I haven't posted about Bliss Lake in a long while. It needed a break. I needed a break from it.
It's the novel (women's fiction) I finished writing last spring. I spent a few months editing, and began my agent search midway through summer. Didn't get a single bite, though I had 17 rejections (and so many more in the no response at all category). A buddy who knew BL's premise suggested I submit outright to Avalon Books, a NYC publishing house who works directly with writers (meaning no agent is needed).
I nearly floated away when they requested the full manuscript, after a few mere days. My thoughts and prayers and days revolved around the fact that those editors held my future in their hands.
And I cried when they turned it down in December.
I considered my options - to continue or give it a rest? - and pushed it aside, welcoming the distance. I started something new (the current WIP), planning to revisit BL in the future.
Last week when I met writing buddies in Florida (Terri, Jessica and Kristin), I mentioned Bliss Lake, even if briefly. Some advice they gave, some exchanges we had, turned my thoughts to the manuscript once again, and as my family's journey home allowed ample time to brainstorm, the ideas started flowing.
New dimensions popped out left and right; I saw potential ways to widen the plot, expand the premise and broaden the word count (which, if I'm to be honest with myself, is important if I want representation - it's only 50k words as is).
I handwrote all that flowed from me (and I never do that!), and have been working on it night and day (literally) since we've been home. I've found the right voice, the right depth, and what I hope is the perfect combination needed to make Bliss Lake sellable.
While I won't update my word count side bar until I'm totally done with this revamping, you'll not see When I Turned 30 increase, either. For now, it takes the back burner. And when Bliss Lake is ready to query again, I'll pick up with 30. Maybe it'll take off the same way.
Showing posts with label Bliss Lake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bliss Lake. Show all posts
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Monday, December 8, 2008
A Personal Case of Foreshadowing
On the way home from church and errands yesterday, amid family talk about trucks from China, plants vs. animals, and Santa's elves (we covered a lot), I made a random comment to my husband.
“I hope if Avalon doesn’t accept my book, they at least offer some constructive criticism.”
I hadn’t spoken with him about my manuscript in awhile...
Fast-forward to our road, when I said, “Let’s stop at the mailbox. I didn’t get yesterday’s mail.”
The second the flap came down, I gasped. One lonely letter lay inside, post-marked from New York. And I knew.
“It’s too thin to be good news.” I clutched it in my hands, not ready for its message.
“So open it,” my husband pressed.
The second of grasping hope, when I thought Maybe it's a letter asking me to call them, didn't last long.
It was short and to-the-point: Bliss Lake isn't right for them. They felt pacing was slow at times, and that the "religious undertones" weren't in line with their more secular preferences. (Terri, this answers a question you and I had once...) For anyone curious about what they consider religious, characters in Bliss Lake attend church a few times (with brushed-over details of a particular sermon's message), God is mentioned, and the main character prays in thought, though no overt Christianity is presented. I myself thought it was all indirect and minor to plot. So now we know.
The editors also had concerns over the presence of a stalker. While he created an ambience that didn't fit with their "family-friendly guidelines," his existence didn't present the right kind of tension between the hero and heroine, either.
So what does all this mean to me? I don't know yet.
I know I'm really disappointed. Really. I feel like my sails have lost their wind. Now - instead of a writer being considered - I'm just a writer. I feel less validated. I have to start all over again. And I have some decisions to make. Do I try to tweak pacing (if I end up agreeing) and find Christian markets, to see what they think of Bliss Lake? Or do I chalk the whole thing up to practice and experience? Many do that. It is my first novel, after all. And I tried the agent route, too. No takers.
I don't want to say I give up. Because I won't. Not on this dream of writing and being published at the novel level, anyway. The first thing I said to my husband was, "I'll keep trudgin'." So I'll strap on my boots and push myself onward.
Here I go.
“I hope if Avalon doesn’t accept my book, they at least offer some constructive criticism.”
I hadn’t spoken with him about my manuscript in awhile...
Fast-forward to our road, when I said, “Let’s stop at the mailbox. I didn’t get yesterday’s mail.”
The second the flap came down, I gasped. One lonely letter lay inside, post-marked from New York. And I knew.
“It’s too thin to be good news.” I clutched it in my hands, not ready for its message.
“So open it,” my husband pressed.
The second of grasping hope, when I thought Maybe it's a letter asking me to call them, didn't last long.
It was short and to-the-point: Bliss Lake isn't right for them. They felt pacing was slow at times, and that the "religious undertones" weren't in line with their more secular preferences. (Terri, this answers a question you and I had once...) For anyone curious about what they consider religious, characters in Bliss Lake attend church a few times (with brushed-over details of a particular sermon's message), God is mentioned, and the main character prays in thought, though no overt Christianity is presented. I myself thought it was all indirect and minor to plot. So now we know.
The editors also had concerns over the presence of a stalker. While he created an ambience that didn't fit with their "family-friendly guidelines," his existence didn't present the right kind of tension between the hero and heroine, either.
So what does all this mean to me? I don't know yet.
I know I'm really disappointed. Really. I feel like my sails have lost their wind. Now - instead of a writer being considered - I'm just a writer. I feel less validated. I have to start all over again. And I have some decisions to make. Do I try to tweak pacing (if I end up agreeing) and find Christian markets, to see what they think of Bliss Lake? Or do I chalk the whole thing up to practice and experience? Many do that. It is my first novel, after all. And I tried the agent route, too. No takers.
I don't want to say I give up. Because I won't. Not on this dream of writing and being published at the novel level, anyway. The first thing I said to my husband was, "I'll keep trudgin'." So I'll strap on my boots and push myself onward.
Here I go.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Learning From Your Characters
Ellie, the main character in my novel Bliss Lake, is like me in a lot of ways. Part of her personality, like mine, is a self-conscious awkwardness. She can be so painfully aware of herself and a moment she's in, especially when she's face-to-face with someone, that she trips up. She'll say something that comes out wrong, even when she means well, or it just won't make sense at all. And it completely embarrasses her.
But there are also instances when Ellie is cool and smooth. She knows just what to say at the right time, when her interactions with people are fluid and warm.
We all know people who are this way; people who are completely at ease with themselves, who don't have to figure out what they're going to say, to get it just right. But even when Ellie comes off like this type of person, I've typically struggled over her dialogue. I've pounded her words out until the phrasing and connotation are just right, so that they appear effortless and focused paper.
Real life, real conversation, isn't that way for me. I can't edit as I go. I have only so few seconds to think on my feet, and can become easily flustered. It's mortifying. But the process of creating Ellie's character and writing her tendencies has helped me with my own. I've learned how to better think on the fly, to intuit what needs to be said and how. It's like I've somehow absorbed that part of Ellie's calm, as if by some writer's osmosis.
And that means Ellie has taught me something. I think that's pretty cool.
Have you ever learned something - or picked up a habit, perspective, etc., - from a character you've written? What was it?
But there are also instances when Ellie is cool and smooth. She knows just what to say at the right time, when her interactions with people are fluid and warm.
We all know people who are this way; people who are completely at ease with themselves, who don't have to figure out what they're going to say, to get it just right. But even when Ellie comes off like this type of person, I've typically struggled over her dialogue. I've pounded her words out until the phrasing and connotation are just right, so that they appear effortless and focused paper.
Real life, real conversation, isn't that way for me. I can't edit as I go. I have only so few seconds to think on my feet, and can become easily flustered. It's mortifying. But the process of creating Ellie's character and writing her tendencies has helped me with my own. I've learned how to better think on the fly, to intuit what needs to be said and how. It's like I've somehow absorbed that part of Ellie's calm, as if by some writer's osmosis.
And that means Ellie has taught me something. I think that's pretty cool.
Have you ever learned something - or picked up a habit, perspective, etc., - from a character you've written? What was it?
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