this story was the very “typical” medieval fantasy world.  Knights on horses, Kings, Queens, a sorceress, and throw in a few faeries and a centaur for good measure.  Simplicity.  I really liked it.  I read another beta with a similar world, but he threw in these outrageous sci-fi-like creatures that they had to battle, which seemed very out-of genre to me, and ruined an otherwise GREAT story.  The Gold Mine Manuscript has a great plot and characters that I can relate to, and it is simple and enjoyable.

But… the publisher wants more.

The author has discussed a few ideas with me.  Some seem great.  Some make me cringe.  I’ve only read the “Act One” revise, so I have not seen too much of the fantasy world yet (Act One takes place in Tennessee)  I don’t know what the author is going to do.  I am holding my breath and biting my nails.  I have the utmost confidence in the author’s ability.  I just hope that the simple pure nature of the original story does not get lost in reaching for “uniqueness”

For the rest of us…

How do you know if you story is unique?  I think mine is, but I don’t really know.  I haven’t read anything like mine, but that doesn’t mean it’s not out there.

I might find a publisher who thinks my ancient flute buildings, next to old Renaissance architecture, next to newer modern buildings is weird.  Will I change it?  Dunno.  They might find it weird that my characters walk everywhere and don’t use cars, but they travel on space ships to other planets.  Will I change it?  I see no reason to.

There is nothing drastically bizarre about my setting.  Yes, it takes place in another galaxy, but the setting is not what my story is about.  It is about the characters and interpersonal relationships.  It is about a boy who has gads of magical power, but is so afraid of it, that he uses the power to erase his memory.  Unfortunately for him, he still needs to save the world.  I see no need to distract from my story by making it “freaky” so it seems “different”.

Is your story unique?

This is a tricky question.  You won’t really know until you get your manuscript into the hands of a publisher if your story is unique in their eyes.

All I can say is, good luck.

Jennifer Eaton

9 Comments

Posted in General Writing Tips, Gold Mine Manuscript

Tagged , , , , , , ,

ROW 80 Update for 11-27-2011

Posted on November 27, 2011 | 15 comments

For the first time, I can actually say I completed ALL MY GOALS for this week… probably because I only gave myself one really nasty one… just to make sure I did it.

#1:  I finished the ever-elusive “Matt” scene.  This is one of those “big bang” scenes that really needs to work and read well.  It was originally too long – almost 7,000 words.  Now it is trim and lean and cut to 850 words.  I took out all the detail that everyone was finding confusing, and went just for the action.  I think it works much better.

#2:  I wanted to put a big dent in Jennifer Hubbard’s THE SECRET YEAR.   I am happy to say that I finished it.  I am trying to decide if I should do some kind of review on it or not… especially since it is the first book that I’ve actually managed to read cover to cover and not start something else in a long time.  Thinking about it.

I’m going to leave it simple again this week, maily because I am so derned close to being done with my novel, and also, I own a toy store, and you can guess how busy my weekend was.

So, here it goes…

1.  Do one final read for flow and readability.

2.  Save the final draft as a “definitive vision” (Maybe even get a copy printed for myself)

3:  Go back and edit another 4,000 words (The part about Matt cutting his hair) — it’s not as stupid as it sounds, really it’s not.  I love this scene!

At the moment, I am down to 110,000 words.  I had a soft goal to get it down to 100,000.  After the edit above, I expect to be around 106,000 which is pretty close.  Can I cut 6,000?  Maybe, but I’m not sure I want to.  The “Matt’s Hair” scene is the last part in the novel that doesn’t directly push the plot forward.  I think if I cut anything else, it will definitely be lacking.

Happy Row-ing!

Jennifer Eaton

Related articles

15 Comments

Posted in Row 80

Tagged , , , , ,

A tough decision-Making a Big Change in your Novel

Posted on November 19, 2011 | 24 comments

I’m here.  Crunch time.  My novel is pretty much done.  I love everything about it.  Now it is time to make those big decisions that I’ve been putting off.

When I started writing this novel, Magellan was six years old.  I really loved the idea of a really young child being ripped away from his parents.  He lived with the King for four years before going to school at ten years old.  The problem was… huge jumps in time.  The King’s Residences are just “Act One”.  Act two has Magellan in school for several years.  Act Three is him coming home, and facing ??????  the climax.

My big problem is that Magellan is sixteen in act three.  That age is solid.  It can’t change.  The final section deals with a lot of more YA/adult content than Act One.  I had a Middle Grade beginning and a Young Adult ending.  Two very distinct genres.  Not good.

I toyed with the idea of cutting HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT into two novels.  There is a climax at the end of Act One/Beginning Act Two, but I couldn’t “summarize” what was going on.  Magellan didn’t “have to do anything” yet.  (Other than dodge the overly affectionate princess,  and stay alive while the homicidal prince keeps trying to kill him)

The first change I made was to “age up” Magellan to eight.  This left me with a two-year span in Act One.  Everything else stayed the same.  It still wasn’t working, though.  There were still time jumps in Act Two that I wasn’t quite comfortable with.  I was still struggling with the age question.

My challenge was to make Magellan more “marketable” to a YA audience in the beginning.  Eight wasn’t cutting it either.  So, I hunkered down.  I made the big decision.

Magellan is now Eleven when he is taken, and I have shortened my timeline.

I had to re-write a few segments to make him a little less weepy, but it flowed fine.  He now only spends a year in the Kings residences in Act One.  A year, I found, was plenty of time for him to become best friends with the younger price, have the princess fall in love with him, and make her older brother so mad he becomes homicidal.

This also fixed Act Two.  I no-longer need to quickly age Magellan a year as soon as he goes to school.  There is no longer a need for a time jump.  The first climax that sends him “on his way” can now happen in the first year.  He is thirteen. (Just turned thirteen—that’s two years older than in the first draft at this point)  That makes it easier for him to make the big decisions that he makes.  He is mature enough.  The age progression up to sixteen, then, feels natural as everything starts happening around him.

Now that I’ve done it, I am shaking my head.  Just changing his age, and narrowing my timeline, has filled so many holes.  It’s now more fluid.  It makes more sense.  Now, I finally have that “Omigosh, did I actually write this?” feeling.

I realize that most of you have never read HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT, but I am telling you this for two reasons:

#1 – to get it all straight in my head and

#2 – to let you know NOT TO BE AFRAID of the “big decision”.

If you are struggling with a possible change, and you “feel it in your gut” you are probably right.  I knew this needed to be done last year, but I fought against it.  Now that it is done, I want to smack myself.

Think over your novel.  What is bogging it down?  What are you clinging to that just might not work in the end?  Whatever it is… Make the Big Decision.

Good luck!

Jennifer Eaton

24 Comments

Posted in Author Advice, General Writing Tips

Tagged , , , ,

Lesson Fourteen from a Manuscript Red Line: Keeping inside the Point Of View, Part 2

Posted on November 7, 2011 | 11 comments

For an intro into where these tips are coming from, please see my post: A Full Manuscript Rejection, or a Gold Mine?  You can also look under “Rant Worthy Topics” in my right navigation bar.  Choose “Gold Mine Manuscript” to see all the lessons to date.

Lesson Thirteen talked about making sure we only see what the Point of View character can see.  We also have to worry about accidentally getting into the heads of other characters as we describe what the POV character is seeing.

It seems to happen most for me when I describe what another character in the scene is doing.

“Mike studied the sign on the wall.”

Is Mike the POV character? No?  Then how does the POV character know that he is studying it? He may just be looking in that direction but thinking of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Right?

Hold up your right hand and say:  forever more I will call this…

The publisher red-lined something very similar to this, and said that you need to show what the characters are doing by showing what the POV character sees them doing.  You cannot get into their heads, or assume what they are doing.

You might be able to fix something like this with “Mike stood in front of the sign on the wall, and scratched his head.”  This would work especially well if there was a little dialog afterwards that made it obvious he looked at it.  REMEMBER NOT TO SAY HE LOOKS AT IT.  (See my earlier post on “Write without Looking”)

Jennifer Eaton

Related articles

11 Comments

Posted in General Writing Tips, Gold Mine Manuscript

Tagged , , , , , ,

Row 80 Check-in 11-06-11

Posted on November 6, 2011 | 15 comments

I really don’t feel accomplished this week as far as writing goes.  There was just too much going on.  Soccer season is winding down, but Dog Training is starting, and my two youngest sons signed up for Wrestling…. There goes three hours on Tuesday, Three hours on Thursday, and an hour and a half on Wednesdays.  Saturdays are still shot with Soccer until Thanksgiving, and my oldest might be showing Chloe in a dog show in January, too, which means Show Training on top of basics.  Ugh.

I really want to finish HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT by the end of the year, but unless I take off from work to do it (which I might—I have the time) I’m not sure I will make it.

What I did get done, though, is decent… I just didn’t get to it all.

I went to the NJ Writers Q & A.  Check out my Blog post for Wednesday if you want to hear about it.  That was GREAT.  I was also pleased that a few of the authors stopped by my blog and posted. I also got a few personal emails from them.  Very nice.

I cut 1,687 words from my novel, and noted another 4,372 that I can cut – some inspired by my talks with the authors on Tuesday, and their emails afterwards.

For those of you who have done a beta-read… the scenes being cut are the two scenes in Harris’s mother’s POV (Mommy meltdowns).  Matt meeting the mercenary, and the whole cutting his hair scene (he will have short hair from the beginning, now) and Harris talking to Daniel Hyelven after he hurts the girl in the alley.  I am on page 300, so there are 100 pages to go in this sweep.  This will get me down to 113,000, but I might add words when I re-write a chapter that started with a conversation about Matt’s hair.  (That sounds really silly taken out of context.)

I did not start that beta read I have been sitting on (sorry again, “J”)

I did not exercise – unless you want to count Trick or Treating, which was an hour of walking

I did not keep to my blog schedule

I’m not sure if I am going to be able to keep posting ROW 80 twice a week.
It think it’s too much, and detracts from the point of my blog.  I don’t think  a Wednesday check-in is really all that helpful for me.  So… Sundays I will give my results, and my goals for the next week.  This way, I can get back on my twice a week blog schedule, plus a Sunday ROW80, and I won’t be under as much pressure.

1.    Two regular blog posts (a Manuscript Red-line post, and maybe a writer’s advice post from the Q&A session)

2.    Cut 4,372 words from my novel

3.    Insert the new “Stuck in a Closet” beginning (which I just remembered has more words than the current beginning.  UGH!)

4.    Decide whether or not to cut the scene where Magellan gets
tutored by the King.

Happy ROWing!

Jennifer Eaton

15 Comments

Posted in Row 80

Tagged , , , , , ,

ROW 80 Check in 10-26-2011

Posted on October 26, 2011 | 12 comments

What a week!  And it’s only Wednesday!

I actually finished the first draft of my short story.  It ended up at 2,259 words.  I originally wanted it for a writing contest that was 1500 words.  I could probably cut it down, but I would lose the feel and emotion of the story, so I guess this contest is out for me.  Stinky.  Anyone know of any 2500 word short-story contests?

My Beta-Buddy Jenny Keller Ford won first place for her short story “Baby” on the Midlife Collage Writers contest.  She was also a semi-finalist for Brenda Drake’s  Can you leave us breathless” contest.  Be sure to scoot over to her site and give her a cyber high-five.  She’s on a roll!

No, I was not a finalist in the “breathless” contest.  I read just about every entry.  I was the only middle grade story, so I was not surprised.  I couldn’t compete with sensual kissing, demons, death, gore, drugs, and murder.  Nope, even I will not do that to my kids J.    No biggie.  As usual, I learn something from every contest.  I think I even picked up some new followers from this one “Hi guys!”  I actually enjoyed reading a lot of those entries.  There are a lot of talented people out there.

Jury’s still out on the 50 word synopsis contest.  That one’s being judged by an agent… still holding my breath on that one.  HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT is more up the right alley for that contest.

Ugh.  The bad news.  I started out with 119,567 words in my novel, and I wanted to cut it down to 100,000.  Well…  Sigh. I was doing really great until I hit about page 100.  I had to remove an unnecessary POV and change it to the MC.  In the first draft, the character looks up and sees the MC doing something supernatural.  It was quick, it was easy.  Now, the MC has to feel it, experience it, all from within this huge encompassing scene.  Honestly, I really like how it is coming out.  There is much more feeling.  HOWEVER… now I have 119,845 words.  And that’s after 100 pages of editing done already!  Ugh.  I am in trouble.

Still not daunted!  Trucking along!

Jennifer Eaton

12 Comments

Posted in Row 80

Tagged , , , , , ,

Help me decide on a beginning to my novel

Posted on October 22, 2011 | 10 comments

I’ve been thinking about a comment J Randolph said on one of my earlier posts for Row 80, where I said I had a goal this week of “choosing one of two possible beginnings” to my novel.  She suggested doing a poll.

Well, honestly, I’ve never done a poll, but her comment stuck with me.  I thought… Why not?

I am struggling between two possible beginnings to HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT.  I really like both.  I am steering towards one, but I figured, why not get a few more opinions?

The choices are:  **Drumroll please**

“Fruit Throwing” or “Stuck in a Closet.”

If you look at my header bar, I have placed a separate page for each one.  They are both about 700 words long, and bring you to exactly the same point.  If you’re into it, please read both, and then come back here to vote.  I’d also like to know what you liked, or didn’t like about each one.

I’ll let you know what I decide after I chew on the feedback.

Thanks for your input!

Update:  Poll closed.  Thanks!

10 Comments

Posted in General Writing Tips, Senseless Ranting

Tagged , , , , ,