Tag Archives: novel

When the edits are finally over… Whew!

Posted on August 26, 2014 | 18 comments

Edits are finally done for FIRE IN THE WOODS. Part of me breathes a sigh of relief, while the other part of me cringes in horror.

This was a multi-faceted process, which would have been much easier if I was not writing book two, ASHES IN THE SKY at the same time under a very stringent deadline. I work great under pressure, but not always great under double pressure.

Developmental Edit

Anyway, step one was the Developmental Edit. This was not all that hard. There were two minor changes… one that took a half-hour phone conversation with my editor until we worked it out… but really minor for the overall story. #1 was ramping up the father’s reaction at one point, and #2 was giving Jess a little more of a reason to be afraid of another character. Overall, easy fixes.

General Editing

After the developmental edit we went through three rounds of general editing for flow, readability and stuff like that. Here is where I found all those words that were repeated. This was the most painstaking part for me.

Proofreading

After this we went through three FULL READS of the novel front to back looking for typos, mis-spelled words, improper punctuation and the like. THIS is the part that scares me. I found errors each time I read it (after correcting what I found the previous time). This really stresses me out because being a perfectionist; I would like to have been able to read through front to back without finding any typos. All I can do at this point is hope and pray I found them all. (And maybe bite off a few nails)

So, I leave for vacation knowing that my work is done, and all I need to do now is worry about book two… and reapplying sun screen.

18 Comments

Posted in General Writing Tips

Tagged author, beta partner, beta reading, critique, critiquing, editing, Fiction, finding an agent, getting published, literary agent, literary fiction, Manuscript, novel, pitch, query, query help, self publishing, synopsis, writing, Writing help

SUCCESS! Holy Sh— Um— Wow! BEST WEEK EVER!

Posted on July 2, 2014 | 20 comments

Okay, I admit, I am a Twitter stalker. Some people make it easy. They use Twitter as a method to voice what they are feeling about everything from the weather to really important stuff… like editors reading submissions.

A few days ago, the editor that has had my manuscript for quite a while tweeted:

“Catching up on subs. Really like the voice and story in the YA scifi I’m reading, It’s from March. I’m so far behind.”

I tensed. My sub is a YA Sci Fi. And I submitted in March. I’d be lying if I did not admit my head went ka-blooey!

A few hours later an email popped up from the same editor.

Nothing definite, just a note to say she was reading AND ENJOYING my manuscript.

Okay, deep breath. That’s good. Really good. Fingernails are now officially non-existent. Let’s hope she doesn’t have an explosion phobia!

At one o’clock in the morning the next day she tweeted:

“Stayed up late to finish a manuscript I will offer on tomorrow. Really love this story.”

Now, I’m really glad I was fast asleep at one o’clock in the morning, because there would have been no sleeping that night for me if I had read this when she tweeted it.

The next morning I woke to an email sent just after that Tweet. She’d stayed up late reading because she couldn’t put it down.

Yes!!!

Now let me tell you. Spam filters can be evil. E.V.I.L. because after almost a whole day, thank goodness, she poked me to make sure I got the contract offer.

“Umm, no.”

Resend is a wonderful thing.

I spent the next half hour reading and re-reading everything she had to say about my book. I mean, you have dreams about people going on and on about how great your work is, but you never really expect it to happen. Especially from an editor with such a great reputation in the business. I was numb. Completely numb.

Wow. Just Wow

An editor at my target publisher loves my story just as much as I do. She loves my quirky voice, and the themes blew her away. (Literally, in some cases).

Now on to the nitty gritty. I hope I will have exciting news to share with everyone really soon.

20 Comments

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged author, editing, getting published, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, Manuscript, novel, publish, Publishing, United States, Writers Resources, writing, Writing and Editing

Unexpected High Points While You’re Waiting on a Submission

Posted on June 21, 2014 | 12 comments

The torment of waiting can have its high points

The clock is ticking on a manuscript I submitted now 51 days ago. Within another week (hopefully) I will hear something. It’s good they have it a long time, right? If they hated the first few pages, they would have stopped reading and rejected it by now. Right?

Right? Right? Right?

But what if they are just behind? What if the editor has been out sick, and papers have piled up? What if she gets back from a vacation or something and then just rejects everyone just to get current again!?????

It can totally get to you. I swear.

Anyway, I got a bright little flicker of hope today.

In response to an earlier query, I got a request for full from another publisher I’ve targeted for their awesomeness. For non-writerly-types, that means they have asked to read the entire manuscript.

Yay!

It feels good, having my completed manuscript in the hands of two publishing houses that I have had my eye on for a while. But even with a few successes under my belt, I still bite off my nails.

Publishing is so subjective.

They could take a manuscript just because their boss yelled at them and said “More aliens!”

Likewise, they can reject a fantastic manuscript because they spilled their coffee, missed the bus, or their boss just yelled at them: “We have enough aliens!”

It can leave you pulling your hair out. I swear it can.

So now I am at Day 51 with one publisher, and Day One with another publisher.

And the waiting goes on.

Anyone have any antacid? I ran out a week ago.

12 Comments

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged author, editing, Fiction, getting published, jennifer M. Eaton, literary agent, Manuscript, novel, publish, Publishing, Writing and Editing

How to make Your Reader Care About Your Character #5

Posted on February 1, 2014 | 3 comments

I am skimming over notes I took from a class about creating characters that your reader will care about.

Disclaimer: I honestly don’t remember where this handout came from. I’m going to paraphrase the topic and think up my own ideas, but I don’t want anyone to think I’m stealing without giving credit.

It should be a given to an author that they need to create characters that their readers will care about. They do not necessarily have to like the character. Some really great characters are very unlikable. But we need to CARE about them, or we won’t keep reading. Right?

So how do we do this?

1. Relationships. (See previous post)

2. Give them a goal (See previous post)

3. Caring about others (See previous post)

4. A special gift or talent. (See previous post)

5. A handicap

Oooooo. That’s a good one.

Here’s a good one. Even though you might not be handicapped, you can imagine what it would be like, right? You feel for someone with a disability.

This came up recently in a comment on my blog, when someone mentioned that the horrid character on the TV show House was softened because he had a handicap.

How about a phobia?

A phobia is a good one two… something they need to overcome in order to fulfill their purpose of hero in the story.

Or something even more simple and relatable

Maybe it is something simple, like they need to run for their lives and the only car available to flee in has a stick shift, but the character does not know how to drive a stick.

Anything wrong with your character is an easy way to make them relatable. No one wants to read about someone who is perfect, right?

Unless you are Mary Poppins. (But she was only practically perfect, right?)

That’s it!

Five ways to create the ever-important care-factor. Give your readers characters that they can care about, and they will scream for more!

Think about the main character in your favorite novel. Pinpoint exactly what it was that made you engage with them. What was it? Come on, share the ideas!

3 Comments

Posted in General Writing Tips

How to make Your Reader Care About Your Character #4

Posted on January 25, 2014 | 4 comments

I am skimming over notes I took from a class about creating characters that your reader will care about.

So how do we do this?

1. Relationships. (See previous post)

2. Give them a goal (See previous post)

3. Caring about others (See previous post)

4. A special gift or talent.

A special gift or talent can be tricky

This one can be tricky, but it can be used when the others fail. A special talent, I think, needs to be part of the plot to make it work. Like a person loves to draw, so we want to see them become a successful artist. If they don’t, then why did they have the talent mentioned in the story to begin with?

Make sure it has meaning

This needs to be all about fulfillment. They need to use the talent to make something happen in the story.

Yes, this could be a great device, but be careful to make sure it fits inside your plot and story arc.

What recent special talent have you read that really drew you in to a novel?

4 Comments

Posted in General Writing Tips

How to make Your Reader Care About Your Character #3

Posted on January 18, 2014 | 2 comments

I am skimming over notes I took from a class about creating characters that your reader will care about.

So how do we do this?

1. Relationships. (See previous post)

2. Give them a goal (See previous post)

3. Caring about others

Even the most horrible person on the planet has to care about someone, right?

Well, maybe not the most horrible person on the planet. I suppose you could create a noteworthy character who does not care about others, but the more I think of it, even the greatest villains of all time cared about something.

A villain can be a big softie

The guy in Psycho was pretty twisted, but that was okay, because he really loved his grandma. The Dude in Despicable Me wanted to be the greatest villain of all time, but these kids that he cared about kept getting in the way.
I think the idea is that in most cases everyone cares about someone. It may be trivial, or it may be gruesome, like keeping your beloved dead grandma… but it is that “care factor” that a reader can relate to.

Taking the easy way out

The handout talks about easier versions of caring, like taking care of a baby or helping an old lady cross the street. So, if your character is a nice person, just make sure we can see them doing something that shows that they care for others. They will get brownie points from your readers for their trouble.

Think about a novel your recently read that you loved. What did the main character care about?

2 Comments

Posted in General Writing Tips

How to make Your Reader Care About Your Character #2

Posted on January 11, 2014 | 3 comments

I am skimming over notes I took from a class about creating characters that your reader will care about.

So how do we do this?

1. Relationships. (See previous post)

2. Give them a goal

Ugh. Goals. We all have them, right? We all have something we need to do every day. Some goals we like, others we labor over. The point is, we can all relate to having to do something.

If your character is wandering around in circles with no clear intent, the reader will not be able to engage. Even before the inciting incident that is the real start to your story… your character has to have a reason for being… a goal of something that needs to be done (it can be simple, like making dinner)

But soon you should hit the “big goal” that will carry your reader along for the rest of the journey. We have to know what the goal is and have a vested interest in the character getting there.

By the way, the “big goal” needs to materialize in the first 25% of the book or earlier. This may seem like a given to most of you, but I’ve read some works in progress lately where the author did not understand this. Think about your character’s goal, and make sure it is apparent to the reader.

Everyone wants something.

A reader can connect and care if they have the opportunity to root for your character to get what he/she wants.

So go ahead, give them a goal!

What was the character’s goal in your favorite novel? Do you think this is what made it your favorite?

3 Comments

Posted in Author Advice, General Writing Tips

Tagged author, beta partner, beta reading, Characters, critique, critiquing, E-book, editing, Fiction, finding an agent, getting published, literary agent, literary fiction, Manuscript, novel, pitch, query, query help, Reader, Reading, self publishing, synopsis, Thought, writing, Writing help

How to make Your Reader Care About Your Character #1

Posted on January 4, 2014 | 17 comments

I was cleaning off my desk this weekend and I came across a handout from a seminar or class that I don’t even remember taking. I read through the page and considered my current work in progress. I’m pretty sure that by this time in my career I am doing what the handout recommends as an almost instinctual part of my writing process.

I almost tossed the paper, but thought there may be some people out there who could benefit from these notes. And, of course, I tend to learn stuff myself when I write out and analyze notes for posts, so let’s see what happens.

To keep things short, I will break this topic into 5 separate posts. One thought to chew on at a time.

All right: Creating a character people care about:

So how do we do this?

1. Relationships. Everyone in the world has relationships. They can be good, bad, or just tolerable, but you know what a relationship is, and so does your reader. Seeing a character in a relationship is an easy way to help a reader connect.

Let’s think over some memorable relationships. I’ll grab a character most people know.

Harry Potter.

Harry lives with his aunt and uncle. Wow, they do not treat him well, do they? Have you ever been treated unfairly? Have you every had to put up with it because you had no choice? Have you ever wished a magic letter would show up and scoot you away? (Well, I’m sure the answer is “yes” to most of what I said, anyway.)

Giving Harry this horrible home life helps us to INSTANTLY connect with him. We feel sorry for him and want him to live up to his potential. If Harry can overcome the odds, maybe we can, too.

Do you see how quickly and easily the connection is made? In the first few scenes we totally care and we are engaged.

Relationships. Use them.

And if your character is stranded on a deserted island, have him draw a face on a ball so he has someone to talk to. Yes, that has been done, but that helped you to connect as well, right?
Relationships are one of the easiest ways to help your readers care about your characters.

How have you used relationships to develop your characters?

17 Comments

Posted in Author Advice, General Writing Tips

Tagged author, beta partner, beta reading, Character, Characters, critique, critiquing, editing, Fiction, finding an agent, getting published, literary agent, literary fiction, Manuscript, novel, pitch, query, query help, self publishing, synopsis, writing, Writing help

Book Review of “Surrender” by Aimee Lane

Posted on July 12, 2013 | 14 comments

I wrote the header for this post, and then I sat and stared at it for a while. I’m not even sure how to review this book. Let’s try to start with the basics.

Were there any explosions? Yes, there was, but you’d miss it is you blinked. I had to re-read the section to make sure what happened…. But there was an explosion, so she earns an extra cookie for her efforts.

What POV was it in? Second person. That was fine… but it switched back and forth between the character of Lily and Cael. For half of the book, this worked wonderfully. The other half, it didn’t work for me. I’ll explain later.

Okay… let’s get into the good stuff

Aimee Laine has a sharp writing style. She is crisp, concise, and not overbearing on her settings. I prefer a novel that moves, and for the most part, Surrender does keep flowing.

The last 40% or so (yeah, I read on a Kindle) flew by. Great plot, great pace, and lots of heart pumping excitement. I really enjoyed it and had trouble putting it down.

Head Hopping:

Okay… so… here is my problem. I completely understand why she skipped between points of view in the end of the novel. I worked beautifully.

However, it didn’t work so well for me in the beginning. I think I could have gone through almost all of the beginning entirely in Lily’s POV and not missed out on much.

I think the author tried to keep it consistent, and made sure we saw Cael’s POV in the beginning so it was not jarring at the end. For me, it backfired, because I found I wanted to stay with Lily.

Too many characters.

There were just too many characters in Surrender. Half the time I was lost and had no idea who was who. Now, in saying this, there was a “book one” that I did not read. This may be part of my confusion. But my mind wanted to focus on Cael and Lily and the family that Lily went to live with. But Cael was always involved with long conversations with other people that just seemed to go on forever (from my perspective) because I wanted to get back to Lily.

Aimee Laine did her job, in that I cared about Lily… but I just didn’t care about all the rest of them… even if they were trying to save Lily.

Long conversations.

I touched on this a second ago. I feel like there were too many extended conversations. Honestly, I started to skim from time to time, thinking: “Let’s get back to Lily.”

Was this two short stories that became a novel?

At about 40% in to the novel, I was dreading writing this review. For the reasons above, I was really not liking it. It felt like it was winding down, and it pretty much did, with one loose end. But there was still 60% of the novel to go.

All of the sudden, when the characters grabbed onto that little loose end, my interest became peaked. Suddenly, I was drawn in. I cared. I stayed up late reading. I hid from my kids trying to get a few extra pages in. We had company, and I was bored, so I scooted upstairs and got a chapter in and slipped back before anyone wondered about me. I was interested. I was hooked. It came together.

I did have a slight cringe when three or so new characters were introduced into the ensemble, but the pacing kept me going. Right up until the very last page you find yourself on a roller-coaster ride of awesomeness.

When I finished, I closed my Kindle and said “Wow, that was great.”

But here lies my quandary… I feel like I have read one three-cookie “okay” book, and one four cookie “really great” book. So how the heck do you tie that all together?

I’m just not sure. I wish that the author had found a way get past the first half of the book faster. There just seemed to be too much fat there, when all the beefy good stuff was at the end.

Would I recommend Surrender?

Yeah, I think so. Especially if you read Little White Lies. The beginning might make more sense if you have read the first novel in the series.

But if you find the beginning a little “tame”, don’t hate me… just get to about the 40% point and enjoy the ride. The second half of the novel really moves, and it is an enjoyable, tense read right up until the last few pages.

Special Release Day Review: 5 Stars to Surrender by Aimee Laine! (bookarooju.wordpress.com)

14 Comments

Posted in Book/Movie Review

Tagged Amazon Kindle, Book Review, Cael, Fiction, jennifer eaton, Kindle, Lily, Little White Lies, mimic, mimics of rune, novel, Surrender

Write a Story with Me #44 by AnElephantCant “Being Prepared”

Posted on May 20, 2013 | 6 comments

Write a Story with Me is a group endeavor just for the fun of it. A different writer adds a new 250 words each week. It is the ultimate Flash Fiction Challenge!