conflict & stakes

According to my Wednesday group, I need more of both in this ms. All righty then...I'm going back through it today, and it's fun. I love writing the naughty parts.

organic writing

I'm a planner by nature, but the ms I'm working on right now is evolving sort of organically. Hard to tell if it's working or just plain a mess. Guess I'll find out tomorrow, when my Wednesday group meets. Anyway, it's been fun. Easier to incorporate the emotions of the day this way.

character vs. plot

Over the weekend, while shopping at Borders, I came across a newer (c. 2007) book I liked, but I didn't buy it. Before you start booing me for not supporting the artist (because I totally buy hardcovers all the time), I wanted to talk about why I didn't like said book enough to actually purchase it. The writing was smooth--literary, even--and the story was tight, but there was something missing. I couldn't put my finger on it at first, and then it hit me. Even though the characterization was mega-deep and insightful, there weren't any relationships being depicted. It was all about the one character, and not about him interacting with others. So yes, there was some tension, since it was kind of a man vs. self story, but not enough to compel me to finish reading, even after 150 pages. Good stuff to think about when approaching my own writing.

good news

Caryn liked my revisions! Yay!!!! She's going to send DECENT LIARS back out on submission.

stuff

I just read a great blog post on Janet Fitch's MySpace page. She talked about making money as a writer. More specificially, she discussed at length what to do and what not to do if you're trying to balance a day job with your personal writing endeavors. All so true!

On a more personal note, I heard from my agent yesterday. She's traveling this week, but she said she'll read my revised ms on the plane ride home. Yay! I'm so happy to find out that it's almost my turn in her queue. Now I just hope she likes what she reads...

so many choices

I was looking for information about my agent today online (yes--shamefully--this is something I do regularly since I try to find hints about how busy she might be at the moment) and I came across yet another cool writers conference that's taking place soon. This one is attached to BEA, at the Los Angeles convention center, and it has a lot of great talks by prominent writers and agents scheduled. It's midweek, on a Wednesday, so that probably automatically disqualifies it for me, but I'd so like to go!

fear of failure

If you just read my vow to write more on my MySpace blog, please don't automatically assume that I'm already slacking off. (Of course, you might be right, but still...)

Anyway, I just wanted to write a little about the fear of failure I think has been stopping me from jumping right into a new project. Basically, I had been running new ideas by my agent before delving full-force into new projects. Unfortunately, when she nixes said ideas, or has helpful suggestions about substantive revisions, I freeze up. Project terminated.

I've seen more than one accomplished writer talk about the freedom new authors have, and I'd like to recapture that sense of adventure (cheesy as it sounds). I mean, I am still a new writer when it comes right down to it. I have an agent, but that doesn't mean diddly squat until I actually sell something, right? So why not just go charging off into the proverbial wild blue yonder, storywise?

I guess I'm trying to justify myself because I know the idea I'd like to work on (already started working on last week, really) may not be something my agent is going to like. Yeah, it's YA, but I don't know how marketable it is. That's the problem with inspiration--it doesn't always conform to the industry's notion of marketability. I mean, I'll show it to Caryn eventually, but I want to have something to revise if she has recommendations. Better to start with something to fix than to end up with nothing but good intentions.