Lori Gordon's Blog: Thrillers, Chillers and Darn Good Books, page 3

Making Love to Your Manuscript

I admit it, I haven't blogged for awhile. I've been unfaithful to the blogging world, cheating on it with my novel. Like with any new relationship, the novel consumed me, taunted me, teased me even.  There was a little awkwardness at the beginning, as we got to know each other. Once we got better acquainted, I found myself eager to spend every available moment with it. We were hot and heavy for months, more often than not keeping each other company until the wee hours of the morning.

But, alas, all good things must come to an end. Once we reached the climax, we knew soon we would have to part ways.

I wasn't ready to say good-bye.  As good as things had been between us, I knew they could be better. We needed a breather. Time apart. I won't lie, it was hard. I even dallied with a couple short stories. I know, shameless of me. I couldn't help myself, I needed to fill the empty hours until we could be together again.

The moment finally arrived. I was nervous. For the relationship to work between us, things would have to change. We couldn't afford any excess baggage. It was time to begin the editing process.

The first round was tough. Change is never easy. By the second and third pass, the editing got easier. I knew my novel so much better now. I took my time, learning when and how to hit the delete button to make it sing. I realized editing didn't have to be painful process. Once the excess bloat of filler words made my novel leaner, I started to think of editing as making love to my manuscript. Where the keyboard needed to stroke it, which areas not to touch.

Editing may be the most tedious part of the novel process, but it is a part of our love affair with writing.  Putting a positive spin on it can help remind us of the passion we felt at the beginning when our work was still fresh and new.

Can Twitter Make You a Better Writer?

In a word, yes. My writing has undergone a significant change since I joined twitter, and I'd like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the men and women out there who take the time to post writing tips and generously give back to the writing community. I love Writer Wednesday. I may not always have a chance to connect with everyone I follow – something I would like to change – but I follow an absolutely amazing group of people, and am grateful to them every day. They have helped me grow.

In the mid 90's I wrote my first book. It was a whopping 360 pages pounded out on a word processer. I smiled, I laughed, I cried, and poured my heart and soul into my novel, convinced I had written a spectacular book.

I wanted to get it in the hands of agents as soon as possible. By the time the book was finished, I had a computer (it took me almost two years to write). I couldn't wait to query. I scoured the internet in search of agents accepting mysteries or romantic suspense. Once compiled my list, I dashed off my query letter, and started e-mailing.

In retrospect, I guess my query wasn't all that horrible – although I did manage to pack in every single no- no that I've come to learn SHOULD NOT be in a query. Still, I did get requests for chapters. Only one agent responded with a personalized note. She said she loved the concept, but the writing wasn't all that good.

I was stunned. My writing, not all that good? But, I'm a writer! How could it not be good? I raced to my novel, pouring over the pages, wondering where I'd gone wrong.

Um…where do I start?

In my defense, I wrote my book during a difficult time in my life. My parents had both just come home from the hospital and needed care. So did both my grandmothers. And then there were everyone's pets. Balancing all that along with a full time job was pretty rough. I burned the midnight oil to write while in a state of pure exhaustion.

It showed.

 The book was unreadable. Even I couldn't get through it.

I did everything wrong. My first sentence described my main character being awakened from a sound sleep. Predictably, someone was dead.

I can see you all nodding along with me. Yes, that was mistake number one. It went downhill from there. My MS was loaded with adverbs and adjectives, hey, the more the better right? I was painting a picture after all.

Don't even get me started on descriptions. I had pages, and pages of them, enough to blur anyone's eyes and send them into a snooze. I'm yawning at the memory.

Detail? Forget about it. If my character was making a phone call, I thought I had to describe every single action, picking up the receiver, punching in the number, uncoiling the phone cord, walking away from the phone. You get the idea.

My book should have been titled Every Step She Takes.

So how did Twitter make me a better writer?

Check back for my next post. It's amazing what you can learn in 140 characters.

A "Short" Detour

I've taken a short detour with my writing lately. I was at the halfway point in the novel I am working on and I just didn't think the opening packed enough punch. I did countless revisions of the first chapter. Some good, some not so good. The point is, I knew I had to let it sit for a while I decided which direction I wanted to go in.

 I like to commit to one project at a time. While I have ideas for several more novels bouncing around in my head, I'd become attached to my WIP and the characters I'd worked so hard to develop.

My fingers itched to write, but I wasn't about to "cheat" on them.

 I decided to move out of my comfort zone. Most of my writing leans towards romantic suspense or thrillers.  I suddenly wondered what it would be like to write in a different genre? Many of my writer friends were trying out the short story circuit. It seemed like to perfect way to try out a new genre without the commitment of a novel.

Over the span of three weeks, I wrote three short stories, and submitted them. The first, a horror story is on a short list for an anthology. The second, The Race to Atlantis, a speculative fiction story has been published in The Quest For Atlantis Anthology which was released in March. The third, a sci-fi, I'm still submitting.

I admit, I got hooked. I went on to write  four more short stories which I entered in contests and two more I am polishing. I have three more I plan to write.  My "short" detour took a little longer than expected, but it was a good learning experience. My writing has become tighter, I don't waste as many words. It sharpened my editing skills. You don't have the same luxury in a short story as you do in a novel to build up to an event, or develop a character.

As writers, we all have to step out of our comfort zone now and then. The next time you experience writers block, I encourage you to do the same.

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