Being the Yo-yo
Originally posted May 10, 2011
The past two weeks have been a test. With the entire household fighting a spring flu, the D.I.Y. renovation of our master bedroom well underway and the cold, rainy weather keeping us confined; keeping my focus and finding the right approach to the sixth chapter was difficult.
I didn't make things any easier on myself by joining the "Twitterverse" and allowing myself to get distracted, daily, by the internet. Not that it's Twitter's fault; it's an excellent networking tool. I'm distracted by the internet in general. There is so much information out there, I can't resist just one more click. My husband once said, "One day that thing (the laptop), is going to come up with a screen that says, 'You have now surfed the entire Internet. Self-destruct sequence started.'" Though I sometimes enjoy hyperbole and sarcasm equally, I caught myself just short of making a crude hand gesture in front of our toddlers.
In an attempt to justify web-surfing over writing, I read tweets, FB posts, blogs and articles full of suggestions on how to improve my writing and how to get the attention of agents and publishers. Self-doubt began creeping up on me. Was the writing really good enough? Would my query letter be acceptable? Was I giving the reader too little/too much in the first chapters? With my limited knowledge of the law, could I make the story believable? I found myself flipping furiously from website to website, looking for answers. I found an amazing resource at http://www.canadiangunnutz.com. That yielded me two gun enthusiasts willing to assist me with the weapons present in the story, in return for no more than a credit and a copy of the book. I sent e-mails out looking for a police officer, active or retired, to help with the legal bits. After getting no response, I suddenly realized that the perfect person was closer than I'd thought. The husband, of a co-worker, of a friend on Facebook; my plea for help was answered within a day.
A request to the Facebook group, "Your First Novel" at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_128411530566280 was graciously granted, allowing members to post their potential query letters for critique. I posted my own, knowing that it was nowhere near ready, and was given some helpful hints within two days.
Still I was having trouble getting into my chapter. I was desperate to find something that would pull my brain out of the muddled disconnection. I pushed myself to write every evening. I battled with the characters over details to be revealed or concealed. I tried several of the writing exercises gleaned from my creative writing instructor. Three quarters finished, I finally went back and read every response I'd had to the webpage, writer's forum posts and my posts to Facebook group pages. Out of over one hundred comments, only two people had given the writing a negative response. I had to have created something worth reading!
I reread the first five chapters. When I got to the end of Chapter 5, I began writing Chapter 6 from the beginning. I didn't even look at the first edition of it. As easily as slipping into a pair of well-worn loafers, I was back on track. Near the end of the chapter, I had my next crisis of doubt. It stemmed from a simple statement I'd seen on twitter regarding how often manuscripts are submitted without a clear genre.
I began to question my classification. Did it classify as cozy-mystery? Perhaps. I have a female protagonist, not in law enforcement, living in a small community; it seemed to fit. Maybe there was a touch of noir? One or two somewhat graphic descriptions stand out. What about the chick-lit. element? It has a little of that flavour, but that could just be my writing style.
I read and reread; searched and researched. Flustered, I realized that I was more confused than when I'd begun. In the same state, I sent a desperate tweet to the agent behind Query Shark; "@Janet_Reid The more I research genre, the more confused I become. Is it possible for cozy mystery, noir and chick lit to blend compatibly?" There's nothing like announcing to the world that you're clueless. The response was succinct, "No."
Why in the world would I pester someone who'd never heard of me with such a silly question? I'd like to blame it on lack of confidence. I'm sure every writer experiences it. It's kind of a mid-manuscript crisis. I seem to always reach this looming mountain of anxiety in the middle of a manuscript. This is where I usually start to beat myself up. "What the hell was I thinking? With all the fantastic writers out there, do I really think I deserve to join them on a shelf? Should I just file this manuscript with the rest? Look at those bins of wasted paper; the stacked back-up discs of unfinished projects! How is this one any different? "
.............. HOW IS THIS ONE ANY DIFFERENT? That was the question that jolted me out of the panic. This time WAS different. This time I had the entire story mapped out. This time I had a support group of dozens of other writers. This time I'd publicly announced the book, made a webpage, had a cover designed, posted a chapter. This time I was committed.
I'm not trying to write the "Great Canadian Literary Masterpiece". What I am striving for is a book that readers will enjoy reading. My dream is not a novel that displays the awards it has won or the kudos of famous literary critics. It's a book that proudly displays dog-eared corners, a cracked spine and smudged, wrinkled pages from being read and reread. My dream is to someday see my creation in the hands of a stranger on the bus or in a coffee shop. I'd thought I was writing for myself; to prove that I could do it. Somewhere between the beginning of Chapter 6 and the mid-manuscript crisis, "Learn to Love Me" stopped being something I had to write and became something I had to read. There were people out there already who wanted to read my book. One author on Twitter, @write_aholic, unaware that the book had not yet reached publication, asked where she could buy a copy! You can't buy the kind of motivation that gave me! (By the way, her book "Confessions" by Laura Rodela is due to be released in the next two weeks. Look for it!)
This was no time to give up! I asked myself one more question, "When did I become such an emotional yo-yo?" I took a few deep breaths and went to Google. I typed in "What genre is my book?" and found "The Official Website of Author Timothy Fish" at http://www.timothyfish.net/Articles/Article.asp?ID=158. The genre wizard told me what I should have known all along. My book was exactly the genre I'd classified it. Not the suspense/mystery I'd thought it might be at the beginning, but the Mystery-Lit I'd known it was by the third chapter.
I had a flashback to a school skiing trip where I'd gotten lost on the cross country trails. The longer I skied the more panicked I'd become, until I realized that I'd passed the same group of trees three times. I'd been skiing on a giant loop and I'd become so rattled that I'd bolted right past the sign that would direct me back to the chalet...twice.
I really had been a yo-yo for the past two weeks; spinning up and down and never going anywhere.
So, I've survived the mid-manuscript crisis. More importantly, the manuscript has survived it! I'm looking forward to the rest of the journey, and the rest of the story. I've decided to post a new motto on my computer desktop; an old Irish battle-cry, "Faugh a Ballagh!" Translated it says "Clear the way!"
A note to my fellow writers:
I have found a few other terrific writing tools in my wanderings.
One is "The Random Name Generator" at . It offers a name generator that allows you to control the obscurity factor of names.
Another site I will be keeping an eye on; "Query Shark" http://queryshark.blogspot.com
has already been added to my favourites list. When I believe I'm prepared to begin submissions, I will certainly be dipping my toes into the shark-tank. The service offered to writers, by this site, is not only free but priceless.
"Author One Stop", found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AuthorOneStop is another page I check regularly. This company supplies services such as editing, ghostwriting, manuscript analysis, and book proposals. They also help people connect with literary agents and publishers.
"US Literary Agents and Agencies" at http://www.facebook.com/USLiteraryAgencies is a group by and for writers, seeking literary agents.
Don't miss out on "The Writer's Circle", a writer's forum on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/writerscircle or "Book Country" http://www.bookcountry.com either.
However, as a self-diagnosed web-addict, I must balance my list of suggestions with a quote I've posted on my desktop:
"Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the Internet."
– Anonymous
May your words flow, the agents call and the publishers fight over your manuscript. I'm off to tackle Chapter 7 and try to keep from being
dis....Ooooo LOOK! Liz has a new blog up at http://www.elizabethsogard.com/blog.html!
The past two weeks have been a test. With the entire household fighting a spring flu, the D.I.Y. renovation of our master bedroom well underway and the cold, rainy weather keeping us confined; keeping my focus and finding the right approach to the sixth chapter was difficult.
I didn't make things any easier on myself by joining the "Twitterverse" and allowing myself to get distracted, daily, by the internet. Not that it's Twitter's fault; it's an excellent networking tool. I'm distracted by the internet in general. There is so much information out there, I can't resist just one more click. My husband once said, "One day that thing (the laptop), is going to come up with a screen that says, 'You have now surfed the entire Internet. Self-destruct sequence started.'" Though I sometimes enjoy hyperbole and sarcasm equally, I caught myself just short of making a crude hand gesture in front of our toddlers.
In an attempt to justify web-surfing over writing, I read tweets, FB posts, blogs and articles full of suggestions on how to improve my writing and how to get the attention of agents and publishers. Self-doubt began creeping up on me. Was the writing really good enough? Would my query letter be acceptable? Was I giving the reader too little/too much in the first chapters? With my limited knowledge of the law, could I make the story believable? I found myself flipping furiously from website to website, looking for answers. I found an amazing resource at http://www.canadiangunnutz.com. That yielded me two gun enthusiasts willing to assist me with the weapons present in the story, in return for no more than a credit and a copy of the book. I sent e-mails out looking for a police officer, active or retired, to help with the legal bits. After getting no response, I suddenly realized that the perfect person was closer than I'd thought. The husband, of a co-worker, of a friend on Facebook; my plea for help was answered within a day.
A request to the Facebook group, "Your First Novel" at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_128411530566280 was graciously granted, allowing members to post their potential query letters for critique. I posted my own, knowing that it was nowhere near ready, and was given some helpful hints within two days.
Still I was having trouble getting into my chapter. I was desperate to find something that would pull my brain out of the muddled disconnection. I pushed myself to write every evening. I battled with the characters over details to be revealed or concealed. I tried several of the writing exercises gleaned from my creative writing instructor. Three quarters finished, I finally went back and read every response I'd had to the webpage, writer's forum posts and my posts to Facebook group pages. Out of over one hundred comments, only two people had given the writing a negative response. I had to have created something worth reading!
I reread the first five chapters. When I got to the end of Chapter 5, I began writing Chapter 6 from the beginning. I didn't even look at the first edition of it. As easily as slipping into a pair of well-worn loafers, I was back on track. Near the end of the chapter, I had my next crisis of doubt. It stemmed from a simple statement I'd seen on twitter regarding how often manuscripts are submitted without a clear genre.
I began to question my classification. Did it classify as cozy-mystery? Perhaps. I have a female protagonist, not in law enforcement, living in a small community; it seemed to fit. Maybe there was a touch of noir? One or two somewhat graphic descriptions stand out. What about the chick-lit. element? It has a little of that flavour, but that could just be my writing style.
I read and reread; searched and researched. Flustered, I realized that I was more confused than when I'd begun. In the same state, I sent a desperate tweet to the agent behind Query Shark; "@Janet_Reid The more I research genre, the more confused I become. Is it possible for cozy mystery, noir and chick lit to blend compatibly?" There's nothing like announcing to the world that you're clueless. The response was succinct, "No."
Why in the world would I pester someone who'd never heard of me with such a silly question? I'd like to blame it on lack of confidence. I'm sure every writer experiences it. It's kind of a mid-manuscript crisis. I seem to always reach this looming mountain of anxiety in the middle of a manuscript. This is where I usually start to beat myself up. "What the hell was I thinking? With all the fantastic writers out there, do I really think I deserve to join them on a shelf? Should I just file this manuscript with the rest? Look at those bins of wasted paper; the stacked back-up discs of unfinished projects! How is this one any different? "
.............. HOW IS THIS ONE ANY DIFFERENT? That was the question that jolted me out of the panic. This time WAS different. This time I had the entire story mapped out. This time I had a support group of dozens of other writers. This time I'd publicly announced the book, made a webpage, had a cover designed, posted a chapter. This time I was committed.
I'm not trying to write the "Great Canadian Literary Masterpiece". What I am striving for is a book that readers will enjoy reading. My dream is not a novel that displays the awards it has won or the kudos of famous literary critics. It's a book that proudly displays dog-eared corners, a cracked spine and smudged, wrinkled pages from being read and reread. My dream is to someday see my creation in the hands of a stranger on the bus or in a coffee shop. I'd thought I was writing for myself; to prove that I could do it. Somewhere between the beginning of Chapter 6 and the mid-manuscript crisis, "Learn to Love Me" stopped being something I had to write and became something I had to read. There were people out there already who wanted to read my book. One author on Twitter, @write_aholic, unaware that the book had not yet reached publication, asked where she could buy a copy! You can't buy the kind of motivation that gave me! (By the way, her book "Confessions" by Laura Rodela is due to be released in the next two weeks. Look for it!)
This was no time to give up! I asked myself one more question, "When did I become such an emotional yo-yo?" I took a few deep breaths and went to Google. I typed in "What genre is my book?" and found "The Official Website of Author Timothy Fish" at http://www.timothyfish.net/Articles/Article.asp?ID=158. The genre wizard told me what I should have known all along. My book was exactly the genre I'd classified it. Not the suspense/mystery I'd thought it might be at the beginning, but the Mystery-Lit I'd known it was by the third chapter.
I had a flashback to a school skiing trip where I'd gotten lost on the cross country trails. The longer I skied the more panicked I'd become, until I realized that I'd passed the same group of trees three times. I'd been skiing on a giant loop and I'd become so rattled that I'd bolted right past the sign that would direct me back to the chalet...twice.
I really had been a yo-yo for the past two weeks; spinning up and down and never going anywhere.
So, I've survived the mid-manuscript crisis. More importantly, the manuscript has survived it! I'm looking forward to the rest of the journey, and the rest of the story. I've decided to post a new motto on my computer desktop; an old Irish battle-cry, "Faugh a Ballagh!" Translated it says "Clear the way!"
A note to my fellow writers:
I have found a few other terrific writing tools in my wanderings.
One is "The Random Name Generator" at . It offers a name generator that allows you to control the obscurity factor of names.
Another site I will be keeping an eye on; "Query Shark" http://queryshark.blogspot.com
has already been added to my favourites list. When I believe I'm prepared to begin submissions, I will certainly be dipping my toes into the shark-tank. The service offered to writers, by this site, is not only free but priceless.
"Author One Stop", found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AuthorOneStop is another page I check regularly. This company supplies services such as editing, ghostwriting, manuscript analysis, and book proposals. They also help people connect with literary agents and publishers.
"US Literary Agents and Agencies" at http://www.facebook.com/USLiteraryAgencies is a group by and for writers, seeking literary agents.
Don't miss out on "The Writer's Circle", a writer's forum on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/writerscircle or "Book Country" http://www.bookcountry.com either.
However, as a self-diagnosed web-addict, I must balance my list of suggestions with a quote I've posted on my desktop:
"Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the Internet."
– Anonymous
May your words flow, the agents call and the publishers fight over your manuscript. I'm off to tackle Chapter 7 and try to keep from being
dis....Ooooo LOOK! Liz has a new blog up at http://www.elizabethsogard.com/blog.html!
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