Alan Orloff's Blog, page 24

Hark, My ARC!

My friend Rachel Brady recently blogged about celebrating certain publishing milestones and posted a picture of her new book DEAD LIFT, and my friend Jude Hardin recently posted a picture of the ARC for his upcoming book POCKET-47.

So I thought I'd join the party. Here's a picture of my KILLER ROUTINE ARC:

Ooo, Shiny

The holidays are fast approaching and I'm considering pulling the trigger and asking for an ereader.

Kindle? Nook? Nook color? iPad?

So many choices!

Tell me, O Great Blog Readers, which ereaders do you like? Why? What features do you deem essential?

Monday morning, 6:00 a.m.

So what is it with transitions, anyway? What's the best way to move from one scene to another?

Scene transitions are always a stumbling block for me. I'm usually tempted to start a scene with something simple and direct.

"Three days later, Jim woke up. It was Tuesday morning. In Los Angeles."

But that gets old (real old), scene after scene (and it sounds like I'm channeling Jack Webb).

On the other end of the spectrum is the scene that begins with no transition, one that jumps right into the action. These are tempting, too, except I'm always afraid I'll leave my reader confused as to where and when the action is taking place.

In reality, I guess I mix it up. Sometimes I'll ground the scene, other times I'll just jump in and try to make the time/place obvious through context. Since most of my critique members and beta readers don't even comment on my transitions, I suppose I'm handling them adequately, even if I think some of them are kind of clunky.

Writers, how do you prefer to handle scene transitions?

Readers, are there certain types of transitions that bother you?

Recharged and Ready

Astute readers of the blog may have noticed that I didn't blog this past Monday (you can go back and check, if you'd like—I'll wait). I was on a long-weekend vacation with my wife.

Very relaxing.

A few highlights:

On Saturday (or as I liked to call it Crabapaloozaday), I had crab for lunch and crab for dinner. I would have had crab sundaes for dessert, but for some inexplicable reason, the Inn didn't serve them. Had to make do with s'mores instead.

I met a local celebrity (TV/radio sports announcer), just hanging out at the Inn. I've been a fan of his for about forty years, and he was as nice and personable as you would think from seeing him on TV. Met some other nice people, too.

I also finished a book. Yes, an entire book.

What does my vacation have to do with writing? Well, sometimes it's necessary, at least for me, to step away from the keyboard (I didn't even check email while I was gone!) and recharge the batteries. Gain some perspective. Get a different view of the world. See what's really going on outside of my cave.

Which I did.

I also met a few local characters who just might make it into future novels.

All in all, a very successful weekend!

How do you recharge your writing batteries?

Then What?

A peek inside my planning brain (if you can stomach it):

In a few weeks, I should be done with the (latest) revision of the WIP I'm working on (the sequel to KILLER ROUTINE). Then I need to proof the galleys for KILLER ROUTINE. Then I have a short story I've written, but need to submit. I also have some ideas for the next book in the Last Laff series I should get on paper. Then… Then…

Then what?

I have an idea for a stand-alone thriller. Interesting premise, strong characters, good plot (what I've got so far, in my head—I haven't actually written anything down yet). But before I start outlining it, I need to do a few things. I need to see if it's "been done" before. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to research that, but I think I'll start with der Google and see where that takes me. Then I need to run it by my agent to see if she thinks it's a good use of my writing time and energy. While the story intrigues me, I'm not sure I want to tackle the book if it's not marketable. Then I need to pull out my calendar (yes, the "paper" 2011 planner I bought at the dollar store) to see if/when I can shoehorn it in, amidst the promotional activities for the release of KILLER ROUTINE in April.

And of course, like everyone else, I've got a billion other things to do.

How do you plan your long-term writing projects?

Re-Direct Friday

In case you missed it, yesterday I blogged about what I learned, promotion-wise, with my first book.

Check it out on InkSpot.

This, That, and the Other

Some random thoughts:

Who is swayed by robocalls imploring you to vote for their candidate? Obviously, someone, somewhere, thinks this is an effective way to campaign. But seriously, who thinks, "Well, based on the issues, I was planning on voting for Kramden for Governor, but, you know, that robocall completely rocked my world. Go Norton!"? I want names, people!

Maybe I'm being a polly-alan, but I am very encouraged by the fact that people with e-readers are reading more than before. More is good, when it comes to reading.

I'd be much more inclined to enjoy autumn if I didn't know winter was to follow.

I voted with my 18-year-old son yesterday. Pretty cool!

Just got a GPS unit. On the first trip, about a mile and a half to the grocery store, it would have gotten us lost. Luckily, we switched to the back-up system: our common sense. (I was reminded of the episode of The Office where Michael drives into the lake because the GPS told him to.)

Why is it that I think of the good lines AFTER I've completed a draft?

I went to an MWA Chapter dinner meeting last week and heard Gary Noesner speak. He's a former FBI hostage negotiator (and chief negotiator for ten years), and he was terrific. His book: STALLING FOR TIME.

Oh no! "It's Nice."

I'd be completely lost without my critique group. They shred analyze my manuscripts, tell me what's ridiculous working, and provide me with very pointed point-on suggestions. After they're done with me, I know my work will be a lot stronger.

But I don't stop there. After I complete another revision based on my critique group's comments, I also like to get feedback from a second group of people, my beta readers. (Some call them lay readers, others call them first readers. Just don't call them late for dinner!) While this group changes a little from manuscript to manuscript, it's composed of family members (hi mom!) and friends. (They don't mind doing it—at least that's what they tell me.)

The two groups serve different functions. My critique group gives me very detailed comments, from line edits all the way through thematic interpretations. My beta readers usually just tell me if they like it and why.

Both types of feedback are important to me.

My beta readers are first and foremost exactly that: readers. You know, the people I'm writing the book for. If they're happy—if the book is engaging, well-written, suspenseful, entertaining—then I know I've got a winner. If they offer up the dreaded, "It's nice," then I know I've got some more work ahead of me.

Writers, what about you? Do you use the feedback of beta readers, in addition to critique groups?

Blogging Agents

Looking for an agent? Want to learn how to write a killer query? Wonder how a writer's manuscript eventually lands on a shelf at the bookstore? Then check out these excellent agent blogs:

Nathan Bransford – Nathan's an agent with Curtis Brown Ltd., and his blog is the place to be, judging by his enormous following. Some days, he'll get several hundred comments. (Just try to be first, I dare you.) Plus, he's funny and he knows what he's talking about. Check out the Forums section to catch up.

BookEnds, LLC – Jessica Faust (with an occasional entry from Kim Lionetti) dispenses wise wisdom, about the agent biz in general, as well as offering some of her personal opinions on publishing. Good, solid advice here.

Pub Rants – Kristin Nelson sums up her blog in its subtitle: A Very Nice Literary Agent Indulges in Polite Rants About Queries, Writers, and the Publishing Industry. Timely industry news here, especially how it pertains to authors.

Query Shark and Janet Reid, Literary Agent – One agent, two blogs. On the aptly-named Query Shark, Janet Reid critiques queries (caveat querier), and on her "regular" agent blog, she provides an amusing assortment of posts and videos. Be sure to memorize her Rules for Writers in the sidebar.

These are just a few of my favorites; plenty of other agents are active in the blogosphere. In fact, I'm sure you could spend many hours a day checking out these blogs as you do your procrastinating research.

Good luck in your agent hunt!

Son Of…

Status Report:
Revision of KILLER ROUTINE sequel (SON OF KILLER ROUTINE?)

Yesterday, I typed The End on the latest (and hopefully close-to-last) revision. A few weeks ago, I blogged about some general changes I'd planned. Here are some details about what actually happened.

1) Most of the changes were done to increase the conflict/tension.

I added a new character/suspect, and a new plot thread. I completely changed two scenes to put my protagonist in more jeopardy. I changed how two main characters relate to my protagonist, mostly making their exchanges more hostile. I added a new scene, right before the end, to ramp up the tension. I changed a few key spots in the ending.

2) I changed some events to make the story more logical.

3) I wanted to "beef up" the reason my protagonist got involved in this investigation in the first place.

4) Some of the changes were to reduce redundancy, in setting and content.

I changed the settings of three scenes. I deleted one scene, and drastically shortened another to eliminate similar content.

5) I punched up some of the dialogue. This story takes place in and around a comedy club, for Pete's sake!

6) I changed something in my protagonist's personal life that the members of my critique group absolutely hated. (And, once it was pointed out to me, I hated it too!).

7) I changed a few names, just because.

8) Finally, I took out all the bad stuff and replaced it with good stuff :)

 

For every writing project, I maintain a running "snips" file where I keep stuff (snips and snails and puppy dog tails) that I've excised from the actual manuscript. Right now, my snips file for SON OF stands at 16K words, spread out over 67 pages (a lot of white space).

Despite all the additions, deletions, changes, mash-ups, and other alterations, this version only differs in length from the last one by 850 words.

In quality, I think it differs by a lot. In a good way. Thank goodness!