Jennifer L. Davidson's Blog, page 17

The great ones...

Last night I was asked whether or not I thought the great authors from generations past purposely included literary elements in their works, specifically symbolism and theme. I asked myself that same question just a few days ago when I chose a word to describe something. I can't think of either the word or the something at the moment. Regardless, I told my friend that I did believe those writers thought about those elements while they wrote, and that they took tremendous effort in picking words to represent the story they were telling. In college, I had an entirely different mindset. I thought the English professors made all that stuff up. For what reason, I don't know, but I just knew that the author never intended to provoke that much thought into the color red, for instance. Maybe some day I'll try to write with deeper meaning. Maybe some day I'll write a novel for college students to ponder. Or maybe I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and hope for the best.

It's a marathon, not a sprint

I've had time to calm down after my little panic attack the other day. It seems that I briefly lost sight of the fact that selling a self-published book without any sort of marketing strategy (money) was like a marathon, not a sprint. I had a lot of issues going on that day too, none of which you want to hear about. It's just so hard to be patient some days, especially when my emotions are running hot and cold. Most days I feel like a little kid in December waiting for jolly ol' Saint Nick to bring gifts. The other days I feel like Debbie Downer from an old Saturday Night Live skit. I don't think medication is the answer. The only reasonable answer I can come up with is to keep writing. So that I shall do.

A big fat zero

It's been almost two months since I've had to record a zero for a single day's sales and I have to admit it's sent me into a bit of a panic. Is this the end of the line for my writing career? Is this a sign that I should take up knitting or something else crafty to finish off my years? Drastic thinking, I know. I've also considered that Amazon is having problems, perhaps their systems are bogged down by the number of sales my book is really producing. Hee hee! Wishful thinking. The optimist in me is telling me that it was one day of bad sales and things are bound to pick up. I won't reveal what the pessimist is saying because she's lost her privilege to speak.

Phone a friend

This past Saturday I spent several hours in the library typing away on book #2. I spent half of my time in the children's section, which is weird because I was escaping my children, but at the same time that's where I felt the most comfortable. I had to make a move upstairs though when the woman behind me started teaching the bible to a student. No whispering for her. So annoying. Anyway, while I was hard at work, I found the need to text my husband for some help. Kody did something bad and thought she'd feel better if someone other than herself called her names. Who's better at name calling than my kids? My assumption was correct because my husband and two boys came up with more synonyms for idiot than I really needed. I was such a proud mother and wife. It's always nice to know that they're there for me when I need the hard questions answered!

Some of my favorite reads

Some books stick with you. You gain something by reading them. For whatever reason, I thoroughly enjoyed the following books and their titles have stuck with me.

Rainwater by Sandra Brown
The Yellow Wallpaper (short story) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson
The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
A Painted House by John Grisham
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Love by Toni Morrison
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

What happens next?

I've created a love triangle for my main character, Kody Burkoff, and can't decide who should win her heart. Is it the guy from high school who moved back home or the man from her not so distant past? From what I've read and from talking with other writers, I've learned that many writers create a very detailed outline of the entire novel they are about to write before sitting down to type out chapter one. There must be some writers like me though who type out a somewhat sketchy outline of the general premise before diving right in. In some aspects it would be nice to know what I'm going to write on any given day, however, I think what I enjoy most about writing is how unpredictable it can be. I like not knowing how Kody will react to certain events. I like brainstorming with my husband to create those often off-the-wall events. Life can be so predictable at times that it's nice to have this outlet to create whatever I want. Now, if I only knew what I wanted.

Hunger Games

I loved it! I've been so against reading "The Hunger Games" for some reason, but with my 11-year-old son having finished all three of the books with rave reviews, I figured it was time to give it a try. I'm really glad I did too. The characters were believable, the plot was incredibly creative, and I didn't want to stop reading. Even though I dedicate a lot of time to writing, I also know how important it is to keep reading, especially books that have been on the best seller's list for over a year. With this one, I learned how important it is to set the scene. I can picture in my head what the forest looked like in the Hunger Games. I can see Rue swinging through the trees. I can envision the cave where Peeta and Katniss recuperated from their injuries. This is one quality I hope to bring to my writing as well.

Wait for it...

Pacing is a struggle for me. My first draft of Missing Maggie was written like I was trying to finish two different races. The beginning was slow like a marathon (for me, at least) and the ending was like a 100-yard dash. It's partly because it took me three years to write, so by the time I figured out how the story was going to end I just wanted to get it over with. Now with this second novel, I'm about at the point where I can take off with it and finish the race in a dead sprint. That's not what I'm going to do though. I'm holding back. I'm using all the patience I can to refrain from speeding up my pace. I don't want to make the same mistake twice because it took me countless revisions to try to balance the story out. I still think Missing Maggie reads much quicker the second half. I guess I'd rather have that than the other way around.[image error]

More than just friends

Having sold more than 250 copies of Missing Maggie, I can only assume that more than my friends are making the purchases because let's face it, I don't have that many friends. Now I'm just waiting for those people to write reviews. The more reviews I have on the various websites, the better. My mom says she only purchases a book for her Nook after reading other reader's reviews. That totally makes sense. When I make an online purchase, whatever it may be, I typically peruse the reviews too. So, if you're reading this and feel comfortable writing a quick review of Missing Maggie, I'd really appreciate it.[image error]

The characters surprise even me

I know this might sound crazy, but I was shocked by what one of my characters did this morning. Yes, that definitely sounds crazy. Crazy, yet wonderful! If I'm surprised, then my reader will almost surely be surprised. The key is to make it believable though, which is what I'll have to look into during the first revision. For now, I'll just keep plugging away, creating and waiting for surprises.[image error]